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Overview: Members of the CCUSA Social Policy Team participated in the Catholic Social Ministry Gathering last week (Jan. 28-31). More than 500 people attended the conference, and more than half were first-time attendees. CSMG participants made Hill visits to their members of Congress, bringing to the members the needs and priorities of local communities around the country. Also this week, the Social Policy Team started to meet the new members of Congress and their staff, introducing them to the work of Catholic Charities. Meetings will continue over the next few weeks.

Anthony Granado, CCUSA vice president of government relations, addresses the Catholic Social Ministry Gathering at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Capitol Hill, Jan. 29, 2023.

Economy: In the week ending January 28, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial [unemployment] claims was 183,000, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 186,000, continuing a downward trend. The 4-week moving average was 191,750, a decrease of 5,750 from the previous week's unrevised average of 197,500. Jobs increased by 517,000 in January 2023, an unexpected significant rise, and the unemployment rate fell to 3.4%, the lowest since 1969.

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"If Christians believed in Jesus more, then others would doubt him less." Some attribute this quote to Thomas Jefferson. Ghandi said something similar. Whoever said it, the meaning is clear: Christians are not always the ambassadors of Christ they are called to be. Jesus says to his disciples in the gospel reading for this Sunday: "You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned?"

In the United States, 65% of U.S. adults believe in Jesus, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey. The percentage may seem healthy, but it's been dropping for years. What's happening?

Editorial credit: Macthia / Shutterstock.com

The U.S. has a legacy of separation between Church and State, an idea attributed to Thomas Jefferson. One can argue about what precisely Mr. Jefferson meant about the separation, but the interpretation of his principle by many people has been total separation. The Church keeps to itself and the State takes care of society. This is not the interpretation of the Catholic Church. 

Catholic Social Teaching states that the Church is a part of society. Indeed, the Church is a “juridic person,” a body of people who have “obligations and rights which correspond to their nature.” The nature of the Church is to share God’s love with all people. The Church’s charitable organizations – like Catholic Charities – do so as a body, “practicing charity as an organized activity of believers.” Individual believers “take part in public life in a personal capacity,” loving others as part of their duty to promote the common good. To paraphrase Pope Benedict XVI, the Church does not replace the State in the work for justice but neither does it remain on the sidelines. In short, the Church does its part.

Regretfully, some individual believers take separation of Church and State to mean that they keep religion to themselves: “We don’t want to impose our beliefs on anyone else.” Perhaps people with this notion might benefit from a distinction, one that gets at the gist of belief in Jesus. There is a difference between proselytizing and evangelizing. To proselytize assumes that the other person must change and be like you. To evangelize means living one’s faith in such a way that it attracts others to God.

Evangelizers are witnesses. They have fallen in love with Jesus and, like him, they burn with zeal to share God’s love. Every word and deed, united in Jesus, can advance this mission of charity. First, it means honoring our immediate duties to family and neighbors. But it includes service for the common good, which involves voting, advocating, and volunteering, among other things. The goal is twofold: to help people live lives equal to their dignity as children of God and to anticipate life in heaven. That’s why Jesus told his disciples: “…your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.”

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Q. What Christian tradition inspired the celebration of Groundhog Day in the U.S.?

Please send your answers to [email protected]. 

Last week's question and answer:

Q. On Jan. 27, 1302, what event precipitated the writing of The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri?

A. Many thanks to Bill Rosanelli for being first with the right answer: Dante was exiled from Florence, Italy.

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