So …. taking a cue from speed skater Joey Cheek I'm going to use my few minutes of "fame" to draw your attention to an issue of great importance to us all … the pending federal budget.
How we as a nation choose to spend our hard earned money has tremendous ramifications, most especially on the poor and vulnerable in our midst. And, as Bishop Skylstad said one year ago today in his letter to Congress on behalf of the US Bishops:
“One of the basic functions of government is to raise sufficient resources so that it can undertake efforts to promote the common good. … Congress should structure a budget that guarantees adequate funding to assist those trying to escape joblessness or move beyond welfare, educate their children, gain access to health care, or overcome hunger and homelessness.”Still true one year later, if not more so. And my friends part of our responsibility as faithful citizens is to make sure our elected leaders know that we care. Too busy? Don't know where to start? Well, the national Catholic Social Justice Lobby, Network, makes it very easy.
Learn more what's at stake in this year's budget here, then visit their legislative action center to send an e-mail or letter to your representatives in Congress. Tell them you want our budget to help build healthy communities. You can also read more on the Bishops' site.
“The obligation to provide justice for all means that the poor have the single most urgent economic claim on the conscience of the nation … As individuals and as a nation, therefore, we are called to make a fundamental “option for the poor.” The obligation to evaluate social and economic activity from the viewpoint of the poor and the powerless arises from the radical command to love one’s neighbor as one’s self.” - US Bishops Conference, Economic Justice for All, 1986Consciousness raising over. For now anyway!
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