USCCB - (Office of Media Relations)

November Pitches

Catholic Campaign For Human Development to Honor Youth

The Catholic Campaign for Human Development will honor a young Catholic leader November 15 with the first Cardinal Bernardin New Leadership Award. The award will be announced one week before the CCHD annual collection, this year taken up in parishes Nov. 21-22. "The CCHD's new national award will recognize young Catholic leaders who demonstrate a commitment to putting the Church's social teaching into action," said Barbara Stephenson, CCHD spokesperson. "The Cardinal Bernardin New Leadership Award will be given annually to a Catholic young adult who demonstrates outstanding leadership skills and experience in parish social justice work or in a CCHD-funded community group. The youth selected will be chosen for showing potential for continuing leadership in these areas and demonstrating a commitment to the CCHD values of participation, option for the poor, and solidarity-building."

Barbara Stephenson can be reached at 202-541-3364.

Don't Just Diet, Fast, the Day after Thanksgiving

Don't just diet, try fasting, the day after Thanksgiving, which this year is celebrated November 26. "The call for fasting comes from the National Council of La Raza, a group urging people to acknowledge the plight of farm workers," says J. Kevin Appleby, Director of Migration and Refugee Policy at the U.S. Bishops' Office for Migration and Refugees. "The Fast for America's Farmworkers on November 27 is an opportunity to join in solidarity with and to highlight the plight of America's farmworkers, who are often subject to difficult working and living conditions." The fast will be held November 27, and participants are asked to donate what they would have spent on food that day to individual farm workers.

J. Kevin Appleby can be reached at 202-541-3260. Happy New Year, Christians

The new year for the Church begins November 29, the First Sunday of Advent, when Christians prepare to mark the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, His birth in the hearts of men and women everywhere and His coming in glory at the end of time. "The challenge of Advent is to keep focused on the call to prepare our hearts to receive the gift of Himself, which the Lord gave us in Bethlehem while we look to His return in glory," notes Father James Moroney, the U.S. Bishops' adviser on Liturgy. "Family and parish traditions which feature Advent wreaths, Christmas trees, Advent calendars with a daily spiritual message and long-time popular hymns such as O Come, O Come Emmanuel and O Come Divine Messiah help people to be touched by Christ in this holy season. So great is God's love for us that he sent His only Son -- that's the great news that makes every year new!"

Father James Moroney can be reached at 202-541-3064.