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April 5, 2007
In this issue:
X
Thank you
X
JustFaith event
X
Darfur Update
X
Movie on Fair Trade
Millennium Development Goals:
1.
Eradicate
extreme hunger and poverty
2.
Achieve
universal primary education
3.
Promote
gender equality and empower women
4.
Reduce
child mortality
5.
Improve
maternal health
6.
Combat
HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases
7.
Ensure
environmental sustainability
8.
Develop a global partnership for
development
Catholic Campaign Against Global
Poverty
Millennium Promise
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Prayer for Easter
Bringing life from death,
Bringing abundance from nothing,
Bringing confidence from doubt,
It is the Lord.
Loving the poor, the weak, the failed,
Loving the foreigner, the stranger, the unwanted,
Loving the people, both friends and opponents,
It is the Lord.
Calling us to take the risk to help change the world,
Calling us to step out in deep waters,
Calling us to faith,
It is the Lord.
Changing the ordinary to the extraordinary,
Changing an obstacle into an opportunity,
Changing our weakness into great strength,
It is the Lord.
Risen Lord,
You love us,
You call us,
You change us,
Let us recognize your coming.
However gently or dramatically you approach us,
Let us recognize your coming.
Whoever you use to make yourself known to us,
Let us recognize your coming.
Whatever time or situation you use to approach us,
Let us recognize your compassionate emergence.
Into the dark places of our lives,
Your generous summons which you constantly utter,
Your transforming touch upon the bleak places of
our world.
Lord of life, of hope, of resurrection,
We make our prayers in your name, Jesus,
Amen
Adapted from a
prayer by the Brentwood Diocesan Commission for Justice and Peace, England ,Let
Justice Roll Down, CAFOD
“Thank
you” to all:
A
huge thank you to those
who worked writing, editing, doing the layout for our Lenten series on global
poverty. Thank you to the staff members in many parishes who took the lead
to translate and summarize the materials for their parish, who made copies,
and supported this project. Thank you to social justice groups who handed
out the copies at masses, and encouraged people to read this.
Our next step is to work on Fair Trade issues and so we
will have a gathering on April 29, Sunday. Please save
the date and we will announce a time and location later. We will use some
of the time at that meeting to evaluate Lent and look forward, taste fair
trade coffee and tea, and explore specific ways to use fair trade in our
parishes.
Finally, some inspiring words from a speech by Bono,
who reminds us that God is on the move, that God is with the poor in a
special way.
http://www.bread.org/get-involved/one-campaign/bono-prayer-breakfast-speech.html
Sign up Now for
Jack Jezreel.
Jack
Jezreel is coming on April 20 and 21. The evening of the 20th
will be for the alumni of JustFaith and the 21 is for everyone. Your help is needed to get the word out
about the workshop event: please attend if you can, and invite others to
come too. Ask your parish to put this in your bulletin and announce it from
the pulpit. You do not have to start a JustFaith group in order to attend
this talk: consider it a day to deepen your faith and learn ways to put your
faith into action. He is one of the best speakers we are able to bring in to the diocese.
Please include in your bulletin:
Saturday, April 21, Developing a
passion and thirst for God’s justice: From 9 am
– 4 pm on Saturday, April 21, Jack Jezreel is leading his excellent workshop
on putting our faith into action. He weaves his experience, our
scriptural tradition, Catholic Social Teaching, and humor into a compelling
day that inspires one and all. The flyer with information and
registration is at http://www.oakdiocese.org/pastoral/SocialJustice/.
St. John Vianney is hosting this event and Nora Petersen is the contact
person. Reach her at npetersen@sjvianney.org
and access a map to the parish at http://www.oakdiocese.org/parishes/parish49.htm.
All
are invited: This is for anyone interested in social justice, pastoral
councils, catechists and youth ministers, RCIA teams, theology students,
parish staffs, deacons, everyone… come be inspired!
Don’t
forget Lobby Day on April 24: email Mary if interested: mdoyle@oakdiocese.org
Immigration
Update:
The
US
Bishops and the Justice for Immigrants Campaign (JFI) have looked at two
recent proposals regarding immigration.
- The White
House plan announced on March 29: This plan is
strongly opposed by the Bishops and JFI because it would lead to a
permanent underclass and separate families.
- HR 1645 the
STRIVE Act which was introduced March 22 by Reps.
Flake (R-Az) and Gutierrez(D-Illin.) The Bishops and JFI are
expressing general support for this bill which they describe as a good
starting point for the debate. While it contains some elements seen as
essential, there are concerns about the enforcement aspects of the
bill, issues of due process, and the requirement that those applying for
permanent residency would need to leave the country briefly. There is
some sense that these issues can be addressed as the legislation is
debated.
- The Bishops
and the JFI campaign are urging the Senate and House to begin the
legislative process soon so they can produce comprehensive immigration
reform in 2007.
Darfur Update from CRS: Plan B
The
crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan
continues to be a major concern to Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the U.S.
Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholics throughout the United States. CRS has
sustained its lifesaving humanitarian efforts in the northern corridor of West Darfur despite difficult conditions.
However, the violence persists unabated with few options to protect
vulnerable populations, especially women and children.
The
renewed conflict in the past few months as well as increased challenges for
humanitarian organizations has left tens of thousands of newly displaced
people inaccessible to relief efforts. In a terrible mirror image across the
border, the Darfur conflict has exacerbated related civil wars in Chad and Central African Republic where
CRS is supporting local partners to address increasingly desperate
humanitarian needs.
The World’s Response to the Darfur Crisis
The United Nations (U.N.), the U.S.
government and others continue to seek an end to the violence in Darfur. While efforts have been made to install a
U.N. peacekeeping force in the region, the U.N. and the Government of Sudan
have not agreed on the terms of such a deployment. African Union troops
continue their peacekeeping operations in the region but they are poorly
equipped and understaffed.
Last
September, President Bush appointed Andrew Natsios to be the U.S.
Presidential Envoy to Sudan.
Since his appointment, Special Envoy Natsios has frequently traveled to Sudan and engaged in diplomatic efforts to
bring an end to the crisis in Darfur.
With the help of your advocacy efforts, the U.S. Congress passed and
President Bush signed into law the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act
(DARPAA) in October 2006, which presses the government of Sudan to
disarm the warring factions, cease all attacks against innocent civilians,
provide unimpeded humanitarian access and bring to justice those perpetrating
crimes against humanity.
Recently
Special Envoy Natsios has signaled that failure to reach a diplomatic
solution to date is leading the U.S. government to consider
implementation of “Plan B.” Plan B reportedly includes
putting in place certain provisions in DARPAA such as tightening the existing
sanctions regime and making it harder for companies to do businesses in Sudan
with U.S. dollars as well as imposing travel and banking restrictions on
several Sudanese individuals. Reports suggest that implementation of
certain aspects of Plan B are imminent.
CRS’ Response to the Darfur Crisis
CRS staff in Darfur report that access to the northern areas of West Darfur,
the main region of CRS’ operations, finally opened up in January and
February but that the area recently has seen resurgence in violence.
CRS is providing humanitarian relief such as food, water, shelter,
sanitation, and education.
In
the United States, CRS is
actively monitoring the U.S.
government’s diplomatic efforts to bring an end to the violence in Darfur and how stepped up measures could effect our
humanitarian efforts. CRS continues to advocate for:
- An end to the violence by
securing a comprehensive ceasefire in Darfur;
- A fully-funded peacekeeping
force with a strong mandate to protect civilians and humanitarian
workers in the Darfur region;
- Adequate funding to provide
lifesaving assistance to the people suffering due to the conflict; and
- A long-term political solution
to the crises in Sudan,
including Darfur, the North-South and eastern Sudan
conflicts, which must include active engagement of relevant actors in
the region, especially Uganda
and Chad.
Stay Informed about the Sudan Crisis
CRS has updated resources for Catholics to learn, pray,
reflect, and speak out in support of our Sudanese sisters and brothers.
For an overview and to download available resources, please visit our website
http://sudan.crs.org.
For up-to-date information about how you can join CRS to help our brothers
and sisters in Sudan,
become a CRS Legislative Network member by visiting: http://actioncenter.crs.org/signup.
For more information, contact:
Tina Rodousakis, Legislative Network Specialist, Catholic Relief Services;
1-800-235-2772 x 7462; trodousa@crs.org
Another Action item on Darfur:
Go to www.savedarfur.org
and sign a petition on Plan B… See the events for the Global Days on Darfur. Perhaps your church would sponsor a prayer
vigil for Darfur….
Fair Trade on
PBS
Coffee
documentary Black Gold to air nationally April 10.
Black Gold,
the acclaimed documentary about Fair Trade coffee farmers in Ethiopia,
will air on the Emmy award-winning PBS program Independent Lens on April 10.
Black
Gold "tells an unresolved modern version of the age-old David and
Goliath story," says Stephen Holden, NY Times."The giants in this
case are multinational corporations that control the worldwide coffee market.
The heroic little guy, Tadesse Meskela, represents the Oromia Coffee Farmers
Co-op Union, which encompasses 74 co-ops in southern Ethiopia."
The
film is "visually
ravishing" with "striking
cinematography" and "evokes
an emotional response". Tadesse and the Oromia farmers
depicted in the film are partners with many of the companies that participate
in the CRS Coffee Program. After you see the film, contact one of our
partners to buy coffee from Oromia...better yet, order now and drink it while
you watch!
Check
your local PBS affiliate
for schedule information. (KQED Channel 9
April
10 airs at 10 pm.)
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