Dear Friends,

Last night, Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin showed the contempt that she and the campaign of John McCain have for Catholics and the working poor when she sarcastically mocked Senator Barack Obama's experience as a community organizer in Catholic parishes on the South Side of Chicago.

In her vice presidential nomination acceptance speech, Ms. Palin said, "I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities." Community organizing is at the heart of Catholic Social Teaching to end poverty and promote social justice, and it has resulted in hundreds of thousands of people receiving assistance around the loss of jobs and housing over nearly 40 years.

In fact, community organizing is so important to Catholic Social Teaching that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has operated the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, its domestic anti-poverty and social justice program, since 1969. In 1986, the U.S. Catholic Bishops issued Economic Justice for All: Pastoral Letter on Catholic Social Teaching and the U.S. Economy, which said, "Human dignity can be realized and protected only in community." Senator Obama worked in several Catholic parishes, supported by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, in the 1980s, rather than pursuing a lucrative career on Wall Street.

This is not the first time that the McCain campaign has used sarcasm to mock people of faith. Last month, they released an ad called "The One," in which they implied that supporters of Senator Obama believe that he is a Christ-like figure, a theme which Governor Palin echoed in her speech.

We are asking you to do a few things:

Call or write the McCain campaign and tell them that Sarah Palin should apologize to the thousands of community organizers, the organizations who have supported them including the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, and particularly the countless working families who have been helped in communities - large and small - across our country. Senator McCain's campaign can be reached at info@johnmccain.com and by phone at (703) 418-2008. Let us know if you do!

Write your local newspaper to let them know you are offended by the mockery of work essential to Catholic Social Teaching and critical to helping end poverty in our cities and towns.

Forward this to three friends or family members and ask them to join Catholic Democrats. As we see, it is going to be a tough campaign. Tens of thousands more would support us if they knew about us. We need to touch as many potential supporters as possible who can help us advance the positive messages of Catholic Social Teaching in the public square while pushing back on the kind of divisive rhetoric offered by Sarah Palin and the McCain campaign that pits small towns against urban communities.

Thank you for all of your encouragement and hard work. With your help, we can elect two individuals who have consistently demonstrated their ability to understand the issues confronting working families and who will work and serve on their behalf.