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Crisis in Darfur Intensifies
The Current Situation in Darfur continues to worsen and is deterorating rapidly according to U.N. sources. Increasing numbers of people have been uprooted from their homes and thousands of others have been forced to flee across borders. Humanitarian relief efforts have been hampered by increased violence and poor roads. The inability to access vulnerable groups and rowing food shortages are putting greater numbers of people at risk for survival.
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Nelson Mandela
From Education for Justice
Pope John Paul II praised South African President Nelson Mandela as a “witness of the new South Africa,” citing the efforts of President Nelson Mandela of South Africa to create “pacification in cooperation,” and invoked God’s help for him, his government, and “all his fellow citizens in the great task of reconciliation that awaits you.”- John Paul II, September 16, 1995
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Catholic Social Teaching, Human Rights, China and the 2008 Olympics from Education for Justice by Jane Deren
As the 2008 Olympics begin, there have been concerns that the choice of a host country charged with many and repeated human rights violations cannot be reconciled with the Olympic Spirit set out in Article 1 of the Olympic Charter, which seeks “respect for universal fundamental ethical principles.” Such concerns have been voiced by a wide range of sources, from the Vice President of the European Parliament to groups advocating freedom for Tibet. The following information seeks to provide a Catholic context for reflecting on this issue.
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Hunger Facts: The World
- More than 850 million people around the world, most in developing countries, do not get enough calories. Widespread hunger persists even though the world’s farmers produce enough food for everyone.
- One-third of the population of sub-Saharan Africa is chronically undernourished. Nearly half live on less than $1 a day. In Central Africa, 55 percent of the population is hungry.
- Access to modes resources can make a big difference in the lives of the world’s hungry and poor people.
For example:
- 15 cents will vaccinate a child against polio to prevent paralysis and death;
- $3 will pay for a mosquito bed net to help prevent malaria;
- $25 will cover the cost of fees and materials for a child to attend a full year of elementary school; and
- $500 will fund training to improve agricultural yields for a farmers’ cooperative.
Unfortunately, these types of programs are under-funded. Currently the United States devotes less than half of one percent of our federal budget to poverty-focused development assistance overseas. |
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Catholic Relief Services Provides People with the Opportunity to Flourish
How We Serve
Our work is about more than helping people survive for the day. Catholic Relief Services approaches emergency relief and long-term development holistically, ensuring that all people, especially the poorest and most vulnerable, are able to participate in the very fullness of life- to have access to basic necessities, healthcare and education- all within peaceful, just communities.
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Catholic Bishops and Catholic Relief Services Welcome Passage of PEPFAR Reauthorization
$48 billion, five-year bill will continue to address the scourge of HIV/AIDS
From the USCCB
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) welcome yesterday’s passage of a new five-year version of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a $48 billion five-year commitment that will help alleviate the suffering of some of the world’s most vulnerable people.
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Global Food Crisis is a Long-Term Issue
By Bill O’Keefe, Senior Director, Advocacy Department, U.S. Operations,
Catholic Relief Services
Imagine the struggle of hard working parents whose daily income no longer provides enough food to feed their children. With their kids crying from a hunger that makes them too weak to attend school and vulnerable to illness, families around the world, and particularly those in the urban areas of Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Middle East, are facing dire circumstances.
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Legislative Update
From the USCCB
Major Victory- Housing Trust Fund Moves Closer to Enactment!
The Housing Trust Fund took two steps closer to creation yesterday as President Bush withdrew his veto threat and the House of Representatives voted 272-152 for final passage of a large housing bill addressing several issues including the creation of the trust fund. The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, described by the New York Times as “the most far-reaching government assistance for the nation’s housing market since the New Deal,” now moves quickly to the Senate where passage is expected. Besides the much discussed provisions protecting the two largest mortgage finance companies in America (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) and help for thousands of distressed homeowners facing foreclosure, the bill has two provisions that will aid low income families and the communities they live in.
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NATIONAL BLACK CATHOLIC CONGRESS PRAYER
O Lord our God,
under the shadow of your wings
we have found refuge, strength, and hope.
We know that you are with us today,
just as you were present with those gone before us,
upon whose shoulders we now stand.
You were with our ancestors
as they journeyed to this land;
their strength they gained from you.
You were with past generations,
who sojourned through tough times and rough places;
their hope they gained from you.
Time and again with an outstretched arm
you delivered them as they clung to you;
their faith they gained from you.
Lord, we call upon you to do for us today
what you did for others in the past.
Lead us, your people,
Through this new place and time in history.
Bless this work of the National Black Catholic Congress.
Level the mountains of oppression we still face,
and make the crooked way straight.
Guide our feet to the places you want us to be,
and unite us in our struggle,
that we may be strengthened in our faith
and secure in your promise that
“the lame shall walk,
the blind shall see,
the oppressed shall be set free.”
This we ask in the name of Jesus our Lord.
Amen. |
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Zacchaeus House
Luke 19:5
Established in 2002, Zacchaeus House is a ministry of Catholic Deacons offering hospitality to men in transition to stability in their lives.
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