FAMVIN News

“To place these two individuals side by side can seem rather strange. To say the least they were not contemporaries. What could these two very different individuals possibly have in common?” For some insightful reflections on what they have in common visit dePaul’s Annual Vincent de Paul lecture published in Vincentian Heritage in 1991 The [...]

The Edmund Rice Center of the Australian Catholic University writes in a piece that looks at the austerity discussions taking place in so many countries in the world… “As several countries try to pay off huge public debt due to the financial crisis and apply spending cuts – voices of caution say this is ‘a [...]

According to the Huffinton Post ”In the state that signed into law the country’s most controversial and stringent immigration measure, SB-1070 in 2010, a new smartphone app is under way to help undocumented immigrants notify friends and family of their exact location, should they be pulled over and arrested.This app would send a pre-set message to all those [...]

Ten communities of religious sisters issued billboards Monday across Iowa with a Gospel message in addition to a statement calling on the president and Congress to make progress on comprehensive immigration reform in advance the Iowa caucuses. The billboards read, “I was an immigrant and you welcomed me” with a strikethrough the phrase “a stranger” [...]

The following appeal, published by Catholic Moral Theology, calling for the abolition of the death penalty in the USA has already been signed by 160 leading Catholic academics: (Breaking News… Vatican Clarification on Death Penalty) There were two state-sanctioned executions in the United States on September 21, 2011. In Georgia, Troy Anthony Davis, an African [...]

The USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development has issued its traditional statement for Labor Day . It is one of the most forceful statements from the USCCB in a long time. Bishop Stephen Blaire of Stockton, California,  the head of the committee notes the long and fruitful collaboration between unions and the Church, the Church’s long-standing commitment to [...]

“National Programs That Serve Those in Need are At Risk”  - Joe Flannigan, National President SVDP USA,  reminds Vincentians that Congress is in recess until September 7 and their senators and representatives are back home.  When they return to Washington, they will have to make decisions on the national debt that will affect every program.  “We are [...]

My Name is Child of God… Not “Those People” is regularly being picked up in America as a required reading text for Sociology classes. “As a child Julia Dinsmore lived in poverty and as an adult she has found herself living below the poverty line. Her riveting stories, songs and poems reveal what it is like [...]

A diverse coalition of Christian leaders, including Catholic bishops, the National Association of Evangelicals, Bread for the World, Salvation Army, Christian Churches Together in the USA, National Council of Churches and other Evangelical and mainline Protestants, has called for a priority for the poor in the current budget process through a  common statement, “A Circle [...]

Have you ever used the phone? Now you can use it “report in” as the “voice of the poor” on the Internet. Just call a tool-free number, speak and then hang up. Voila! You have  created and posted a podcast. “But wait, there is more…” You can literally give someone in poverty their own “voice”. Just [...]