Our hearts are heavy with the news of continuing violence
in the Middle East and Iraq, of another tsunami in Indonesia, and
of the recent bombings in Mumbai, India.
We join our prayers with yours for all of our brothers and sisters around the world suffering from war, violence, natural
disasters, and the violence of poverty and disease and we remain hopeful that our actions, however small, for justice and
peace will continue to bring light into the darkness. We will continue to share
with you the reports we receive from Good Shepherd Sisters in Lebanon and
encourage you to continue your prayers for the Middle East in particular. Here are links
to some prayer resources from the U.S. Catholic Bishops, the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the World Council of Churches (Iraq specific) that you may find helpful.
CALL FOR U.S. LEADERSHIP TO STOP MIDEAST
VIOLENCE
With Mideast violence
escalating, your urgent advocacy of the Administration and Congress is needed. The U.S. Catholic Bishops and a number of religious
and humanitarian organizations worldwide have called for a cease fire, but stronger statements are needed from world leaders,
including our President and Congress.
ACTION NEEDED
Call the White House Comment Line at 202-456-1111 and
urge the President to speak out for a ceasefire in the current conflict between Israel
and Hezbollah. You can use the following talking points in your call, but we encourage you to speak from the heart:
1. I am deeply troubled by the escalating violence
in the Middle East and especially the loss of civilian life and the destruction of cities.
2. I call upon the President (and Congress) to exert
greater leadership and to work more intensively and multilaterally to end the provocations and violence, to secure a ceasefire
and restraint from ALL sides, to move toward negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians to bring about security for Israel
and a viable state for the Palestinians, and to ensure the independence of Lebanon..
If you have time, please consider making additional
calls to your Senators and Representatives urging them to speak out for and end to the violence. The Capitol Hill Switchboard
number is (202) 224-3121 and the operator can connect you to the offices of your members of Congress.
HARMFUL BUDGET CHANGES MOVING IN HOUSE AND SENATE
Before they leave for their annual August recess, both
the House and Senate could take up harmful budget process bills. The House will
be voting on legislation to create a "sunset commission" and the Senate on a bill to give the President a "line-item veto".
The line-item veto would give the President the authority to eliminate or make changes to federally funding programs that
serve those most in need, even if Congress votes to continue these programs. The
sunset commission would be an unelected group of individuals appointed by the President to determine which federal programs
should be cut; their decision could be made without public input and without the advice of experts and it is undemocratic. Both of these provisions threaten our system of checks and balances by granting the
Executive branch an enormous amount of power. With this power, federal programs
like Medicaid, food stamps, juvenile justice and education programs that serve the most vulnerable in our society would be
severely threatened.
ACTION NEEDED
Write your Senators and Representatives opposing both
the sunset commission and line-item veto proposals. Sample letters are available
for you to edit and send on our action website. Also remember that it is important to try to personalize letters as much as possible.
For more information on these budget "reforms," please
visit our website.
SENATE ACTION NEEDED ON VOTING RIGHTS ACT
Now that the House has passed a bill reauthorizing
the Voting Rights Act, the Senate needs to act! Please call Sen. Bill Frist, the Senate Majority Leader, and urge him to bring
the Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks, and Coretta Scott King Voting Rights Act to the floor for a vote before its 41st
anniversary on August 6, 2006. The telephone number of Sen. Frist is 202-224-3344.
CATHOLIC STATEMENT FOR THE COMMON GOOD
Our friends at the Center of Concern along with many other Catholic organizations have joined together to form a new group called Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good. This group is committed to promoting justice,
peace, and the common good of all and has produced its first statement, "Called to the Common Good," which Catholics around
the country are invited to sign. Please take the chance to visit the Center
of Concern's website, sign this important statement, and find other ways
that you can become involved in this new alliance by clicking here.
