Last month we shared with you the plans to bring together 1,000 people across Scotland and the world to celebrate faith in prayer and song. Our contacts tell us that they are well on their way to achieving the target of 1,000 participants - including participants in Ethiopia and Kenya! Even if you can't join with others you can share in the event by downloading the prayer and spending some time in reflection by yourself or with friends.

Turning the World Upside Down 

 Pax Christ USA encourages us to think about how life might be different, particularly for those usually left without options, the poor. By choosing not to accept the injustice of the status quo of the corrupt money changers in the temple, Jesus challenges us to make a choice: join Him in the struggle for the God of life or continue to endure things as they are. What are you doing for Lent this year?

When Did We See You Thirsty? 

As more schools and parishes become interested in linking with other communities overseas, it helps to learn from the experience of others. How can we share in the lives of other communities in ways that don't patronise and avoid viewing them simply through the problems they experience. This new resource from ScotDEC helps schools to make appropriate links through active and enjoyable activities.  

Servant Leadership: places still remain available for the June and August programme but are filling up fast. Has your school been involved in the past? Could your students benefit from taking part. Contact Servant Leadership at Conforti Institute for more information.   

Pope Benedict XVI roots the social teachings of the Catholic Church in the very nature of God. God is love. ..[It] is this disposition to love that must shape all of our human relations - personal, political, economic and social - if we are to conform ourselves to Jesus Christ. This love, when expressed in our political life, must define and seek the Common Good, a Common Good that respects and defends the dignity of all, champions the poor and the vulnerable, defends the environment from exploitation, and recognizes, as President John F. Kennedy stated, that "here on earth God's work must truly be our own." Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good dedicates itself to Pope Benedict's vision.

The CACG guide lists seven main issues that Catholic voters should consider, starting with the economy and the "unconscionably high rate of unemployment." "Pro-life issues," echo Pope John Paul II's call for a "culture of life," include war, militarism, capital punishment and poverty as well as abortion.