Peace & Justice

This is the blog of the Commission on Peace and Justice for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, New York.

Monday, June 30, 2014

Catholics lead the way

A new column from the Association of Religious Data Archives (ARDA) reports Catholics are among the leaders in efforts to change public policy:
When religious groups move from the noise of denominational battles to enlisting congregational foot soldiers for moral agendas, no group is more successful than the Catholic Church . . .
In a column headlined “Catholic churches most likely to be on the front lines of issues from abortion to poverty, ” author David Briggs writes:
When religious groups move from the noise of denominational battles to enlisting congregational foot soldiers for moral agendas, no group is more successful than the Catholic Church, the 2012 National Congregations Study finds. 
A quarter of Catholic congregations reported that they had lobbied officials in the last 12 months, and more than half of Catholic congregations said they had organized or participated in a demonstration or march on a public issue or policy. 
In contrast, just 10 percent of Protestant congregations reported taking either action, the study found. 
And while Catholics were most active on the abortion issue, they also were more likely than other groups to lobby and demonstrate on a wide range of issues, from combating poverty to advocating for immigration reform.
The rest of the column is here.

Does this sound like your parish? If not, perhaps you should contact the diocesan Commission on Peace and Justice to learn how you can engage people in the effort to influence public policy.  The Commission can provide you with speakers and resources to educate parishioners about Catholic social teaching and help you create a social justice ministry that follows Pope Francis’ advice to engage the world. As the Pope wrote in The Joy of the Gospel, [220.] "People in every nation enhance the social dimension of their lives by acting as committed and responsible citizens, not as a mob swayed by the powers that be. Let us not forget that 'responsible citizenship is a virtue, and participation in political life is a moral obligation'."

You can call the Commission at 518-453-6695 or send an e-mail to Deacon Walter Ayres, Director of the Commission, at Walter.Ayres@rcda.org

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