January-February 2017 NewsNotes

Vol. 42, No. 1

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Nonviolence: World Day of Peace message - The start of the new year finds many people around the world in need of healing from political, economic, and social injustice. In response, Pope Francis offers a World Day of Peace message on the need for nonviolence as a style of politics.

Catholic Nonviolence Initiative update - As a founding member of the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative, the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns participates in steering the initiative and promoting the outcomes of the Nonviolence and Just Peace Conference.

Climate “trial of the century” moves ahead - A group of children has taken the U.S. government – and soon Donald Trump – to court for failing to protect them from climate change.  The landmark lawsuit, Julian v. U.S., first reported in the May-June 2016 issue of NewsNotes is likely to go to trial by Fall 2017.

Environmental justice under President Trump - The challenges facing care for creation are great, but the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns is committed to protecting and advocating for strong environmental protections in the next four years.

Trade: The Human Thread Campaign - The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns distributed more than 8,000 postcards for people to sign and mail to the CEOs of Macy’s and Kohl’s as part of the Human Thread Campaign during the final months of 2016.

U.S. trade policy after the TPP - Faith communities joined labor, environmental, development, and farm groups in celebrating the demise in the United States of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement. 

Economic justice: The commons movement - The commons refers to the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, such as air, water, and a habitable earth. Members of a growing social and political movement known as the commons movement believe such resources, when held in common, best serve the people whose lives they affected.

U.S.-Mexico border: Radical hospitality - When Maryknoll Sister Lil Mattingly in El Paso, Texas, shared the urgent need for volunteers to help the growing numbers of refugees and migrants there, the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns sent Alfonso Buzzo, our peace fellow, to live and work at Annunciation House, a home of hospitality in El Paso. In this article Alfonso reflects on his month-long experience there. 

Haiti: UN apologizes for bringing cholera - In one of his final acts as UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon said the United Nations was "profoundly sorry" for the outbreak in Haiti, which first developed near a UN base in 2010, and committed to mobilizing a response by UN member states.

Cuba: Reflection on life after Fidel Castro - Fidel Castro, known as the father of the Cuban revolution, died November 25. Maryknoll Sister Ann Braudis, who visited Cuba in 2012, wrote the following reflection on the questions that hang over the future of Cuba.

Colombia: Hurdles remain for peace - Colombia's Congress approved a landmark treaty with the FARC guerrilla rebels moving the country closer to a sustainable peace for the first time in fifty years.

The Philippines: Archbishop condemns extrajudicial killings - Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan, the president of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of the Philippines, condemned extrajudicial killings of suspected drug dealers and addicts in his Christmas message.

WOLA: U.S. must condemn killings in the Philippines - On December 9, the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) released the following statement entitled “President-elect Trump Should Repudiate Duterte’s Claims of U.S. Support for His Murderous Drug Policy.” 

Israel/Palestine: New action by UN Security Council - On December 23 the UN Security Council passed a resolution calling for an end to Israeli settlements with a vote of fourteen in favor and one abstention – the United States. 

Africa: U.S. policy under President Trump - As Donald Trump begins his U.S. presidency, many in Washington, Dar es Salaam, and Harare can only speculate on what direction the new president will take in regard to Africa.

World AIDS Day: “Moving forward, leaving no one behind” - Since 1988 World Aids Day is commemorated on December 1 as a day to remember those who have died of AIDS and to unite people around the world in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Maryknoll Missioners at the UN and in countries around the world commemorated this important day. 

Resources - Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns' 2017 Lenten Reflection Guide, National Migration Week, Ecumenical Advocacy Days, and much more.