Welcome to the Dec. 2, 2020 edition of Just 3 Things, the weekly social action newsletter of the Office of Human Life & Dignity. Below are some of the social justice news items of the week. And, a link below to the "At Your Word" podcast that includes Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone's thoughts on the racism listening sessions. If this email was forwarded to you, and you'd like to receive it each week, please click here.    

The U.S. bishops filed an amicus curiae brief, along with other Catholic organizations, opposing the Trump Administration's efforts to exclude undocumented immigrants from the U.S. Census count. The U.S. Supreme Court justices heard oral arguments Nov. 30. The census numbers determine apportionment of U.S. House districts and also affect allocation of federal funds.  "Denying the undocumented and the states in which they reside their rightful representation in Congress is counter to the Constitution and makes people feel invisible and not valued as human beings," said Auxiliary Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville of Washington, chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Migration, in a statement.

One of the most outspoken advocates for life and racial justice is Pastor Walter Hoye, who went to jail for holding a sign outside an Oakland abortion clinic that read, "Jesus loves you and your baby. Let us help you!"  The bubble law that sent him to jail was eventually ruled unconstitutional. Most recently, Hoye has written a book, and is reaching out during the pandemic to fathers and others struggling during this time of uncertainty. Martin Ford, social justice coordinator for the archdiocesan Office of Human Life & Dignity, recently interviewed Hoye. (Photo is Walter Hoye and wife Lori at the Walk for Life West Coast 2019/Credit: Jose Aguirre/Walk for Life West Coast)

San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone consults this week with brother bishops about next steps after San Francisco and San Mateo were downgraded into the COVID-19 restrictive 'purple tier' at noon Sunday, which under California Gov. Gavin Newsom's regulations means only outdoor worship services are allowed. Archbishop Cordileone called the rules --which came on the First Sunday of Advent --"blatant discrimination." There is hope for a successful legal challenge after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of the Diocese of Brooklyn and  two Orthodox Jewish congregations, granting an injunction Nov. 25 that lifted pandemic restrictions on congregation sizes at houses of worship imposed by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. "It is time — past time — to make plain that, while the pandemic poses many grave challenges, there is no world in which the Constitution tolerates color-coded executive edicts that reopen liquor stores and bike shops but shutter churches, synagogues and mosques,” Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote. (Photo shows daily Mass on Monday, Nov. 30, on the plaza of the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in San Francisco)