St. Charles Advocacy Topics--June 23, 2009

[St. Charles Social Justice]

ST. CHARLES ADVOCACY TOPICS—June 23, 2009


I. LOCAL/REGIONAL

--I. A. VOICE ACTION SET FOR JULY 20


II. STATE

--II. A. HELP STOP VIRGINIA’S 104TH EXECUTION: PAUL WARNER POWELL ON
JULY 14


III. NATIONAL

--III. A. VIRGININA CATHOLIC CONFERENCE (VCC) URGES ADVOCACY TO
CONGRESS TO MAKE THE NEEDS OF POOR AND VULNERABLE CENTRAL TO THE
AMERICA CLEAN ENRGY AND SECURITY ACT OF 2009 (HR 2524)

--III. B. USCCB ON HEALTH CARE REFORM


IV. INTERNATIONAL—No Input This Week


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I. LOCAL/REGIONAL

--I. A. VOICE ACTION SET FOR JULY 20

A June 18 VOICE (Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community
Engagement) Team meeting developed plans for a VOICE Action on Monday,
July 20, at 7:30 p.m. in Alexandria (specific location to be
determined). VOICE hopes at least 500 supporters will come to
demonstrate the group's strength in a meeting with key Virginia
elected officials. VOICE will urge them to support the current VOICE
agenda in the areas of health care (especially dental), immigration
and housing.

At the June 18 meeting, VOICE representatives from Arlington,
Alexandria, and Fairfax also highlighted progress VOICE made on issues
such as securing repairs on public housing in Alexandria, the ground
breaking for the Macedonia Apartments, and securing funding for dental
health services in Alexandria, Arlington, and Fairfax.

So far, Governor Kaine has agreed to attend on July 20. Although
Governor Kaine's term is ending, he can still help shape Virginia's
policies on VOICE's concerns because Virginia's outgoing governor
crafts the budget for the next governor. That means attendance at the
July 20 meeting could make a difference in which services within the
budget get funded.

VOICE hopes that Senators Webb and Warner, as well as Representatives
Moran, Wolfe and Connelly, will also be there. St. Charles has
committed to have at least 40 parishioners at the July 20th Action.
Parishioners in town at that time are urged to come. A strong presence
is important!

Looking ahead, the VOICE leadership also plans to hold another Action
in October to seek commitments of support for the agenda from the
candidates for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and the General
Assembly.

We will provide more specific information as it becomes available.
Contact points are Marisa Vertress at mver...@stcharleschurch.org or
honor...@yahoo.com.

Save the July 20 date!

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II. STATE

--II. A. HELP STOP VIRGINIA’S 104TH EXECUTION: PAUL WARNER POWELL ON
JULY 14

Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (VADP) flags on its
Web site an upcoming scheduled execution.

Paul Warner Powell is scheduled to be killed by the Commonwealth of
Virginia at 9 p.m. on July 14th, 2009 for the murder of Stacie Reed on
January 29, 1999.

According to VADP, this case demonstrates some of the flaws within the
capital justice system and the issues with state sanctioned killing.
There was a major prejudicial error in Powell’s case where the capital
sentencing jury considered false evidence provided by the prosecution
that Powell had twice previously been convicted of capital murder. In
the dissenting opinion of the Virginia Supreme Court’s 4-3 decision,
it was stated that “Such a serious mistake in a capital murder case
may well cause the public to question whether our courts adequately
ensure the fair application of our death penalty statutes.” [634 S.E.
2d at 305 (Keenan, J., dissenting)]

Virginia’s two bishops have spoken out against the death penalty in
the framework of the Church’s teachings. Here is an excerpt from an
April 3, 2007 statement:

“Our consciences, therefore, call us to defend human life and dignity
from conception to natural death with maximum determination. In fact,
whenever an execution is scheduled in Virginia, we have called for a
commutation of the death sentence to life without the possibility of
parole. Because bloodless means of punishment are more in keeping with
the offender’s human dignity, society must, we believe, limit itself
to those means whenever possible. Our Catholic tradition teaches that
the death penalty should only be used when, in the words of Pope John
Paul II, “it would not be possible otherwise to defend society.” In
similar words, we recently joined with our fellow U.S. bishops in A
Culture of Life and the Penalty of Death: “No matter how heinous the
crime, if society can protect itself without ending a human life, it
should do so.”

VADP urges us to take a few minutes to say "Enough!" and help fix this
broken system. Contact Governor Kaine and ask him to commute
Powell’s death sentence to life without the possibility of parole. To
write a letter, the address is:

Office of the Governor
Patrick Henry Building, 3rd Floor
1111 East Broad Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219

You can also contact the governor by telephone and/or fax. If you
live in Virginia, be sure to start by stating your name and where you
live.

Phone: (804) 786-2211
Fax: (804) 371-6351

Governor Kaine can also be reached by e-mail at the following Web
sites:
http://www.governor.virginia.gov/Contact.cfm or
http://www.governor.virginia.gov/AboutTheGovernor/contactGovernor.cfm

For further death penalty information, see VADP’s Web site at
http://www.vadp.org/.

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III. NATIONAL

--III. A. VIRGININA CATHOLIC CONFERENCE (VCC) URGES ADVOCACY TO
CONGRESS TO MAKE THE NEEDS OF POOR AND VULNERABLE CENTRAL TO THE
AMERICA CLEAN ENRGY AND SECURITY ACT OF 2009 (HR 2524)

The VCC reports that in May members of the House Energy and
Environment Subcommittee considered the American Clean Energy and
Security Act of 2009 (H.R. 2524), which is designed to address climate
change. H.R. 2524 institutes a "cap and trade" program to lower
greenhouse gases and put a price on carbon emissions.

Throughout Congress' debate over climate legislation, the U.S.
Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has focused on placing the
needs of the poor and vulnerable at the center of any approach chosen.
To that end, USCCB supports provisions within H.R. 2524 which

• help ensure that low-income individuals within the U.S. are not
affected by any potential rise in energy prices;

• help not-for-profit, community and faith-based institutions become
more energy efficient; and

• help vulnerable international populations adapt to any changes that
are required.

In the opinion of USCCB, H.R. 2524, as currently constructed, does not
sufficiently address the needs of impoverished people: the legislation
sets aside 1% of carbon permits to help people in poor countries
adjust to the consequences of climate change; this is increased to 8%,
but not until 2027. USCCB believes the initial funding must start
higher (3.5%) and ramp up faster (0.5%/year up to 7%).

To send a pre-formatted, editable e-mail to your Representative,
follow this link:
http://capwiz.com/vacatholic/issues/alert/?alertid=13561691&type=CO

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--III. B. USCCB ON HEALTH CARE REFORM

In a June 2 action alert, the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
(USCCB) notes that the debate on heath care reform is heating up in
Congress. The Senate will be considering legislation soon and could
vote as early as the end of June on a health care reform bill. The
House is writing legislation now and may vote on a bill as early as
July. The USCCB says that advocates need to start writing and calling
Congress to communicate what is important to include in—and keep out of
—health care reform. (The full text of the USCCB action alert is at
http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/national/2009-06-02-alert-health-care-reform.pdf.)

The USCCB notes that in our Catholic tradition health care is a basic
human right. Access to health care should not depend on where a person
works, how much a family earns, or where a person lives. Instead,
every person, created in the image and likeness of God, has a right to
life and to those things necessary to sustain life, including
affordable, quality health care. This teaching is rooted in the
biblical call to heal the sick and to serve "the least of these," our
concern for human life and dignity, and the principle of the common
good.

Unfortunately, tens of millions of Americans do not have health
insurance. According to the Catholic bishops of the United States, the
current health care system is in need of fundamental reform. To learn
about Catholic teaching on health care in more detail, read the full
statement by the United States Catholic Bishops, “A Framework for
Comprehensive Health Care Reform,” at http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/national/comphealth.shtml.

The bishops recommend that we contact our representatives to tell them
that health care reform should:

--Include health care coverage for all people from conception until
natural death, and continue the federal ban on funding for abortions;
--Include access for all with a special concern for the poor;
--Pursue the common good and preserve pluralism, including freedom of
conscience;
--Restrain costs and apply costs equitably among payers.

Representatives can be reached by telephone through the Capitol
Switchboard: 202-224-3121. To find your Representative and contact
information, go to the House Web site at http://www.house.gov/. To
find your Senators and contact information, go to the Senate Web site
at http://www.senate.gov/.

On a related topic, the following link (http://www.networklobby.org/
HealthcareRally6-24-09.pdf) is to information from NETWORK, a Catholic
social justice lobby group, about its June 24 “Interfaith Service of
Witness and Prayer” in support of national healthcare for all to be
held in Washington DC at Freedom Plaza.

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IV. INTERNATIONAL—No Input This Week


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[NOTE: We encourage you to forward this e-mail to others you think
would be interested. Persons wishing to subscribe may go to the St.
Charles Web site, Social Justice page, by using this link:
http://www.stcharleschurch.org/maillist.htm and follow the
instructions you find there under Social Justice.

If you do take action to advocate, we encourage you to mention the St.
Charles Advocacy Network. If you wish to let us know you took action,
you can e-mail us at jus...@stcharleschurch.org. Thank you.]