Justice Initiative

About the Justice Initiative

Responding to social problems is not a new for Old St. Patrick’s Church.

We join with past generations of Old St. Patrick's Church members in recognizing that caring for people in need is central to the Gospel message. Caring for people in need requires providing immediate relief (acts of charity). But caring for people in need also requires challenging the conditions in society (actions on behalf of justice) that create inequity in the world and the consequent disproportionate need and suffering that too many people experience.

The Justice Initiative was created to facilitate the efforts of Old St. Patrick's Church to promote the work of social justice. Old St. Patrick's Church, as an institution, participates in efforts on behalf of social justice in three ways:

Faith Formation for Social Justice
brings people together for shared learning and spiritual enrichment with a focus on the issues of social justice.
A Members' Resource Network
brings people together to share resources, skills, interests, and experiences centering on social justice.
Collective Action on Behalf of Justice
brings people together for structured, collective action on behalf of social justice issues.

We welcome new projects and your involvement! For more information about The Justice Initiative , please contact The Justice Initiative staff liaison, Bob Kolatorowicz at 312.831.9379 orbobk@oldstpats.org.

Action on behalf of justice and participation in the transformation of the world fully appear to us as a constitutive dimension of the preaching of the Gospel, or, in other words, of the Christian mission for the redemption of the human race and its liberation from every oppressive situation.”

The Synod of Catholic Bishops in Rome, 1971

Projects of The Justice Initiative

  • The Peace/Non-Violence Project
  • The Capital Punishment Forum
  • The Catholic/Muslim Dialogue Group
  • The Fair Trade Project   Fair Trade Sales featuring merchandise from 10,000 Villages
  • The Social Justice Film Series: “One Film, One Old St. Pat's”
  • The Social Justice Tithing Project
  • Hiroshima Remembrance: Photo Exhibit
  • Peace Book (prayer intentions for all those touched by war)
  • Pax Christi membership
  • Chicagoans and Islam , city-wide assembly at Navy Pier

Projects, Lectures, Forums, and Workshops sponsored by The Justice Initiative

  • From Chicago To Baghdad: A Journey For Peace with Nobel Peace Prize Nominee Kathy Kelly
  • Peace and Me: A Mini-Retreat in the City led by Mary Ann Daly, M.A.
  • Catholicism and Conscientious Objection with Fr. Michael Baxter
  • Just War/Holy War: What Can We Learn from Catholic Social Teaching? with Fr. Michael Baxter
  • Practical Peace: An Inter-Religious Prayer Celebration led by Mairead Corrigan Maguire, 1976 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
  • Closing the School of the Americas with Fr. Roy Bourgeois
  • The Gifts of Islam, The Gifts of Catholicism : A Day to Promote Understanding and Appreciation with Scott Alexander and Inamul Haq
  • A Quest for Understanding: Christianity and Islam in Dialogue with Scott Alexander and Fr. John Pawlikowski
  • Can Justice, Mercy and Forgiveness Peaceably Coexist with Capital Punishment? with Mr. Gerald Nora, Deacon George Brooks, and Ms. Jeanne Bishop
  • Evil and Injustice: An Authentic Spiritual Response with Br. Wayne Teasdale
  • The God Who Loves All of Creation: Reflections on Diversity with Rev. Barbara Heard
  • Fair Trade Coffee: Changing the World One Cup at a Time
    Chicago Religious Leadership Network for Latin America
  • Strangers in a Foreign Land: Stories from Iraq , A panel discussion with Mr. Dennis Flores, Mr. James Janega, and Ms. Kathy Kelly, moderated by Mr. Robert McClory.
 
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