Stop Trafficking Newsletter

The June 2015 issue of the Stop Trafficking newsletter is available here.  This month's issue highlights the thousands who seek employment only to be trapped in exploitative situations.

Prayer Service and Other Resources to Celebrate Encyclical

Education for Justice has provided a prayer service to celebrate Laudato Si, the newest papal encyclical released yesterday.  Click here to access the resource.

Additionally, the USCCB offers multiple resources, available here.

America Magazine offers mutliple viewpoints.

• Click here for "The Franciscan Character of Laudato Si" by Daniel Horan, OFM.
• Click here for "The Top Ten Takeaways from Laudato Si" by James Martin, SJ.
• Click here for "What the Environmental Encyclical Means," by the editors of America.  This is a "roundup" of expert analysis of the encyclical.

Download/Read Laudato Si

The Holy Father's newly-released encyclical on the environment and human ecology, Laudato Si, is available here.

This is the prayer with which Pope Francis concludes the encyclical:

A prayer for our earth 

All-powerful God, you are present in the whole universe and in the smallest of your creatures. You embrace with your tenderness all that exists. Pour out upon us the power of your love, that we may protect life and beauty. Fill us with peace, that we may live as brothers and sisters, harming no one. O God of the poor, help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this earth, so precious in your eyes. Bring healing to our lives, that we may protect the world and not prey on it, that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction. Touch the hearts of those who look only for gain at the expense of the poor and the earth. Teach us to discover the worth of each thing, to be filled with awe and contemplation, to recognize that we are profoundly united with every creature as we journey towards your infinite light. We thank you for being with us each day. Encourage us, we pray, in our struggle for justice, love and peace. Amen.

Mercy Investment Services' Human Trafficking Resources

The website of Mercy Investment Services contains an impressive collection of human trafficking resources on one web page.  Click here to view the user-friendly page, which is worthy of more than a few minutes of your time.

Never Justifiable

Writing in the June 22-29 issue of America, Daniel P. Horan, OFM proposes that church leaders give "a black-and-white answer to whether or not the death penalty is acceptable."  In the spirit of the "seamless garment" approach to Christian ethics, Horan suggests, "We must affirm that either all life is sacred or no life is sacred."  Horan's proposal would require a revision to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which echoes traditional church teaching by not excluding recourse to the death penalty (no. 2267).  Horan also suggests that the CCC be revised to remove the qualifier "innocent" when referring to human beings:  "While individuals may be guilty or innocent of a crime, all human life is sacred without qualification; there is neither innocent nor guilty life."  Click here to read the entire essay.

Laudato Si

As we prepare for Thursday's release of his much-anticipated "environment encyclical," Laudato Si (that is, "Be Praised" or "Praised Be"), the Holy Father used the parables of this Sunday's gospel to remind us that the Kingdom of God is a gift of the Lord, but it requires our collaboration.  Click here to read more about the address after Sunday's Angelus in which Pope Francis says of the encyclical:  "Let us pray that everyone can receive its message and grow in responsibility toward the common home that God has entrusted to us."

USCCB: WeAreSaltAndLight.org

The USCCB's Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development has developed a new website entitled WeAreSaltAndLight.org.  Inspired by the US bishops' statement, "Communities of Salt and Light: Reflections on the Social Mission of the Parish," the site provides resources using these themes:  "Pray Together," "Reach Out Together," "Learn Together" and "Act Together."

Click here to watch a video introduction and here to go to the site.