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Coronavirus aid negotiations remain stalled and unemployment claims continue at record high levels.
Coronavirus aid talks resumed this week after they broke off on August 7th. A brief phone call yesterday between Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, and White House Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows, ended without a deal. Speaker Pelosi did signal that the House would be willing to reduce their funding request from $3.4 trillion to $2.2 trillion. This concession is on the condition that the Senate would be willing to increase their funding amount from their initial $1 trillion. Many of the stopgap provisions from the March aid package, the CARES Act, have expired, leaving millions of Americans extremely vulnerable with the coronavirus still shuttering many portions of the economy.
After coronavirus aid talks broke off in early August, President Trump signed multiple executive orders which attempt to mitigate the impact of the loss of CARES Act assistance. One of the orders would provide a reduced boost of unemployment assistance for people. Another continues to press pause on student loan payments. The next one orders the deferral of payroll taxes. Lastly, an order requests that federal officials consider a ban on evictions.
Yesterday the Federal Housing Finance Authority and HUD announced they would extend the foreclosure and eviction moratorium through the end of 2020. The foreclosure and eviction moratorium will impact roughly 28 million homeowners who have mortgages guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. This moratorium does not apply to properties financed through private mortgages. The announcement largely leaves out the nearly 30 to 40 million renters who are at risk of eviction and financial ruin due to owing back rent.
Signs of struggle continue permeating throughout our economy as another one million Americans filed new unemployment claims. At the beginning of the month, claims dipped below one million for the first time since March. The last two weeks saw unemployment claims climb back over one million, indicating that the economic recovery remains stalled by the coronavirus.
Catholic Charities USA is calling on Congress to come together and find solutions to help the millions of struggling families. There is still time for you to help by telling Congress you stand with struggling persons and communities as supporters of Catholic Charities, and urge them to continue providing help to the millions of people still struggling.
Catholic Charities agencies have continued to respond to COVID-19 across the United States. The current issue of Charities USA magazine features the many and varied ways Catholic Charities agencies and the national office (CCUSA) have responded to the growing needs of people during the COVID-19 pandemic. The issue details CCUSA's advocacy efforts and distribution of emergency aid to agencies and communities across the country, along with articles discussing the work of individual agencies in the areas of disaster response, care for senior citizens, mental health and food distributions. Be sure to subscribe to the digital version of Charities USA here. And please pass it on.
Faith and the Common Good
On August 28, the Catholic Church celebrates the life of Saint Augustine of Hippo, the North African educator who became one of history's greatest teachers of the faith after his dramatic conversion.
Prayer to the Holy Spirit attributed to Saint Augustine
Breathe in me O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy.
Act in me O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy.
Draw my heart O Holy Spirit, that I love but what is holy.
Strengthen me O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy.
Guard me, then O Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy.
Amen.
August 28th is also remembered as the anniversary of the March on Washington. Sadly, August 28 marks the tragic anniversary of the day that 14-year-old Emmett Till, an African American from Chicago, was brutally murdered due to a lie by Carolyn Bryant. On August 28, 1955, Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam forced Emmett to carry a 75-pound cotton-gin fan to the bank of the Tallahatchie River and ordered him to take off his clothes. The two men then beat him nearly to death, gouged out his eye, shot him in the head and then threw his body, tied to the cotton-gin fan with barbed wire, into the river.
As we seek reconciliation across our country and try to understand the events in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Bishop Fabre has offered a reflection and invitation to prayer and fasting.
As we seek to address the pain and suffering, here is a prayer as we commemorate the importance of August 28 in the history of the U.S.
To End Racism
O Lord our God, in your mercy and kindness, no thought of ours is left unnoticed, no desire or concern ignored. You have proven that blessings abound when we fall on our knees in prayer, and so we turn to you in our hour of need.
Surrounded by violence and cries for justice, we hear your voice telling us what is required, "Only to do justice and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God" (Mi 6:8). Fill us with your mercy so that we, in turn, may be merciful to others.
Strip away pride, suspicion, and racism so that we may seek peace and justice in our communities. Strengthen our hearts so that they beat only to the rhythm of your holy will. Flood our path with your light as we walk humbly toward a future filled with encounter and unity.
Be with us, O Lord, in our efforts, for only by the prompting of your grace can we progress toward virtue. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord.
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2017
Trivia
Which Saint was canonized on September 4th and received the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize?
Please send your answers to socialpolicy@catholiccharitiesusa.org
On August 21st, the trivia question was, " At the time that it occurred, it was the largest march ever held in Washington, D.C. What was the name of the march and how many people attended?"
Dick Krafcik correctly identified the March on Washington held in 1963.
The March on Washington was a massive protest march that occurred in August 1963, when some 250,000 people gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Also known as the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, the event aimed to draw attention to continuing challenges and inequalities faced by African Americans a century after emancipation. It was also the occasion of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s now-iconic "I Have A Dream" speech. You can also view the speech presented that day by Congressman John Lewis.
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