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Economic Justice
for All

Twenty-five years ago, the U.S. Bishops issued a landmark 99-page pastoral letter entitled Economic Justice for All: Catholic Social Teaching and the US Economy. Today, with a record number of people suffering in a flailing economy, the letter’s call to promote human dignity in economic, policy and individual actions is as relevant as ever.

Human Dignity

We believe that each person has a right to access the basic necessities of life. We advocate for food and income security for all—especially children and the elderly. We believe in policies for decent housing and shelter, especially for farm workers. We support access to basic health care for all. We advocate for employment and promote the idea of fair wages and fair taxes. We oppose unjust discrimination, racism, torture and human trafficking.

Download a backgrounder on Human Dignity and Economic Justice

Catholic Charities to Provide Legal Aid to Unaccompanied Minors
January 12, 2016 Immigration, Human Dignity

Catholic Charities of California (CCC) has announced that the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has again chosen to award the organization additional funding to provide Unaccompanied Undocumented Minor (UUM) Legal Services in the current fiscal year.  CCC will receive an additional $100,000, bringing the total grant amount to $340,000 for Fiscal Year 2015-16.  These funds will allow local Catholic Charities Agencies to provide legal services to 68 unaccompanied undocumented minors.

CCC received the second largest award amount out of the 21 grantees.                 

Because We Are Catholic: Liberty for Victims of Human Trafficking
January 11, 2016 Human Trafficking, Human Dignity

This Holy Year will bring to the fore the richness of Jesus’ mission echoed in the words of the prophet: to bring a word and gesture of consolation to the poor, to proclaim liberty to those bound by new forms of slavery in modern society…to restore dignity to all those from whom it has been robbed.-- Pope Francis

Pope Francis has declared 2016 an Extraordinary Year of Mercy.  He is asking us to be more aware of God’s mercy in our lives and, just as importantly, to find ways we can extend that mercy to others through service. 

Helpful Websites
December 21, 2015 Human Trafficking, Human Dignity

Human Trafficking Helpful Links:

Statement on the Passage of SB 350 - The Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act of 2015
September 11, 2015 Care for Our Common Home, Human Dignity

"The California Catholic Conference is pleased with the passage of SB 350 and is asking Gov. Brown to sign this important measure of environmental stewardship.

Bishops and Lawmakers Discuss Climate Encyclical
September 3, 2015 Care for Our Common Home, Human Dignity

With the State Senate debating two momentous environmental bills and the Pope declaring September 1 as a Day of Prayer for creation, legislators, California Bishops and representatives from national Catholic organizations engaged in an hours-long dialogue this week to examine the principles outlined in the Pope’s encyclical Laudato Si’ (On the Care for Our Common Home.)

Creating the Flow of Care One Drop at a Time
July 9, 2015 Care for Our Common Home, Human Dignity

“The urgent challenge to protect our common home includes a concern to bring the whole human family together to seek a sustainable and integral development, for we know that things can change. The Creator does not abandon us; he never forsakes his loving plan or repents of having created us. Humanity still has the ability to work together in building our common home.”

Pope Francis. Laudato Si, On Care for Our Common Home 2015

Examining the U.S. Supreme Court Ruling on the Affordable Care Act Subsidies
July 1, 2015 Health Care, Human Dignity

On June 25, the U. S. Supreme Court by a vote of 6-3 ruled that insurance subsidies created by the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) can be offered in both states that established their own health care exchanges and states where the federal government established them.  These exchanges are government-administered websites where consumers can compare and choose insurance plans.

California Bishops Comment on Encyclical Laudato Si (Praise Be)
June 19, 2015 Care for Our Common Home, Human Dignity

Archbishop José Gomez, Archdiocese of Los Angeles

Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, Archdiocese of San Francisco

Bishop Michael Barber, Diocese of Oakland

In New Encyclical Pope Invites the World to Dialogue About Our Common Home and Its Ecological Future
June 18, 2015 Care for Our Common Home, Human Dignity

In Laudato Si, a letter addressed to all the people of the world, Pope Francis presents a clear and compelling case for placing people at the center of a renewed commitment to caring for the planet.

“We are faced not with two separate crises, one environmental and the other social, but rather with one complex crisis which is both social and environmental.  Strategies for a solution demand an integrated approach to combating poverty, restoring dignity to the excluded, and at the same time protecting nature.”  [139]

Governor, Legislature Reach Budget Agreement
June 18, 2015 Economic Justice, Human Dignity

Legislative leaders and Gov. Jerry Brown reached a budget agreement this week.  The governor is determined avoid an enormous debt as his legacy so he based his budget on very conservative revenue projections. The budget as it now stands includes many items that the California Catholic Conference (CCC) was advocating for, but also some glaring omissions.  

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