Catholic Social Teaching

View the Walking with Moms in Need Video!

Help Raise a Pro-Life Generation
Helping young people understand the gift of life is another important aspect of making abortion unthinkable. Books that celebrate the dignity of life are available and recommendations are listed on www.studentsfor life.org. -From Catholic News Herald

Charlotte Diocese CCDOC Human Trafficking Awareness Committee
Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte Human Trafficking Awareness Webpage 
Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte Ethical & Fair Trade Webpage

Justice, Peace, and Human Development ~ USCCB

President of USCCB on Bishops’ United Position Against the Evil of Abortion

View this release on the USCCB website.

WASHINGTON – Earlier this week, President Biden responded to a reporter’s question about the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ opposition to taxpayer funding of abortion:

REPORTER: “Catholic bishops are demanding that federal tax dollars not fund abortions.”
BIDEN: “No they are not all doing that. Nor is the Pope doing that.”

Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, released the following statement: 
“As we are taught by Jesus, human life is sacred. God calls us to defend and nurture life from the moment a new human being is conceived. The Catholic Church has been clear and consistent in this teaching. The Catholic bishops of the United States are united in our commitment to life and will continue to work as one body in Christ to make abortion unthinkable. As the Holy Father, Pope Francis, has said, ‘It is not right to ‘do away with’ a human being, however small, in order to solve a problem. It is like hiring a hitman.’ Taxpayer funding of abortion would force people of good conscience to participate in this grave evil against their will. It would contradict our right to live in accord with the tenets of our faith. Our nation is better than that. I pray that we will protect every child no matter his or her age, and open our hearts to respond to mothers in need with love and support rather than the violence of abortion.” 
Additional information and resources on taxpayer funding of abortion are available at the following links:

·    U.S. Bishops’ Pro-Life Chairman Expresses Support for “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion”
·    https://www.notaxpayerabortion.com/learn 
·    https://www.respectlife.org/no-taxpayer-abortion

Time to Act:  Pro-Life Legislation in North Carolina

The North Carolina General Assembly is considering pro-life legislation for the current legislative session. It is vital for Catholics to contact their state legislators and urge them to pass the broadest possible protections for the unborn child and, at the same time, to expand support for mothers and families.

Read Memo on NC Prolife Legislation – Diocese of Charlotte

Human Trafficking and How Catholics Can Respond

Presentation on Human Trafficking

The end of human trafficking is a priority issue for the Catholic Church. Because every life is a gift from God and is sacred, it deserves to be protected and nurtured. The Vatican released a set of guidelines, or pastoral orientations to help the Catholic community put an end to trafficking.   https://migrants-refugees.va/documents/en/email/pastoral-orientations-on-human-trafficking.pdf

Nearly 50 million victims, women, men and children, are entrapped in modern day slavery including forced marriage. Human trafficking can be in the form of forced labor, sexual exploitation, the prostitution of minors, debt bondage, involuntary servitude, and more.  Human Trafficking is a 150-billion-dollar industry, and has become the fastest growing source of illicit profit for criminals worldwide.

Every year, millions of men, women and sadly, even children fall into the hands of traffickers in their own countries and abroad. No one is immune from human trafficking. Victims may be workers in food processing factories, waiters or cooks at restaurants, construction workers, agricultural laborers, housekeeping staff at hotels, domestic help in private residences, or sex trafficked women, men and even children, in brothels, spas, massage parlors and in the pornography business.

Traffickers lure vulnerable people with false promises of good jobs, education, money, and even love. Traffickers keep their victims from seeking help through means such as taking away their identification documents, threats of violence against the victim or their family, physical or psychological abuse and addiction to drugs. 

In 2000, A federal law was created called The Trafficking Victims Protection Act or (TVPA) and defines what constitutes trafficking in the U.S. It offers protection for victims and survivors, even if the victims were brought across borders illegally for the purpose of exploitation.

What can we do?

For more information, watch the video on the USCCB’s statement on Human Trafficking, go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOcheWILkXk

Provided by the Charlotte Diocese CCDOC Human Trafficking Awareness Committee. For more info, go to www.ccdoc.org/humantrafficking