Justice, Peace, Integrity of Creation

Fond du Lac offers a free screening of a documentary that explores what it is like to be unhoused in America and will address systemic causes and challenge stereotypes.

According to a recent literature review article from Self.Inc., homelessness in the U.S. has increased by 42.5% between 2018 and 2022. In terms of the number of people, this meant there were at least 582,642 people experiencing homelessness nationwide on any single night.

If these numbers are not staggering enough, in 2021, there were 15.6 million empty homes in the U.S. This equates to an average of 27.4 empty homes in the U.S. for each person experiencing homelessness. In Wisconsin, that number was much higher than the national average with a ratio of 75:1 empty properties to one person experiencing homelessness. Read the full report here. 

What is going on?! The documentary “The Invisible Class: The Story of Homelessness in America” explores what it truly means to be  homeless in America, challenging stereotypes and examining the systemic cause of mass homelessness in the wealthiest nation in the world. 

You are invited to attend a screening of "The Invisible Class" on Monday, October 9 at 5:30pm in the Marian University Stayer Center Auditorium. This event is co-sponsored by United Way Fond du Lac, Holy Family Catholic Community, and the Congregation of Sisters of St Agnes (CSA).

Following the film, attendees will engage in conversation about homelessness in Fond du Lac and will have an opportunity to learn how they can support the new warming shelter opening November 15th. No registration required. 

Watch the trailer for The Invisible Class:
 

September 29 is the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste Reduction, an opportunity to raise awareness of practices and innovations to reduce food loss and waste and build a more resilient food system.

Globally, around 14 percent of food produced is lost between harvest and retail, while an estimated 17 percent of total global food production is wasted (11 percent in households, 5 percent in the food service and 2 percent in retail). The International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste (9/29) is an opportunity to call to action both the public (national or local authorities) and the private sector (businesses and individuals), to prioritize actions and move ahead with innovation to reduce food loss and move towards restoring and building back better and resilient-ready, food systems. Anyone can take action to stop food loss and waste – for the sake of people and the planet. Click here for a resource and action guide. 

What is the real cost of food? 

In this video, Food and Agriculture Goodwill Ambassador, Diarmuid Gavin, makes a call to action for reducing food loss and waste.

On September 18, 2023, the CSA Motherhouse Sisters and Staff began a trial of documenting their food waste in an effort to eventually have their waste converted into renewable energy, namely biogas. Biogas is a cleaner alternative to traditional fossil fuels since it produces far fewer greenhouse gas emissions when burned. It is used for various purposes such as heating, cooking, and generating electricity. This landfill diversion process is an alternative to composting and a goal set to accomplish in CSA’s 2023 Laudato Si’ Action Plan.
 

Achieving global nuclear disarmament is one of the oldest goals of the United Nations, and one of the most difficult.

Today, around 12,512 nuclear weapons remain worldwide. You are invited to reflect on these thoughtful and challenging words from two U.S. and two Japanese Bishops who, this summer, agreed to “create a new initiative to promote the realization of a world without nuclear weapons.”

Consider taking this illuminating online quiz on nuclear weapons put together by our friends, the Sisters of St. Francis. The answers may surprise you!

ACTION: Explore ways you can support nuclear disarmament. 

The Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act would do more than any other legislation to reduce the mountains of plastic waste we create each year.

The United States creates millions of metric tons of plastic waste each year, only 5% of it is recycled. We need to address this problem at every level to reduce pollution and its consequences for our communities, our environment, and our health.

If you've had enough of the single-use plastic that ends up clogging landfills, polluting our communities and harming our planet, please ACT TODAY!

Soon, Congress will unveil a bill that could flip the script on plastic waste. The Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act would do more than any other legislation to reduce the mountains of plastic waste we create each year. This bill will address plastic pollution from production to disposal -- overhauling a system that is currently failing us. But it needs our help.

Please urge U.S. Senators and House Representatives to cosponsor this important legislation.

In collaboration with the community, Holy Family will open a warming shelter to care for individuals who find themselves unhoused in the Fond du Lac area. Volunteers are needed.

“...For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” - Matthew 25:35-40

With the closing of the warming shelter, formerly supported by the Salvation Army last spring, the Fond du Lac community saw the need for a new location and Holy Family and several donors filled the need. 

Holy Family has purchased a downtown office building that will offer up to 30 individuals a warm, clean place to sleep; hot, nutritious meals; and access to community resources every night from November 15 through April this year. In the warmer months of next spring and summer 2024, it is hoped that the office can continue needed renovations.

Your involvement in the new mission is welcomed. If you are interested in making a monetary donation to the shelter, volunteering your time, or donating a meal, please visit here to learn more.
 

The Social Justice Ministry at Holy Trinity in Washington, DC seeks to assist parishioners in deepening their relationship with God through acts of justice.

They are inviting you to join a restorative justice webinar on September 23 at 9 AM CT to hear how God used the relationship of two men to shape their future careers, help them navigate life’s challenges, both blessing and suffering, and demonstrate God’s love for all God’s creation, “every tribe and tongue.”

Ken Boretti and Carl Reid grew up in different worlds. Ken, a cradle Catholic, is of Irish and Italian descent and hails from Beverly, Massachusetts. Carl is African American and was the product of the military community which was integrated by President Truman’s Executive Order 9981 in 1948. By 1977, Carl had lived in Fort Bliss Texas, the Panama Canal Zone and was graduating from high school in Hampton Roads, Virginia, home to three military installations. Boston, just 24 miles from Beverly, was a flash point for race relations as parents resisted busing measures to integrate schools, sometimes violently. Despite these differences, Ken and Carl [as roommates] became close friends and brothers in Christ at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York. 

Walk with them a moment to hear their story. Register here.

The 2023 theme for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees (WDMR) is “Free to Choose Whether to Migrate or to Stay.” In his message for this day, Pope Francis focuses on “the freedom that should always mark the decision to leave one’s native land.” What can we do and what do we need to stop doing so that people are not forced to migrate? “We need to make every effort to halt the arms race, economic colonialism, the plundering of other people’s resources and the devastation of our common home.” Click here to read his entire message. 

October is “Respect Life Month” for the U.S. Catholic Church. Each Fall, we are called to contemplate the sanctity of life and to commit ourselves to oppose systems that violate human dignity - especially the death penalty.

In honor of Respect Life Month and in anticipation of the World Day Against the Death Penalty (October 10), Catholic Mobilizing Network (CMN) invites you to join their second annual Novena to End the Death Penalty. 

Subscribe today to join in this prayerful journey. 

A novena is a Catholic practice that consists of nine days of prayer dedicated to one particular intention. The intention of this novena is for the abolition of capital punishment in the U.S.
Novenas can be prayed all throughout the year and for many different purposes. Some novenas are prayed for penance or in anticipation or preparation of an event or feast day. This novena will be prayed from October 1-9, in anticipation of World Day Against the Death Penalty on October 10.

Read The Church’s Anti-Death Penalty Position here.