Idaho Catholics for Social Justice
Walking as disciples of Jesus, healer and liberator
Join fellow Idaho Catholics to engage in the Church's long tradition of advocating for and doing social justice.
Our Purpose
Social Justice is a Catholic Tradition
Idaho Catholics for Social Justice is a lay-led group dedicated to engaging in the Church's long tradition of advocating for and doing social justice. We provide a space for Catholics to meet each other, coordinate action, and grow together as members of the Body of Christ.Most importantly, we seek to walk more closely as disciples of Jesus Christ, Healer and Liberator, following His example of love, compassion, and service to those in need.
Our Story
Our group began as a private Facebook community, created by and for laypeople who felt called to live out the Catholic Church's rich tradition of social justice. We have been actively participating in protests and community actions as a unified voice for justice.As we have grown and become more active in public advocacy, we felt the need to create this website to welcome new members and provide a public face for our mission. We invite all Catholics who share our commitment to justice to join us in this important work.Others have joined in entirely through word of mouth. We continue to communicate and connect primarily through our Facebook page.
Learn More
Catholic Social Teaching
What does Catholic faith have to say about a just society? From the time of the Old Testament Prophets through all of Church history to today, faith in the God of Love necessitates action to bring justice into the world. Authoritative Church documents, like constitutions from ecumenical councils, papal encyclicals, and pastoral letters, synthesize and interpret thousands of years of teaching for our times. We call this body of doctrine Catholic Social Teaching (CST).
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has identified 7 themes that run throughout CST.
The 7 Themes of Catholic Social Teaching
| Life and Dignity of the Human Person | Every person has a fundamental right to life and a right to those things required for human decency. |
| Call to Family, Community and Participation | The human person is both sacred and social. We realize our dignity and rights in relationship with others, in community. |
| Rights and Responsibilities | Human rights are essential and imply a responsibility for each member of society to contribute to the protection of all others' rights. |
| The Preferential Option for the Poor | A just society is marked by prioritizing the most vulnerable. |
| Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers | Workers are entitled to safe, dignified, and humane conditions that support their overall well-being and that of their families. |
| Solidarity | We belong to eachother. |
| Care for Creation | Humans are stewards of God's creation and must treat land, plants, and animals as sacred gifts. |
Get in touch!
Drop us a line to find out more about what we do and how you can become part of building a more just Idaho.
Protest Signs
One Church, One Family: Prayer Vigil for Immigrants and Refugees
Links
-Sign-Up Form / Contacto-Church Teaching on Immigration / Enseñanzas sobre Imigración-Program (Google Doc Version)
Program
Gathering at Idaho State Capitol Steps
Music provided by Tom Vitrano and Benny Garcia
Opening Prayer
| English | Spanish |
|---|---|
| God our Father, Who called St. Frances Xavier Cabrini out of Italy To serve the immigrants of America, By her example, Teach us to have concern for the stranger, The sick, and all those in need, And by her prayers help us to see Christ In all the men and women we meet. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your son, Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen. | Diós nuestro Padre, quien llamá a Sánta Francisca Cabrini de Italia, para servir los inmingrantes de America, por su ejemplo, nos enseña tener empatía para los desconosidos, los enfermos, y los que están en crisis, y por sus oraciones, ayudanos a encontrar a cristo en todos los que conocemos. A través del Señor Jesucristo, Tu hijo, quien vive y reina contigo en la unidad del Espiritú Santo, Dios, para los siglos de lost siglos. Amen. |
Welcome and Statement of Purpose
Oralia Lorenzana & Anthony Paz
Performance from Danza Azteca Tonatiuh
Reading from The Nican Mopohua, Chapter 5
Reading in original Nahuatl language. English and Spanish translations below.
| English | Spanish |
|---|---|
| As Juan Diego circled the hill, he saw Our Lady treading majestically down the slope: she drew right near him and said, "What is happening, my son? Where are you going?” "My dear one," replied Juan Diego,”-it will grieve you to know that one of your poor servants, my uncle, is very ill and dying of plague. I am going in a great hurry to call the priest to hear his confession and will come back here to take your message. Forgive me, lady and dearest one to me, be patient with me, I am not deceiving you, I will come tomorrow in aIl haste. "Be not troubled nor afraid" replied the Virgin. "Am I not here, I who am your mother? Are you not beneath my protection? Am I not your shield? Let not the sickness of your uncle distress your anymore, for he will not die yet. You can rest assured that he is well even now." When Juan heard these words, he felt comforted and happy. | Enseguida le dió la vuelta al cerro, vió Nuestra Señora cómo vino a bajar de sobre el cerro. Le vino a salir al encuentro a un lado del cerro, le vino a atajar los pasos; le dijo: “¿Qué pasa, el más pequeño de mis hijos? ¿A dónde vas, a dónde te diriges?”. Y él le dijo: "Mi Jovencita, con pena angustiaré tu rostro, tu corazón; te hago saber que está muy grave un servidor tuyo, tío mío. Una gran enfermedad se le ha asentado, seguro que pronto va a morir de ella. Y ahora iré de prisa a a llamar a alguno de nuestros Sacerdotes, para que vaya a confesarlo y luego aquí otra vez volveré para ir a llevar tu aliento, tu palabra, Señora. Te ruego me perdones, tenme todavía un poco de paciencia, porque con ello no te engaño, mañana sin falta vendré a toda prisa". En cuanto oyó las razones de Juan Diego, le respondió la Virgen: “No temas esta enfermedad, ni ninguna otra cosa punzante, aflictiva. ¿No estoy aquí, yo, que soy tu madre? ¿No estás bajo mi sombra y resguardo? ¿No soy la fuente de tu alegría? ¿No estás en el hueco de mi manto, en el cruce de mis brazos? ¿Tienes necesidad de alguna otra cosa? Que ninguna otra cosa te aflija, te perturbe; que no te apriete con pena la enfermedad de tu tío, porque de ella no morirá por ahora. Ten por cierto que ya está bueno”. (Y luego en aquél mismo momento sanó su tío, como después se supo.) Y Juan Diego, cuando oyó la amable palabra, el amable aliento de la Reina. |
Musical Offering
Response: Y por eso los grandes amores de mucho colores me gustan a mi.
Reading from Dilexit Te, Apostolic Exhortation from Pope Leo XIV
Theresa Vawter
The experience of migration accompanies the history of the People of God. Abraham sets out without knowing where he is going; Moses leads the pilgrim people through the desert; Mary and Joseph flee with the child Jesus to Egypt. Christ himself, who “came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him," lived among us as a stranger. For this reason, the Church has always recognized in migrants a living presence of the Lord who, on the day of judgment, will say to those on his right: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me."In the nineteenth century, when millions of Europeans emigrated in search of better living conditions, two great saints distinguished themselves in the pastoral care of migrants: Saint John Baptist Scalabrini and Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini. Scalabrini, Bishop of Piacenza, founded the Missionaries of Saint Charles to accompany migrants to their destinations, offering them spiritual, legal and material assistance. He saw migrants as recipients of a new evangelization, warning of the risks of exploitation and loss of faith in a foreign land. Responding generously to the charism that the Lord had given him, “Scalabrini looked forward to a world and a Church without barriers, where no one was a foreigner.” Saint Frances Cabrini, born in Italy and a naturalized American, was the first citizen of the United States of America to be canonized. To fulfill her mission of assisting migrants, she crossed the Atlantic several times. “Armed with remarkable boldness, she started schools, hospitals and orphanages from nothing for the masses of the poor who ventured into the new world in search of work. Not knowing the language and lacking the wherewithal to find a respectable place in American society, they were often victims of the unscrupulous. Her motherly heart, which allowed her no rest, reached out to them everywhere: in hovels, prisons and mines.” In the Holy Year of 1950, Pope Pius XII proclaimed her Patroness of All Migrants.The Church’s tradition of working for and with migrants continues, and today this service is expressed in initiatives such as refugee reception centers, border missions and the efforts of Caritas Internationalis and other institutions. Contemporary teaching clearly reaffirms this commitment. Pope Francis has recalled that the Church’s mission to migrants and refugees is even broader, insisting that “our response to the challenges posed by contemporary migration can be summed up in four verbs: welcome, protect, promote and integrate. Yet these verbs do not apply only to migrants and refugees. They describe the Church’s mission to all those living in the existential peripheries, who need to be welcomed, protected, promoted and integrated.” He also said: “Every human being is a child of God! He or she bears the image of Christ! We ourselves need to see, and then to enable others to see, that migrants and refugees do not only represent a problem to be solved, but are brothers and sisters to be welcomed, respected and loved. They are an occasion that Providence gives us to help build a more just society, a more perfect democracy, a more united country, a more fraternal world and a more open and evangelical Christian community.” The Church, like a mother, accompanies those who are walking. Where the world sees threats, she sees children; where walls are built, she builds bridges. She knows that her proclamation of the Gospel is credible only when it is translated into gestures of closeness and welcome. And she knows that in every rejected migrant, it is Christ himself who knocks at the door of the community.
Gospel Reading- Luke 6:17-31
Proclaimed by Deacon Ted Vermaas
Jesus went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.
Looking at his disciples, he said:“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.“Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven.
For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.“But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort.
Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.
Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors
treated the false prophets.“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.The Gospel of the LordAll: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Reflection on the Readings
Monsignor Joseph DaSilva
Prayer of One Decade of the Rosary
We will pray one "Our Father" followed by ten "Hail Mary." Each "Hail Mary" will begin in one language and will finish with the crowd offering the ending in English. Respond in English:Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.Final Blessing & Sign of Peace
We offer each other handshake and the words "Peace be with you."
Closing Song
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