Dear Friends,
 If you haven't seen our previous email yet, we wanted to make sure you knew it was announced last week that President Barack Obama and Pope Benedict XVI will be meeting at the Vatican on Friday July 10th, following the G8 Economic Summit in L'Aquila, Italy. Catholic Democrats has launched a campaign in support of the pope and the president on this historic occasion. We invite you to join us in extending our encouragement and prayers to them by signing our Letter of Solidarity with Pope Benedict XVI and President Obama.
When popes and presidents meet, great things can happen! Every president since Dwight D. Eisenhower has met with the pope in Rome, and many of these meetings have resulted in important breakthroughs in international relations. When President Lyndon Johnson met with Pope Paul VI to discuss ending the Vietnam War, the pope advocated a philosophy of mutual restraint with the president. Two decades later, Pope John Paul II advised President Ronald Reagan that he could work with Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev, which helped bring about the end of the Cold War.
At this moment in history, when the United States and the other nations of the world face unprecedented challenges that include war, the economic crisis, and threats to the environment, we need the kind of wisdom that previous popes and presidents have displayed - and the kind of empathy that we have already seen demonstrated by both this Pope and this President. That is why the meeting on July 10th is so important and why President Obama and Pope Benedict XVI need our support.
- Please go to the Web site www.PopeandPresident.org and sign our Letter of Solidarity.
- Forward this e-mail to your friends and family, and any Catholic networks to which you belong. It's easy with this button:
- Contact your parish rectory and ask if your parish can include the pope, the president, and their meeting in your parish's prayers of the faithful this Sunday, July 5th and the days leading up to their meeting. Please let us know if your parish is able to accommodate your request.
We will be sending the letter and the names of those who sign it to both the White House and the Vatican so that they know that Catholics across America support their mutual efforts to:
- build true understanding among nations
- eliminate nuclear weapons
- promote economic justice and reduce the poverty that diminishes the dignity and potential of people across the globe
- work toward the common ground of promoting the sanctity of all life
- encourage the world's great religions to greater dialogue and understanding, thus promoting peace and tolerance
- and support programs and policies that preserve God's creation.
We hope you add your voice to those of the thousands of other Catholics across America who are joining with Pope Benedict and President Obama to envision a better world.
With our thanks for your continued support,
Patrick Whelan MD PhD
Suzanne Morse
Lisa Schare
Steve Krueger
PS Please consider making a contribution to this campaign. Your donation of $25, $50, $100, or any amount, will make a big difference in helping Catholic Democrats promote a positive message for people of good will to find common ground in meeting the challenges facing our world today. See advertisement above in the National Catholic Reporter. |
