ACT NOW - Don't Deport Benita Veliz - Pass the DREAM Act

Benita Veliz is an honor graduate from St. Mary's U. who is facing deportation to Mexico.  Read about her story in the New York Times  or the San Antonio Express-News.  Then click here to send a message to Congress to pass the DREAM Act, which would allow Benita and thousands other young people like her to stay in the US.  Fortunately, Rep. Charles Gonzales of San Antonio has intervened on Benita's behalf and is working to delay her deportation until Congress takes up the DREAM Act. 

 

This national Catholic organization is very active in working with gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals and their families. They have a web site and a monthly newsletter and keep current on events in the Church and the nation.  A recent initiative is a group of "listening Catholic parents" found on their website.  These parents are stationed throughout the country. They are willing to take calls and offer insights and support to families and their GLBT children. http://www.fortunatefamilies.com. 

Is the Death Penalty Worth What it Costs Us?

That provocative question might not be "news" when it is asked by a known opponent of the death penalty.  However, when it is posed by a federal judge with thirty years on the bench, it certainly merits attention. Judge Boyce Martin, Chief Justice of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, concurring in a capital case (Wiles v. Bagley) on April 14, wrote that the death penalty is "so fundamentally flawed at its very core that it is beyond repair."  He answers his own question by writing, "In my view, this broken system would not justify its costs even if it saved money, but those who do not agree may want to consider just how expensive the death penalty really is." 

                                                                                     Bro. Frank
     Bro. Phil                                                                      
  

 Friends in the Marianist Family-are you interested in helping to end the death penalty in Missouri and the entire US?  If so, please read on.  We need your help....  To read the rest of the letter, click here.

 

Best Wishes for Cleveland Immersion & Community Starter Ideas

 

Who's Under Your Carbon Footprint?  Take the St. Francis Pledge!  In January, the Steering Committee of the Marianist Social Justice Collaborative (MSJC) endorsed the Catholic Climate Covenant, a national initiative that invites Catholics to pray and learn about the issue of global climate change, particularly its impacts on the world's most poor and vulnerable.  Click here to take the St. Francis Pledge to Care for Creation and the Poor.  During the year, the Marianist Environmental Education Center will provide resources to help implement the pledge.  Click here to access those resources.  Share your plans with others by e-mail to meec@udayton.edu.  

 

Interfaith Week of Prayer for Health Care for All-June 19-24

This week of mobilization features an Interfaith Service of Witness and Prayer on June 24 from 4-8 PM at Freedom Plaza in Washington, DC.  You can plan an "echo" event in your local area to show the support of people of faith across the nation for healthcare for all. Suggested actions to bring attention to the moral imperative of healthcare for all include bell-ringing, prayer vigils or breakfasts and letter-writing or call-in days to members of Congress. Click here - Click here for more information.

 

 

Listening to Earth: Faith and Action in a Time of Global Climate Crisis
Click here to get this 5 session Pax Christi discussion guide for small groups.

 

North Africa/Middle East Geography Quiz

Click here to take this quiz.  Just drag the country's name onto the map. There is no humbling score nor time limit, but rather this exercise is a learning tool.  Don't be afraid to make an error, and once you finish the puzzle, you will be far more educated about this very important part of our world. 

 

A Spiritual Conspiracy

Click here to read this reflection about the importance of each of our actions in creating a better world.

 

Marianist International Volunteers 

Click here to catch up with the latest news from the Marianist volunteers now serving in both South America and Africa.

 

Call on Investors to Stand up for Human Rights in Darfur
Economic pressure on the Sudan government is a key to protecting countless
civilians who are vulnerable to armed attack, rape, displacement and killing.  If

the government receives enough pressure from the oil companies they depend on for 90% of their export revenue, things will change.  Click here to call on large U.S. investment firms to raise concern about Darfur with oil companies in which they are invested.  

 

I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live.  I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no brief candle to me; it is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.