Catholic Charities. Providing Help. Creating Hope.
VISION: Believing in the presence of God in our midst, we proclaim the sanctity of human life and the dignity of the person by sharing in the mission of Jesus given to the Church. To this end, Catholic Charities works with individuals, families, and communities to help them meet their needs, address their issues, eliminate oppression, and build a just and compassionate society.
MISSION: Rooted in the Mission of the Diocese of Youngstown "to minister to the people in the six counties of northeastern Ohio . . .(and) to the world community", we are called to provide service to people in need, to advocate for justice in social structures, and to call the entire Church and other people of good will to do the same.
GOALS: Catholic Charities is devoted to helping meet basic human needs, strengthening families, building communities and empowering low-income people. Working to reduce poverty in half by 2020.
KEY VALUE: Hospitality
WHAT WE DO: Organizing Love. "As a community, the Church must practise love. Love thus needs to be organized if it is to be an ordered service to the community" (Deus Caritas Est, par. 20)
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On Sunday, (Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, http://usccb.org/bible/readings/071512.cfm ) we read from the Gospel of Mark regarding Jesus’ call to his disciples to go out into the world to proclaim the Good News. They are told to take only the necessary items on their journey, and to work with persons in each community who want to help share that Good News. We further learn that these sent disciples are healing and curing many people, as part of their encounter with the living Presence. In the first reading from Hosea, the prophet, we hear how he was chosen from humble beginnings and followed God’s call to proclaim a new time -- God’s Presence among His chosen ones.
In Catholic Charities http://www.ccdoy.org , we continue that tradition of going into the lives of persons, families and communities offering Good News of welcome and hope. Many of our Catholic Charities’ workers encounter people in need in our offices and in unlikely places: from early morning events or meetings at a parish or coffee shop, to a later evening meetings at a restaurant or under a bridge. That spirit of discipleship permeates the work and heart of Catholic Charities. Thanks to the many gifts from generous donors to the Bishop’s Annual Appeal for Catholic Charities and Church http://goo.gl/Ebuv9 we are able to provide help and create hope for many persons, families and communities that we serve.
Reflection from Church Documents and Official Statements
Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship - Part I - The U.S. Bishops’ Reflection On Catholic Teaching And Political Life
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How Does the Church Help the Catholic Faithful to Speak About Political and Social Questions?
Making Moral Choices
34. Catholics often face difficult choices about how to vote. This is why it is so important to vote according to a well-formed conscience that perceives the proper relationship among moral goods. A Catholic cannot vote for a candidate who takes a position in favor of an intrinsic evil, such as abortion or racism, if the voter's intent is to support that position. In such cases a Catholic would be guilty of formal cooperation in grave evil. At the same time, a voter should not use a candidate's opposition to an intrinsic evil to justify indifference or inattentiveness to other important moral issues involving human life and dignity.35. There may be times when a Catholic who rejects a candidate's unacceptable position may decide to vote for that candidate for other morally grave reasons. Voting in this way would be permissible only for truly grave moral reasons, not to advance narrow interests or partisan preferences or to ignore a fundamental moral evil.
36. When all candidates hold a position in favor of an intrinsic evil, the conscientious voter faces a dilemma. The voter may decide to take the extraordinary step of not voting for any candidate or, after careful deliberation, may decide to vote for the candidate deemed less likely to advance such a morally flawed position and more likely to pursue other authentic human goods.
37. In making these decisions, it is essential for Catholics to be guided by a well-formed conscience that recognizes that all issues do not carry the same moral weight and that the moral obligation to oppose intrinsically evil acts has a special claim on our consciences and our actions. These decisions should take into account a candidate's commitments, character, integrity, and ability to influence a given issue. In the end, this is a decision to be made by each Catholic guided by a conscience formed by Catholic moral teaching.
38. It is important to be clear that the political choices faced by citizens not only have an impact on general peace and prosperity but also may affect the individual's salvation. Similarly, the kinds of laws and policies supported by public officials affect their spiritual well-being. Pope Benedict XVI, in his recent reflection on the Eucharist as "the sacrament of charity," challenged all of us to adopt what he calls "a Eucharistic form of life." This means that the redeeming love we encounter in the Eucharist should shape our thoughts, our words, and our decisions, including those that pertain to the social order. The Holy Father called for "Eucharistic consistency" on the part of every member of the Church:
It is important to consider what the Synod Fathers described as eucharistic consistency, a quality which our lives are objectively called to embody. Worship pleasing to God can never be a purely private matter, without consequences for our relationships with others: it demands a public witness to our faith. Evidently, this is true for all the baptized, yet it is especially incumbent upon those who, by virtue of their social or political position, must make decisions regarding fundamental values, such as respect for human life, its defense from conception to natural death, the family built upon marriage between a man and a woman, the freedom to educate one's children and the promotion of the common good in all its forms. . . . (Sacramentum Caritatis, no. 83)
39. The Holy Father, in a particular way, called on Catholic politicians and legislators to recognize their grave responsibility in society to support laws shaped by these fundamental human values, and urged them to oppose laws and policies that violate life and dignity at any stage from conception to natural death. He affirmed the responsibility of bishops to teach these values consistently to all of their people.
Some important date(s) this week:
http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Saints/ByDate.aspxSee website for biographies of Saints and Blessed celebrated this week.
For Daily Readings http://www.usccb.org/calendar/index.cfm?showLit=1&action=month
Wednesday, July 18. St. Camillus de Lellis. (1550-1614).
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| St Camillus de Lellis, St Peter's Basilica, Vatican City |
They ministered to the sick of Holy Ghost Hospital in Rome, enlarged their facilities in 1585, founded a new house in Naples in 1588, and attended the plague-stricken aboard ships in Rome's harbor and in Rome. In 1591, the Congregation was made into an order to serve the sick by Pope Gregory XIV, and in 1591 and 1605, Camillus sent members of his order to minister to wounded troops inHungary and Croatia, the first field medical unit.
Gravely ill for many years, he resigned as superior of the Order in 1607 and died in Rome on July 14, the year after he attended a General Chapter there. He was canonized in 1746, was declared patron of the sick, with St. John of God, by Pope Leo XIII, and patron of nurses and nursing groups by Pope Pius XI. His feast day is July 18th.
CHARITIES NEWSBYTES
August 26. Join our Diocese of Youngstown Team. Help support HMHP Joanie Abdu Comprehensive Care Center through participating in the Panerathon. http://doy.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=184%3Apanerathon&catid=45%3Astandalone&Itemid=95
PAPAL INTENTIONS: July 2012
General Intention: Work Security. That everyone may have work in safe and secure conditions.
Missionary Intention: Christian Volunteers. That Christian volunteers in mission territories may witness to the love of Christ.
Corporal Works of Mercy: The seven practices of charity toward our neighbor
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Note: Please consider joining our
FACEBOOK CAUSE http://apps.facebook.com/causes/106889
FACEBOOK GROUP https://www.facebook.com/pages/Catholic-Charities-Diocese-of-Youngstown/138817639487339
TWITTER account, CCDOY, http://twitter.com/CCDOY
for current updates and calls to action that we can all use.
See our website at www.catholiccharitiesyoungstown.org for links to the our ministries and services.
For more information on Catholic Social Doctrine and its connection to our ministries, visit my blog at: http://corbinchurchthinking.blogspot.com/
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