April 27 is "Health Care Sunday" in Michigan
This spring, Catholics committed to social justice in Michigan are joining thousands of other individuals in placing a proposal on the November ballot called "Health Care for Michigan." This proposal would require the Michigan Legislature to enact policies that control health care costs and ensure that all Michigan residents have basic health insurance. Click here to view the petition.
In conjunction with Cover the Uninsured Week, over 200 congregations from across the State of Michigan will be participating in "Health Care Sunday" the weekend of April 26-27. All across the state, announcements will be made about the Health Care Campaign and interested parishioners will be invited to sign the petition after Mass.
To sign on as a participating congregation or to help support the proposal, please contact Vicky Kovari vkovari@catholicsinalliance.org or Brian Peck bcpeck@umich.edu for more information on Health Care Sunday. If your parish wants to participate but is unable to do it on April 26-27, there will be an alternative weekend before the June 1 filing deadline.
The support of Catholic congregations and other people of faith will be essential to the success of this initiative. We hope you will seriously consider joining the hundreds of other faith communities in Michigan to support health care as a basic right. More information on the campaign is available at: www.healthcareformichigan.org.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
"Enough!"
At his Palm Sunday homily, Pope Benedict issued a strong statement in opposition to the war in Iraq --- statements that should quell any Catholic's questions over the Church's position in this area.
"Pope Benedict XVI issued one of his strongest appeals for peace in Iraq on Sunday, days after the body of the kidnapped Chaldean Catholic archbishop was found near the northern city of Mosul. The pope also denounced the five-year-long war, saying it had provoked the complete breakup of Iraqi civilian life.
"Enough with the slaughters. Enough with the violence. Enough with the hatred in Iraq!"
Benedict said to applause at the end of his Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square.
On Thursday, the body of Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho was found near Mosul. He had been abducted on Feb. 29. Benedict has called Rahho's death an "inhuman act of violence" that offended human dignity. On Sunday, Benedict praised Rahho for his refusal to abandon his flock despite many threats and difficulties. Benedict said Rahho's dedication to the Catholic Church and his death compelled him to "raise a strong and sorrowful cry" to denounce the violence in Iraq spawned by the war that began five years ago this week.
We join with our Chaldean brothers and sisters in sorrow for the loss of their beloved shepherd, Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho. His witness to stay with his people is an especially strong symbol during this Holy Week --- and similar to another tremendous pastor who's assasination anniversary is on March 24, 1980, Archbishop Oscar Romero (El Salvador).
How much more do we need to see to draw connections between the violence and destruction of these two sacred yet war-torn countries?
"Pope Benedict XVI issued one of his strongest appeals for peace in Iraq on Sunday, days after the body of the kidnapped Chaldean Catholic archbishop was found near the northern city of Mosul. The pope also denounced the five-year-long war, saying it had provoked the complete breakup of Iraqi civilian life.
"Enough with the slaughters. Enough with the violence. Enough with the hatred in Iraq!"
Benedict said to applause at the end of his Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square.
On Thursday, the body of Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho was found near Mosul. He had been abducted on Feb. 29. Benedict has called Rahho's death an "inhuman act of violence" that offended human dignity. On Sunday, Benedict praised Rahho for his refusal to abandon his flock despite many threats and difficulties. Benedict said Rahho's dedication to the Catholic Church and his death compelled him to "raise a strong and sorrowful cry" to denounce the violence in Iraq spawned by the war that began five years ago this week.
We join with our Chaldean brothers and sisters in sorrow for the loss of their beloved shepherd, Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho. His witness to stay with his people is an especially strong symbol during this Holy Week --- and similar to another tremendous pastor who's assasination anniversary is on March 24, 1980, Archbishop Oscar Romero (El Salvador).
How much more do we need to see to draw connections between the violence and destruction of these two sacred yet war-torn countries?
Thursday, February 28, 2008
The Future of PEPFAR Help in an African Context
Please read the following reflection from Fr. Terry Charlton, S.J. on his work with children who have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS in Nairobi. It's particularly helfpul to consider as Congress looks at PEPFAR (President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) and its future funding.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Africa Needs an Effective Approach to AIDS
By Fr. Terry Charlton, S.J.
Jesuit Vocation Director, Kenya
National Chaplain, Christian Life Community, Co-founder and Chaplain, St. Aloysius Gonzaga Secondary School, Kibera
I work in one of the largest slums in Africa, Kibera, located in Nairobi, Kenya. Some years ago I started St. Aloysius Gonzaga Secondary School to educate young people who have lost either both parents to the AIDS-pandemic, or one parent and the remaining parent is infected. I am proud to say we now have 265 students, and we are supporting another 50 graduates to go on to college.
Kenya and several other countries have made real progress in fighting AIDS, with US support. On his recent trip to Africa, President Bush rightly received recognition for getting the ball rolling on expanding access to AIDS services in our region of the world, especially treatment and care for the sick and orphaned.
But, quite frankly, I am alarmed at how far removed from African reality his proposal is for the next five years of the program. Since Congress is now debating what direction to take this program, along with programs to address many health and development issues related to AIDS, I want to share what I have seen in Kibera and make a plea for realism.
We have learned a great deal about AIDS since 2003, when the U.S. first began its emergency response to the crisis in Africa. Anyone visiting us in Kibera would see that the AIDS issue cannot be viewed in isolation. My students, teachers and their extended families face inter-related problems rooted in poverty, issues of gender and a
broken-down health system. A smart U.S. response must address this context, including the dearth of qualified medical personnel and community health workers. And, to be effective, it would confront tuberculosis head on, since, as we have seen in Kibera, TB is what actually kills most people living with AIDS.
But the Bush approach, now taken up by the Republican leadership in the House, ignores these lessons. It does not seriously address any of these related issues and, worst of all, freezes funding at the current level for the next five years, even as the world is racing to meet the goal of universal access to all AIDS services by 2010.
This funding freeze would have a devastating impact on programs that serve the children I work with every day. So far, the U.S. AIDS initiative has provided crucial funding for programs that provide care for children, including school feeding programs, which have a broad impact. Yet, the President and his allies in the Congress would have these programs frozen in place instead of expanding them to meet the growing need.
Fortunately, an alternative is available. Congressman Tom Lantos, as chairman of the Committee responsible for AIDS programming in the House, understood that significantly greater funds are needed to fight AIDS and address basic capacity issues. One of the last things he did before he died of cancer was to propose five-year legislation which would update the U.S. response and provide $50 billion, not only for AIDS but also for children's programs, TB and malaria.
The Lantos proposal would also better meet the needs of women and girls. It would allow voluntary family planning services to women who are HIV positive and who do not wish to become pregnant. We can agree or disagree about the morality of contraception, but the truth is that helping women who may be weak and ill to avoid a dangerous pregnancy is about saving lives, and it would not promote abortion, as some pro-life groups have inaccurately stated.
The Lantos approach also eliminates the requirement that one-third of all HIV prevention dollars be spent on abstinence and fidelity. This funding restriction has been shown to not be workable on the ground. As someone profoundly committed to promoting abstinence and fidelity, my experience is that I can do my job most effectively when young people have the freedom to make moral choices. I am glad to see the Lantos bill still requires the U.S. to promote abstinence and fidelity as a part of a comprehensive approach.
Working in Kenya, I see people suffering and dying all too often from a disease that can be prevented. It is crucial that this program not become a political football, and I hope members of Congress of good will, from both sides of the aisle, can find a way to work together for the sake of Africa. Unless the U.S. AIDS program goes forward, together with programs that address the broader context of the epidemic, the ones who suffer the most will be the children I work with every day.
Terry Charlton, S.J.
Email: charlton@jesuits.net
Fr. Terry Charlton, S.J.
Jesuit Vocation Director, Kenya
National Chaplain, Christian Life
Community
Co-founder and Chaplain, St. Aloysius
Gonzaga Secondary School, Kibera
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Africa Needs an Effective Approach to AIDS
By Fr. Terry Charlton, S.J.
Jesuit Vocation Director, Kenya
National Chaplain, Christian Life Community, Co-founder and Chaplain, St. Aloysius Gonzaga Secondary School, Kibera
I work in one of the largest slums in Africa, Kibera, located in Nairobi, Kenya. Some years ago I started St. Aloysius Gonzaga Secondary School to educate young people who have lost either both parents to the AIDS-pandemic, or one parent and the remaining parent is infected. I am proud to say we now have 265 students, and we are supporting another 50 graduates to go on to college.
Kenya and several other countries have made real progress in fighting AIDS, with US support. On his recent trip to Africa, President Bush rightly received recognition for getting the ball rolling on expanding access to AIDS services in our region of the world, especially treatment and care for the sick and orphaned.
But, quite frankly, I am alarmed at how far removed from African reality his proposal is for the next five years of the program. Since Congress is now debating what direction to take this program, along with programs to address many health and development issues related to AIDS, I want to share what I have seen in Kibera and make a plea for realism.
We have learned a great deal about AIDS since 2003, when the U.S. first began its emergency response to the crisis in Africa. Anyone visiting us in Kibera would see that the AIDS issue cannot be viewed in isolation. My students, teachers and their extended families face inter-related problems rooted in poverty, issues of gender and a
broken-down health system. A smart U.S. response must address this context, including the dearth of qualified medical personnel and community health workers. And, to be effective, it would confront tuberculosis head on, since, as we have seen in Kibera, TB is what actually kills most people living with AIDS.
But the Bush approach, now taken up by the Republican leadership in the House, ignores these lessons. It does not seriously address any of these related issues and, worst of all, freezes funding at the current level for the next five years, even as the world is racing to meet the goal of universal access to all AIDS services by 2010.
This funding freeze would have a devastating impact on programs that serve the children I work with every day. So far, the U.S. AIDS initiative has provided crucial funding for programs that provide care for children, including school feeding programs, which have a broad impact. Yet, the President and his allies in the Congress would have these programs frozen in place instead of expanding them to meet the growing need.
Fortunately, an alternative is available. Congressman Tom Lantos, as chairman of the Committee responsible for AIDS programming in the House, understood that significantly greater funds are needed to fight AIDS and address basic capacity issues. One of the last things he did before he died of cancer was to propose five-year legislation which would update the U.S. response and provide $50 billion, not only for AIDS but also for children's programs, TB and malaria.
The Lantos proposal would also better meet the needs of women and girls. It would allow voluntary family planning services to women who are HIV positive and who do not wish to become pregnant. We can agree or disagree about the morality of contraception, but the truth is that helping women who may be weak and ill to avoid a dangerous pregnancy is about saving lives, and it would not promote abortion, as some pro-life groups have inaccurately stated.
The Lantos approach also eliminates the requirement that one-third of all HIV prevention dollars be spent on abstinence and fidelity. This funding restriction has been shown to not be workable on the ground. As someone profoundly committed to promoting abstinence and fidelity, my experience is that I can do my job most effectively when young people have the freedom to make moral choices. I am glad to see the Lantos bill still requires the U.S. to promote abstinence and fidelity as a part of a comprehensive approach.
Working in Kenya, I see people suffering and dying all too often from a disease that can be prevented. It is crucial that this program not become a political football, and I hope members of Congress of good will, from both sides of the aisle, can find a way to work together for the sake of Africa. Unless the U.S. AIDS program goes forward, together with programs that address the broader context of the epidemic, the ones who suffer the most will be the children I work with every day.
Terry Charlton, S.J.
Email: charlton@jesuits.net
Fr. Terry Charlton, S.J.
Jesuit Vocation Director, Kenya
National Chaplain, Christian Life
Community
Co-founder and Chaplain, St. Aloysius
Gonzaga Secondary School, Kibera
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