News
Recent JPHD actions and resources on domestic and international issues
September 26, 2008Bishops Urge Finding Moral Response to Financial Crisis
Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre, New York, chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, urged the Bush Administration and Congress September 26 to consider the moral aspects of the current financial crisis.
Read the USCCB Press Release
September 17, 2008—Bishops Using Youtube, Facebook, Podcasts to Reach
Catholic Voters
As the nation moves closer to the presidential election, the USCCB is intensifying efforts to communicate to U.S. Catholics the messages in the bishops’ statement on Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship.
Read the USCCB Press Release
September 2, 2008—Catholic Dioceses Promoting Conscience Formation,
Political Participation
As the November election approaches, Catholic dioceses around the country are stepping up efforts to help Catholics understand Church social teaching and get them out to vote with a well-formed conscience. Efforts revolve around Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, the bishops’ statement approved last November.
Read the USCCB Press Release
September 12008 Labor Day Statement
This 2008 Labor Day Statement, by Most Rev. William F. Murphy, Bishop of Rockville Centre, and Chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, calls attention to the needs of the nation’s workers, current economic inequalities, and the responsibilities of all citizens to help improve conditions.
Bishop Murphy draws inspiration in his message from the late Msgr. George Higgins, the “labor priest,” who worked for more than fifty years on behalf of workers’ rights, and was an outspoken and strong bridge between the Catholic Church in the United States and the labor movement.
En Español
August 11—Web Site Offers Articles on Election-Year Issues
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops offers a series of ten articles by USCCB experts, on issues pertinent to Catholics voting in the November elections, on www.faithfulcitizenship.org. Topics include immigration, voting by conscience, the environment, poverty, Iraq, stem cells, gay marriage, abortion, health care, and economic policy. Available in English and Spanish, these articles may be reprinted or serve as backgrounders.
SEE the new
Faithful Citizenship.org Media Section
July 30—Housing Trust Fund Passed, Signed Into Law
Calling the housing needs of low-income Americans a “national priority,” the USCCB commended bipartisan congressional and Bush administration efforts in creating a national Housing Trust Fund. The fund will assist the lowest income households in the United States by helping to build and preserve affordable rental housing.
A provision in the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, the Housing Trust Fund is the first new federal housing production program for the nation’s lowest income families in decades.
The law provides $3.9 billion in grants to state and local governments to buy and refurbish foreclosed properties through non-profit organizations for sale and rental to low income families. This will mitigate the destructive effects of the predatory lending practices that have left whole communities in a sea of foreclosures.
It also creates an affordable housing trust fund that will allow for the construction and rehabilitation of rental housing for extremely low-income Americans, for whom available and affordable housing units are scarce.
The USCCB has supported the creation of a national housing trust fund for several years. Thank you for all your work and advocacy on this issue! This is a major legislative victory!
READ the USCCB press release on the National Housing Trust Fund
July 25—PEPFAR Reauthorized
Your extraordinary advocacy on behalf of those infected and affected by the global AIDS pandemic has resulted in a major victory in passing the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). This bipartisan legislation authorizes $48 billion over the next five years to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in developing countries, especially in Africa.
An effective conscience clause will allow religious organizations to refrain from activities that conflict with their moral teachings. PEPFAR also includes language to ensure abstinence and “be faithful” programs receive balanced funding. Studies show that these morally appropriate prevention programs are highly effective. READ the joint USCCB/CRS PEPFAR press release.
July 24—Minimum Wage Increased
Because of your advocacy, low-paid workers get a much-needed hourly wage hike, from $5.85 to $6.55 per hour. On July 24, the second stage of a three-step minimum wage increase, signed into law earlier this year, raised the wages of millions of workers across the country. Next year, the final stage of this increase raises minimum wage to $7.25 per hour.
The new level, $13,624 a year (for a 40 hour week, 52 weeks) is just above the poverty line for a family of two ($13,167), and still well below what a family of three needs to reach the ‘official’ federal poverty line ($16,067).
June 24—Farm Bill Reauthorized
The Farm Bill was finally reauthorized on June 18, 2008, over the president’s veto. The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 is now Public Law 110-246.
Thank you for all your support over the last two years helping us advocate for critical reforms and provisions that will make a difference in feeding the hungry here and abroad, and ensuring the sustainability of rural communities.
For more information about USCCB and our Catholic partners’—the National Catholic Rural Life Conference, Catholic Charities USA, and Catholic Relief Services—successful advocacy, see our joint Farm Bill update (PDF).
June 2008—Faithful Citizenship videos on DVD
This companion to the bishops' Nov. 2007 statement Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship provides a lively, brief overview of the bishops’ statement for individuals or small groups, in classrooms, at conferences, parish groups, or other settings.
The DVD includes three videos: Faithful Citizenship: A Matter of Conscience; the Spanish version, Ciudadanos Fieles: Un Asunto de Conciencia; and the youth-oriented Go Make A Difference! (featuring Steve Angrisano).
SEE the videos now online at Faithful Citizenship.org
ORDER the Faithful Citizenship DVD from USCCB Publishing
ORDER more Faithful Citizenship materials from USCCB Publishing
June 2008—Torture is a Moral Issue – A Catholic Study Guide
Waterboarding? Electric Shocks? References to torture are in newspapers, radio and TV programs, even in cartoons. What does the Church have to say about torture? This four chapter study guide will offer reflections on torture as a moral issue. Get a group together to discuss this timely issue and what you can do to stop torture.
Read Torture is a Moral Issue online ● Download a printable version