As spiritual leaders in the community we Catholic Bishops of Texas are acutely aware of the violence in our state. Despite a growing reliance on longer sentences, more prisons, and more executions, our state’s crime rate has escalated. Since the reinstatement of the death penalty in the United States in 1976, the Catholic Bishops of… continue reading
Secure Communities? Some Changes in ICE Policies, But What is Needed is Comprehensive Immigration Reform
August 1, 2011 by
In response to widespread criticism across the country of the Secure Communities program of ICE (U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) on June 17, 2011 ICE Director John Morton issued a memorandum announ-cing some changes in the way the program is administered. Not only human rights groups, and the U. S. Catholic Bishops, but local… continue reading
A New Mandate for Immigration Reform
August 1, 2011 by
As a social scientist by trade, my tendency to categorize human behavior carries over to my work as a Catholic Worker. I have noticed that there are basically two different types of guests that receive care, support and hospitality at Casa Juan Diego: those newly arrived, and those that have been in the United States… continue reading
The Personalist (Emmanuel Mounier)
August 1, 2011 by
A personalist is a go-giver, not a go-getter. He tries to give what he has, and does not try to get what the other fellow has. He tries to be good by doing good to the other fellow. He is altro-centered, not self-centered. He has a social doctrine of the common good. He spreads the social doctrine of the common good through words and deeds. He speaks… continue reading
Works of Mercy: Casa Juan Diego Volunteers Help Paralyzed Immigrants
April 1, 2011 by
A neighbor brought Carmen (not her real name) to Casa Juan Diego. She was distraught. Her husband had had an aneuyrism and had spent two months in the hospital. They are from Guatemala and have no family here to help them. Carmen hoped that she could place her husband somewhere and that she could go… continue reading
Medical Miracle in Oklahoma After Seeking Dorothy Day’s Intercession
April 1, 2011 by
February 9, 2011 Ms. Lourdes Ferrer The Guild for Dorothy Day Archdiocese of New York 1011 First Avenue, 12th Floor New York, New York 10022 Dear Ms. Ferrer, In December 2009, I invoked the assistance of Dorothy Day, asking her to cure my friend Sarah Maple of a brain tumor that doctors told Sarah would… continue reading
Growing Roots: Peter Maurin and the Agronomic University
April 1, 2011 by
“The time for the agronomic university,” Catholic Worker theologian Michael Baxter declared, “has finally arrived.” We were a group of twenty adults, mostly Catholic Workers, gathered at New Hope Catholic Worker Farm in Iowa for a week of learning through manual labor, prayer, lecture, and discussion on our 28-acre parcel of land that is home… continue reading
American Madonna: Crossing Borders with the Virgin Mary. Orbis Books, 2010.
February 1, 2011 by
I enjoyed reviewing Deirdre Cornell’s new book, American Madonna: Crossing Borders with the Virgin Mary , partly because it is an excellent book, partly because I met the author in central Mexico in the early 1990s. I never forgot her; she is one of those people that linger in your memory. With my own research and… continue reading
Justice in Economics is Not Socialism: The Catholic Worker and Workers
February 1, 2011 by
In some people’s eyes, the words Worker and Catholic Worker give the Catholic Worker movement a bad name, even today. We were quite surprised when someone we had known for twenty years introduced us to a colleague as people who could explain the good parts of socialism. “What?” we said. “We are not socialists!” “Then… continue reading
