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Catholic Workers at Standing Rock

Rochester Catholic Workers Sam Huselstein and Ralph Hemmerich have joined hundreds of water protectors resisting the Dakota Access Pipeline near Standing Rock, North Dakota. The pipeline would skirt the Standing Rock Sioux reservation, threatening the tribe’s water supply and sacred lands. Sam has sent several updates on the state of affairs as they camp, march, and work in solidarity with the tribe:

11/18/16
Hello from Standing Rock! Ralph and I arrived here Wednesday night. It’s cold and windy but the camp is in good spirits.

Already we’ve been able to help a lot at camp and on the front lines. At camp Ralph has helped set up tipis and winterized communal sleeping areas. We spent the night in the kitchen washing dishes….typical Catholic workers. The indigenous-centered culture of the camp encourages collaboration to make sure everyone is warm and taken care of, especially elders and children.

Today I had the opportunity to get in a non-violent direct action led by women. It was a prayerful action where we marched up to a barricade at the river crossing. We occupied the bridge for 20 minutes in silent prayer. Non-indigenous women led the march as a protective barrier for the women behind us. We were asked to leave initially, however, the police allowed us to finish our ceremony. At the end we thanked the police for not acting violently and left in peace.

This march was organized to honor Red Fawn, who was wrongfully arrested while helping water protectors.

I will be making updates periodically throughout my stay here so stay tuned for more info!
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If you would like to help from afar there are multiple camps you can donate money and supplies too. Hopefully I can add a link soon!

Peace,

Sam

Ralph hopped on a bus 11/20 to begin a 2-day ride back to Rochester. He plans to arrive in time to cook the Thanksgiving meal for our guests! Sam remains at Standing Rock.

11/20/16
Another peaceful action today in Bismarck. We tried to say a message in front of the governors home from the sidewalk and the capital building but were told we needed to leave the property, even though we should have been allowed to be there. We walked from the house to the front of the Capitol building and said a quick prayer and left. The police followed us as we walked. They were wearing riot gear and carrying tear gas/pepper spray canisters. The walk was peaceful and prayerful. When we drove off we were followed by police until we were out of town and on our way back to camp.
We are not protesters, we are water protectors. Today’s action was not a protest but an attempt to deliver a peaceful message to the governor.

We Are a Sanctuary

St. Joseph’s House of Hospitality is a sanctuary house for undocumented workers in need of shelter, safety, advocacy, and accompaniment.

We take this stand on the foundation of Catholic social teaching based upon Jesus’ gentle personalism, as expressed in Pope Paul VI’s 1965 encyclical Gaudium et spes:

“In our times a special obligation binds us to make ourselves the neighbor of every person without exception, and of actively helping him when he comes across our path, whether he be an old person abandoned by all, a foreign laborer unjustly looked down upon, a refugee…or a hungry person who disturbs our conscience by
recalling the voice of the Lord, ‘As long as you did it for one of these the least of my brethren, you did it for me’”
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“… [W]hen workers come from another country or district and contribute by their labor to the economic advancement of a nation or region, all discrimination with respect to wages and working conditions must be carefully avoided. The local people, moreover, above all the public authorities, should all treat them not as mere tools of production but as persons, and must help them to arrange for their families to live with them and to provide themselves with decent living quarters. The native should also see that these workers are introduced into the social life of the country or region which receives them.” (#66)

Winter 2016 Newsletter

Our Winter 2016 Newsletter is available over on the Newsletter page. It includes reflections on our history and 75th Anniversary celebration; excerpts from Dorothy Day’s eulogy for early Rochester Catholic Worker Theresa Weider; words on Dorothy Day House’s coffin carpentry ministry and death among our homeless A study also shows that even a 30-minute walk a day lowers your chance of having Erectile dysfunction (ED) or impotence can be absolutely viagra india prices frightening. Balance is controlled by your eyes, inner ear, and online cialis pharmacy cerebellum. The incidence of endometriosis gets higher and generic cialis in canada the people having the disease suffer most. Reforms described by Ann Weaver Hart and Diana Pounder (2005) hold out promise for improving training for instructional management and leadership. order cheap levitra neighbors; a holiday message from the community; an update on Pen ak Pwason and fundraising efforts; a history of CW marriages at St. Joe’s; an invitation to become a shelter volunteer or Dorothy Day House advocate; a foot & hair clinic update; and a calendar of upcoming events.

Dignity, Not Deportation

Last week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raided four Mexican restaurants in our neighboring city of Buffalo, identifying 25 employees as undocumented workers and detaining them. Their families have been left without financial support or a means of paying legal fees for their loved ones.
In response, members of the St. Joe’s community engaged in civil disobedience outside of the Buffalo ICE office. The Buffalo Police Department arrested eight protestors for trespassing, including Catholic Workers James Murphy and Annie Horras. Annie penned this statement to bring their cause to light:

“If you are reading this, I am under arrest for engaging in a nonviolent civil disobedience at an ICE office in Buffalo, NY. This morning, 8 of us refused to leave the entrance to the Buffalo ICE Office.

I did this because I believe that the immigrant community is facing a crisis– our people are being detained, our families are separated, and our communities are terrorized by ICE. I did this because I stand with the #Buffalo25 and want to fight for their justice, and for the permanent protection, dignity, and respect for the immigrant community.

I need your support. Please go to bit.ly/buffalo25fund to donate to the #Buffalo25.
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Please also sign our petition at: buffalo25.com

Thank you for standing with me, and for standing with the #Buffalo25″

James and Annie block the doors to the Buffalo ICE office
James and Annie block the doors to the Buffalo ICE office

Catholic Workers at the protest
Catholic Workers at the protest

Saint Joe’s 75 Year Anniversary!

Please join us as we celebrate St. Joseph’s House 75th anniversary. We moved into 402 South Ave in 1941, and thanks to your support we are still practicing the works of mercy and working towards creating a “new society in the shell of the old”. We are the oldest continually operating Catholic Worker House in the world, so we are planning two days of events. We hope to see you there!

Friday, September 23rd 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM Homeless March: Meet in St. Joe’s Parking lot, 402 South Ave and join us as we walk to Washington Square Park. We will be passing a few places where people experiencing homelessness lay their heads and will finish with a protest rally at the park. We will head back to St. Joe’s House for a post-protest meal!

Friday, September 23rd 7:00 PM at the South Wedge Mission (125 Caroline St.):
Tom Cornell and Martha Hennessy Roundtable Discussion: The Catholic Worker Movement’s Past, Present, and Future. Tom Cornell is an associate editor of the Catholic Worker and a deacon in the Catholic Church. He is retired and living at the Peter Maurin Farm in Marlboro, New York. Mr. Cornell was a close friend of Dorothy Day. Martha Hennessy is Dorothy Day’s Granddaughter and splits her time between her family in Vermont and the New York City Catholic Worker. We look forward to hearing about their perspectives on the Catholic Worker Movement and its future. Please join us for this important discussion.

Heart disease will stay levitra prescription http://downtownsault.org/the-valley-camp/ unnoticed until the first symptom attacks you. NF Cure capsule is loaded with effective herbs that help in driving the male sexual hormones. buy cialis no prescription Peace Peaceful Activism It doesn’t have to reach crisis point to enhance our awareness and realize who we really are and not from subconscious negative programming inherited from past generations and unconsciously acted out in buy viagra online in the present moment. It’s good to discuss with your partner about such condition. prescription de viagra Saturday, September 24th Mass at St. Joe’s (402 South Ave) 10 AM: Please join us as we celebrate Mass in our parking lot under the tent! Father Larry Tracy and Father Bob Wirth will be our celebrants along with the House of Mercy Gospel Choir!

Saturday, September 24th St. Joe’s House 11 AM – 2 PM: Please help us celebrate 75 years by joining us for a meal, memories, fellowship and dancing. We will also be discussing current poverty issues facing our community and how our Catholic Worker house is responding to this local crisis. We also hope that after seven decades of continual operation you will be sure to run into old friends and make new ones!

“What we would like to do is change the world–make it a little simpler for people to feed, clothe, and shelter themselves as God intended them to do.” -Dorothy Day

Martha Hennessy, Dorothy Day’s Granddaughter to speak at St. Joe’s

Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin: A Discipleship Needed for Today

Martha&Dorothy

Martha Hennessy, granddaughter of Dorothy Day, will be speaking at St. Joseph’s House of Hospitality, The Rochester Catholic Worker, on Wednesday May 11, 2016. An optional Mass will be celebrated at 5 PM at St. Joseph’s followed by Hennessy’s talk at 6:30 PM. This event is free, but if you wish to donate money, all proceeds will go to the New York City Catholic Worker.
Hennessy will present Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin: A Discipleship Needed for Today, in which she will discuss her grandmother’s efforts to found the Catholic Worker Movement and how she devoted her life to serving those most in need. She will also share personal memories of Dorothy Day, and discuss how her movement continues today. Hennessy travels and speaks on the topics of life and work in community, Catholic social teaching, and peacemaking efforts in the tradition of the Catholic Worker Movement.

A retired occupational therapist, Hennessy divides her time between family in Vermont and work at the Maryhouse Catholic Worker in New York City, New York. An outspoken activist, she has been imprisoned for protesting war, nuclear power and weapons, the use of drones, and the torture of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay. She has traveled to Afghanistan, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Palestine and Russia to understand the effects of war on people. Additionally, Hennessy participated in a nine-day fast for peace, taught conversational English to Kurdish children in Iraq, and met with Palestinians on the border of Rafah in the Gaza Strip.
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Baden Street Mission Presents Martha Hennessey: Strangers in Our Midst

Martha Hennessy will also be speaking on Thursday, May 12 at the Downtown Rochester Holiday Inn at 12:00 PM. This event is sponsored by the Baden St. Mission. For information please visit www.badenstreet.org

Martha&Dorothy

My new beginning: Being Awakened through the Catholic Worker

I would like to say that I have finally been awakened. I knew that the outside world was full of chaos, pain and suffering, loneliness, a lack of justice, idiocy, poverty (of the body and soul), violence, but also unity, joy, brilliance, courage, peace, understanding, positive change and so on. I was indulging in my unchanging state of ignorance where I imagined there to be nothing but peace and love. Why is there so much oppression and violence? Why are people not treated as people? Why do some fight hate with hate? Why are many not saying anything? When I was wasting away in my own world of perfect harmony (far from it, but compared to the condition of the rest of the world…). None of these questions came to my mind, at least not to where I could clearly comprehend them. I was hiding from all that I wanted to change, but felt like my voice was so small and insignificant that it would have little to no affect. However, I have realized that the question I should constantly be asking is: How do I expect peace and love when I’m not giving myself or anyone else a voice? Sometimes that voice won’t speak any words, but will be universally understood as the language of “The People”. How did I come to this realization? I became a Catholic Worker.

About 9 months ago I moved into a homeless shelter/soup kitchen/House of Hospitality that serves the population that is among the “poor and marginalized”. Anyone can come in to get a meal, take a shower, do a load of laundry, receive clothes, get assistance for DSS services, find a friend to talk to and so on. The Catholic Worker Movement also works towards social justice so activism is an integral part of it, in which I have also spiritedly participated (a topic put into more specific detail at a another time). I believe that I have been transformed by this work. I have been expecting to “get thicker skin” like people continuously tell me to do (just one of those sensitive types). But the truth is I’ve gotten softer. I’ve never been able to build such a foundational love and compassion for someone, especially someone I don’t know and who may not be be viewed as someone “safe” in typical social situations. Therefore, I also try to take the time to understand how people arrived at their current situation and acknowledge sorrow, loneliness, fear, anger, and heartache. I often find myself hoping that somehow I can relieve the immediate stress off of an individual who does not have their basic needs covered. However, it’s hardly ever that easy, but there has to be joy and hope.

Now, don’t mistake me for someone who has reached saintly status nor will I ever get there. I like to refer to myself as a reformed sinner. Actually, I’m a reforming sinner. I still make assumptions, lose control of my anger, stress myself and others out, make insensitive comments, struggle to communicate my feelings clearly, I isolate myself, I lose focus of the work etc. Stating that I know I have some characteristics that need work does not mean that I don’t  have good self-esteem. It is letting humility create space for me to be human. This humility is ESSENTIAL for me to accept if I truly want to positively influence others and grow continuously. It can be tedious for me to be humbled when I’m not ready to let go of my resentment against someone calling me out during those times when I fall short. However, when I “let go and let God” I remember that I can only improve myself by accepting that I’ve made a mistake and learning from it.

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In love and solidarity,

Anne K. Horras

Fig’s Experience

A few months ago I was asked to share with McQuaid middle school my experiences working at Saint Joe’s.  It was my pleasure to spend the morning with the students and faculty as we marched through Rochester, gathered vital winter donations, and celebrated mass together in our parking lot.  Below is the story I shared with them:

Hello and good morning McQuaid Jesuit students, faculty, and parents. My name is Fig Ruiz and I am a Catholic Worker at St. Joseph’s House of Hospitality in Rochester. I want to thank you all on behalf of St Joes and all of our guests for inviting us here and especially for the donations of these cold weather items. These simple objects like jackets, socks, hats, and gloves that we take for granted are vital for those without homes and with limited transportation. Being a native to the south myself I am constantly surprised by the strength of those I work for in dealing with these rough Rochester winters. Since moving from Virginia to Rochester I have fallen in love with the area and the people, yet I have also had to face a brutal reality. Poverty is an endemic severe problem for this area, even now in 2015. It truly warms my heart to see the McQuaid community reach out and see the example being set by the young guys in front of me. To take action and go to a homeless shelter, to see a soup kitchen for yourselves, and to celebrate mass and be in communion with the poorest and most marginalized in Rochester is a radical step to facing these societal ills and making a stand for the real sanctity of these people.

Firstly, before we leave I would like to give you some background on the Catholic Worker movement and how it has impacted me.

To be a Catholic Worker means many things. For one it is to be a part of a vibrant and living spiritual tradition that began in the thirties. It was started by a young journalist named Dorothy Day, now recognized as a Servant of God in the church, and also by a French philosopher named Peter Maurin. They began publishing a newspaper called “The Catholic Worker” that promoted the biblical promise of justice and mercy. Before long they opened up a “house of hospitality” where they put their beliefs into action and tended to the homeless, hungry and forsaken directly. They started a movement that is committed to nonviolence and practiced voluntary poverty and the works of mercy as a way of life. This history is something that I feel around me each day. I live in a home where Peter Maurin had slept, and the trials I face in this work are those that have been experienced time and time again, detailed in the writings of Catholic Workers that came before me.

In the decades since, the catholic worker movement has protested injustice, war, and violence of all forms. Here in Rochester, we have St. Joseph’s House of Hospitality and the Bethany House which are two of the 228 Catholic Worker communities in the United States and around the world.

On a more practical and day to day level, being a Catholic Worker means waking up in a 165 year old building, being a part of a community that has been around for 74 years, and doing work that I love to do. I have the support of a community of loving people that enable me to make the best use of my talents. I live where I work, and instead of clients and staff, we have guests and hosts. The community is composed of both. This has opened up new venues for me to do meaningful work and to truly deepen my spirituality. Whether I am cooking in the kitchen, fixing up the computers, trying to help people settle differences, or simply giving someone the time to tell me their story, I am blessed by having the space to live my faith.

The pill is also known as Vitamin V, the Blue Pill, http://amerikabulteni.com/category/haberler/new-york/ cheapest cialis, cialis Day-to-day can help to take care of erectile dysfunction / impotence efficiently and quickly. Don’t expect your hair to be deep black and thick by consuming this drug but to get firm penis, a man should be mentally prepared for it. order cheap viagra Who else not expects to get the sturdy and enduring buy viagra pill erection. If you’re a woman lacking in sex drive, sexual dysfunction, or changes to ejaculation. this page levitra on line How to live ones faith is a question we all need to ask ourselves. For everyone it will be different depending on our passions, our talents, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit we have been blessed with. But we are not left without a plan. Jesus explains it well in what has come to be known as the Works of Mercy. In Mathew several are enumerated not just as an ideal, but a condition for salvation. Feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, visit the sick, and visit the imprisoned. We all understand that these are good things to do, for sure. Yet society as a whole never asks these things of us. We are simply encouraged to tend to our own affairs and trust that everyone is getting what they deserve. The truth of the matter is that these necessities are preconditions for people to truly be themselves, for people to have dignity, and they cannot be taken for granted. They are things that many do without. In our lives we try to navigate being in the world, yet not of the world. Faith is something that is often scheduled or simply relegated to Sundays. In lieu of burning bushes and parted seas and other grand ovations, how are we supposed to know God? Scripture tells us that we are all created in God’s image and we are only able to love God insomuch as we love our neighbor. It is through these works that we can have truly mystical lived faith. My first exposure to the Catholic Worker was a good friend telling me that we cannot know ourselves in a vacuum. We rely on others to show us our true selves. By giving someone what they need to be themselves, to have that dignity, you can then better know yourself. I know for myself, poverty was never a part of my life. Without ever going to sleep hungry, being moved from shelter to shelter, or not knowing how to clothe ourselves for winter, it is hard for us to think in concrete terms about these experiences.

A third of Rochester lives in poverty. Most children in Rochester live in poverty. Rochester is leading the nation in extreme poverty. People end up in these situations for uncountable reasons, from abuse and neglect, to brain injuries, to predatory loans and being exploited. We have a crisis on our hands. It is up to us to show this city, and show society what it means to be Catholic. What use is our faith if not to heal this hurt? What good is our faith? Are we people who go about our business or do we truly believe that we are all the Sons and Daughters of Christ? What are the implications of that? How do we treat people when we truly believe that they are made in the image of God? What does it mean to love your neighbor? In the book of James we are told “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead”. This is not a condemnation but an observation. Faith is exciting! The works of mercy are a real practical method for understanding St. Francis’ love for poverty. Through these works we can share in Thomas Merton’s passion when he says “I was suddenly overwhelmed with the realization that I loved all those people, that they were mine and I theirs, that we could not be alien to one another even though we were total strangers.” A vision that caught him off-guard on a street corner.

I have visited the tents of homeless people many times. I have seen the campsite just down Elmwood street where a man died in June and his meager possessions laid for months, probably still there. Felt the scars of heroin addicts’ arms. Attended funerals of men with no homes. Heard women explain why they turned to prostitution. Seen young children waiting in soup kitchen lines. A luxury of my work is that I need not remove myself from these people with a professional distance. In fact, it is vital that I engage with them personally and many are dear friends of mine.

I left the faith around your age, and one of my oldest friends from that time asked me “Why Catholic Worker? I could do things for the poor and do good work without it?” To which I replied, “I couldn’t.” It is in prayer and communion that I am sustained. Our faith is an asset and God can help us to do things that we simply never could on our own. I couldn’t love my guests how I do without my contemplations on how they compose the mystical body of Christ.

During World Youth Day in 2013, Pope Francis said “What do I expect as a consequence of the Youth Day? I expect a mess.” He challenges us to make a make a mess in the streets, in the diocese, the parishes, the schools, the institutions. We should be vocally intolerant of a society that doesn’t dignify human beings. I encourage you all to pray for the courage to call out injustice. As Dorothy Day said “Our problems stem from our acceptance of this filthy rotten system.” So let us reject that system. In addressing congress recently, Pope Francis counted Dorothy Day among three other great Americans, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Merton, and Martin Luther King Jr. He said of her “Her social activism, her passion for justice and for the cause of the oppressed, were inspired by the Gospel, her faith, and the example of the saints.” Her many arrests were a testament to how society responds to these radical notions, just as Jesus’s cross was. In the face of this, we must be steadfast and know that “Success, as the world determines it, is not the final criterion for judgments. The most important thing is the love of Jesus Christ and how to live His truth.” Today, I’m proud to stand alongside these many men of action before me.

On our way to St Joe’s, let it be known we aren’t a mere walk-a-thon, but a march against poverty. Today we are all Catholic Workers. Thank you.

Haiti: Democracy in Jeopardy

About the authors:  James Murphy and Sarah Brownell are Catholic Workers at St. Joseph’s House of Hospitality. Sarah has worked in Haiti on and off since 1998 on water and sanitation technology projects and lived in the Borgne area from 2006-2010.  James visited the Borgne area in October during elections and collaborated with Pen ak Pwason (Bread and Fishes), the Catholic Worker Food Program for the Elderly and Disabled in Borgne.

Does the international community really want democracy in Haiti or are we seeking something else?

Back in 2011, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stepped in during Haiti’s presidential elections, citing widespread fraud. She helped usher in Michel Martelly, the Parti Haitien Tet Kale (PHTK, Haitian Bald Heads) candidate and former pop-star to the presidency. Now, when PHTK is allegedly leading in a contest marred with inconsistencies, the international community has been continually insisting that the election show go on.  What are the real motives behind putting and keeping PHTK in power?

During his tenure, President Martelly never held elections at the local level. Instead he allowed parliamentary representatives to replace the sitting mayors of opposing parties with appointed ones.  Then, more than a year ago, when the terms of the majority of parliament expired, Martelly ruled by decree.  Democracy and fair representation does not seem to be one of his top priorities.

A long time friend, Francius Estimable, assistant mayor of Borgne in 2011, was one of those mayors who was removed.  We’ve known Estimable from before he ran for office, back when he was a 4th grade teacher, soccer coach, and Scout leader.  Sarah and he worked on appropriate technology, public health and community education projects together.  When he was elected as assistant mayor in 2006, he walked tirelessly in the hills outside Borgne to hear the concerns of people at the remote edges of the commune (some live more than 8 hours hike from town).  His administration successfully brought paved roads, revitalized the beach, welcomed and supported earthquake survivors, and formed a Sister Cities relationship with Honeoye Falls, NY.  When his administration was removed, he returned to working in education and waited patiently for local elections.

After 5 years of delay, local elections were finally held on October 25, 2015 along with the presidential elections.  Estimable ran for mayor under the Verite (Truth) party, which did not have a presidential candidate, but had aligned themselves with Jude Celestine.  From the beginning, there were issues with the election in Borgne.  Voter ID cards were withheld until the last minute, and when they were distributed people found that their polling places were many hour’s walk away.  Blank ballots destined for a remote community were burned on the road.  James arrived in Borgne a week before the elections and tells the story in his own words:

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On election day, a UN helicopter hovered over the area and UN Peacekeepers were present in Bornge.  It was a surprisingly calm and uneventful day.  I had been warned to stay away from the election site, but I stopped by on my way home from 6:00 AM mass.  Everything seemed orderly. People seemed happy that the day had started peacefully and local turnout was expected to be high. Later that night Estimable received unofficial word that he and the Verite parliamentary candidate had won in a landslide, but they would have to wait for the votes to return to Port-Au-Prince where they would be officially tallied.  The town stayed up all night watching the truck that contained the votes to make sure they were secure.  When the ballots were sent off to Port-Au-Prince, the general feeling was that they had left the region unaltered.  However, somewhere between Borgne and the count in the capital, Estimable’s unofficial landslide victory became a narrow loss.  He was not the only local candidate to have inexplicably lost when all information pointed toward victory.  The Verite party began contesting the mayoral and parliamentary election results in court.  Estimable’s case has not yet been heard, but Verite won the case for the parliamentary seat.  Unfortunately, despite the court’s ruling, the official parliamentary election results for Borgne have not been changed.”

On a national level, presidential candidate Jude Celestin allegedly took second place, while the PHTK candidate Jovenel Moise claimed victory.  Many Haitians feel Celestin was the clear winner and exit polls suggested Moise actually finished fourth with only 6% of the vote.  Celestin declared he would not participate in the runoff and Haitian religious and civic groups have called for independent investigations. The presidential runoff scheduled for January 24th was canceled as protests turned violent.

The United Nations has had a peacekeeping force, which some Haitians see as an occupying force, in Haiti since the 2004 coup-d’etat.  The UN’s mandate in Haiti, according to its website, is “to restore a secure and stable environment, to promote the political process, to strengthen Haiti’s Government institutions and rule-of-law-structures, as well as to promote and to protect human rights.”  So after more than 10 years working on “good governance,” why was the UN standing by while this election was run so poorly that all but the leading presidential candidate refused to participate in run-off elections, citing massive fraud, and religious, civic, and human rights groups have repeatedly called for investigations?  Also, why are the results of court cases not being upheld?  The US also put up $33 million for this election and our reputation of promoting democracy is in jeopardy if we continue to push for PHTK to stay in power illegitimately.   It possible that the international community felt that PHTK would bring more more stability to the country than the other candidates.  But if that was the motive, they clearly were mistaken.

Haiti is a fledgling democracy and has a long history of political manipulation, bribery and intimidation. Irregularities are to be expected in the learning process.  However, they should not be accepted, encouraged or blessed by countries that profess to believe in democracy.  At the same time we should humbly remember our own struggles with corruption and fraud–just look to Albany and Rochester’s local bidding scandals for some examples!

The people on the ground–those scraping out a living farming in the hills, those struggling for life in the shanty towns and the small middle class working as teachers, nurses, and small business owners–have bought into the idea of democracy.  They have been using democratic means to protest these fraudulent elections. Civic groups have denounced the results.  Candidates have refused to participate in the flawed process.  Election commissioners have resigned in protest.  People have held (mostly) non-violent protests in the streets.  It does matter who is president of Haiti.  It does matter who is mayor of Borgne.  It does matter that Haitians see their officials as legitimate and that their voices are heard.  Even if “stability” was the motive of the international community, that does not justify manipulating or accepting manipulation of election results.  Democracy must be the outcome, and Haitians, recalling the spirit of the revolution, will demand it.  The only way out of darkness is with light.

Rochester Catholic Workers Against Local Bank Eviction

Rochester Catholic Worker, St. Joseph’s House of Hospitality  8/4/2015

CURRENT U.S. CATHOLIC BISHOPS ADVOCACY POSITION REGARDING HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS:

The Catholic bishops believe decent, safe, and affordable housing is a human right. Catholic teaching supports the right to private property, but recognizes that communities and the government have an obligation to ensure the housing needs of all are met, especially poor and vulnerable people and their families. At a time of rising homelessness and when many workers’ wages are stagnant and living expenses are rising, it is important to ensure housing security. (USCCB.org)

Rochester resident, Joe Woods lived and raised his family on Webster Avenue for 25 years until the Rochester City Police assisted Federal Marshals and Midfirst Bank  in June, 2015 to evict his family.  Seven people were arrested, including Joe Woods and his daughter.

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St. Joseph’s House of Hospitality knows all too well the suffering and hopelessness people endure while experiencing homelessness.  We operate an emergency shelter and a soup kitchen and hear the personal stories of our guests, many whom once owned homes, and now wonder where they and their children will spend each night.  Currently, we have a young mother and her two year old daughter in our shelter. Last night, they slept outdoors in a local park.

We call on Mayor Lovely Warren to stop enforcing bank evictions and using Rochester Police Department (RPD) resources to do so.   Rochester has enough people sleeping in local shelters, living in tents, bus shelters, and on couches of family and friends.  By having the RPD stand down, banks will need to negotiate with homeowners so no person, of any age, will need to sleep in our parks, shelters, bus stops or tents.  By standing down, families stay in homes instead of adding to our area’s zombie-home inventory that plagues too many neighborhoods as it is.  By standing down, the city administration shows solidarity with Rochester residents, not out-of-town banks that have no stake in our community.

Joseph Woods is facing the same issue St. Joseph endured when there was no room at the inn for the Holy Family.   We call on the local faithful (and fallen!) Catholics, and all Christians to speak out loudly against bank evictions.   Let our prayers be as loud as our actions.  Join other advocates at 394 Webster Avenue to show support for our neighbor who is in need of your voice and presence.  Join the community and show solidarity with your neighbor by reminding our government of their obligation to ensure the housing needs of all are met.