Key Upcoming Culture-of-Life Gatherings/Projects

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Number 2:   An Evening of Prayer and Reflection with Fr. Peter West of Priests for Life - Thursday, July 26, 2007, 6:30 p.m. at the Pastoral Center, 3888 Paducah Drive, San Diego, 92117 (near Balboa Ave. and Interstate 5)

The OSM is pleased to announce that Fr. Peter West, a member of the staff of Priests for Life, will visit San Diego to celebrate an Evening of Prayer at the Pastoral Center honoring the Feast of Saints Anne & Joachim.

Fr. Peter will also give a presentation on on Building the Culture of Life.  All are welcome.



Father PETER WEST has been a pro-life activist since 1986. He earned an M.A. degree in theology from Holy Apostles Seminary in Cromwell, CT and was ordained for the Archdiocese of Newark in 1991.  Father West was the founder and director of Amicus, a successful Catholic young adult group for men and women in their twenties and thirties.

He spent almost seven years in pastoral ministry before being released by Archbishop McCarrick to serve with Priests for Life.  He began his ministry with Priests for Life on April 1,1998.  Since that time he has spoken to both priests and laity at over 300 parishes throughout the United States. He also has appeared on radio and TV spreading the Gospel of Life.  Fr. Peter West is based at the Priests for Life office in Staten Island, NY.

e-link Advocacy REPORTBACK

The reportback feature of e-link will be included in the new legislative network to be unveiled in August of 2007.  Don't forget to register for the new network in the next issue of e-link.

Kent Peters

Web and e-mail-based Resources

Catholic Worker of San Diego has updated its web site.  You'll want to take a look:  http://www.catholicworkersd.org/.
 

New Local/Regional Events and Gatherings 

If you are planning an event that falls within the mission of social ministry, send the particulars four to five weeks in advance to the Office for Social Ministry via e-mail, osmelink@diocese-sdiego.org.  The OSM reserves the right to publish or not to publish any proposed event information.  We hope this will assist your local efforts to re-build a culture of life.

1. North-County prayer witness at the Carlsbad Planned Parenthood Clinic

Every 2nd Monday of the month: ChasteMasters Meeting @ Our Lady of the Rosary, Giovanni Room, 7:00 p.m.  -  Please join us in prayer, a roundtable discussion, and providing feedback as chastity speakers refine their talks.

For more info please visit: www.thegorettigroup.org or call David at: 619-733-8439   

Watch for OSM e-link bulletin #62 around Friday, August 31, 2007  
 

Article/Statement for July 24, 2007

Following is a thought provoking article from Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. Archbishop of Denver, on the simple principles that must guide our political involvement as Catholic Christians as we seek the dignity of the human person and the common good.  Take a moment this summer to reflect on our call as Christians to be the “salt of the earth” and the “leaven in the world.”



Seven Principles to Use in the Public Square, both in and out of an Election Year -

What we Claim to Believe as Christians Must Inform All Aspects of Our Lives

by Most Rev. Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap.

In his comments to the 2006 Gospel of Life conference on Oct. 28, Archbishop Chaput outlined seven simple principles that Catholics should use to inform their actions in the public square — this year and every year, whether elections loom or not. 

1. Relationships have consequences. If we claim to love someone or believe something, we should act accordingly. A married man should be faithful to his wife all the time, every day, in every way. In like manner, a baptized person should seek to be faithful to Jesus Christ all the time, every day, in every way. 

2. Jesus gave us the Church as our mother and teacher. She speaks for Jesus Christ and teaches in His name. Therefore, we owe the same fidelity to the Church that we owe to Christ.

3. Jesus told us to “make disciples of all nations” and to be “leaven in the world.” The Epistle of James tells us to be “doers of [God’s] word, and not hearers only,” and that “faith without works is dead.” What we claim to believe as Christians, we need to then prove by our actions — in every aspect of our lives; our families, our friendships, our work and business dealings, and also in our political choices. Otherwise we’re just lying to ourselves and others.

4. Catholic teaching has two basic principles we should use in judging every public issue: First, does this issue advance the dignity of the individual human person; and second, does this issue promote the common good? We can never choose one of these principles to the exclusion of the other. We need to follow both. A public policy can’t truly serve the common good if it violates, or allows to be violated, the sanctity of someone’s fundamental human rights, from conception to natural death.

5. We should bring our faith to bear on all public issues. But not all public issues are equal. Many are important. But some, like the right to life itself, are foundational.

6. As Catholics, we need to think and vote according to our consciences. But a human “conscience” doesn’t suddenly happen out of thin air. It needs to be cultivated, grow and be formed in the light of truth, so that we can understand the difference between good and evil in a genuinely Christian way. Conscience is never simply a matter of personal opinion or preference. It’s not what we want to do, but what we know we should do because of God’s truth in our hearts. We discover that truth by thinking and praying seriously over what Christ’s Church teaches, and trying to conform our actions to her moral guidance.

7. Jesus tells us to “render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” That means we have a serious duty to respect and appropriately serve public authority. But Jesus doesn’t tell us how much actually belongs to Caesar — and in fact, all of the important things about our lives belong not to Caesar, but to God. God should always come first. When we seek first to be “faithful citizens” of our real and ultimate home — heaven — then we naturally become better citizens of this world, because we become sources of virtue and character and justice for the people around us, even when our message is unpopular. The more truly and faithfully we live as Catholics, the more truly and faithfully we serve our nation’s best ideals and deepest needs.