JUSTICE JOTTINGS
March 2022
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Please record MSJC's new address in your records and send all mail here:
2917 Short Vine Street
PO Box 198001
Cincinnati, OH 45219
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WOMEN & JUSTICE ISSUE TEAM
A Church for Our Daughters - Virtual
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When: Wednesday April 20, 2022 at 4 PM PT | 6 PM CT | 7 PM ET
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What: This hosted event will focus on discussion around the following question: Why is the Synod important to the future of the Church? "The Christian faithful are free to make known to the pastors of the Church their needs, especially spiritual ones, and their desires. According to the knowledge, competence, and prestige which they possess, they have the right and even at times the duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church and to make their opinion known to the rest of the Christian faithful.” (Canon 212 2, 3)
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LGBTQ+ INITIATIVE
Annual LGBTQ+ Retreat - In-Person, North Palm Beach, Florida
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When: November 18-20, 2022
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Where: Our Lady of Florida Spirituality Center in North Palm Beach
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What: Save the date!! The theme this year is Being Who You Are -- Perfectly Well. The retreat is for all members of the LGBTQ+ community, their families, friends, and allies. Registration details to come!!
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MSJC REFLECTIONS & RESOURCES |
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LGBTQ+ INITIATIVE
Let us Dream of a Better Future Reflection by Beth Garascia
My brother-in-law Charlie is a deeply inquisitive person. He attended a Jesuit college, is very proud of that fact, and was raised in a Catholic family who followed Church guidelines strictly. Like many people who were instructed in the faith in the 50’s and 60’s, he, as well as four of his six siblings, are no longer active Catholics. Charlie tries to live simply, is quite generous, and is an Earth advocate. He describes himself as angry Catholic, waiting for his Church to catch up with the teachings of Vatican II.
Charlie follows James Martin, SJ, an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ+ Catholics, on Facebook and recently sent my husband Tony, who is Charlie’s brother, and me a post from Martin about a Lenten event at St. Ignatius Loyola parish in Chestnut Hill, MA. This Jesuit parish, dreaming of a better world, just as Moses did in the first reading from Deuteronomy for the First Sunday of Lent, is having a series of five events during this season intended to welcome LGBTQ+ persons. What a gift! Charlie is proud of the parish for their outreach, and of the Jesuits for generally supporting such a program, and so are Tony and I. If only additional parish priests and bishops would be open to a similar ministry, perhaps more persons on the margins would be active in our Church. Here’s a link to the information from St. Ignatius. (Read more here...)
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DEATH PENALTY ABOLITION AND RESTORATIVE JUSTICE
From Womb to the Tomb
Reflection by Sr. Grace Walle, FMI
On March 25, 2022, we will celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation. In the Hail Mary we pray, “blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.” In these words of the Hail Mary, we hear words of praise for Jesus, while his human body is being knitted in his mother’s womb. In the passage of the Visitation, (Luke [1:39–56]), we hear John the Baptist, himself in the womb, leaping in praise for the unborn Jesus. The greeting in the Visitation is a snapshot of four people, John, Elizabeth, and Mary celebrating the birth of Jesus. A few weeks later, on Good Friday, April 15, 2022, we will witness the once defenseless baby that Mary held in her arms now a defenseless man on the cross as she is waiting for Him to be put back in her arms. She too hears his words of mercy and forgiveness for those who do not know what they are doing. As Mary pondered and treasured all the events of her life in her heart, so I am led to reflect with thoughtful contemplation on my involvement in the Death Penalty Abolition & Restorative Justice Issue Team.
I am writing this reflection on behalf of the Marianist Social Justice Death Penalty Abolition & Restorative Justice Issue Team. We are one earliest issue teams developed at the beginning of MSJC. Thanks to many team members over the years, we have been able to continue our limited volunteer efforts on this issue, but not in isolation from all life issues. (Read more here...)
Support the Federal Death Penalty Prohibition Act
The Catholic Church teaches that, in the light of the Gospel, “the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person.” In January 2021, lawmakers in Congress introduced The Federal Death Penalty Prohibition Act, which would abolish the federal death penalty. This legislation needs strong bipartisan support in order to pass; it currently has 19 cosponsors in the Senate (bill S.582) and 78 cosponsors in the House (bill H.R.262). Please contact your members of Congress to thank them if they are already a cosponsor, or to urge them to become a cosponsor. For more information and actions you can take, go to the Catholic Mobilizing Network or Death Penalty Action websites.
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INTEGRAL ECOLOGY
2. The Victory Noll Sisters 2022 Small Grants Program. $75K in new funding is available for U.S. Catholic parishes, schools and groups working on creation care, integral ecology and synodal projects! Learn more. Apply by May 2, 2022.
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SUPPORTING OUR COLLABORATORS |
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- Thursday, March 24th at 5 PM PT | 7 PM CT | 8 PM ET
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The Ignatian Spirituality Project (ISP) partners with social service agencies to care for the spiritual needs of people recovering from homelessness and substance use addiction. In 28 cities across the U.S., Canada, and Ireland, volunteers provide spiritual reflections and overnight retreats experiences for thousands of people on the journey of recovery, helping them to regain a sense of their own personal worth and the belief that lasting change is possible. One of MSJC's long-time volunteers, Matt Meyers, works for ISP and has played a major role in planning this event. Join him, ISP and Krista Tippett -- journalist, author, and host of the award-winning podcast On Being -- for a conversation on transformation, healing and the journey of recovery! The event is free.
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- When: April 22-24, 2022
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What: The Marianist Family Retreat Center in Cape May Point, NJ would like to invite you to a unique retreat experience, “Laudato Si: An Earth Day Retreat by the Sea.” This retreat is open to adults who are looking to strengthen their commitment to protecting the natural world. The program will use elements from Pope Francis' Laudato Si: On Care for our Common Home and will also include Mass, prayer, personal time and sharing and free time to explore the natural beauty of Cape May Point in spring. Located a block away from the beach and within walking distance of the Cape May Point Lighthouse State Park, the Retreat Center is the perfect setting for exploring our personal relationship with and stewardship to God’s created world. For more information or to sign up, please see our website www.capemaymarianists.org or email jsherwen@capemaymarianists.org
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Cost: $145.00 per person
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Want to support MSJC's work towards justice? |
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