News Archives » Global
Updated Disaster Relief Information from HUD November 9th, 2012
Included is information on:
- Where to find Food & Shelter
- How to access Federal Disaster Assistance
- Disaster Recovery Centers – location and hours
- Health & Safety Tips after the storm
- Mortgage Assistance Information
- Information on unemployment benefits
- How to report suspected fraud
- How to avoid home repair scams
Peace & Life Connections: November 9, 2012 November 9th, 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/
A Pass to Catholic Politicians? Say What?
Many have argued in favor of the bizarre notion that the consistent life ethic is actually a liberal scheme to allow Catholics to vote for politicians who don’t oppose abortion. This is strange, of course, since anyone who doesn’t oppose abortion cannot, by definition, be following the consistent life ethic. We do the opposite: if politicians are in fact good on our other issues, we challenge them to be consistent on abortion as well. We also hope that pointing out the connections of violence may help persuade them to oppose abortion. Additionally, of course, we’re not just Catholic, but pride ourselves on the religious and philosophical diversity we represent.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel had a November 1 article making this criticism, and then also published a response. We encourage our readers to post comments and/or send in letters to the editor to strengthen the understanding of what our ethic really is.
Click here to read more »
Interfaith Investors to Score Banks November 6th, 2012
The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, an influential investor coalition, will issue scorecards for the seven largest US banks next year, based on factors such as risk management and executive compensation.
The coalition has been influential in the field of corporate governance, pushing on issues such as “say on pay”, an advisory shareholder vote on executive compensation, which was included in the Dodd-Frank financial reform act.
ICCR has sent questionnaires to the seven largest US banks: Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Bank of New York Mellon, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo. Sustainalytics, a provider of environmental social governance research, is partnering on the research.
Reverend Séamus Finn of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate said in the organisation’s annual report: “What is frustrating for many of us is the knowledge that the vast majority of these problems can be avoided by adopting the appropriate risk management safeguards and the requisite checks and balances. With each new scandal we think ‘maybe this time they will get it’, and then we open the morning paper to see that we still have work to do.”
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Tell Congress: Cuts will Cost Lives! November 6th, 2012
As Congress returns for a Lame Duck session after the November 6 elections, your voice is needed to preserve poverty-focused international assistance during Congressional deliberations on debt reduction and appropriations legislation. Urge your Senators and Representative to pass fiscal year (FY) 2013 poverty–focused international relief and development funding at the levels passed by the Senate earlier this year. For Countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti and Zambia, this small amount of funding that represents less than 1% of the federal budget saves millions of lives.
Read the USCCB and CRS joint Action Alert for details on how to take action (Download PDF)
Oblate Helps Develop Young Citizens in Texas November 3rd, 2012
Kids Voting USA-Brownsville mock-election results are in, reflecting a 65.5% voter turnout. Father Armand Matthew, OMI helped found the organization and is still involved at age 90. He said, noting the high turnout, “Studies show that when young people go through Kids Voting, the adults in their life become more informed and more people are voting,” Matthew said. “Based on the evidence, we have a real hope in Brownsville of seeing 50, 60, 70 — even 90 percent — of adults turning out to vote, and of students leaving high school with a deep sense of responsible citizenship.”
Responding to two questions included on the ballot, eighty-one percent of the student voters said they had researched their choices by studying the student voter guide created by Kids Voting USA-Brownsville, and just under 92 percent said the experience of having voted via Kids Voting would motivate them to vote in the future.
