Building Faithful Citizenship

Building Faithful Citizenship is a brief, weekly bulletin reflection on
the U.S. Catholic Bishops' Document, Forming Consciences for
Faithful Citizenship.

For Sunday Bulletins on July 6

Matthew’s telling of the Parable of the Seed is the beginning
of a wonderful chapter of Jesus’ parables – stories we have
grown up with and can recall with merely a word or phrase.
Stories are a culture’s life blood; they focus us and strengthen
our moral center for generations

Our faith is lived out in good deeds; our deeds become our
stories; our stories become our faith tradition; our faith tradition
becomes our teaching tool for future generations. Our moment
of history is our opportunity to add to the story of our Christian
faith with our deeds and our faithful actions.

Reflection: As a baptized person, who is also a parent, a
citizen, a teacher…what story am I leaving for future
generations to learn from, and to aspire to?

The Jubilee Act

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee this week approved an important new debt relief bill, "The Jubilee Act for Responsible Lending and Expanded Debt Cancellation of 2008” (S. 2166). This bill instructs the Administration to seek an international agreement that would extend debt cancellation to up to about 20 very poor countries that are not eligible for any of the existing international debt relief programs. The Committee action represents a major step towards final passage as the House approved a very similar bill in April. When the procedure and timing for submission of the bill to the full Senate becomes clearer, we will ask you to contact your senators.