Dear Roundtable members,

The Roundtable seeks to provide you with relevant formation and professional development opportunities to enhance your work in the midst of a changing world. To this end, we’ve developed a series of education and formation opportunities that respond to the greatest needs and interests that you’ve expressed over the past year.

We hope you’ll join us again on Thursday, May 31 at 1-2pm ET (10-11am PT) for a webinar on Developing Leaders in your Diocese.

This interactive webinar will examine the disciplines of doing justice ministry in a relational and engaging way. It will feature the topics of: deepening relationship with leaders, especially young people; the importance of focus and vision for teams; and making justice ministry integral to the practical realities of parish life.

Featuring Lonnie Ellis OFS, age 30, who has six years of faith-based organizing and parish experience, much of it in St. Paul, MN. He now works for Franciscan Action Network.

To receive call-in information for the webinar, please RSVP to coordinator@catholicroundtable.org. Our conversation will be limited to 25 participants. Thank you!

The Cardinal Bernardin New Leadership Award is given annually to a Catholic young adult (age 18-30) engaged in efforts to end the root causes of poverty in the United States. The Award is an excellent opportunity to recognize a deserving young Catholic from your diocese. The annual winner is recognized at the annual bishops’ meeting in November and provides an important opportunity for the bishops to celebrate the work of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development to fight poverty in the United States. The department of Justice, Peace, and Human Development of the USCCB needs your help identifying deserving young adults!

Please help by: (1) Nominating young persons from your diocese before July 31, and (2) Getting the word out about the award to other potential nominators, including parishes, community organizations, college campuses, your diocesan newspaper, electronic newsletters, and your diocesan young adult ministry office. Access the nomination form here.

The Romero Center, with which diocesan director Larry DiPaul works closely in the Diocese of Camden, has developed a “Lenten Dimensions” calendar. They gave 45 young adults prompts to connect the Scriptures to their career or vocation, music, media, excerpts from writings, prayer, facts about the world, and images.

The calendar is embedded here for you to take a look and you can share it with others who may be interested. Please note that links are not live until their scheduled date. If you’re a Google user, you can subscribe to the calendar.

Dear Roundtable,

In the last Report, we first announced the theme of the 25^th Annual Social Action Summer Institute – Focus on the Worker: “New Things” in Labor 120 Years after Rerum Novarum. Now we’re only days away from the gathering when many of us will come together for learning, prayer and fellowship. As we prepare for the event, please keep all the presenters and participants in your prayers – that the event may inspire us to be more Spirit-led, effective laborers working to share God’s justice in the world.

As you’ve no doubt heard, Bishop Gabino Zavala of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and co-president of Interfaith Worker Justice will be offering the opening keynote. In anticipation of that address, we’re reprinting Bishop Zavala’s 2010 Labor Day Message, “Enduring Principles of Catholic Social Teaching.”

Some of you know I’m currently pursuing a theology degree, and, inspired by the Church’s support of workers organizing across the country this spring, I wrote an essay for a Church history class on the context and impetuses for Rerum Novarum. I’ve adapted it for the Roundtable Report so that perhaps it might also serve as some background reading for the 2011 SASI.

In addition to planning for SASI, this summer the Roundtable board met via conference call for the first of a two-part summer meeting. Thoughtful conversations and important planning for the upcoming year took place – the most exciting being determining the 2012 Award Recipients and the theme for the 2012 Symposium. Jan Benton was selected to receive the 2012 Harry A. Fagan Award, and Monsignor Marvin Mottet was selected as the 2012 Servant of Justice Award recipient.

The 2012 Symposium will feature Catholic University of America political science professor Dr. Maryann Cusimano Love. She will offer food for thought around the shared and dissonant values of the American Constitution and those of Catholic social teaching.
Save the Dates: the Symposium and Awards Dinner will take place February 11-12, 2012 at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park in Washington DC. More information will be coming soon.

And while you have your calendar open, save the dates for the 2012 Social Action Summer Institute, which will take place July 29-Aug 1, 2012 at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky. We are pleased that JustFaith Ministries will be a major planning partner for the event.

The Roundtable board continues to work this summer for the good of the Roundtable. They will meet again in-person directly after SASI for the second part of the summer board meeting. They are also currently engaged in annual calls to all of you – if you haven’t heard from a Roundtable board member yet, expect a call soon! These calls are an opportunity to share your joys and challenges with a peer eager to listen. They are also an occasion to share suggestions on how the Roundtable can be of better service – so please share your ideas! We appreciate your feedback, and we will take it to the July board meeting planning sessions.

We do put your suggestions into action; in the past year, several Roundtable members expressed a desire to receive more content and training around respecting human life and dignity. In May, Tricia Hoyt of the Diocese of Phoenix offered a webinar training for Roundtable members providing a New Framework for Sharing Teaching on Respect for Life. It was our most popular discussion call to date – if you missed it, be sure to check out the feature article & her powerpoint slides!
And as we plan for a fall webinar, please email me your suggestions of topics and speakers.

Responding to the brokenness they see around them, Catholic young people have heart to serve and change the world – and putting this desire into action can be a prime opportunity to learn about and reflect on Catholic social teaching and unite their faith with the world’s realities. Diocesan directors and young adult ministers gathered in May in the Diocese of Camden to reflect on “Integrating Faith, Service, and Justice”; check out the top three takeaways from the conference. Seventh graders in the Archdiocese of St. Louis also recently put their faith in action by hosting a Social Justice Festival; read about the learning and planning process they participated in – and share it with staff in your own dioceses!

As always, the Roundtable Roundup offers news of social action office transitions, the good work that you are doing, and upcoming initiatives from the Roundtable’s national partners.

In order to continue all of the Roundtable’s work, we depend on your support. Many of you have opted to wait until the start of a new fiscal year to pay your 2011 membership dues. If the new fiscal year has begun, please don’t hesitate – mail in your membership form and dues payment today!

I hope this summer is a rejuvenating time for you – that you are able to create space to hear the Spirit’s call as you plan for upcoming activities for the fall and beyond.

Grace & Peace,

Jenn Svetlik
Roundtable Coordinator

By Karen Clifton, Catholic Mobilizing Network

The Consistent Ethic of Life, belief in the value of life from conception to natural death, is a core Catholic belief, but sometimes difficult to follow. The consistency ethic causes many to recoil at the thought of fighting for life for those who have committed the worst of crimes against society. Thus the death penalty is justified and even promoted. But we as Catholics say, “All life is sacred and only God has power over life and death.”

In many cases, Catholics do not know Church teaching on the death penalty. The Church’s teaching begins with the recognition of the dignity of the human person applies to both victims and offenders. It affirms our commitment to comfort and support victims and their families, while acknowledging the God-given dignity of every human life, even those who do great harm. In his encyclical The Gospel of Life, the Holy Father challenges followers of Christ to be unconditionally pro-life. He reminds us that “the dignity of human life must never be taken away, even in the case of someone who has done great evil. Modern society has the means of protecting itself, without definitively denying criminals the chance to reform” (Gospel of Life, 27).

The United States conference of Catholic Bishops has also spoken out strongly against the death penalty. Most recently, in 2005 the USCCB launched the Bishops Campaign to End Use of the Death Penalty in the United States. In this document, A Culture of Life and the Death Penalty, the Bishops state:

“Our nation should forgo the use of the death penalty because

• The sanction of death, when it is not necessary to protect society, violates respect for human life and dignity.
• State-sanctioned killing in our names diminishes all of us.
• Its application is deeply flawed and can be irreversibly wrong, is prone to errors, and is biased by factors, such as race, the quality of legal representation, and where the crime was committed.
• We have other ways to punish criminals and protect society.”

It is time to make ending the use of the death penalty a priority. The death penalty encompasses many of the social and moral injustices in the United States. It diminishes our society and calls us to take a stand against racial, social and economic injustices. Americans are starting to notice the flaws in the application of the death penalty: it is extremely costly, it is not applied fairly across racial or socioeconomic lines, innocent people have been sentenced, and it is morally wrong according to the Catholic Church’s teaching. Since the death penalty is in the news and on the minds of voters, we need to be part of the political dialogue. Illinois, Montana, Connecticut and Maryland are close to repeal. The church needs to be a leading voice in this movement.

In 2008 the Catholic Mobilizing Network to End Use of the Death Penalty in the United States (CMN) was organized to implement the Bishops Campaign. Our mission is to educate the 67 million U.S. Catholics on Church teaching on the death penalty. A website, www.catholicsmobilizing.org, which is continually updated, has been created to house downloadable educational materials. The website contains educational materials for the classroom and the pulpit, up-to-date news and information, pastoral statements, videos, and downloadable “turnkey” workshops that can be used in parishes. A monthly e-newsletter is published. A speakers’ bureau, headed by Vicki Schieber, Murder Victims Families for Human Rights provides speakers and especially concentrates efforts in States where death penalty legislation is pending. Workshops are presented at conferences to teach educators how to give workshops to others. Interaction with colleges and universities is ongoing to establish a strong youth base. Materials/curricula are available and continually being created to assist educators. Networking with state Catholic Conferences and meetings with the state directors of respect life, social justice and religious education has bridged our work for the common goal of the sanctity of all life. CMN stands ready to assist social justice ministers in parishes to present our downloadable workshops and other educational materials housed on the website.

CMN joins the Bishops when they say, “Our goal is not just to proclaim a position, but to persuade Catholics and others to join us in working to end the use of the death penalty. We seek to help build a culture of life in which our nation will no longer try to teach that killing is wrong by killing those who kill. This cycle of violence diminishes all of us.”

Changes in Winona

Former Roundtable board member Suzanne Belongia will be deeply missed!In late October, just before the social action office in Winona was closed, she wrote a farewell to her fellow Roundtable members. An excerpt is below:

It has been a blessing to get to know so many of you (especially during my years on the Roundtable board) and it seemed wrong to leave this office without letting you know how much I have valued the collegiality you have provided.  There have been many times over the years that good ideas were stolen from some of you and used in Winona. There have been times when I needed a fresh idea or a voice of wisdom and one (or more!) of you were there to provide it. Because of you, I have been a better director and the people of this diocese have been better served. Because of you, I have had laughs when I’ve needed them, been challenged to rethink assumptions and been supported in my professional growth. Because of you I have read things I might never have read, entertained thoughts that I might never have discovered and met people who have become mentors and friends. Thank you for all of that. My prayer is that you will continue to support each other, pray for each other and share resources with each other. You know how important is the work you do, so I will pray that you will continue to challenge each other to get better at it and to support each other in the stretching and the skill-building necessary to get better at it. The Church needs you, perhaps now more than ever. I don’t yet know what I will be doing next, but for the immediate future I will be raising some chickens, working on restoring 9 acres of our farm over to natural prairie and spending lots of time with the newest member of our Catholic Worker community, Louise Suzanne McElmury Freid. She was born last week at home and is, of course, the cutest thing ever.



Joan Harper, Diocese of Los Angeles, Retires & Offers Reflection

Joan Harper, right, with Sr. Gail Young at Death Penalty Focus Dinner

I consider myself blessed to have been asked to serve the Archdiocese of Los Angeles sixteen years ago and grateful that I said yes to the call.  I have overseen CRS and CCHD for the office and I consider these sister programs. Their mission to work with those on the margins, empowering them and bringing hope is joined with the opportunity they offer our Catholic faithful to stand in solidarity with those in need. Our work with JustFaith Ministries complements this effort. The Roundtable has supported all of us in our ministry, bringing us together to learn, share and support one another.

My upcoming retirement from the Office of Justice and Peace provides me with an opportunity to acknowledge those who have journeyed with me these many years. I want to thank all of you as members of the Roundtable who have supported me in my ministry and whom I count as friends. Our journey together has been special to me and I will take with me wonderful memories as well as the hope that our work together will continue in new ways. Thank you for your dedication to promoting justice and peace in a world that so desperately needs it.

Food Pantries receive Financial Support from Archdiocese of Milwaukee through ORB

Twenty food pantries and a variety of assistance programs throughout the ten counties of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee recently received over $25,000 to assist individuals and families who struggle to make ends meet.

Donations came from parishes and schools which participated in the 2010 Operation Rice Bowl (ORB) program. ORB is the Lenten program of Catholic Relief Services (CRS) designed to reflect on the lives of our neighbors around the world who struggle with hunger and poverty. CRS receives 75% of the ORB funds to support international programs, while the remaining 25% supports programs that help those in need within the diocese. This year’s campaign raised $100,600, allowing $25,150 to be distributed to local programs.

Record numbers of people are using emergency pantries as unemployment worsens and every bit of help is appreciated. “We were so excited to receive the check from the Archdiocese. This gift is such a blessing!” writes Alicia Ellis, Director of Central City Churches’ Food Pantry in Milwaukee. They help over 1,000 people each month by providing a 2-3 day supply of food.

The Full Shelf Food Pantry in West Bend (Washington County) distributes over 1 million pounds of grocery items annually, and children under the age of 18 comprise 43% of the people they serve. Twin Lakes Area Food Pantry (western Kenosha County) spends an average of $4,144 per month to purchase enough food to supplement the donations they receive. Both pantries expressed their deep gratitude for the recent donations they received through ORB.

Thanks to generous Catholics who have supported ORB in the diocese since 1984, over $2 million has been donated to CRS. The funds provide clean water, health care, education, and agricultural support in over 100 countries around the world.

See more information about Operation Rice Bowl.



Diocese of Green Bay

Steve Herro, Social Concerns Director of the Diocese of Green Bay, WI, helped arrange a co-signed letter by Chancellor Thomas Harden (University of Wisconsin Green Bay), President Thomas Kunkel (St. Norbert College, De Pere, WI), President Jeffrey Rafn (Northeast Wisconsin Technical College), and Dr. Gregory Maass (Superintendent of Green Bay Area Public Schools) to U.S. Senators Feingold and Kohl and members of U.S. Congress Kagen and Petri asking the delegation to help pass the DREAM Act in the lame duck session.  It appears that this was the first time that the four educational leaders in greater Green Bay collaborated on a public policy initiative.

Archdiocese of Seattle hosts Justice Café for Young Adults

The project is part of the Intercommunity Peace and Justice Center (IPJC), based in Seattle, and sponsored by sixteen religious communities. The Archdiocese of Seattle’s Missions Office collaborates with IPJC on various projects, including CCHD-funded Women’s Justice Circles. The Justice Cafés gather young adults to create spaces where they can

BUILD COMMUNITY: with young adults regionally and nationally
ACT FOR JUSTICE: explore issues of global and local concern and act together for justice
DEEPEN SPIRITUALITY: make connections between spirituality and justice

Monthly topics in 2010-2011 include:  Housing & Homelessness; Climate Change; HIV/AIDS & Global Health; Forced Labor & Sweatshops; Migration; Globalization.

Any young adult group or parish can form a Justice Café.  IPJC provides all the materials and resources, and links the groups across the U.S and the globe.

Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet Honor Women Churchworkers in El Salvador

The intercommunity justice coordinators (from LCWR Region X) held a commemoration service for the four U.S. Churchwomen murdered in El Salvador in December 1980.  More than 120 people attended and renewed our commitment to work for compassionate immigration reform. The film Dying to Live was shown and actions encouraged!  It was a great solidarity event.

The Awakening the Dreamer symposium was also held, where more than 80 people attended and learned of the ‘trinity’ of connections between spiritual fulfillment, environmental sustainability and social justice. Twenty-five attended the facilitator training session; other symposiums are scheduled for 2011.

Diocese of Tucson offers One-Day Training on Teaching Justice & The Dignity of Life

On January 8, the Diocese will offer a bilingual conference for catechists, parish leaders, youth ministers, Catholic School teachers, priests, deacons and all pastoral leaders, including those leaders in the RCIA, adult formation, and outreach ministries. The day will feature the play on immigration “A Line in the Sand” and keynote addresses by Jack Jezreel on “Forming Saints, Prophets and Martyrs,”  and a vision for Christian formation. Workshop topics include social mission, educating youth on CST, The Gospel of Life, border issues, religious tolerance, and globalization.

Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph and Archdiocese of Kansas City to Host Conference on Immigration Issues

On Feb. 4-5, these two diocese will host a conference which features Bishop George Murry S.J. (Diocese of Youngstown) as keynote and a Passport to the world experience where participants will visit with various immigrant groups to hear their stories. Contact Jude Huntz at huntz@diocesekcsj.org for more information.

Resources and updates from USCCB-JPHD

2010 Multi-Media Arts Contest Winners Honored at NCCYM
The grand prize winners of the 2010 Multi-Media Arts Contest were honored on the main stage of the National Conference on Catholic Youth Ministry in Dec. 2010. Read the Press Release, and find out how parishes or schools in your diocese can participate in the 2011 contest (deadline March 31)—a great tool to educate youth grades 7-12 about the causes of poverty and our Catholic response.

Poverty Awareness Month
January is Poverty Awareness Month! Use Poverty Awareness Month as an opportunity to inform your diocese about poverty by writing an article for your diocesan paper, hosting an event, and sharing resources with parishes and schools.

World Day of Peace Resource
“Religious Freedom, the Path to Peace” is the 2011 theme of Pope Benedict XVI’s Message for the World Day of Peace, celebrated on January 1 each year. This two-page bulletin insert can be used to reflect on religious freedom in Iraq and the Holy Land during January.  As you reflect on the Holy Father’s message, you might want to review the ways the U.S. bishops have addressed religious freedom throughout the world and the special webpage that we set up in response to the Synod on the Middle East.

Catholic Social Ministry Gathering – Register Now
Don’t forget to register for the Catholic Social Ministry Gathering in Washington, DC, on February 13-16, 2011. CSMG is an annual event that brings together hundreds of parish and diocesan social ministry leaders. You won’t want to miss it!

Assistance Reaching College Campuses
As you begin planning your work to educate your diocese about the Church’s social mission, remember that there are several resources available to help you involve area colleges and universities in your efforts, including:

·         “Our Catholic Faith in Action” Campus Web site (www.usccb.org/campus) – This new site for campus ministers and students features Catholic social teaching, prayer resources, activities, videos, podcasts, an idea of the week, and more.

·         Did you know that the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU) provides the free service of helping diocesan contacts connect with existing peace and justice contacts on campus?  Email Ryan Muldoon and he will help you make connections!

By Taylor Kingston, Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry, Archdiocese of Santa Fe

I recently attended the 24^th annual Social Action Summer Institute (SASI) at Santa Clara University in San Jose, CA for parish and diocesan social ministry.  The theme for this year’s SASI was Peacebuilding for the 21^st Century. Seven representatives from the Archdiocese of Santa Fe attended including Anne Avellone, Director of Social Justice and Respect Life, Bunny Miller, theology teacher at St. Pius, Susan Tomita from St. Bernadette, Emmet Garrity from Newman Center, Christina Benitez from Holy Rosary and UNM student, Joseph Montiel from Holy Rosary and UNM student, and myself, Taylor Kingston from St. Charles, UNM student and office aide for the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry.

The 4-day conference focused on how Catholic leaders could be peacemakers in these times of conflict in our world and was packed with prayer, workshops, and speakers from around the world.  SASI was a great opportunity to learn about social issues across the globe and how Catholics are called to respond.  I learned about how social justice is rooted in Scripture and about the basics of Catholic social teaching.  I heard about great work being done in parishes, in dioceses and organizations such as the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Catholic Charities USA, and JustFaith Ministries.

Like many young people, I knew that social justice is about respect for human life, service to the poor, and aiding those who have been through natural disasters.  While these are all important parts of our faith, I learned that social justice is all those things and more!  For instance, one presenter told a story of how young people wanted a skate park in their community so they could have a safe place to skate.  Community organizing members from parishes in this community trained these young people in leadership and gave them the tools to advocate for themselves.  They approached city officials, presented their reasoning for a skate park and in the end received it.  Giving those who do not have a voice the tools to speak for themselves is a part of social justice that I am excited to put into action throughout our diocese.

I also learned new ideas for other ministries in which I am involved.  For example, there was a wonderful workshop Hispanics and Social Ministry: Time for a New Conversation? with Fr. Eduardo Fernandez and Ms. Anne Grycz, Diocese of San Jose.  These speakers talked about how they have been successful with Hispanic Ministry in their diocese, what challenges they faced and how they overcame them.

Another workshop was a panel on the state of social action and included Greg Kepferle, Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County, Ralph McCloud, USCCB/CCHD, Joan Rosenhauer, CRS, Kath Saile, USCCB/JPHD and others. Panel members were asked various questions about their organizations and about social justice issues.  One question raised was about how young people fit into social justice ministry and what is being done to help these young people stay involved.  Panelists mentioned that young people need to have opportunities to do service for others, that we need to encourage them to ask questions, to reflect on their service and to give them tools to speak for themselves.  In the end the best advocates for young people are in fact young people.

As a first-time attendee, I found SASI very helpful, educational, spiritual and fun.  The Archdiocese of Santa Fe Young Adult Advisory Team is looking to grow in numbers, spiritually, educationally and now in social justice ministry.  Through this conference I learned there are many resources and organizations that will be able to help the young adults implement plans in the area of charity and justice.  I am looking forward to working with others on social justice issues and helping build from the strong social justice communities the Archdiocese of Santa Fe has in place.