We're Hiring!!

Program Coordinator

This 25 hour/week position will oversee the local administration of two United States Conference (USCCB) housed programs, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), as well as supporting other areas of social justice work. Click here for the job description.

This position advances the Catholic Social Action Office's mission to empower Catholics in the Archdiocese to celebrate and live out the Gospel call for life, human dignity, and care for God's creation through Catholic Social Teaching formation, organized social ministries, and opportunities for public advocacy and action.

In addition, this position will be encouraged to seek out additional areas of social justice and provide leadership and support.

To apply send resume, cover letter and application to:

Department of Human Resources

Archdiocese of Cincinnati

100 E. Eighth Street

Cincinnati, OH 45202

humanresources@catholicaoc.org



SEEKING GRANTEES AND INTERN

Ever year, thanks to the tremendous generosity of Catholics across the Archdiocese of Cincinnati to our Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) collection, we're able to make grants ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 to area nonprofit organizations who are working to fight injustice and offer a hand up to the poor and marginalized. Nationally, the program has existed for over 50 years, and in that half century millions of dollars have been awarded and used to build up God's kingdom.

To learn more about CCHD - both nationally and locally - check out our CCHD web page.

We are reaching out today for two reasons:

1. We are always looking for new organizations with whom we can partner. If you're aware of a nonprofit organization who is engaged with the fight for justice and addressing the root causes of poverty, please share the CCHD website with them or connect them to our office. Applications are due on March 17.
2. Each year, we host a paid intern to support the work of CCHD in our diocese. If you know of a college-age person (or older) who might be interested in this opportunity, please share Andrew's email address with them. The internship is for the 2023-2024 school year and is located in Cincinnati.

Thanks in advance for your help with spreading the word, and thanks for continuing to partner with our office to stand in solidarity with all of our sisters and brothers in Christ.

Catholic Conference of Ohio is hiring too!



Associate Director for Social Concerns

The Associate Director for Social Concerns provides leadership and advocacy for the Conference's activities related to social concerns and respect life. The position includes convening the diocesan offices of social action, social services (Catholic Charities), and respect life. The Associate Director implements statewide responses to the Catholic Church's social teaching, ensuring that the Church's voice is heard by Ohio's elected officials. See the full description and application instructions HERE.

Our Laudato Si Conference is here!!

On Saturday, March 4, 2023, the Archdiocese Care for Creation Task Force is holding a full-day Laudato Si Action Platform conference at Curran Place on the University of Dayton campus. It's scheduled for 9:00am - 4:30pm (8:30am registration) and will include opportunities for prayer, learning, networking, planning, and sharing. We'll have information on multiple topics for multiple audiences, both in large group sessions and breakouts. Visit this website for more information and the registration link.



The Laudato Si Action Platform is the collaborative effort of the global Roman Catholic Church to address caring for God’s creation. You can learn more about it here or contact Andrew Musgrave with any questions. 

Intro Sessions

The Archdiocesan Care for Creation Task Force is eager to welcome people to learn about this powerful initiative from the Vatican to unite Catholics around the globe as we seek to love and care for all of God’s creation. Our Archdiocese has joined, and we’re looking to engage individuals and families, families of parishes, schools, and all others in this work.

We’ve got two virtual introductory sessions coming up, and we’d love for you to join us (and bring a friend!) for an hour to learn about the LSAP and how you can get involved.

Tues. 2/7 at 12:30pm https://catholiccincinnati.zoom.us/j/86503581210

Tues. 2/7 at 6:30pm https://catholiccincinnati.zoom.us/j/81726969116

Registration is not required, but we would love to know if you plan to attend. RSVP with Tammie Mers, in the Catholic Social Action office. Please contact Liliana Sierra, with any questions. All are welcome! 

Love in Action

If you're wondering how your family of parishes might go about engaging in the Love in Action principle, we encourage you to check out the Love in Action page on the Pathways platform - https://pathway.catholicaoc.org/love-in-action. There you'll find a great introductory video, as well as further explanation of the breadth of the principle. Over time, you'll find more resources and support, and of course you know you can always reach out to our office for support. If you're looking for the first tool we created - the parish inventory - you can find it here (along with the inventories from the other principles) - https://pathway.catholicaoc.org/pathway-tools. If you work for a parish or are involved in parish leadership, we'd love to talk with you through the Forums. Don't hesitate to reach out! 



Beacons Roundtable is Feb. 28

Join other parish leaders – priests, deacons, lay staff, and others – for Beacons Roundtable on Tues, Feb 28th from 1:30-3:00pm online. We’ll continue focusing on leading change, creating and communicating vision, and self-care for parish ministers. The staff of the Center for the New Evangelization will share a vision for new approaches to evangelization and discipleship in a Family of Parishes. More info and RSVP here.

Learning & Advocating

for Life, Dignity, and Justice

As we mentioned last month, the last weekend of January was the Catholic Social Ministry Gathering (CSMG), which brought together diocesan, parish, and community leaders to pray for, deepen their understanding of, and advocate for multiple issues of peace and justice. Organized by the USCCB Department of Justice, Peace, and Human Development, around 500 people convened in Washington D.C. to address issues such as the dignity of work and workers, people with disabilities, peacemaking, global solidarity, empowering women & children, climate change, food insecurity, gun violence, abortion & domestic violence, immigration & refugee resettlement, and racial justice. After three days of education and networking, we headed up visit our elected officials on Capitol Hill to strongly encourage them to direct their efforts and votes towards policies that reflect our Catholic values of life, dignity, and justice. It was a wonderful gathering, and we appreciate your prayers. If you'd like to know on which issues we were advocating (and perhaps want to do some advocacy of your own!), you can read our leave behind packet here.

Members of the Ohio delegation meeting with Rep. Greg Landsman

Being the Church in the World:

Joys and Griefs, Then and Now

February 15, 2023

Speaker: Marcus Mescher, PhD

Marcus Mescher, PhD, Associate Professor of Christian Ethics at Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio, specializes in Catholic Social Thought and moral formation. He gives presentations to parishes and schools on a variety of topics, including the theology of Pope Francis and theories and practices for justice and peace. He writes on numerous dimensions of the moral life, ranging from ecological ethics to marriage and family life to the impact of digital devices and social media on identity, agency, and relationships. He has authored numerous articles and book chapters. His work appears in both academic and popular publications, including the Journal of Moral Theology and the Journal of Catholic Social Thought, America magazine and National Catholic Reporter. He published his first book, The Ethics of Encounter: Christian Neighbor Love as a Practice of Solidarity, with Orbis in 2020 and developed the Fratelli Tutti Study Guide for Paulist Press, in 2021. His current research and writing explore moral injury caused by clergy sexual abuse and its concealment in the Catholic Church.

REGISTER



Bring Lent To Life with CRS Rice Bowl



Through CRS Rice Bowl, we journey with members of our human family around the world, and commit our Lenten prayers, fasting, and almsgiving to deepening our faith and serving those in need. There is something to deepen everyone’s Lenten journey with CRS Rice Bowl. There are lessons and prayers for all ages, videos, reflections, Stations of the Cross, and even delicious yet simple recipes to share as a community or a family. Communicate easily using CRS’ premade materials such as these bulletin entries for each week. Rice bowl orders are recurring each year, but if your parish is new to it or needs to make changes do so asap. 

Find all these resources here.

Join CRS Rice Bowl Pre-Lent Virtual Gathering

Volunteers and staff that are wanting to enliven and deepen their community’s Lenten experience with CRS Rice Bowl will join together for a Virtual Gathering on February 14^th at 1 pm. We hope to have experienced CRS promoters along with those just considering using Rice Bowl to hear about what CRS has to offer, creative best practices around the Archdiocese, and some Q&A. Register for the Virtual Gathering here.

Questions? Contact Sara Seligmann sseligmann@catholicaoc.org

Breaking Open the Sin of Racism

Engage your community in dialogue

This video series and discussion guide was prepared for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati for use by organizations in a 4-part workshop. Check out the Breaking Open the Sin of Racism site to see how your parish, school, or organization can host workshops or use the resources in other ways. 

Join us for our Breaking Open the Sin of Racism Leader Training. Sign up!  In this session we will address how to facilitate these workshops in your community both in person and online.  1-hour training on zoom. March 1st 1-2 pm. 

Questions? Contact Sara Seligmann | 513-546-3143

From the Respect Life Office

A Second Look at the Racial Disparity of Abortion

Pro-life activists have been pointing out for a long time that the founder of Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger, had eugenics in mind (based primarily on race and disability), and this bias still carries true with their practices today. Susan Willke Enouen, niece of Dr. John Willke, was perhaps the first to statistically document the racial disparities of the location of abortion facilities. But regardless of where abortion facilities are located, it is undeniable that abortion disproportionately effects minority populations.

Take a look at the table below I gathered from the 2021 Induced Abortions in Ohio report from the Ohio Department of Health:

Ohio Resident Abortions

While total abortion numbers have gone down over the past 10 years in Ohio, they have only gone down among whites. Abortions have actually increased among blacks and those listed as “other”. While whites used to be the majority of abortions in Ohio, they now consist of less than 40%, even though whites make up over 80% of the Ohio population. Since blacks and African Americans make up only 13% of Ohio’s population, if my math is correct, that means the 2021 abortion rate in Ohio for the black community (in regards to total population) is seven times greater than those of whites.

Some claim that the obvious disparity of abortions among minorities means that abortion proponents have a racist agenda of deliberately trying to obliterate minority populations. I don’t believe one can make that conclusion. It is far more likely that abortion providers are simply targeting whatever populations where they believe they can be the most successful in getting the most business. Still, the fact that abortion so disproportionately effects minority populations, makes it a problem of racial disparity that ought not be ignored. The pro-life movement reaches out to these communities with real help including (among other things) material assistance, relationship counseling, care for those suffering the trauma of a past abortion, and even college scholarships to help women better care for their families. The abortion industry offers nothing but the empty promise that an abortion will solve their problem, when they are most vulnerable to believing it. When it doesn’t, they offer a website. 



Instead of allowing the abortion industry to profit from exploiting mostly women of color at their most vulnerable moment, we need to empower them to choose life and support programs that support families. 



From the Office for Persons with Disabilities

HELP NEEDED!

Interested in joining the Belonging Task Force? The BTF is a group of parents, teachers, and community members who meet monthly to discuss ways to help and support families on their faith journey. What is special about the BTF? The families we support are those families who have a loved one with a special need. We support the blind, deaf, hard of hearing, and disabled. Would you like to learn more about the Belonging Task Force? I would like to schedule a time to visit your deanery to meet with you.

Lisa L. Averion, Associate Director, Office for Persons with Disabilities laverion@catholicaoc.org

We are all one family in the world. Building a community that empowers everyone to attain their full potential through each of us respecting each other’s dignity, rights and responsibilities makes the world a better place to live. - St. John Paul II



Follow us on social media!

Twitter: @AoCincinnatiCsa

Instagram: @aocincinnati_csa

YouTube: @CatholicSocialActionAOC

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/csacinci



Andrew Musgrave - Cincinnati, Director

Sara Seligmann - Dayton

Sr. Christine Pratt - Eastern Area

Regional Coordinator - (open)

Tammie Mers - Administrative Assistant

Catholic Social Action Office

Archdiocese of Cincinnati

csa@catholicaoc.org