The following Web site resources are organized by
fifteen subject categories. The Web site address (URL)
follows the title of the group or organization. Please
be aware that this is not a comprehensive list and
that URLs can change rapidly. Every effort has been
made to ensure that the information below is
up-to-date. However, readers are asked to use a
browser to locate resources if the URLs given here do
not connect directly to the desired site.
This index is not endorsed by
the Diocese of Joliet - Peace and Social Justice
Ministry, and may link to material not endorsed by the
Catholic Church. It is provided for
research value.
Table of Contents
Catholic Campaign for Human Development
www.usccb.org/cchd
This organization is the domestic anti-poverty, social
justice program of the U.S. Catholic bishops. Its
mission is to address the root causes of poverty in
the United States through promotion and support of
community-controlled, self-help organizations and
through transformative education. It supports local
groups as they create jobs, improve neighborhoods,
train adults for employment at a living wage, keep
schools safe and enriching for children, and raise
leaders for the future.
Catholic Charities USA is the membership
association of one of the nation's largest social
service networks. Catholic Charities agencies and
institutions nationwide provide vital social services
to people in need, regardless of their religious,
social, or economic backgrounds. It supports and
enhances the work of its membership by providing
networking opportunities, national advocacy and media
efforts, program development, training and technical
assistance, and financial support.
This is the official overseas
relief-and-development agency of the
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
working in over eighty countries to alleviate poverty,
hunger and suffering, with programs that uphold the
dignity of the human person and recognize that all are
united in one human family. It reaches out to people
in more than 94 countries and territories around the
world to alleviate human suffering and promote peace
for poor and disadvantaged people.
Capital Punishment
This group promotes greater awareness of Catholic
Church teachings that characterize capital punishment
as unnecessary, inappropriate and unacceptable in
today's world.
This is a large and diverse member-based organization
made up of people from all walks of life who come to
this issue from many different perspectives --
religious, moral, economic, legal, political, social,
and personal but who share a common view that capital
punishment is unnecessary and inappropriate in our
modern society
The Death Penalty Information Center is a non-profit
organization serving the media and the public with
analysis and information on issues concerning capital
punishment. It prepares in-depth reports, issues press
releases, conducts briefings for journalists, and
serves as a resource to those working on this issue.
National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
www.ncadp.org
This organization is dedicated to the abolition of the
death penalty using a multifaceted approach that
includes public education, moral challenges, legal
advocacy, and grassroots mobilization.
This volunteer visitation program to federal and
military prisoners throughout the United States offers
friendship and a listening ear to help prisoners
prepare to assume a useful place in society.
Death Penalty Resources from this Office.
Click here for Various Resources
Restorative Jutice
RestoreJustice.com
www.restorejustice.com
RestoreJustice.com is an outreach of the California Catholic Conference offering healing and support to everyone affected by the criminal justice system throughout the U.S.
This site is made possible by a grant from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development at the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops.
The purpose of RestoreJustice.com is to offer a place of compassion and assistance, resources and services and educational information for anyone who is affected by crime - victims of crime, offenders and their families, corrections staff, chaplains, criminal justice system employees and management, and advocates for restorative justice.
Restorative Justice Resources from this Office
click here
Disarmament
Center for Defense Information
www.cdi.org
This nonpartisan, organization is committed to
independent research on the social, economic,
environmental, political and military components of
global security. Its central aim is to educate the
public and inform policymakers about issues of
security policy, strategy, operations, weapon systems,
and defense budgeting, and to produce creative
solutions to the problems of today and tomorrow.
The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation initiates and
supports worldwide efforts to abolish nuclear weapons,
to strengthen international law and institutions, to
use technology responsibly and sustainability, and to
empower youth to create a more peaceful world.
This organization promotes grassroots activism for
nuclear disarmament, an end to weapons trafficking, a
just economy, a democratic foreign policy, and an
informed electorate.
The goal of this group is to pool contributions from
donors and reinvest these resources in the most
practical and effective efforts to stop the spread of
weapons of war in a nuclear age; to address the
environmental legacy of the nuclear age; and to
promote public understanding and participation.
Specifically it tries to influence leaders and the
public, improve news coverage, and direct resources to
lobbyists and to citizen advocacy campaigns.
Domestic Poverty
Catholic Campaign for Human Development
www.usccb.org/cchd
This organization is the domestic anti-poverty, social
justice program of the U.S. Catholic bishops. Its
mission is to address the root causes of poverty in
the United States through promotion and support of
community-controlled, self-help organizations and
through transformative education. It supports local
groups as they create jobs, improve neighborhoods,
train adults for employment at a living wage, keep
schools safe and enriching for children, and raise
leaders for the future.
New from CCHD: Ending Poverty In Community - A Toolkit for Young Advocates
Catholic Charities USA is the membership association
of one of the nation's largest social service
networks. Catholic Charities agencies and institutions
nationwide provide vital social services to people in
need, regardless of their religious, social, or
economic backgrounds. Catholic Charities USA supports
and enhances the work of its membership by providing
networking opportunities, national advocacy and media
efforts, program development, training and technical
assistance, and financial support.
This Catholic society of priests and brothers along
with lay associates and a cooperating community of
Glenmary Home Mission Sisters is dedicated to serving
the spiritual and material needs of the people
throughout Appalachia and the rural South and
Southwest.
In November 2002 the U.S. Catholic bishops issued a
document entitled A Place at the Table,
articulating a Catholic recommitment to overcoming
poverty and to respecting the dignity of all God's
children. Access this web site for materials and aids
to address both domestic and international poverty.
Since its launch in 2006, the Coalition has focused its work on providing a forum to explore the issues and faith implications of climate change through hosted hearings around the country.
Second, the Coalition also works to connect Catholics by staying in touch with state and diocesan leaders who are promoting climate change activities. We also work with other national Catholic partners and assist them in connecting the issue of climate change within their institutions.
Dioceses and Catholic organizations are partnering to work on local climate change issues. The Coalition’s third area of work is to promote participation by linking these efforts to Environmental Justice Program grants through the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
This group provides the economic strategies,
organizing power, and practical tools for businesses
and individuals to address today's social and
environmental problems.
This group's mission is to establish a sound ethical
foundation for the emerging global society and to help
build a sustainable world based on respect for nature,
universal human rights, economic justice, and a
culture of peace.
This group engages individuals and congregations in
knowing God more fully through deepening relationships
with all of God's creation.
This organization offers news items on what is
happening to the environment, including company
actions. It is an information site for any
environmental topic.
Friends of the Earth International
www.foei.org
This group campaigns on environmental and social
issues and works to promote sustainable practices.
This organization is dedicated to the health and
well-being of the native forest of the Central
Hardwood region in the United States and its
interdependent plant, animal, and human communities.
It provides network support to individual activists
and member organizations and a supportive structural
framework for personal interaction and growth.
National Catholic Rural Life Conference
www.ncrlc.com
This organization communicates a Catholic perspective
and urges public action on rural life and
environmental issues. Its mission is to support and
empower rural people and bring hope to rural living.
World Resources Institute
www.wri.org
This is an environmental think-tank that provides
extensive information about the earth's ecosystems as
well as practical solutions to global environmental
problems.
Global Solidarity
American Friends Service Committee
www.afsc.org
This Quaker organization includes people of various
faiths who are committed to social justice, peace, and
humanitarian service. It focuses on issues related to
economic justice, peace-building, demilitarization,
social justice, and youth in the United States and
other countries.
This is the official overseas relief-and-development
agency of the
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops,
working in over eighty countries to alleviate poverty,
hunger and suffering, with programs that uphold the
dignity of the human person and recognize that all are
united in one human family.
DuPage Global/Local AIDS Action Network www.dgaan.org/
The DuPage Glocal AIDS Action Network (DGAAN) was formed with three purposes:
1.
To build a strong advocate voice in the DuPage area and to expand that voice into local, national and international arenas.
2.
To find ways to network successfully and build an enduring community
3.
To strengthen the lifeline, offering strands of hope to stop the spread of AIDS glocally. The word “glocal,” an amalgam of global and local, is to remind us that our efforts should be as far reaching as the HIV/AIDS pandemic itself.
DGAAN is unusual since it contains different people from different backgrounds, crossing boundaries, crossing lines. DGAAN has members who are Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, Baptist and Evangelical, Democrat and Republican, black and white, gay and straight, moms, students and executives, HIV positive and HIV negative. It is a broad network, not narrow, crossing social, religious and political barriers, forming bonds among groups and recognizing that their differences can compliment rather than conflict.
This web site looks into global issues that affect
everyone and shows how most issues are interrelated.
Over five thousand links to external articles, web
sites, reports and analyses are used to provide
credence to the arguments made on this web site.
Issues range from trade, poverty and globalization, to
human rights, geopolitics, and the environment.
This group operates in Guatemala City to build
cross-border relationships of solidarity by uniting
North American activists with Guatemalans seeking
peace and social justice.
On these pages you will find a pathway to help you live
more simply, sustainably, and in solidarity with the poor
This network brings together diverse people and
organizations to work for a world free of debt for
billions of poor people by active solidarity with
partners worldwide, targeted and timely advocacy
strategies, and educational outreach.
Department of Social Development and World Peace
www.usccb.org/sdwp
This department of the US Catholic Conference of
Bishops offers resources on national and international
justice issues as well as legislative information and
action items. It also offers a legislative advocacy
network.
Religious Taskforce on Central America and Mexico
www.rtfcam.org
This organization is a resource for education, action
and faith reflection, serving a broad ecumenical
network throughout the United States. It collaborates
closely with national religious, human rights, and
policy organizations in developing work on the region
for the faith community.
School of the Americas Watch
www.soaw.org
This independent organization seeks to close the U.S.
Army School of the Americas, under whatever name it is
called, through vigils and fasts, demonstrations, and
nonviolent protests, as well as media and legislative
work.
Voices in the Wilderness
www.vitw.org
This group advocates for the people of Iraq by sending
nearly fifty delegations to Iraq to be in solidarity
with families in this country. Each small delegation
represents thousands of people in America and England
who want to resist this cruel economic warfare.
Human Rights
This is a worldwide campaigning movement that works to
promote internationally recognized human rights.
This human rights organization is dedicated to
promoting environmental, political, and social justice
around the world. It has been striving to increase
global awareness among the U.S. public while building
international partnerships around the world.
Human Rights Watch is the largest human rights
organization based in the United States. Its
researchers conduct fact-finding investigations into
human rights abuses in all regions of the world and
publish their findings.
This organization protects human rights and promotes
nonviolent transformation of conflicts.
This broad-based international civil organization
works in partnership with local groups, whenever
possible, to provide large-scale nonviolent protective
services to people in conflict situations.
This organization is concerned with protection of life
and promoting a consistent ethic of life.
This group links US communities to communities in El
Salvador in order to promote social and economic
development and as a means to reclaim basic human
rights.
This is a grassroots organization committed to
nonviolence and promotion of social justice in Latin
America and the Caribbean. It works for change in the
U.S. and other foreign governments in policies that
perpetuate poverty and oppression in Latin America and
the Caribbean.
Hunger
This nationwide Christian citizen's movement seeks
justice for the world's hungry people by lobbying U.S.
decision-makers. Its institute engages in research and
education on policies related to hunger and
development. Bread for the World is supported by over
forty denominations
The Institute for Food and Development Policy, better
known as Food First, is a member-supported, nonprofit
peoples' think-tank and education-for-action center.
Its work highlights root causes of and value-based
solutions to hunger and poverty around the world, with
a commitment to establishing food as a fundamental
human right.
Heifer Project International
www.heifer.org
This organization provides animals to poor families
across the globe. Heifer donors, volunteers, staff and
project partners strive daily to build communities,
distribute resources fairly, improve access to
education and preserve our environment.
Justice Information Sources/Magazines
American Friends Service Committee
www.afsc.org
The American Friends Service Committee is a practical
expression of the faith of the Religious Society of
Friends (Quakers). Committed to the principles of
nonviolence and justice, it seeks in its work and
witness to draw on the transforming power of love,
human and divine.
This Jesuit publication contains commentary on the
social teachings of the Church and on the application
of these teachings to concrete situations in social
and economic life.
This organization offers moral vision and provides
effective leadership in the struggle to end hunger,
poverty, environmental decline, and injustice in the
United States and around the world. Its goal is to
provide individuals and organizations with the basic
tools needed to address these universal questions:
What are the root causes of human suffering in the
world today? How can we change the system to increase
social justice and offer hope?
This justice education site is sponsored by The Center
of Concern. Membership provides access to the site and
weekly updates by email.
This organization of religious communities of men and
women is grounded in the hope of the Scriptures and
Christian faith tradition. It collaborates in the
struggle to provide a critical alternative voice to
the systems that oppress the human community and
environment and to work for the structural changes
that will hasten the arrival of a more just world.
This group seeks to make the United States a more
responsible global leader and global partner. It is a
think- tank without walls that functions as an
international network of more than 650 policy analysts
and advocates. It is committed to advancing a
citizen-based foreign policy agenda fundamentally
rooted in citizen initiatives and movements.
Friends Committee on National Legislation
www.fcnl.org
This Quaker lobbying group advocates in the public
interest to bring the concerns, experiences and
testimonies of the Religious Society of Friends to
bear on policy decisions in the nation's capital. It
advocates for social and economic justice, peace, and
good government. Its online monthly magazine is The
Washington Newsletter.
This unique web site outlines contemplation and social
justice, faith and action. Rooted in Servite (Servants
of Mary), it provides resources for those who value
community, spirituality, compassion, healing,
solidarity, and social justice.
Institute for Peace and Justice -
www.ipj-ppj.org
This interfaith center works creatively and
collaboratively to teach and advocate for alternatives
to violence in public policy and in lifestyles.
Intercommunity Peace and Justice Center
www.ipjc.org
Their group provides materials to deepen and enliven
the links between the Catholic tradition and the
situation of the world.
NCR provides an independent voice within the Church
through its publications, which value an open and
honest expression of faith and are guided by
commitments to justice, peace, and a sustainable
world.
NIF provides information on many key issues, including
teaching tools and study guides.
The Campaign for the Classroom 2004 is a complete
kit for high school or middle school teachers who want
to introduce deliberative discussion of social issues
into their classrooms.
Office of Social Justice - Diocese of St.
Paul/Minneapolis
www.osjspm.org/
This site offers numerous resources on current issues,
current legislation, Catholic social teaching, parish
tools, and educational resources.
This site offers information on many current issues as
well as links to related social justice sites. It also
offers educational resources and Catholic magazines.
Rooted in the solid ground of prophetic biblical
tradition, this site and magazine reflect a
progressive Christian voice that preaches not
political correctness but compassion, community, and
commitment.
This center engages in theological and ethical
reflection on topics of social, economic, business,
scientific, cultural, religious, and political
importance. Drawing on the Roman Catholic tradition,
it is ecumenically open, multi-disciplinary, and
collaborative with, among others, the business
community, government, religious groups, universities,
other research centers, and the media.
Legislative Action
a non-partisan non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the fullness of the Catholic social tradition in the public square.
Catholic Relief Services offers a grassroots
legislative advocacy center that identifies
opportunities to support issues concern with global
solidarity.
National Association of State Catholic Conference
Directors
www.nasccd.org
This organization is a Church agency representing the
dioceses within a state in order to provide for the
coordination of the public policy concerns of the
Church. Each state conference communicates with state
governments, other Church Agencies, non-Catholic
churches, and secular agencies, Bishops, priests,
religious, and laypersons. This site will link to all
states were there is conference activities.
Founded by Catholic sisters, this is an organization
in Washington, D.C. created to educate and lobby for
federal legislation that promotes the common good,
with particular concern for people who are poor, and a
vision toward social justice.
Department of Social Development and World Peace
www.usccb.org/sdwp/
This web site provides invaluable and comprehensive
background material for groups interested in
legislative advocacy and justice education.
Joliet Diocese Legislative Advocay Network
Of course, don't forget our very own advocacy network! If you are not yet a member, sign up today.
Migrant Workers/Refugees
This group promotes public understanding of refugees
in the United States and facilitates the ability of
U.S. citizens to get involved with refugees in their
local communities. It defends the rights of all
uprooted people.
USCCB: Office of Migration and Refugee Services
www.usccb.org/mrs/
This department of US Catholic Conference of Bishops
is committed to resettlement, pastoral care, and
advocacy roles on behalf of immigrants, migrants and
refugees. It offers many resources, publications, and
notices at this site.
Nonviolence
This organization is dedicated to practicing the Peace
of Christ, revealed in the teachings of the Catholic
Church, through ministry and education. It also
educates the Church community about the two options by
which a Catholic may address conflict: active pacifism
and just war.
Every Church a Peace Church -
www.ecapc.org
This is an organization that encourages churches to
commit to a vision of peace and nonviolence.
Fellowship of Reconciliation -
www.forusa.org
The largest and oldest interfaith peace organization
in the United States, FOR seeks to replace violence,
war, racism, and economic injustice with nonviolence,
peace, and justice. It educates, trains, builds
coalitions, and engages in nonviolent and
compassionate actions locally, nationally, and
globally. It also offers a legislative advocacy
network.
Institute for Peace and Justice
www.ipj-ppj.org
This independent, interfaith, nonprofit organization
began as a response to the realities of war, racism,
and global economic injustice. It is committed to the
challenge, If you want peace, work for justice, by
helping people find learnable and doable alternatives
that incorporate justice and reconciliation into an
active quest for peace in everyday life.
Franciscan-founded Pace e Bene offers workshops,
trainings, retreats, and resources in the spirituality
and practice of nonviolent peacemaking.
This group strives to create a world that reflects the
peace of Christ by exploring, articulating, and
witnessing to the call for Christian nonviolence. It
rejects war, preparations for war, and every form of
violence and domination. It advocates primacy of
conscience, economic and social justice, and respect
for creation. It also offers a legislative advocacy
network.
Christian Peacemaker Teams
www.cpt.org
This organization offers an organized, nonviolent
alternative to war and other forms of lethal
inter-group conflict. It provides organizational
support to persons committed to faith-based nonviolent
alternatives in situations where lethal conflict is an
immediate reality or is supported by public policy.
Over 185 Catholic Worker communities remain committed
to nonviolence, voluntary poverty, prayer, and
hospitality for the homeless, exiled, hungry, and
forsaken. Catholic Workers continue to protest
injustice, war, racism, and violence of all forms.
This is a coalition of more than 800 local and
national groups throughout the United States who have
joined together to oppose our government's policy of
permanent warfare and empire-building. It brings
together a broad range of organizations throughout the
United States to help coordinate work against a U.S.
war on Iraq.
Racism
The mission of this organization is to dismantle
systemic racism and build anti-racist multicultural
diversity within institutions and communities. It
implements this mission primarily by training
institutional transformation teams.
Southern Poverty Law Center
www. .
This organization combats hate, intolerance, and
racism through education and litigation. It provides
excellent resources on teaching tolerance for all age
groups.
Sojourners Resource Center
www.sojo.net
This organization is a Christian ministry whose
mission is to proclaim and practice the biblical
practice the biblical call to integrate spiritual
renewal and social justice. This web site offers
excellent resources on racism.
This is a nationwide network of locally sponsored
public forums on public policy issues. This web site
offers excellent resources on racism.
Simpler Living/Justice Lifestyle
This organization equips people of faith to challenge
consumerism, live justly, and celebrate responsibly by
offering resources for study and reflection.
This loving, prophetic Christian ministry encourages
all people to become free from their attachment to
cultural values regarding money and to live out
joyfully God's call for their lives and resources. It
provides opportunities individuals to explore their
relationship to money from a faith perspective.
At this site viewers investigate hundreds of companies
on a range of issues, including sweatshops, pollution,
ethics, discrimination, and more. A search can be done
using company name or product.
This network offers an interactive catalogue of
earth-friendly products, resources, and services to
help people live a simple, comfortable, less
consumption oriented lifestyle.
Socially Responsible Investing
Spirituality
This organization is focused on bridging gaps within
the spiritual and justice communities; building a
rhythm of contemplative prayer and meditation into our
days; and, even more fundamentally, believing that
external behavior should be connected to and supported
by inner guidance.
Collected Writings on Nonviolence by John Dear
www.fatherjohndear.org
This site contains many of Fr. Dear's speeches,
sermons, and prayers. It also has links to other peace
and justice web sites that promote nonviolence.
Creighton University provides many reflections,
prayers and resources at their online site with links
to many other spirituality sites.<
This site offers Henri Nouwen resources, books and
tapes as well as a list of events related activities
featuring his work.
This site offers information on meditation for all
faiths as well as extended information on the life of
Gandhi.
This is a site offered by the Carmelites in
Indianapolis. It offers lessons in mindfulness and
prayer as well as how to pray the news.
This is a site offered by Irish Jesuits that has
prayers, reflections and music. They offer a daily
prayer.
Worker's Rights
This group mobilizes grassroots support throughout the
United States to promote economic and social justice
by campaigning to end labor rights violations around
the world. It provides education and advocates against
the underlying causes of the “global sweatshop and
offers an action network to effect change. It also
offers a citizen action network.
This site offers the history of the national
living-wage movement, background materials such as
ordinance summaries and comparisons, drafting tips,
research summaries, talking points, and links to other
living-wage-related sites.
This group helps defend the human rights of workers in
the global economy. It investigates and exposes human
and labor rights abuses committed by U.S. companies
producing goods in the developing world and undertakes
public education that empower U.S. citizens to support
the efforts of workers to learn and defend their
rights.
Additional Links
