Catholic Faith Education Newsletter

January 15, 2004

 


Catholic Social Justice Teachings

bullet U.S. Catholic Bishops - Justice, Peace, and Human Development - A rich source of documents, articles, news, and links to other organizations.

A new section on the site is of particular interest to educators: A Place at the Table - Resources for Parishes and Dioceses. These resources aim at helping reflection and action on this important message: to be "ever more faithful witnesses of God's love and justice, protecting the dignity of all God's children, especially the poor and vulnerable." This page give access to
Education/Formation Resources adapted to : Elementary; Secondary; Youth/Young; Adult; College/University; Adult.

bullet Australian Catholic Social Justice Council - Articles on various issues, spirituality, links to other Australian organizations. The site also makes available two brief documents that give a good overview of the development and teachings of the Catholic Church on social Justice: Introduction to Catholic Social Teaching (pdf); Development of the Catholic Church's Thinking on Human Rights (pdf).

bullet CAFOD, the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development in the UK, offers a wide range of free, online and priced resources to support teachers at Key Stages 1-4 and beyond.

bullet Trócaire is the official overseas
development agency of the Catholic
Church in Ireland. This organization has developed several quality resources. Among these is a course entitled Civic, Social and Political Education (CSPE) that aims at enabling teachers and students to find out about human rights and global issues, to develop their skills and to take action for a better world. This is an excellent resource!

Face of Jesus bullet Justice Education in Catholic Schools - a sub-group of the the Catholic Commission for Justice, Development and Peace, Melbourne, Australia. The site contains resources and links on international and national social justice issues and articles on social justice educations.

bullet The Web of the Cross - "This site is a a meditation using the Way of the Cross. Each '"station" is linked to a web site that invites you to a response in faith to the suffering Christ in our global village. Some sites provide a directed mediation with images and music, others take you to a page of links that you might like to explore and reflect on. This series is based on the revised Stations of the Cross released by the Congregation of Rites in 1975. "

 

Other resources online

On our web site:

Social Justice Sites Reviews and our extensive listing of links to online sites on social justice issues.

bullet A Handbook of Catholic Social Teaching
By Gerald Darring, adjunct instructor of Theology at Spring Hill College, Mobile, Alabama. Originally published in 1987. Notes, quotations, questions, and paths to reflection on the following Issues: Social Justice - Economic Justice - Political Justice - Discrimination - War and Peace - Criminal Justice.

bullet Professor Incandela's "Catholic Social Thought" Online Resources - A extensive and useful listing of annotated links organized by specific ethical issues. Professor Incandela teaches at Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame Indiana.

bullet Catholic Social Justice Catholic Social Teaching - An eclectic collection of links, quotations, prayers, and notes on Catholic Social Justice.

“That’s Not Fair!” (No longer online) is a curriculum designed to help students (6th grade and up) understand the main themes of Catholic Social Teaching. The program, having been endorsed by Bishop Raymond Boland, Bishop of Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese, includes activities and materials to help students gain a realistic understanding of the poor. The final outcome of “That’s Not Fair!” is to involve students in advocacy on behalf of people who are less fortunate, or who cannot speak on their own behalf.
"The weak say to us: 'I need you.' If they are heard, a community is created," said Vanier. "The one who runs the greatest risk is the one who says he has no need of anyone."

"That man creates war and competition. However, to the degree that one recognizes 'I am weak, I need you,' we are willing to work together."

"Are we willing to hear the weak one? This is the question. If we decide not to listen to him, then we continue living in division, in competition, in war. If we choose to receive him, then we build the future together," Vanier stressed.

-- Jean Vanier, at World Youth Day 2000

bullet Peace and Social Justice Ministry, Catholic Diocese of Joliet - Offers a number of useful resources: ideas for classrooms, peace and justice liturgies, information on various issues. Take a look at the very effective FLASH Macromedia presentation called Poverty USA -- Catholic Campaign for Human Development -- A hand up, not a hand out. There is also a quiz based on this presentation. Another section to explore is the Social Justice Resources for Educators component.

 

 

bullet People & Priest (no longer online) - The online version of this magazine offers a few articles on Social Justice Issues (a free registration is required):

  • Rich World, Poor World May - An issue of equality
  • Seek Justice May - Politics and enchantment

bullet Papal and Episcopal Documents relating to Catholic Social Justice Teaching - statements relating to social justice by popes, church councils, national bishops' conferences, and individual bishops.

bullet Youth Updates - Articles on Social Justice issues published online by St. Anthony Messenger Press:

  • Simple Living Isn't So Simple
  • Putting a Face On Poverty
  • Building a Culture of Life
  • Facing Hunger in this Land of Plenty
  • Wrestling with the Death Penalty

bullet The Social Doctrine of the Church - Articles #2419-2425 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church

bullet Catholic Social Justice Teaching - this handy page on the web site of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe sets out the The Six Core Principles of Catholic Social Justice Teaching as well as ethical framework for economic life.
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Upcoming Conferences & Forums

Marygrove to Host National Education Conference to Mark the 50th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education

Detroit, MI--Marygrove College announced that it will kick off a year-long series of events, which will culminate in a three-day national conference to focus on the status of education since Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka. "Revitalizing the Purpose and Spirit of Education: The Imprint of Brown v. the Board of Education" will host educational leaders from throughout the country who will explore educational standards since Brown, and the needs of schools, teachers, and students in the next 50 years. "There is a great deal of debate about the strides students have made since the Brown decision," said Alfred Cooke, Ph.D., dean of education. "We hope to provide a thought-provoking forum to discuss these differing perspectives, and help develop a sense of what the future educational landscape can look like."

The series marks the 50th anniversary of the May 17, 1954, U.S. Supreme Court decision, which ended federally sanctioned racial segregation in the public schools by ruling unanimously that separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. A groundbreaking case, Brown not only overturned the precedent of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), which had declared "separate but equal facilities" constitutional, but also provided the legal foundation of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.

The conference will take place October 1 - 3, 2004 and is under the sponsorship of Marygrove College Graduate Studies, the Education Unit, the Master in the Art of Teaching Program, and Undergraduate Studies, Office of Alumni Relations, and Continuing Education.
Marygrove College is a Catholic, liberal arts college located on 53 park-like acres in one of Detroit's oldest residential neighborhoods.
Offering more than 35 programs, Marygrove is widely recognized for its teaching, social work, art, music and dance, undergraduate, and graduate programs.

send us your special event news and we will post it here.
Announcement



Until January 31, 2004

Forum Gallery will be presenting for the first time in New York, Nelson Shanks’ Portrait of Pope John Paul II. The portrait was part of a yearlong exhibition entitled "St. Peter's and the Legacy of the Pope" that traveled throughout the United States. Shanks’ likeness of the pope confidently extends a five-hundred-year tradition of papal portraits, informed by the artist’s intense reading of the Old Masters. The painter has rendered with intense insight a towering historical personality near the end of his life, yet a figure who seems altogether contemporary and familiar, a universal father. To see a reproduction of the painting, click here.

A bit of humor

 


An elderly woman approached her pastor and asked if he would say a Latin Mass some Sunday.
"I never celebrate Mass in Latin," the priest explained.
The lady sniffed and muttered, "If Latin was good enough for Jesus, it should be good enough for you!"

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A local priest joined a community service club, and the members thought they would have some fun with him. Under his name on the badge they printed "Hog Caller" as his occupation.
Everyone made a big fanfare as the badge was presented. The priest responded by saying: "I usually am called the 'Shepherd of the Sheep'... but you know your people better than I do."

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Some friars were behind on their belfry payments, so they opened up a small florist shop to raise the funds. Since everyone liked to buy flowers from the "men of God," the rival florist across town thought the competition was unfair. He asked the good fathers to close down, but they would not. He went back and begged the friars to close. They ignored him. He asked his mother to ask the friars to get out of business. They ignored her, too. So the rival florist hired Hugh MacTaggart, the roughest and most vicious thug in town to "persuade" them to close. Hugh beat up the friars and trashed their store, saying he'd be back if they didn't close shop. Terrified, they did so, thereby proving (Brace yourself.)
That Hugh, and only Hugh, can prevent florist friars.

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If God hadn't wanted us to sleep, he wouldn't have invented pews.

-- from Catholic Parish Resources - Bulletin fillers, materials, Mass, Cards
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