News Archives » North America
Catholic Social Ministry Gathering December 4th, 2012
Register now for the CSMG to Connect-Learn-Pray-Advocate in Washington DC on Feb. 10-13, 2013! Early registration discount lasts until Dec. 12 ($295). This is a great opportunity to learn and advocate on key policy issues with many of your peers in Catholic social ministry around the country!
CMSM and LCWR will host a joint session for any religious on Sunday Feb. 10, 1-2:15 p.m. More information…
Corporate Responsibility and the ‘Fiscal Cliff’ December 3rd, 2012
In this latest Huffington Post blog, Fr. Seamus Finn OMI argues that corporations benefit from the social and physical infrastructure for which we collectively pay. Hence, their tax contribution, or lack therof, needs to be part of the conversation. Read this timely and interesting post…
Peace & Life Connections: November 20, 2012 December 1st, 2012
We are now reproducing the Consistent Life “Peace & Life Connections” weekly newsletter on our website. If you are interested in more information, or in subscribing to the e-newsletter, please visit www.consistent-life.org/
2009: U.S. Abortion Rate Drops 5%
In the largest single-year drop since legalization, the Centers for Disease Control report the U.S. abortion rate dropped 5% in 2009, the latest year for which it has figures.
The number of abortion clinics plummeted more in the 8 years when Bill Clinton was president than during any other 8-year period. Now the first year of Barack Obama’s term has offered another steep decline of another kind. But unlike that in the Clinton years, this decline can’t be attributed to relative economic prosperity; 2009 was the worst year of the Great Recession.
There are many ideas on why the abortion rate fell. One is that grassroots pro-life people take more action when not relying on presidential lip service.
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State, National Faith Officials to Congressional Leaders: “Don’t Push the Poor and Vulnerable Off the ‘Fiscal Cliff’” December 1st, 2012
Faith leaders from 16 states join the heads of numerous national religious organizations to stop deep cuts to programs that help the most vulnerable.
Senior religious officials from 16 states joined the heads of some of the nation’s most prominent Christian, Jewish and Muslim organizations today to tell the Obama Administration and Congress, “Don’t push the poor and most vulnerable off the ‘fiscal cliff.’”
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America Magazine Examines Climate Change November 29th, 2012
A November 19, 2012 editorial in America magazine examines the issue of climate change. The editors note that “Hurricane Sandy was the latest in a series of extreme weather events that the overwhelming majority of scientists say is related to global climate change.” They go on to say that, “The decision not to address climate change at all in the presidential campaign now seems foolish. Both Republicans and Democrats deserve blame for this state of events . . . Until climate change is seen as an issue that affects all Americans, indeed the entire international community, we will fail to make progress in addressing its effects. Climate change is an issue that is vital to the common good and should be treated as such…”
“…Here is where the Catholic community can help. In an address in 2006, Pope Benedict XVI emphasized that climate change is not a political issue but a human one . . . That same year, the U.S. bishops helped launch the Catholic Climate Covenant to bring climate change to the attention of all people of faith. The church directs our attention to where it should be focused: on the poor, who suffer the ravages of climate change more than anyone else.”
“In conclusion”, the editors at America say, “Climate change is an issue that transcends borders and demands an international response. The United States can and should play a key leadership role in this effort. Perhaps, moved by the plight of the storm’s victims and prompted by a renewed commitment from people of faith, it will finally assume that responsibility.”
Learn more on climate change and global warming at Catholic Coalition on Climate Change
