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What You’ve Missed on the Oblate JPIC FaceBook Site January 16th, 2014
Fr. John Cox OMI shared a brief reflection on the social justice ministry at his Oblate community on our Facebook page this week. He says social justice ministry involves building bridges of awareness, acceptance and appreciation between natives (Ojibwe) and non-natives on the reservation. It is encouraging alcoholics, meth and prescription pill addicts and their families to seek recovery; and lastly educating people about domestic violence and the resources and programs available on or near the area that help families.
Members of the Ojibwe tribe at the annual pow-wow in Ponsford, MN
Youth Confirmation Class, flanked by Fr John on the left and their coordinator, Mrs. Angie Lehrke on the right.
(Fr. John Cox OMI is a Pastor and Director to Oblate Parish Ministry Team in Waubun in MN. He joined Walter Butor OMI there in the past year. His work includes pastoral ministry to Native Americans. Fr. John is also a former member of the Oblate JPIC Committee)
Financial Reform Advocates Call on the Senate to Close Expensive Tax Loopholes January 16th, 2014
The Oblate JPIC Office joined others in the FACT Coalition in signing a letter sent this morning to Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, Max Baucus, on proposed international tax reform. The group said a proposal before the Committee “rightly identifies the need to stop corporations from shifting profits to offshore tax havens to avoid taxes. Unfortunately, the proposal falls short in three critical ways and leaves room for the offshoring of jobs and profits to continue:”
1. “It does not sufficiently end incentives for multinational corporations to shift profits offshore, which costs taxpayers an estimated $90 billion per year and creates an uneven playing field for small and domestic businesses.”
2. “It is revenue neutral, earmarking all the revenue raised from closing loopholes for reductions in the corporate tax rate. With federal revenue from corporations hovering at multigenerational lows, precisely because of the offshore profit shifting incentives, this is unacceptable.”
3. “It should hold corporations accountable to report their profits and revenues in a consistent manner to government, shareholders and the public.”
In arguing for doing away with lucrative corporate tax loopholes, the reform-minded groups argue that “Corporations benefit from the operation of government just as individuals do (and more so in some cases due to myriad tax benefits and lucrative contracts) and should be expected to contribute to financing our democracy, public services and rule of law. However the corporate share of federal revenue was just eight percent in 2011, having declined by more than 60 percent in the last 50 years.”
“Due to huge loopholes and other factors, dozens of big corporations pay no federal income taxes, while reaping billions of dollars in profits. According to the Government Accountability Office, corporations pay just a 12.6 percent effective tax rate, far below the statutory rate of 35%.”
Learn more, read the letter to Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (Download PDF)
Death Penalty Resources for Communities of Faith January 16th, 2014
At the start of the New Year, we would like to remind everyone of the excellent free educational resources on the death penalty available from the Catholic Mobilizing Network to End the Use of the Death Penalty (CMN). The ready-for-use resources on the death penalty are helpful for anyone interested in learning more about the faith response to the death penalty.
CMN materials are available on the website and are downloadable. Many of these resources are also available in Spanish.
Learn more about the Catholic Mobilizing Network to End the Use of the Death Penalty:
The Catholic Mobilizing Network to End the Use of the Death Penalty (CMN) is a lay ministry of the institutional U.S. Catholic Church that educates Catholics to seek a faithful response to crime, with a focus on abolishing the death penalty in the U.S. and promoting restorative justice. CMN works as a national lay collaborative of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and state Catholic conferences. CMN has since developed partnerships with Catholic lay leaders, diocesan staff and secular organizations in the movement.
More information is available elsewhere on our website.
Understanding Fracking: Catholic News Service series January 6th, 2014
Dennis Sadowski, staff writer for Catholic News Service, has completed a series of articles on hydraulic fracking from a faith-based perspective. “It was a complicated issue to examine,” he informed Catholic Rural Life. Nevertheless, Sadowski provides a clear overview of this controversial energy source while blending in environmental justice teachings of the Church.
The Oblate JPIC Office has been engaging oil and gas companies on social and environmental issues related to fracking.
Thanks to National Catholic Rural Life for this information.
Catholic Social Ministry Gathering, Feb. 2-5 January 6th, 2014
The 2014 Catholic Social Ministry Gathering in Washington, DC, will reflect on Pope Francis’ vision of Becoming “a Church that is Poor and for the Poor.” The gathering is scheduled for February 2-5 at the Omni-Shoreham Hotel. There is still time to register if you want to attend.
The organizers at the USCCB have developed an exciting program around a theme that takes its inspiration from the words and vision of Pope Francis: Becoming “a Church that is Poor and for the Poor”.
Online registration closes on Friday, January 24, 2014.
For more information and to register, visit the USCCB website…
