Greening The Ghetto

Majora Carter redefined the field of environmental equality, starting in the South Bronx at the turn of the century. Now she is leading the local economic development movement across the USA. The South Bronx native draws a direct connection between ecological, economic and social degradation. Hence her motto: Green the Ghetto. Majora Carter quotes in her speech that “we might have come to  from very, very different stations in life, but believe me, we all share one incredibly powerful thing: we have nothing to lose and everything to gain.” She is saying we are all followers of Christ and each one of us come from God and we all need to work together to help make this environment better and healthier. 

Majora Carter helps the environment and follows the themes of CST. She build park for people so people will be able to breathe healthier air so it's not toxic air. Her acts are wonderful and reach out to the community and she cares for this environment and we should all follow her lead. 

Justice for Immigrants

I agree with our Archbishop. The immigration program proposed by the Bishops is a simple matter of Christian charity, nothing more and nothing less. After all, God taught us to love god, others and love our neighbor which means that any other principal to which all other concerns are outranked. The Archbishop only wants what is best for the people in the Catholic Church and the bishops are trying to make a difference and to take a stand. To make this difference in immigration, the bishops came up with five rules. The first element is giving the immigrants an earned legalization program with an opportunity for eventual citizenship. The second rule is saying that the preservation and enhancement of family unity, based on the unit of a husband, wife, and children. The third rule is stating that it will open doors to possibly legal channels for laborers to enter safely and work legally in this country, protecting the labor rights of U.S. and foreign workers. The fourth element strictly claims renewal of due process protections for immigrants. Lastly, the fifth rule brings constructive attention to the root causes of immigration, such as economic hardship, political oppression, or religious persecution. Together, these five elements provide an integrated and comprehensive system of reform and each element rebuilds upon the other.

            The Catholic Social Teaching has many themes in involving the immigration reform. The Catholic questioning instructs the faithful that good government has two obligations, both of which must be carried out and neither of which can or should be ignored. The first obligation is to welcome the foreigner out of charity and respect for the human person. Immigrants have the right to immigrate and therefore the government must amend this right to the greatest extent possible. The second obligation is to secure one’s border and enforce the law for the sake of the common good. This is our faith and we need to help out those in need even if it is the immigrants to get better life in the United States. Many people may agree or disagree but I the bishops are doing the right thing and doing a good act. 

It's all about forgiveness...

     Forgiveness is letting go of the need for revenge and releasing negative thoughts of bitterness and resentment. Forgiveness is not forgetting or pretending it did not happen. We can forgive Osama Bin Laden but we obviously will not forget the attack on September 1, 2001. We need to retain the lesson learned without holding onto the pain. Even though it is hard for some people to let the pain go because they lost loved ones but God has taught us to forgive others just like he has done for us. This subject is important that our eternal destiny depends on it. 

     For an example through the Bible work, Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, and human have been sinning against God ever since. So my point is that if God can forgive us for all our mistakes we should at least try to forgive Osama Bin Laden even though it is very difficult for others Americans to forgive. However, I was only in kindergarten when this terrorist attack happened so i do not understand what was going on in the world. Forgiving and letting go can be a very difficult challenge, but it is even more stressful to hold onto grudges.

      Forgiveness does not mean what happened was okay, and it does not mean that person should not want full reconciliation. Forgiveness just means that you have to make peace with the pain before things get better. Even though 9/11 was such a scary and tragic event in the United States, we should by now except what happen and be able to forgive those who were involved in the attack against our own Americans. Just like Mahatma Gandhi once said, " The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong." I really love that quote because it speaks the absolute truth. Relating that quote back to 9/11 is saying that those who are weak can not forgive but those who do forgive are strong. So us Americans are strong and we need to prove to the world that no matter what happens to us we will be a strong community and stand as one  to forgive Osama Bin Laden for what he has done wrong. We need to accept the fact that people make mistake and God will always be there to forgive us and we need to follow his actions and do the same.  

The limits of Charity

According to Hilfiker, the difference between charity and justice is that charity does little to change the wider social and political systems that sustain injustice. That is why justice work is necessary. But what charity does, that justice does not do is keep individual people from suffering or dying. Yes, I agree with Hilfiker's distinctions because I completely agree that charity does little to change the social and political system because most charities depend heavily on volunteer work and individual donor. And charities who do well in a system are usually not interested in changing it. In fact, charities may oppose changing it. Charity is both necessary in our current situations and a requirement to our faith.  Our community need to see and value equally, both sides of justice and charity. But help build a more just and peaceful society. We must end this enmity and competition between justice and charity. They are both twin actions for the Christians. Appropriate sense of outrage means in order to get what you want and change to the community and to create justice among all people, people need to be forceful and vigorous sometimes with their preaching to get a solid point across.

Syria

Recently, Pope Francis has written a letter to Russian President urging world leaders to oppose a military intervention in Syria. Pope Francis want a peaceful world and so should other people. The Pope made a heartfelt  appeal for the leaders to help find ways to overcome the conflicting positions and to lay aside futile pursuit of a military solution. In a region that has been increasing threats to ancient Christian communities, the Catholic Church is helping millions refugees of Syria's civil war. Besides physical aid and other ways, Church workers have offered the Syrians the simple truth that they have not been forgotten and they have been in each and everyone of our prayers. Because they are loved and will be cared for. There are a pros but a lot more cons. In my mind, it is not something that should be taken lightly. I feel horrible about the chemical weapons that have been used, however we know that chemical weapons have been used in other instances and we did not take military action in it. So whats the point of getting involved now? The pro argues that the US should intervene in Syria since Syria is a dangerous country, they should be stopped. Syria is a disturbance to the Middle East, but developing US troops and opening fire on a third country in the Middle East, intervening in Syria may cause more problems than it solves. Plus it will cost a lot of money sending troops over to another country when we know we should not even get involved because other countries are not backing up us. So the US should not get involved. Chemical weapons are bad. The cons is that it will build tension with other countries and come back to the United States and hurt us even more then it is now. The Catholic Church and Tradition would suggest not to get involved and not start a war. I would hope the Church would want nothing more than make peace.