Pope Francis, pictured on July 30, 2016. / Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk.
Vatican City, Nov 2, 2021 / 12:00 pm (CNA).
The world is facing ecological, social, and healthcare crises, but it is vital to remember that “crises are also windows of opportunity,” Pope Francis has said.
Writing in the foreword to the e-book “Laudato si’ Reader. An Alliance of Care for Our Common Home,” the pope noted that the world’s challenges had multiplied since the publication of his environmental encyclical in 2015.
He wrote: “The ‘Cry of the Earth and the Cry of the Poor’ that I present in Laudato si’ as the emblematic consequence of our failure to care for our common home has been amplified lately by the COVID-19 emergency that humanity is still struggling to control.”
“Thus, an ecological crisis, represented by the ‘cry of the earth,’ and a social crisis, represented by ‘the cry of the poor,’ have been made deadly by a healthcare crisis: the COVID-19 pandemic …”
“Nevertheless, let us not forget that crises are also windows of opportunity: they are a chance to recognize and to learn from past mistakes.”
The preface, published by Vatican News on Oct. 31, appears in a volume issued in print by the Libreria Editrice Vaticana in conjunction with the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), currently taking place in Glasgow, Scotland.
The e-book will be available for free download from Nov. 12 on the website of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Integral Human Development.
The text also features an introductory message by U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, a Catholic who served as Portugal’s prime minister from 1995 to 2002.
He wrote: “This is a moment of truth. If we persist with the old ways of inequality, injustice, hatred, and heedless dominion over the Earth, we face disaster. Just as we need a ceasefire on traditional battlefields, so must we end our war on nature…”
“Making peace with nature must be a priority for the 21st century. The recovery from the pandemic offers a chance to pull back from the abyss.”
In his preface, the pope said that the new e-book marked “a fitting conclusion” to the Laudato si’ Anniversary Year, which ended on May 24 this year.
He also expressed joy at the encyclical’s “positive impact” within the Catholic Church, other Christian communities, and religious groups.
“The present crisis should make us ‘turn what is happening to the world into our own personal suffering and thus to discover what each of us can do about it,’” he wrote, quoting Laudato si’.
“They are also a time for us to change gear, to change bad habits in order to be able to dream, co-create, and act together to realize just and equitable futures.”
“It is time to develop a new form of universal solidarity that is grounded in fraternity, love, and mutual understanding: one that values people over profit, one that seeks new ways to understand development and progress. And so, it is my hope and prayer that we do not come out of this crisis the same way we entered it.”
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Father Joseph Friend, Father Artur Bubnevych, and Father Donald Planty are among five U.S. parish priests who have been selected to attend a global gathering of 300 priests at the Vatican from April 28 to May 2, 2024, as part of the ongoing Syno… […]
Leon is a baby boy cared for and loved at Mary’s Shelter, a pro-life maternity home in Fredericksburg, Virginia. / Courtesy of Mary’s Shelter
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 24, 2022 / 13:15 pm (CNA).
Amid a shortage of baby formula in the U.S., experts recommend parents scour smaller drug stores, check online, and join social media groups sharing information.
But here’s another, perhaps lesser-known, option they can also turn to for help: pregnancy resource centers.
Nearly 3,000 pro-life pregnancy centers serve millions of people each year in the United States. They offer women and parents in need everything from health care and material assistance to educational classes and job support — at little to no cost. Right now, for many of these centers, their work also includes connecting struggling families to baby formula.
One center in Michigan, an affiliate of Heartbeat International, a pro-life pregnancy resource center network, revealed to CNA that it has a surplus of formula.
“At this time, we haven’t heard of formula shortages at the pregnancy centers,” Andrea Trudden, vice president of communications and marketing at Heartbeat International, told CNA. “Quite the contrary, actually!”
Trudden recommended families turn to their local pregnancy help organizations for assistance and use OptionLine.org as a tool to find the center closest to them.
“Since pregnancy centers are equipped to help pregnant women and new families with practical resources such as diapers and formula,” Trudden said, “they have been able to step into that gap during this time.”
Some pro-life maternity homes in states such as Virginia and North Carolina said mothers are in desperate need and exploring all of their options, including feeding their babies with formula samples. But, these homes tell CNA, they are walking with mothers in their search, every step of the way.
What is this shortage about?
The nationwide baby formula shortage was caused, and then exacerbated, by a series of factors: supply-chain issues, recalls, the closure of a major production plant in February, and even U.S. trade policy. The result, data-firm company Datasembly found, is that more than 40 percent of baby formulas were out of stock in early May.
Babies with special needs and allergies rely on formula, along with babies in general. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 63.3% of infants were exclusively breastfeeding seven days after birth in 2018. Three months after birth, only 46.3% of infants exclusively breastfed. Six months after birth, that percentage changed to 25.8%
The trouble with formula began partially with the Covid-19 pandemic. Parents stockpiled baby formula at the beginning, which increased production, only to later discover that they had a surplus to use up, which decreased production.
After consuming formula from an Abbott plant in Sturgis, Michigan, four babies became sick, including two who died, from bacterial infections. This led to a recall and the plant shutting down in February.
These incidents exposed the formula market as one not structurally prepared for emergencies, with just four companies largely in control of supply in the United States. U.S. and regulatory trade policy only added to the problem, restricting the exchange of formula internationally, The Atlantic reported.
Months into the shortage, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has reached an agreement with Abbott, one of the largest U.S. baby formula manufacturers, to reopen its Sturgis plant in the coming weeks. President Joe Biden invoked the Defense Production Act to prioritize the production of formula. And, in the meantime, the U.S. military has begun importing formula from Europe.
Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have called for action. Senate Democrats are pushing a bill that would send $28 million in emergency funding to the FDA. Congress passed, and Biden signed into law, a bill to expand access to formula for lower-income families during emergencies.
In the meantime, before the shelves are fully stocked once more, pregnancy centers and maternity homes around the country are helping parents in need.
“I have never seen this much formula. We have an overflow!” Lois Stoll, a volunteer who manages the formula supply at the center, said in a press release. The center, one of Heartbeat International’s 1,857 affiliate locations, accumulated its surplus over the last two years, during the pandemic.
“It really is the result of an unexpected set of circumstances,” Bryce Asberg, the executive director, added in the release. “During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of clients fell but donations continued to come in.”
Baby formula is stored on shelves at Helping Hands Pregnancy Resource Center in Hillsdale, Michigan. Courtesy of Helping Hands
Asberg told CNA that the center has been running a material assistance program for several years where it provides mothers and families with baby clothes, diapers, wipes, and baby food or formula.
“We still offer all those items to clients who come in, but recently we have noticed a surge of interest in formula,” he said. “God has been building our supply of formula for many months, and we didn’t know why we had so much. Now we do!”
Washington, D.C.
In Washington, D.C., Janet Durig, the executive director of Capitol Hill Pregnancy Center, said that her center also has baby formula on hand.
“We’ve had some phone calls seeking help and we’ve had formula to give them,” she told CNA. But, she emphasized, the supply is limited because they rely on donations.
“We have it to help people on a limited basis and are helping people on a limited basis,” she said, adding that the center welcomes donations of unopened bottles or cans of formula as long as they have not expired.
Connecticut
Leticia Velasquez, executive director and co-founder of Pathways Pregnancy in Norwich, Connecticut, encouraged moms and families to reach out if they need formula.
She told CNA that the three-year-old center is there for any woman or mom in need.
“We just say, ‘How can we fill the need? That’s what we’re here for,’” she said. “We definitely stand with them in any crisis, whether it be a formula shortage or an unplanned pregnancy.”
Parents in eastern Connecticut looking for baby formula can text the center at (860) 222-4505.
North Carolina
Debbie Capen, the executive director of MiraVia, said that the baby formula shortage is affecting her group’s work in supporting and providing resources to new moms in need. The Catholic nonprofit runs an outreach center in Charlotte and a free college residence at nearby Belmont Abbey College where a pregnant student — from any university or college — can stay until her child turns two years old.
“Yes, the mothers we serve are very concerned about the baby formula shortage,” Capen told CNA. “We always encourage breastfeeding for our expectant mothers, but for those who cannot breastfeed, they usually rely on vouchers for baby formula through the USDA’s WIC program.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s WIC program, also known as the “Special Supplementation Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children,” offers federal grants to states for supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant and postpartum women, and young children at nutritional risk.
Capen highlighted that WIC only covers one specific brand of formula, which means that moms must pay full price for any other label. Formula is at a premium price right now, she added, which only puts more stress on their limited resources.
In each state, baby formula manufacturers bid for exclusive rights to provide formula to WIC participants in that state. In return, they offer the state discounts, or rebates. For those who rely on WIC, this means that they face limited options.
In response to the scarcity, the mothers at MiraVia are turning to alternatives: food pantries and the MiraVia community.
“They communicate with our staff and each other when they find formula at a certain location, as well as contact stores to find out when shipments are expected,” Capen said. “They substitute with generic brands when possible and reach out to their pediatricians for recommendations and even free samples.”
Capen listed some ways that people can help during this shortage, beginning with communication and the sharing of resources.
“For example, you can help by searching posts on social media and community apps like NextDoor or OfferUp to find those with formula and suggest where it can be donated,” she said. “Remind friends and family not to stockpile so that the supply of formula can flow to those in most urgent need. If you are pregnant and have received free samples of formula, donate what you won’t use to food pantries or programs for new mothers.”
Virginia
Kathleen Wilson, the executive director of Mary’s Shelter, a faith-centered maternity home in Fredericksburg, Virginia, agreed that “our moms have had many difficulties.”
She told CNA about one of their mothers who gave birth to her fourth baby three months ago. At first, she used a formula brand called Enfamil Reguline. After it became unavailable, she began switching between brands and using whatever she can find, Wilson said. The mother has also tried ordering on Amazon and turned to her pediatrician for samples.
Yaretzi is a baby girl cared for and loved at Mary’s Shelter, a pro-life maternity home in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Courtesy of Mary’s Shelter
“This is a mom who is trying to hold down a job, with an infant and other children to tend to,” Wilson stressed the “very difficult” situation.
Wilson said that two of the other mothers spent days driving around at one point to try to find formula for their babies. When necessary, they are also turning to sample packets of baby formula.
“Our staff and volunteers have been assisting with this and picking up and delivering formula when they can get their hands on it,” Wilson said, adding that donors have also pitched in.
“We are blessed with wonderful donors,” she said. “A friend just stopped in this morning with two cans of formula that he was able to find.”
“If donors are willing and can find formula, we would be thrilled to take their donation,” she said, concluding that she is “praying this comes to an end soon.”
Surely China, Russia and Saudi Arabia will eventually embrace fraternity and sign the new climate accord.
So, the remaining question is how to deal with such as these bad actors once the invitation to dialogue falls short. The hope is that a new grassroots and trans-boundary consciousness might emerge, perhaps even under a Synod on Synodality which reaches beyond the Church and into a world of fallen-aways and atheists and such.
But then, on the other hand, this is a big wager with multiple abysses of all types now on the poker table…In addition to the named ecological crisis, the social crisis, and the health crisis, the underlying, enabling and post-Christian “culture of death” also comes to mind. As does the duty and “window of opportunity” for laymen in the secular world to at least not aggressively make the disinterred culture of Baal even worse. Biden, of course, reports that he’s a good boy and that government funding of Aztec-like fetal dismemberment is a non-issue, and no one says otherwise. Thus, it cometh to pass that the “window of opportunity” to deal with Cupich’s “rabbit hole” catastrophe yet again passes us by.
Best not to shine a light on the Church’s spiritual crisis of Eucharist incoherence. All crises are equal, but some crises are more equal than others.
Never let a good crisis go to waste is a principle for antithetical action found in Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals [also Never waste a crisis adopted by ex Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel]. Is it unusual that Pope Francis perceives the Covid crisis as an opportunity to advance an agenda? “Thus, an ecological crisis, represented by the cry of the earth, and a social crisis, represented by the cry of the poor, have been made deadly by a healthcare crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic” (Francis). Ecology and poverty are made deadly, the antithesis to their neutral character, which is the thesis. Although it seems difficult to make that dual inference, the pontiff explains that the disease amplifies the disturbance of our global ecology presumably by industry and the high morbidity among the poor as compared to the affluent. While there is statistical indication that holds for the poor Francis somehow finds correspondence of disease with ecology. “Making peace with nature must be a priority for the 21st century” is the clue. “Heedless dominion over the Earth”, Mother Earth is the realization of his thought, a warfare with nature as if Earth mother were retaliating. His Holiness makes the added inference that Covid is that retaliative punishment on Mankind. True to Alinskyan subversion rules, the antithesis advances his agenda. His supporting premise is that the Covid virus is a product of nature rather than a biological weapon engineered by the CCP at China’s Hunan lab. Despite that all the evidence points to the lab. The resolution is found in economic equanimity and ecology, rather than correcting China’s inhumanity to Man. And of course the abeyance from the current issue of globalized abortion.
I still believe that this Wuhan Epidemic is Divine Punishment in part to Pope Francis allowing, and participating in, the worship of the disgusting Pachamama Demon Idol in the Vatican Gardens in 2019. Is it coincidence that the Virus appeared to have originated in Wuhan at almost the exact same time? I think not.
Yes, and consider modern man’s moral degradation. The number of persons participating in contraception, abortion, gender-mutilation and other unnatural acts continues to grow. Younger and progressively younger members are recruited to such practices. The appalling horror should be clear and our lenses should magnify. We witnessed (in Loudoun County, Va.) the father of a daughter ARRESTED for his ANGER because NO ONE IN AUTHORITY NOTIFIED HIM THAT HIS DAUGHTER had been RAPED in her public school bathroom.
Scripture has it: God chastises those He loves. If man continues to act against God’s glory, against the goodness and purpose of our and His nature, man shall continue to witness greater crises of nature where God appears not to dwell. Scripture and God’s prophets have said so.
As Fr. Peter says, to claim that poverty and industrialization are to blame is an inference (Meiron adds: suggestive of egregious logical error). I reassert: Francis needs a bedside Bible, a good spiritual director (He is always available to those who knock), and a course in Thomistic metaphysics. For a start, a pure, humble, chastened heart will work wonders.
Addendum: That one is far from a pure, humble, chastened heart does not bode well for a peaceful future. We are in the thick of it with more clouds and crises forecast.
With just one exception, I agree with our Pope regarding his concerns.
Right from the beginning, man had a simple religion. It was a God-inspired one. The tenets were simple. Revere God and be good stewards of creation. And this is how they did live. This God-based humanism ensured that they lived in a paradise. But then their relationship with God was completely ruined when, under Satan’s influence, selflessness gave way to self-centeredness. All disobedient actions have consequences and, in this case, the Garden became a wasteland. It was then that death, confusion, disorder and other damaging consequences set in. Paradise was lost. Adam’s sinful action badly affected nature.
It happened also in Noah’s time. The affect of sinful ways was enacted through nature. And nature again played a devastating role in Sodom. We do not really know what the full extent of the consequences of our wrongdoings. Only God knows.
The problem I do have is the connection that is being made between our CO2 and climate. I do not believe that CO2 has heat-generating capacity. I am worried because CO2 is vital for plant survival, and plants do make food for all living things. Satan, who out of hatred of God, has attacked our marriage and family, and also our nature by playing with our two genders. Now, by attacking CO2, is he trying to deprive us of food? If anyone can prove that CO2 does generate heat, that it causes global warming and consequently climate change, I will rethink my views.
es of our disobedient actions are. Only God knows his laws. When Jesus walked the earth, he emphasized the same
Loving neighbor obviously includes his living conditions.
Besides these examples,
it is so easy for us to see how polluted waters and air can cause us, the flora and fauna problems. We know that people living in slums and unhygienic conditions ca
The problem I have is the connection that they are making between our CO2 and climate. Carbon, which is so important for our ecosystem is being made into a villain. I just wonder if this is part of Satan’s strategy to “hurt” God by attacking CO2. Satan has got us to harm family (abortion), marriage (divorce and SSM), our nature (the two genders that are vital for our survival) and now CO2 (vital for plants and the food they make for all living things). If anyone can prove that CO2 causes global warming and subsequently climate change, then I will rethink this issue.
Surely China, Russia and Saudi Arabia will eventually embrace fraternity and sign the new climate accord.
So, the remaining question is how to deal with such as these bad actors once the invitation to dialogue falls short. The hope is that a new grassroots and trans-boundary consciousness might emerge, perhaps even under a Synod on Synodality which reaches beyond the Church and into a world of fallen-aways and atheists and such.
But then, on the other hand, this is a big wager with multiple abysses of all types now on the poker table…In addition to the named ecological crisis, the social crisis, and the health crisis, the underlying, enabling and post-Christian “culture of death” also comes to mind. As does the duty and “window of opportunity” for laymen in the secular world to at least not aggressively make the disinterred culture of Baal even worse. Biden, of course, reports that he’s a good boy and that government funding of Aztec-like fetal dismemberment is a non-issue, and no one says otherwise. Thus, it cometh to pass that the “window of opportunity” to deal with Cupich’s “rabbit hole” catastrophe yet again passes us by.
Best not to shine a light on the Church’s spiritual crisis of Eucharist incoherence. All crises are equal, but some crises are more equal than others.
Never let a good crisis go to waste is a principle for antithetical action found in Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals [also Never waste a crisis adopted by ex Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel]. Is it unusual that Pope Francis perceives the Covid crisis as an opportunity to advance an agenda? “Thus, an ecological crisis, represented by the cry of the earth, and a social crisis, represented by the cry of the poor, have been made deadly by a healthcare crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic” (Francis). Ecology and poverty are made deadly, the antithesis to their neutral character, which is the thesis. Although it seems difficult to make that dual inference, the pontiff explains that the disease amplifies the disturbance of our global ecology presumably by industry and the high morbidity among the poor as compared to the affluent. While there is statistical indication that holds for the poor Francis somehow finds correspondence of disease with ecology. “Making peace with nature must be a priority for the 21st century” is the clue. “Heedless dominion over the Earth”, Mother Earth is the realization of his thought, a warfare with nature as if Earth mother were retaliating. His Holiness makes the added inference that Covid is that retaliative punishment on Mankind. True to Alinskyan subversion rules, the antithesis advances his agenda. His supporting premise is that the Covid virus is a product of nature rather than a biological weapon engineered by the CCP at China’s Hunan lab. Despite that all the evidence points to the lab. The resolution is found in economic equanimity and ecology, rather than correcting China’s inhumanity to Man. And of course the abeyance from the current issue of globalized abortion.
An addendum. Hunan is famous for its cuisine, Hunan chicken a specialty. Whereas Wuhan is notorious for its virus research.
I still believe that this Wuhan Epidemic is Divine Punishment in part to Pope Francis allowing, and participating in, the worship of the disgusting Pachamama Demon Idol in the Vatican Gardens in 2019. Is it coincidence that the Virus appeared to have originated in Wuhan at almost the exact same time? I think not.
Yes, and consider modern man’s moral degradation. The number of persons participating in contraception, abortion, gender-mutilation and other unnatural acts continues to grow. Younger and progressively younger members are recruited to such practices. The appalling horror should be clear and our lenses should magnify. We witnessed (in Loudoun County, Va.) the father of a daughter ARRESTED for his ANGER because NO ONE IN AUTHORITY NOTIFIED HIM THAT HIS DAUGHTER had been RAPED in her public school bathroom.
Scripture has it: God chastises those He loves. If man continues to act against God’s glory, against the goodness and purpose of our and His nature, man shall continue to witness greater crises of nature where God appears not to dwell. Scripture and God’s prophets have said so.
As Fr. Peter says, to claim that poverty and industrialization are to blame is an inference (Meiron adds: suggestive of egregious logical error). I reassert: Francis needs a bedside Bible, a good spiritual director (He is always available to those who knock), and a course in Thomistic metaphysics. For a start, a pure, humble, chastened heart will work wonders.
Addendum: That one is far from a pure, humble, chastened heart does not bode well for a peaceful future. We are in the thick of it with more clouds and crises forecast.
With just one exception, I agree with our Pope regarding his concerns.
Right from the beginning, man had a simple religion. It was a God-inspired one. The tenets were simple. Revere God and be good stewards of creation. And this is how they did live. This God-based humanism ensured that they lived in a paradise. But then their relationship with God was completely ruined when, under Satan’s influence, selflessness gave way to self-centeredness. All disobedient actions have consequences and, in this case, the Garden became a wasteland. It was then that death, confusion, disorder and other damaging consequences set in. Paradise was lost. Adam’s sinful action badly affected nature.
It happened also in Noah’s time. The affect of sinful ways was enacted through nature. And nature again played a devastating role in Sodom. We do not really know what the full extent of the consequences of our wrongdoings. Only God knows.
The problem I do have is the connection that is being made between our CO2 and climate. I do not believe that CO2 has heat-generating capacity. I am worried because CO2 is vital for plant survival, and plants do make food for all living things. Satan, who out of hatred of God, has attacked our marriage and family, and also our nature by playing with our two genders. Now, by attacking CO2, is he trying to deprive us of food? If anyone can prove that CO2 does generate heat, that it causes global warming and consequently climate change, I will rethink my views.
es of our disobedient actions are. Only God knows his laws. When Jesus walked the earth, he emphasized the same
Loving neighbor obviously includes his living conditions.
Besides these examples,
it is so easy for us to see how polluted waters and air can cause us, the flora and fauna problems. We know that people living in slums and unhygienic conditions ca
The problem I have is the connection that they are making between our CO2 and climate. Carbon, which is so important for our ecosystem is being made into a villain. I just wonder if this is part of Satan’s strategy to “hurt” God by attacking CO2. Satan has got us to harm family (abortion), marriage (divorce and SSM), our nature (the two genders that are vital for our survival) and now CO2 (vital for plants and the food they make for all living things). If anyone can prove that CO2 causes global warming and subsequently climate change, then I will rethink this issue.