In June 2001, the Provincial Administration gathered to review the work of the province in the previous year and to plan for the year ahead. As the Social Justice Coordinator for the province, I had the opportunity to update the members of the administration on our efforts in the area of peace and justice work. We have much to be proud of and I am thankful to all of the members of the province for your continued support and feedback as we continue the saving work of Jesus in our world. Our Holy Cross Constitutions (2,12) encourage us to move forward. "As disciples of Jesus we stand side by side with all people. Like them we are burdened by the same struggles and beset by the same weaknesses; like them we are made new by the same Lord's love; like them we hope for a world where justice and love prevail."

In the previous year, our province has advanced the work of social justice by:

Publishing three editions of the Justice Notes with information and updates on current issues.

Encouraging local communities and individuals to undertake a social justice activity during Lent.

Linking our activities to those of the new Intercongregational Holy Cross Justice and Peace Office by asking province members to visit the site and sign on to our letter to the World Bank/IMF. We gathered 847 signatures from Holy Cross women and men worldwide.

Forwarding alerts and activities from the Intercommunity Center for Justice and Peace to province members via email and fax.

Filing shareholder’s resolutions on selected social justice issues.

Signing on to a letter generated by Pax Christi addressing the US military budget.

Sending members of the McNamara school community to protest at the School of the Americas in Georgia.

Showing a Bread for the World video at a province gathering which addressed the issue of hunger in Africa.

Participating in the Holy Cross fast day on September 13, 2000, with the special intention of being in solidarity with the community and local church in North East India.

Twinning with another parish in need (Bro. Larry Lussier in Milford, CT).

Advocating for the stewardship of land in Valatie, NY.

I emphasize that these are just some of the ways our province has participated in social justice work in the past year. I know many more of you are involved in similar efforts and I encourage you to let us know what you are doing so we can support you in your work.

Our goals for the upcoming year include:

Publishing a minimum of three editions of the Justice Notes with increased distribution to our partners in ministry.

 

Working with the Intercongregational Holy Cross Justice and Peace Office in the areas of global economic justice, ecological sustainability, and the rights of marginalized peoples.

 

Renewing the call to incorporate a social justice activity into local Lenten observances.

 

Participating in the Holy Cross fast day on September 13, 2001.

 

Filing shareholder’s resolutions on identified social justice issues with updates in the Justice Notes.

 

Forwarding social justice news items from outside sources via email and fax, especially from the Intercommunity Center for Justice and Peace since many of the events take place in the New York area.

 

Working with the Holy Cross Education Office to incorporate social justice work into school activities and exploring the possibility of twinning schools.

 

Please feel free to contact me with your ideas and suggestions for the upcoming year!

Recommendation 18 of the Proceedings of the 1998 General Chapter states:

The Chapter recommends that the Superior General, after consulting with the Council of the Congregation, declare an annual day of fasting and prayer for justice and peace. It would be a day of remembering the members of the Congregation who have died as victims of violence or who have given their lives in the pursuit of justice and peace. The money saved on this day will be forwarded to the General Administration for use in justice and peace projects.

 

Rev. Jim Mulligan, CSC, our Holy Cross Coordinator for Justice and Peace in Rome, states that "by connecting with the formation program in solidarity of our Haitian confreres on September 13^th, the entire Congregation can speak a collective yes to our prophetic option for the poor mission priority."

Please invite those with whom you minister to fast with you for this special intention. It can be a great opportunity to educate faculty, students, parishioners, clients, and co-workers on the mission and ministries of Holy Cross throughout the world.

Send donations for the formation program in Haiti to the provincial office in New Rochelle, New York, and they will be forwarded to the Generalate in Rome.

Through the intercession of Our Lady of the Seven Dolors, may our fasting, prayers, and generosity be a blessing for us and for the people of Haiti.

Location: Haiti is 800 miles southeast of Miami, FL, just 100 minutes air travel time, occupying the western third of the island of Hispaniola, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Haiti is only 60 miles from Cuba.

Size: 10,714 square miles. About equal to the size of Maryland.

Population: Approximately 7.1 million people. Population growth is quite rapid in Haiti. Since the beginning of the 20th century there has been a fourfold increase in population. This expansion took place despite high rates of mortality. Population growth is reduced by external migration. Since the early 1960s Haitians have been emigrating at a rate of some 50,000 per year. The main destinations for Haitian emigrants have been Cuba and the Dominican Republic.

Ethnic groups: African descent 95%, African and European descent 5%.

Government: Independent republic since 1804. The first democratic elections were held only in December 1990 when Jean Bertrand Aristide was elected President. Aristide was re-elected in November of 2000.

Suffrage: Universal at 18

Environment - current issues: extensive deforestation (much of the remaining forested land is being cleared for agriculture and used as fuel); soil erosion; inadequate supplies of potable water

Religion: 80% Roman Catholic; 10% various Protestant mainline churches. Vodou remains a part of Haitian culture stemming from their African roots and the Government officially recognizes the Vodouist Federation.

Education: Free public education is sporadic and non-existent in many rural areas. Only 3% of rural children ever complete elementary school. 80% of the rural population of Haiti is illiterate

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 45%

male: 52%

female: 48% (2000 est.)

Living Conditions: Only 15% of the rural population has access to safe water. Most families do not have electricity or running water. Sanitary facilities--e.g. sewage disposal, flush toilets, etc. are almost nonexistent. 2.4 million people live in urban slums.

Mortality rate: 16.5% 1982

Birth rate: 36% (1982)

Population below poverty line: 80% (1998 est.)

Life expectancy: 54 years. For some labor activities, 45 years.

Infant mortality rate: 74/1,000.

Maternal mortality rate: 600 per 100,000 in 1987-89

Income: Average per capita income is less than $300, closer to $150 in the rural areas. Less than .1% of the population controls the majority of the wealth. Fewer than 200 families control the entire economy.

(adapted from britannica.com)

On July 18, the U.S. Senate passed the Hunger to Harvest Resolution (S. Con. Res. 53).

Like its companion measure in the House (H. Con. Res. 102), the Hagel-Leahy resolution is designed to build support for the U.S. commitment to Africa that Bread for the World is seeking in its 2001 Offering of Letters, Africa: Hunger to Harvest.

Bread for the World president David Beckmann praised Leahy and Hagel for their humanitarian work in the Senate, and thanked them for leading the way on the Hunger to Harvest Resolution.

"The stature, credibility and humanitarian voice that Senator Leahy brings to the table will be an enormous boost for us," Beckmann said. Beckmann said Hagel "has long been a champion of poor and hungry people the world over, and not only because it's the right thing to do. He also knows it's good for Nebraska. More Africans working their way out of poverty means better markets for American farmers."

The resolution calls on the United States to join other industrial nations in an effort to cut world hunger in half by 2015. Hagel and Leahy cite Bread for the World Institute's estimate that this goal could be reached with an additional $4 billion a year of aid from the world's richest nations. The U.S. share would be $1 billion a year-- about a penny a day per American. The U.S. effort would begin in sub-Saharan Africa, where hunger has doubled in the past 30 years, where one person in three is chronically undernourished, and where AIDS has killed more than 17 million people and is expected to kill 25 million more. The U.S. would continue to participate until "substantial progress" is made in reducing hunger and poverty.

The resolution says U.S. assistance should be directed to agriculture, food systems, infrastructure, rural development, health care, educational opportunity (especially for girls), financing of home and neighborhood businesses, and debt relief.

The House version of the Hunger to Harvest Resolution, introduced April 4 by Reps. Jim Leach (R-IA) and Donald Payne (D-NJ), now has 113 cosponsors.

Congress is in recess during the month of August. The Senate will reconvene on September 4^th and the House on September 5^th. Please contact your US Representative and urge him or her to support the Hunger to Harvest Resolution, H. Con. Res. 102. Mail your letters to:

Representative ____________
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

House Committee Approves Increased Funding for Food Stamps

Last week, the House Agriculture Committee started marking up a Farm Bill that includes some improvements to the Food Stamps Program. The Committee approved, by a voice vote, more than $3 billion over 10 years in new funding for the Food Stamp Program. The House bill also would allow states to provide Food Stamps benefits for six month to families transitioning from welfare to work and reform the Food Stamp quality control program by delaying sanctions on states until the state’s error rate exceeds the national average by more than 1 percent for three consecutive years. Lastly, the Food Stamps family deduction would be based on family size as opposed per person, thus would provide increased Food Stamp benefits to low-income families.

The Committee is expected to approve the Farm Bill this week, and House floor action is expected following the August recess.

While the House Agriculture Committee’s action is encouraging, $3 billion is still short of what is needed. In addition, the Farm Bill must still pass both the full House and Senate. The Senate Agriculture Committee is expected to mark up the Farm Bill following the recess at which time Catholic Charities USA will continue advocating for a one-year automatic enrollment and increased funding.

Immigration Reform