The Hispanic Social Ministry team from St. Peter Church in Torrington invited me to a meeting to share the work they have been doing in social justice ministry and discover new ideas, opportunities and challenges.
 
When we met, there were two moms who were struggling, who brought their needs to the church.  Culture and language limitations sometimes seem to lead to these encounters.
 
I would like to share with you, a case that required our immediate attention. It exemplifies how community can show mercy.  I am grateful that Silvia has allowed me to share her story.
 
At my meeting with leaders of St. Peter’s in Torrington, someone said “Arturo you have never met Silvia.  She is part of our Parish Social Ministry team.  At the moment she and her five month old baby girl are at CT Children’s Medical Center in Hartford”. So I asked if she and her baby were ok.  I felt that something was not right.  I asked what was going on with her and I was told the baby is very ill.  Silvia is from Torrington so she is sleeping at the hospital and does not have enough money for food. The baby had been hospitalized several times and was once even brought in by helicopter.
 
I asked, “What does she need, what are you doing to help her, what can I do, what can the church do”?
 
I thought of the Gospel reading from Mathew 35:41 “I was sick and you visited me”.  I thought of parishes that were local: Our Lady of Sorrows, Saint Augustine and St. Rose in East Hartford.  Someone from those Social Ministries might be able to help her. 
 
I stopped by to visit her with Mrs. Ana Landskron, who is a volunteer in our office.  My heart was broken when I saw such a beautiful baby lying down very sick. I asked Silvia “How can we help”?  Ana said to Silvia, “Let’s pray Silvia - for you and the baby”…, and we started praying.  The Lord was present and it seemed that somehow peace came to all of us.
 
First Silvia said that she was often hungry while in the hospital sleeping near the baby. She also said that it was hard to have her concerns translated.  At that moment a nurse walked in the room asking if there was anything that Silvia need help with.  Silvia asked the nurse “Please, can Arturo translate something for me.  She wanted to let her know that the baby was not eating much. She also wanted to know if she was able to take her baby back home. “I can have her sleep with me, hug her, and feed her anytime” she said.  She was sad to find out that her baby was not able to leave the hospital at that time.
 
The very next day I called friends from other social ministries at parishes in the Hartford area asking for help. God is good!  Many parishioners from those parishes came forward to help her, to support mom, and bring food for her while she is there. They offered company and lots of prayers. It pleased me so much to see how parishes can come together to help someone in need. Thank you to all who visited and took care of Silvia and her baby.
 
Arturo Iriarte
Parish Social Ministry coordinator
Office for Catholic Social Justice Ministry

“Laudato Si’ — On Care of Our Common Home” is the title of Pope Francis’ second encyclical letter. These two lyrical Italian words, taken from a prayer by Saint Francis of Assisi praising God for all creation, translate into English as “Praised Be” or “Be Praised.” They remind us of our personal responsibility to God to be good stewards of his creation.

Last summer, even before the encyclical was published, there was speculation — from scientists, environmentalists, politicians and others — about the “hardline” stance the encyclical might take on global warming and climate change. “Laudato Si,” however, proved to be more of a social encyclical than an environmental one.

Just as Pope Saint John Paul II advocated “integral human development” in the face of contemporary social evils, now Pope Francis calls for an “integral ecology” that addresses environmental issues in the larger context of economic, social, cultural, and moral questions. Although global warming is clearly a focus, our Holy Father is not trying to write a scientific exposition. Rather, he is drawing our attention to the obligation we have from God to be good stewards of life and of our planet.

As we see in the Book of Genesis, God entrusts the world he has created to us, and our stewardship has moral and ethical implications. Genesis also teaches that the human person exists in three fundamental and closely interconnected relationships: with God, with our neighbor and with material creation. We are intrinsically linked to each other and to all God’s creatures by unseen bonds that constitute a universal web of relationships. This entails a responsibility on our part for the common good, including the good of future generations.

These relationships, Pope Francis says, are broken by the sin of “presuming to take the place of God and refusing to acknowledge our creaturely limitations,” (66). Moreover, our increasing manipulative power over nature has objectified it and diminished our reverence. As a result, “our common home is falling into serious disrepair … and we can see signs that things are now reaching a breaking point,” says the Holy Father (61).

Increased awareness and a resolve to remedy the situation lead to everyday things like recycling, turning off unneeded lights, reducing plastic and paper use, carpooling, separating refuse, participating in Greater New Haven’s clean-up and preservation efforts, caring for other living creatures, and any number of socially-conscious steps that improve respect and protection for what God has created and entrusted to our stewardship.

Pope Francis writes that such efforts “benefit society, often unbeknown to us, for they call forth a goodness which, albeit unseen, inevitably tends to spread” (212).

“Laudato Si” is an urgent reminder that care for our “common home” is a profound moral responsibility shared by us all.

The Most Reverend Leonard P. Blair is the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Hartford.

5
Hear stories about refugees and inmates, and get pointers for the upcoming presidential election

4
Pick up Social Justice summer reading materials

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Purchase fair trade coffee, chocolate, tea, and crafts

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Meet other Catholic social justice leaders from around Connecticut

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Kick-off Laudato Si' Week with keynote presenter, Sr. Damien Marie Savino

Register!

Online or by calling 860-242-5573

“The Church without frontiers, Mother to all, spreads throughout the world a culture of acceptance and solidarity, in which no one is seen as useless, out of place, or disposable.” Pope Francis Message for the 2015 World Day of Migrants and Refugees, September 3, 2014

In this Year of Mercy, how are we providing shelter to the homeless? How are we caring for the immigrants among us?  Do our undocumented brothers and sisters feel  "a culture of acceptance and solidarity"?

Currently, all public colleges and universities in Connecticut set aside a proportion of tuition revenue to be used as ‘institutional aid’ to assist students with a demonstrated financial need. Undocumented Connecticut students, without immigration status, pay full tuition. They contribute towards this institutional aid, yet Connecticut does not allow undocumented students access to receive institutional aid.

After graduating from our state’s high schools, higher education remains out of reach. It doesn’t have to be this way! Our legislators have the power to change the way institutional aid is given out, so that undocumented students are able to get access to the scholarships their tuition helps fund.

For more information about how to take action and stand in solidarity with the undocumented students, check out the ct4adream.

Turning on the faucet, and having clean water come out, is a luxury that is easy to take for granted. The crisis in Flint, Michigan has helped us realize that safe, clean, water is a precious resource, even in the United States.  Over the last few month, Connecticut has also been talking about water, but not because it is toxic. Bloomfield’s water has been so well cared for that it is attractive to massive water bottling companies.  Niagara Bottling has been working with the Metropolitan District Commission to create a water bottling plant in Bloomfield.  This California- based corporation would bottle an enormous number of bottles a day- 1.8 million gallons, so much that concerned citizens are calling this a “water raid.”
 
Bottling this much water a day will have an effect on all of Connecticut, not just Bloomfield.  Recently, Senate Bill 422 was approved in the committee and needs to go to the floor for a vote.  According to the concerned citizens and environmental advocates: SB422 would
“Prioritize state residents in a drought and prohibit the export of water out of state in any Drought Emergency. Residents will be cutting water use while water bottling companies will be shipping it out-of-state. The DPH will step in only when our reservoirs are down to 10% capacity. Revise our state drought plan to protect residents. The only way to protect Connecticut's water while its state water plan is being developed is to pass SB422. (Clean Water Action, http://tinyurl.com/water322)
 
“ Without legislation, it will continue to be "open season" for corporate raids on our water. Who gets to decide the future of our water?  SB22 would put a moratorium on large water sales and level the playing field for water rates and special sewer charges for ALL customers. Help protect Connecticut's water. Urge your state representative and state senator to support SB422.”(Bloomfield Citizens,  http://tinyurl.com/water4716)
 
As Catholics, we believe that water is a fundamental right. Caring for creation is one of the seven principles of Catholic Social Teaching.  The next month will be a critical time to learn about the Niagara deal and help Connecticut form just policies around water usage to protect this sacred resource for both the present and the future.  

​There will be Department of Energy and Environmental Protection public hearings, legislative visits, and an email campaign that will be happening as part of the Bloomfield Citizens actions.  If you would like to stay up to date on this issue or be a part of advocating for a just water plan for Connecticut, please contact Sarah.Hillier@aohct.org
 

Today, March 22, is World Water Day!  Catholics believe that everyone has a right to water: It is a right to life issue. "The right to food, like the right to water, has an important place within the pursuit of other rights, beginning with the fundamental right to life. It is therefore necessary to cultivate a public conscience that considers food and access to water as universal rights of all human beings, without distinction or discrimination.” (Caritas in Veritate, §. 27)  
 
Throughout today, consider learning about issues related to water, praying for those who are experiences problems with their local water, and taking action.

Across the globe, we hear stories of water...
Read Drop by Drop. It is an engaging story that helps children understand important lessons of how to work for justice and peace and to help those in need. The story is about a girl named Sylvie and how her village needed water.  After reading Drop by Drop, see how you and your parish can donate to Catholic Relief Services.

Across the United States, we hear stories of water...
Nestle Waters—the largest bottler of water in the world—is drawing millions of gallons of water a year from the San Bernardino National Forest. Nestle’s permit to remove this precious resource expired in 1988, at which point the Forest Service should have turned off the spigot.  Watch a four-minute documentary explaining the impact Nestle’s operation is having on the forest and demand that the company and our government ensure this shared public resource is protected for future generations.    —  Visit storyofstuff.org/movies/nestle/  for more information.
 
Across the state and in our backyard, we hear stories of water...
Niagara Bottling, a large California-based corporation, wants to  purchase 1.8 million gallons of water per day from greater Hartford's public supply so they can bottle it and sell it. Their plan is to manufacture 2.6 million single-use plastic bottles of water per day at a new Bloomfield plant. Connecticut residents are mobilizing to address the gaps in local review of water management decisions, not just in Bloomfield but in all the communities served by the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) . Learn more about this issue and write to you local representatives through Clean Water Action’s website:  http://tinyurl.com/water322.

For more information on this topic visit.

​'Gather Together' CT Human Trafficking Awareness
Saturday, January 9, from 9-12pm,
First Assembly of God in Waterbury,
Sponsored by The Underground CT,
an interdenominational organization working to engage our churches
in prayer and action against Human Trafficking in CT

This event features several expert speakers with a focus on our in-state response to human trafficking.
 For information: theundergroundct@gmail.com and below flyer. 

To live mercy, we must rediscover both the spiritual works of mercy and the corporal works of mercy. The OCSJM offers “Living Mercy in the Year of Mercy” handouts on the Corporal Works of Mercy using the “Pray, Learn, Act” format to help you incorporate the Year of Mercy into your ministry. They can be used as discussion starters or for parish bulletins. Download it here or view below.