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| Mrs. Sieracki on LCUSA Board (farthest left) |
Advocacy
Connections
Catholic
Social Ministry Gathering
The 2012 Catholic Social Ministry Gathering (CSMG),
organized by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), was held
in Washington, D.C., Feb. 12-15. Ladies
of Charity USA is one of 14 Catholic organizations partnering with USCCB in
this annual event. Rita Robinson, a Lady
of Charity from the Archdiocese of Washington and I represented LCUSA among 450
registrants from across the country.
Several Daughters of Charity were also present, including Sister Julie Cutter
who serves on the LCUSA board of directors.
Faithful
Citizenship: Protecting Human Life and
Dignity, Promoting the Common Good was the title of the conference. The opening presentation by John Carr,
executive director of the Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development,
USCCB, addressed the bishops’ document, Forming
Consciences forFaithful Citizenship, which aims to stimulate greater
insight into public policy issues in light of Catholic social teaching.
Dr. Carolyn Woo, president of Catholic Relief Services (CRS)
was the plenary speaker on international issues. CRS is present in over 100 countries, working
with the people they serve to identify what is needed by listening, not
commanding. In humility, they believe
solutions must be developed “on the ground.”
The plenary session on domestic issues featured Dr. Arturo Chavez,
president of the Mexican American Catholic College in San Antonio. He spoke about the challenges and aspirations
of the Latino community in the United States and some of the difficulties
encountered in working to reconcile Catholic principles with cultural
attitudes.
In conjunction with
other Christian leaders, USCCB is urging that a Circle of Protection be established around the programs and
resources essential to safeguard the lives and dignity of the poor and
vulnerable in our nation and around the world.
Everyone in attendance received training on priority issues in
preparation for visits to representatives and senatorson Capitol Hill.On
Tuesday, February 14th, CSMG participants lobbied Congress on behalf
of extending the period of eligibility for unemployment benefits and for
preservation of the Child Tax Credit. A
bi-partisan agreement on these two goals was announced the next day.
Two other issues presented during the congressional visits
are still unresolved. Legislators were
asked to work on the release of humanitarian funding for Palestinians and were
also asked to co-sponsor and support bills pending in both the House and the
Senate which will protect religious liberty and conscience rights in light of
the recent unprecedented and very narrow definition of what constitutes a
religious organization. Participants
stressed that our hospitals and charities serve people not because those in
need are Catholic, but because we are Catholic.
Attendance at this conference brought a strong reminder that
ours is a universal church. Participants
came from many age groups and ethnic backgrounds. The liturgies were multi-cultural and several
languages and native costumes were represented.
Bishops Jaime Soto of Sacramento and Richard E. Pates of Des Moines
presided at the opening and closing Masses.
The summary message of the CSMG was a call to Congress and
the administration to give moral priority to programs and policies that protect
the life and dignity of those who are poor and vulnerable and to protect
religious liberty, conscience and the freedom of Catholic ministries to serve
“the least of these” (Matt. 25).