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Earth Day 2014 Parish Resources February 21st, 2014
Photo by Christina Herman, all rights reserved
This year’s resource from Creation Justice Ministries is entitled “Water, Holy Water” and is available for free as an electronic download. The resource delves into the multitude of water issues we face and highlights the spiritual importance of this resource. Sermon tips are included. Download a copy of the resource here…
The Catholic Climate Covenant suggests that in 2014, we join tens of thousands of other Catholics who will learn about the dramatic evidence of climate change and explore Catholic teaching on climate change. This year’s Feast of St. Francis program is “Melting Ice, Mending Creation: a Catholic Approach to Climate Change.”
The program highlights the Pontifical Academy of Science’s Working Group (PAS) statement, Fate of Mountain Glaciers in the Anthropocene. This is combined with a “TED” talk by James Balog, the science photographer behind the documentary film Chasing Ice, who documented some of the most vivid evidence yet of climate change.
In their declaration, the Pontifical Academy of Science calls on all people and nations to recognize the serious and potentially irreversible impacts of global warming caused by the anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants, and by changes in forests, wetlands, grasslands, and other land uses. Read the Report and the Summary (first 5 pages) of the report here.
Access the Melting Ice, Mending Creation materials here…
The Inequality Debate Heats Up! February 14th, 2014
What started out as a slogan that surfaced at the height of the Occupy movement — the 1 percent vs the 99 percent — has morphed into the hotly debated issue of inequality, especially income inequality. Across a broad spectrum ranging from Pope Francis to billionaire Tom Perkins, a variety of reflections, analysis, explanation and apologies have been offered.
The executive director of the International Monetary Fund, Ms. Christine Lagarde, entered the conversation at the macroeconomic level when she stated recently at Davos, “The gap has been widening tremendously, particularly over the last ten years and it has widened in all corners. You look at the U.S. economy. You look at the Brazilian economy. You look at some of the developing countries although to a lesser degree, but it does… that inequality has expanded.”
Read Fr. Seamus Finn’s latest blog on Huffington Post….
Trafficking and the Super Bowl January 29th, 2014
ABC News recently featured efforts to deter human trafficking around the Super Bowl. The short segment may be accessed by clicking here.
Exploitation of Kids is No Game January 27th, 2014
Covenant House has developed a powerful new website to educate people about the problem of the exploitation of children by sex traffickers in the United States. It offers infographics designed to be shared through social media.
The problem of child homelessness and exploitation is a massive and heartbreaking problem. The stories are horrific.
Please visit and share this site with everyone you can. Let’s work together to protect our kids.
USCCB Delegation Examines Massive Youth Exodus from Central America January 27th, 2014
A delegation from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops recently traveled to Central America and Mexico to examine and understand why unaccompanied migrant children are fleeing the region in such record numbers.
The situation has reached crisis level. Whereas the number of children apprehended on the U.S./Mexico border averaged 6,800 between 2004-2011, it jumped to over 13,000 children in 2012 and over 24,000 children in 2013. The projected number for fiscal year 2014 is 60,000-70,000. Most come from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico.
There are many factors that prompt these children to undertake such a perilous journey, and the delegation delves into those in their report. But simply put, these children are fleeing violence: generalized violence at both the state and local levels, which has led to a breakdown of the rule of law and created a culture of fear and hopelessness.
The delegation was led by Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, and included Jeanne Atkinson, Executive Director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC); Reverend Daniel Groody, Professor of Theology, University of Notre Dame, and consultant to the USCCB Committee on Migration; Jane Bloom, Director, Washington Office of the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC); Kristyn Peck, Associate Director of Children’s Services, MRS/USCCB; Ashley Feasley, Immigration Policy Advisor, MRS/ USCCB; and Kevin Appleby, Director of Migration Policy and Public Affairs, MRS/USCCB.
Here are the full findings and recommendations.
