The sexual abuse charges that have been filed against Cardinal George Pell, a high-ranking Vatican official in the Curia, raise many questions and have set off alarms about the effectiveness of Pope Francis’s response to allegations of clergy abuse of minors.
Written by: Dolly Pomerleau and Kathleen Blank Riether, Quixote Volunteer
Catholics Speak Out (CSO), since its inception has focused on dialogue between the laity and hierarchy promoting equality and justice within the Church. We are now discerning the need for a shift and expansion in CSO’s mission as the national climate of polarization in our country based on marginalizing, scapegoating and excluding certain minority groups has intensified.
By: Dolly P.
At 75 years old, I’ve been around a few blocks more than a few times, with signs held aloft. The White House. The Pentagon. The Capitol. The Catholic bishops’ headquarters. The Vatican Ambassador’s place. The Vatican. The DC Republican headquarters. And so on.
After 40 years of pounding the pavements, I am rather jaded. When I first heard of a Women’s March on DC scheduled for January 21, 2017, I had a “ho-hum” reaction. I pledged to be there, of course, to add another body at a time when numbers mattered. But I wasn’t excited. Then…
In October we watched as Hurricane Matthew slammed into Haiti, a country still mired in a years-long governance crisis that grew out of an earthquake in 2010. We were not optimistic about the outcome for Haiti's most vulnerable populations, the poor and the rural poor. The storm destroyed much of southern Haiti and the northwestern peninsula, but spared the heart of the country, including the densely populated capital at Port au Prince.
My head has been solidly in two zones this past fall: the election and the intensive revision of the Inclusive Lectionary Sunday reading series. Then the zones merged into one — the use of language, and how it can cause pain to “the poor, the lame, the blind, the deaf.” and so on.
The language of the campaign was crass, insensitive, and hurtful to so many people. It objectified them, denying them their dignity as human beings. “How can I insult you? Let me count the ways” seemed to be the mantra. Group after group of people were insulted and mocked.
The Nicaraguan Investment Conditionality Act (NICA Act) is a congressional bill introduced in July 2016. The NICA Act focuses on limiting long term aid to Nicaragua from financial institutions such the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank due to the Nicaraguan government’s restrictions on transparent elections and limitations on political freedoms (i.e. political opposition parties).
This August we began our first concentrated construction project through the Homes of Hope and our financing agreement with Banpro. Concentrating production allows us to save money on materials, transportation, and labor and gives the homes a strong social component as new communities are built with the houses.
On March 2, 2016, internationally recognized Indigenous and Honduran social movement leader Berta Caceres was murdered following an intense struggle against the Agua Zarca Dam in Honduras. Berta was the General Coordinator of the Indigenous Lenca organization COPINH and national Honduran social movement leader against the 2009 SOA-graduate led coup in Honduras and the resulting US-backed and financed repressive regimes. She received constant death threats, surveillance, and repression. Despite all the threats, Berta refused to be silent. Demand justice for her death today!
Much of the election season to date has revolved around the questions of immigration reform and border security, yet little time has been given to the devastation that is now tearing through Mexico and the northern region of Central America. To address this pandemic of violence will require multiple government agencies, grassroots movements, and leadership in the White House and Congress. Why then, are we on the cusp Super Tuesday without hearing a single comprehensive plan?
Now, Martelly is legally obligated to step down on February 7th and no replacement has been elected. Hope of legitimately electing a replacement in the next week is absurd, but alternate solutions are faint. This past weekend, representatives from the Organization of American States were in Haiti to review possible options for moving forward. One viable option would be to create an interim government to hold power and organize elections.
Located at the entrance of Santa Teresa (Carazo) municipality, only 53 kilometers from Managua, the walls are goingup in the first house that the Roncalli-John XXIII Association is building in an alliance with BANPRO. This is the foundation of a program that intends to respond to 46.7% of the population with income that is less than that traditionally required by financial institutions that grant credit.
The Priests for Equality
West Hyattsville, MD, 1994, xxiv+468 pp.
Reviewed by Virginia Ramey Mollenkott
