• “There Must Be a Better Way” by Brian DeRouen about the School of the Americas and civil disobedience
• “From Imperialism to Polarization; From Community to Liberation” by Bill Christensen SM
• “The Center for Economic and Social Justice - A Vision and Means for Social Change” by Paul Merland SM
  

Visit us at www.msjc.net

The website is interactive. Just get a password and you can enter into discussions with other MSJC members about social justice issues. NOTE – if you are using the AOL browser, you can view the website but cannot enter any of the discussions with that browser.

Issue Teams Update – visit our website for more details

Sweatshop Labor
Be a conscientious shopper. Order cards from the National Labor Committee to leave at stores where you shop to let retailers know that you care about the working conditions of production employees. Click here for more info.

Ecology & Environment
They’re all gone! The entire initial order of 200 reusable canvas shopping bags produced by IMANI in Kenya was sold in less than 3 weeks! To get on the list for the next shipment, contact Tara Poling at tara.poling@notes.udayton.edu. Only $10 each. Remember, if just 25 percent of U.S. families used 10 fewer plastic bags each month, we could save 2.5 BILLION bags each year.

Anti-Racism
Ten Marianist Family members, both professed and lay, will be attending the Cultural Audit Training in Burlingame, CA. The goal is to build communities that are deeply multicultural in their attitudes, practices and membership.

Death Penalty

• More success! The Death Penalty Information Center's “2004 Year End Report,” which documents a 5-year trend in the reduction of death sentences, executions, and death row populations, is now available at: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/DPICyer04.pdf. Also, the Kansas Supreme Court struck down that state’s death penalty law, making 14 states free of capital punishment.
  
• Bill Pelke, murder victim family member and cofounder of “Journey of Hope...From Violence to Healing,” will speak at St. Louis HS in Honolulu on Wed., January 5th, about his experience of overcoming vengeance to promote healing and reconciliation with the teenage girl who murdered his grandmother.
  
• Team meeting – Feb. 18-20 in Baltimore. Agenda – direction for the coming year, choosing a new chair, considering the possibility of broadening the team’s focus to include other “consistent ethic of life” issues. All are welcome. Some money is available to help with travel. Interested in attending? Contact Brian Halderman, brian.halderman@notes.udayton.edu.

MSJC Steering Committee Update

The Steering Committee meets Jan. 14-16 in San Antonio.
San Antonio area people - join the MSJC Steering Committee on Saturday, Jan. 15, 6:30 for an evening of socializing and fellowship at St. Mary’s U. Contact Angie Cortez – acortez@stmarytx.edu – or Mike Sullivan SM – mumike@stmarytx.edu – for details.

Resources – know any good ones? Share them with us.

• The Death of Innocents – An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions by Sr. Helen Prejean. This new book from the author of “Dead Man Walking” will certainly promote both more debate and reflection about the death penalty.
• The Impossible Will Take a Little While – A Citizen’s Guide to Hope in a Time of Fear by Paul Loeb. An inspiring collection of stories by people who found hope in some if the most difficult situations.

Be an Advocate for Justice – ACT NOW!
Timberland Shoes are made at the Kingmaker Footwear Holdings factory in China. This factory has been the site of numerous abuses, including child labor, beatings, forced overtime with routine 16-hour daily shifts, young women cheated on their wages, no health insurance, no maternity leave with benefits, workers poisoned by rotten factory food, workers trapped in fear, knowing that if they even dare question the illegal hours, wages, and other violations, they will be fired. Visit www.chinalaborwatch.org for the complete report.
Action needed – write to the CEO of Timberland. Click here to see a sample letter.

A Thought to Ponder

    "Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day I can hear her breathing.”

               -Arundati Roy

If you would like to add your name or be removed from our distribution list, please click here and give us your information: cmsccathy1@aol.com If you are being added, please supply your mailing address and phone number for our records. This information will be kept confidential and used only to keep you informed on Social Justice issues.

Jim Vogt, Director
Marianist Social Justice Collaborative
523 East Southern Ave.
Covington KY 41015
859-291-6197; fax - 859-291-4742
jimvogt2@yahoo.com; www.msjc.net