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Salt and Light |
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Overview >> About COPA >> Activities >> Events Overview San Carlos’ social justice ministry, Salt and Light, promotes the values, principles and practices that lead us to actively live the social justice teachings of our faith. We believe that by gaining a greater knowledge of Catholic Social Teaching and an increased awareness of existing social injustices, we will be better able to participate in activities that promote a just society, including advocating for public policy as a member of COPA. In this way, we follow the Gospel call into a relationship of solidarity with all of God's people. The Church’s social teaching is a rich treasure of wisdom about building a just society and living lives of holiness amidst the challenges of modern society. Salt and Light has sponsored a series of Bulletin announcements outlining the Seven Key Themes of Catholic Social Teaching. Key Theme #1 – Life and Dignity of the Human Person The Catholic Church proclaims that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society. This belief is the foundation of all the principles of our social teaching. In our society, human life is under direct attack from abortion and euthanasia. The value of human life is being threatened by cloning, embryonic stem cell research, and the use of the death penalty. Catholic teaching also calls on us to work to avoid war. Nations must protect the right to life by finding increasingly effective ways to prevent conflicts and resolve them by peaceful means. We believe that every person is precious, that people are more important than things, and that the measure of every institution is whether it threatens or enhances the life and dignity of the human person. Key Theme #2 – Call to Family, Community, and Participation The person is not only sacred but also social. How we organize our society in economics and politics, in law and policy directly affects human dignity and the capacity of individuals to grow in community. Marriage and the family are the central social institutions that must be supported and strengthened, not undermined. We believe people have a right and a duty to participate in society, seeking together the common good and well-being of all, especially the poor and vulnerable. Key Theme #3 – Rights and Responsibilities The Catholic tradition teaches that human dignity can be protected and a healthy community can be achieved only if human rights are protected and responsibilities are met. Therefore, every person has a fundamental right to life and a right to those things required for human decency. Corresponding to these rights are duties and responsibilities--to one another, to our families, and to the larger society. Key Theme #4 – Option for the Poor and Vulnerable A basic moral test is how our most vulnerable members are faring. In a society marred by deepening divisions between rich and poor, our tradition recalls the story of the Last Judgment (Mt 25:31-46) and instructs us to put the needs of the poor and vulnerable first. Key Theme #5 – The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers The economy must serve people, not the other way around. Work is more than a way to make a living; it is a form of continuing participation in God’s creation. If the dignity of work is to be protected, then the basic rights of workers must be respected--the right to productive work, to decent and fair wages, to the organization and joining of unions, to private property, and to economic initiative. Key Theme #6 – Solidarity We are one human family whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological differences. We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers, wherever they may be. Loving our neighbor has global dimensions in a shrinking world. At the core of the virtue of solidarity is the pursuit of justice and peace. Pope Paul VI taught that “if you want peace, work for justice.”1 The Gospel calls us to be peacemakers. Our love for all our sisters and brothers demands that we promote peace in a world surrounded by violence and conflict. Key Theme #7 – Care for God’s Creation We show our respect for the Creator by our stewardship of creation. Care for the earth is not just an Earth Day slogan, it is a requirement of our faith. We are called to protect people and the planet, living our faith in relationship with all of God’s creation. This environmental challenge has fundamental moral and ethical dimensions that cannot be ignored. We link these Key Themes to COPA’s Shared Prosperity Agenda. A key issue in that Agenda, under Economic Development, is to promote “real employment opportunities that provide family wages, health care and a career path.” The pursuit of this goal is consistent with Catholic Social Teaching’s Key Theme #5: The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers. Salt and Light continues to work on this issue with others in COPA to bring definitive, actionable proposals to the next phase of the Shared Prosperity Agenda campaign. COPA is a broad-based, non-partisan membership organization working on issues affecting our families, neighborhoods and communities. The membership consists of churches, congregations, schools and non-profits throughout Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties. San Carlos Cathedral Parish is a member of COPA as a response to the call of the Church to work toward social justice. Communities – the “C” in COPA Why Communities? Awareness of a perceived injustice often leads an individual to frustration. “This situation is horrible……….but what can I do?”. Standing alone, there is no ability to correct an injustice. There are many types of communities: parish, neighborhood, urban, work, geographical, etc. It is only when we come together as a community that we create the potential for effective action. COPA organizes communities whose members then become a united voice for social justice. Organizing – the “O” in COPA The membership of COPA is a mix of institutions representative of the community. Member institutions pay dues to COPA which support the lead organizer(s) and administrative function. There are currently more than 20 organizations in Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties who are members of COPA. The work of COPA is done by people associated with the member organizations in conjunction with Joaquin Sanchez, the lead organizer. The work centers around issues affecting our communities. When COPA was formed in 2003, hundreds of one-on-one conversations were held that brought to the forefront the greatest concerns of people on the Central Coast. Six areas of concentration were defined: Economic Opportunity, Education, Healthcare, Housing, Immigration and Safe Communities. Individuals organize into groups around an issue, for which they have the passion to invest their energy, to bring about change. This type of organizing occurs across the United States. COPA is linked to this broader network which provides the resources and opportunities for education and, proven methodologies for action. Power – the “P” in COPA Many regard power as evil. Often it is thought of as promoting self-interest or said to be corrupting. It may result in the abuse or oppression of others. This type of unaccountable power is all too evident in our world. By definition, power is actually neutral or amoral. It’s Spanish root “poder” means “ to be able”. In COPA, we are concerned with relational power. We develop power, the ability to act, when we organize with other people. In one-on-one conversations, relationships are developed and issues of mutual concern are defined. When individuals with shared concerns come together, they can develop power to promote their values and establish a culture with the political will for those values. COPA offers the opportunity to develop a stronger power base by joining with other member organizations to bring shared values to a broader community. It is also necessary to develop relationships with other sectors of society: public and private. Public officials control public monies and have the authority to act on many issues. The private sector engages experts and uses their financial capital to promote their agenda. If the community is not in relationship with these other sectors, they will determine the direction taken. We can only be powerful if we are in conversation with both of the other sectors. In this way we can be sure that our wishes are known and taken into consideration while allowing the other sectors to succeed as well, a win-win situation. Action – the “A” in COPA Once communities are organized through relational power, it is time for action! There are many forms of action and the amount is directly related to the appetite individuals have to bring about change in an area of interest. Some examples: A one-on-one conversation can be an action. In this manner, relationships are developed, questions are answered, mutual concerns are defined and opportunities to be involved are shared. If this type of action brings together a small group, rather than only two individuals, it is known as a house meeting. Research actions occur when members wish to learn more about the topic they are working on. Most often these involve meeting with a representative of the public or private sector who can provide background information and educate them about the topic. Assemblies bring COPA members and guests together for various reasons. One may be to celebrate achievements. Another purpose would be to create a forum where the sectors of society can declare that they will be accountable to each other for mutual goals. For more information, contact Deacon Andres Larraza, alarraza@dioceseofmonterey.org, or Catherine von Schwind, vonschwind@comcast.net, or call the Parish Office, 831.373.2628.(back to top)ActivitiesIn the fall of 2007, San Carlos Cathedral parish became a member of COPA (Communities Organized for Relational Power in Action). Since then, a growing number of your fellow parishioners have been learning how to integrate our goals and efforts with others who have joined COPA. This March, together with folks from neighboring communities, we participated in the Public Life Academies. This was a series of directed workshops to learn and apply techniques to define problems and synthesize them to issues that are actionable. The overall theme is the Campaign for Regional Shared Prosperity. Specific issue workshops were formed to address Affordable Housing, Healthcare, Economic Development (or Opportunity), and Public Safety. Some notes of workshop participants can be found here.
In the next phase of our
work, COPA will shape an agenda of issues to be presented to the
candidates for Supervisor in the June election, seeking their
support for this community agenda. Events
Shared Prosperity Agenda
-- Catherine von Schwind On Wednesday, May 14, at 6:30 PM, COPA will meet with the supervisorial candidates running in the June election. The following priorities will be presented to them and COPA will ask for their pledge of support for this Shared Prosperity Agenda.
COPA
Meets with Monterey County Supervisorial Candidates, May 14, 2008
When I last wrote, our strategy group on
Affordable Housing had completed the writing of our proposal and
was joining proposals in three other areas for submission to the
supervisory candidates for Monterey County. The proposal, referred
to as the Shared Prosperity Agenda, was inserted into the church
bulletin for three weeks, but if you missed it or want to review
it, read above. Our goal
was to meet with the candidates as a large group, a group that
includes churches, temples and community organizations. Our
collective presence would demonstrate our commitment and strength
to the candidates.
This assembly took place last Wednesday night, May 14. Five of the candidates were present and they were individually asked if they were willing to support our Shared Prosperity Agenda. After their 4-minute response they were asked to commit to meeting COPA again after they were elected. It was made clear that attaining a true Shared Prosperity meant an ongoing relationship between COPA and the Board of Supervisors. All the candidates seemed supportive of the Agenda. Often when you are reading the news and feeling dismayed that problems in the community are just not being addressed, one can feel frustrated and somewhat powerless. Working with COPA allows individuals to join together and become ‘many’; in this instance, just under 200 people. The voices and enthusiasms of the group that met on Wed. 14 May could not but help inspire and challenge the candidates. At the same time these voices and enthusiasms created energy within the COPA organization and helped all of the COPA members see and feel the results of months of hard work! San Carlos brought the signatures of 189 members who agreed with the COPA agenda, but could not attend the assembly. Together with the signatures from other organizations, the candidates were confronted with numbers that were in the thousands; all voters who were interested in the needs of the community. Sixteen members of San Carlos’ COPA contingent were present at the assembly. In meeting with Father Peter the day after the assembly, on May 15, we felt grateful for the support of San Carlos and for the seriousness with which the congregation takes the role the Church has assumed in making sure that Social Justice issues are addressed. |
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Salt and Light: |
