On May 15th 1891, Pope Leo XIII published Rerum Novarum, On New Things, the first encyclical on social justice in the modern period. Leo XIII instigated what is now 120 years of teaching from the Catholic Church on social justice which defends the rights of the poor to work, health care, retirement, and rest, to labor unions, and called for a social system that denied the travesties of free market capitalism and state capitalism.
As we go through the current recession, we'd like to call to mind this call to social justice that Leo XIII articulated so well and to remember that it stems from the Gospels and from the whole of Catholic Christian tradition.
May 14, 2011
Feb 25, 2011
Unions, Catholics, and Wisconsin
Many of you may have been following the protests in Wisconsin and other places in the United States. What are they all about? Have the bishops said anything about them?
In fact, the protests in Wisconsin concern, not just wages which unions members said they would take a cut in, but rights to collective bargaining. That is, the legislation that Governor Walker of Wisconsin has proposed to close the gap in the budget not only cuts wages and contributions to pension funds, but also removes workers' rights to collective bargaining. No one thinks that removing collective bargaining rights will help close a budget gap, so many have speculated over why Walker would include that in the legislation.
More importantly, however, the President of the USCCB has come out in support of the legislation as you can read here. I copy part of the letter he wrote below:
"You and our brother bishops in Wisconsin are offering a timely reminder of what the Church teaches on the rights and duties of workers, including the right to form and belong to unions and other associations, and the obligation to address difficult problems with respect for the rights and needs of all. As you insist, 'hard times do not nullify the moral obligation each of us has to respect the legitimate rights of workers.'"
What this means for us, as Catholics, is that we too should support the protests. In fact, Catholic Social Teaching, including the right to unionize, forms part of canon law, and all Catholics in good conscience must support such rights.
We can do this by, for instance, joining in marches, just as we would march for the right to life from birth to natural death. A march for solidarity (another principle of Catholic Social Teaching) is taking place in Salem:
Rally to save the
AMERICAN DREAM
Saturday, February 26th
12:00 noon
State Capitol ~ Salem
Please march to support Catholic Social Teaching. Please March to support union members.
In fact, the protests in Wisconsin concern, not just wages which unions members said they would take a cut in, but rights to collective bargaining. That is, the legislation that Governor Walker of Wisconsin has proposed to close the gap in the budget not only cuts wages and contributions to pension funds, but also removes workers' rights to collective bargaining. No one thinks that removing collective bargaining rights will help close a budget gap, so many have speculated over why Walker would include that in the legislation.
More importantly, however, the President of the USCCB has come out in support of the legislation as you can read here. I copy part of the letter he wrote below:
"You and our brother bishops in Wisconsin are offering a timely reminder of what the Church teaches on the rights and duties of workers, including the right to form and belong to unions and other associations, and the obligation to address difficult problems with respect for the rights and needs of all. As you insist, 'hard times do not nullify the moral obligation each of us has to respect the legitimate rights of workers.'"
What this means for us, as Catholics, is that we too should support the protests. In fact, Catholic Social Teaching, including the right to unionize, forms part of canon law, and all Catholics in good conscience must support such rights.
We can do this by, for instance, joining in marches, just as we would march for the right to life from birth to natural death. A march for solidarity (another principle of Catholic Social Teaching) is taking place in Salem:
Rally to save the
AMERICAN DREAM
Saturday, February 26th
12:00 noon
State Capitol ~ Salem
Please march to support Catholic Social Teaching. Please March to support union members.
Dec 5, 2010
Sunday 5 December 2010: Isaiah 11: 1-:10
1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
2 And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear;
4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.
5 Righteousness shall be the girdle of his waist, and faithfulness the girdle of his loins.
6 The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall feed; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The sucking child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den.
9 They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.
10 In that day the root of Jesse shall stand as an ensign to the peoples; him shall the nations seek, and his dwellings shall be glorious.
Nov 29, 2010
Myths about Hunger
An interesting article in the Washington Post today which I thought appropriate for social justice.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/19/AR2010111902975.html
In short, the five myths are the following:
1. No one goes hungry in America
2. Ending malnourishment is merely a humanitarian concern
3. Children are the only ones who go hungry
4. The food that Americans waste could feed everyone
5. Hunger is about food.
All of these are false!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/19/AR2010111902975.html
In short, the five myths are the following:
1. No one goes hungry in America
2. Ending malnourishment is merely a humanitarian concern
3. Children are the only ones who go hungry
4. The food that Americans waste could feed everyone
5. Hunger is about food.
All of these are false!
Mar 15, 2008
Peace Rally Information
From Mike Grady:
Friday March 14.......Interfaith Peace Witness for Iraq, begins Salem First Congregational Church at 4:45pm. Info: Diane Anderson, 503-391-8193 or deanders@televar.com.
Saturday March 15......Rally and March, south park blocks, Portland. There are many educational offerings, workshops, etc from 10am –6pm. One of them will feature representatives of faith groups in the metro area at First Congregational, adjacent to the rally site. The rally and march begin at 2pm. I will be going and can drive. I propose meeting at St. Paul’s at 11:45am. We could decide to drive into Portland or go to Beaverton and take the Max in. More info at www.pdxpeace.org.
Wednesday March 19.......Vigil on the Capitol steps in Salem. Starts at 6:30pm. Let’s meet at St. Paul’s at 5:45.At this point, I am not aware of Silverton events. I will update this as I find out more. I was unsuccessful in securing any appointment time at Sen. Smith’s office in Portland or Eugene.
Friday March 14.......Interfaith Peace Witness for Iraq, begins Salem First Congregational Church at 4:45pm. Info: Diane Anderson, 503-391-8193 or deanders@televar.com.
Saturday March 15......Rally and March, south park blocks, Portland. There are many educational offerings, workshops, etc from 10am –6pm. One of them will feature representatives of faith groups in the metro area at First Congregational, adjacent to the rally site. The rally and march begin at 2pm. I will be going and can drive. I propose meeting at St. Paul’s at 11:45am. We could decide to drive into Portland or go to Beaverton and take the Max in. More info at www.pdxpeace.org.
Wednesday March 19.......Vigil on the Capitol steps in Salem. Starts at 6:30pm. Let’s meet at St. Paul’s at 5:45.At this point, I am not aware of Silverton events. I will update this as I find out more. I was unsuccessful in securing any appointment time at Sen. Smith’s office in Portland or Eugene.
Jan 26, 2008
Towards more Authentic Community
The St Paul Social Justice committee met today and discussed the need to develop more authentic community by finding a way to dialog on controversial topics like immigration. The group agreed to plan a "Building Authentic Community" session for the March 2nd Adult Education forum at St Pauls Church, Silverton. The plan is to assemble a small panel to consider if, and how, we can talk about controversial topics, like immigration AND build a stronger, less polarized and more authentic community.
We also agreed that Michelle Senecal and Bernadette Mele would represent the Social Justice group at the upcoming Silverton Resource meeting next Tuesday.
Mike Grady will convene the next Social Justice Meeting in February (possibly a Thursday evening Whine Bar on Feb 21st.)
We also agreed that Michelle Senecal and Bernadette Mele would represent the Social Justice group at the upcoming Silverton Resource meeting next Tuesday.
Mike Grady will convene the next Social Justice Meeting in February (possibly a Thursday evening Whine Bar on Feb 21st.)
Jan 3, 2008
Next Social Justice Meeting
Our next St Paul Social Justice meeting is Saturday, January 26th at 9 am at "Not your Mama's Coffee" at 201 E. Main St in Silverton (2nd floor of "Wolf" building, corner Main and Water.) Everyone welcome. We will be talking about plans for 2008, “Catholic Dialog”, immigration and adult education opportunities..among other things.
First annual Resource Sharing Meeting
FROM DOREEN KELLY:
Hello Community Partners!
We are holding our first annual Resource Sharing Meeting for the Silverton Area on January 29th. We will be meeting from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm, in the Council Chambers of the Community Center.
The purpose of the meeting is to find possible partnerships between groups to enhance resources. Over the years we have seen some great collaborations, such as local churches using their buses to help with Homer Davenport Days visitors, Las Aguilas high school students helping wrap presents for the Zenith Women’s Tree of Giving, Silverton Elks Lodge donating used cell phones to the high school tech club who convert the phones to be used by victims at the Women’s Crisis Center, Kiwanis Club serving food at the Community Picnic, various businesses donating prizes to school auctions, etc. The list is enormous! Yet, we are often contacted to see if we can find some additional assistance for various causes.
You received this e-mail because you belong to one of the following groups:
· Church club
· Social or fraternal club
· School or PTO, PFC, or PTA
· Non-profit or agency providing services in this area.
· Business active in supporting community events.
We will be sending out a form next week that requests some simple information from your group. We will be compiling that information and sending it out to you prior to the meeting. Information we are seeking includes what needs your group has and if there are any resources you can share. Examples include volunteers for events, locations for meetings, donations of goods, buyers for sales or tickets, etc.
Silverton is a great community, thanks to the efforts from all of you!
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Thank you!
Doreen Kelly
Resource Coordinator
Silverton Together
(503)873-0405
dk@silverfalls.k12.or.us
Hello Community Partners!
We are holding our first annual Resource Sharing Meeting for the Silverton Area on January 29th. We will be meeting from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm, in the Council Chambers of the Community Center.
The purpose of the meeting is to find possible partnerships between groups to enhance resources. Over the years we have seen some great collaborations, such as local churches using their buses to help with Homer Davenport Days visitors, Las Aguilas high school students helping wrap presents for the Zenith Women’s Tree of Giving, Silverton Elks Lodge donating used cell phones to the high school tech club who convert the phones to be used by victims at the Women’s Crisis Center, Kiwanis Club serving food at the Community Picnic, various businesses donating prizes to school auctions, etc. The list is enormous! Yet, we are often contacted to see if we can find some additional assistance for various causes.
You received this e-mail because you belong to one of the following groups:
· Church club
· Social or fraternal club
· School or PTO, PFC, or PTA
· Non-profit or agency providing services in this area.
· Business active in supporting community events.
We will be sending out a form next week that requests some simple information from your group. We will be compiling that information and sending it out to you prior to the meeting. Information we are seeking includes what needs your group has and if there are any resources you can share. Examples include volunteers for events, locations for meetings, donations of goods, buyers for sales or tickets, etc.
Silverton is a great community, thanks to the efforts from all of you!
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Thank you!
Doreen Kelly
Resource Coordinator
Silverton Together
(503)873-0405
dk@silverfalls.k12.or.us
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
