CATHOLICS IN THE PUBLIC SQUARE

"Our Voice, Our Values, Our Vision "

Catholics in the Public Square (CPS) is an organization of faithful lay Catholics formed
in response to Pope John Paul II's impassioned outreach to the laity, which he so
eloquently expresses in the encyclicals, and in response to the US Catholic Bishops'
pastoral letter Living the Gospel of Life: A Challenge to American Catholics. Conscious
of the great need for the Catholic voice to be articulately spoken in the public square,

CPS is dedicated to being inspired and to inspiring, to being challenged and to
challenging, and to being equipped and to equipping so as to be instruments for
building a civilization of love based on the inherent dignity of every human being.
We desire personally to live out our Catholic faith in its fullness, and to share the
beauty and richness of this Faith in the public arena through all venues available to us.

CPS is committed to the sacramental and the spiritual traditions of the Catholic Church.
We affirm that the Eucharist is the Source and Summit of our life. We also rely heavily
upon the intercession of Our Lady in the Rosary. We strongly encourage our members
to immerse themselves in these sacred avenues of grace, and to read our Holy Father's encyclicals on these.

Following the example of our late Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, we entrust ourselves
and all of our efforts to the guidance and protection of our Blessed Mother. We also
seek the intercession of St. Michael the Archangel, the staunch defender of the People
of God, and of St. Thomas More, whom the Holy Father has placed before the Church
example of living our Catholic faith in the public arena. Inspired by the Holy Father's declaration, we claim St. Thomas More as the patron of our activities.

Marlene D. Elwell
Phone: (517) 449-2238