The following is the text of an address Pope Benedict XVI gave to participants in the plenary session of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. The topic of the meeting was "Pursuing the Common Good: How Solidarity and Subsidiarity Can Work Together."

Pope Benedict XVI spoke to the United Nations General Assembly calling for ethical and moral principles as a guiding force even in pluralistic societies, a human rights agenda that encompasses religious freedom and the sacredness of human life, and the responsibility of first-world nations to aid developing ones.

Pope Benedict said, "The life of the community, both domestically and internationally, clearly demonstrates that respect for rights, and the guarantees that follow from them, are measures of the common good that serve to evaluate the relationship between justice and injustice, development and poverty, security and conflict. The promotion of human rights remains the most effective strategy for eliminating inequalities between countries and social groups, and for increasing security. Indeed, the victims of hardship and despair, whose human dignity is violated with impunity, become easy prey to the call to violence, and they can then become violators of peace."

Click here to read the full text of the Pope's speech.

Washington, DC- Pennsylvania Catholics identify the economy as their top concern and say jobs outsourced to other countries is the most critical issue in this election year, according to a poll released today by Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good (CACG). Conducted by Zogby International, the poll of 404 Catholic voters comes less than a week before an April 22 primary when Catholics will comprise about a third of Pennsylvania's electorate.

"Catholics in Pennsylvania want candidates to focus on the common good and questions of economic justice," said Lois Campbell, a local outreach coordinator for CACG and vice president of the Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network. "As faithful citizens, Catholics recognize that our government has a moral obligation to ensure our economy works for all Americans, not just a privileged few.

To read the entire press release, click here.

This morning 7 leading Catholic intellectuals and academics held a tele-press conference for the media in anticipation of Pope Benedict XVI's upcoming visit to America. Click on the panelist name link to hear each opening statement (or right-click and select "Save As" to download). The Panelists were Alexia Kelley, Executive Director of Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good; Rev. Tom Reese, SJ, Senior Research Fellow at Georgetown University’s Woodstock Theological Center; Rev. Charles Currie, S.J. President of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities; Rev. David Hollenbach, University chair in Human Rights and International Justice at Boston College; Dr. Maryann Cusimano Love of the Catholic University of America; Rev. Richard Ryscavage, Director of the Center for Faith in Public Life at Fairfield University; and Sr. Camille D’Arienzo, RSM a Sister of Mercy of the Institute of the Americas, living in the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York.

The panelists spoke about the purpose and expectations of the papal visit, as well as the papal message American Catholics can expect to hear. To listen to the press conference in its entirety click here. (Please note that this mp3 file is 13.5 MB - right-click and select Save As... to save the audio file to your computer).

Recently, Alexia Kelley, Executive Director of Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, participated in a panel discussion at Boston College entitled "American Catholics and Election 2008: Issues of Conscience." The event was a discussion of the US Bishops’ Conference election-year statement "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility from the Catholic Bishops of the United States". A webcast of the panel discussion is available at the Boston College Church in the 21st Century Center's website.

Click here to learn more about the event.