Communities not Cages

Watch the video (right) from  Detention Watch Network in which immigrant rights advocates call for an end to immigrant detention. Share the video on social media and then visit the website to see how you can do more.

Faith4Asylum Campaign: Stop the Inhumanity

This campaign, sponsored by the Interfaith Immigration Coalition , begins with prayer vigils on Jan. 29, the anniversary of the "Remain in Mexico" policy.

Asylum seekers are migrants who flee their homes because of fear of violence or persecution. U.S. and international laws state that anyone has a right to apply for asylum in the United States. However, recent changes in U.S. immigration policy are preventing asylum seekers from waiting for their hearings in safety in the United States, instead forcing them to wait in locations in Mexico where they face violence, extortion, sexual assault and kidnapping.   At least  636 people  have been raped, kidnapped, assaulted, and even murdered, including 138 children.

This "Remain in Mexico" policy violates domestic and international law by sending asylum seekers to dangerous conditions without an adequate screening process, effectively denying them access to lawyers and interpreters and preventing many from receiving a fair day in court. More than 56,000 asylum seekers have already been sent to Mexico under this policy. 

TAKE THE PLEDGE to join our campaign, find or input a local vigil, get resources, and endorse the campaign as a congregation or organization.

A Father's Plea to Church Leaders

Brian Cahill, former director of San Francisco Catholic Charities and father of a gay son, reflects on the effect of the church's teaching on LGBT persons and their families. He challenges church leaders to take another look at the negative impact of some church teaching and practice on LGBT persons in light of the writing of some current theologians on the topic.  Read his article, A Father's Plea to Church Leaders.

"Everything and Nothing has Changed"  

	Bob Stoughton

Bob Stoughton, a longtime member of the team, shares his reflections about our response to crime and the continuing reality of mass incarceration.

"Everything and nothing has changed." So writes Michelle Alexander in an essay accompanying the release of the 10th anniversary edition of The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness , her best-selling book first published in 2010. She says she wrote that book "to challenge our nation to reckon with the recurring cycles of racial reform, retrenchment and rebirth of caste-like systems that have defined our racial history since slavery," calling our nation's use of mass incarceration - locking "millions of poor people and people of color in literal and virtual cages" - another caste system. (Read more...)

 

A Film about Justice, Injustice, and the Death Penalty

In the Executioner's Shadow draws viewers into riveting personal stories: 

• the rare perspective of a former state executioner who nearly executes an innocent person; 
• a Boston Marathon bombing victim who struggles to decide what justice really means; 
• and the parents of a murder victim who face abandoning their values or fighting for the life of their daughter's killer. 

As the battle to overturn capital punishment comes to a head in the U.S., this provocative film challenges viewers to question their deepest beliefs about justice. Sister Helen Prejean said, "Powerful storytelling can make a difference. It can turn society around and move us to higher ethical ground. This film is imbued with authenticity." Click here  to get information about purchasing the DVD or streaming rights.

Cathedrals not Made of Hands

Pope Francis, in Laudato Si, has called for an "intense dialogue" between science and religion on ecological concerns. In response, Vincent Miller, Gudorf Chair in Catholic Theology and Culture at the U. of Dayton, recently spent time in the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest in Oregon to discover what theology can learn by looking with scientists at an old growth ecosystem. Read this article on his experience that appears in Commonweal. 

WHAT: Miller will present his thoughts on overcoming indifference and responding to creation with love at MEEC's Winter Wisdom retreat 

WHEN: February 22, 2020

WHERE: Marianist Environmental Education Center in Dayton.  

	Kay Stone

If You See Something, Say Something

Kay Stone is a member of the Women and Justice Team. Since January is Human Trafficking Month, she has written a short primer on this horrendous crime.

I live in Orlando Florida, home of the "Happiest Place on Earth", so I was shocked to learn Florida ranks third in the U.S., behind only California and Texas, in reported cases of human trafficking. Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery. Under U.S. law human trafficking is defined as:

"The transporting, soliciting, providing or obtaining of another person for transport; for the purposes of forced labor, domestic servitude or sexual exploitation using force, fraud and/or coercion." 

This evil involves males and females and includes any forced activity! We all need to be vigilant; it could be the individual cleaning a restaurant, harvesting our produce, engaging in forced prostitution and many other areas. Many are rescued from their servitude by someone reaching out to them or calling the National Human Trafficking Resource hotline at 1-888-373-7888. ( Read more...)

 

WHAT: MARIANIST LAY ASSEMBLY

WHEN: July 16-19, 2020

WHERE: San Antonio, TX

FLYER: Click here

In addition: 

PROPOSALS: The planning committee invites Lay Marianists and Marianist religious to make proposals for keynote addresses and workshop topics. 

DEADLINE: Proposals are due January 31. Use the following link to access the proposal form. 

Plus: 

INFO & VENDORS:  T here is still time to sign up to host an information table or to sell materials as a vendor. Click here, or contact Lauren Wolford or Katie Brossart for details.

Harriet Tubman

Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.            

   Harriet Tubman