August News

It has come to my attention that there is a way that we can help some underprivileged students to attend school when the new school year starts in a few weeks. I believe that education is the key to building a better society and we, as individuals, have a Christian obligation to help with the education of the less fortunate. You can lend a helping hand to those kids who need school supplies. If your business or home has used items that are in good shape, you can recycle them. Or if you're buying school supplies for your own children, think about purchasing an extra pack for a child less fortunate. Drop your items off at the Prince Albert Food Bank, the Bernie Sayese Community Centre or the Prince Albert Daily Herald.

They will make sure the supplies get to local students that are in need.

Suggested supplies for donation include:

• Pencils
• Glue Sticks
• Binders and duo tangs
• Notebooks/Exercise Books/Scribblers
• Scissors
• Crayons
• Backpacks
• Pencil Crayons
• Non-Toxic Markers and Highlighters
• Erasers
• Ruled loose-leaf paper
• Geometry sets
• Rulers
• Calculators
• Gently used shoes & back packs etc.

If your parish has a collection program or is interested in a collection program, please feel free to contact me. I would like to know about it. Thank you.

In justice & peace,

Louis Hradecki Social Justice Coordinator
Roman Catholic Diocese of P.A.
Phone: (306)922-4747, Fax:(306)922-4754
E mail: socialjustice.cecr@sasktel.net

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July News

A Message from Louis Hradecki, Social Justice Coordinator

Greetings to all, I hope that you are enjoying the summer and are able to take some time off for a summer vacation. I would like to make you aware of the Encyclical Letter " Caritas In Veritate" Of The Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI. It is the Holy Father's letter on integral human development in charity and truth. It states that charity is at the heart of the church's social doctrine. Many references are made to Pope Paul VI 's Encyclical called " Populorum Progressio" .

The Encyclical can be viewed at www.vatican.va_holy_father/benedict. The document is 50 pages long. I can send a copy out to anyone that is not able to print one out. The Encyclical is a long read but it is very interesting as the current global economic crisis and the human causes of it are discussed. I hope that you can take the time to read this very worthwhile document on the social doctrine of the Church. Thank you for your time. Let us all pray that the warm weather continues.

In justice & peace , Louis Hradecki 

• The Committee of Inquiry of the CCCB has posted its report on the LifesiteNews allegations on the CCCB website.
  Follow the link posted below to read it:
  CCCB Committee of Inquiry Reports:
  Development and Peace cleared of suspicion
  http://www.cccb.ca/site/content/view/2692/1214/lang,eng/

This is what the Lord asks of you,
only this:
to act justly,
to love tenderly,
and to walk humbly with your God.

Catholic Social Teaching

• The Link of Faith and Justice

• The Dignity of the Human Person

• Political & Economic Rights
  (i.e. voting, free speech, food, shelter, work education)

• Preferential Option for the Poor (the oppressed & powerless)

• The Link of Love and Justice
  (to promote justice is to transform structures which block love)

• Promotion of the Common Good

• Subsidiarity (Responsibilities & decisions should be attended to as close as possible at the level of individual initiative in local communities and institutions. But larger government structures have a role when greater social coordination & regulation are necessary for the common good)

• Political Participation (Democratic participation in decision making respects people's dignity & liberty)

• Economic Justice (i.e. just wages, the right of workers to organize, labour takes precedence over capital & technology in the production process)

• Stewardship (respect & share the earth's resources)

• Solidarity (We belong to one human family; rich nations have responsibilities toward poor nations; structures of international order must reflect justice)

• Promotion of Peace

• Work
  (People have a right to work, to receive a just wage & to form unions)

• Liberation
  (from oppressive social, political & economic situations & structures) 
  
     - from Catholic Social Teaching: Our Best Kept Secret,
      Peter J. Henriot et al (1999), pages 22-25
  

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Charity and Justice

Helpful Websites

* Highly recommended

Church Council on Justice and Corrections (Canadian)

Churches for Middle East Peace
(A coalition of churches working to advocate for U.S. policy that will support peace and justice in the Middle East)

Comboni Missionaries (Ohio)
(Justice & peace issues, the effect of U.S. policies on Third World countries)

Development and Peace   (Canadian Catholic Organization for)
With links to Just Youth site
Local Contacts:
Christine Zyla, Board member of Canadian Food Grains Bank
Prince Albert
Phone: (306) 982-2286
Clarence Briand - Diocesan Chairperson, Prince Albert Diocesan Council
North Battleford residence
Phone: (306) 446-0273
Email: cbriand@sasktel.net

Feeding Minds, Fighting Hunger (resources for teachers)

KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives
(Includes Ten Days for Global Justice, Aboriginal Rights Coalition, The Ecumenical Coalition for Economic Justice, Inter-Church Committee for Refugees, & links to other Canadian sites)

Project Ploughshares (Institute of Conflict Studies, Ontario)

Scarboro Missions (Ontario)

Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul (Kingston, Ont.)

Sojourners (Christians for Justice and Peace)

* St. Paul & Minneapolis Archdiocese (Excellent site on Catholic social teaching)

Theology Library (Justice Section: Catholic social teaching, racial prejudice, environment, labour, homelessness, peace, poverty)

SEE ALSO the Diocesan Resource Centre for listings under social justice

Social Justice an essential part of Catholic faith

Many Catholics do not understand that the social teaching of the church is an essential part of Catholic faith, Rev. Hervé Vallée told St. Mark’s Parish Jan. 25.

Bishops have tried to remedy this situation by issuing documents that clarify the principles so that this teaching will be better understood, said Vallée, social justice co-ordinator for the Diocese of Prince Albert.

Vallée listed nine principles which are the building blocks or basic rules that give purpose and direct one’s choices. “Once we are informed, and have internalized Catholic social principles, we will find that they surface in whatever we get involved,” he said.

The first principle, human dignity, is the “foundation principle, (the) bedrock of Catholic social teaching,” he said. It tells us that every person is worthy of respect regardless of race, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, employment, rich or poor, health intelligence, achievement, or any other characteristic that differentiates us as humans. Being human establishes our claim to dignity.

According to a second principle, respect for human life, life at every stage of development and decline is precious and worthy of protection and respect. Catholic tradition sees the sacredness of human life and proclaims that it must be seen as such in order to make a just and good society, Vallée said.

When faced with issues such as abortions, legalized killing, capital punishment, and research in microbiology, “we have to position ourselves on firm moral ground and let both reason and revelation inform our conversations on all life issues,” he said.

A third principle, the call to family, community, and participation, “tells us that people have a right and duty to take part in society and seek together the common good and the well being of all,” he said.

All human beings have, according to Catholic social teaching, both rights and responsibilities; people have a right to those things necessary for them to thrive and fully realize their God-given dignity. The flip side of rights is responsibility for the good of others.

A fifth principle, the common good, is understood as the material, spiritual and social conditions that allow people to reach their full human potential and realize their dignity. “While one individual protects the welfare of others, he/she is being protected by others,” Vallée said. Lack of sensitivity to the common good “is a sure sign of a society in need of help.”

A top concern in Catholic social teaching is the needs of the poor and vulnerable, called the preferential option for the poor. The term, poor and vulnerable, refers not only to those who are deprived of wealth but also those who are deprived of their basic rights or of equal participation in society.

Another principle, the dignity of workers and rights of workers, declares that work is more than a way of making a living; it is a form of continuing participation in God’s creation. To protect the dignity of work, the basic rights of workers must be respected, and these include the right to productive work and a decent and fair wage, to organize and form unions, the right to private property and to economic initiatives, that is, not to be shut out from decision making and formation of policies that affect working conditions.

Catholic social teaching states solidarity helps us recognize that all belong to one human family, all sharing the same human dignity, and that we are responsible for each other. “Imagine how the people of Bam felt when aid poured in from around the world after the earthquake,” he said.

Finally, the principle of stewardship insists that people have a responsibility to respect the creator by showing respect and care for all creation. “Humans are not owners of the environment. We are only managers,” he said.

“In an era of rising consciousness about our physical environment, our tradition is calling us to a sense of moral responsibility for the protection of the environment – for the crop lands, grasslands, woodlands, air, water, minerals, natural deposits, wildlife,” Vallée said.

These principles are “rather meshed together,” he said. “Human life is interconnected like the strands in a spider web. If you touch one strand, the whole web vibrates.”

Vallée is currently concentrating on informing people about Catholic social teaching. He has in the past several months addressed about 10 groups, including parish councils and the CWL, and has more presentations scheduled.

The next stage for him is to meet with representatives from each parish to study the principles in more detail and to see what action each parish can take.

Social Justice a gospel value

Catholic social teaching "is the church's elaboration on basic Gospel value," says Michael Murphy, provincial animator for the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (see link above).

"Catholic social teaching is the church teaching us how to live in the world," Murphy said at pastoral ministry days Mar. 20-21, where the theme was social justice. In light of the contentious war in Iraq, Murphy focused on Catholic social teaching about peace. He facilitated several sessions for 70 priests, parish administrators, pastoral assistants, seminarians, pastoral centre staff, and guests from parish councils and social justice committees.

Rev. Hervé Vallée, the diocese's social justice coordinator, organized the event, saying it was meant to create both a greater awareness of social justice and the motivation required to do the work. "We have a lot of work to do in social justice," Vallée said.

Bishop Blaise Morand strongly urged every parish in the diocese to establish a social justice committee on parish council.

Participants heard speakers on various themes of Catholic social teaching ranging from human dignity and the option for the poor to stewardship of God's creation and the notion of the common good.

Christine Zyla, a Prince Albert teacher and the Saskatchewan representative on the national council of Development and Peace, spoke about the 2003 exposure tour to El Salvador. She said a key discovery for her was, "Poverty is no accident."

Most people in El Salvador live in dire poverty, she said. Catholic social teaching, however, teaches us about the common good, whose essential elements are respect for the person, social well being and peace and security.

Pat Grise and Waltera Van Gennip of Kateri House in Prince Albert, who have worked in native ministry for 20 years, said the preferential option for the poor is a core demand of the Christian faith.

"We are brothers and sisters," said Van Gennip. "If you truly believe that whoever is poor is your family member, then you are going to go out, look for that person, and see to that person's needs in whatever way possible."

Grise said there are many kinds of poverty, and the first step in becoming impassioned about justice is to meet someone who is poor in some way. We might then start asking questions about social justice that can lead to advocacy and eventually to solidarity.

Sister Joan Baron, OSE, of the Franciscan Forest Sanctuary near Christopher Lake, spoke about stewardship of creation. Baron said the Genesis passage about dominion over the earth teaches us about reverential care of God's creation rather than exploitation.

"Stewardship involves right relationship between people and between people and things," Baron said.

Harry Lafond, former chief of Muskeg Lake Reserve and coordinator of the First Nations Diocesan Circle in this diocese, provided a Cree perspective on social justice. He explained the value of community, the significance of the circle, and the concept of communal land ownership. Cultural tensions resulting from different understandings often become political and economic tensions, he said.