Speak out for those who cannot speak, for the rights of all the destitute. Speak out; judge righteously. Defend the rights of the poor and the needy. (Proverbs 31:8-9)

In This Issue:

· Update on FY 2006 Agriculture Appropriations
· Take Action This Week! Urge Your Congressional Leaders to Support Strong Foreign Aid Funding in FY 2006
· CRS Partners With U.S. Jesuit Conference To Highlight African Oil and Poverty
· Humanitarian Situation Continues in Darfur, Sudan
· Darfur, Sudan Awareness Events Coming to a Location Near You
· Millennium Development Goals: A Day of Advocacy in New York City
· Observe World AIDS Day on December 1, 2005
· Migration Drama Project to Tour Northeast U.S.
· Welcome Zoe Beuzelin to the World!
· Resources & Events
· Contact Us

Update on FY 2006 Agriculture Appropriations

In mid-September the Senate passed a $1.1 billion dollar FY2006 Agriculture Appropriations bill (HR 2744) by a vote of 97-2. In the months leading up to that, CRS along with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and Coalition on Food Aid partners sought a $200 million increase in Title II food aid to a level of $1.35 billion. It was our hope that this amount would be appropriated to prevent deep cuts in development programs such as school feeding and pre-school nutrition programs in poor countries. Despite your intensive advocacy efforts, the current amount falls short of CRS' and our partners' request. We thank you for your robust response to our recent action alerts on this issue. We will keep you informed of any future developments!

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Take Action this Week! Urge your Congressional Leaders to Support Strong Foreign Aid Funding in FY 2006

After months of deliberation by Congress, final decisions are about to be made on funding levels for the FY06 Foreign Assistance budget. This is a critical stage and one more opportunity for you to urge your leaders who serve on the Appropriations Committee to weigh in on priorities that will bring hope and resources to our brothers and sisters overseas!

Take Action Now! Urge your leaders who serve on the Appropriations Committee (see list below) to support the higher Senate levels for the FY06 Foreign Assistance budget. Visit our Grassroots Action Center to send a message to your member today.

Currently, there is a $1.9 billion difference between the House and Senate passed levels for the FY06 appropriations bills that fund foreign aid. Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has been actively advocating for the higher Senate level. This is essential to effectively address priorities on poverty reduction, healthcare (including HIV/AIDS) and development assistance for the world's poorest. These important programs could be substantially cut unless we insist that our elected officials do the right thing in support of the poor.

In September, Catholic Relief Services and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued a letter to leaders who serve on the Appropriations Committee making this appeal. Given the number of Congressional priorities, including the Iraq war, increased tax cuts and major emergencies such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, some Members are looking for ways to cut overall spending. CRS and USCCB hope that even as Congress responds so generously to those who have lost so much in the U.S., we continue to work to improve the lives and dignity of those overseas who have so little.

Catholic Social Teaching calls on us to uphold the dignity of the poor and vulnerable among us, whether they live in the United States or overseas, and help meet poor people's basic needs as well as promote peace and justice.

What You Can Do

1. Congressional leaders who serve on the Appropriations Committee need to hear from you today (see list below)! They re listed below. Call, visit, or e-mail them and ask that they support the Senate levels for the FY06 Foreign Assistance budget.
2. Please visit our online Grassroots Action Center for your Members' contact information or to send an email directly from our website.
3. Forward this action alert to your family, friends, and fellow parishioners.
4. You may also sign up for the CRS legislative network here!

KEY CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS ON APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

· Senate Majority Leader, Sen. Bill Frist (R-TN)
· Senate Appropriations Committee Chair, Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS)
· Democratic Leader, Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV)
· Ranking Member, Senate Appropriations Committee, Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV)
· Speaker of the House, Rep. Dennis Hastert (R-IL)
· House Appropriations Committee Chair, Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA)
· House Majority Leader, Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO)
· Minority Whip, Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD)
· Ranking Member, House Appropriations Committee, Rep. David Obey (D-WI)
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CRS Partners With U.S. Jesuit Conference To Highlight African Oil and Poverty Speaker Tour Now In Progress Until October 21, 2005

Every year CRS' Africa Rising! Hope and Healing campaign brings in at least one partner from Africa to visit U.S. communities to talk about pressing issues confronting the continent and how Africans are responding. This year CRS' Africa Campaign has brought in two African activists to talk about the impact of oil extraction on their communities.

The African Oil and Poverty tour is being co-sponsored by Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and the U.S. Jesuit Conference and is already underway. Mr. Austin Onuoha of Nigeria and Fr. Antoine Berilengar, S.J. of Chad will discuss their work as it pertains to oil extraction in Africa and the protection of human rights, the environment, and the human dignity of the poor who live amidst such massive wealth. They will convey a message of hope that the Africa's oil boom will contribute to poverty reduction and development.

Most Africans gain little or no benefit from the continent's vast natural resource wealth. For many countries in Africa, natural resources, such as diamonds and oil, have been more of a curse than a blessing, contributing to conflict, corruption and continued poverty and environmental degradation.

What You Can Do

Visit CRS' speaker tour web page for speaker bios, a background document on the impact of Africa's oil boom on poor countries and basic country profiles on Chad and Nigeria.

Also click here for further reading on the Extractive Industries and CRS' work on the issue.

Then visit our Action Center to send a message to Congress. Urge them to require U.S. oil companies to disclose their revenue transactions with African governments.

For those who are interested, there is a separate action alert and sample letter that can be directed to CEOs of major U.S. oil companies. Click here to download this alert.

For more information about the tour, please contact kmazyck@crs.org at phone: (410) 951-7424 and email: kmazyck@crs.org

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Humanitarian Situation Continues in Darfur, Sudan

The United Nations estimates that 180,000 people have died, but other reliable estimates indicate 300,000 casualties, more than 2.4 million are homeless, and at least 2.6 million people are affected by the humanitarian emergency in Darfur, Sudan. The World Health Organization estimates that 10,000 more are dying each month. Malnutrition, malaria and cholera are among the greatest health risks. Equally dangerous is the vast insecurity of the region, with continued attacks on civilians and humanitarian aid operations.

"Loving God, send us forth with a renewed connection to the people of Sudan. May our own hopes, dreams, and desires, be rooted more deeply with theirs. And guide us as a global community, so we may one day soon, stop the violence, provide the aid, and resolve the conflict. For all these things we pray." - From a prayer service for the people of Sudan

For more information on the crisis, how CRS is responding, and prayer and educational resources on Sudan including a map of the affected area and a PowerPoint presentation, visit CRS Sudan web portal

Take Action Now!

Thank you for your advocacy to date on behalf of the Sudanese people. Join Catholic Relief Services as we urge President Bush and Members of Congress to STOP THE VIOLENCE. PROVIDE THE AID. RESOLVE THE CONFLICT. Click here to send a message to President George Bush and your members of Congress.

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Darfur, Sudan Awareness Events Coming to a Location Near You
Darfur, Sudan Tent Exhibit

As part of public awareness for Darfur, Sudan, CRS and its university partners are sponsoring a tent exhibit at several northeast U.S. colleges, from October 19 to November 17, 2005. The tent is one of the many tents CRS provided for the tsunami victims in India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. It is an attempt to remember all the people suffering from natural as well as man-made disasters around the world. On display in the tents will be photos of Sudanese people who have become refugees as a result of the crisis. The tent will also contain samples of typical items distributed to these refugees (for e.g. prayer mat, cooking utensils, etc.) The dates for northeast locations are listed below. There are also plans to bring the exhibit to West Coast locations in January 2006.

· October 19-26: St. Joseph's University
· October 30 - November 4: Cabrini College
· November 14-17: Villanova University

CRS Sponsors Sudan Speaker

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is sponsoring a speaker tour to raise awareness about the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, Sudan. Beginning in mid-October, Ahmed Nour Elhuda Abbas (Huda), a Sudanese national and CRS staff in Sudan will visit various communities around the U.S. to talk about the latest developments on the crisis in Darfur and CRS' response.

Huda works on implementing CRS' emergency development programs in Sudan. She has also worked in West Darfur leading registration activities for the World Food Program's food distribution.

CRS is working on the ground in Sudan providing humanitarian relief in the form of shelter, water, sanitation, refugee camp management, education and food. In the U.S. and international political arenas, CRS provides testimony, builds awareness, and shares its field expertise to encourage government leaders to address the crisis in Darfur adequately. CRS seeks to generate greater understanding of the crisis with communities across the U.S. through this speaker tour and CRS' legislative advocacy network.

A full schedule of the Sudan Speaker Tour will soon be available on CRS' web site. Meanwhile, for more information contact Kim Mazyck at kmazyck@crs.org or phone (410) 951-7424.

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Millennium Development Goals: A Day of Advocacy in New York City By Kathy Brown, Director, CRS Community Engagement Department

On Wednesday, September 14, I traveled to New York City to give a brief presentation at a prayer service at the beginning of Three days of Prayer, Fasting and Advocacy, coinciding with United Nations World Summit and the opening of the General Assembly. The three days concluded a summer of prayer and advocacy by American communities of faith committed to reducing extreme poverty in countries across the world. A broad range of religious and faith-based organizations participated in the New York event including about 300 or more people. We gathered at Dag Hammarskold Plaza near the United Nations. During the event we had a press conference, gospel music, prayer and presentations by some of the most dynamic religious leaders in the United States. Jim Wallis of Sojourners led the morning prayer, followed by brief talks by pastors, Rabbis, Imams, Buddhist Monks, and religious leaders and/or representatives of national/international organizations, speaking on the Millennium Development Goals. For me this was an inspiring event. Throughout the morning delegates to the opening of the General Assembly arrived at the UN. The Dag Hammarskold Plaza was wrapped in over a 1,000 people from all over the world. There were various groups speaking about their country. But what amazed me is that all the people who gathered on the Plaza were there because of their concern for poverty in the world.

Since the launching of the Catholic Campaign against Global Poverty, people have said to me that it is impossible to raise any interest in the problem of global poverty much less hope to end it. I disagree. I think people are very concerned about poverty, globally and domestically. What I do think is that they are unsure of how they can respond. What can one person do to end global poverty? Addressing global poverty represents a moral imperative and for us as a people of faith, a biblical mandate. Through our prayers, voices, and action we can support current American initiatives to reduce global poverty. CRS is committed to raising awareness and to provide opportunities for people to express their desire to end global poverty by putting their faith into action. I believe that the energy, enthusiasm and commitment that I experienced in New York in September is an indication of the energy, enthusiasm and commitment of Catholics throughout the United States, and I also believe that in God all things are possible!

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Observe World AIDS Day on December 1, 2005

World AIDS Day was established on December 1, 1988 by the World Health Organization to raise awareness about the pandemic's impact on communities around the world. This observance is also a way to express solidarity for people in different regions of the world suffering the effects of the disease. The 2005 theme is Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise.

Today the global picture on HIV/AIDS is bleak: in the two decades since the epidemic began, over 20 million people around the world have died. In 2004, 39 million people were living with HIV/AIDS. Sub-Saharan Africa is hardest hit, with 25 million people living with this disease. Other regions including Asia and Latin America are seeing a rapid increase in new infections. Women are infected at about the same rate as men. They account for nearly half of those living with the disease around the world. On the up side, since 2001, global funding for HIV/AIDS has increased from roughly US$ 2.1 billion to an estimated US$ 6.1 billion in 2004.

This year join people around the world in planning World AIDS Day activities at your school, parish or diocese to spread the word about the devastating impact of this disease on individuals and communities. CRS will soon unveil a World AIDS Day web portal with resources you can use to plan your events, including a fact sheet, prayer resources, lesson plans, Church statements and profiles on the HIV/AIDS situation in four countries. Information to download these resources will be available in the next issue of the Advocate.

You may also keep up with our work on HIV/ AIDS in Africa by visiting CRS Africa Campaign website

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Migration Drama Project to Tour Northeast U.S.
In June 2004, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Migration and other related Catholic agencies decided to make comprehensive immigration reform, with special emphasis on legalization, a major public policy priority within the Church. In response, a diverse group of Catholic organizations with national networks have come together in a campaign called Justice for Immigrants: A Journey of Hope. The campaign is designed to unite and mobilize a growing network of Catholic institutions, individuals, and other persons of good faith in support of a broad legalization program and comprehensive immigration reform. The Justice for Immigrants Campaign provides tools and information for diocesan and community-based organizing, education, and advocacy efforts.

The campaign is underpinned by Catholic teachings, as well as proposals from the Catholic Bishops to achieve reforms in our nation's immigration laws and policies that better reflect our values as a nation of immigrants.

Catholic Relief Services is a major partner with the USCCB on the campaign. Currently there are forty dioceses around the U.S. that have active local migration committees interested in implementing the campaign.

Given this and to help people better understand the issue of migration, CRS is sponsoring a Drama Project entitled THE LINE IN THE SAND: Stories from the US/Mexico Border. This production is based on interviews with real migrants on the Mexican side of the border and arranged by students affiliated with Villanova University. The cast will tour the northeast U.S. during the upcoming fall and winter season. For a schedule of venues or for further information on the drama production, please call Candice Harris in CRS' Northeast office at (610) 293-4669.

To learn more about the issue of immigration or to get involved, visit www.justiceforimmigrants.org. If you are interested in working on the issue of migration in your diocese please, call Chris West at 800-235-2772 x 7454

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Welcome Zoe Beuzelin to the World!
Community Engagement's Legislative Network Specialist, Tina Rodousakis and husband, Alex Beuzelin recently became the proud parents of a baby girl. Zoe Beuzelin was born on September 9, 2005, weighing 6 lbs. 8 oz and 19 inches long. Baby Zoe and parents are doing fine. Congratulations to Tina and Alex!

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News About Resources & Events
Campus Advocacy Materials

Over a year ago CRS introduced a new web portal - Campus Connection - to provide resources on global issues geared toward college students, campus ministers, faculty and staff, who want to make a difference in the world. The web site provides regularly updated content in various formats, for example backgrounders, issue discussion guides, action alerts, etc. Advocating together on issues such as immigration, fair trade, Sudan, and HIV/AIDS, colleges and CRS are able to speak out on behalf of our world's poorest brothers and sisters. To download these resources, visit the Campus Connection page at www.CRScampus.org
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Contact Us
E-mail the Community Engagement Department at advocacy@catholicrelief.org or call us toll-free at 1-800-235-2772, ext. 7264.

Community Engagement Staff:
· Kathy Brown, Community Engagement Director, ext. 7232
· Alice Cutchember, Administrative Assistant, ext. 7264
· Rowena Gono, Advocacy Communications Specialist, ext. 7496
· Kimberly Mazyck, Campaign Project Officer, ext. 7424
· Tina Rodousakis, Legislative Network Specialist, ext. 7462
· Chris West, Community Organizer, ext. 7454

The Advocate is a monthly publication of the CRS Community Engagement Department. A two-page, print-ready version, as well as archived editions, can be downloaded from the grassroots advocacy pages of the CRS web site. Or e-mail us at advocacy@catholicrelief.org and we'll send it to you.

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