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Congress Urged to Protect Humanitarian Assistance and Poverty-focused Programs November 1st, 2013
The US Region of the Missionary Oblates was one of 140 non-governmental and faith-based organizations that urged members of the Congressional Budget Conference Committee to protect international humanitarian assistance and poverty-focused development programs. The groups also urged that the blunt tool of sequestration be replaced with a balanced deficit-reduction plan.
InterAction, a coalition of groups working on international relief and development, was responsible for organizing the letter. An identical letter was sent to all members of the Budget Conference Committee, which is responsible for reconciling the significant differences between the budget bills passed by the House and the Senate.
Letter to Rep. Paul Ryan, House Budget Chair (Download PDF)
Letter to Sen. Patty Murray, Senate Budget Chair (Download PDF)
International Day for the Eradication of Poverty: October 17 2013 October 4th, 2013
Be mindful of this day! Be mindful of the poor! – Fr. Ken Forster, OMI
ST. EUGENE’S HOMILY TO THE SERVANTS
You, the poor and needy, the world considers you the scum of society unbearable in its sight. That is what the world thinks of you.
Come learn from us what you are through the eyes of faith.
“You are the poor of Jesus Christ, my brethren, my dear brethren, my dear respectable brethren, listen to me. You are the children of God.
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“U.S. Poverty and Our Catholic Response” – Webinar on September 19 September 12th, 2013
Is poverty on the rise in our country? How are children, the elderly, and other vulnerable groups faring? Policy experts with the Domestic Social Development office of the U.S. Catholic Bishops are broadcasting a webinar to explore recent poverty data and what it means for national and local advocacy efforts.
This free webinar is set for Thursday, Sept. 19, from 2-3 pm (Eastern). Register for the webinar here.
OMI UN Update – February and March 2013 February 20th, 2013
The United Nations Commission on Social Development recently concluded its 10 day session in a call to give the poorest and most vulnerable populations the tools they need to lift themselves out of poverty
According to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s latest report on promoting people’s empowerment, nearly 80% of the world’s population is without adequate access to social protection, leaving those feeling powerless to improve their position. The report also states that while more than 600 million people have overcome poverty since 1990, 1 billion people are still struggling to reach that goal by 2015. Globally 200 million people were unemployed at the end of 2011, an increase of 27 million jobless persons since 2007 and 621 million young people are neither in employment, school or training nor looking for work.
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Peace & Life Connections; February 15, 2013 February 15th, 2013
We reproduce the Consistent Life “Peace & Life Connections” weekly newsletter on this website. If you are interested in more information, or in subscribing to the e-newsletter directly, please visit www.consistent-life.org/ Please note that we do not edit the content of this publication.
Cemetery of Innocents, Garden of Justice
Patrick Grillot reports: Like many pro-life student organizations, Students for Life at Saint Louis University annually displays crosses in a prominent area of its campus to commemorate the number of lives lost to abortion. This year we modified our “Cemetery of the Innocents” display to include five subjects, many of which do not traditionally align with what people think of when they think of pro-life issues. Our “Cemetery of the Innocents” was a visual representation of five offenses against the dignity of the human person: abortion, capital punishment, rape, physician assisted suicide and poverty. To make the display more impactful, we used specific, local data where possible, such as abortions on college-aged women in Missouri and the number of people living below the poverty line in St. Louis. See story and photos.
Because we are not only committed to destroying a culture of death, but also cultivating a culture of life, we created a “Garden of Justice” to represent different movements toward restoring the dignity of every human life, from conception to natural death. Paralleling the subjects of the “Cemetery of the Innocents,” the “Garden of Justice” comprised color-coded flowers to represent the number of students aided by SLU’s Pregnant and Parenting Student Assistance, states that had repealed the death penalty, Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network affiliated crises centers in Missouri, states that have outlawed physician assisted suicide, and meals served by Campus Kitchens nationwide.
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