Maria Montez (not her real name) is a senior citizen who stands for hours during her shift at a poultry processing plant. In the damp and chill, she performs her assigned task at breakneck speed as freshly-killed chickens, hooked to a conveyor, speed past her.

She has done this repetitive work for years. Now her hands and arms are often numb. Sometimes the pain keeps her awake at night. She cannot afford to pay the insurance deductible to see a doctor.

"A lot of people are also affected with asthma and pneumonia and eye problems," Maria, a Latino, says through a translator. "That’s what I see the most. People have to leave the plant because of illness. People get fired if they get hurt (on the job)."

Maria Montez is not alone. She is just one of the many people whose story is included in the new pastoral letter, Voices and Choices, released this past November with the signatures of 41 Catholic bishops of the South.

The process leading to this pastoral was initiated and facilitated by the Catholic Committee of the South (CCS), a group that has received support from the Glenmary Commission on Justice since the 1980s. Glenmary priests, brothers, coworkers and parishioners are among the nearly 100 people from across the South who regularly attend the CCS Annual Gathering in Cullman, Ala.

Years of testimony from poultry growers and processing workers at this annual meeting prepared the way for this pastoral message from bishops in dioceses most affected by the poultry industry. Over the last two years, additional input was systematically gathered from hundreds of people and more than a dozen organizations—from poultry workers and managers to diocesan officials and bishops.

Voices and Choices details the high "price" poultry processing workers, poultry catchers and poultry growers pay so that U.S. consumers might enjoy plentiful and inexpensive poultry. That "price" includes serious injuries, disabling repetitive-motion trauma, disrespectful treatment and inadequate pay.

While the document is specific to the poultry industry, the issues raised apply to many businesses, including manufacturing and agriculture in general. The bishops hope this document will raise awareness of injustice in our complex, global economy.

Scripture, encyclicals and previous pastoral documents are cited in Voices and Choices. These citations highlight the necessity of recognizing the God-given dignity of each person; the need for a safe and just workplace; the special challenges of immigrant workers; and the essential priority of shared responsibility and decision-making—the "voices and choices"—in the workplace.

The right of Maria Montez and other poultry workers to just employment is not based on the will of her employer, this pastoral message emphasizes. It is grounded in the reality that all are made in God’s image and likeness.

"We are called to recognize the divine presence in each other, particularly those who are without ‘voices and choices’ in their lives," the bishops say.

"We are called to continuous growth in the awareness of God’s presence in our daily lives. Sometimes the focus of this awareness is close at hand, such as our families and friends; other times it is not so obvious, such as those who work to supply the food we place on our table."

"This pastoral letter is about awareness, not answers," the bishops continue. "It is about our willingness to struggle with the questions of living as children of God. It is about our willingness to open our minds and hearts to God’s presence in people we may never meet, but whose lives are as important as ours are in the sight of God."

The bishops’ pastoral message is published in Spanish and English in an effort to reach out to immigrant workers affected by the issues explored in the document. Like many Catholics who came to this country in the past, present-day immigrants are vulnerable and often desperate for work. They rarely seek help from authorities when mistreated. These brothers and sisters need special consideration, according to the bishops.

"While the laws regarding immigration and immigrants must be respected, everything must be done to aid and protect this most vulnerable and exploitable group of brothers and sisters, many of whom are fleeing civil conflicts in Latin America which have included the United States as a political player."

The bishops cite the story of the Good Samaritan from Luke 10, concluding, "The injured traveler is treated tenderly by one with whom he should not even speak, and provided for until his recovery. Who was the neighbor? The young man answers, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’

"‘Doing likewise’ is usually associated with soup kitchens and other important tasks of charity," the bishops continue. "But the definition of neighborliness extends not only beyond our family, friends and faith community, but beyond traditional tasks of charity as well, until our entire lives are an opportunity to live the gospel."

Voices and Choices includes a summary of 100 years of Catholic social teaching prepared by the United States Catholic Conference in 1990. Summary headings include "the life and dignity of the human person," "human rights and responsibilities," "the call to family and community," "the dignity and rights of workers," "the option for the poor," and "solidarity" with all people. The summary ends with the statement, "Loving our neighbor has global dimensions."

"Those dimensions have economics as an essential component," the bishops say, "one that can seem removed from our gospel vision of neighborliness." Complicated concepts and unfamiliar terminology—such as "vertical integration"—may further obscure our vision. But the pastoral letter challenges us to confront the complexity.

"‘Vertical integration,’ in which the same company owns and/or controls every step of production from the most basic components, such as feed grain, to the final product, such as boneless, skinless chicken breasts on the grocery store shelves, has become a dominant force in the economy," the bishops explain. "The ramifications are too numerous to treat here, but according to the National Catholic Rural Life Conference, ‘factory farming’ impacts prices, wages, natural resources and the future of family farming, placing enormous power in the boardrooms of a few companies."

Voices and Choices notes that legal tasks and structural change are necessary to address the intricate and interconnected web of environmental, technological, political, financial and international issues involved. Still, the bishops say, "We may not abdicate our concern and responsibilities for such matters to the anonymous group. The ‘group’ is made up of individuals. Structural change begins with the conversion of each heart."

The bishops note that as "accountants, nurses, managers, executives, politicians, teachers, voters, consumers, bankers, bakers, mechanics, secretaries, parents and clerks, we make decisions every day that affect the lives of other people. We must struggle in holiness with the competing values of the workplace, with the contradictory and complex choices with which we are faced."

We must not be afraid of this daunting task, the bishops say, because, as Pope John Paul II reminds us, "Each and every human being has been created in the image and likeness of the One who is the origin of all that is. We have within us the capacities for wisdom and virtue.

"With these gifts, and with the help of God’s grace, we can build in the next century and the next millennium a civilization worthy of the human person, a true culture of freedom."

Susan Stevenot Sullivan, working in close association with Glenmary Father Les Schmidt, played a key role in the researching, drafting and final presentation of "Voices and Choices." Based in Atlanta, she is a freelance writer who has worked for the Catholic Committee of the South and Glenmary Home Missioners.