At a time when society has the greatest need and available resources appear to be stretched beyond their limits, the Justice and Peace Commission and the Office of Justice and Peace for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles recently honored those who have shown the greatest creativity and hard work in dealing with need.

On Nov. 22 parishes, and groups within the archdiocese received more than $350,000 to assist them in their projects over the coming months. The archdiocese also conferred on Social Service Sister Anne Field the 2009 Empowerment Award for her work enabling low-income communities to make social change that break the cycle of poverty.

As he presented Sister Field with her award, Cardinal Roger Mahony noted that the Sisters of Social Service are noted for "their pioneering spirit in the social work field," that they "go to places where they are most needed. They work to alleviate human suffering and poverty for individuals, and families, within groups and communities and at the local, regional and national level. Sister Anne exemplifies this spirit."

During her 53 years as a religious, Sister Field has been a director of the Stanford Settlement in Sacramento, taught social work at Mount St. Mary's College and helped pioneer the Pastoral Associate program for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. She also was director of Guadalupe Center in Canoga Park and most recently helped to create an Interfaith Peace Garden at Holy Spirit Retreat Center in Encino. At the garden programs and projects are provided that engage interfaith dialogue and are open to all, regardless of faith, and peace and non-violence, green and environmental spirituality, and the integrity of the earth are advocated.

"Sister Anne continues to be an inspiration to all of us as she tirelessly works to bring justice and peace to our world, especially through her commitment to interreligious dialogue and action," said Cardinal Mahony. "Thanks to Sister Anne, we have a leader in the field, a visionary in our midst, a prophet in our community of faith. We have with us a woman who empowers people, impacts systems, and leads our Church."

Upon receiving her award Sister Field encouraged visiting and supporting "our non-Catholic brethren. In the choices we make in peace and justice, we can no longer be dualistic in our expressions and in our work together. It cannot be any longer, in my experience, either/or, my side/your side, conservative/liberal - that's dualistic. Rather our goal is multi-faceted and multi-lateral. We empower each other to move toward a promised land. We will get there but not yet."

The Office of Justice and Peace and the Justice and Peace Commission educates the people of the Archdiocese on the principles of Catholic social teaching and advocates for public policy that affirms human life and dignity and reflects a consistent life ethnic.

During this year's recognition dinner five parishes were honored with Operation Rice Bowl grants of $3,500 from Catholic Relief Services: Blessed Sacrament, Hollywood; Dolores Mission, Boyle Heights; St. Helen, South Gate; St. John Neumann, Santa Maria; and Our Lady of Peace, North Hills.

Parish Justice Awards were presented to St. Mel, Woodland Hills; Resurrection, East Los Angeles; St. Joseph, Carpinteria; Holy Trinity, San Pedro; and St. Augustine Church, Culver City.

In 1969 the USCCB created the Catholic Campaign for Human Development to help combat poverty in the United States. This year local grants from the CCHD were awarded to Burning Bush Center for the Working Poor; CAUSE of Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties; Garment Worker Center; Housing Long Beach; Institute for Urban Research and Urban Development; Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy; Pomona Economic Opportunity Center; PUEBLO People United for Economic Justice Building; Leadership Through Organizing; SCOPE Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education; Steering Committee for the Honor Program; and Ventura County Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice.

National Grants from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development were awarded to Coalition LA, Instituto de Educación Popular del Sur de California, Los Angeles Community Action Network, People Organized for Westside Renewal (POWER), and Southern California Education Fund.