The Office for Urban Affairs has a new name! It is now known as the Office for Catholic Social Justice Ministry. Read Archbishop Mansell's letter of announcement.

Purpose

The Office for Catholic Social Justice Ministry of the Archdiocese of Hartford advances Catholic social teaching by educating and preparing parishes to work for social justice.

Program Areas

Parish Social Ministry
We train parish leaders to integrate parish social ministry into the life of the whole parish community. We highlight the call by the U.S. Bishops to encourage every parish to involve people with the four dimensions of social ministry: direct service, justice education, advocacy, empowerment. We offer training in English and in Spanish.

Advocacy
We work for public policies on hunger, welfare policy, the environment, issues of importance to older adults and children, and in opposition to the death penalty. Parishes in the four Catholic dioceses in Connecticut share in this work through the Action for Justice Network.

We work with the Connecticut Catholic Conference to assist every parish in the four dioceses to act on public policies that they choose from among the priorities of the Connecticut Catholic Conference and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Community Development Ministry
We work with parishes seeking ways to respond to housing and employment needs. We work with AmeriCares to sponsor HomeFront Day on the first Saturday of May each year. Through the CenterEdge Project we are creating new tools to enable every parish and every city and town to see itself and its own story as part of the bigger story of its region.

Enablement
Through the Catholic Campaign For Human Development, grants are provided to organized groups of poor people to develop economic strength and political power in their communities and to either change institutions that impact adversely on their lives or to create alternative ones. Through Cooperative Parish Sharing we raise funds from parishes which are given out as grants to needy parish and Catholic school projects.

Interfaith Collaboration
The Office for Catholic Social Justice Ministry is committed to work with persons of all faiths in pursuing the goal of dignity and economic and social justice for all people.

Staff

Cori Thibodeau, Executive Director
Stephanie Holden, Office Manager
Deacon Thomas Breen, Parish Social Ministry/Education Coordinator, Hispanic parishes
Lynn Campbell, Parish Social Ministry/Education Coordinator

Staff who donate their time:
Jeanie Graustein, Environmental Justice Coordinator
Nancy Kiely, Cooperative Parish Sharing Coordinator
John Ryan, JustFaith Coordinator
Graziella Zinn, Peace Ministry Coordinator 

To contact the Office for Catholic Social Justice Ministry:
Cori Thibodeau, Executive Director
81 Saltonstall Avenue, New Haven, CT 06513
Telephone: 203-777-7279
Fax: 203-776-3233
Email: cthibodeau@catholicsocialjustice.org
or ocsjm@catholicsocialjustice.org

Website www.catholicsocialjustice.org