photo: The Lord's Pantry

The Lord's Pantry is one of the ways St. John the Baptist in Ottsville, PA strives to promote social justice. Customers can choose the foods they need based on what's available, instead of simply being given items.

"I invite you to carefully study the social doctrine of the Church so that it's principles may inspire and guide your action in the world. May the Holy Spirit make you creative in charity, persevering in your commitments, and brave in your initiatives, so that you will be able to offer your contribution to the building up of the "civilization of love." The horizon of love is truly boundless: it is the whole world!"

- Pope Benedict XVI


Justice Peace and Integrity of Creation

One of the goals of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart is to promote human rights/justice and peace, and the integrity of creation. Br. Warren Perrotto, MSC is the Justice Peace and Integrity of Creation Coordinator for the USA MSC. If you'd like to learn more about issues of human rights and justice or would like to join us in this ministry, please contact Br. Warren at jpic@misacor-usa.org.
January 4-10 is National Migration Week PDF Print
Friday, 02 January 2009 09:46

“The Church is ever mindful that Jesus Christ was himself a refugee, that as a child he had to flee with his parents from his native land in order to escape persecution. In every age, therefore, the Church feels herself called to help refugees.”

Pope John Paul II
Refugee Center, Morong Philipines February 21, 1981

January 4-10 is the 25th annual National Migration Week. This year, we invite you to celebrate this week by learning the difference between migrant, immigrant and refugee or by finding out more about the reasons people migrate and the factors which lead individuals and families to become internally displaced or refugees.  You might also like to take this time to read Welcoming Christ in the Migrant, a document on Catholic Social Teaching on migration prepared by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Check out the USCCB website for ideas for schools, religious education and youth programs; parish activities; spiritual resources and bulletin inserts. Learn more about refugees in the USA by visiting the website of Office of Refugee Resettlement or Catholic Charities USA, and check out the UN Refugee Agency website to learn more about Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and to get statistics and information on refugees worldwide.
 
Child Labor in Yemen PDF Print
Friday, 02 January 2009 09:27
According to the CIA World Factbook, Yemen, which borders Saudia Arabia, Oman, the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden and Red Sea, is one of the poorest countries in the Arab world.

The literacy rate is 50.2%, and only 30% of females are literate. Even males spend only an average of 11 years in school, (compared to 15 years in the United States), and females can expect to receive only 7 years of schooling.

Yemen has a population of approximately 23 million, a labor force of 6.3 million and an unemployment rate of 35%. Most of the labor force (over 75%) works in agriculture and herding.

Against this backdrop, it is easier to see why children face a high risk of forced labor and trafficking. Muna Salim, head of the Combating Child Labour Unit at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour, when speaking to IRIN (the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs), said that a government survey in 2000 showed that there were 421,000 child laborers working in Yemen, but she believes that the real number is much higher, especially since food prices are rising and the economy is worsening. According to statistics posted on UNICEF's website, 11% of children aged 5-14 years in 2006 were involved in child labor at the time the survey was taken. However, there is currently no precise data on the subject.

IRIN reports that on December 21, 2008, a three-year project called Alternatives to Combat Child Labour through Education and Sustainable Services (ACCESS-Plus) and funded by the US Department of Labor was launched to raise awareness and reduce the incidence of child labor in three of Yemen's governates with the highest rates of child labor (Hudeidda, Aden and Taiz) and one governate with a high risk of child trafficking (Hajjah). The program’s director is Kunera Moore, who told IRIN that the worst forms of child labor are the trafficking of children into Saudi Arabia, situations similar to slavery in the fishing and mining industries and illicit activities such as 'qat' smuggling. Children are also sometimes used as soldiers, prostituted or given as a guarantee of repayment of a loan in debt bondage.

Read IRIN's article: YEMEN: Eliminating the worst forms of child labour
Watch a video on child labor in Yemen
 
Religious Freedom and the Spirituality of the Heart PDF Print
Saturday, 20 December 2008 21:01

Fr. David Foxen's article The Spirituality of the Heart and Religious Freedom is now available in our Justice and Peace documents section. In this article, Fr. David takes a look at the history of the Catholic Church's position on religious freedom, discusses the two primary elements of the Second Vatican Council 's groundbreaking adoption of the Declaration on Religious Freedom and relates the Church's current teaching on religious freedom to the Spirituality of the Heart. Fr. David is a Missionary of the Sacred Heart and currently serves as parochial vicar to the parishes of Our Lady of Guadalupe and Our Lady of Solitude in Palm Springs, CA.

Read the article: The Spirituality of the Heart and Religious Freedom
 
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