Social Justice Ministries

Contact:  Deacon David Ford

Address:
425 Church Street
Monterey, CA 93940
Phone: (831) 373-4345
Email: dford@dioceseofmonterey.org

The Diocese of Monterey works to build the Kingdom of God, in which racism, oppression and injustice have no place.  We are guided by the knowledge that all people are children of the one God, created equally and loved equally by our Father.    Racism is a sin and is contrary to Catholic teaching.

We call on all people to speak and act against all forms of racism.  We encourage our parishoners to advocate for change through prayer, peacful protest, and by making their beliefs known to our elected representatives.

Brothers and Sisters to Us (USCCB, 1979)

Open Wide Our Hearts:  The Enduring Call to Love (USCCB, 2018)

Prayer Service for Racial Healing in Our Land (USCCB)

Bishop Danny Garcia's Statement on the Death of George Floyd (English)

Bishop Danny Garcia's statement on the Death of George Floyd (Spanish)

Bible Verses Regarding Racism

Bible Verses Traditionally Used to Justify Racism and Slavery

How to Contact Your Elected Officials

Webinar:  Open Wide Our Hearts:  Race and Racism through the Lens of Catholic Social Teaching (originally presented June 23, 2020) 

An Examination of Conscience from a Racism Perspective

Selected Bibliography of Resources on Church Teaching Regarding Racism

Rosary to Fight Racism (Bilingual)
 

The Diocese of Monterey supports efforts to minimize mankind's impact on God's creation.  Damage to the environment shows ingratitude to God for his great to us.  Moreover, climate change and local environmental damage disproportionately harm our most vulnerable sisters and brothers.  The poor, the disenfranchised, the powerless and afraid pay the greatest price when rivers flood, droughts cause crops to fail, poisons leak into the air and water, and when our waters are unusable.  We are called as Catholics to act in defense of the environment and of the most vulnerable among us.

The diocese works to teach our parishioners to understand threats to the environment and to find ways to protect against those threats.  We also work with outside agencies, both Catholic and non-Catholic, to advocate, educate, train, and act in our local communities.

We also strive to model Christian love for God's creation.  All diocesan offices have solar power and low-energy electric fixtures.  We offer a special loan incentive program to help parishes install their own solar equipment and reduce their power usage.