Physicians, nurses, and other healthcare workers gathered on Sunday, May 19 [2019], at St. Maria Goretti Church for the annual White Mass sponsored by the Catholic Medical Guild of the Diocese of Madison.
Tag: workers
‘I was a stranger and you welcomed me’
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Over 37 years-ago when Annunciation House — a sanctuary and home of hospitality that has served over 100,000 refugees, homeless poor, and undocumented workers — was started in El Paso, Texas, founding director Ruben Garcia and a few friends wanted to place themselves among the poor, to see where the poor would lead them. He said, “They took us to the undocumented — the most vulnerable.”
Garcia explained to me that since the undocumented have no legal status in the United States, they are forced to take undesirable, poorly paid jobs, which offer no benefits. Unlike poor U.S. citizens, undocumented workers and their families cannot receive food stamps, Medicaid, or housing assistance. They are at the lowest rung of American life.
Don’t shop on Thanksgiving: Spend the holiday with family and friends
Shopping is one of my favorite pastimes. Just ask any members of my family. They know I’m ready to shop at the drop of a hat — or any object, for that matter!
But when it comes to shopping on Thanksgiving Day, it’s another story. I have been resenting the encroachment of “Black Friday” — the name given to the day after Thanksgiving — onto the holiday itself.
Human beings are not commodities
The cornerstone of Catholic social teaching is that human life is sacred. As such the Catholic Conference evaluates any law, policy, or program in terms of its impact on the life and dignity of the human person.
Teaching on the economy
Catholic teaching on the economy reflects this emphasis on the human person. Pope John Paul II put it quite directly in his 1981 encyclical letter, Laborem exercens. He recalled that the error of early capitalism can be repeated wherever humans are treated as mere instruments or means of production and not as ends in themselves.
We celebrate Labor Day for very good reasons
Years ago, when we were packing for one of our family vacations, I asked my mother where she went for vacations when she was a little girl.
“We didn’t take vacations when I was little,” she said. “Your grandfather worked for a railroad, and if he wanted a day off, they would give his job to someone else.” She paused a moment and said, “Later when the union came, we got to take vacations.”
Enjoy benefits won by others
I think of that moment from time to time, usually around Labor Day. It’s useful to recall that what many of us enjoy today is the result of victories won by others years ago.
Labor Day invites us to reflect upon the dignity of work
This year Labor Day falls on September 5, shortly before the 10th anniversary of 9-11. Most who died in these terrorist attacks were working when they died. On Labor Day, we can honor their memory by prayerful reflection on the value of work and workers.
Labor Day is a national holiday during which we honor the dignity of workers and the quality of their work. According to Hilda Solis, secretary of labor, the first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on September 5, 1882, to honor the social and economic achievements of American workers.
Archbishop addresses right of workers, value of unions
MILWAUKEE — In a statement sent February 16 to the members of the state legislature’s Joint Committee on Finance, Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki, president of the Wisconsin Catholic Conference, addressed the rights of workers and the value of unions.
Conference backs increase in minimum wage
The Wisconsin Catholic Conference (WCC) has endorsed Senate Bill 1, legislation that would increase the minimum wage for workers in Wisconsin.