 Rooted in Gospel values, the example of St. Francis Xavier, and the vision of Theodore James Ryken, the last three General Chapters of the Xaverian Brothers (1995, 2001, and 2007) call the Brothers to center their lives on the example of Jesus in seeking out and working with the poor and marginalized. From a contemplative stance, the Brothers are called to help those who are on the margins to lead the full lives God intends, and to do whatever they can to help change those structures of society which keep many people poor and marginalized.
Recognizing that a contemplative stance enables us to more fully embrace our union with God in the spirit, and thus to live out that core sense of justice that Jesus calls all of us to, the Office of Peace and Justice provides for the Brothers and their friends and associates the following:
- Resources on spirituality and social justice which help one to defy the modern assumptions of consumerism and individualism and live according to the Gospel.
- A clearinghouse of information putting the Brothers and their friends and associates in connection with faith groups and other human needs organizations that create awareness of and promote justice and peace, targeting specific needs worldwide and here at home.
- Information on current social justice activities undertaken under the auspices of the Xaverian Brothers.
- Action Alerts which will give breaking news from a social justice perspective and provide suggestions for actions people can take to promote social justice and peace.
ACTION ALERTS
An opportune time to rid the world of nuclear weapons
The August anniversaries of the atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, present an appropriate to think about whatever we can do to rid the world of nuclear weapons. One way to do so is to click the link at the end of this message. This past April in Prague, President Obama said, “One nuclear weapon exploded in one city ---- be it New York or Moscow, Islamabad or Mumbai, Tokyo or Tel Aviv, Paris or Prague ---- could kill hundreds of thousands of people. And no matter where it happens, there is no end to what the consequences might be . . .” In that speech, the President pledged the US to demonstrate leadership for nuclear disarmament and abolition. Now we have to work to ensure that that commitment is fulfilled. Peace Action (www.peace-action.org ) a group which for the past 50 years has worked for peace at the national and international level, has initiated a ten month grassroots petition campaign calling on President Obama to begin multilateral negotiations to abolish nuclear weapons. As the world leaders prepare for the review of the Non Proliferation Treaty scheduled for next May at the UN, this internationally coordinated campaign will collect millions of signtures around the globe, supporting President Obama’s pledge and calling on him to fulfill it. Sign the petition today!
Pope's Encyclical Promotes Environmental Justice & Solidarity
July 2009
Pope Benedict's "Caritas in Veritate" (Charity in Truth) Outlines and Elaborates on Environmental Justice
On Tuesday, the Vatican released the Holy Father's third encyclical letter, Charity in Truth, emphasizing that "charity demands justice: recognition and respect for the legitimate rights of individuals and peoples." Focused primarily on international economic issues, Pope Benedict calls for a "true world political authority" to promote the common good of all and for "greater social responsibility" by businesses.
The encyclical re-emphasizes that the truth of the sacredness of human life and human dignity are to guide all we do as Catholics: "Openness to life is at the center of true development."
In this context, Benedict XVI devotes the fourth chapter of the encyclical to "The development of people, rights and duties, the environment." Here, the pope says that, "The environment is God's gift to everyone, and in our use of it we have a responsibility towards the poor, towards future generations and towards humanity as a whole."
"In nature, the believer recognizes the wonderful result of God's creative activity, which we may use responsibly to satisfy our legitimate needs, material or otherwise, while respecting the intrinsic balance of creation."
Benedict warns against seeing nature as more important than people. But neither should the opposite be held as true: "which aims at total technical dominion over nature, because the natural environment is more than raw material to be manipulated at our pleasure; it is a wondrous work of the Creator containing a 'grammar' which sets forth ends and criteria for its wise use, not its reckless exploitation."
The problem of unequal distribution of non-renewable energy is a global responsibility and, "Here we are dealing with major issues; if they are to be faced adequately, then everyone must responsibly recognize the impact they will have on future generations, particularly on the many young people in the poorer nations, who 'ask to assume their active part in the construction of a better world.'"
An authentically Catholic response to the climate change as articulated by the Vatican and the U.S. Catholic bishops and carried out through the partners who are members of the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change has always been about the care of creation and protection of those most vulnerable to climate impacts. Pope Benedict reinforces these twin goals: "the protection of the environment, of resources and of the climate obliges all international leaders to act jointly and to show a readiness to work in good faith, respecting the law and promoting solidarity with the weakest regions of the planet."
The document goes on to say: "The Church has a responsibility towards creation and she must assert this responsibility in the public sphere. In so doing, she must defend not only earth, water and air as gifts of creation that belong to everyone. She must above all protect mankind from self-destruction . . . when 'human ecology' is respected within society, environmental ecology also benefit . . . the ecological system is based on respect for a plan that affects both the health of society and its good relationship with nature."
You are encouraged to read the full document. It is a rich and power re-articulation of Catholic social teaching and its application to many important moral issues of today including environmental issues.
Climate Change Legislation
There have been false reports or assumptions that the US Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change have called for the support of the climate change bill that recently passed the House of Representatives. These reports and assumptions are false.
The Coalition takes its lead from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and other partners. Bishop Howard Hubbard, chairman of the bishops' Committee on International Policy and Ken Hackett, President and CEO of Catholic Relief Services wrote to members of the House recently and did not endorse the bill as a whole but did outline both the positive elements of the bill as well as areas needing improvement. See the text of the letter here.
A primary concern was the lack of money dedicated to assisting the poorest nations around the world adapt to climate change impacts.
Because of its highly technical nature, many aspects of the bill are beyond the competency of the bishops. For example, how many of the CO2 allocations are auctioned or given away. But they have insisted that the fundamental moral test for this legislation is that it does, in fact, begin to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and thus help protect the climate upon which all depend and that the burdens of climate change or public policies designed to address climate change do not unduly fall upon poor people at home and abroad.
As the bill stands now, it appears that both the policies and the resources to protect poor people at home are sufficient. Those provisions must not be weakened as the bill moves to the Senate. The policies that help poor nations adapt to climate change appear to be sound but the resources allocated to this goal are far from where they need to be.
In short, the bishops will support or oppose only those provisions in the bill concerning impacts on poor people here and abroad.
Please promote the Catholic Climate Covenant -- do one of the following:
Link to the website and share this website among your social networks, colleagues, and friends.
The Catholic Climate Covenant is also on Facebook. Post it on your Facebook page.
Forward this email to your friends and ask them to sign up here or go to our tell-a-friend page now.
Take the St. Francis Pledge today! Invite others to do likewise.
The Murphy Initiative for Justice and Peace
The Murphy Initiative for Justice and Peace is sponsored by the Xaverian Brothers and thirteen other religious congregations with ministries in the Baltimore Archdiocese. The Initiative is envisioned as a common voice of these communities to work collectively for social justice and to support the ongoing justice and peace work within each community.
Especially helpful is its This Just In and Continuous Calendar links which tell of current peace and justice efforts and events sponsored by member communities, and by other Catholic and faith based social justice organizations in the Baltimore area, the nation, and the world. The Murphy Initiative is named for Bishop Frank Murphy, auxiliary Bishop of Baltimore who, before his death in 1999, helped greatly in the production of the USCCB’s 1983 Pastoral letter, The Challenge of Peace, and conveyed so well the Gospel message of peace and justice in his own gentle and welcoming way.
To learn more about the Murphy Initiative and the ways God is calling us to work for social justice - to remove conditions that contradict the God-given dignity of each and every person, no matter who they are - go to: www.pfmjpi.org (Bishop Frank Murphy’s first name was Patrick)
Africa Faith and Justice Network
WWW.AFJN.ORG: Africa Faith & Justice Network educates and advocates for a transformation of U.S. policies toward Africa. Grounded by a commitment to social justice, AFJN brings the most important issues affecting the people of Africa to our lawmakers in Washington, D.C.
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U.S. Immigration Policy and the path to comprehensive reform. Helpful links for information and current action alerts:
www.immigrationpolicy.org The Immigration Policy Center (IPC) is the research arm of the American Immigration Law Foundation (AILF). IPC was established in 2003 with the mission to provide policymakers, academics, the media, and the general public with access to accurate information about the effects of immigration on the U.S. economy and society. Its Senior Researcher, Walter Ewing, was an immigration policy analyst at the US Conference of Catholic Bishops before coming to IPC. The IPC attracts nationally recognized scholars as research fellows and guest authors, and publishes timely reports on the role of immigrants and immigration policy. Together, the IPC director, fellows, and staff have been a major voice in the national debate on immigration. They have testified before Congress and regularly serve as experts on immigration law and policy issues for members of the media. For up to the minute immigration news click www.ImmigrationImpact.com
Climate change & God’s call...Watch a brief video...Take the St. Francis Pledge
As Sr. Helen Prejean said recently, “If following God’s call is not scary, surprising, and an adventure all at the same time, it is not the call of the Gospel of Jesus”. God’s cry to us in the face of the great challenge of climate change is just such a call. On Earth Day, April 22, leading national Catholic organizations (including the CMSM, LCWR, and USCCB) called on all Catholics to enter seriously into the discussion on climate change and to act in ways that will help all to meet the challenges it presents.
They produced a very powerful 4 minute video which clearly points out a distinctly Gospel based, Catholic contribution to any consideration of the effects of climate change- the linking of our call to care for creation with our call to care for “the least of these”, the poor who will be most adversely affected. To view it, click YouTube - Catholic Climate Covenant - Who's Under Your Carbon ...
Then click St. Francis Pledge where you can sign on to pledge to learn and pray about the effects of climate change and move yourself to act in ways that are an answer to the call of the Gospel.
To learn more about the effects of climate change and for suggestions for your prayer and actions you can take, go to www.catholicclimatecovenant.org .
Our Use of Water and Climate Change
The corporate control of water can greatly effect climate change. This file water-disaste1 will put you in touch with a very brief but engaging and thought provoking slideshow on bottled water and it will provide you with some things you might consider as you reflect on your attitude toward, and use of, bottled water.
A major reason for re-examining our use of bottled water is that the corporate control of water is having a deleterious effect on the 1.1 billion people who currently lack access to enough drinking water. To learn more about this, click the link -Think Outside the Bottle | Corporate Accountability International
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