Dear Colleagues,

This edition of "Notes for Neighbors" can help you put faith in action by loving your neighbor in your own back yard and on the other side of the globe. We hope you will enjoy these resources and share them with others.

The award, which is given at the November bishops' meeting, provides an important opportunity for the bishops to celebrate young adult involvement in the mission of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development to fight poverty in the United States.

Action Alerts
 

These action alerts are currently live. Encourage Catholics in your diocese to take action!

• Ensure our nation feeds the hungry, preserves God's creation, supports small family farmers and rural America within the 2012 Farm Bill (Urgent - act by April 25!) 
   
• Urge Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to stand with the Sudanese people for peace
   
• Urge Congress to hear the cry of the poor
   
• President Obama: Press for two-state peace agreement in the Holy Land

Social Justice News from the Bishops
 

Social justice has been in the news at the bishops' conference! Here are a few items from the last few weeks in which you might be interested:

• Hold on Palestinian Aid Lifted - Thanks to months of advocacy by USCCB and CRS and other partners, including the Catholic Social Ministry Gathering hill visits and an interfaith statement to Congress, the Congressional hold on humanitarian and poverty-focused development aid to Palestinians has been lifted! On April 12, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, decided to release the remaining portion of life-saving aid to the Palestinians. USCCB strongly commends the release of this vital humanitarian and poverty-focused development aid. On behalf of USCCB and CRS, thank you to all those who helped advocate for this important cause. 
   
• Federal Budget Choices Must Protect Poor, Vulnerable People, Says U.S. Bishops' Conference - As Congress began work on the FY 2013 budget and spending bills, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) wrote several letters that reinforced the bishops' ongoing call to create a "circle of protection" around poor and vulnerable people and programs that meet their basic needs and protect their lives and dignity.
   
• Bishops Issue Call to Action to Defend Religious Liberty - The U.S. bishops have issued a call to action to defend religious liberty and urged laity to work to protect the First Freedom of the Bill of Rights. They outlined their position in "Our First, Most Cherished Liberty." The statement ends with a call for "A Fortnight for Freedom" between June 21-July 4 to focus on religious liberty.
   
• As Supreme Court Considers Arizona Law, Faith Leaders Call Upon President, Congress to Reassert Authority on Immigration Law - In letters sent April 24, on the eve of oral arguments to the Supreme Court on Arizona's immigration law, 15 religious leaders urged President Barack Obama and the 112th Congress to "reassert your authority" and move to enact immigration reform legislation "as soon as possible."
   
• U.S. Bishops Call on President to Ban Landmines - Bishop Richard E. Pates, chairman of the USCCB Committee of International Justice and Peace, has joined a call from 76 nongovernmental organizations to President Obama, urging the United States to relinquish antipersonnel landmines and join the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty without further delay.

• Methodist-Catholic Dialogue Issues Statement On Connection Between Eucharist, Environmental Stewardship - For both Catholics and Methodists, elements of nature-grain for bread and grapes for wine-become part of salvation through the Eucharist. Salvation itself is an act of God at work in all of creation and all creation encountering God. This has implications for believers in their relationship with God's creation in the environment.

Scholarships Available for Social Action Summer Institute (July 29-Aug. 1, 2012) 

Get more information here.