On December 14th, we will have a simultaneous press conference in New Orleans (sponsored by the NAACP) and in San Jose (sponsored by 20 SJSU students and faculty), to announce a "national call to students" to participate in "Louisiana Winter" this January 14-20. (See attachments or www.SolvingPoverty.com)

The goals of Louisiana Winter are: to turn the nation's attention to the Gulf Coast; to have students witness first-hand the social suffering that is occurring; and to promote the immediate passage of federal legislation to implement the Gulf Coast Civic Works Project, which if passed by Congress would hire 100,000 Gulf Coast residents to rebuild New Orleans and the surrounding region.Students can participate for just one day, for two or three days, or for the entire six days. Help us get the word out to students.

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Office of Media Relations, November 2, 2006

Bishop William S. Skylstad, President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), has joined religious leaders from diverse faith traditions in rejecting the use of torture because it is a violation of basic human dignity.

Bishop Skylstad signed the statement entitled “Torture is a Moral Issue.” The text follows:

“Torture violates the basic dignity of the human person that all religions, in their highest ideals, hold dear. It degrades everyone involved – policymakers, perpetrators and victims. It contradicts our nation’s most cherished values. Any policies that permit torture and inhumane treatment are shocking and morally intolerable. Nothing less is at stake in the torture abuse crisis than the soul of our nation. What does it signify if torture is condemned in word but allowed in deed? Let America abolish torture now – without exceptions.”

The statement can be found on the web site of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture at www.nrcat.org

In 1971, as a Defense Department Official and Vietnam Vet, he "released" 7,000 pages of Nixon's secret war plans, "The Pentagon Papers", to The New York Times. Placing him at the top of Nixon's "Enemies List" and having Henry Kissinger call him "The most dangerous man in the world."

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 4 (IPS) -- The top 10 countries hosting the largest number of international migrants have neither signed nor ratified a 1990 U.N. convention aimed at protecting the rights of migrant workers worldwide.

"It is obvious," says a senior U.N. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, "that these countries don't want to be held accountable for the welfare of their migrants."

The 10 countries -- the United States, Russia, Germany, Ukraine, France, Saudi Arabia, Canada, India, United Kingdom and Spain -- accounted for over 102 million migrants in 2005, according to a new U.N. report released Tuesday.

Read Full Article

(Genesis 4:9) Look at the words of Cain: "Am I my brother's keeper?" Cain was the first creature from human parents--Adam and Eve.(Genesis 4:1)!

Cain's answer to the Almighty God--Am I my brother's keeper--shows the contemptuous and approbrious language used by Cain to God. A statement of callous indifference all too commonly used in the history of humanity. Cain was the first murderer, an apostate, a reviler of God, a deceiver and absolute leader in secular humanistic and materialistic worldly culture.

The way of Cain is an antithesis of God. Cain's absolute defiance of God's command regarding sacrifice is a lesson to humanity. Cain in Sacred Scripture is a model of unbelief and fratricide. Cain in envy killed his brother Abel for offering perfect sacrifices to God.(Genesis 4:3-7)! Cain was greedy and envious. (Proverbs 14:30) gives evidence--A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.
Look at the curse of God upon Cain and please look at the punishment put upon Cain for disobedience to God.

Seeing as it is Cover the Uninsured Week, and Medicaid has recently been on the chopping blocks both in Congress and at the state level (e.g. Missouri), I thought we should start off our series of in-depth discussions of individual government programs with a look a Medicaid.

What do you think of Medicaid? How does it measure up to the moral standards of Catholic social teaching? Should we strengthen it or abandon it? Please share your thoughts and your links to articles, research, and Catholic teaching.

To start us off, here's a few helpful resources for understanding the program:
- The Medicaid Program at a Glance
- US Catholic Bishops' Primer on Medicaid

Yes, this is Catholic doctrine expressed in a Papal encyclical:
To quote Saint Ambrose: "You are not making a gift of your possessions to the poor person. You are handing over to him what is his. For what has been given in common for the use of all, you have arrogated to yourself. The world is given to all, and not only to the rich".[22] That is, private property does not constitute for anyone an absolute and unconditioned right. No one is justified in keeping for his exclusive use what he does not need, when others lack necessities.
On the Development of Peoples, #23 (click for the context)