Category: General

Just, you know, stuff. And things. Things and stuff. Yeah, basically that’s it.

OKC Catholic Worker statement on proposed immigration laws

Ed. note: Spanish version follows English version.

On the 26th anniversary of the Martyrdom of Romero, March 24, 2006

The Oscar Romero Catholic Worker Community Opposes the Wicked Immigration Laws!

In recent months, laws have been introduced into the United States Congress and the Oklahoma Legislature that would treat immigrants and refugees with great harshness and cruelty. These laws would make it a crime to offer help to the poor if they are not legal residents.

The Oscar Romero Catholic Worker community condemns these laws. We call upon all people of goodwill to stand together in solidarity against these wicked and evil laws that are based in racism and hatred of other cultures. We encourage everybody to contact their representatives in Congress and the Oklahoma Legislature to show their opposition.

We welcome the migrant and the refugee to our city and state. Our city and state will be better places to live if we offer hope and hospitality to immigrants.

If these laws are passed by Congress and the Legislature, we will meet this culture of death evil with civil disobedience. We will continue to offer hospitality and help to immigrants, even if this becomes a crime. There is no moral obligation to obey an evil and wicked law. There is nothing in the Bible that commands us to obey the government when the government does evil. We will not damn our souls to hell to satisfy corrupt politicians. We will continue to feed the hungry at every opportunity we find. We will never ask anyone to prove that they are a legal resident before offering them help and hope.
Continue reading “OKC Catholic Worker statement on proposed immigration laws”

Various Articles

ImmigrationDemonstration
The L.A. Times today is chock-full of articles relevant to P&C.

  • The lead story is on the massive demonstrations against proposed draconian laws against illegal immigration. They say it’s the biggest demonstration of any kind in L.A.’s history.
  • Steve Lopez continues to write compelling columns about life on Skid Row and the issues surrounding it. Today he writes of single mother Elizabeth Brown and her two children and their struggle to find affordable housing. Meanwhile, there’s a lot of opposition to putting homeless shelters anywhere besides Skid Row.
  • A obituary of the remarkable Desmond Doss, who won the Congressional Medal of Honor in WWII as a conscientious objector.
  • A look at the controversy around erecting fields of crosses as war memorials/protests.
  • The Hospital Association of Southern California is urging its members to revamp their policies for dealing with homeless patients in the wake of allegations of “dumping” the homeless on Skid Row.

Some of those links may require you to register for free at their site.

Anti-war rallies, arrests

Ninety people demonstrated against the Iraq War in Worcester Sunday. (Some of the IMC stories say 70, which is too low.)

Clark University held a big anti-war rally Monday. No web reports yet.

Catholic Workers have been an outspoken presence at anti-war rallies in Worcester, Tacoma, Waukesha, Des Moines, and Manhattan (where the activities included civil disobedience).

Keep the anti-war St. Patrick’s Four in your prayers as they serve their sentences.

Ken Hannaford-Ricardi demonstrates against the Iraq War in Worcester, 2006
Catholic Worker Ken Hannaford-Ricardi demonstrates against the Iraq War in Worcester. Indymedia photo.

The PIP and sex offenders

State reps Spillane and Fresolo don’t think the Worcester PIP shelter’s contract to provide “comprehensive re-entry services” to released sex offenders should be renewed. Bob Spillane:

“This is an outrageous situation,” he said, noting the PIP does nothing other than offer nighttime housing.
(Telegram & Gazette, susbscription required)

TV coverage of Coach Williams rally, walk against hate

I got WCCA-TV’s webcast to work on my computer this morning, and discovered that this weekend’s edition of Community Vision features nice spots on the Coach Williams rally (second story) and the walk against hate (third story).

Check it out on Channel 13 in Worcester or on the web: with the in-browser player or by pointing Winamp or VLC player at http://wccatv.com:8010/;stream.nsv

Saturday, March 18 at 9pm; Sunday, March 19 at 3:30am, 9:30am, 5pm, 11:30pm; Monday, March 20 at 11am.

A grooming cornucopia

This morning a local group donated bags and bags of personal care items.

Some of these will go to the homeless folks who pass through our house. The rest will go to other poor people in Worcester.

Toiletries

Patrick, sorting: “Check it out! Electric toothbrush!”

Mike: “You know that scene in movies where they get into the vault, and find the ancient treasure? This is just like that!”

Justin: “But with toiletries.”

Toiletries

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!

Update: And Roto hits Boing Boing with DNA goodness. An even happier St. Pat’s.

Racism? I’m shocked!

So the big story in Worcester is not that the refs at a couple South High vs. Holy Name basketball games made bizarre calls that handed the games to Holy Name.

The big story is that the South High coach, in a considered statement to the press, violated Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association rules by criticizing the refs and suggesting they were motivated by racism:

“It’s everywhere, but the Catholic schools are worse,” [South coach Patrick Williams] told the Telegram & Gazette in a 29-minute interview after his team’s 60-56 loss Sunday afternoon at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. “You have the same officials, and they look at all black players and a black coach, and they make the calls.”
(Telegram & Gazette)

T&G subscribers can get part of the story over there. Indymedia has Scott Schaeffer-Duffy’s take:

I saw five South High games this year and noticed a definite difference when South played Holy Name and Saint John’s. In both games, South took substantial leads over their opponents only to suddenly face a disproportionate number of foul calls against them. It was like watching the all-black squad from South having to play with cement blocks on their feet to even up the competition.
[…]
If we dismiss Coach Williams’s charge without absolutely clear independent review, we tell black youth in Worcester that they will never get a fair shake in this town. Let’s not go that route.

My favorite tidbit is that Worcester Public Schools athletic director John Pepi called the refs to apologize. That’s right: no investigation has happened, but the schools have apologized to the refs.

This reminds me of Harry Whittington apologizing to Dick Cheney for getting shot.
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