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Peace & Life Connections Newsletter October 12th, 2012
From now on, we will be 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/
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October is Respect Life Month
The Catholic Church in the U.S. designates October as Respect Life Month with a program in its parishes that includes distribution of a set of educational materials. Non-Catholics may find some of the materials suitable as well. Issues of abortion, euthanasia, and the death penalty are normally covered.
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October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month
Coerced abortion is one of many forms of domestic violence against women, and domestic violence also makes women more likely to seek abortions. Domestic violence can result from abortions as well, in the stressful aftermath. Feticide is itself a form of domestic violence – the strong committing lethal violence against the weak.
Coerced euthanasia is also itself a form of domestic abuse against the elderly. The very presence of euthanasia as a “voluntary” option can be pressure against the vulnerable, especially those already subjected to abuse.
We anticipate having more to offer on these points in future October issues. Anyone who has a specific resource or education on this point (or any other) can share it with us at weekly@consistent-life.org.
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World-wide Poverty
Today roughly 1.3 billion people—about one-fifth of humanity—live on what would be equivalent to a little over $1 in the United States.
As an illustration, consider the Indian district of Udaipur, where about half the population lived at this poverty level in 2004: most households living in such poverty owned a bed but more than 90 percent lacked a chair or table; none had indoor running water. The infant mortality rate was 10 percent—a striking fact for pro-lifers.
Such figures are discouraging, but we should also remember that more than half of humanity lived at roughly this level of poverty only about 30 years ago. If we have made genuine progress in the past in reducing poverty, why can we not do so in the future?
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No Exceptions
Long-time CL Endorser Dr. Karen Swallow Prior has written a piece called “No Exceptions: The Case for a Consistent Pro-Life Ethic.” Despite its title, the consistency does refer to abortion alone and not other issues, but it does refer to being consistent on abortion.
Dr. Karen Swallow Prior
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Quotation of the Week
October 2012 Respect Life Statement, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
“Faith Opens Our Eyes to Human Life in All Its Grandeur and Beauty”
“In addition to opening the door to abortion on request for all nine months of pregnancy, the Supreme Court’s decision eroded respect for human life and led to a growing acceptance of death as the “solution” to personal and societal problems.
Euthanasia and assisted suicide are now promoted as answers to declining health and disability. Human embryonic stem cell research, in which week-old embryos are sacrificed, is championed as a means to cure disease. To solve the problem of low fertility, many doctors create human embryos in their clinics, knowing full well that few embryos will survive to birth and the majority will be discarded or die. And the death penalty is still vigorously defended as the answer to violent crime.”
Issue #130 10.05.12; Consistent Life web page/ Join or Donate / Previous Issues / Index
Faith Groups Call for Increased Poverty-Focused Foreign Assistance May 11th, 2012
The Missionary Oblates joined 35 multi-faith U.S.-based religious institutions in urging Congress to pass a faithful budget that increases funding above current levels for poverty-focused international development, humanitarian assistance and global health programs in the State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill. The letter points out, “Using less than one percent of the federal budget, poverty-focused foreign assistance saves lives, lays the groundwork for economic growth around the world and fosters global human security. Its programs alleviate hunger and malnutrition, help communities access clean water and sanitation, facilitate rural development, educate children, combat deadly but preventable diseases and promote global health.”
Read the full letter (Download PDF)
Update from the United Nations September 26th, 2011
UN welcomes South Sudan as 193rd Member State
On July 14th the General Assembly admitted the Republic of South Sudan as the 193rd member of the United Nations, welcoming the newly independent country to the community of nations. South Sudan’s independence from the rest of Sudan is the result of the January 2011 referendum held under the terms of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended the decades-long civil war between the North and the South. Learn more…
World Population Nearly 7 Billion!
As the world population approaches seven billion, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed in July that ending global poverty and inequality is the key to unleashing the great human potential for prosperity and peaceful coexistence, while protecting the planet and safeguarding the natural resources that sustain humanity. “Later this year, a seven-billionth baby will be born into our world of complexity and contradiction,” Mr. Ban said in a message to mark World Population Day, observed annually on 11 July. Learn more…
UN Reports Progress Toward Poverty Alleviation
Some of the world’s poorest countries have made impressive gains in the fight against poverty, but the least developed countries still lag in efforts to improve living standards, the United Nations said in a report by DESA, showing significant overall progress towards achieving the global targets against extreme poverty.
67 Million Children Deprived of Education
67 million school-aged children are deprived of education, mainly due to financial or social hardship, in many cases stemming from poverty or armed conflict. At the opening of the high-level segment of the ECOSOC Council’ Annual Ministerial Review on 4 July, Deputy Secretary-General Asha Rose Migiro warned that “getting kids into school is only half the battle.”
Statement on Nuclear Weapons
Papal Nuncio to the UN, Archbishop Francis Chullikatt made a significant statement on the Church’s rejection of nuclear war and nuclear weaponry at the 3rd Session of the Prepatory Committee for the UN Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). Go to: www.holyseemission.org and click on press releases.
Faith Groups urge Congress to Protect the Poor from Foreign Aid budget Cuts September 26th, 2011
A broadly ecumenical group of faith organizations has urged Congress to preserve humanitarian and poverty-focused foreign assistance and civilian diplomacy from further cuts as they implement the Budget Control Act of 2011.
The groups, which include the Missionary Oblates, argued in the letter that: “Deep cuts to humanitarian and poverty-focused foreign assistance, which totals only one percent of the federal budget, will not make a significant contribution to deficit reduction. But it could cost millions of lives, undermine global human security and harm U.S. and global interests in helping build a more stable and secure world for all people.”
Prominent Christians, Jews and Muslims Unite to Protect Funding for Poverty Assistance Programming July 15th, 2011
Interfaith Coalition Warns Administration, Congress that Houses of Worship Will Be Unable to Make Up the Difference in Funding Caused by Cuts to Poverty Programs .
Representing a growing movement of Americans concerned that the Administration and Congress are enacting a budget deal that will place an undue burden on the poor “while shielding the wealthiest from any additional sacrifice,” leaders representing the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths today launched a new campaign to encourage policymakers to maintain a robust U.S. commitment to domestic and international poverty programs. Fr. William Antone, OMI joined the other national faith leaders in issuing this call.
Inspired by a common spiritual conviction that God has called on all Americans to protect the vulnerable and promote the dignity of all individuals living in society, the interfaith coalition is aiming to protect those struggling to overcome poverty in the U.S. and abroad and to exclude programs that protect people in poverty from the budget deficit debates.
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