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Greetings!
Join, watch and hear a special CRS webcast 9:00 - 10:00 A.M this morning on "What You Can Do to Address Global Hunger". More information + sign up
You can register to vote or update your voter information at any Mass at either church Saturday or Sunday, October 6 or 7. Tables will be in the vestibules with members of the Social Justice Committee to help you.
You can check your voter registration status and get other information about voting at the website of California's Secretary of State, Voting info.
The California Catholic Conference representing the Catholic bishops has prepared summaries of the propositions that will appear the November ballot, summaries of the pro and con arguments for each, and relevant Catholic social teaching, Proposition info.
"Responsible Citizenship is a virtue, and participation in political life is a moral obligation."
-- US Conference of Catholic Bishops: Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, no.13
There will be no Social Justice Newsletter on October 11. The next issue will be on October 25. |
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Proposition 34
End the Death Penalty
The Bishops of California Endorse Proposition 34
Summary: Proposition 34 would:
* Replace the death penalty as the maximum punishment for persons found guilty of murder with life imprisonment without possibility of parole
* Apply retroactively to persons already sentenced to death
* Create a $100 million fund to be distributed to law enforcement agencies
Reflections on Church Teaching:
The nature and extent of the punishment ought not to go to the extreme of executing the offender, except in cases of absolute necessity...Today, however, as a result of steady improvements in...the penal system, such cases are very rare if not practically nonexistent. -
Pope John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae #56 (1995)
If...non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people's safety from the aggressor, authoritconcrete conditions of the common good and more in conformity with the dignityy will limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the of the human person. -
Catechism of the Catholic Church #2267
Ending the death penalty would be one important step away from a culture of death and toward building a culture of life. -U.S. Bishops, A Culture of Life and the Penalty of Death (2005)
In light of Catholic teaching, the BISHOPS ask that you carefully and prayerfully consider your vote on PROPOSITION 34, which will appear on California's NOVEMBER 6, 2012 BALLOT. |
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Brief Links
Important new discoveries for helping children and young people succeed (radio broadcast: NPR This American Life, Sept. 14, 2012), Back to school
Egypt's New Leader Spells Out Terms for U.S.-Arab Ties (New York Times, Sept. 23, 2012), US-Arab ties
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Upcoming Events
Saturday & Sunday, October 6 & 7, at all Masses
Voter Registration at tables in vestibules
St. Augustine and St. Elizabeth Seton churches
Tuesday, October 9
Parish anniversary celebration of the golden jubilee of the opening of Vatican II and the beginning of the year of faith Details to be announced
Wednesday, October 10, 9:00 - 11:30 A.M.
EBHO's Interfaith Communities United Breakfast
Hs Lordships Restaurant, 199 Seawall Dr. Berkeley
See EBHO Invitation
Tuesday, October 16, 7:30 P.M.
Vatican 2 Decree on the Mission Activity of the Church: from the pews to preaching the Gospel to all Creation. Does the mission still have a church? Deacon Matt Dulka, Mission Education & Promotion, Maryknoll
St. Elizabeth Seton Church
Tuesday, October 30, 7:30 P.M.
Mary, the Mother of Jesus and Mother of the Church in Vatican II. Fr. William Rozario, Associate Pastor, St. Raymond Church
St. Elizabeth Seton Church
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Action Alert
Take the Saint Francis Pledge
* PRAY and reflect on the duty to care for God's Creation and protect the poor and vulnerable.
* LEARN about and educate others on the causes and moral dimensions of climate change.
* ASSESS how we-as individuals and in our families, parishes and other affiliations-contribute to climate change by our own energy use, consumption, waste, etc.
* ACT to change our choices and behaviors to reduce the ways we contribute to climate change.
* ADVOCATE for Catholic principles and priorities in climate change discussions and decisions, especially as they impact those who are poor and vulnerable.
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Pope lifts up the other face of the Middle East in Lebanon
By John L. Allen Jr., Beirut, Lebanon, September 17, National Catholic Reporter online
Some papal trips are important for their substance, while others matter more for their symbolism. Benedict XVI's Sept. 14-16 outing to Lebanon fell into that second category, showing the world a different face of the Middle East in a moment of mounting violence and deep doubts about the future of the Arab Spring. Read on.
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