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Quote of the Day. “I’m just tired of it all, and I don’t want to be in my house anymore. One month there is money, and the next month there is none. One day, she is taking it out on me and hitting me, and the next day she is ignoring me. It’s more stable out here.” Betty Snyder, 14, explaining why she has joined the growing number of teenage runaways caused by the recession now living on the streets. (New York Times)

FAITH IN THE NEWS

Crunch time nears for health reform, but hurdles remain for Catholics “The push is on to get a health reform bill through Congress, and some longtime Catholic supporters of a more accessible and affordable American health system are hoping they are not going to have to push back.”

Kennedy spars with church on abortion “The late Senator Edward M. Kennedy seemed to mend his differences with the Catholic Church just before his death. But less than two months later, his youngest son has plunged into a firestorm of controversy with the church.”

A charity event that always hits its stride “This is the 40th anniversary of Crop Hunger Walk, a national interfaith program sponsored by Church World Service and viewed by many as the granddaddy of charity walks.”

Pope calls for peace and reconciliation in Africa “Pope Benedict XVI ended a three-week Vatican meeting on Africa on Sunday with a call for peace and reconciliation among all people on the continent, regardless of ethnic and religious differences.”

Our Indivisible Environment (Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, Wall St Journal) “Is this an issue for Caesar or for God? We believe it must be approached in both its political and spiritual dimensions. Climate change will only be overcome when all of us –scientists and politicians, theologians and economists, specialists and lay citizens — cooperate for the common good.”

NEWS AT HOME

Health Care. Next phase in health-care debate: The art of the deal “With a growing sense that Democrats may have the votes to pass health-care reform, many participants are now attempting to shape the components of landmark legislation rather than to defeat it.” Democrats Are Optimistic That Public Option Will Be Approved “Several Democratic senators voiced optimism on Sunday that Congress would pass a health care bill containing at least the germ of a government-run insurance program.” Senate on Verge of Health Bill “Top Senate Democrats are close to finalizing their health bill and could unveil a measure as soon as early this week that would include stiffer penalties on employers who fail to provide health coverage.”

Financial Institutions. Trying to Rein In ‘Too Big to Fail’ Institutions “Congress and the Obama administration are about to take up one of the most fundamental issues stemming from the near collapse of the financial system last year – how to deal with institutions that are so big that the government has no choice but to rescue them when they get in trouble.”

Prisons. Arizona May Put State Prisons in Private Hands “State officials will soon seek bids from private companies for 9 of the state’s 10 prison complexes that house roughly 40,000 inmates, including the 127 here on death row. It is the first effort by a state to put its entire prison system under private control.”

NEWS AROUND THE WORLD

Climate Change. Fleeing drought in the Horn of Africa “Africa is already home to one-third of the 42 million people worldwide uprooted by ethnic slaughter, despots and war. But experts say climate change is quietly driving Africa’s displacement crisis to new heights.” Rainforest treaty ‘fatally flawed’ “A vital safeguard to protect the world’s rainforests from being cut down has been dropped from a global deforestation treaty due to be signed at the climate summit in Copenhagen in December.”

Iraq. Baghdad bomb fatalities pass 150 “Iraqi officials have raised the death toll from Sunday’s bombings in Baghdad to 155 and they say another 500 people were wounded in the explosions.” Bombings rock Iraq’s political landscape “Twin car bombs that devastated three government buildings and killed 132 people Sunday underlined a new strategy in Iraq’s contest for power ahead of January elections: spectacular blows aimed at destroying faith in Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s ability to secure the country as the United States withdraws.” Bombings in Iraq, Deadliest Since 2007, Raise Security Issue “Two synchronized suicide car bombings struck at the heart of the Iraqi government here on Sunday, severely damaging the Justice Ministry and provincial council complexes, leaving a scene of carnage that raised new questions about the government’s ability to secure its most vital operations.” World leaders condemn Iraq attacks “World leaders have joined their Iraqi counterparts in condemning Sunday’s double bombing in Baghdad – the deadliest attack in Iraq in two years – and offered their condolences to the Iraqi people.”

Afghanistan. US military says 14 Americans killed in separate helicopter crashes in Afghanistan “A helicopter crash and separate collision involving two other choppers killed 14 Americans on Monday in one of the deadliest days for U.S. troops in the war in Afghanistan.” Karzai holds head high as nation turns to runoff  “According to his aides and political confidants, Karzai has rebounded from the evident humiliation of that moment and now sees himself as a statesman who helped save Afghan democracy.” Afghan Rivals Rule Out Power-Sharing Deal “President Hamid Karzai and his top rival for the office said over the weekend that they had ruled out a power-sharing deal before the runoff election.” NATO Ministers Endorse Wider Afghan Effort “Defense ministers from NATO on Friday endorsed the ambitious counterinsurgency strategy for Afghanistan proposed by Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, giving new impetus to his recommendation to pour more troops into the eight-year-old war.”

Israel-Palestine. Israeli police, Palestinian protesters clash “Israeli police stormed the grounds of Al Aqsa mosque Sunday, using clubs and stun grenades to subdue hundreds of stone-throwing Palestinians in the worst clashes in a month of unrest in and around Jerusalem’s Old City.” After two weeks of quiet, violence flares again on Temple Mount “Yesterday’s disturbances appear to have been sparked, as in the past, by printed announcements by Jewish groups seeking to gain access to the Temple Mount to pray.”

Iran. Top Iran official says West’s nuclear plan a coverup for theft “The powerful speaker of Iran’s parliament Saturday derided a Western-backed proposal to transfer the bulk of the country’s enriched-uranium stockpile abroad as a trick meant to rob Iran of its nuclear fuel.” Both Iran and West Fear a Trap on Uranium Deal “Just before international inspectors on Sunday were guided for the first time into an Iranian nuclear enrichment plant whose existence was a state secret until recently, the speaker of Iran’s Parliament warned his countrymen to beware of American efforts to ‘cheat’ Iran out of the nuclear fuel that has become the country’s currency in reasserting its power.” UN nuclear team visits Iran site "A team from the UN’s nuclear watchdog has inspected a controversial Iranian uranium enrichment plant near the town of Qom."

Pakistan. Pakistan captures Taliban stronghold "Pakistan notched up the first major success of its Waziristan campaign yesterday with the capture of Kotkai, home to the Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud, a week after it launched a sweeping assault on the militants’ heavily protected mountain fortress." Pakistan villagers take up guns, sticks against Taliban “With most of Swat back in the hands of the government after a military operation that drove the Taliban into hiding, thousands of Pakistanis in towns like Kanju have been banding together to form lashkars, or tribal militias, to help keep trouble from coming back.”

India. Dalit women find their voice through a newspaper “Khabar Lahariya, or ‘News Waves,’ is India’s first newspaper written, read and run by tribal women and those from the Dalit, or so-called untouchable, caste.”

OPINION

The Minefield at Home (Michael Jernigan, New York Times) “Those of us with post-traumatic stress disorder – I’m one of them – feel like strangers here, carrying around a burden many people are unaware of or just can’t understand. The possibilities for misunderstandings, collisions and alienation are great."

Sojourners’ Daily Digest is a compilation of the top news related to our commitments of life and peace, economic and racial justice, and care of creation, with a special focus on news of the engagement of faith in public life.