Current Theme - "The Consistent Ethic of Life"

A wide spectrum of issues touches on the protection of human life and the promotion of human dignity. As Pope John Paul II has reminded us: "Where life is involved, the service of charity must be profoundly consistent. It cannot tolerate bias and discrimination, for human life is sacred and inviolable at every stage and in every situation; it is an indivisible good" (The Gospel of Life, no. 87).

In 1983 Joseph Cardinal Bernardin called for a broad vision among US Catholics that links the many social justice issues from "womb to tomb." This vision calls for strong opposition to a wide spectrum of evils, from abortion to nuclear holocaust to genocide and euthanasia. At the same time, a consistent ethic of life demands support for a wide range of positive social programs, from health care access to affordable housing to care for immigrants.

Cardinal Bernardin recognized that Catholics were divided over these and many other social justice issues. He therefore called for an "American-Catholic dialogue," that would bring Catholics of differing opinions to the same table for the goal of reaching common ground. A quarter of a century later, that dialogue continues.

During the course of this academic year, St. Mary's will offer various programs addressing a variety of social issues, all related to the Consistent Ethic of Life. Each presentation will be accompanied by a follow up opportunity for dialogue, called "Common Grounds Conversation" at a nearby coffee shop.

A copy of the program for the year can be obtained at the parish office or can be downloaded by clicking here.

"…At its most basic level, peace will come when all of us, as individuals, take responsibility for the fate of others. In order to move toward global peace and lasting justice, we must engage in a spirituality that reconnects us to the 'truth' of the inherent dignity of every person created in God's image."

– Jesuit Conference Address to the United Nations

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March 22, 2010

“CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: From Fury to Forgiveness, Contempt to Compassion:  "A Catholic mother's desperate search for her kidnapped child and God's idea of Justice”

Presented by Marietta Jaeger Lane                                         

The Vatican declaration to the World Congress on the Death Penalty in June 2001 stated, “The Holy See has engaged itself in the pursuit of the abolition of capital punishment as an integral part of the defense of human life at every stage of its development, and does so in defiance of an assertion of a culture of death”.  This evening, the mother of a murder victim will share her story and the reasons for her Catholic opposition to the death penalty in America.  Participants will be invited to listen, discuss and pray with one another around this issue.

Recommended reading:

• “The Death Penalty in Our Time,” Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, May 14, 1985
• “A Witness To Life:  The Catholic Church and the Death Penalty” address by Cardinal Roger Mahony, Archbishop of L.A. and chair of the U.S. Bishop’s Domestic Policy Committee
• Catholic Update – The Death Penalty by Kenneth R. Oververg, S.J.
• What Every Catholic Should Know About the Death Penalty from Catholic Mobilizing Network for the Catholic Campaign to End the Use of the Death Penalty
• Pax Christi handout – Six Simple Things Catholics Can Do To End the Death Penalty by Robert H. Hopke, MFT
• Fact sheet from Death Penalty Information Center

Reflection/Discussion Questions:

(TBD)

Resources Materials:

• Catholic Campaign to End the Death Penalty - http://usccb.org/deathpenalty/

• Catholic Mobilizing Network - http://www.catholicsmobilizing.org/
• Catholics Against Capital Punishment - http://www.cacp.org/
• Death Penalty Discourse Network - http://www.dpdiscourse.org/ led by Sr. Helen      Prejean; her personal web page is also helpful - http://www.prejean.org/ as is the Dead Man Walking Theatre project site - http://www.dmwplay.org/
• The Moratorium Campaign - http://www.moratoriumcampaign.org/ - a professional ethics initiative to get doctors to stop participating in the death penalty process.

Legislation: Senator Russ Feingold “Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act” – last year he reintroduced this in March and is likely to do so again this coming year.

Action Possibilities:

• Write letters to Congressional representatives/senators to support federal abolition
• Pax Christi Declaration of Life signing
• I Dream A World…End the Death Penalty petition
• Other suggestions in Pax Christi packet

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February 11, 2010

“Disparity of Access to Quality Education”

Presented by Fr. Dave Mastrangelo, S.J.                                         

Detroit's school system faces many problems. The budget has been cut drastically and the graduation rate is among the worst in the nation. Loyola High School is an independent high school in Detroit for young men who face the challenges of an urban environment and who are serious about their future. Fr. Dave Mastrangelo, S.J., President of Loyola High School will speak about his experience with the education system in Detroit.

How does race affect access to quality education in Detroit?

What signs of hope can we find?

How can we support Detroit in the goal to provide quality education for all?

Recommended reading: Faithful Citizenship, #84, The US Conference of Catholic Bishops
"All persons have a right to receive quality education. Young people, including those who are poor and those with disabilities, need to have the opportunity to develop intellectually, morally, spiritually, and physically, allowing them to become good citizens who make socially and morally responsible decisions."

Reflection/Discussion Questions:

What should Detroit's education system look like?

How can we get past racial bias to provide access to quality education?

What changes need to be made within the education system? Who should be making those changes?

Resources Materials:

US Conference of Catholic Bishops, Faithful Citizenshp, 2007 #84

"Michigan Faces Funding Hurdle"
"Detroit's public schools post worst scores on record in national assessment"

Information on Loyola High School can be found at:  http://www.loyolahsdetroit.org/ 

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January 26, 2010

“Economic Justice or Injustice in Flint”

Lecture and Discussion let by Fr. Tom Firestone                                         

Flint is a city in the midst of significant change.  Factories and parishes have closed.  Resources are restrained and competing interests fight over what remains.  A “Consistent Ethic of Life” requires that all people have an opportunity for authentic development through access to adequate resources. 

• How are resources prioritized between city and suburb?
• How does race play a factor in this allocation?
• What signs of hope can we find?
• How is St. Mary Student Parish involved in supporting economic justice initiatives within Flint?

Fr. Tom Firestone was pastor of St. Mary Student Parish until January of 2005.  He currently serves as pastor of St. John Vianney and his parish boundary includes the north side of Flint.  He serves as chairperson of FACT (Flint Area Churches Together) an interfaith effort to improve life for residents of Flint through projects on school improvement and blight elimination.  He is also instrumental in the ongoing service project for SMSP students with the St. Luke New Life Center

Resource Materials:

Cardinal Bernardin presentation “The Fact of Poverty Today: A Challenge for the Church -- January 17, 1985.              

Reflection/Discussion Questions
(4th Presentation Handout)

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November 17, 2009

“Health Care Reform and the Poor”

Presentation by Tim Florence, MD                                         

Physician, and St. Mary’s parishioner, Tim Florence, addresses the issues of health care as they impact the poor in Washtenaw County.  Tim is a member of PORT, The Project Outreach Team, an intensive community outreach team that serves the homeless, mentally ill population in Washtenaw County. 

With the current debate about health care reform, how will the poor and mentally ill benefit or suffer?

“Now is the time for real health care reform.  It is a matter of fundamental justice.  For so many it is literally a matter of life and death, of lives cut short and dignity denied.  We urge our national leaders to look beyond special interest claims and partisan differences to unite our nation in a new commitment to meet the health care needs of our people, especially the poor and the vulnerable. This is a major political task, a significant policy challenge and a moral imperative.”  Cardinal Bernardin in “The Consistent Ethic of Life and Health Care Reform,” May 26, 1994 (15 years ago!)

Resource Materials:

Cardinal Bernardin presentation “The Consistent Ethic of Life and Health Care Reform,” May 26, 1994.              

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops – Health Care Reform:  http://www.usccb.org/healthcare/official_documents.shtml#teachings  www.nplc.org   

Affordable Health Care for America Act -- H.R. 3962 http://docs.house.gov/rules/health/111_ahcaa.pdf

Reflection/Discussion Questions
(3rd Presentation Handout)

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October 14, 2009

“Various Ways to be Pro Life”

Catholics are called to be Pro Life.  This evening’s forum, involving four brief presentations, will invite participants to consider a variety of ways to be Pro-Life.  The presentations will include:

*”Adoption is an Option,”  Lilian Anderson, mother of three adopted children, and Ellie Falit, adoption counselor from Catholic Social Services;

*UM Students for Life;

*ArborVitae Pregnancy Help Center, Suzanne Abdalla, Director;

*Project Rachel, Joyce Hittinen, Archdiocese of Detroit

A focus question for the evening is:  “Can we broaden the concept of what it means to be Pro-Life in order to involve more Catholics in support and defense of the born and the unborn?

Resource Materials:

Cardinal Bernardin presentation

“Linkage and Logic of the Abortion Debate,” June 7, 1984

Seminarian States His Case For a Consistent Ethic of Life

http://www.cjd.org/paper/seminari.html

“Standing for the Unborn:” A Statement of the Society of Jesus in the United States on Abortion

www.jesuit.org/SocialJustice/SocialOutreach/ProLife/default.aspx

Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities: A Campaign in Support of Life, US Catholic Bishops

http://www.usccb.org/prolife/pastoralplan.shtml

Reflection/Discussion Questions
(2nd Presentation Handout)

 

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September 15, 2009

“Promoting the Dignity of Life from Womb to Tomb”
Rev. Brian Daley, S.J., Professor of Theology
University of Notre Dame

Resource Materials:

Principles of Dialogue
For a copy of the principles, download here.

Cardinal Bernardin presentations
(JCBat19831206)  A Consistent Ethic of Life: An American Catholic Dialogue, December 6, 1983

(JCBat19840311)  A Consistent Ethic of Life:  Continuing the Dialogue, March 11, 1984

Reflection/Discussion Questions and related resources
(1st Presentation Handout)