If you didn’t see it check out Gretchen Nielsen’s editorial piece on today’s Arizona Daily Star
Gretchen and her boyfriend Dr. Dalton McClelland, the retired Doctor of the People, have been donors and supporters of Casa Maria for many years. They are both veterans of the struggle for Justice and Peace in Tucson, and members of the Tucson Bus Riders Union.
To get to her article go to:
Remembering Archbishop Oscar A. Romero
by Anita Timpani Bubany
“Let my blood be a seed of freedom.” -Romero
Monday, March 24th marks the 34th Anniversary of the death of Archbishop Oscar A. Romero. As Catholics and workers for justice – we should be mindful of those that have walked before us who worked to bring the kingdom of God here on earth. What we can accomplish in our lifetime is only a piece of building the kingdom of God. But when our pieces are combined with others visions and we work together to fight against the injustices – we are that much stronger. And when we water the seeds already planted of those who have walked before us – we realize that we are that much closer to achieving God’s vision of love, peace, and justice.
I had the opportunity to learn more about Archbishop Romero’s life, work, and death, the Salvadoran people, and the role of the Church during the civil war in El Salvador while I studied at a Jesuit university. I was also fortunate to travel twice to El Salvador and spend time with people who lived and worked with Romero himself. I am reminded by Romero’s life of the importance of both action and contemplation. How are your actions rooted in contemplation and spiritual power?
The Martyrs Project created a video to honor the legacy of Archbishop Oscar A. Romero compiling transcribed works to prayers written by Romero. See video links below! Enjoy! -Anita Timpani Bubany
English Version:
Spanish Version:
For those that are interested the lyrics in English/Spanish and the guitar cord sheet can be found here:
English:
Click to access ROMERO%20(CHORDS_LYRICS).pdf
Spanish:
CASA MARIA LIVING OUT THE GOLDEN RULE?
Thanks very much to the Arizona Interfaith Movement for making Casa Maria one of their Golden Rule Award recipients.
Last night, March 25th, Brian drove with Msgr. Tom Cahalane and Victor Calderon from the Catholic Vision to receive the award in front of 900 people at the Mesa Convention Center.
Check out these pictures of Brian talking with his new buddy Jerry Colangelo, who was also honored. If you don’t know Jerry, he was past owner of both the Phoenix Suns and the Arizona Diamondbacks and is one of the most powerful men in Arizona.
To see the video about Casa Maria that was shown to the 900 attendees go to:
JOIN THE BUS RIDERS UNION AT THE RTA BOARD MEETING AND THE CESAR CHAVEZ MARCH
I Heard You Followed em’ with a Bullhorn,
by John Miles, Brian, Cesar and Jimmy
So yesterday there was a meeting about the development of the Ronstadt Transit Center. It was billed as “Pre Proposal Conference and Site Visit.” Our understanding was that it was a public meeting for developers to ask questions of the city bureaucrats.
For this reason the Bus Riders Union showed up with our 45 organized members in our yellow shirts, to great developers with banners, signs, screaming kids, bus riders in need of translation, etc., etc.
After that came the site visit. Where the architects and bureaucrats were accompanied by the bus riders through the tour of the RTC. Many of the bus riders, not yet members of the union, were very interested in what was going on, asking questions about the development of the RTC and wanting to know how to join and support the union.
John Miles commented to us that our action must have been a success because he heard that we “Followed em’ to Ronstadt with a bullhorn.”
Grijalva Kicks off Re-election Campaign
by Brian Flagg,
Last night I walked next door to the El Casino Ballroom and had the pleasure of hanging out with the Congressman for a few minutes outside while he had a smoke. We joked with each other and then Ruben Reyes came and attached a microphone to him and sent him inside to address a packed house.
Looking back, I wished I would have used those minutes to tell him how appreciative I am of him for never selling out poor people the whole time he was a local politician, even at times when it was uncomfortable for him to stand tall.
My prayer this morning is that the Democrats on the City Council, and especially Regina Romero, Paul Cunningham and Mayor Rothschild, meditate on the political career of Raul Grijalva, and then refuse to balance the City budget on the backs of bus riders living in or near poverty.
__________________________________________
por Brian Flagg,
Anoche caminé a El Casino Ballroom y tuve el placer de pasar unos minutos con el Congresista afuera del local mientras que él fumaba un cigarrillo. Bromeamos y luego Rubén Reyes se acerco a colocarle un micrófono y lo envió a que se dirigiera a las personas que llenaron el local.
Recordando, hubiera deseado haber usado esos minutos para decirle lo mucho que lo aprecio por nunca venderse en contra de los pobres durante todo el tiempo que él fue un político local, incluso en momentos donde le fue incomodo poder mantenerse en alto.
Mi oración esta mañana es que los demócratas en el Concilio de la Ciudad, y especialmente Regina Romero, Paul Cunningham y el alcalde Rothschild, mediten en la carrera política de Raúl Grijalva, y que rehúsen balancear el presupuesto de la ciudad en las espaldas de los pasajeros del camión, los que viven en la pobreza o cerca de ella.
Thanks to Neto Portillo
by Brian Flagg,
Thanks to Neto Portillo from the Arizona Daily Star for his column in the Sunday paper (3-16-2014) describing the amazing and miraculous and dedicated life story of our own Cesar Aguirre!
Thanks also to Neto and Linda for asking guests at their upcoming party, to write checks to Casa Maria instead of bringing gifts.
If you missed the story of Cesar Aguirre, go to:
IAN MERRILL ON TRANSIT JUSTICE AND SOCIAL TEACHINGS OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
by Ian Merrill,
Ian Merrill is a University of Arizona student from Phoenix, majoring in Economics and Chinese! He attends the Catholic Newman Center and is a member of the Tucson Bus Riders Union.
I was asked recently how working with the Tucson Bus Riders Union relates to my Catholic faith. At first, I was not entirely sure. Of course, if you asked almost anyone on any street corner, they would likely immediately tell you that Jesus supported broad, feel-good concepts such as justice and equality. When it comes to the concrete application of those concepts, however, the answer is not so easy.
As a Catholic, a good place to start exploring tough questions is to examine the teachings and writings of important Catholics, such as saints and popes. In fact, the popes have advocated the principles of Catholic social teaching ever since Pope Leo XIII published his encyclical Rerum Novarum in 1891. Many of Pope Leo XIII’s successors have further elucidated upon these important ideas, including Pope John Paul II in Centesimus Annus, written on the one hundred year anniversary of publishing of Rerum Novarum, and, even more recently, Pope Benedict XVI in Caritas in Veritate, published on July 7, 2009.
Catholic social teaching, chiefly, focuses on the dignity of every human being, the principle of subsidiarity, and the principle of distributism. The principle of subsidiarity supports the idea that power and decision-making ought to localized as much as possible, rather than centralized in the hands of higher levels of government. In addition, the principle of distributism emphasizes the importance of just distributions of wealth, property, and the means of production.
Although I knew very generally about these important facets of Catholic teaching, they had never been more clearly presented to me than they were through the actions of Pope Francis. I am not alone in being inspired by Pope Francis to concretely live out the tenets of Catholic social teaching rather than merely regard them as theological notions. Pope Francis is still only a human being, but his actions embody Catholic social teaching, giving them a physical expression and creating a living model. Pope Francis certainly inspires me to work for greater social justice.
Now, you may be wondering how all of this applies to the Tucson Bus Riders Union. The fight to prevent the Tucson City Council from balancing the budget on the backs of poor people is integrally tied to Catholic social teaching. A fare increase will make it even harder for many families and people here in Tucson to make ends meet. Clearly, when someone must decide between paying for the bus to be able to get to work and properly feeding their children, that person’s dignity has been severely compromised. Plus, taking money from the poor to pay for services like the streetcar, which will serve a select and generally privileged sector of society, does harm to a just distribution of wealth and it is simply not fair.
DOWNTOWN REDEVELOPMENT IS BASED ON STUDENTS ALCOHOL COMSUMPTION?
by Jimmy Ojeda
On Sunday March 9th, 2014 the Arizona Daily Star reported on the concern that exists among bar owners and UA students regarding the hours of operation for the streetcar. They would prefer “running the street car as late as – or later than – 2 am., making it more convenient for late-night riders along the bar heavy route, which connects the UA campus to Fourth Avenue and downtown.”
The current plan is for the streetcar to run until midnight on Thursdays and Fridays and until 2 a.m. on Saturdays.
The street car has already cost close to $200 million. The cost of extending the current streetcar hours is unknown.
City Council members and bureaucrats have continually acted like they don’t know who will pay for the maintenance and operation of the streetcar. And now they need more money to extend the hours?
Who is really going to pay for all this? And who is it going to benefit?
For sure neither the UA nor the bar owners are going to pay for it! But they sure will be the ones who benefit the most.
The answer is taxpayers, and bus riders. This is what we call development, and our Mayor and Council call economic development, but for whom?
The city is considering increasing the fares for bus riders, developing the Ronstadt Transit Center, all of this in order to pay for the street car, and for drunken students.
Bus drivers don’t let any drunk person ride the bus, why would they let drunk students in the streetcar? Is that some type of privilege, or discrimination?
This is a slap in the face of poor bus riders that depend on the bus for their livelihood. What a lack of values and morals. Is this really going to happen?
Voces de Casa Maria 