Respect Life

• "We Are All Nuns," an opinion piece about reproductive health, the Vatican and the Leadership Conference of Women Religious.
  
  
• Conference of Catholic Bishops March 14 Statement On Religious Freedom And HHS Mandate and other resources.
  
  
• Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan's letter to clergy re protecting our religious freedom from unprecedented intrusion by a government bureau, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
  http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/upload/Dolan-to-all-bishops-HHS.pdf
  
  
• Father Sammie Maletta delivered a homily at St. John the Evangelist Parish in St. John, Indiana addressing how President Obama is threatening our religious freedom and declaring war with the Catholic Church.  Listen to the homily : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltTd81XpDnc&feature=youtu.be
  
  
• New contraception mandate redefines "religious employer"
  On January 20, 2012, the Obama Administration issued a new rule that all health plans must cover contraception and sterilization.  In doing so, the Health and Human Services Agency essentially redefined the very nature of what it means to be a religious employer. 
  
  

Social Justice

• The Power of PrayerThis article, which appeared in the July 2007 edition of The Catholic World Report, recounts the gradual conversion of James Malicoat prior to his execution on August 31, 2005.

Restorative Justice

• American Friends on Solitary Confinement
  Torture isn't rehabilitation. It doesn't allow for the prisoners to move past mistakes and become a productive member of society again. You Tube video.
  
  
• High Cost of Death Row
  To the many excellent reasons to abolish the death penalty — it’s immoral, does not deter murder and affects minorities disproportionately — we can add one more. It’s an economic drain on governments with already badly depleted budgets.
  
  
• Attica, Lingering Injustice
  Forty years more than 1,000 inmates at Attica Correctional Facility began a major civil and human rights protest — an uprising that is barely mentioned in textbooks but nevertheless was one of the most important rebellions in American history.
  
  
• A Look at the Prison System
  Most of us know little or nothing about our criminal justice system but the New Testament in Matthew Chapter 25 verse 36, we are told to visit those in prison. While most of us cannot easily do that, we certainly can know what our system is all about and if it is satisfying the goals of justice to achieve peace.
  
  
• Catholic Bishops and the Criminal Justice System
  The challenge of curbing crime and reshaping the criminal justice system is not just a matter of public policy, but is also a test of Catholic commitment.

National Defense and Justice

• Federal judge strikes down the indefinite detention provision of the National Defense Authorization Act saying that it likely violates the First and Fifth Amendments of U.S. citizens. Watch/Listen/Read the conversation with Chris Hedges, a journalist who filed the suit challenging the NDAA along with six others, and Bruce Afran, the group’s attorney. 
  
  
• Habeas Corpus and Occupy L.A. Bring the Body
  As of March 3, 2012, anyone who takes a strong stand against
  government and corporate policies can be labeled a terrorist and held
  indefinitely. . . . The Senate voted 86-13 to pass HR 155 with huge support on both sides of the aisle.
• Gitmo's Prying Eyes
  Lawyers for the accused at Guantanomo  charge that confidential information protected by attorney-client privilege is not safe from the government's probing eye.
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• Unpatriotic Act
  In December (2011), the U.S.Senate voted 93 to 7 for the massive National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), buried in which are provisions that would give the military—not domestic law enforcement—precedence in detaining terror suspects on U.S. soil, potentially including American citizens without charge or trial indefinitely.