This week, Pope Leo XIV sent a video message to religious leaders attending the U.N. climate talks, urging countries to “take concrete action” to stop climate change that is threatening the planet, telling them that humans are failing in their ....
Catholic social teaching principles help guide us in considering the issue of healthcare:
Respect for Life and Dignity of the Human Person challenges us to work to make sure that all members of society have access to adequate healthcare so all God’s children can reach their full potential. ...
The issue of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) has been much in the news. Let’s revisit what this program does and for whom. About 42 million...
Do you know? According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2358, 1997 ed.:
"They [homosexual people] must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided."
Two of the seven themes of Catholic Social Teaching guide us in...
Having just celebrated All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days, let’s remember in a special way those who lost their lives to gun violence. As wars rage around the world and soldiers are in our own cities, we are called to choose the path of peace. Here is a prayer from Education for Justice,...
MMOC’s Care of Creation group, part of the Peace and Justice ministry, held a well-attended program last Sunday on plastic pollution and ways to reduce our plastic consumption. As a follow-up, Lori Fick, chair of the Care of Creation subcommittee, provided additional information as to how we can reduce, reuse and recycle. The Magic House accepts...
Pope Leo XIV met with El Paso’s Bishop Mark Seitz, chairman of the USCCB’s committee on migration, on October 8, 2025. The pope stated that the church cannot remain silent about the situation of migrants in the United States. Pope Leo made clear that he wants Catholic bishops and the U.S. church “to be united” on this crucially important issue, which he described as “a matter of human dignity.” The meeting came amid...
What do U.S. Bishops have to say on the issue of undocumented immigrants?
“Undocumented immigrants present a special concern. Often their presence is considered criminal since they arrive without legal permission. Under the harshest view, undocumented people may be regarded as undeserving of rights or services. This is not the view of Catholic social teaching. The Catholic Church teaches that ...
As we near MMOC’s Care of Creation Committee sponsored presentation on plastics pollution, October 12 from 12:15 to 2:00 in the Parish Hall (free to attend with lunch included), data from a 2024 Boston College project, “Joining Science and Theology to End Plastic Pollution, Protect Health and Advance Social Justice,” provides reminders of the impacts of this...
The Church’s observance of World Day of Migrants and Refugees is October 4-5 to coincide with the Jubilee of Migrants. The primary theme is, “Migrants: Missionaries of Hope”. In light of the continuing challenges faced by migrants in this country, let’s lift our hearts and voices in this prayer.
Good and gracious God, we thank you for the gift of families. We are grateful for all the joy and love they bring into our lives, and we ask...
“Anyone, indeed, is our neighbor. Jesus’ parable (The Good Samaritan) is telling us ‘You do not have a neighbor. You make yourself someone’s neighbor.’”
-Catholic Campaign for Human Development
“All of us, at some time or another, need help. Whether we’re giving or receiving help, each one of us has something valuable to bring to this world. That’s one of the things that connects us as neighbors—in our own way, each of us is a giver and a receiver.”
-Mr. Rogers...
According to Feeding America, a nationwide network of food banks (like the St. Louis Area Foodbank) and pantries, last year their network of over 200 food banks and meal programs sourced, received and distributed more than seven billion pounds of food. They hope to...
BeSMART, an organization that promotes awareness that secure gun storage—storing firearms unloaded, locked, and separate from ammunition—can save children’s lives, is sponsoring SMART Week from August 25th to 29th. This is important because...
The Ignatian Solidarity Network (ISN), honoring the feast of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, quotes him as saying, “Just as the [people] of the world love and seek with such great diligence honors, fame, and esteem on earth—as the world teaches them—so those ...
Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), has recently addressed the passage of HR 1, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”. He lamented the failure of the law to help families in need and to change course on aspects of the bill that fail the poor and vulnerable, making ...
Pope Leo XIV used a newly added formulary of the Mass, “For the Care of Creation,” when celebrating Mass at the papal villa on July 9. This formulary selects prayers and readings that affirm the place of God’s creation in worship....
A newsletter from Feeding America provides a good summary of The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). Since 1981, this program has supplemented the diets of our neighbors with low incomes by providing them with ...