March, 2008

Silver Spring, MD--March 26, 2008--We, the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, warmly welcome the Holy Father to the United States and pray that his apostolic journey April 15-20 inspire peace and mercy.

As Sisters of Mercy, we witness and are grieved by the conflicts of our times, especially the Iraq war. We stand in solidarity with the millions of people suffering because of the war. In our ministries and prayer we seek to focus on the unmet needs of suffering people, particularly refugees and displaced families. For these reasons we urge Pope Benedict to call for an immediate, comprehensive solution to end the war in Iraq. We ask that he plead for the just and compassionate care of persons and families who have been forced to flee violence and conflict. We pray for an end to war and commit ourselves to work with others in building a lasting peace.

Most Reverend Ronald Gilmore, president of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference (NCRLC), named James F. Ennis, executive director of the Des Moines-based nonprofit Catholic organization. “We look forward to Jim Ennis’ professional experience, business skills, and faith experience to help NCRLC apply the teachings of Jesus Christ for the social and economic development of rural America,” said Gilmore, Bishop of the Diocese of Dodge City, Kansas.

Ennis is currently Director for Food Alliance Midwest, a St. Paul, Minnesota-based affiliate of the national Food Alliance. Food Alliance operates a sustainable agriculture certification program for farms, ranches, and other food-based businesses interested in using ‘sustainability’ and related claims to differentiate and add value to food products, and to protect and enhance brands. Operating within 8 Midwest states, the program has grown under Ennis’ leadership from four farms in 2000 to over 75 certified farms and processors throughout the Midwest in 2007.

Dozens of Religious and Social Justice Organizations to Gather in Philadelphia for Historic Meeting

Washington, DC — In this election year, when political candidates are courting Catholics and other Americans of faith as key swing voters, representatives from more than 20 religious and social justice organizations will gather in Philadelphia this July for an unprecedented Convention for the Common Good. For the first time, Catholic and interfaith organizations will meet and ratify a Platform for the Common Good that will be sent to presidential candidates and both national political parties as a way to influence the debate over the defining moral and political issues of our time.

More than 600 delegates from faith communities and social justice organizations will attend the convention, July 11-13, at the Sheraton Philadelphia City Center Hotel. Religious leaders, social justice advocates, elected officials and the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates have been invited to attend. Leading up to the national gathering, participating organizations as well as individuals will be asked to convene local groups around the country to develop the platform on such diverse issues as health care, immigration, economic inequality and foreign policy. The platform will be ratified at the convention and submitted to the Republican and Democratic National Committees.

Pax Christi USA issued a statement after the discovery of the body of Chaldean Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho in Iraq:

The discovery is "further evidence of how the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq has inflamed extremist violence between religious traditions which lived side-by-side in relative peace prior to the war. "

"The Bush Administration must assume some responsibility for the death of Archbishop Rahho," stated Pax Christi USA Executive Director Dave Robinson. "President Bush unleashed this violence as part of his 'war on terror,' and the result of this war is that it has bred the very hatred that has led to an increase in extremist violence in Iraq."

The Franciscan Action Network formally began its mission to transform the world in the spirit of St. Francis and St. Clare on Saturday, March 8, 2008 during the annual Ecumenical Advocacy Days held here in Washington, DC. This movement of the ecumenical Christian community, is grounded in biblical witness and our shared tradition of justice, peace and the integrity of creation. The goal of the Ecumenical Advocacy Days is to strengthen the Christian voice and to mobilize for advocacy on a wide variety of U.S. domestic and international policy issues.

Click here to visit the Franciscan Action Network website.

Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good is proud to support the Christian Peace Witness for Iraq which called for a national day of prayer and witness for peace in Iraq, inviting people of faith from around the country to come to our nation’s capital on Friday, March 7th. Beginning with Christian denominational worship services around 8-10 sites in Washington D.C., there will be processions to the Capitol where we will be joined by sisters and brothers from the Jewish and Muslim traditions for an interfaith service and vigil. The Catholic gathering will begin with a Mass at St. Aloysius Church followed by a panel of speakers.

Included on the panel is Sr. Anne Curtis the leadership team of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. In January, Sister Anne joined a Catholic Relief Services delegation of solidarity with seven other women religious to visit Iraqi refugees in Syria and Lebanon.