Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Footsteps
July / August 2012 CALENDAR
Jul 1
Jul 15
Jul 16
Blessed Junipero Serra St. Bonaventure Canonization of St. Francis
IMMORAL DOCUMENT
The following remarks were given on Capitol Hill on Aug. 1 as part of a call from faith leaders across the religious spectrum. A budget is a moral document. That phrase was coined by the faith community and has become a refrain in the ongoing debates over decits and budgets. But in [the recent] House vote on extending the Bush-era tax cuts, we see one more example of the priorities and principles of the broader GOP budget and how they apply to the rich and to the poor. Because of this, we must conclude that the Republican budget is an immoral document in the way it treats the poor. I certainly dont believe that all our Republican lawmakers came to Washington to hurt poor people, but its time for some of them to challenge the dominant forces in their party and face the consequences of such indefensible choices. The House GOP budget wants to extend tax cuts and credits for the wealthiest people of our society while cutting tax benets for the poorest including millions of low-income working families with children at risk. Proven and effective tax credits, which can lift families out of poverty, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC), which have historically had bipartisan support, are now being dramatically reduced. All the while, tax cuts for the wealthy are further expanded and the amount of money the richest can keep from their estate taxes continues to grow. This is an egregious contrast and a starkly immoral budget choice...
Aug 11
St. Claire of Assisi Sep 9
Welcome event for Br. Alexander Escalera
Sep 16
Fraternity Gathering Sep 17
The Stigmata of Francis Sep 29
Fr. Groody at San Carlos
To reward the rich even more while actually punishing the poor is a direct offense to all of our religious traditions. For Catholic lawmakers, it is a fundamental violation of Catholic social teaching, and the Catholic bishops have said so. They called this budget choice unwise and unjust... In all of our decisions, the poor and vulnerable the ones Jesus called the least of these should be protected, especially by people of faith, regardless of their party afliations and political philosophies. Its time to cut through all the political clutter, ideology, and self-interest... Its time to do the right thing and protect the poor.
--Jim Wallis, Sojourners (8/2/12)
Birthdays
Jul
Jul 28
Aug 2
Sep
Sep 1
Sep 6
Calvin Stafford Ruby King Meribeth Lambert Marian Sola Betty Riedinger Alice Sousa
MINISTERS MESSAGE
By Rosemary Apodaca
Aug 27
Pauline Bigby
Sep 16
Benny Garcia Sep 28
Brian Simmons
Professions
Jul 18
Dee Ferris Sep 16
Pauline Bigby Sep 17
Magdalena Cho Sep 27
Rosemary Apodaca Sep 27
Anne Peloquin Sep 27
Carol Greenwald
I promise to live all the days of my life the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Secular Franciscan Order by observing its rule of life.
Footsteps
is published monthly by: The Junipero Serra of Carmel Secular Franciscan Fraternity
Deadline for Submissions: 2nd Monday Carol Greenwald - Editor (Carol.Greenwald.OSF@gmail.com)
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HAPPENINGS
Regional Day of Reflection There arefor Candidates and still openings It is not too late to register Newly Professed
Blessed Junipero Serra Region will host a Day of Reflection for candidates and newly professed on Saturday, November 3, at San Damiano Retreat in Danville. All candidates and newly professed Secular Franciscans are encouraged to come and gather together for Mass, formation, prayer, and social time. The cost is $40 per person and includes lunch. Topics to be discussed will include: The Franciscan Family and its structure, Profession, Nature of the OFS, Franciscan Spirituality, and a question & answer period. We will begin at 8:30am and end at 4pm. (Those coming a long distance can arrange with the Retreat House to stay on Friday night. Speak directly with Lisa or Mary about availability of rooms and cost) Registration forms will be sent out to ministers soon. We strongly encourage fraternities to pay all or part of the registration fee for their candidates.
Rev. Daniel G. Groody, C.S.C. Associate Professor of Theology University of Notre Dame
who will inform our thinking about global migration and immigration. Presentation: Open Discussion: 9 am - 11 am 1:30 - 3 pm
Announcement
Our Lady of Angels Church, Burlingame Please bring your banners to process into church. Followed by potluck lunch and social in the Lower Hall Our Lady of Angels Fraternity will provide beverages and sandwiches.
FAN Statement on Leadership Conference of Women Religious Statement
A few weeks ago I gave a personal reection on what Catholic sisters have meant to me. And, more recently, I was in Colorado Springs and had the chance to spend some time with the Sisters of Saint Francis of Perpetual Adoration. It was wonderful to be able to pray, share and break bread with these wonderful women who have dedicated their lives to living the Gospel. At the Franciscan Action Network we work very closely with sisters all over the country who feed the hungry, care for the sick and shelter the homeless -- all the things that Jesus spoke of and commanded us to do. In Washington, we have worked in collaboration with Leadership Conference of Woman Religious (LCWR) on many issues. Sister Marie Lucey OSF, FAN's Director of Advocacy and Member Relations, spent eight years working on advocacy at LCWR. I have never heard any sister say anything that goes against the teachings of Jesus. LCWR recently issued a statement on the Vatican's investiga-
As Senators return this week from their Memorial Day recess, the Farm Bill is one of many items they may address. The USCCB urges Senators to "oppose cuts to effective and efcient anti-hunger programs that help people live in dignity." You can read a bishops' letter about the proposed cuts and nd other USCCB resources related to hun-
FRANCISCANS IN ACTION
JUSTICE
A Letter to the United States Senate on the Proposed Federal Budget
On behalf of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, we wish to address the moral and human dimensions of the federal budget. A just framework cannot rely on disproportionate cuts in essential services to poor persons; it requires shared sacrice 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. As you consider budget proposals that address how to allocate burdens and sacrices and balance resources and needs, we reiterate the following moral criteria to guide these decisions: 1. Every budget decision should be assessed by whether it protects or threatens human life and dignity. 2. A central moral measure of any budget proposal is how it affects the least of these (Matthew 25). The needs of those who are hungry and homeless, without work or in poverty should come rst. 3. Government and other institutions have a shared responsibility to promote the common good of all, especially ordinary workers and families who struggle to live in dignity in difcult economic times. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states it is the proper role of government to make accessible to each what is needed to lead a truly human life: food, clothing, health, work, education and culture, suitable information, the right to establish a family, and so on (no. 1908). Poor and vulnerable people do not have powerful lobbyists to advocate their interests, but they have the most compelling needs.
USCCB.org
I N T E G R I T Y O F C R E AT I O N
Global Climate Change - An Election Issue
One of the most serious challenges our nation faces is global climate change, yet neither presidential candidate has raised this as an issue. The Franciscan Action Network (FAN), calls on both President Obama and Governor Romney to acknowledge that climate change is an extremely critical ecological and moral issue, and identify actions they would undertake to address this threat to life on Earth.
--Franciscan Action Network
Footsteps
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