Resources
JustFaith is an extensive justice education/formation program that provides an opportunity for parishioners to study and be formed by the justice tradition articulated by the Scriptures, the Church’s historical witness, and Catholic social teaching. It is an exciting opportunity for parishes and dioceses interested in expanding and promoting social ministry.
Pace e Bene’s Engage program uses stories, exercises and resources to help various groups (church, student, advocacy, etc) build a nonviolent society. It is a revision and expansion of Pace e Bene’s “From Violence to Wholeness” program, based on the experience of leading hundreds of workshops.
The Catholic Collaborative for Justice Education (CCJE) includes staff members from several national faith-based advocacy organizations who share resources to promote Catholic Social Teaching (CST). CCJE members are available as consultants, speakers and workshop leaders on CST issues.
Videos/films, books and resource packets
Reality in Nairobi's Kibera: Slum Survivors: This 40-minute web-based film from IRIN News, produced in October 2007, shows footage depicting the lives of people who struggle just to exist on a day-to-day basis in Nairobi’s largest slum.
“Holy Land, Common Ground”: This new documentary by Ed Gaffney and Alicia Dwyer focuses on peacemakers in Israel and Palestine. The film includes three stories of Israelis and Palestinians who show the importance of family life in both societies, the terrible impact on families when their homes are lost or destroyed, and the deep yearning of both communities for a safe, secure homeland they can call their own. Commentators include former Sen. George Mitchell and South Africa’s Archbishop Desmond Tutu. 90 minutes. For more information, contact Ed Gaffney.
Dying to Live, a video produced the Center for Latino Spirituality and Culture at the University of Notre Dame, is a profound look at the human face of the immigrant. It explores who these people are, why they leave their homes and what they face in their journey, and exposes the places of conflict, pain and hope along the U.S.-Mexico border. It is a reflection on the human struggle for a more dignified life and the search to find God in the midst of that struggle.
For further reading, Border of Death, Valley of Life by Fr. Daniel Groody, is a powerful, first-hand account of a religious ministry that reaches out to console, heal, and build the lives of poor and desperate immigrants who come to the U.S. in search of a better life.
For Once You Were a Stranger: Immigration in the U.S. Through the Lens of Faith: Recognizing the desire of many in the religious community to become engaged in the ongoing debate on our nation’s current immigration policy, Interfaith Worker Justice (IWJ) created this resource for congregations of all traditions. “For You Were Once a Stranger: Immigration in the U.S. Through the Lens of Faith” is a comprehensive toolkit that helps people of faith reflect on what their religious traditions say about immigration. IWJ calls upon our religious values in order to educate, organize, and mobilize the religious community in the U.S. on issues and campaigns that will improve wages, benefits, and working conditions for workers, especially low-wage workers. Available at IWJ, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Avenue, 4th Fl., Chicago, IL 60660; phone: (773) 728-8400; fax: (773) 728-8409.
To Walk Humbly: Stories and activities for teaching compassion and justice: This resource from Anne E. Neuberger is for ages 10-13 (grades 5-8). Published by 23rd Publications, this book offers 55 stories from around the world to help young Catholics connect with the social, environmental, and economic problems of children around the globe. It encourages them to accept and think of these children as family. Story topics include school life, child labor, cultural and religious celebrations, hunger, racism, poverty, sharing, generosity and lifestyles. It is also a primer on Catholic social teaching and how its principles can be lived out in daily life in simple and doable ways. 96 pages; $14.95. For more information, contact 23rd Publications, P.O. Box 6015, New London CT, 06320.
Cowboy in Caracas: A Personal Account of Venezuela’s Democratic Revolution: Written by Charles Hardy, this book tells the story of the people who support Hugo Chavez and why. It also explores the social and political phenomenon of the Venezuelan Bolivarian revolution, and its impact throughout Latin America and the world. Hardy lives in Venezuela, and spent eight years in the barrios of Caracas. Published by Curbstone Press, 176 pages, $15, ISBN: 978-931896-37-5.
Breaking Faith with Nuclear Weapons, a publication from Faithful Security: The National Religious Partnership on the Nuclear Weapons Danger
Tarnished Image: Latin America Perceives the United States, a report from the Latin America Working Group Education Fund.
Ready, Aim, Foreign Policy: A report from the Latin America Working Group Education Fund, Center for International Policy and the Washington Office on Latin America
Through the Eye of a Hurricane: Rebuilding Just Communities: This resource from the National Council of Churches describes the devastation of the Gulf Coast Region, particularly issues of environmental justice and racism, toxic contamination, and consumer lifestyles. It provides the background information, sermon notes, bulletin insert, and study questions to plan a worship service dedicated to a faithful call to justice on the Gulf Coast.
“An Inconvenient Truth.” This film traces the work of former Vice President Al Gore to promote understanding and awareness of climate change.
Web resources
American Friends Service Committee's website has excellent resources, analysis and information about the Iraqi refugee crisis.
Economic Cost of War: One day of the Iraq war costs the U.S. $720 million, in addition to the tragic loss of lives and the destruction of Iraq’s infrastructure. The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) has developed a program called “The Economic Cost of War” to highlight the economic cost of the war and demand that Congress shift war funding to support human needs here and real solutions in Iraq. For downloadable resources on this project, and to sign a petition demanding a de-funding of the war, go to AFSC's website. The AFSC National Office can also be contacted at 1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102; (215)241-7000; fax: (215) 241-7275.
Catholic Media Report, an online database that tracks how issues of Catholicism and public life are reported in the national press. Its audience members are lay Catholics who are concerned with the representation of our faith in politics, and members of the media who are concerned with reporting accurately on Catholic Social Teaching.
Faith in Public Life: Lifting Up Voices for Justice and the Common Good: This website offers many resources, including communications and organizing tools -- in support of the U.S. faith community. As a Resource Center, Faith in Public Life offers tools, strategic services and informational resources to strengthen the effectiveness, collaboration, and reach of faith movements sharing a call to pursue justice and the common good. Since becoming operational in early 2006, Faith in Public Life has supported dozens of groups, including We Believe Ohio, the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, Sojourners, Catholic Alliance for the Common Good, the Progressive Faith Blog Conference and CrossWalk America. Contact the staff of Faith in Public Life at admin@faithinpubliclife.org with any questions about its work or the communities it serves.
The Education for Justice website provides resources and materials for teachers, social action directors, parish members, campus ministers and others in leadership roles to use with their groups/classes in order to deepen their understanding of Catholic social teaching and social justice. Members of the Education for Justice website also have the opportunity to share, dialogue and connect with colleagues across the nation. (membership fee required)
Misfortune500, a web-based resource that exposes how corporate activities violate women’s human rights, workers’ rights and the environment, and highlights what women worldwide are doing about it.
Running Dry: The humanitarian impact of the global water crisis, a new web-based resource from IRIN, a UN humanitarian news and information service.
Women in Politics: This map provides a “snapshot” of women’s presence in the executive and legislative branches of government, as of January 2005. It was published by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Division for the Advancement of Women on the occasion of the 49th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, which reviewed the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action progress. The map provides a visual representation on the percentage of women in politics, including women in parliament, ministerial posts, and heads of state or government throughout the world.
Free online reports from the Institute for Policy Studies: “Iran in the Crosshairs: How to Prevent Washington’s Next War”; “U.S. Department of Energy Budget FY 2009; Military vs. Climate Security”; “State of the Dream 2008; Wal-Mart’s Sustainability Initiative: A Civil Society Critique”; “Executive Excess 2007”; “Just Security; A Unified Security Budget for the United States, FY 2008,” among others.