ACTIONS AND ISSUES
7 Days of ServiceThe Milwaukee Archdiocese Seven Days of Service is just around the corner, the week of September 22-29. In our October newsletter we will celebrate some of the good works accomplished during the designated week. Meanwhile, a opportunities are highlighted below; see the link to the Archdiocesan information page for others.
St. Sebastian parish (Milwaukee) will present Walk in My Shoes: A Refugee Simulation on Sunday September 22 from 3-5:30 p.m. You will walk the path of a refugee seeking safety, hear stories from some who have lived through peril and tragedy, celebrate stories of welcome, and share in a meal prepared by refugee families. Due to the graphic nature of parts of the presentation, only persons 16 yrs or older may participate. Advanced registration is required, a few spaces are left. Email the names of those wishing to participate to: eduncklee@sainsebs.org or sign up here.
St. Luke parish (Brookfield) has organized a blood drive for Wednesday Sept 25. Blood donors from other parishes are welcome; for information please contact Bill Kirsch Kirsch.family@sbcglobal.net In addition, St. Luke parishioners are donating food for local pantries at Sunday Mass on 9/22 and participating in the Friends of the Poor Walk in Waukesha on 9/28.
What has your parish or organization planned? What are your parishioners passionate about?
Please send the CPJ Newsletter info@catholicsforpeaceandjustice.org a short report of outreach activities as they occur in your parish. Let’s celebrate the ways Catholic Social Teaching is put into action in our midst!
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More Opportunities for 7 Days of Service
CALLS NEEDED! Tell Senators: Reject proposed cuts to poverty-reducing foreign aid
In a letter from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to the Department of State and USAID, the Administration froze between $2-4 billion that Congress approved, and the Administration signed into law for America’s development and diplomacy programs. While OMB has lifted the freeze, this is the first step in a potential rescission of the appropriated but “unobligated funds” not yet been committed to a specific contract or project for 10 State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development accounts. More details.
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Save the New START treaty in the National Defense Authorization Act!
Reducing nuclear stockpiles around the world needs to remain a priority, and a bipartisan measure is currently under consideration. Contact your members of Congress to support this provision.Learn more here.
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SAFE HARBOR FOR TRAFFICKED YOUTH
Seven Days of Service - Legislative Advocacy
The trafficking of children is happening in urban areas, rural areas, and has been reported in all 72 Wisconsin Counties. Currently, children who are trafficked, forced into commercial sex practices, can be prosecuted for the crime of prostitution, causing victimization and burdening a child with a criminal record. In our state, Assembly Bill 41 [AB 41] has been introduced, passed out favorably in the Assembly Committee, but has not been brought to the Assembly floor for a vote.
Titled the Safe Harbor for Trafficked Youth legislation, this bill would move our state further in protecting sexually exploited children by treating them as victims, rather than criminals. AB 41 prohibits charging a minor with the crime of prostitution. This bill would bring Wisconsin’s criminal laws in line with federal and neighboring state’s laws.
Each year, Wisconsin does more to protect sexually exploited youth. AB 41 is the next step we can take right now to further aid child-victims in a more caring and rehabilitative recovery of their dignity.
To pass AB 41 Speaker Robin Vos will need to place AB 41 on the Oct 8 Floor agenda so that it can come to the floor for a vote.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Please contact your State Assembly Representative. Tell them you are in favor of AB 41 and would like it on the Oct 8 calendar so that it will come to the floor for a vote. Call or email Speaker Vos. Tell him you want AB 41 on the Oct 8 calendar so that it can come to the floor for a vote.
Find Your WI Legislators Here
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Seven Days of Service - Legislative Advocacy
The trafficking of children is happening in urban areas, rural areas, and has been reported in all 72 Wisconsin Counties. Currently, children who are trafficked, forced into commercial sex practices, can be prosecuted for the crime of prostitution, causing victimization and burdening a child with a criminal record. In our state, Assembly Bill 41 [AB 41] has been introduced, passed out favorably in the Assembly Committee, but has not been brought to the Assembly floor for a vote.
Titled the Safe Harbor for Trafficked Youth legislation, this bill would move our state further in protecting sexually exploited children by treating them as victims, rather than criminals. AB 41 prohibits charging a minor with the crime of prostitution. This bill would bring Wisconsin’s criminal laws in line with federal and neighboring state’s laws.
Each year, Wisconsin does more to protect sexually exploited youth. AB 41 is the next step we can take right now to further aid child-victims in a more caring and rehabilitative recovery of their dignity.
To pass AB 41 Speaker Robin Vos will need to place AB 41 on the Oct 8 Floor agenda so that it can come to the floor for a vote.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Please contact your State Assembly Representative. Tell them you are in favor of AB 41 and would like it on the Oct 8 calendar so that it will come to the floor for a vote. Call or email Speaker Vos. Tell him you want AB 41 on the Oct 8 calendar so that it can come to the floor for a vote.
Find Your WI Legislators Here
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WISDOM/EXPO’sUnLock the Vote Campaign’s Milwaukee Kick-off
Wednesday | September 4 |5:30-8 pm | Hephatha Lutheran Church, 1720 W Locust St, Milwaukee
YOU CAN HELP THE CAMPAIGN!
"Unlock the Vote" is a 2-piece package of bills, introduced by Senator Lena Taylor, and State Representatives David Crowley and Jodi Emerson.
1) Contact your State Senator and State Representative(s) to encourage their support and co-sponsorship for both bills.
2) Join us for Unlock the Vote - Mini Action Day in Madison on September 18th, 2109 as we visit our legislator's and ask their support for this important legislation allowing 68,000 of our neighbors to vote and have an active vote in our democracy.
Here are the details on the bills:
• LR1522 - "Unlock the Vote" - calls for people who have received a felony sentence with supervision (probation/parole/extended supervision) to regain the right to vote after their release from prison/jail. This bill would align Wisconsin with other states that have discontinued the practice of requiring people to be "off papers" in order to vote. Currently in Wisconsin, people who have received a felony sentence must complete their terms of supervision and be "off paper" in order to vote.
• LR3567 - "Prison Gerrymandering" - calls for Wisconsin to count incarcerated people in their home district for the purposes of determining the number of voters in each election district. Currently Wisconsin exacerbates its voting district gerrymandering by counting incarcerated people in the location of the prison in which they are detained, even though they must return to their home municipality once released and may not live or vote in the place where the prison is located following release.
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Supporters of Incarcerated People (SIP), is a new organization for those who have loved ones in prison, sponsored by WISDOM/EXPO. Many of these folks have been involved in - and driven - various campaigns in Restoring Our Communities (ROC).
Please spread the word and invite others to join in the organizing meeting:
Saturday, September 28 | 10:00 am to 2:30 pm | Beloved Community of Intercession Episcopal Church, 900 Brilowski Rd., Stevens Point
Supporters of Incarcerated People (SIP), is a new organization for those who have loved ones in prison, sponsored by WISDOM/EXPO. Many of these folks have been involved in - and driven - various campaigns in Restoring Our Communities (ROC).Please spread the word and invite others to join in the organizing meeting:
Saturday, September 28 | 10:00 am to 2:30 pm | Beloved Community of Intercession Episcopal Church, 900 Brilowski Rd., Stevens Point
- Build a network of support for ourselves and others with incarcerated loved ones;
- Build a powerful community that joins our voices to demand changes for ourselves and our incarcerated loved ones.
To reserve your place at the SIP convening call 414-831-2070 or e-mail us at wisdomforjustice@gmail.com. Provide your name, city (to help arrange carpooling), phone and e-mail.
SIP: We believe in second chances; We believe people can change; We believe everyone needs hope and support, and no one should be forgotten. Anyone who cares about someone in prison is invited.
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Participate in this wonderful volunteer opportunity at St. Michael's Parish, 1445 N. 24th Street. We are looking for tutors to help the adult refugees from Myanmar, the former Burma, in learning English and in preparation for citizenship.
Tutoring would be on a one-on-one basis for one hour once a week. The day and time are agreed upon by the teacher/tutor and the student. Easy to follow materials are provided.
If you are interested or would like more information, please contact Deborah Lindberg: deborah.lindberg@att.net or call 414-906-0458.
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Justice for ImmigrantsThe past two weeks saw the Trump Administration take new actions against immigrants with the announcement of the implementation of the Public Charge Rule and efforts to end the Flores Agreement
On August 12, the Trump Administration announced that they would enact the Public Charge Rule (or “wealth test”), allowing immigration officials to determine if an immigrant can enter the U.S. or obtain a green card based on their potential use of public assistance programs. This rule will disproportionately impact millions of low-income immigrants, causing individuals and families to not seek assistance when hungry, in need of medical care, etc.
The Flores Agreement has provided a standard for the care of children in immigrant detention since it was enacted in 1997—including guidelines about their safety, humane treatment, and a 20-day limit on their detention. Since the beginning of 2018, seven children have died in U.S. Customs and Border Protection custody, ranging in age from one year old to sixteen—showing that even with the Flores Agreement in place, there is still work to be done to ensure the safety of immigrant children.
- Migrant Families Would Face Indefinite Detention Under New Trump Rule [The New York Times]
- Three more states sue over 'public charge' immigration rule [The Hill]
- Senate GOP plans to divert health, education funds to border wall [Roll Call]
ACTION: Join the Catholic Coalition for Migrants and Refugees, a new group in southeastern Wisconsin dedicated to ending the demonization of migrants and standing up for humane immigration policies. Email justdir@usprovince.org to get on our mailing list and find out how you can get involved.
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As the Worlds Burns…“That forest lung is vital for our planet.” ~ Pope Francis
Our first South American pope is keenly aware of what we are losing in Brazil as large swaths of the Amazon Rainforest go up in smoke. Fires are a regular feature of summers there as more and more land is cleared for farming – cattle-raising and soy crops for the most part – and for logging. The country’s president, Gen. Jair Bolsonaro was elected with support from the farming and timber industries and he has vowed to open the forest to “development,” a word that becomes ominous and sinister in this context.
This is a calamity with planetary implications. The rainforests drive the climate systems across the planet, and we are already well into the new era of climate change. It is occurring more rapidly than predicted and most climate scientists agree that we’re past tipping points for maintaining a stable climate. We are moving into a new reality on this planet and what we do or don’t do now will make a huge difference in how bad it gets.
Harsh news, but we need to come to terms with it. We face decisions right now about how we are going to live with and through this era of ecological peril. A question I pose in my 2008 book continues to haunt me – what kind of human beings will we be as we go through the crisis?
Read Margaret Swedish's full article here.
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National Priorities Project
The National Priorities Project reports that for Military in 2018, taxpayers in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, paid $1,543,960,640. Here’s what those tax dollars could have paid for in Milwaukee County instead:
- 5000 additional elementary school teachers AND
- 48,000 additional Head Start pupils AND
- Healthcare for 260,000 additional children and 143,000 additional adults
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Mass Shooting Tragedies are the Expected Consequences of Hatred and Violence
“Praying for a change of heart and direction for our country is important but ACTION is needed, too. We know that silence means complicity and consent, and people who care about ending hate-filled rhetoric and gun violence can no longer remain silent by-standers.
Enough is enough.
Pax Christi USA invites every individual and organization who believes in the values of being welcoming, open, and accepting and who understand the profound truth that we are our sisters’ and brothers’ keepers must make their voices heard. Read more
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Enough is enough.
Pax Christi USA invites every individual and organization who believes in the values of being welcoming, open, and accepting and who understand the profound truth that we are our sisters’ and brothers’ keepers must make their voices heard. Read more
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Human Sex Trafficking Interview with Archbishop Listecki.
Helping women out of human sex trafficking through the Franciscan spirit and the assistance of parish support programs is explored today. Two individuals dedicated to helping women begin their recovery from prostitution and drug addiction, share their work with us. Deacon Steve Przedpelski (Executive Director of the Franciscan Peacemakers) and Deb Schneider (Coordinator of the Faith Coalition Against Sex Trafficking) join Archbishop Listecki. Listen here.
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