KathyO's blog

"In the family, which is a community of persons, special attention must be devoted to the children by developing a profound esteem for their personal dignity, and a great respect and generous concern for their rights. ... By fostering and exercising a tender and strong concern for every child that comes into this world, the Church fulfills a fundamental mission: for she is called upon to reveal and put forward anew in history the example and the commandment of Christ the Lord, who placed the child at the heart of the Kingdom of God: "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven." from FAMILIARIS CONSORTIO by Pope John Paul II

On March 3rd groups from American Friends Service Committee and Families for Freedom will be in Washington, DC lobbying congress about the Child Citizen Protection Act. Please call your congressman that day and ask him to co-sponsor H.R. 182.

About the Bill

An estimated 3.1 million US citizen children have at least one parent who is undocumented. Every year thousands of children are either separated from a parent who has been deported or forced into exile.

“In migrants the Church has always contemplated the image of Christ who said, “I was a stranger and you made me welcome” (Mt 25:35). Their condition is, therefore, a challenge to the faith and love of believers, who are called on to heal the evils caused by migration and discover the plan God pursues through it…” From the PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR THE PASTORAL CARE OF MIGRANTS AND ITINERANT PEOPLE (The love of Christ towards migrants)

Please join IRATE (the Interfaith Refugee Action Team - Elizabeth) and Pax Christi NJ as we begin our Lenten journey and gather to offer our prayers for the grace to recognize the face of Christ in immigrants and the courage to show them the radical hospitality of the Gospel.

Pax Christi USA's television ad, "Father Joe on Keeping Racism out of the Election", went national on Monday, October 27, when it was featured on CNN's "The Situation Room" with Wolf Blitzer. The ratings for the show were over 1.4 million.

Click here to view the segment

Visit www.paxchristiusa.org for additional resources for voting for the common good and donate now to help Pax Christi USA in this ad campaign.

On Friday November 21st, at the Episcopal House in Newark, NJ the American Friends Service Committee Immigrant Rights Program in Newark will be hosting a party for families of recently deported immigrants and immigrant detainees.

Detention and deportation creates both an emotional and a financial strain on the families who are left behind. These family members are often legal residents or American citizens. (Up to 15% of US families are of mixed immigration status.) As a result, deportation will effectively permanently separate immediate family members, including parents from their young children.

At the party the families will be given each family a Thanksgiving basket of food stuff to celebrate the holiday. A list of items requested is listed below.

[Ownership] becomes illegitimate... when it is not utilized or when it serves to impede the work of others, in an effort to gain a profit which is not the result of the overall expansion of work and the wealth of society, but rather is the result of curbing them or of illicit exploitation, speculation or the breaking of solidarity among working people. Ownership of this kind has no justification, and represents an abuse in the sight of God and man. Pope John Paul II from Centesimus Annus

A group of investors who have no background in law enforcement or running residential facilities of any kind has just been awarded a contract by ICE and the Department of Homeland Security to build and run a 1000 bed facility in the city of Farmville, Virginia.

According to this article in Facing South the contract was hastily awarded to keep pace with increased demand for space and overcrowding in current facilities as a result of the stepped up pace raids and incarceration.

We had beautiful weather on Sunday and a great turnout. Over 200 people showed up to protest the inhumane treatment of immigrants at the Elizabeth Detention Center. The march stretched almost the entire length of Evans St.
To see the rest of the photos with captiosn go to the Pax Christi NJ Facebook page.

Do you want join in the conversation with other NJ Catholics who are interested in advocating for social justice and in promoting the principles of Catholic Social Teaching? Here is your opportunity. Join Pax Christi NJ on Yahoo! Groups.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/paxnj/

Yesterday I received an email with a "grassroots video" from the Associate Director of Parish Outreach & Training for the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry at the Archdiocese of Newark. I watched the video which focused solely on abortion and gay marriage. It also glorified war and America's "economic power". (more after the jump)

I just sent this email to the Newark Archdiocesan Pro-Life Office. I may submit it as a letter to the editor in some of the NJ papers.

I would like to hear your thoughts on the subject.

The bishops are responding to Biden on abortion but they say something very interesting about all life issues. I hope this statement is not overlooked by those who received this email:

“Which living members of the human species should be seen as having fundamental human rights, such as a right not to be killed? The Catholic Church’s answer is: Everybody. No human being should be treated as lacking human rights, and we have no business dividing humanity into those who are valuable enough to warrant protection and those who are not.”