Religious groups confront government shutdown
“The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power,” says the psalmist this Sunday. A number of Christan groups in the U.S. are wishing that the political leadership of their nation would cease obstructing the power of federal services . . .
“The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power,” says the psalmist this Sunday. A number of Christan groups in the U.S. are wishing that the political leadership of their nation would cease obstructing the power of federal services which help others and bring the government shutdown to an end.
More than 90 Catholic, evangelical, and Protestant leaders have criticized elected officials who “are pursuing an extreme ideological agenda at the expense of the working poor and vulnerable families." On Wednesday representatives of these churches began holding a daily “Faithful Filibuster” on Capitol Hill, reading Bible verses about the poor “to remind Congress that its dysfunction hurts struggling families and low-income people."
The government shutdown has threatened to reduce or shutter charitable services operated by faith-based groups which use federal funds. As Catholic News Service reported, the Diocese of Wichita, Kansas, for example, is covering the costs of programs for homeless families and battered women run by the local branch of Catholic Charities. In Washington the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said it would be able to continue assisting immigrants through its Migration and Refugee Services for a couple of months if necessary.
But officials also made it clear that these are only stop-gap measures that still leave the poor and vulnerable at greater risk. “It is hypocritical and shameful for those who tout their commitment to family values to show such callous indifference,” said an October 2 statement released by Faith in Public Life and signed by a range of Catholic and other Christian leaders.
The government shutdown also caused some initial confusion about whether military chaplains would be able to perform religious services. The House passed a resolution October 5 urging the U.S. secretary of defense not to allow the shutdown to reduce religious services on military bases.
Military chaplains continue to work during the shutdown, but the resolution was aimed at contract chaplains involved in performing religious services or conducting religious activities, according to The Military Times. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said he would reinstate almost all of the 350,000 civilian employees of the Defense Department, which was expected to allow contract priests to say Mass.
Still, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese for the Military Services says the shutdown is threatening Catholic service members’ religious rights. “Priests who minister to Catholics on military bases worldwide are not permitted to work—not even to volunteer," said John Schlageter, general counsel for the military archdiocese. "During the shutdown, it is illegal for them to minister on base and they risk being arrested if they attempt to do so.”
Homily hint: It is extremely frustrating for many American citizens to watch their elected officials disrupt the the functioning of the federal government and even the democratic process itself for what seems to be their own narrow political purposes. Catholics and other people of faith dedicated to promoting the common good should urge their representatives to follow their sworn mandate to, in the words of the Preamble to the Constiution of the United States, "promote the general Welfare."
More than 90 Catholic, evangelical, and Protestant leaders have criticized elected officials who “are pursuing an extreme ideological agenda at the expense of the working poor and vulnerable families." On Wednesday representatives of these churches began holding a daily “Faithful Filibuster” on Capitol Hill, reading Bible verses about the poor “to remind Congress that its dysfunction hurts struggling families and low-income people."
The government shutdown has threatened to reduce or shutter charitable services operated by faith-based groups which use federal funds. As Catholic News Service reported, the Diocese of Wichita, Kansas, for example, is covering the costs of programs for homeless families and battered women run by the local branch of Catholic Charities. In Washington the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said it would be able to continue assisting immigrants through its Migration and Refugee Services for a couple of months if necessary.
But officials also made it clear that these are only stop-gap measures that still leave the poor and vulnerable at greater risk. “It is hypocritical and shameful for those who tout their commitment to family values to show such callous indifference,” said an October 2 statement released by Faith in Public Life and signed by a range of Catholic and other Christian leaders.
The government shutdown also caused some initial confusion about whether military chaplains would be able to perform religious services. The House passed a resolution October 5 urging the U.S. secretary of defense not to allow the shutdown to reduce religious services on military bases.
Military chaplains continue to work during the shutdown, but the resolution was aimed at contract chaplains involved in performing religious services or conducting religious activities, according to The Military Times. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said he would reinstate almost all of the 350,000 civilian employees of the Defense Department, which was expected to allow contract priests to say Mass.
Still, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese for the Military Services says the shutdown is threatening Catholic service members’ religious rights. “Priests who minister to Catholics on military bases worldwide are not permitted to work—not even to volunteer," said John Schlageter, general counsel for the military archdiocese. "During the shutdown, it is illegal for them to minister on base and they risk being arrested if they attempt to do so.”
Homily hint: It is extremely frustrating for many American citizens to watch their elected officials disrupt the the functioning of the federal government and even the democratic process itself for what seems to be their own narrow political purposes. Catholics and other people of faith dedicated to promoting the common good should urge their representatives to follow their sworn mandate to, in the words of the Preamble to the Constiution of the United States, "promote the general Welfare."
Source: An article by Kevin Eckstrom, Cathy Lynn Grossman, Sarah Pulliam Bailey,
David Gibson, Adelle M. Banks, and Katherine Burgess for Religion News Service