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JUSTICE
JOTTINGS
March
2011
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Young Adults & the Church
- Reasons We Love It Or Leave
It
This workshop is for young adults in their 20's or 30's who are searching
for how, or whether, to connect with Church.
WHEN: Saturday, April 30
WHERE: Marianist Center,
Philadelphia
Co-sponsored by the Marianist Social Justice Collaborative and the
Marianist Center. Click here for
flyer. Registration
deadline: April 18.
Immigration: Learn It First Hand
- Marianist Border Immersion Experience
 MSJC
is sponsoring a Border Immersion Experience on the Mexico/US border in
Texas from May 29 - June 1. The program includes meetings with immigrant
families and agencies working with immigrants, visits to an immigrant
detention facility and an immigrant shelter, group and personal sharing,
reflection about the experience, and much more. Click here for the
schedule and registration form.
Registration
deadline: April 8.
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GLBT Initiative
GLBT Initiative
Team Reaches Out To Universities
GLBT Initiative Team members have recently presented at several college
campuses.
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St.
Mary's Pastoral Ministry staff with GLBT
Initiative Team members Matt Dunn & Dominic Garascia
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- They gave two presentations at
the University of Dayton for Marianist Leadership Scholars and
members of the Marianist Student Communities and their mentors
(Marianist Education Associates).
- They also gave two presentations
at St. Mary's University, one to a group of about 30 students,
faculty, and staff including two university vice presidents and the
director of the counseling center, and the second to Marianist
Leadership Scholars.
Some
comments from participants:
I'm gay and Catholic
and it helps to know I'm not alone in being both.
I actually didn't
know how Catholics felt. I always thought that they were against people
being gay.
To read more, click here and go
to RESOURCES.
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Racial and Immigrant Justice
 Fight Drastic Funding Cuts for Refugees & Immigrants
Click here to
contact your representative and senators, urging them to oppose drastic
cuts to funding for refugees and other vulnerable populations in the US
and abroad. The House-passed budget would make deep cuts in refugee
admissions, international refugee assistance, and refugee resettlement
programs.
Parish Bulletin
Inserts on Immigration - Many Faces in God's House
Reflective inserts for
parish bulletins on the immigration issue are now available for March
& April. Using Scripture or statements of the US Bishops, the inserts
are produced by Fr. Ken Hallahan and generously shared by the Racial
Justice Commission of the Diocese of Camden NJ.
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Environment & Ecology
Food Fast
Fasting is an important part of the journey of Lent for Catholics, but
eating less meat and dairy helps protect God's creation year-round.
Animals raised for meat and dairy create about 1/5 of human-caused
greenhouse gases which lead to climate change. Check out the Cool Harvest
website for tips for lowering your carbon foodprint and involving your
congregation or faith community. These resources will help you choose
sustainably-sourced seafood for Friday meals; find local, organic and
sustainably-produced food; limit food packaging; and reduce waste.
Energy Fast
Don't forget to download the Marianist Environmental Education Center's Lenten Energy Fast booklet
based on the Sunday Lectionary Readings and Catholic Social Teaching on
the environment. The booklet contains 40
Ways in 40 Days to conserve energy, reflections, and ways
members of the Marianist Family are acting to reduce carbon emissions.
Tip for Reducing
Your Carbon Footprint
Lots of recyclable bins = lots of recyclables! Placing paper
receptacles near printers and copiers and beverage container receptacles
in kitchens and dining halls will help collect lots of recyclable waste
and save energy.
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Death Penalty
Illinois Abolishes the Death Penalty...
"Illinois finally has faced up to the ugly truth of the death
penalty," declared the Chicago Sun-Times
in an editorial applauding Governor Pat Quinn's decision to sign a repeal
bill. Quinn said that signing the bill, which made Illinois the 16th
state to ban capital punishment, "was the most difficult decision he
had made as governor," according to the New York Times.
Read more about the bill - and reaction to it - on the Issue Team's page .
 ...Will
Ohio Be Next?
On March 14 State Representatives Ted Celeste and Nickie Antonio
announced legislation that would abolish the death penalty in Ohio, one
of the states targeted by the Issue Team. "This is a day of enormous
opportunity," said Kevin Werner, Director of Ohioans to Stop
Executions. The legislators and Werner were joined at a press conference by
a family member of a murder victim and by two men who had been wrongly
sentenced to death. Read more about the
proposed legislation on the Issue Team's page .
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Global Economic Justice
 Take Action - Workers Maimed at Ford Supplier in China
The National Labor Committee (NLC) has documented serious worker rights
violations at the Yuwei Plastics and Hardware Products factory in
Dongguan, China. One 21 year old worker lost most of the fingers on one
hand when a safety monitoring system was turned off so he could work
faster. He was paid minimal compensation and then fired. Please sign a statement
NLC is sending to Alan Mulally, president and CEO of Ford, one of the
factory's main customers.
 Take
Action - Ban Coal Mine, Save Forests and Farms
Seeking to avert a "humanitarian and ecological catastrophe," Cultural Survival
is launching an international campaign to prevent the building of one of
the world's largest open-pit coal mines in Bangladesh. The Phulbari mine
would forcibly evict as many as 220,000 people, bulldoze tens of
thousands of homes, and destroy 12,000 acres of fertile farmland in a
country in which nearly half of all people currently do not have enough
to eat. Innocent people have already been killed for protesting this
project, and hundreds have been wounded. Support Bangladeshis who are
courageously continuing their fight to halt the project: read Cultural
Survival's Action Alerts here
and write to key policy-makers urging them to ensure this project is not
approved.
Buy a T-Shirt -
Change the World
From Greg Pardo, member of the MSJC Global Economic Justice Team:
"Everyone has some type of desire to make a change in the world.
Some decide to enter public service, others teach, or some volunteer.
Some individuals, however, use the business model to make change. I had
the pleasure of finally meeting Mike Fretto of Rosaloves.com."
Read more...
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Resources
 40 Days with the Least
Lenten reflections from the Marianist Family in Spain (but in English!)
on people in the poorest countries of the world.
Examination of
Conscience in Light of Catholic Social Teaching
This Examination can be
used for personal reflection during Lent or as a supplement to the
traditional examination of conscience during Penance services or the
Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Racial Justice
and the Catholic Church
This new book by Fr. Bryan Massingale is essential reading for anyone
concerned about countering racism in our church. You can read an interview with the
author and order the book from Orbis Books.
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Action for Advocates
Strengthening
America's Values and Economy (SAVE) for All
This new campaign aims to SAVE low- and moderate-income people from loss
of economic security due to threatened severe cuts in federal funding,
and to SAVE the federal capacity to spur economic recovery and progress
for the benefit of all. Coordinated by the Coalition on Human Needs, the
campaign will develop materials that will make a case for the involvement
of federal resources, engage grassroots advocates, employ media
strategies, and contact members of Congress with messages consistent with
SAVE's Statement of Principles. You can view the statement here and to sign on
click here.
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A Thought to Ponder
 If we do not have a seamless garment of justice that applies
to all of our relationships and all of society, we will not be taken
seriously on any individual hot-button issue. If we do not seek and
pursue justice across the board, then any concerns for or against issues
of abortion, homosexuality, immigration, women's rights, prison reform,
opposition to war, etc., should and will be seen as a small rag that has
been torn from any clean or consistent cloth of thinking. It is seen as
mere self-interest or angry moralizing. -Fr. Richard Rohr
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Questions,
comments, or feedback for Justice
Jottings can be sent to Jim Vogt.
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