Download Event Flyer (PDF Document, 33 kb)

March 30, 2004

Contact: Susan Francois 503.234.1611 or susanfrancois @ cs.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Forum on the Connection Between Taxes & Faith
to be Held at St Philip Neri Catholic Church

St Philip Neri Catholic Church will be hosting a Taxes & Faith Forum on April 15th, tax day. Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon is co-sponsoring the event with the parish Peace & Justice Commission and parish core team for the Metropolitan Alliance for the Common Good (MACG). The event will take place Thursday Evening, April 15th from 7 to 9 PM in Carvlin Hall, located at SE 16th & Division in Portland. There is no cost for the event. For last minute filers, there will also be a free tax return delivery service to the Airport Post Office after the event.

"We first had the idea for a tax forum as we were each voting individually on yet another tax measure last winter," said Susan Francois, co-chair of the Peace & Justice Commission at St Philip Neri. "As a tax payer and voter there was a moment when I thought, 'Not this again.' But as a Catholic and a member of a larger community, I realized that if I was struggling with meeting my belief in the common good with my feelings of being stretched as a tax payer others must be struggling as well."

The April 15th Taxes & Faith Forum will be in two parts. Participants will first learn about how our tax system works in a presentation by Citizens for Oregon's Future. Citizens for Oregon's Future does not advocate for any particular tax reform option. Instead the community group offers free presentations to the larger community to present all of the options that are under discussion along with the pros and cons of each option.

The second part of the Forum will be an opportunity for an honest discussion about how the values of our faith intersect with our interests as tax payers. Paulist Father Steve Bossi, pastor of St. Philip Neri, frames the discussion this way: "Can we come to some new insight about what contribution to the common good should appropriately be expected of our people? Does it reveal something about how we value personal freedom over contributing to the well being of the community? This is where education and reflection within a community that reflects on values and life styles is helpful."

In their statement "Faithful Citizenship: A Catholic Call to Political Responsibility," the US Bishops challenge American Catholics to answer the "dual calling of faith and citizenship."

"The central question should not be, 'Are you better off than you were four years ago?' It should be, 'How can we - all of us, especially the weak and vulnerable - be better off in the years ahead?'" (US Conference of Catholic Bishops Statement on Faithful Citizenship)

WHEN: Thursday, April 15th (Tax Day) 7:00 to 9:00 PM
WHERE: St Philip Neri Catholic Church, Carvlin Hall, 2408 SE 16th (16th & SE Division)
CONTACT: Susan Francois 503.234.1611 susanfrancois @ cs.com www.pdxpax.org