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Get Involved - Peacemaking News: Franciscan Outlook
Issues
of Concern
BREAD NOT STONES
Campaign
to Redirect Military Spending
Following
Franciscan preferential concerns for those who are poor and for the cause
of peace, we, the Sisters of St. Francis of the Holy Cross and our Associates,
endorse and collaborate in Bread Not Stones, a National Catholic Campaign
to Redirect Military Spending.
Is there anyone among you who,
if
your child asks for bread, will give a stone?
--Matthew 7:9
WHY
WE ARE INVOLVED
- Catholic
social teaching says every public policy must enhance human dignity
and be measured by its effect on the poor.
- Our
bloated military budget steals from the poor. The spending pattern is
50 cents spent on military, 6 cents on education and 4 cents on health
care.
- True security is
not found in superior weapons systems: rather in a focus on full human
development for all, and the common good!
WHAT
ARE OUR NATIONAL PRIORITIES?
- U.S. government
spends more in foreign military aid than in funding sustainable development
efforts for nations with widespread poverty; this often leads to repression,
regional conflicts, terrorism ... INSECURITY.
Consider
these costs:
| 2 home health aids for
disabled elderly people |
$40,000 |
1 Hellfire missile |
| Associate degree for
29 RNs |
$145,600 |
1 bunker-buster guided bomb
|
| Best vaccinations for
10 million children worldwide |
$50 million
|
6 Trident II missiles |
| Annual salary/benefits
for 38,000 elementary teachers |
$2.1 billion
|
4 stealth bombers |
| Health care coverage
for 7 million children |
$16 billion
|
1 year nuclear weapons program
|
- The costs of war
making are staggering - especially while cities and states face huge
budget deficits. The administration has hidden its real priorities by
not putting the costs of the war on terrorism or the war with Iraq in
its budget. Stay informed about the real budget and nonviolent ways
to enhance security.
WHAT
WE CAN DO TOGETHER
We
aim to create a Catholic campaign that would:
- End exorbitant
military spending
- Make meeting the
needs of our nation's people a top priority.
- Provide true security
-- a society where every person is enabled to develop his/her full potential.
- Create a society
that spends money on education, health care, housing, job training and
other social needs.
- Create a society
that contributes generously to critical needs in our world, making the
top priority the common good.
Get
more informed about our nation's priorities through resources listed below
and by attending forums, conferences and debates.
- Ask Congress members
to support legislation for programs that serve unmet human needs, especially
improved education and health care.
- Contact our leaders
and Congress members to reduce expenditures for weaponry and military
programs that could be cut or terminated without jeopardizing national
security.
- Speak up, demonstrate
nonviolently and pray for peaceful alternatives to military buildup
and war.
- Write letters to
the editor of your local newspapers.
Resources
for Future Involvement
WEBSITES
Bread
Not Stones: A Statement by Pax Christi Bishops
Become
Part of the Bread Not Stones Campaign!
Catholic
Bishops Challenge $307 Billion Defense Budget, Call For Campaign To Redirect
Military Funds
Center for Defense information
Fellowship of Reconciliation
VIDEOS
Arms for the Poor, (25 min) from Maryknoll World Productions
A Force More Powerful, (two 90 min reports about
non-violent action in the world in the 20th century) PBS
Crossing the Line, (about School of the Americas) (16 min) Maryknoll
World Productions, 1999
OTHER ORGANIZATIONS
Peace Action Wisconsin
You
are invited to e-mail Sister
Maria Drzewiecki or call her at 920-468-1828 with questions or comments.
You
can:
- schedule
a time when a Sister can talk about this issue with a gathering of your
religious group or other organization.
- borrow
one of the available videos.
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