John XXIII and John Paul II: Resist the Urge to Label

As we celebrate the canonization of Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II, James Martin, SJ has written an article for the Wall Street Journal, "Two Very Different Saints Come Marching In."  In the article, Martin calls us to "resist the urge to see Pope John XXIII as a liberal and John Paul II as a conservative":  "Each saint was unique, called by God to be himself or herself. For holiness means being who you are—no more but (more important) no less. . . . This cookie-cutter model of sanctity belies the astounding differences among the saints. Grace builds on nature, as St. Thomas Aquinas said, and upon some very different natures." Click here to read the article.

Global Sisters Report

Global Sisters Report, a project of National Catholic Reporter, is an independent, non-profit source of news and information about Catholic Sisters and the critical issues facing the people they serve.  It is funded by a three-year, $2.3 million grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.  Click here to explore the website, which is a veritable treasure trove of information!

Nine Days That Changed the World

In preparation for Sunday's canonization of Pope John Paul II, you are invited to view the film, "Nine Days That Changed the World," exploring his pilgrimage to Poland in June 1979.  During that visit, millions of Poles turned out to see the Pope in person.  This film posits that this nine-day journey led to Solidarity becoming a recognized trade union 16 months later, to the eventual fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.  Click here to view the film (which is about 90 minutes long).

I Would Be Called John

As the world prepares for the canonization of Popes John XXIII and John Paul II, here's a video of a 1987 made-for-TV movie, "I Would Be Called John: Pope John XXIII." A one-man show starring Charles During, this film -- about 90 minutes long -- provides a good introduction to the man, his holiness, his influence and his many witty, wise sayings. (Email subscribers click here to view the video if you do not see a video link below.)

Human Trafficking Educational Module

"Human Trafficking and the Objectification of Women" is an educational module provided by U.S. Catholic Sisters Against Human Trafficking.  This module is comprehensive in its inclusion of Awareness, Analysis, Reflection (including Scripture and Catholic Social Teaching), Action and Further Information.  If you have time to pay attention to only one human trafficking resource this year, this resource would suffice.  Click here to access a copy. 

Here are some of the actions suggested by this resource:

• Pray and sacrifice daily for both the victims and the perpetrators of human trafficking.
• Subscribe online and through the mail to anti-human trafficking newsletters.
• Write letters to local newspapers, keeping the human trafficking issue alive and spreading news about developments.
• Contact a popular columnist, asking her/him to write a news article on the topic.
• Bring pressure through letters to the editor concerning Backpage.com which publishes on the internet, urging them to remove their "adult" section advertising the availability of persons for commercial sex. 
• Discuss with store managers the offensiveness of the pornography on their check-out counters.
• Join parish social action groups such as JustFaith and encourage them to focus on human trafficking.

For further information (in addition to downloading the file above), go to www.bakhitainitiative.org.

A Test for Yahoo Email Users

As many of you know, our blog has stopped sending emails to Yahoo email users.  (This is due to the implementation of a new DMARC policy at Yahoo.  Don't know what DMARC is?  That's OK, but Google it if you're really interested.)  This post is asking Yahoo email subscribers only to reply to this email.  In that way, we'll know if our attempt to fix the problem has worked.  If not, we'll go to (as yet unknown) Plan B.  Thanks for subscribing and for being patient while we work out the "bugs."

Reflection for Palm Sunday

Pax Christi USA has provided a reflection for Palm Sunday.  Click here to access the reflection.

April Stop Trafficking Newsletter

The April issue of the Stop Trafficking newsletter is now available (click here).  It contains an abundance of information regarding Fair Trade.  Perhaps it will provide a renewal for us to look for Fair Trade products in our stores and online purchases, to buy Fair Trade when possible and to ask "Why?" when stores do not carry Fair Trade items.

Liliana's Story: A Reflection on the Trafficking of Human Persons

Click here to access a Way of the Cross that offers stations reflective of the experiences of trafficked persons.  Published by the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (Ireland and England), the booklet is meant to printed and copied back to back. 

Good Friday with Pax Christi

Pax Christi Metro New York will hold its 32nd consecutive Way of the Cross on Good Friday, April 18, beginning at 8:30 am at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza and proceeding along 42nd St. to 9th Avenue.  Click here for more information.

Attention Pennsylvanians!

Those of you in Pennsylvania might want to pay attention to this message about human trafficking from the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference:

Human trafficking is modern day slavery - one person profiting from the exploitation of another. It can take the form of prostitution, slave labor, pornography or other abuses.

And it is happening here in Pennsylvania. A leading human trafficking hotline received over 2,100 calls to report suspected human trafficking in Pennsylvania alone.

Pope Francis has pointed out our personal responsibility for this scourge, saying we "must not allow these women, men and children to be treated as objects, to be deceived, raped, often sold and resold for various purposes, and in the end either killed or left devastated in mind and body, only to be finally thrown away or abandoned. It is shameful."

Pennsylvania is known as a "pass through state" whose laws and atmosphere make it easier for traffickers to carry out their heinous actions. Senate Bill 75 will address human trafficking through prosecution, prevention and protection.

We must act TODAY, just click on the link below to contact your legislator in support of SB 75.


Click the link below to log in and send your message (scroll down to the human trafficking link):
https://www.votervoice.net/PACC/Campaigns/34280/Respond