A Prophetic Voice: Guatemalan Cardinal Visits Distraught Mississippi Immigrant Families
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<p>Dr. Weishar reflects on Cardinal Ramazzini's visit to Mississippi.</p>
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Early in his pontificate Pope Francis presented his vision of the Church in the world-- that of a “field hospital” for the wounded. In a 2013 interview with Jesuit journalist Antonio Spadaro, S.J., he said,
After the Mississippi ICE Raids: Families Ask Why; Churches Respond
A Dream Denied?
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by Sue Weishar, Ph.D.
State of Working Mississippi 2016
Working families seek economic security, meaning that they earn enough to pay for basic living expenses while saving enough to pay for larger and longer-term costs. Increasingly in the United States workers and their families are not able to achieve this security, especially minority households. This pattern is particularly prevalent in Mississippi. The reasons for the gap in what Mississippi families earn and what they need are multifaceted. The State of Working Mississippi 2016 analyzes trends in population, education, labor force, jobs, employment, wages, income, and poverty.
Blood, Floods, and the Future
by Nik Mitchell, Ph.D.
Faith in Action
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by Fred Kammer, SJ
On Thursday, February 11, 85 concerned Mississippians gathered in the parish center at the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle in Jackson for the annual Catholic Day at the Capitol. Three issues were the focus of the advocacy gathering: adequate funding for the child welfare system in Mississippi; support for the maintenance of community-based mental health services; and raising adequate revenues to meet the State’s duties towards the common good.
Mississippi Rejects Immigration Enforcement Bill
By Sue Weishar, Ph.D.
In a remarkable development, a harsh immigration enforcement bill1 that passed the Mississippi House of Representatives on March 15 with strong support from Governor Phil Bryant and Mississippi Tea Party members died in a Senate Judiciary Committee on April 3, 2012, the last day that action could be taken on any general bills passed by the opposite chamber.2
Mississippi Proposals Do Not Make Good Law or Good Sense
Catholic Day at the Capitol
Jackson, Mississippi
February 29, 2012
Not Good Law or Good Sense
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It looks like legislators in Mississippi have not learned any lessons from the harmful and divisive fallout of immigration enforcement legislation enacted in Arizona, Alabama, Georgia, Utah, South Carolina and other states. As of February 23, 2012, eight anti-immigrant bills have been filed in the Mississippi State Legislature for consideration in the 2012 Regular Session of the Mississippi Legislature, which convened<span> </span>January 3 and will close on May 6. <span> </span>From a public policy standpoint these bills do not make good law or good sense.</span></p>
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Proposed Mississippi Immigration Legislation Through the Lens of Catholic Social Teaching
by Sue Weishar, Ph.D.
Basic Economic Security in Mississippi
Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW) and the Mississippi Economic Policy Center have released The Basic Economic Security Tables for Mississippi as part of a larger strategy to build economic security beyond low-skilled and low-wage jobs. Ed Sivak, Director of the MEPC, explained that “The findings of the report affirm the ongoing strategy within the state to replace low-skill jobs with high-skill high-wage jobs. In the process, it is essential that we provide support services and access to training for in-demand jobs for low-skill, low-wage Mississippians.”