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Take Action
January 13, 2012
Greetings friars and friends,
May God give you peace! You may be interested in a course that will be offered by the Franciscan School of Theology this summer: Creation, Humanity and Science in the Franciscan Intellectual Tradition. It will be held at Old Mission Santa Barbara and feature well respected speakers Bill Short, OFM, Mary Beth Ingham, CSJ, and Keith Warner, OFM. Dates are July 30-August 10. You'll find a flier with more complete information online.
With Congress still in recess, NETWORK's recent Legislative Update summarizes the status of work done in 2011 and lists the issues that will need to be addressed when Congress returns.
There are two environmental issues that can be addressed now. The Obama administration has proposed a five-year offshore drilling plan that would expand drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico and the Arctic Ocean. We saw the damage an oil leak caused in the Gulf. An oil leak in the Arctic would be even more devastating, threatening animal life and being nearly impossible to clean up. The area is remote, without a road system or deep-water ports, and the nearest Coast Guard station is 1000 miles away! We need to continue growing alterative energy and decrease our dependence on oil. Please send a letter to the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management opposing its expansion of drilling, especially in the Arctic.
The Obama administration has recently proposed new fuel efficiency and global warming emissions standards for vehicles sold between 2017 and 2025. In addition to saving money and preventing global warming emissions, these standards will save as much oil in 2030 as we currently import from Saudi Arabia and Iraq. The EPA and DOT are accepting comments on the proposed standards. Please send a letter encouraging them to move ahead with these new standards.
Peace and all good,
Sr. Donna Graham, OSF
Franciscan Justice and Peace Office
OFM Province of St. John the Baptist
Cincinnati, OH, USA
513-721-4700 ext. 3229
sjbjpic@franciscan.org
www.franciscan.org
September 2, 2011
Greetings friars and friends,
May God give you peace! This year is the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, with Sept.11 falling on a Sunday. It is a perfect opportunity to use the weekend Masses to honor the anniversary in a prayerful way.
Holy Name Province initiated a 9/11 statement that has been signed by all of the OFM provinces in the U.S. and England. It calls us to honor this 10th anniversary by focusing on acceptance of diversity, respect for Muslims, non-violent conflict resolution, diplomacy rather than military interventions, etc. The statement is in both English and Spanish. You may want to post it on your websites, copy it for parish bulletins, or use it in other ways. Holy Name Province has also shared with us homily helps and other liturgical considerations from the USCCB and a prayer service from the National Council of Churches. You will find all of these resources on the website of St. Barbara Province.
St. Anthony Messenger Press has released a new e-book, Franciscan Voices on 9/11. You can purchase the kindle edition online from Amazon. And the September issue of St. Anthony Messengeris devoted to articles on the Catholic-Muslim relationship. Our own Jack Wintz, OFM, and Pat McCloskey, OFM, are co-authors of the article, Franciscans and Muslims: Eight Centuries of Seeking God.
Peace and all good,
Sr. Donna Graham, OSF
Franciscan Justice and Peace Office
OFM Province of St. John the Baptist
Cincinnati, OH, USA
513-721-4700 ext. 3229
sjbjpic@franciscan.org
www.franciscan.org
August 23, 2011
Greetings friars and friends,
May God give you peace! At an assembly earlier this month, the members of the Conference of Major Superiors of Men heard challenges to "serve the poor and transform the world to foster greater social justice." Outgoing president Fr. Thomas Cassidy issued a call to action, encouraging priests and brothers to really preach the Gospel in spite of the opposition they may encounter. "Imagine what a force for change it would be if all the people in the pews really understood and bought into the rich tradition of the church's social teaching," he said. You can read more in an NCR article.
A couple of friars from Holy Name province are doing just that, as they join in demonstrations against the proposed Tar Sands Pipeline planned to bring oil extracted from tar sands in Alberta, Canada to refineries in Texas. They have joined the effort because their Franciscan values call them to address the potential danger to the environment the pipeline presents.
You will find additional information on the website of the Franciscan Action Network including a fact sheet and reflections from CTU professor Dawn Nothwehr, OSF. You can tell President Obama to reject the permit for the pipeline by signing an online petition.
Peace and all good,
Sr. Donna Graham, OSF
Franciscan Justice and Peace Office
OFM Province of St. John the Baptist
Cincinnati, OH, USA
513-721-4700 ext. 3229
sjbjpic@franciscan.org
www.franciscan.org
July 21, 2011
Greetings friars and friends,
May God give you peace! No doubt you are aware of the debates going on in our government about how to get our country back on a more solid economic footing. Some say that deficit reduction is needed. Yet last September 300 economists warned that austerity measures in a weak economy are dangerous, pointing to the severe recession of the 1930's. The fixes they proposed included cutting the military budget and some subsidies, fixing tax loopholes and making taxes more progressive.
A huge portion of government income goes to the military. Some breakdowns say 27.4%, some 39%, depending on the year and what is included. Whatever the percentage, U.S. military spending was $21 billion more in 2009 than the other top 19 nations in military spending combined! It has increased by hundreds of billion dollars in the last decade.
Then there's the tax issue and the growing inequality between the rich and the poor. NETWORK tells us that the wealthiest 1% of our population owns more than 90% of us combined! The wealthiest 10% of our population owns more than 75% of the nation's wealth! And this wealth translates into political power. This inequality began with a big tax cut in 1964, and, with the exception of a few years, has been growing ever since. Since 1995, tax rates for the richest 400 Americans have been cut in half while their income quadrupled. The country was stronger when taxes were progressive, when the wealthy paid their share.
Polls indicate that the majority of Americans support increasing taxes on the wealthy, but Congress doesn't appear to notice. You can send a letter to your Congresspersons encouraging them to cut the military budget, increase taxes on the wealthy, and preserve the safety net of services for the poor and middle class at FCNL's website.
Some encouraging support for these efforts comes from an NCR editorial, The moral measure of the US budget ; an article in America by Jesuit Thomas Massaro, Some Kind of Deficit ; and an NCR editorial about Jesuit Dan Berrigan, Quiet cancer of militarism on the US soul.
Peace and all good,
Sr. Donna Graham, OSF
Franciscan Justice and Peace Office
OFM Province of St. John the Baptist
Cincinnati, OH, USA
513-721-4700 ext. 3229
sjbjpic@franciscan.org
www.franciscan.org
There are several environmental organizations that make it
easy to write to Congress in support of legislation that protects the
environment. Some recommended ones are:
Union of Concerned Scientists, www.ucsaction.org;
Natural Resources Defense Council, www.nrdc.org/action/default.asp;
NETWORK, a National Catholic Social
Justice Lobby, has an easy way to stay updated on the issues in Congress and
let your Congresspersons know how you want them to vote.You can go to the NETWORK web site, www.networklobby.org, click on Legislative Action Center and get
information about bills and issues and also NETWORK’s position on each.You can then directly write your senator or
representative, even if you’re not sure who they are. All you need is your zip code. You can go directly to the letter-writing
site at capwiz.com/networklobby. Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) has a similar site at capwiz.com/fconl/home/. |