Home / News & Publications / Michigan Catholic News / 2008 / Local religious leaders urge action to save the auto industry
Local religious leaders urge action to save the auto industry
by Robert Delaney of The Michigan Catholic
Published December 12, 2008
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Larry A. Peplin | The Michigan Catholic
Cardinal Adam Maida speaks to media following the Dec. 4 meeting of interfaith religious leaders on the economy. Behind him are (from left) Hajj Ghalib Victor Begg, chairman of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Michigan; Elder Thomas Priest, of the Presbyterian Church's Presbytery of Detroit; Bishop Edgar Vann, pastor of Second Ebenezer Baptist Church of Detroit; Bishop Charles Ellis, pastor of Greater Grace Temple, Detroit; Rabbi Norman Roman, of Temple Kol Ami, West Bloomfield Township; and the Rev. Canon Lisa Gray, of the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan. |
Detroit – Area religious leaders convened by Cardinal Adam Maida emerged from a Dec. 4 meeting to call on Washington lawmakers to provide federal assistance to stabilize the American automobile industry.
"There is great concern for the countless individuals and families who are under great stress because of the uncertainty of our economy," Cardinal Maida said at a media briefing following the meeting at Sacred Heart Major Seminary.
"They need to hear words of hope and encouragement. This is a time to stand in solidarity with all who are suffering loss of jobs or homes, and all those who are anxious about what will happen in the future to the automobile industry in metro Detroit," he said.
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Larry A. Peplin | The Michigan Catholic
Cardinal Maida is interviewed by Pat Sweeting of WWJ Radio (950 AM). |
Cardinal Maida said business and labor leaders expressed fear of what could happen if there is no government action. "The alternative is not only unwise, it is unthinkable. If nothing is done, one can only imagine what would happen to all of us who call this corner of Michigan home," he added.
The 11 religious leaders represented local Catholics, Anglicans, Protestants, Jews and Muslims. Cardinal Maida said they also discussed the various ways each faith community has been responding to requests for assistance to people in need – a situation exacerbated by the economic crisis – and how they can work together on programs and projects.
"We committed ourselves to keep our lines of communication open between and among our faith communities. When and where we can collaborate, we will," the cardinal said.
Besides bringing the representatives of the various faith communities together, Cardinal Maida also released to the press the text of a pastoral letter on the economy, "Christ Our Hope," that would be distributed in all 290 parishes and missions of the archdiocese the weekend of Dec. 6-7 and was printed in the Dec. 5 issue of The Michigan Catholic.
In it, the cardinal offers hope and encouragement to those suffering hardships, and urges all local Catholics to show charity and solidarity to others in this time of difficulty.
The religious leaders' meeting took place as the auto companies' top executives returned to Washington, D.C., to plead their case before a U.S. Senate panel. With Michigan's U.S. senators and local members of the House of Representatives already committed to supporting assistance to Detroit's automakers, the religious leaders pledged to work through their colleagues in other states to convince other lawmakers of the urgency of prompt action.
Bishop Charles Ellis, pastor of Greater Grace Temple in Detroit, pledged to work through his denomination, the 2,000-congregation Pentecostal Centers of the World, of which he is assistant prelate.
The Rev. Edwin Rowe, pastor of Central United Methodist in downtown Detroit, said:
"You can beat up the auto company CEOs all you want, but the people who are going to lose their jobs are the people at my door asking for help."
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