Office for Social Ministry

          e-link

  The Diocese of San Diego

          858-490-8323

                                   #12 9/30/03 
 
Dear e-link Member,

Welcome everyone; we've hit a milestone.  E-link membership reached 500 on Friday, September 26.  We then added 8 new members at the Diocesan Church Ministers Conference at the San Diego Convention Center this past Saturday, bringing membership to 508 as of this afternoon.  Please continue to share e-link with those interested in furthering a Culture of Life in the Diocese of San Diego.  Just have them visit www.osmelink.org to register.

Reportback is the e-mail link that lets us know that members have followed through on a legislative advocy call.  It's working, but only five members reported back that they made calls to our Senators in support of the Partial Birth Abortion Ban.  That's five out of 485, a bit over a 1 % participation rate.  Don't get too discouraged.  Every good effort must start somewhere, and we now know how much work will be needed to bring about serious results through the advocacy side of e-link.  Our goal will be to steadily move that number up to at least 75 %.  It may take a few years, but since when has the Church moved with lightning speed?  Please act on the invitations found in the legislative advocacy section and then report back.  This e-link bulletin simply calls on all eligible voters to get to the polls on Tuesday, October 7th.  Your vote counts; please make it so!  

To report back on voting, send an e-mail to: reportback@diocese-sdiego.org.     

Tomorrow, October 1, 2003 starts Respect Life Month, a time set aside in our Nation to focus on how we might better serve those whose lives are in mortal danger.  Take a look at the web-resource section below for a link to the Respect Life 2003 section of the U.S. Bishops web site.

Those who receive e-link bulletins via AOL and plain text may want to view e-link bulletins at the OSM web site.  This will give them the ability to view photos, graphics, links, colors, etc.  Upon receiving a plain text e-link bulletin, those subscribers can go to www.osmelink.org and view that same bulletin as a web page. 

Thanks, and God Bless!

 

Tuesday, September 30, 2003

OSM e-link - Bulletin #12

Table of Contents:

Comments by Jim Walsh

Key Upcoming Gatherings (please join us if at all possible)
          - Forum on the death penalty, Justice or Revenge? set for Saturday, October 4, 2003
          - Life Resource Network Life Walks set for Saturday, October 18, 2003
          - Border Pilgrimage (October 26) - USD Border Conference (October 20-24)
          - Banquet at the Pastoral Center with Bud Welch set for Thursday, November 6, 2003
          - Registration info for AIDS Walk, set for Sunday, October 5, 2003, at Balboa Park

Updates from the Office for Social Ministry
          -  AIDS Quilt Panel Blessing on Sunday, September 21, with Bishop Cordelione

Advocacy Feedback
          - Vicki Sheridan Reports back on contacts with Senators Feinstein and Boxer on the
             Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act

Advocacy Request
          - Please vote on Tuesday, October 7, 2003

Web and e-mail-based Resources
          - Link to the Respect Life Program Materials for 2003 - from the USCCB Web Site

Article/Statement for September 30, 2003
          - Article from the 2003 Respect-Life Packet on Political Responsibility by
             Michael Taylor, S.T.D., executive director of the National Committee for a Human
             Life Amendment in Washington D.C., an office of the U.S. Catholic Bishops

Remarks from Jim Walsh

The detention ministry conference that was held on Saturday, September 13 brought together over 100 people from a variety of backgrounds and levels of experience and interest.  Experienced ministers and expert presenters commanded the attention of veteran and novice prison ministers as well as prospective volunteers taking their first look at this sometimes perplexing work.
 
Visiting people in prison is more than just holding a prayer service for people behind bars.  Religious prison volunteers are seed sowers.  As the keynote speaker, Rev. Workman, pointed out, they fill in the gap between God and seemingly God-forsaken women and men in jail.  Sometimes volunteers are the very first experience of church for some inmates.  Ricky Alegre, a former inmate who presented his testimony at the conference, is living proof that religious volunteers do make a difference in inmates' lives.
 
I got to meet some of our volunteers for the first time.  Several correctional facility officers and administrators were there for volunteers to learn from and talk to. The top people from Contemplative Outreach presented centering prayer as an approach to use with inmates seeking a deeper prayer life and as a means of achieving freedom even while they are behind bars.  And the best outcome of all - prospective new volunteers made a commitment to the ministry that day.  Let us all thank Our Lord for new beginnings and for ongoing renewal.

San Diego, Pray for us.

Our Lady of Refuge, Pray for us.

 

5 Key Culture-of-Life Gatherings
 

Number 1: 

Justice or Revenge? A Forum on the Death Penalty, set for Saturday, October 4, 2003, 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

This forum has been created to provide an opportunity for participants to challenge speakers, to explore attitudes, to process feelings, and to ask the hard questions associated with the death penalty.  All are welcome.

Main speakers include:

Fr. Bruce R. Bramlett - As an Episcopal priest and pastor of 25 years, Fr. Bruce has spent time as a spiritual advisor and family support person to those on San Quentin's Condemned Row. 

Carol Duncanson - Carol is a member of Murder Victim Families for Reconciliation, an organization of people that opposes the death penalty in response to family members having been murdered.  Carol has spoken nationally and internationally.

Jeff Ghelardi - A long-time activist in the criminal justice reform, in particular abolition of the death penalty, Jeff is currently co-coordinator of Death Penalty Focus of San Diego.

 

Click on this poster to see a large version with all details on the event or go to: http://www.osmelink.org/messages/091203%20Death%20Penalty%20Forum%20Poster.htm

Forum Location:

Bard Hall at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego

4190 Front Street in the Mission Hills area by the UCSD Medical Center.

Click (here) for map.

There is no pre-registration required for this free and open-to-the-public event.

Registration at the door and a free continental breakfast will begin 9:00 a.m.  Join us for a day of reflection and growth.

For more information about the event, contact Pilar M. Placone, Ph.D. at 619-685-9564.
 

Number 2: 

Final Reminder... Life Resource Network's LifeWalk 2003 is scheduled for Saturday, October 18, 2003.  Walks will take place simultaneously at Kit Carson Park in Escondido and at Midway Baptist Church in the South Bay.  Join thousands from across the diocese in support of LRN! 
 

Your participation enables LRN to 1) educate youth and adults to value human life and make healthy lifestyle choices, 2) empower pregnant women to choose life, and 3) encourage post-abortion healing for both women and men. 

How to Register:

Contact your parish LifeWalk representative, call LRN to find out who your representative is, or call LRN for registration materials.

LRN Phone Number: 619-516-1236

 

Number 3: 

Banquet in Honor of Bud Welch, Thursday, November 6, at 6:30 p.m. at the Diocesan Pastoral Center, 3888 Paducah Drive, San Diego - $25 for each dinner reservation.  To receive reservation materials call Jo Brower at 858-490-8323 or e-mail Jo at jbrower@diocese-sdiego.org.  Sponsored by California People of Faith Working Against the Death Penalty (CPF) and the Office for Social Ministry. 
 


On April 19, 1995 at 9:02 a.m., Bud Welch's life changed forever (see photo of Bud at left).  Bud's beloved daughter Julie was killed along with 167 others in the bomb blast that destroyed the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.  Julie was the light of her father's life.  Every Wednesday they met for lunch at 11:30 a.m. at the Greek restaurant across from the federal building.  They were to have lunch the day of her death.  The pain following Julie's death was nearly unbearable and for the first few months, rage and desire for revenge consumed Bud.  A trial for Tim McVeigh, he thought, was simply unnecessary.  Bud wanted an immediate execution and believed he could have done it himself with his bare hands.

But in time, Bud began to realize that his rage was getting him nowhere, and eventually it became clear that an execution would not help him emotionally.  It would not bring Julie (see photo of Julie at left) back and could never bring "closure," a media word that Bud found meaningless when it came to the loss of a child.  Raised on an Oklahoma dairy farm, Bud and his family had always opposed the death penalty, and after Julie's death, he particularly remembered her words to him one time when they were listening to a radio report about an excecution in Texas.  Julie commented that the excecutions were only, "teaching children to hate."

About eight months after Julie's death, a reporter approached Bud during one of his daily visits to the fence surrounding the footprint of the Murrah Building.  After a lengthy conversation, the reporter commented to Bud that he would probably be relieved once Tim McVeigh was executed.  Bud amazed her by stating that the execution was not what he desired.  She asked if she could quote him and he agreed not knowing that her AP wire story would evenutally be carried around the world.  Bud's life was changed forever, again.

Bud has shared his story with groups all over the world, reaching hundreds of thousands with a message of hope and reconciliation.  We are pleased to honor Bud with CPF's first Pillars of Faith Award. 

Won't you join us to both honor and hear Bud Welch.  Call 858-490-8323 to receive an invitation or e-mail Jo Brower at jbrower@diocese-sdiego.org. 

Number 4: 

The Diocesan HIV/AIDS Commission invites you to walk or run to raise funds for services to community members with AIDS.  AIDS Walk/Run 2003 will take place on Sunday, October 5, 2003, starting at 8:00 a.m. Click on the photo below or follow the link below to learn more and to register to walk or run.  Please stop by the HIV/AIDS Commission booth to say hello if you attend.

 

http://www.kintera.org/faf/home/

 

 

 

 

Number 5: 

Border Pilgrimage from San Diego to El Paso, October 26 to November 2, San Diego Send-Off on October 26 at Larson Field Park, 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.      Also... Five-day Border Conference at USD, October 20 to 24.  See both events below.

A pilgrimage is a journey.  It symbolizes the great march of the people of God into the everlasting reign of God.  We believe that a spiritual pilgrimage is much more than a tourist trip.  Pope John Paul II has said that the key reason to go on a pilgrimage is to encounter Jesus Christ in some way.  And so this October people of faith will embark on a pilgrimage along the border.  One in which the encounter is with the migrant Jesus.  Over 2300 people have died crossing the border since 1994.  Why?  What are some of the causes of their migration?  If you would like to participate for all or part of the pilgrimage check out the following link:

Click on the logo below or follow the web address below to learn more about the Pilgrimage. 

The pilgrims will set out from San Diego, CA & Brownsville, TX respectively, & journey through various towns along the border. They'll participate in events planned for them by the communities along the route. The two groups will arrive in El Paso for a series of bi-national workshops & cultural events on Oct. 31 & Nov. 1st. The celebrations will conclude on Nov. 2nd, All Soul's Day, by joining with the El Paso community in their traditional mass on the border commemorating the "Day of the Dead."

http://www.sandiegomissionoffice.org/destination/Pilgrimage/Pilgrimage.htm
 

University of San Diego and Church Without Borders will sponsor a five-day series of events on the US/Mexico Border from October 20 through October 24, 2003 at USD.  Click on the Logo below or follow the web link below to learn more. 

http://www.sandiego.edu/csl/snl.html

Prompted by the US and Mexican bishops’ pastoral letter on migration, “Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope,” the University of San Diego presents a week of events that will focus on migration issues at the San Diego-Tijuana Border. The scheduled activities will precede an ecumenical Border Pilgrimage sponsored by over 15 interfaith organizations nationwide which will take place October 26 – November 2.

 

Short Reports on OSM Related Issues/Events 

AIDS Quilt Panel Blessing on Sunday, September 21 was moment of grace for All Who Attended

San Diego Auxiliary Bishop Salvatore J. Cordileone led prayers and offered a blessing, Sept. 20, as several dozen people, most of whom had lost a loved-one to AIDS, gathered at the Pastoral Center for a blessing of AIDS quilts.  It has become customary for family or friends of those who die of AIDS to make quilts in celebration of the life that was lost.  For nearly a decade, the Diocese of San Diego has hosted a blessing of the quilts as a pastoral outreach to grieving friends and family.  Sister Margaret Eilerman, CSJO, has coordinated the blessing ceremonies as part of a ministry that has seen the creation and blessing of scores of quilts, and along with them, the healing of many grieving loved-ones.  At the blessing ceremony, held in the Pastoral Center chapel, family members took turns remembering their loved-ones and thanking Sister Eilerman for helping them to heal.

 

Web and Resources and Opportunities

We sometimes hear that parishioners never see the contents of the yearly October Respect-Life packets produced by the Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities of the USCCB and distributed locally by the Office for Social Ministry.  The packet contains posters, a general flyer, several excellent articles, a liturgical guide and order forms to purchase additional copies of the packet contents. 

Not so anymore...  Anyone can view these wonderful materials on line.  Click the logo or follow the web address below to view these timely and informative materials.

http://www.usccb.org/prolife/programs/rlp/rlp0304.htm

 

E-link Advocacy Report

Vicki Sheridan contacted the offices of Senators Feinstein and Boxer in support of the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act.  Her report follows. 

I contacted both Senators Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer regarding the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act and received e-mail responses from both of them.

Ms. Feinstein responded positively, though in guarded language, saying that though 28 states (including CA) have laws prohibiting the malicious killing of a child in utero, there is no federal law against it.  She said she would try & represent the broad spectrum of views on the matter (whatever that means to her).

Ms. Boxer was absolutely against it because she said it would undermine "a woman's right to choose". 
 
Vicki Sheridan
 
Thank you, Vicki, for sharing our values with our California U.S. Senators!


 

E-link Advocacy Request 

Please don't forget to report back to the OSM at reportback@diocese-sdiego.org.  Your reflection on the importance of voting would be much appreciated. 

Vote on Tuesday, October 7, in the 2003 California Gubernatorial Recall Election 

To determine the positions of the many candidates running for the Office of Governor and those of Governor Gray Davis, click on the Vote-Smart logo below or follow the Vote-Smart web address below the logo.  About mid-page, you will be able to select the Recall Candidate List. 

Once you have selected a candidate, biographical information, issue positions, interest group ratings and voting records can be selected for viewing.  We hope this information will help you select the best candidate!

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.vote-smart.org/election_state.php?state_name=California&state_code=CA&PHPSESSID=f155e438307453b23f8707d2982bb61e

The Catholic Bishops of California have not taken a position on either of the two ballot initiatives that will be on the October 7 recall ballot.  Project Vote-Smart has information on ballot initiatives.  Go to the web site below to find out moreabout propositions 53 and 54:

http://www.vote-smart.org/election_ballot_measures.php?state_name=California&state_code=CA&session=0

Watch for a new OSM e-link bulletin around October 15, 2003

Article or Statement for Bulletin #12

Following you will find the first few paragraphs for from Political Responsibility: The Virtue of Rugged Hope, by Michael A. Taylor, S.T.D.  This article is just one of the nine articles found in this year's October Respect Life Month 2003 packet.  Following this selection you will find a link to the article in its entirety.  Enjoy! 

Michael is the executive director of the National Committee for a Human Life Ammendment in Washington, D.C., the lobbying arm of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops on life issues.

Political Responsibility:
The Virtue of Rugged Hope

by Michael A. Taylor, S.T.D.


 

Yet while Christians settle in both Greek and non-Greek cities, as each one's lot is cast, and conform to the customs of the country in dress, diet, and mode of life in general, the whole tenor of their way of living stamps it as worthy of admiration. . . . They take part in everything as citizens. . . . To say it briefly: what the soul is in the body, that the Christians are in the world.

Epistle to Diognetus, Chapters 5 and 61

Beyond the fact that Diognetus is a high-ranking pagan, the author and the addressee of the Epistle to Diognetus are lost in the dust of history.  Yet even today, the letter evokes a vivid picture of Christian life in the early Church, perhaps in the early 200s.  Christians had spread "throughout the cities of the world" (chapter 6).  Life for Christians continued to be dangerous, but they did not separate themselves from society.  They took part in everything "as citizens."

 

Everyone Is Called

Today the Church's teaching on political responsibility is tied to the development since the 19th century of what John Paul II has called "the Church's ‘social doctrine,' ‘social teaching' or even ‘social magisterium'."2

In this doctrine the political community exists for the common good, which embraces all that enables individuals, families, and organizations to achieve proper fulfillment.  "The common good is always oriented towards the progress of persons."3  It follows that all citizens should participate in the political community, whether as persons who carry out the ordinary range of civic duties or as persons who enter public service in various ways.4  As the Catechism of the Catholic Church instructs, the obligation to participate in promoting the common good "is inherent in the dignity of the human person."5

The Catechism echoes a theme from the Church's social teaching: participatory forms of government should be given a place of honor.6 Where such governments exist, citizens have greater opportunities and special obligations to participate.   As the Doctrinal Note on Some Questions Regarding the Participation of Catholics in Political Life observes: "Such [democratic] societies call for new and fuller forms of participation in public life. . . . The life of a democracy could not be productive without the active, responsible and generous involvement of everyone . . . ."7

 

Change, Promise, Problems

The integration of Catholics more deeply into U.S. society – especially during the last half-century – is the object of much study, with some concluding that Catholics have been too much assimilated and not enough an instrument of change.8

Since the 1960s, government – local, state, and federal – has grown enormously in size.  Political debate has become more intense, political campaigns more sophisticated.  Studying measurements of human conditions around the world, one author contends that the general welfare of society has been slowly improving.  "Mankind's lot has actually improved in terms of practically every measurable indicator" – life expectancy and health, food and hunger, prosperity, environment.9  Yet serious problems are evident, often with deep roots in the past.

 

Marginalization

A cultural war is underway over admitting moral and religious values into public life.  We have come a long way from George Washington's admonition: "Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports."10  The war today is over whose values are admissible — and the closer moral values are tied to religion, the more suspect they are.

To view the entire article, click on the title below or follow the web address just beneath the title.

Political Responsibility:
The Virtue of Rugged Hope 

http://www.usccb.org/prolife/programs/rlp/03taylor.htm