CTA in Washington for ecumenical peace and justice advocacy

by Nicole Sotelo

“We long not for the impossible but for the possible,” said Rev. John McCullough, Executive Director of Church World Service, at a prayer vigil for peace in Iraq March 13 in front of the U.S. Capitol. The vigil marked the end of Ecumenical Advocacy Days, the largest progressive Christian lobbying effort in the country — evidence that a united Christian movement for justice is possible.

CTA staff spoke at the four day annual event March 10-13. Nearly 1,000 Protestants and Catholics, including some 30 CTA members attended. There were 90 workshops and vibrant ecumenical worship. Participants could choose to follow one of eight justice tracks throughout the weekend with topics such as Africa, Debt Cancellation and Eco-Justice.

Bob Heineman, CTA Resources Developer and Regional Coordinator, represented CTA on a panel of Catholic justice organizations. “As part of our Catholic mission for justice in both church and society, I can’t think of a better way to advocate for social justice than with our progressive Christian allies,” he said. Many at the Catholic workshop were disappointed that the U.S. Catholic bishops had chosen not to attend to show support in an ecumenical setting for such critical issues as Latin American policy, minimum wage and other urgent legislative concerns. But the strong Catholic turnout included the Conference of Major Superiors of Men, the Catholic Network of Volunteer Service, NETWORK and other individuals and organizations.

Call To Action’s Next Generation was also present and hosted a special Next Gen. dinner on Friday night to kick-off the conference. John Delaporte, a Next Gen. member from Nebraska, said that what he enjoyed most about the conference "was being able to share the experience with so many other young adults." For him, advocacy is an essential part of what it means to be a Catholic. "Service and charity are important pieces of social justice," said John, but "if we want to truly take seriously... our commitment to the poor and marginalized of humanity it is only through transforming the structures of injustice that the world will finally know peace."

A wide range of specific legislative measures were targeted in the Ecumenical Advocacy weekend. We focus here on two issues, one at home and one overseas. Issue at home: Minimum Wage The minimum wage has not been raised from its current rate of $5.15 an hour since 1997. Since then, Congress has given itself a raise every year except one. Although a myth exists that most minimum wage jobs are held by teenagers looking for extra income, the fact is that the majority of minimum wage workers are adults who depend on every cent to care for themselves and their families. Additionally, the campaign to increase the minimum wage is a feminist issue: women fill two-thirds of the minimum wage jobs in this country.

Call the Capitol switchboard at 202 224-3121 and request to be transferred to your legislators. Ask your representative to support H.R. 2429; ask senators to support S. 1062.

Issues overseas: Aid to Africa

The most critical need for our Africa policy is for the U.S. to continue to lead the global fight against AIDS and appropriate $6 billion, one-third the total global resource needed to fight AIDS in 2007. Sub-Saharan Africa has just over 10 percent of the world’s population but is home to more than 60 percent of all people living with HIV— 25.8 million. In 2005, an estimated 3.2 million people in the region became newly infected, while 2.4 million adults and children died of AIDS.

Increased federal funding is an uphill battle as the U.S. debt grows and Congress faces hard decisions on how to cut spending. Fully funding the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria leverages two-to-one contributions from other donors. Nelson Mandela has warned, “Failure to replenish the Global Fund will undermine the worldwide political leadership on HIV/AIDS we have worked so hard to establish, and progress in combatting the pandemic will stall.”

On March 16 the Senate approved increasing the U.S. contribution to the Global Fund by over $500 million to $866 million for 2007, the most ever. (The House approved less, so lawmakers still need to hear from us, to keep the figure at that level or even reach the $1.2 billion the Fund has requested from the U.S.)

For advocacy guidance on this issue, visit www.churchworldservice.org

We must be vigilant that the preoccupation of U.S. officials with African oil and anti-terrorism cooperation does not work counter to the expressed concerns of the American people regarding the ongoing genocide in Darfur and global health challenges like HIV/AIDS and the bird flu. Debt relief is critical for Africa’s future. And, according to the U.N. special envoy to Africa on HIV/AIDS, underlying all the problems is deeply held gender inequality that Christian churches often encourage.