Great Conversation

There have been some great conversations here recently about Liturgy, liturgical texts, appropriate music and inclusive language. I am grateful and I have learned a few things too. Even when I disagree on the end result, there is much to enjoy about the other's reasoning and experience. I appreciate the fact that correspondents have disagreed without being disagreeable. Some of the conversations have been going on into their third week and people are still leaving comments. I thought I would gather all the posts together in one place to make it easier for newcomers. Readership here has more than doubled in the past few weeks because fellow bloggers have been reporting on the conversation here and sending people over.

Keeping it together:

Inappropriate Music
More on Inappropriate Music
St. Gaspar had an opinion on Music
Modern Heresy?
Inclusive Language
Appropriate Music

posted by Fr. Jeffrey Keyes, C.PP.S. on 8:06 PM link

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Human Rights Initiative

Some of you are aware that I am the Pacific Province representative to the Precious Blood Leadership Conference(PBLC) Human Rights Initiative(HRI).

As a Missionary of the Precious Blood, our mission calls us to be ministers of the word with a special focus. As the letter to the Ephesians reminds us, those who once were far off have been brought near by the Blood of Christ. We have a Profile that contains many of these challenges. The link to our Profile is found on the side bar.

Some of the elements of our mission that challenge us:
• in promoting peace, justice, and reconcilation
• in human promotion
• in defending human rights and dignity
• to read the signs of the times and to hear the cry of the Blood
• to defend life in a culture of death
• to allow God’s Word to transform the patterns of human living
• to stand in solidarity with those who suffer: the alienated, the poor, the disempowered, victims of oppression, the marginalized
• to be prophetic: to resist deceit, injustice, and whatever is contrary to God’s reign


These are some of the things we are working on. Please read through them, and if you are so moved, please do what you can.

# 1. Subject: Farm workers Bill

Please ask your members of Congress to support S. 1645 and H.R. 3142. The bill would enable undocumented farm workers to earn legal permanent status if they have been working in the U.S. and continue to work in agriculture for a period of time. The bill is fair to workers and employers and is sensible government policy. Call 202-224-3121 to connect to your Member offices. The legislation has bi-partisan support. More information here.

#2. Subject: A Final Call to Preserve Medicare as a Federal Entitlement

Dear Precious blood Network Members: The next two weeks will determine the future of MEDICARE which will either remain a federal entitlement or become a "voucher" program or a "capped" program. It is urgent that we call (202-224-3121), fax, and e-mail our congressional representatives demanding that they refuse to vote unless they have read the bill and fully understand its implications. PRIVATIZING MEDICARE OR CAPPING FEDERAL ALLOCATIONS WILL HAVE A DEVASTATING IMPACT ON SENIORS, INCLUDING OUR RELIGIOUS CONGREGATONS!!! Even if you have already contacted Congress, please consider using the sample letter available at Network, which can be easily accessed and modified and sent to legislators. ACTION is urgently needed immediately!

#3. Subject: Action Alert: Close the School of the Americas

The U.S. Army School of the Americas (SOA) is a combat training school for Latin American soldiers located at Fort Benning, Georgia. SOA graduates have been responsible for some of the worst human rights atrocities in Latin American history. Notorious graduates include:

• 3 of the 5 officers responsible for the rape and murder of four U.S. churchwomen in 1980
• 2 of the 3 officers responsible for the assassination of Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero that same year
• 19 of 26 responsible for the massacre of 6 Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her daughter in 1989
• the man convicted in Guatemalan courts for the assassination of Guatemalan Bishop Juan Jose Gerardi in 1998
• the man arrested for the murder of Colombian Bishop Isaias Duarte in 2002

Originally set up as a counterinsurgency training school in 1946, the SOA has claimed numerous reforms in the way it selects and trains its students over the years, culminating in its name change to the "Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation" (WHISC) in 2001. Each of these changes came only after grassroots and congressional activism - and not one has closed the school or allowed for a full accounting of its tragic legacy. As U.S. tax dollars continue to train soldiers from countries with the worst human rights records in the region, a bill has been introduced that would close, investigate, and prevent another cosmetic remake of the SOA. It is vital that co-sponsors be added before Congress adjourns on November 21.

Contact your congressperson today and tell them to close this "School of Assassins" for good!

For more information and to take action today go: HERE.

posted by Fr. Jeffrey Keyes, C.PP.S. on 2:12 PM link

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