Since the late 1990’s, debt relief amounting to well over $100 billion has been committed to 33 poor countries, mostly in Africa and Latin America. Countries receiving debt relief have increased substantially their spending for education, health care and other investments directed at improving the lives of poor and vulnerable people. The most recent success occurred on June 30 when Haiti, the poorest country in the Hemisphere, was granted $1.2 billion in debt cancellation by the major international financial institutions. Much of the tremendous progress that has been achieved in the past decade is due to the efforts of Catholics and other faith-based advocates in the United States and around the world.
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The U.S. House and Senate recess for the month of August and members return to their home districts.  The House is scheduled to recess on July 31 and the Senate is expected to follow on August 7.  Both chambers return on September 8.

The August recess is an excellent time to schedule meetings with members in their district or state offices and to attend local town meetings that are often held during the recess.  At town meetings you can ask questions that convey your concerns. From the perspective of Catholics Confront Global Poverty, two issues are especially timely: Israeli-Palestinian peace and climate change.
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This week is the feast day of Mary Magdalene. Present at the Crucifixion and the first to see the risen Lord, Mary Magdalene surely understood the full range of human experience in a most profound way.

Working for CRS for 22 years has given me a taste of both the cruelty humans inflict on each other and the generosity and love with which they can respond. Listening to a briefing recently on the potential for increased strife in the Sudan reminded me of my own trip there in 1990. I was nearly killed when a plane bombed the small town I was visiting. Thirteen innocent women and children did not survive. I know Mary Magdalene would have known what it was like for these people.
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By Jessie Abrams Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Catholic development organizations July 10 praised leaders of the Group of Eight nations for pledging $20 billion over the next three years to combat global hunger through greater support of agriculture in some of the world’s poorest nations.

But the groups said there was still more to be done and called the next steps “crucial.”
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Please join Catholic Relief Services and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops for an online Catholics Confront Global Poverty discussion.

Natural Resource Extraction: Blessing or curse? Insights from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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I often hear people complaining about the amount of money we spend on our nuclear weapons programs. Then the next thing I usually hear is that this money spent on nuclear arms could be used to help the poor and people in dire situations. Our representatives in Congress have heard these voices. Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA) have introduced the “Global Security Priorities” Resolution (H. Res. 278) and I hope that you will join me in asking your representative to co-sponsor it today.

This resolution is very important because it has two main goals:
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Upon leaving the Holy Land last week, Pope Benedict XVI expressed this plea: “No more bloodshed, no more fighting, no more terrorism, no more war. Instead let us break the vicious cycle of violence, let there be lasting peace based on justice.”
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One of the prime directives of this blog is to keep concerned Catholics aprised of the work they do through CRS. We want to let you know what’s going on in your world and offer ways for you to engage with brothers and sisters that are near to our hearts, however geographically distant they may be.

To that end, check out the Catholics Confront Global Poverty site.

Here’s a message summary from the site: “The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) call on one million Catholics in the United States to confront global poverty. Advocate with us to end hunger, disease, conflict, and other issues that affect the lives of our brothers and sisters worldwide.”

Archbishop Odama is an unassuming man who champions the cause of peace and lifts up the needs of the most vulnerable, especially children caught in the midst of violence and crushing poverty. With great courage he has gone to the bush to speak with members of the Lord’s Resistance Army to encourage the rebels to set aside violence and take up dialogue. With equal passion he has challenged the government to work for peace and to meet the needs of its people.
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Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) today launched the much-anticipated Catholics Confront Global Poverty initiative.

Introduced at the annual Catholic Social Ministry Gathering on Capitol Hill, the two-year nationwide effort calls upon one million Catholics to confront global poverty by defending the life and dignity of people living in poverty throughout the world and to urge our nation to act and advocate.
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