Office of Advocacy and Justice Updates

Pray for an End to Abortion During Advent
Participate in the National Night of Prayer for Life on December 8-9 – Uniting the Feast of the Immaculate Conception with the Feast of St. Juan Diego. The National Night of Prayer for Life bridges these two feasts to honor Our Blessed Mother, to pray through Her intercession for the establishment of a Culture of Life and to ask Our Lord to revive our land.  During the hour of unity, 12 a.m. – 1 a.m. EST., we will be united with churches across the country in prayer to end abortion and in reparation for sins against the Gospel of Life. Visit, http://sites.google.com/site/nationalnightofprayerforlife/ for more information. 

On Sunday, December 12th, at 3:00 p.m. rosaries will be said to end abortion in Orlando at the following locations

  1. Orlando Women’s Center 1103 Lucerne Terrace – Orlando
  2. EPOC 609 Virginia Drive – Orlando
  3. All Women’s Health 431 Maitland Ave. – Altamonte Springs
  4. Planned Parenthood 726 S. Tampa Ave. –Orlando

    5.  

Cancun Climate Change Summit
The last ten years have been the warmest on record and predictions call for even warmer temperatures. Caritas is urging governments to make progress on funding for climate change adaption and a fair, legally binding agreement at the UN conference on climate change in Cancun, Mexico.  Caritas believes that finalizing such a deal this year is unlikely, but this meeting must produce a concrete roadmap to reaching a fair post-Kyoto accord by the end of 2011.  While poor communities vulnerable to extreme weather continue to put their faith in world leaders, the Copenhagen Accord produced last year failed to provide the financial commitments to help them adapt to climate change, or to make significant progress in cutting greenhouse gas emission to secure a more stable future for the next generation.

“The Earth was put under our stewardship. To care for the Earth does not only benefit us, the current generation, but also future generations. It is an act of love and solidarity with future human beings,” said Bishop Gustavo Rodríguez Vega, President of Caritas Mexico and Head of the Caritas Delegation to Cancun.
Read more here. 

Resources

Catholic Relief Services and United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Peace in Sudan
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” Matthew 5:9
You have heard the call to mobilize support for the prophetic voice of the Catholic Church in Sudan as the Church works for peace in the face of a possible return to civil war.   We are seeing a real mobilization of our faith into action in parishes, in schools, and on college and university campuses across the United States.  Thank you for all you are doing to bring this important issue into your prayer and work for social justice.

Here are some special materials and updates just for you:
-A new “Special Report on Peace in Sudan”.  Please distribute widely to your networks;
-An announcement about Peace in Sudan suitable for bulletins, websites, and newsletters;
-An OpEd by Ken Hackett, President of Catholic Relief Services, that was recently distributed to Catholic media outlets in the United States, which you might want to share with your bishop and communications director; and
-An Advent resource that encourages Catholics to work for peace in Sudan and other regions during this season of peace.

Our goal for this Peace in Sudan initiative is to help people:
Pray every day with the people of Sudan;
Learn about the referendum and underlying issues;
Advocate by sending quick emails to the Administration and Congress; and
Give to support CRS’ peacebuilding programs in Sudan.  

Aging Resources:

  • Cool Website – www.SuperAgers.com is a new website featuring news from the Einstein Institute for Aging Research, which is studying the genetics of people who have achieved extraordinary old age. The site includes profiles of remarkable centenarians.
  • Economic Indicator Search Tool — The Census Bureau has introduced a new, user-friendly Internet tool that makes it easy to find, download and use data from economic indicators. Visit www.census.gov/econ/currentdata.

Advocacy Efforts: 

Urge Senate to Ratify New START Treaty Without Delay
Bishop Howard J. Hubbard, the Chairman of the USCCB Committee on International Justice and Peace, wrote to all senators urging them to ratify the New START Treaty without delay.  Archbishop Timothy Dolan, the recently elected President of the Bishops’ Conference reiterated the bishops’ strong support for the Treaty. View Press Release: www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2010/10-224.shtml

The New START Treaty: reduces deployed strategic warheads from 2,200 to 1,550, 30 percent below the existing ceiling; limits both nations to no more than 700 delivery vehicles; and includes new verification requirements.  The Treaty is supported by the U.S.Bishops and the Holy See.  See the attached Action Alert or visit http://capwiz.com/catholicbishops/home/.  It is critically important that all senators hear from the Catholic community.