“Human industry is
of no avail unless
God is intimately
united with it.”

January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. It is a powerful reminder that slavery continues to be a moral and human rights issue in the United States.

Let us pray for and with our sisters and brothers who are forced to leave their homelands and for those who welcome them into a new land.

National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day is Dec. 21, the first day of winter and the longest night of the year. It is a day to remember those who have died without stable housing, to reflect on the shocking inhumanity of homelessness, and to call for meaningful policy changes to ensure that no life is lived or lost in homelessness.

The Sisters of Charity (SC) have partnered with Aunt Flow, a women-founded enterprise that is committed to ensuring people have access to quality menstrual products while at work or school.

Human trafficking is the business of stealing freedom for profit. To me, this definition describes modern day slavery. I believe that people in the United States don’t realize that human trafficking is happening in our own communities. There were 443 trafficking cases in 2018 – just in Ohio.

International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women is Nov. 25. Living free from violence is a human right, yet millions of women and girls suffer disproportionately from violence both in peace and in war, at the hands of their countries, in their homes, and their communities.

The month is a time to honor the contributions, achievements, sacrifices, and cultural and historical legacy of the original inhabitants, and their descendants, of what is now the United States.

In 2018, an estimated 11.1 percent of United States households were food insecure at least some time during the year, meaning they lacked access to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members.

Catholic Social Teaching has been articulated through a rich tradition of papal, conciliar, and episcopal documents. In the first of seven principles of Catholic Social Teaching, the Church proclaims that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society.

September 21 is the International Day of Peace (Peace Day). The United Nations General Assembly declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples. It is a day of non-violence and ceasefire.