Feast of St. Francis, October 4th

(From Bread for the World)

St. Francis of Assisi had a deep love for “Lady Poverty” and turned from material possessions in order to be fully possessed by God who first loved him. St. Francis also loved all of creation because it spoke to him of the Creator of all.

Last week we were blessed to have Pope Francis visiting the United States and sharing his heart, so captured by the plight of the poor and the suffering of Earth. The Catholic Climate Covenant offers ways to intensify our efforts to care for creation. And during the week of the Pope’s visit, Franciscan Action Network calls us to a week of moral action on climate change. As Pope Francis touched down in DC, hundreds of religious leaders pledged to work together toward an end to hunger and poverty by 2030. (See Bread.org). Do we encounter those who suffer hunger and who live in poverty? Do we see in their faces our sister, our brother? That might be Pope Francis’ question for us. 

On Immigration

Blanca Hernandez Rivera, 23, prays before breakfast in the Kino Border Initiative's Aid Center for Deported Migrants in Nogales, Mexico. Hernandez was repatriated to Mexico after being caught by U.S. Border Patrol agents as she was trying to enter the U.S. to reunite with her daughter. (CNS photo/David Maung)

Over several months in early 2015 the Kino Border Initiative and Jesuits of the USA and Canada undertook an investigation of migrants regarding how they were treated by USA customs when apprehended at the border (KBI Study Reveals Rampant Migrant Abuse During Deportations at U.S.-Mexico Border) Fr. Sean Carroll, SJ, Executive Director of the Kino Border Initiative, participated in Congressional Briefings organized in partnership with the U.S. Bishops’ Justice for Immigrants Campaign to discuss the “Francis Effect” on immigration policy. You can help amplify Fr. Sean’s message about the need for immigration reform by sending a letter to President Obama and to your elected representatives in Congress. Just fill in your information, adapt the letter to your liking, and click. It will go to all of them at once!

Refugee Crisis & Climate Change

Credit: http://www.unhcr.org.uk

These figures pale in comparison to the number of people who are likely to be displaced because of climate change. During his recent visit to Alaska, President Obama drew attention to the plight of whole villages that have to be relocated because of climate change. The International Organization for Migration estimates that by 2050 climate change could create an additional 25 million to 1 billion displaced people. The massive displacement of persons will take place all over the world simultaneously in desperate and disorderly fashion. If the international community now struggles to meet the needs of refugees and other migrants, how will it address the issue of migration due to climate change? How will we respond?

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are intended to end extreme poverty, fight inequality and reverse climate change.

Human Trafficking Poster in Buses

Green Bay, Appleton and Fond du Lac now have this human trafficking poster on the inside and outside of the buses.

Refugee Crisis

The United States bears a special responsibility to the refugee crisis in Europe because our invasion of Iraq, decision to funnel weapons into the region, and failure, along with other countries, to find a diplomatic solution have helped to fuel the violence. Since the Syrian conflict’s beginnings in 2011, the United States has taken in only about 1,500 Syrian refugees. Even with the Obama administration’s promise to take in at least 10,000 next year, we must do much more. 

What Catholic Relief Services Is Doing (CRS)

Catholic Relief Services relates its efforts to provide humanitarian assistance, translation services and much more. Donations to CRS are urgently needed.

Prayer: Lord God, no one is a stranger to you and no one is ever far from your loving care. In your kindness, watch over refugees and victims of war, those separated from their loved ones, young people who are lost, and those who have left home or who have run away from home. Bring them back safely to the place where they long to be and help us always to show your kindness to strangers and to all in need Grant this through Christ our Lord. (from Catholic Online)

The Worldwide Refugee Crisis

(From the New York Times)

The labor market is tightening, and employers know that the undocumented workers in the USA are needed to augment an aging workforce. Throughout the world people also migrate in order to find work that will support their families.  The New York Times provides a macrocosmic view of the global crisis that countries are now facing with a flood of refugees seeking asylum from war, famine, and extreme poverty. 

Sex trafficking common in Midwest

The Fond du Lac Reporter carried a front page article about Theresa Flores’ traumatic experience of being trafficked from her own home as a high school student in an upscale Detroit neighborhood. She was in Fond du Lac on August 8^th for the Community Church’s Second Annual Human Trafficking Conference. “It can happen to anyone,” she said. She launched a S.O.A. P. project to reach victims with information about where they can get help.