NCR Today

October 26th is the feast of St. Alfred the Great!

Alfred found learning dead
and he restored it.
Education neglected
and he revived it.
The laws powerless,
and he gave them force.
The Church debased,
and he raised it.
The land ravaged by a fearful enemy,
from which he delivered it.
Alfred's name will live as long
as mankind shall respect the past.

--Inscription on the Statue to Alfred the Great in Wantage
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To learn more about "England's Darling", click HERE!
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Submitted by Gerelyn Hollingsworth

New jobs, especially those connected to the rapidly growing economy revolving around energy conservation and pollution reduction, must provide laid-off workers and low-income families the opportunity to shed the title of working poor by having a well-paying job, said Father Larry Snyder, executive director of Catholic Charities USA, during a recent nationwide webinar marking the second Fighting Poverty with Faith initiative.

"As people of faith we can make a difference to develop and shape a new American economy, one that provides a living wage and one that provides the benefits where people don't have to rely on government benefits," Father Snyder said. "We can, and must, work to reshape our economy so there is a balance and pay equity for all workers."

To view the recorded webinar, click here. You may be inspired to engage in volunteer projects, public education, and advocacy on the issue of shared economic prosperity and workforce development that includes "green" pathways out of poverty for working families.

Imagine for a minute that it’s 1954, as segregationists faced Brown vs. the Board of Education, the Supreme Court case which mandated school de-segregation. And imagine that the Vatican, or the Catholic bishops, said to Protestant segregationists in the South, “You can come to our schools, to Catholic schools, and we’ll provide you with a home.” Most Catholics would have been outraged, I daresay. (And of course, precisely the opposite actually happened, as many Catholic bishops were outspoken against racial segregation, and integrated Catholic schools -- thank God).

But it’s a different story with gender segregation or sexual orientation. This is not a perfect analogy, granted. But the Vatican’s overtures to dissident Anglicans sound like those “imagined” 1950’s with a different twist. The Vatican is opening Catholic doors wide to Anglicans who believe in “segregation at the altar,” for women, and for openly gay/lesbian clergy.