One LA hosts economic summit to benefit families
LOS ANGELES --- Nearly 500 institutional leaders participated in the One LA-IAF "Economic Summit" to address economic and political pressures on families in the region. The April 13 event was held at Crenshaw High School in South Los Angeles.

A major question for the day was, "Can Los Angeles remain a viable place to live without the means for its residents to achieve and maintain a middle class lifestyle?" While living costs to families rise, median household income in Los Angeles County has fallen from $53,453 in 1999 to $51,315 in 2006.

Josephite Father Thomas Frank, pastor of St. Brigid in South LA, said he sees the impact of this economic disparity. "At St. Brigid, we feed the homeless regularly and some of them camp out on our grounds. But unless we build the political constituency to address income and budget gaps, things can only get worse," said Father Frank. "The One LA Economic Summit gives us a road map to make things better."

Those addressing the leaders from 75 One LA institutions included: Ernesto Cortes of the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF); Dr. Robert Moses of the Algebra Project; Dr. Stephen Levy, director of the Center for the Continuing Study of the California Economy; and Drs. Dowell Myers and Manuel Pastor, USC professors.

One LA leaders formed action steps from the conference, including those steps to address education, workforce development, healthcare, integration of immigrants into the economy, and public investment strategies. Organizing plans were developed in regional caucuses.

Cardinal McIntyre Fund for Charity scheduled April 26-27
LOS ANGELES --- The Cardinal McIntyre Fund for Charity Annual Collection will be the subject of a special collection in parishes April 26 and 27.

Since 1951, the Fund has helped people of the Archdiocese in crisis situations with one-time emergency help with food, utilities, transportation, medical expenses, housing expenses, and funeral expenses. Parishes expend the funds, and are then reimbursed by the Fund.

In 2007, $388,486 was reimbursed to parishes by the Fund, the largest portion used for rent, food and transportation assistance, especially for those who lost their jobs. Funds also were used for utility assistance, paying medical bills, school tuition, funeral expenses and other unmet needs. For further information, visit http://www.archdiocese.la/stewardship/cmfc/index.php.

Obama, Clinton take on tough faith questions at Compassion Forum
GRANTHAM, Pa. (CNS) --- The two Democratic senators seeking their party's nomination for president sought to define themselves in terms of their religious faith in an April 13 forum at Messiah College in Grantham that was broadcast live on CNN. Sens. Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Clinton of New York talked about the role of faith in their lives, about the place they think religion should hold in civil society, about their beliefs on when life begins and how that influences their political stances on abortion and end-of-life care. The Compassion Forum, held at an evangelical liberal arts college in a state holding its Democratic presidential primary April 22, marked a significant shift in the way Democratic candidates are willing to talk about religion. "This wouldn't have happened even a couple of years ago," said Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., after the forum. Both candidates have been fairly open about the influence of religious faith in their lives, Casey told Catholic News Service. "I think this was a very important forum for the country and for the Democratic Party," Casey said.

Survey assesses Catholics' beliefs, practices on Mass, sacraments
WASHINGTON (CNS) --- As the U.S. Catholic Church prepared to welcome Pope Benedict XVI, a new survey found big differences among Catholics of different generations about the importance of the sacraments in their lives. Asked which sacrament was most meaningful in their lives, 39 percent of respondents named baptism, 26 percent said marriage and 25 percent named the Eucharist. Among those who said they attended Mass weekly or more often, 52 percent said the Eucharist was most meaningful in their lives. The study also divided respondents into four generations in relation to the Second Vatican Council: pre-Vatican II, comprised of those born before 1943; Vatican II, born between 1943 and 1960; post-Vatican II, born 1961 to 1981; and millennial Catholics, born after 1981. While those of the first three generations chose the Eucharist as their most meaningful sacrament, 43 percent of the millennial Catholics said marriage was the sacrament most meaningful to them. The survey of 1,007 self-identified adult Catholics was commissioned by the U.S. bishops' Department of Communications and conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University in Washington. A 178-page report on the results was released April 13.

New Orleans restructuring aims for 'smaller but stronger' church
NEW ORLEANS (CNS) --- Archbishop Alfred C. Hughes of New Orleans said the biggest challenge he faced in deciding on the second phase of a major restructuring plan for parishes, schools and ministries in the archdiocese was the prospect of adding another burden to Catholics already laboring to recover from Hurricane Katrina. "The losses in the Katrina and post-Katrina experience have been a very difficult cross for people to carry, and the last thing in the world I want to do is to complicate that for people," the archbishop said. "I know how much people look to the Lord, to his church and to their local churches for strength and comfort," he said. The plan that will take effect July 1 provides a facilitation process lasting up to six months to allow parishioners to discuss the impact of mergers and closures. Although it affects dozens of parishes, the plan results in a small overall decrease in the number of Sunday worship sites. Currently there are 117 parishes and five missions operating in the archdiocese, a total of 122 Sunday worship sites. After the plan takes effect, there will be 108 parishes, nine missions and two university campus ministry sites, a total of 119 sites for Sunday Mass.

Pope urges world to slash military spending, funnel savings for peace
VATICAN CITY (CNS) --- Pope Benedict XVI urged nations to slash military spending and funnel savings into peaceful development projects around the world. He also called on nations to halt the spread of handguns and other small-caliber weapons "that fuel local wars and urban violence and unfortunately kill too many people across the world every day." The pope made his comments in a written message presented to participants gathered for an April 11-12 seminar sponsored by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. The Vatican released a copy of the papal message April 12. The international seminar, which brought together dozens of experts and representatives from the church, governmental agencies and grass-roots groups, was titled "Disarmament, Development and Peace: Perspectives for an Integral Disarmament." In his written message, the pope praised the gathering, saying the topic was "timely" and "urgent."