Professional Documents
Culture Documents
April 2015 Catholic Identity and Mission Newsletter
April 2015 Catholic Identity and Mission Newsletter
Volume 1, Number 3
Strengthen the Gospel based mission of service as described by both Pope Francis and
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI as the heart of the identity of the Church.
Provide the capacity to leverage the resources of the Church while integrating the respect
for the dignity of each person as intrinsic especially those who are most vulnerable as the
inspiration for the quality of our work.
Reinforce the shared responsibility of government for promoting the common good.
Reinforce the principle of subsidiarity through the shared responsibility for administrative
oversight of public funds by government while structuring the role of Charities to provide
direct services in according with our values with highly trained and effective staff.
Promote good will and evangelization, not through conversion, but through the witness
that we do what we do because we are Catholic not because those who we serve are
Catholic.
Influence public debate regarding the responsibilities of government and the nature of
services to achieve compassion and justice, as these values are being diminished by
political rhetoric and as for profit entities influence how social, health and human
services are provided.
Shape public policy on human and social services through the demonstration of the
outcomes and benefits of our work and through the relationships developed between
government actors and Charities staff while partnering in service.
Like all relationships, the one Charities has with government is complex. The sense of overly
intrusive oversight of how we do what we do, the need for Charities to be steadfast in remaining
true to our individual and collective mission while struggling with compliance with regulations
and requirements and a sometimes, encouraging an unwilling partner to accept their
responsibilities for those who are most vulnerable, will require an ongoing assessment of the
very nature of this relationship.
The 1999 Bishops statement is a challenge to those of us in Charities as we relate to the
government to assure that The programs that make up this system should serve the needs of
the poor in a manner that respects their dignity and provides for adequate support. iiAnd in
2011, the United States Bishops requested that Catholics ask of candidates how they intend to
help our nation pursue a number of goals, including, Help families and children overcome
poverty: ensuring access to and choice in education, as well as decent work at fair, living wages
and adequate assistance for the vulnerable in our nation, while also helping to overcome
widespread hunger and poverty around the world, especially in the areas of development
assistance, debt relief, and international trade. iii
Collectively we can meet this witness of actions of our Church to create a just and caring
society.
April 28, 2015 || The Catholic University of America, Ending Extreme Poverty Now: Working
Together with the Poor (available soon at
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIyjmpcCSGmY-eAzuDNryZxzxUcUqY1-Y)
April 29, 2015, | Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life, Georgetown University; The
Mission and Message of Pope Francis and Catholic Social Thought: A Conversation with Cardinal
scar Rodrguez (available soon at catholicsoicalthought.georgetown.edu)
May 30-June 13, 2015| Catholic Charities USA, 2015 O'Grady Institute - Freiburg and Rome
Campus (filled)
June 13-19, 2015| Catholic Charities USA, Leadership Institute
https://www.scribd.com/CIM_CCUSA/collections