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Sentences in need of rediagramming

17 Nov 2013 - Preaching the News for Sunday

A life-sentence for stealing a $159 jacket? It sounds like something out of Les Miserables but in fact it is one of the 3,281 cases of U.S. prisoners given life-terms for nonviolent crimes, according to a recently released report. Jesus warned that “you will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death.” But still injustice always comes as a shock.In the report “A Living Death” issued recently by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), investigators chronicled the lives of thousands of families ruined by sentencing people to die behind bars for nonviolent offences with no chance of parole. Some, like the jacket thief, said an article in the Guardian, were given the most extreme punishment short of execution for shoplifting; one was condemned to die in prison for siphoning gasoline from a truck; another for stealing tools from a tool shed; yet another for trying to cash a stolen check.The ACLU report stated that today the United States is virtually alone in its willingness to sentence nonviolent offenders to die behind bars. Life without parole for nonviolent sentences has been ruled a violation of human rights by the European Court of Human Rights. The U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the world with 2.3 million people now in custody, with the war on drugs acting as the overriding push-factor. Of the prisoners serving life without parole for nonviolent offences nationwide, the ACLU estimates that almost 80 percent were for drug-related crimes.Homily hint: Justice and perseverance, the main themes of today’s gospel, have also been the topics of recent statements by Pope Francis, who said the reform of the world’s justice systems “is no utopia. It can happen." It is up to us to see that justice is done here and now. That is the day-to-day work of Christians. Source: An article by Ed Pilkington for The Guardian

Justice american civil liberties union sentencing life sentences a living death aclu perseverence social justice prison reform

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Keep the dream alive, Obama encourages young immigrants

08 Feb 2015 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Job speaks of the pain of the “hireling who waits for his wages” as he lives a life of “drudgery” filled with “misery and troubled nights.” Many an undocumented immigrant working on the margins and living in fear of deportation can relate. As congressional Republicans take aim at President Barack Obama's recent executive orders giving young undocumented immigrants provisional legal status, the president told a group of these “Dreamers” at the White House Wednesday that he wouldn't let that happen. "I will veto any legislation that got to my desk that took away the chance of these young people who grew up here and who are prepared to contribute to this country," Obama said. Homily hint: It’s said many a time that we live in a nation of immigrants, that we are all the children and grandchildren of immigrant ancestors. Yet each generation of immigrants seems to face hostility from those already on hand. Let’s remember that what was good and attractive and hopeful to our grandparents is that which draws our undocumented neighbor. Compassion rather than condemnation will lead us to the right balance. For more on immigration reform, see: Obama Promises Dreamers He Won't Back Down; Obama Promises Dreamers He'll Veto Bills to Deport Them, Others

immigration reform social justice

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More cameras shooting for fewer police shootings

12 Apr 2015 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Seeing is believing, suggests this Sunday’s gospel narrative of the apostle Thomas wishing to see the resurrected Lord with his own eyes. The mayor of North Charleston, where a white police officer fatally shot a black man in the back last Saturday, says every officer in uniform on the street will get a body camera after a phone video shot by a passerby led to Officer Michael Slager being charged with the murder of Walter Scott. Homily hint: We’d like to believe that those in authority tell the truth and act wisely but in the real world, things aren’t always as they seem. May the tragedies on our streets lead our society to reevaluate our use of lethal force in upholding the law. Work for nonviolent conflict resolution at home and in your community. For more on the South Carolina shooting, see: South Carolina shooting: Officer charged and fired; protesters demand justice; Latest on police shooting: Bystander fears for safety

social justice nonviolent conflict resolution police tactics

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Flint citizens to political leaders: Get the lead out!

24 Jan 2016 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The psalmist assures us this Sunday that the "decree of the Lord is trustworthy . . . The precepts of the LORD are right.” The decision of a Flint, Michigan state-appointed emergency manager to switch to a cheaper water supply turned out to be anything but trustworthy or right. Blame is swirling after the switch in the water supply to the financially strapped city of 100,000 north of Detroit led to elevated levels of lead in drinking water. To save money the manager decided to switch to notoriously polluted Flint River water in April 2014 from the Lake Huron water supply it had been using. Complaints about the water began within a month of the move but Flint did not return to Detroit water until October 2015 after tests revealed toxic levels of lead. On Tuesday Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, facing protests, lawsuits, and calls for his resignation, apologized for the drinking water crisis and called for the state to spend $28 million on fixes. Homily hint: The Flint crisis reveals the limits of treating a city like a for-profit corporation. If we are to “build the city of God” on this earth, we must put people before profits and support basic human services no matter the income level of those involved. Karen Weaver, the mayor of Flint, a mostly poor and black community, commented that contaminated water would not have been tolerated in a rich suburb. “It’s a minority community, it’s a poor community, and voices were not being heard,” she said. “And that’s a part of this problem.” Let’s hear the cry of the poor, and be part of the solution! For more on the Flint water crisis, see: Political fallout from Flint, Michigan water crisis spreads; How Michigan’s Bureaucrats created the Flint water crisis

poverty social justice public health

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Don’t leave aside your leftovers

24 Jan 2016 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Ezra and Nehemiah have good news for the people of Israel in this Sunday’s first reading: “Go, eat rich foods and drink sweet drinks . . . for today is holy to our Lord.” The Environmental Protection Agency is all for healthy eating but wants to see less of it end up in landfills and is asking religious organizations to lend a hand. This week the EPA launched the Food Steward's Pledge, an initiative to engage religious groups of all faiths to help redirect the food that ends up in landfills to hungry mouths. It's one piece of the agency's larger plan to reduce food waste by 50 percent by 2030. "We can make leaps and bounds in this process if we tackle this problem more systemically and bring a broader number of stakeholders to the table," EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said. By engaging religious communities, she said, "we are tapping into incredibly motivated and dedicated people." Homily hint: Being good food stewards is a concept deeply rooted in the core values of faith communities. The food we toss can help feed hungry and poor people. No one should go hungry in a land of plenty. Encourage your faith community to take the Food Steward’s Pledge. For more on efforts to curb food waste, see: Thou Shalt Not Toss Food: Enlisting Religious Groups To Fight Waste; Food Steward’s Pledge

stewardship Hunger social justice

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Revolutionary priest passes away

28 Feb 2016 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Saint Paul reminds readers against hubris this Sunday: “Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall.” Nicaraguan dictator Gen. Anastasio Somoza Debayle apparently did not get the memo and was overthrown by a popular uprising that involved many Catholic leaders and activists in 1979. The Rev. Fernando Cardenal, 82, a revolutionary priest and member of Nicaragua’s leftist cabinet in the 1980s, died on Saturday in Managua. Cardenal oversaw a sweeping campaign that local officials credited with reducing illiteracy from 51 percent to 13 percent and was the brother of Father Ernesto Cardenal, a poet and intellectual voice of the revolution. Homily hint: The 1960s and 1970s were years of repression, upheaval, and revolution in Latin America. World powers intervened and local struggles became Cold War struggles. In the process, many legitimate aspirations of the people were crushed under the geopolitical weight of the Super Powers. Though suffering has been needlessly prolonged, the struggle for justice continues. For more: Fernando Cardenal, Nicaraguan Priest Who Defied Pope, Dies at 82

liberation theology social justice nicaragua

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Homily stories

19 Sep 2010 - Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

IF THE RECENT economic downturn and the ensuing unemployment trends in the U.S. and around the world have taught us anything, it is that money is an essential resource in our efforts to make this world a better place for all human beings. Although economic disparity is inevitable in our capitalist structure, the fact that businesses grow and people can rise out of poverty is good news that often gets overlooked. In fact, economic growth and the money it generates can be one of the great paths to liberation for people, especially the poor. Although Luke's gospel for this week lends itself to the "money is the root of all evil" reading, perhaps we can use the lessons of the current recession to see the value of economic activity and shift our focus toward ethical business practices rather than condemning riches. Take, for instance, Forbes' list of the "Top 100 Employers to Work For." If, as consumers, we purchase a particular product or service, are we not practicing social justice if we support a company that treats its employees better than its competitors do? Or, if we know a company is harming the environment as a result of its business practices, doesn't our boycotting that company's services eventually lead to a better world? Be trustworthy in small and great matters when it comes to your business practices, and support others who do the same.

Authors Nate Pierce

recession unemployment money capitalism social justice

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Who's listening?

26 Sep 2010 - Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

In today's gospel, the rich man in the place of torment pleads with Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his brothers about the eternal peril they face if they ignore the poor as he did. Abraham replies that the living have all the evidence they need in Moses and the prophets to motivate them not only to bring comfort to the suffering but also to believe in the resurrection. In hearing this Word of God, people have the opportunity the rich man's brothers did not get. They have the chance to rouse themselves to serve justice and feed the hungry. They know of the spiritual and corporal works of mercy; their doing awaits. The good news of resurrected life has been proclaimed. It remains for those who hear it to believe and act as they believe.

Wealth social justice works of mercy

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Homily themes

26 Sep 2010 - Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

Their wanton revelry . . . . Amos, a shepherd, brings a harsh message to the wealthy ruling class, which has accumulated money and power through exploitation and dishonesty. The vile banquet the prophet describes symbolizes the gap between them and the vast bulk of the people (a gulf that is reversed when the rich man of the gospel reencounters Lazarus in the netherworld). The self-satisfied lounge on couches and eat the animals and anoint themselves with the oils intended for sacrifice. Their big sin, however, lies in their failure to see the precariousness of their situation. Like the rich man in the gospel, they do not see how God will reverse the roles between rich and poor. Human history is such a mess that we instinctively long for some Deus ex machina to arrive in time to rescue us. The miraculous rescue may seem attractive, but it doesn't take a miracle-worker to clean up our messes, just an act of the will. The greatest act of human will is charity, a virtue that awakens in us the likeness and the life of God. Maybe the love that makes a powerful person serve a weaker one is a miracle, but it's one that's within the grasp of any of us.

Wealth dishonesty social justice

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Homily stories

26 Sep 2010 - Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

Father Daniel Berrigan, S.J. once told the editors of U.S. Catholic that when it comes to responding to social ills, "no person, even with the most fervent of wills, can do everything. But every person can do something. And the moral distance between doing something and doing nothing is momentous indeed." Here are a few examples of that difference: Pick one cause a month to read about and respond to (with however little you have to give) vs. throwing out all charitable solicitations unread. Smile at one person you don't know as you walk down the street vs. maintaining a perennial scowl on your face. Let it be known that you don't appreciate vulgar, racist, or otherwise offensive comments the next time you hear one spoken vs. going along with the crowd. Offer one compliment to a family member or coworker, no strings attached, vs. assuming they know you appreciate them.

social justice Charity works of mercy

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