Yesterday, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) sent a letter to members of the House regarding the budget. Here’s an excerpt of their letter:
“The federal budget should protect human life and dignity, make the poor a top priority and promote the common good of all during tough economic times…
“A just framework for future budgets cannot rely on disproportionate cuts in essential services to poor persons. It requires shared sacrifice by all, including raising adequate revenues, eliminating unnecessary military and other spending and addressing the long-term costs of health insurance and retirement programs fairly.”
Yesterday morning the US Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholic Relief Services launched a major campaign to confront global poverty. Dubbed Catholics Confront Global Poverty, the Campaign aims to mobilize one million U.S. Catholics to advocate to end poverty, hunger and disease around the world.
Bishop Howard Hubbard, Chairman of the Committee on International Justice and Peace at the USCCB and Bishop of Albany, NY, launched the campaign along with Mr. Ken Hackett, President of Catholic Relief Services. Bishop Fernando Bargallo of Merlo-Moreno Argentina and Ugandan Archbishop John Baptist Odama took part in the event as well. Archbishop Odama closed his message with a charge for “people of good faith and good will to advocate for the promotion and defense of human dignity.”
The launch took place at the annual Catholic Social Ministry Gathering, held on Capitol Hill here in Washington. I attended the event along with hundreds of leaders from across the US. They are in town this week to share, learn, advocate and strategize. It was an exciting moment where local and national leaders joined together “in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in the developing world.”
The Catholics Confront Global Poverty initiative is built on the foundation of the earlier Catholic Campaign Against Global Poverty that started in 2005. To learn more about the initiative, visit www.usccb.org/globalpoverty and www.crs.org/globalpoverty.
I was able to talk with Bishop Hubbard after the event and he offered his thoughts for you in this video message:
On Thursday, bishops from all of the G8 countries released a letter urging the G8 country leaders to honor their commitments to reduce global poverty and address climate change at their July summit in Toyako, Japan.
“Chicago Cardinal Francis E. George, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, was joined by the presidents of bishops’ conferences in other G-8 countries in reminding the leaders of their promise to spend $50 billion annually on development assistance — with half going to Africa — by 2010. “This commitment must be met and additional commitments should be made in the areas of health care, education and humanitarian aid,” the bishops wrote.
ONE is campaigning to ensure that the Congressional budget does not cut foreign assistance programs like Feed the Future that help people break the cycle of poverty and hunger.
The Horn of Africa is experiencing its worst drought in 60 years. More than 11 million people, mostly nomadic pastoralists and farmers in south-central Somalia, north-eastern Kenya, and south-eastern Ethiopia, are severely lacking access to food.
2011 marks 30 years since the first cases of AIDS were documented. Take a closer look at the specific, achievable goals we must hit by 2015 to make this year the beginning of the end of AIDS.
As aid agencies warn more than 9 million people could be affected by a food crisis in East Africa, world leaders are failing to keep their 2009 promises to tackle the causes of chronic hunger and support farmers in the world's poorest countries.
