Cowardice asks the question - is it
safe?
Expediency asks the question - is it
political?
Vanity asks the question - is it
popular?
But conscience asks the question - is it right?
And there comes a time when one must take a position
that is neither safe…nor political…nor popular…
but one must take it because it is right.
– Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
It is necessary that all
participate, each according to his [her] position and role, in promoting the
common good. This obligation is inherent in the dignity of the human
person. As far as possible citizens
should take an active part in public life" -- Catechism of the Catholic Church
Welcome to St. Theresa
Social Concerns Peace and Justice-Act Now Webpage. Please refer to this page frequently to get the latest action
alerts* and learn about peace and justice opportunities locally and globally.
*There are currently 4 Action Alerts
(Action alerts are numbered)
Protect
Everyday Iowans
Protect
our Waters
The state
legislature recently decided to form a study committee to assess the flood's
effects on the livestock industry. We need to make sure this doesn't turn into
Iowa taxpayers forking over millions of dollars to bail out the factory farm
industry.
Contact Gov. Chet Culver,
Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy,
House Speaker Pat Murphy and Senate President Jack Kibbie and urge them to
respond to the everyday Iowans affected by this crisis, not corporate ag and
factory farms.
1)ACTION: Click here
to let your state officials how you feel on this issue
You can also give them a
call:
Gov. Culver: 515-281-5211
Sen. Kibbie: 712-852-4140
Sen. Gronstal: 712-328-2808
Rep. McCarthy: 515-953-5221
Rep. Murphy: 563-582-5922
Congress has a job to do: pass
Appropriations bills
We are grateful that the House and
Senate Appropriations subcommittee budget allocations for fiscal year 2009
provide an increase in funding for domestic programs. However, the work of bringing
the subcommittee requests to the full committee in the House has been
"hung up" by partisan disagreements.
Please contact your Senators and
Representative. Tell them to keep the appropriations process going and get the
job done. This is not a time for politics to impede necessary legislation.
2)ACTION: Click here
to let your federal officials how you feel on this issue
Medicare Improvements Delayed in the
Senate
Please contact your Senators at both
their local and national offices, urging them to support H.R. 6331, the
Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act. The Senate failed to get
enough votes to consider the bill last week, and Senate Majority Leader Harry
Reid intends to bring it up for a vote again next week.
3) ACTION: Click here
to let your federal officials how you feel on this issue
The message is: vote YES on H.R.
6331.
More information on the bill:
This bill safeguards the current
reimbursement rate to Medicare physicians rather than lowering it 10.4%, thus forestalling
the possibility that many physicians would be inclined to drop Medicare
beneficiaries.
President Bush has threatened to veto H.R. 6331 because the cost of maintaining
the current reimbursement to Medicare physicians is offset by cutting some
bonus payments to private Medicare, the "Medicare Advantage" plans,
plans which are paid at a higher level than traditional Medicare. To override a
Presidential veto, both Chambers must vote to override by a two-thirds
majority. The House voted to pass H.R. 6331 by 355-59 on June 24th. The Senate
vote is critical.
Poverty Alert: Endorse the Campaign to Reduce Poverty in
America. 37 million Americans live in
poverty. You can help. Please join us in this fight to reduce
poverty and support those in our communities with limited resources. Find out more about the Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America
and 20 Things You Can Do To Address Poverty in
your community.
4).ACTION: Click here
to endorse Catholic Charities USA Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America
The 2008
session of the 82nd General Assembly ended a little after 2:30 a.m.
on Saturday morning. It will take a couple of days to study all of what
happened during the frenetic last couple of days of the session. Legislators
were amending bills that were first passed only a couple of hours before. Let’s
take a look at what happened at the legislature related to our issues of
interest during the last week.
I have some
disappointing news first. Even though nearly a thousand of you contacted your
legislators, we were not able to push through an increase in tax credits for
the Educational Opportunities Act. I believe the increase got caught up
in some unrelated issues at the Legislature, but there are indications that a
$2.5 million increase is a strong possibility next year. Sen. Frank Wood (D),
chair of the joint committee on education appropriations, said on the floor of
the Senate that they would do everything they could to raise it next year. The
amount of tax credits remains at $7.5 million, which will still assist private
schools in raising scholarship money to help low- and middle-income Iowans to
choose the best school for their children. The legislature raised the amount of
funding for textbooks for nonpublic school students by about four percent, to a
total of $690,165, and kept the status quo for nonpublic school transportation
at $8,604,714. We are grateful for legislators’ support of these programs.
Senate
File 2216, the
“core curriculum” bill, passed on the final day of the session. The bill was a
priority of the governor and will put into place a core curriculum for reading,
mathematics, and science for all public and accredited nonpublic schools in
One of the
pleasant surprises of the session was contained in the appropriations bill for
health and human services, Senate File 2425. As discussed last week, in
this $1.2 billion bill there is a $200,000 appropriation for the Iowa
Department of Human Services to award grants to agencies for the provision of
counseling to women who have unplanned pregnancies. Thanks to the work of Rep.
Dave Heaton (R) and several others, we were able to strengthen the wording of
the bill to clarify that the program is to be supportive of childbirth. We are
appreciative of the bipartisan support for the amendment and for the many
contacts that our readers made on this issue.
The same
bill also includes the $750,000 appropriation for family planning we opposed
that was supported by Planned Parenthood. This new money will be used to
reimburse providers for family planning services that reach low-income women,
in addition to the $19 million or so in government funds that are already
directed to family planning services in
Finally, SF
2425 as approved also included the “Healthy Kids Act,” which directs
schools to comply with nutritional standards for foods and beverages sold or
provided at the school (other than concession stands or fundraisers). It also
requires every physically able student (K-5) to engage in 30 minutes of
physical activity per school day. The requirement is two hours a week for
grades 6 through 12. Schools will not be allowed to shorten academic coursework
to accomplish these physical activity goals. This will cause some scheduling
and staffing challenges, particularly in high school.
We were
pleased to see that the immigration bill, House File 2686, did not
resurface last week and was not approved by the Senate.
The health
care coverage bill, House File 2539, passed both chambers overwhelmingly
last week. The ICC supported the bill, which funds an expansion of health
insurance coverage for children. The bill states the intent of the General
Assembly that all Iowans will have health care coverage, with the initial
priority of covering all children eligible for Medicaid or Hawk-I (for children
whose parents make a little too much money to be covered by Medicaid).
Among many
other provisions, HF 2539 requires the Iowa Comprehensive Health
Insurance Association, with the Iowa Health Care Coverage Advisory Council, to
develop coverage for all children and parents without coverage for purchase as
of 2010.
Senate
File 2386, which
relates to energy efficiency, passed the Senate and will go to the Governor for
his signature. SF 2386 establishes a commission on energy efficiency
standards and requires utilities to report energy efficiency results and
savings. The legislation also calls for an interim study committee to examine
energy efficiency plans from a consumer focus. The ICC supported the bill.
It seems
evident in our world of increasing energy prices that it is in our best
economic interest to move in a direction of greater energy efficiency and
renewable energy. As a moral obligation, energy is needed for human life and
dignity. We don’t want to leave future generations around the world with
depleted natural resources or an unhealthy environment.
Local
Advocacy Opportunities
Iowa
Catholic Conference-530
42nd www.iowacatholicconference.org
The
public voice of Iowa Bishops. Contact
Tom Chapman at 243-6256 more information.
A Mid-Iowa Organizing Strategy
(AMOS)
A community, issues-based
ecumenical group made up of member churches.
For more information on St. Theresa’s involvement, click on AMOS on the
Social Concerns menu to the left, or contact John McMichael at the church
office at 279-4654.
Catholic Peace Ministry- http://www.catholicpeaceministry.org/
An ecumenical group devoted to peace and justice. For more information contact Brian Terrell
at 255-8114
Catholic Worker House- http://www.desmoinescatholicworker.org/
Catholic Worker movement
implements the teachings of the Gospels by living their promise of mercy,
compassion, justice, and love. For more information contact Frank Cordaro frank.cordaro@gmail.com
Iowa Citizens for Community
Improvement-2001 Forest Ave http://www.iowacci.org/
Iowa Citizens for Community
Improvement organizes people of all ethnic backgrounds to create social,
economic and environmental justice in their local communities. For more information call 282-0484.
Des
Moines Area Social Action Committee (DMASAC)
Des Moines Catholic
parish social action groups meet quarterly to raise awareness on current
issues. Contact Susie Paloma at
256-1478 spaloma@msn.com
National Alliance for the Mentally
Ill (NAMI) Iowa http://www.namiiowa.org/
Iowa’s voice on mental illness. Call 254-0417 for more information
National Catholic Rural Life
Conference http://www.ncrlc.com/
The National Catholic Rural Life
Conference headquarters is located here in Des Moines. NCRLC applies the teachings of Jesus Christ
for the betterment of rural America and care of God's creation. We provide
spiritual, educational and advocacy assistance to help rural people shape their
own destinies and lead lives of dignity.
National
& International Advocacy Opportunities
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/actionops.shtml
is an assembly of the hierarchy of
the United States and the U.S. Virgin Islands who jointly exercise certain
pastoral functions on behalf of the Christian faithful of the United States.
The purpose of the Conference is to promote the greater good which the Church
offers humankind, especially through forms and programs of the apostolate
fittingly adapted to the circumstances of time and place. This purpose is drawn
from the universal law of the Church and applies to the episcopal conferences
which are established all over the world for the same purpose.
Catholic
Campaign for Human Development http://www.usccb.org/cchd
CCHD mission is to fund low-income controlled
empowerment projects
and to educate
Catholics about the root causes of poverty within the context of the
Catholic social tradition. CCHD programs are funded through an annual
collection in parishes each year—of which 25% is used to fund local
projects.
Catholic Charities USA- http://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/
Catholic Relief Services- http://www.crs.org/act/
Bread for
the World- http://www.bread.org/
Pax
Christi- http://www.paxchristiusa.org/
National
Religious Campaign Against Torture http://www.nrcat.org/
The National Religious Campaign
Against Torture (NRCAT) is a growing membership organization committed to
ending U.S.-sponsored torture, and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.
Local Justice Opportunities
Just Faith http://www.justfaith.org/Contact Susie Paloma at 256-1478 spaloma@msn.com Since 2005, service trips are offered from Central
Iowa to New Orleans in February and August, which are coordinated through
Operation Helping Hands program of Catholic Charities USA. Contact Celeste Egger at 274-6483 for more
info. Next service trips: August 9-16, 2008 and September 20-27, 2008.
Click here to see pics and reflection from Feb 2008 trip
St.
Theresa Coffee Project/Work of Human Hands
On the Social Concerns menu on the left side of this screen, click on
Coffee Project/Work of Human hands. Support Catholic Relief Services Fair
Trade program by buying coffee, tea, chocolate and items for your home and
gifts for your loved ones. Contact
Anita Holub at 251-6889 for more info.
St.
Theresa Transitional House On the Social Concerns Menu on the left side of this screen,
click on St. Theresa Transitional House.
A house
of justice for large, low-income families.
Contact Anne Dols at 277-2465 for more info.
Reggies
Sleepout http://www.reggiessleepout.org/
Annual event to raise
funds and awareness of homeless youth in our community