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Lenten Carbon Fast 2010 February 10th, 2010
“The environment is God’s gift to everyone, and in our use of it we have a responsibility towards the poor, towards future generations and towards humanity as a whole.” — Pope Benedict, Encyclical Caritas in Veritate
A Lenten Carbon Fast calendar is available from the Environmental Outreach Committee of the Archdiocese of Washington. Please use it as part of your Lenten discipline.
The calendar says: “As Catholic Christians we have a responsibility to be wise stewards of God’s Creation and each of us must decide how we can improve our stewardship to safeguard God’s creation now and for future generations. The Archdiocese environmental Outreach Committee suggests the following list of 40 carbon fasting actions everyone can consider as a part of your Lenten preparation for the Easter season. Each of these actions will reduce our production of climate change pollution and help to preserve God’s great gift of Creation.”
Download a PDF of the Lenten Calendar here…
U.S. Suspends Deportations of Undocumented Haitians Due to Earthquake January 14th, 2010
In response to the devastating earthquake in Haiti, United States Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced on January 13 that it is temporarily suspending deportations of all undocumented Haitians living in the United States. There was no immediate indication that the federal government would grant Haitian nationals needed Temporary Protected Status (TPS).
Temporary protected status is a special state granted to immigrants of certain nationalities who are unable to return to their countries because of armed conflict, environmental disasters, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Somalia refugees have been granted TPS. Haiti clearly qualifies.
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Pope Calls for Greater Environmental Commitment in World Day of Peace Address December 17th, 2009
Pope Benedict called for greater environmental commitment in his message for the Roman Catholic Church’s annual World Day of Peace, to be marked on Jan 1 and whose theme is “If You Want to Cultivate Peace, Protect Creation”
Immigration Reform Can Wait No Longer – Archbishop José Gomez of San Antonio December 1st, 2009
In September 2009, Archbishop José Gomez of San Antonio, Texas, representing the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, led a delegation of Hispanic Bishops to the United States Congress where they met with House and Senate legislators from both sides of the aisle. The delegation discussed a variety of issues such as health care, immigration and education, but also principles of Catholic social teaching that could help inform the current debates.
An important topic raised by the Bishops in the meetings with legislators was the need for immigration reform. Writing in the San Antonio Archdiocesan paper, Today’s Catholic, Rev. Jose H. Gomez says “Immigration reform can wait no longer.” The article is also available in Spanish: Por qué una reforma migratoria no puede esperar mas
Bishops of G8 Nations Call On Their Leaders to Assist the Poor in Developing Nations July 1st, 2009
The Catholic Bishop’s Conferences from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, Scotland and USA are urging their leaders, members of the Group of Eight (G8) major industrialized countries, to adopt a set of shared actions designed to protect and assist poor people in developing nations who are suffering from the economic meltdown.
The appeal is contained in a joint statement to the G8 summit 2009, the next meeting of which takes place in Italy on July 8-14. The bishops’ letter refers to an earlier message from Pope Benedict XVI addressed to a G20 meeting where the Holy Father called for more development aid to poor countries. The Pope remonstrated that poor nations did not generate the crisis hence should not be its victims.
Following is the full text of the letter
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