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Justice Bulletin Board
Catholic Voice NC
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. For more information check out the full text of this article.
"Brothers and sisters, rejoice…encourage one another…live in peace." (2 Corinthians 13:11)
On Mothers’ Day, while many mothers were celebrating with their children, tens of thousands of mothers were homeless. Family homelessness has emerged as a serious global problem. Our US Catholic Bishops say:
"The lack of safe, affordable housing requires a renewed commitment to increase the supply of quality housing and to preserve, maintain, and improve existing housing through public/private partnerships, especially with religious groups and community organizations. The USCCB continues to oppose unjust housing discrimination and to support measures to meet the credit needs of low-income and minority communities." (US Catholic Bishops' letter: Faithful Citizenship)
What you can do:
- Support the Brown Bag ministry in its service to the homeless. Brown Bag Ministry prepares and distributes 175 brown bag lunches to the homeless every Saturday at Moore’s Square in downtown Raleigh.
- Support Wake Interfaith Hospitality Network (WIHN). WIHN is a county-wide program that provides food, shelter, job resources, housing resources and support for prescreened families in transition from homelessness to housing. St. Andrew’s hosts WIHN families at our church four times a year.
- Learn more about Homelessness:
http://www.naeh.org/, The National Alliance to End Homelessness or also:
www.nationalhomeless.org/publications/facts.html
For more information check out the full text of this article.
Migrant Farm Workers
During the past weeks, we’ve heard Jesus refer to himself as the “Good Shepherd” and the “Gate” for the sheep. We also have heard many other references in the Gospels to farming images, like “vines”, “fig trees”, “sowing seeds” and “harvesting”. We who in most cases live far removed from a rural life style, have little experience with shepherds or farmers. This is the case because in most cases it is not our own labor, but rather the labor of tens of thousands of migrant farm workers who provide us with fresh fruits and vegetables all season long. ! ; As the growing season begins in North Carolina we are called to be aware of the hidden and difficult lives of these men and women who are Christ’s presence among us. Christ journeys with them as they search for a more hopeful future and a welcoming community. In committing ourselves to the service of all uprooted people, we build up the Kingdom of God. For more information check out the full text of this article.
“The Lord said…“Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you.” ”(Genesis 12:1)
The experience of being “Pilgrim People” has been a profound and frequent symbol of God’s action in the lives of God’s people, throughout all of Scripture. We may even have experienced “being sent” as a time of grace in our own lives. “Pilgrim people” is also a political reality as we experience the issues of the many migrant people of today.
North Carolina is an agricultural state. It is home to many thousands of migrant workers. Many of these brothers and sisters have “gone forth”, driven from their homes and families by economic crisis and political unrest. As consumers, we benefit from the work of these men and women, although we seldom know their names, their stories, or the desperate conditions in which they are forced to live and work. Migrant workers, especially if they are undocumented, often face hostility, misunderstanding and outright abuse. For more information check out the full text of this article.
Jesus: a Victim of Capital Punishment
We worship a God whose Son died as a common criminal despite His innocence. During Easter when we recall the execution of Jesus Christ, we hear our Pope and Bishops call us as Catholic Christians to work for an end to the death penalty in our state and in our nation.
“A sign of hope is the increasing recognition that the dignity of human life must never be taken away, even in the case of someone who has done great evil. Modern society has the means of protecting itself, without definitively denying criminals the chance to reform. I renew my appeal for a consensus to end the death penalty, which is both cruel and unnecessary” (Pope John Paul II, Jan. 27, 1999, St. Louis, Missouri). For more information check out the full text of this article.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew's Gospel 5:1-2)
Jesus is turning our world upside down. His words are in total contradiction to the message of our culture that we never have enough - that we cannot rest until our self worth is defined by career, homeownership, bank account and possessions. Jesus says it is the poor who are "blessed". Perhaps this is because the world, which treats many so well, has failed them, and they know that it is not something to put faith in. The poor have the advantage of seeing clearly that the "idols" our culture offers to us are unworthy of our worship and sacrifice. The poor have much to teach us.
As we look toward the beginning of Lent, one way to go about making changes in our lives is to make an examination of Conscience. This examination will make sense only if we really believe that what Jesus says in the Beatitudes is practical and relevant and is meant for us to make real in our lives and in our world. For more information check out the full text of this article.
The Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
On January 15 we celebrated the gift of Martin Luther King to our world. The entire month of February is dedicated by our nation to remembering and celebrating the contributions of black Americans to U.S. history. Foremost among these many contributors is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who led this nation in a radical conversion of heart, to acknowledge the sin of racism, and to begin the long and arduous journey of correcting centuries of injustice for black Americans. Like Jesus, Dr. King was killed because he made the powerful uncomfortable. Some believe that Dr. King would be dismayed at being honored as a national hero on a pedestal, because it focuses us on his past achievements instead of on the future and the great work he was still pursuing. For more information check out the full text of this article.
Just Holiday Shopping
Christmas Consumer choices are moral and cultural expressions of what is important to us. Where we shop and what we buy are decisions which can express our awareness that even in these simple ways we must do what is right and just. We must take the time to learn under what conditions our purchases are produced. We can then choose to buy only products which are produced in ways which do justice to our brothers and sisters who are making them and which cause no harm to our world's environment. For more information read the full text of this article.
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