Justice Bulletin Board

“I speak the truth in Christ, I do not lie:  my conscience joins with the Holy Spirit in bearing witness that I have great sorrow and constant anguish in my heart”.  (Romans 9:1)

For those who live in our world with eyes and hearts open, St. Paul’s “great sorrow” will feel familiar.  For any who know a truly poor person by name, (and are aware of the barriers faced by the poor), “great sorrow” already dwells with you.  For any who try to live out our Gospel call to honor life, (and are aware of the deaths of multitudes of the unborn as well as the injustice associated with the death penalty and the horrors of war), Paul’s “constant anguish” is already yours.  For all who hurt for our hurting world, for all who hold immigrants, the homeless, the hurting, and those devastated by war, with compassion, the experience of having a broken heart will echo as true. The suffering is so great, and we are so powerless.

 As followers of Jesus, and as livers of the Gospel, we are called to hold both hope and anguish in our hearts together.  We are called to let our hearts be softened (not hardened) and stretched by the heartbreak of others (as well as our own).  We are asked to really see the pain and then to believe that love is stronger than death, and that our God is more full of life than all the ways of death we deal to each other.

Our awareness and our anguish are powerful.  We bring them to ministry for others and we are emboldened by them to speak the truth about what we learn and experience.  Our North Carolina Bishops have recently given us a new way to be aware and to put our anguish into words that will be effective and powerful.

Bishop Michael Burbidge, and Bishop Jugis, of Charlotte, have announced the creation of Catholic Voice NC, a statewide initiative that will give Catholics in North Carolina the opportunity to communicate with their state legislators on issues of importance.

A new joint website, www.CatholicVoiceNC.org, will provide information to subscribers on legislative matters of interest to Catholics in light of Catholic teaching. Subscribers will receive “alerts” notifying them of pending legislation and have access to a system allowing them the capability to voice their support or objection to the legislation by email, telephone or regular mail.

Bishop Burbidge said “Our primary concern will always be the sacredness of all human life and the dignity of each and every person: the unborn, the underprivileged and the often forgotten … individuals who do not have very many advocates or lobbyists,”

To register, go to www.CatholicVoiceNC.org.  And then, like St. Paul, bear witness to the sorrow and anguish in your heart on behalf of those who have no voice.