*(Please continue to check the Social Justice Actions which are updated every Friday). Our petition corner is now located http://www.wheatonfranciscan-jpic.org/currentactionalerts.html

JPIC Office Blog

April 1, 2010

Dear Friends,

Spring is in the air!  Flowers are blooming, the birds are singing, and sunshine floods my open window!  New life is God’s gift to us each year, and as we celebrate the Paschal Mystery and Easter Glory, let us be mindful of the successes we have seen as a result of our legislative actions, as well as the work yet to be done.

This month, please consider the following issues:

Health Care Reform
Immigration
Violence Against Women
Updates: IL Budget Reform and US Housing Relief Fund
40th Anniversary of Earth Day
Calorie Counts/Good Guide: Nutrition Labels
Fair Trade Products support Artists in Haiti
Guest Blog and other Updates

Congress Passes Health Care Reconciliation Legislation

Thanks to your supportive actions and prayers….after months of debate in Congress, and throughout the whole nation, the U.S. Senate passed the "Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010" (H.R. 4872) by a vote of 56 to 43, on March 25th!  This measure amends the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" (PL 111-148), signed into law by President Obama on Tuesday.  Because the Senate made minor changes to the reconciliation bill, this legislation was sent back to the House, where it also passed on March 25 by a vote of 220 to 207.  The final bills were signed by President Obama on Tuesday, March 30, 2010.

Immigration

Now that the country has health care reform, the next big issue to tackle is immigration. On Sunday, March 21st, thousands of demonstrators rallied on the National Mall in Washington DC and marched through the streets of the capital Sunday, waving American flags and holding homemade signs in English and Spanish.  Cardinal Roger Mahoney of Los Angeles led morning mass at St. Alyosius Church.  He and the Rev. Jesse Jackson, were among the key-note speakers, who called for Congress to act this year on a bipartisan bill that would grant legal status to millions of illegal immigrants. 

In February, the JPIC Office joined “Justice for Immigrants” in a postcard campaign to urge our legislators to support these measures.  If you haven’t filled one out yet, please contact the office, or visit the Justice for Immigrants website.

Tell Congress to Help Stop Violence Against Women

Violence against women is the world's most pervasive human rights violation. One of every three women in the world faces violence, coercion, or abuse as part of her everyday life — and more than 70% of women will experience violence in their lifetime.

From physical and sexual abuse, to sex trafficking, to honor killings, women across the world are subject to coercion and violence in their day-to-day lives. As an influential leader in the international community, it’s time for the United States to take a stand against this violence.

Please email your congressperson and urge them to support the UN position on Violence Against Women by creating just US foreign policy.

Success Stories

Administration Implements Changes to Housing Relief Policy

On Friday, March 26, the Departments of the Treasury and the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced the Administration's changes to the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) and to the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) programs. The HAMP initiative, aimed at stabilizing the housing market and improving housing relief efforts, would expand flexibility for mortgage servicers and originators to assist unemployed homeowners who owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth due to local market decline in home value.

Rescue 2010: Illinois’ HIV/AIDS Lobby Days was a huge success! The AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) thanks the more than 230 AIDS advocates from around the state who came to Springfield by bus, car, and train to urge the Illinois General Assembly to fund the AIDS Drug Assistance Program, HIV prevention, care, and housing programs, and to raise taxes to protect these and other vital services.  The event was the largest in our community’s ten year history.

Lobby Days participants spoke with their representatives and senators about IL House Bill 6173/Senate Bill 3821, which call for an increase of $18 million in funding for state HIV programs next year.  Advocates also urged their elected officials to support House Bill 174, which would responsibly address the state’s massive deficit by raising new revenue through a modest tax increase.

Earth Day – 40th Anniversary

April 22nd, 2010 marks the 40th anniversary of the annual celebration of Earth Day!  In honor of this occasion, the JPIC Office will be hosting an Earth Day prayer and presentation at Our Lady of the Angels in Wheaton on Tuesday, April 20th at 10am and again at 2pm.  Everyone is welcome.

If you can’t join us in Wheaton – consider some of the following ways to mark the occasion yourself…

Visit Earth Day Network – a network of Earth Day events and activities.  Earth Day Network was founded on the premise that all people, regardless of race, gender, income, or geography, have a moral right to a healthy, sustainable environment. Our mission is to broaden and diversify the environmental movement worldwide, and to mobilize it as the most effective vehicle for promoting a healthy, sustainable environment. We pursue our mission through a combination of education, public policy, and activism campaigns.

Send an Earth Day e-card to your friends and family, courtesy of CatholicGreetings.org

P&G Future Friendly Challenge….Help prove that little changes can make a big impact by signing up for the Future Friendly Challenge. Choose one of four simple behaviors that help reduce energy, water or waste in your home and commit to this action for the next 90 days.

1) Get Informed  2) Interact 3) Take Action  at  TreeHugger.Com. Calculate how much carbon you can save using the “Climate Culture Calculator”; review the “Best of Green 2010” – the best green products, companies and more; read the series “How to go Green…” a series of articles for greening your life at work, home and play.

Calorie Counts Coming Soon

It is about to get easier to count your calories when you eat at a chain restaurant. The health bill, which passed into law on Tuesday, includes a requirement for chain restaurants with 20 outlets or more to list calorie counts on menus, menu boards, drive-through displays and vending machines. The disclosure of calorie information is intended to give consumers better information to make healthier choices.

Another resource for nutritional information is The Good Guide for Safe, Healthy and Green Products.The Guide provides not only general nutritional information on hundreds of national brand food products, but also rates food manufacturing companies, based on employee working conditions and benefits, philanthropy, and energy, water and waste management policies.

New Catalog Celebrates Haitian Artisans

Catholic Relief Services recently published the Spring/Summer Work of Human Hands catalog!  Check out their on-line catalog, request a copy of your own, or stop by the display outside the JPIC Office to see it.

Guest Blog/Updates

Everyone is welcome contribute an idea for the Guest Blog. If there is an area of justice and peace in which you are involved and would like others to know about, or get involved in, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!    Deadline for Guest Blog submission is April 26th.

A Unique Opportunity….Saturday April 17th, 9:30am in the Promenade at Our Lady of the Angels in Wheaton.  Please join the DGAAN members for what promises to be a very informative discussion with Lieutenant Commander Catherina Walker a Quality Systems Mgr in the Chicago District and Lisa Misevicz, Public Affairs Specialists both from – the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Commander Walker will discuss the FDA guidelines, approval procedures, and home HIV/AIDS Test kits.

Child Abuse Prevention Month: April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. Please pray for those who have been hurt by abuse as well as for the safety of children. Visit http://www.preventchildabuseillinois.org/ and http://usccb.org/ocyp/april_cap_month.shtml for a list of resources and materials to promote awareness about keeping children safe. 

Enjoy the Springtime warmth and beauty!  And let us remember the words of our dear Father Francis,
                        “Praised be You, my Lord,   through our Sister Mother Earth,
                        who sustains and governs us,
                        and who produces various fruit with colored flowers and herbs.

Blessings and Peace,

Sr. Glenna Czachor, OSF
JPIC Office Coordinator
Wheaton Franciscans

DATES TO REMEMBER

• Canticle Ministries will be hosting a Garden Party on Sunday April 25; also on Friday May 14 and Saturday 15 will be their annual Plant Sale. For information on both events please contact Jeana Stewart @ 630-588-9165.
• Thursday June 24 – An Evening with Sr. Florence Muia of Upendo Village

DEADLINE for Guest Blog submissions…Monday April, 26th

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