Pray, Study, Act: Nuclear Ban Treaty Goes Into Effect
We can create a world free of nuclear weapons.
We can create a world free of nuclear weapons.
Pray with us for peace in our nation in this week of the Inauguration.
Success: Some immigrants and refugees to receive COVID-19 relief.
Urge Congress to end U.S. support for the devastating war in Yemen.
Ask Congress to allocate sufficient funds to support vulnerable refugee families in Fiscal Year 2021.
Join the Maryknoll Sisters on December 2, 2020 to honor the 40th anniversary of the four Churchwomen's deaths in El Salvador.
Sign up here to recieve a weekly email with a Scripture reflection from a Maryknoll missioner.
Join us in prayer as the U.S. election season concludes.
Call or Email ICE to demand América’s immediate release.
Join your voice to the call to the World Bank to stop financing fossil fuels.
Take action: Urge the Senate to include life-saving foreign assistance funding in the next COVID-19 package.
This Sunday, September 27, the Church will celebrate the 106th World Day of Migrants and Refugees (WMRD). Join us as we pray, study, and act.
Take action: Urge Congress to pass legislation that would protect global human rights during the pandemic.
The Catholic Nonviolence Initiative, a project of Pax Christi International, invites us to celebrate the first ever Catholic Nonviolence Days of Action, beginning September 21 on the International Day of Peace and ending October 2 on the International Day of Nonviolence.
Take action: Urge Congress to ensure the Trump administration restores the U.S. refugee program for FY2021.
Urge Congress to pass a resoution that would ensure the U.S. does not recognize nor fund the annexation of the occupied West Bank.
Join us as we pray, study, and act to mark these anniversaries.
Sign a letter from Pax Christi International to Pope Francis thanking him for his leadership during this time of crisis.
Urge Congress to reallocate 10 percent of the Pentagon budget toward critical human security issues, such as education and healthcare.
Urge Congress to provide emergency international aid in the upcoming COVID-19 relief package.
Two major campaigns are going on this week to protect asylum seekers and immigrant families. Here are ways you can take action today:
1) Submit a comment to the Trump administration by July 15 at 1 pm EDT urging them to rescind new proposed rules for the asylum system that would make it nearly impossible to gain asylum status in the United States. Experts say these rules will destroy the asylum system as we know it.
Create a peace ribbon to mark the 75th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The Trump administration has chipped away at the U.S. asylum system for the past four years, continually enacting policies which restrict asylum access until the system has come to an effective halt.
Take action for DACA recipients after the Supreme Court ruling.
This Saturday, June 20, is World Refugee Day. Refugees around the world are facing tremendous challenges due to the spread of the pandemic and the increasing unwillingness of countries to host them, including the United States.
On May 15, President Trump announced that the closure of the U.S.-Mexico border, which began on March 20, will now continue indefinitely. The border closure denies asylum seekers their legal right to present their asylum claims to U.S. authorities.
Interfaith leaders have marked June 1 as a National Day of Mourning for those lost to COVID-19. Here's how you can participate in this day.
The HEROES Act fails to include any funding for foreign assistance for impoverished countries sinking under the weight of the COVID-19 crisis.
As we join Pope Francis and the global Church in celebrating Laudato Si' Week, we invite you to take action to build a better future by urging the World Bank to stop investing in fossil fuels and instead invest in renewable energy.
Join us in celebrating the fifth anniversary of Laudato Si’
In honor of Mother’s Day in the United States, a day originally intended to be called “Mother’s Peace Day.”
Take action to oppose the United States government's approval of Israeli annexation of portions of the West Bank.
Join us on the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, April 22, 2020, as we pray, study, and act for a renewed commitment to integral ecology and a sustainable future for our planet.
Join us online on April 10, 2020.
Take Action: Sign an urgent petition to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to cancel debt and expand aid to bolster healthcare for countries affected by the coronavirus.
During this pandemic, immigration detention centers are at high risk of coronavirus outbreaks, given the crowded conditions and poor medical capacity of the facilities.
Peace and blessings to you as we face the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic together.
Maybe you are experiencing isolation and fear like never before. Please know, just as you have been there for the Maryknoll Office whenever we have called for solidarity and action, we are here for you.
Take action: Pope Francis calls for Worldwide Prayer
Today, March 17, is the 40th Anniversary of President Carter signing the Refugee Act of 1980. This legislation established the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program, which has resettled over 3 million refugees since 1980. Today we are celebrating our country's legacy of leadership in refugee resettlement by thanking President Carter and all those who brought about the Refugee Act and who continue to work for the success of the program today.
Call House leadership to ask them to hold the vote as planned, without any amendments.
Tuesday, March 10 will be a Day of Action to promote justice for immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. There are several steps you can take to raise your voice in support of vulnerable people on the move on this day.
Take action:
Call or email your Members of Congress asking them to support two bills that would support the asylum and refugee protection systems in the U.S.
Urge Congress to hold oppose this plan and any efforts to move forward with it, including efforts to annex settlements and the Jordan Valley.
Call your Senators to urge them to prevent unauthorized war with Iran.
Saturday, February 8 is the International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking and the Feast of St. Josephine Bakhita.
Tell SEC Chair Jay Clayton that you oppose the proposed rule changes designed to stifle shareholder advocacy.
Ask Congress to raise the number of refugees admitted to the United States to historic average levels.
Urge Congress to probibit funding for war with Iran.
Submit a public comment to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) opposing the increase in fees for immigrants.
Tell Congress to support the renewal of the New START Treaty.
As teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg said, “Our house is on fire,” and we need to take action. Inspired by Greta and the youth climate strikes, we invite you to join a national climate strike in cities across the United States on December 6.
In recent years, international organizations have spoken out against the treatment of Palestinian children by the Israeli military, and particularly their use of military detention for children. U.S.
Sign up for a one-hour time slot during the 24-hour prayer vigil in solidarity with those affected by HIV/AIDS on December 1.
Urge your Members of Congress to oppose the U.S. exit from the Paris Climate Agreement.
Churches for Middle East Peace, a coalition that includes Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, has initiated a campaign asking House Representatives to uphold the right to boycott companies and governments at home and abroad.
Today, October 15, is the National Call-in Day for Immigration Justice, organized by the Latinx Catholic Leadership Coalition.
As we celebrate Indigenous Peoples' Day this week in the United States, the Synod on the Amazon begins its second of three weeks of meetings in Rome. Meanwhile, fires continue to rage in the Amazon in Brazil, threatening this vital ecosystem and the lives of indigenous peoples who live there.
Ask your Republican House representative to sign on to a letter in support of the refugee resettlement program.
MOGC joins the Korea Peace Network in promoting a National Call-in Day for Korea Peace on Tuesday, October 8.
Today, MOGC joins other organizations in participating in the Blackout4Refugees Campaign.
September 2019
This is a critical moment. President Trump has until September 30 to decide the number of refugees to be admitted into the United States for Fiscal Year (FY) 2020. Some in the Trump Administration are reportedly calling for "zeroing out" the refugee resettlement program. This means setting the goal for the number of refugees admitted into the United States in 2020 to zero.
From September 20-27, young activists around the world are inviting all of us to join them in a Global Climate Strike. Find resources here for how you can participate.
Call your Senators and the White House on Sept. 4.
Immediate action needed!
July 18 at the U.S. Capitol Building, Washington, D.C.
Ask your Representative to enforce the labor laws set out in CAFTA and to suspend military aid to Honduras.
Take action for Honduras on the tenth anniversary of the coup.
Take action to close the migrant child detention center in Homstead, Florida.
Support the American Dream and Promise Act of 2019
Tell Congress to prevent war with Iran.
From CLINIC, the Catholic Legal Immigration Netowrk, Inc.
In honor of Mother’s Day 2019, CLINIC has collected the stories of four mothers who have gone through or are currently going through the asylum process. It is our hope that these stories illustrate the experience of motherhood under extreme circumstances, and how they are connected by perseverance, love, and hope.
Youth are calling us to act and we can respond.
Tell Congress to defend the people and the environment in the Amazon.
Restore humanitarian aid and demand an end to the blockade and accountability for violence against civilians by Israel.
Send a message to President Trump.
Write to U.S. Sec. of State Mike Pompeo.
Speak out against the Honduran government’s attacks on human rights and environmental defenders.
Support a formal end to the Korean War.
On February 15, 2019, President Trump declared a national state of emergency. The day before, Congress passed a funding bill that includes an increase in immigrant detention and $1.375 billion for wall construction. The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns (MOGC) condemned both the emergency declaration and the legislation.
“What is the just and humane way to secure our borders and treat those fleeing persecution? It is not with more immigrant detention and a border wall,” said Susan Gunn, Interim Director of the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns.
Tell President Trump and your Senators to keep the INF Treaty and stop the production of new nuclear weapons.
Call your Senators by 12pm ET Thursday, January 24.
Fund the government, End the shutdown
This is the most important climate change meeting since Paris.
Submit comments on proposed "public charge" rules.
Seeking asylum is a human right.
Sign up for an hour of prayer on Dec. 1.
Stop immigrant family detention.
Ask Congress to reject funding for new nuclear weapons
September 21
Ask you members of Congress to call for full restoration of humanitarian assistance for Palestinians
Pray with us, make personal commitments, and take action.
Write a letter to the editor of your local paper.
Ask Congress to support resettlement of 750,000 refugees in the U.S. in 2019.
Engage with Congress during the August recess.
The Trump administration is requesting a large increase in discretionary funding for Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in 2019.
We still need help from voters in Alabama, Louisiana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota and West Virginia.
Join Women of Faith Prayer Vigil in D.C., June 19, and keep calling Congress!
Send a letter to President Trump and join in prayer.
Together we can move the U.S. to do it's part.
Ask Congress to stop DHS from separating families.
Ask Congress to urge an end to Israel’s killing and wounding of Palestinian protesters, accountability for these actions, and respect for human rights for all.
Ask Your Representatives to Protect Dreamers by cosponsoring the USA Act of 2018
On Wednesday, May 9, Gina Haspel’s confirmation hearings for director of the CIA will begin. The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns and seven national Catholic organizations sent a letter to Congress opposing Haspel's nomination to be CIA Director because of her record on torture.
We call on Congress to take immediate action to protect Honduran TPS holders.
Call for an end to the use of violence by Israeli forces against the protesters in Gaza.
Sunday, April 22, 2018
Tell Congress to take immediate action to protect Palestinians at the Gaza border.
Ask your congressional representative to support H.R. 4391
Dialogue works. Peace is possible.
Monday, Feb. 26: Call your members of Congress.
We are as close as we have ever been to nuclear Armageddon.
Congress has only days left to take action for immigrants.
Use our form to submit your comments in support of the Clean Power Plan before April 26.
#ReplaceNAFTA Call-In Day is December 13. After then, keep calling!
Oppose funding the move of the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Ask Congress for an immediate suspension of U.S. military aid to Honduras.
For the first time, Congress is considering a bill that bars the United States from financially supporting human rights abuses of Palestinian children by the Israeli military.
Protect the U.S. contribution to the Paris climate agreement.
It's up to Congress to keep the United States in this critical nuclear accord.
Ask Congress to support Palestinian unity.
Ask Congress to protect immigrants with "Temporary Protected Status."
Ask your Representative to support a petition to force a vote on the Dream Act.
Ask your Members of Congress to urge the State Department to firmly appeal to the Israeli government to stop demolishing Palestinian property. Ask Congress to insist that U.S. military aid be conditioned on Israel’s compliance with U.S. law and policy, including respect for human rights.
Take action for the Rohingya people
Join prayer and action for a big shift for Creation
Ask Congress to pass the Dream Act.
Ask President Trump and Congress to allow for an open, transparent and democratic process that ensures that all voices are welcome at the NAFTA renegotiations table and that our economic policies ultimately serve the common good.
Defend DACA and TPS now!
Pray and take action for peace!
Prayer and action on creation-centered themes for the month of September.
Tell Congress to vote NO on the Israel Anti-Boycott Act.
Please join us by raising your voice now about three very serious issues.
As Congress considers the budget for fiscal year 2018, it is critical that advocates speak up for the needs of Palestinian refugees.
Don’t give up hope! We will move forward with the world to address climate change. Take this first step by sending a letter to your governor today.
The future of U.S. participation in the landmark Paris climate agreement is in jeopardy.
Saturday, April 29, in Washington, D.C. and cities around the world.
Right now, there are approximately 58,000 Haitians in the U.S. who could be deported after July 22.
Forcing these vulnerable people to return to Haiti – a country still recovering from a devastating earthquake in 2010 and a massive hurricane in 2016 – would be inhumane and untenable.
Organizations in the Faith Forum on Middle East Policy send out action alerts monthly, focusing on different issues so that members of Congress hear consistently that their constituents support a just and lasting resolution to the Palestinian and Israeli conflict.
April 2017
Congress is considering two dangerous bills that could undermine the work of advocates for a just peace for Palestinians and Israelis.
Deadline is June 1, 2017.
President Trump's new executive order on climate change is a big turn in the wrong direction. Call your Senators and join us at the People's Climate March.
Maryknoll Lay Missioner Flávio José Rocha writes from Brazil about Pope Francis' lessons about water in Laudato Si' and how we can take action.
Tell your Senators to not repeal the methane rule.
Sign up for a webinar on February 7 to learn more about the invitation from U.S. Catholic Bishops to join a local group and visit members of Congress.
The Senate is expected to debate today (Feb. 2) and vote early tomorrow morning (Feb. 3).
On Wednesday, January 25, President Trump issued two executive orders that greatly increase the U.S. immigration enforcement system, challenge sanctuary cities, and move forward with building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Let Congress know you support the UN Security Council Resolution 2334 and urge them to not move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.
Ask your Senators to consider rejecting Scott Pruitt as administrator of the EPA.
Join us in prayer and action to share the message that torture is always wrong.
Pope Francis shared his message for the upcoming World Day of Peace and the launch of a global effort in the Church for peacebuilding through active nonviolence.
Ask President Obama to support Palestine at the UN and take firm action to stop Israeli settlements.
Now that the TPP deal is signed, Congress has to approve it. This is the time to raise our voices for economic justice.
The Obama administration is finishing its final months with record-level immigration detention rates.
Send postcards to the CEOs of Macy's and Kohl's.
The aftermath of Hurricane Matthew is no time to put extra demands on Haitians trying to recover. Ask the U.S. to stop deportations to Haiti.
Join Christians and others around the world in praying, educating, and advocating for a just peace for Palestinians and Israelis through the World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel.
Send a letter to President Obama today.
Dozens of organizations are working together to make TODAY a Nationwide TPP Call-In Day — to ask members of Congress to take a public position on the TPP.
We invite you to join the World Day of Prayer for Creation and the Season of Creation.
Water can’t wait – ask Congress to support equal water rights for Palestinians and Israelis.
Tell President Obama and Congress we need real leadership, cooperation, and solutions at the UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants on September 19.
Ask your Congressional representatives to support the creation of a national Commission on the Disappeared in El Salvador.
Send a letter to President Obama today.
Send a letter to the World Bank president and Board telling them to safeguard the rights of indigenous peoples.
Tell your Congressional Representatives to support funding for the Green Climate Fund for 2017.
Maryknoll Sisters in Zimbabwe ask for prayers as a nonviolent campaign by church leaders and citizens against systemic corruption and economic mismanagement by the government grows.
To all Mainers, please call Senator Collins before 2.pm today!
The Supreme Court has blocked DAPA. Tell President Obama to protect undocumented parents - stop the deportations.
Take action for the people of Gaza.
Ask Congress to support H.R. 5474, the Berta Cáceres Human Rights in Honduras Act.
Stop sending refugees back to the very violence that forced them from their homes.
Sign a letter to the women of the U.S. Senate asking for their support of the Business Supply Chain Transparency on Trafficking and Slavery Act (S.1968).
Send a letter to President Obama to tell him to stop the new round of immigration detention raids against Central American children and families.
Urge your Congressional representative to sign a letter asking President Obama to appoint a Special Envoy for Palestinian children.
Join us in asking the USDA and USAID to immediately cancel plans to ship U.S. peanuts to Haiti.
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns staff member, and returned Maryknoll Lay Missioner, Dave Kane, reports from João Pessoa, Brazil, on the political turmoil upsetting the country.
Thank the members of Congress who signed a letter calling for Leahy Law’s application to Israel and Egypt.
Join a nationwide prayer at Noon on April 22 and find out what other events are happening near you from April 15 - 24.
Ask President Obama to work for a world free of nuclear weapons.
Two environmentalists murdered in less than two weeks. Tell Honduras: "Stop the violence!"
Let your members of Congress know that you support a just and lasting resolution to the Palestinian and Israeli conflict.
Solving the climate crisis is a global effort that will take years. Ask Congress to keep up support of the Green Climate Fund.
Ask your Congressional representative to sign on to a "Dear Colleague" letter to Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Treasure Jack Lew calling for justice and peace in Honduras.
The life of Mexican human rights defender Gustavo Castro Soto is at grave risk in Honduras! Please send emails and call now!
Urge the State Department to assist the government of Honduras in finding and holding accountable the murderers of Berta Cáceres.
Urge your members of Congress to attend this important briefing on the effects of the Israeli occupation on ordinary people.
Ask President Obama and Congress to commit to humane policies that respond to the realities of migration.
12 countries signed the sweeping, unjust Trans Pacific Partnership trade agreement, but that's not the end. Now it's up to Congress to approve it.
Urge Congress to support peace, not settlements, by NOT co-sponsoring H.R. 567, a resolution to label products made in the occupied territories as "Made in Israel."
Call 1-888-897-9753 to tell your Senator not to shut down the U.S. resettlement program for Syrian and Iraqi refugees.
Sign this petition to President Obama, urging him to close the Guantánamo detention facility.
Call the White House at (202) 456-1414.
Organizations in the Faith Forum on Middle East Policy send out action alerts monthly, focusing on different issues so that members of Congress hear consistently that their constituents support a just and lasting resolution to the Palestinian and Israeli conflict.
Now is the time for the U.S. to follow through on our pledge to the Green Climate Fund.
Each year during Advent, Pax Christi International invites all to send messages of peace and hope to people in the Holy Land.
Speak out against any increase in U.S. military aid to Israel and the continued occupation of Palestinian territory.
Send a letter to your governor and members of Congress urging them to support Syrian refugee resettlement in the U.S.
Download our weekly series of prayer-study-action guides to help you join the millions of people worldwide praying and acting for the climate justice at the UN Climate Summit in Paris. Editor: Susan Gunn
Act now to tell Congress to keep the McCain-Feinstein amendment banning CIA torture and to create a clear path to close the prison at Guantanamo.
Our colleagues at ActionAid USA are circulating this petition to demand the Guatemalan government investigate the murder and detention of human rights defenders.
Urge Congress to help fund the UNRWA’s emergency appeal for Palestinian refugees from Syria.
Take action to ensure countries that condone human trafficking are held accountable in trade agreements.
More than 4 million refugees have fled Syria. This is the largest refugee crisis since World War II. Sign the Petition: Tell President Obama to welcome more refugees.
In 2015, 70 years after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the world community is making important moves toward nuclear abolition.
One year after last summer’s devastating war, the situation in Gaza is dire.
Justice for Immigrants asks everyone to call the White House between July 30-Aug. 6 (date extended!) and urge that it not appeal a July 24 ruling to release detained families.
Please write to your representative and ask that they strive to ensure the McCain-Feinstein provision banning torture is included in the final version of the National Defense Authorization Act.
A court victory to stop building the separation wall on private Palestinian land has now been undone.
Urge Congress to support President Obama's request for monies for the Green Climate Fund.
Add your name to the thank you letter that will be delivered to Pope Francis next week.
Please consider adding your name to this petition, directed to Sherwin-Williams (Dutch Boy) and PPG Industries (Glidden) Paint Companies. It was created for Change.org by Occupational Knowledge International.
Many members of Congress travel during the August recess, and many take trips to Israel. It is important that they get a full picture of the region during these visits, and we can help them do that.
On June 16, 2015, the Senate voted to put a permanent end to CIA torture.
The House of Representatives is voting NOW on trade bills -- Trade Adjustment Assistance and Trade Promotion Authority [AKA "fast track"] -- that are opposed by Maryknoll and others in the faith and human rights communities.
Members of Congress need to hear from constituents that the Fast Track authority for the Trans Pacific Partnership is undemocratic.
In response to this critical issue around the treatment of children by the Israeli military (which receives the largest amount of U.S. foreign assistance), Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN-4) has drafted a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry, and invites her fellow members of Congress to sign on.
Ask your representatives to attend a Congressional briefing on the important issue of children in Israeli military detention.
Maryknollers have been actively supporting the SOA Watch campaign to close the School of the Americas (now WHINSEC) at Fort Benning, Georgia since 1990, and you can too. Purchase a limited edition t-shirt and support the growth of the movement for justice and self-determination in the Americas.
The following petition will be delivered to authorities in Brazil.
We, the undersigned organizations and individuals, express our vehement opposition to all forms of privatization of the Brazilian prison system for the following reasons:
Without a doubt, the process of mass incarceration in Brazil has as its preferred target poor and historically excluded populations. These people are denied their most fundamental rights and crushed by a system of suffering and death.
Tell your elected officials to support peaceful solutions with Iran, in Syria: Don’t stand in the way of Iran negotiations, and do support urgent help for Yarmouk refugees.
Women held in a Texas Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) prison work for $3/day, their children's health is deteriorating, and many haven't been given the opportunity to post a reasonable bond for their release.
In December, during the Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons, the Holy See contributed a ground-breaking paper entitled Nuclear Disarmament: Time for Abolition, which presents a compelling argument to move beyond limits set by political realism: “Now is the time to affirm not only the immorality of the use of nuclear weapons, but the immorality of their possession, thereby clearing the road to nuclear abolition.”
Urge your members of Congress to sign "Dear Colleague" letters in support of the president's budget proposal for the Green Climate Fund.
A peaceful resolution to the Iranian nuclear issue is in the best interest of its neighbors in the region – including the Israelis and Palestinians – as well as the best interest of the United States and the world.
Our colleagues at ActionAid USA are circulating this petition to urge the Obama administration to end its support of the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition.
The House Judiciary Committee will be considering the Michael Davis Jr., in Honor of State and Local Law Enforcement Act (HR 1148), a very negative bill that would harm our communities and congregations.
The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns endorses the recently introduced End Modern Slavery Initiative Act, sponsored by Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN).
The controversial speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Congress scheduled for March 3 is problematic for a number of reasons including the way the invitation was issued without coordination with the White House, the anticipated content of the speech which is expected to deal with the Iranian nuclear issue at a critical time in the negotiations with Iran, and the timing of the speech just prior to the Israeli elections.
Raise your voice to protest Netanyahu’s speech which will be used to undermine the U.S. strategy of diplomacy with Iran.
On January 27, 51 people, including 30 Dominican-born children, some of their mothers and 14 other adults were deported without due process to Haiti from the Dominican Republic. More mass deportations of Dominicans of Haitian descent and Haitian migrants are feared.
Write your member of Congress today and let him/her know that climate change is important to you and that they should contribute to the Green Climate Fund.
Following the defeat of a UN Security Council resolution that would have set parameters and a timeline for addressing the Israeli-Palestinian impasse, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas signed a number of international treaties and conventions including the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), paving the way for Palestine to join the ICC.
The following alert is from our colleagues at ActionAid USA.
Take action and call Congress during National Migration Week, Jan. 4-10, 2015.
As has been the case for years now, the town of Bethlehem remains cut off from Jerusalem by the separation wall, and more and more land around the town is threatened with confiscation by the Israeli government
Tell World Bank President Jim Yong Kim that the time has come for the World Bank to respect and protect human rights in its lending.
Another round of call in days will be held this week, Dec. 9-12, to urge Congress to protect families from deportation.
This week (Tuesday or Wednesday) the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will have the chance to vote on war against the Islamic State. This is the first opportunity for the Senate to reject the president's plan that is perpetuating ongoing war.
Immigrant rights groups and faith communities across the country have been urging the administration to take bold, concrete actions to stop the pain that families and communities face due to deportations.
The scriptures for the third Sunday in Advent call us to action – to be a voice in the wilderness, a light, and to bring the good news to the oppressed and poor in our world.
Land confiscation, settlement expansion, and home demolitions continue in the West Bank, with Israel resuming its practice of demolishing homes as a punitive measure.
Send a message to the Senate and to President Obama to reject any legislation that approves the continuation of the Keystone XL pipeline.
Ask U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to contribute to the Green Climate Fund.
From Nov. 5-13, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Justice for Immigrants campaign will sponsor a week of call-in days to the White House to urge protection for families facing deportation.
Use this link at the Justice for Immigrants' website to send a message to the president and Congress opposing the use of family detention in regards to Central American and Mexican migrants at the U.S. border.
Financial support for reconstruction in Gaza is urgently needed. Adequate oversight will be important to ensure that materials are used for their intended purposes, but restrictions should not be so onerous that they tie the hands of those seeking to rebuild. In addition, to end the cycle of violence, underlying causes must be addressed, including the lifting of the Gaza blockade.
El Paso's Annunciation House, which has provided shelter for migrants for decades, has drafted this petition to President Obama, urging specific and immediate action on immigration.
ECPAT-USA asks those of us in the U.S. to contact our senators and urge their support of S. 1738, the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, which has already passed the House of Representatives.
The following request for action and support was circulated by the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, based on information from the Sisters of Loretto Nazareth.
NRCAT circulated the following alert.
While peacemakers everywhere welcome the ceasefire in Gaza, the underlying issues that led to the war remain.
Sign this petition to President Obama and Congress urging the U.S.'s moral leadership at the UN climate summit in September 2014.
Maryknoll Sisters are members of the Dominican order; Dominican priests, brothers and sisters have had a long history in Iraq, and it is in solidarity with their fellow Dominicans in Iraq that we share the following letter and action suggestions from U.S. Dominicans.
Nuclear weapons threaten everything we love and treasure in this world. To protect humanity’s future, we support the Marshall Islands, a small island nation who is courageously seeking to enforce the Nuclear Zero promise - a world free of nuclear weapons.
For this month's Third Thursday alert, call on Congress to stop U.S. complicity in suffering and to support U.S. policy for a just peace in Israel and Palestine.
Urgent: Call the Senate and House today: Demand that Congress REJECT rollbacks to the Trafficking Victims Protection Act
Two actions to take to support undocumented children at the border.
The following alert is based on information from our colleagues at the Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA and other sources.
The following alert provides information about a national call-in day on June 26, urging Attorney General Eric Holder to hold firm to efforts to curb the use of solitary confinement.
Tent of Nations, a peace project located on the 100-acre Nassar family farm near Bethlehem, came under attack on May 19 by the Israeli military. Between 1,500 and 2,000 mature, fruit-bearing apricot and apple trees and grape vines were destroyed along with terraced land, according to a report by Friends of Tent of Nations North America (FOTONNA).
Call for an end to all Israeli settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Following is information on a few critical amendments that the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on during the debate over the FY 2015 National Defense Authorization Act, as well as a call-in script that can be used to express your views on these amendments to your representative.
In solidarity with visits by the USCCB's Committee on Migration to members of Congress, call your representative and senators and urge just and humane immigration reform.
In countries where Maryknollers serve such as Peru, the Philippines, and Kenya, to oppose destructive mining practices becomes an issue of life and death. Communities not only face death threats with impunity, but they also never see the economic benefits of the projects.
Take action to denounce the brutal murder of Honduran journalist Carlos Mejía Orellana
Holy Week brings pilgrims from all over the world to Jerusalem, yet Christians who live just next door to the city must get permits to worship there and may be denied entry altogether.
The following alert is posted by United to End Genocide.
The Third Thursday alert for March 2014 calls on Congress to urge a lasting ceasefire between Gaza and Israel and to urge an end to the Gaza blockade.
The following alert is based on a press release and action alert circulated by CISPES.
In collaboration with the Justice for Immigrants (JFI) campaign of the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops, the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns urges you to take action for immigration reform during Lent 2014.
350.org provides this letter and link to send your comment to the State Department on the environmental impact of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.
Take action to support the fifth annual Open Shuhada Street Campaign to help the residents of Hebron. Tell Congress to call for a halt to all settlement activity and an end to restrictions on movement for Palestinians.
The following alert is circulated by Witness for Peace.
For this "third Thursday" alert for January, write Congress and urge them to support Secretary of State Kerry's efforts to hold Israel to account during important negotiations.
The following petition is circulated by Public Citizen.
January 11, 2014 marks the 12th anniversary of the opening of the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition invite your signature on this petition to the Justice Department, requesting an expansion of a legal defense program for detained asylum seekers.
The South Sudan Action Network on Small Arms offers this action for January 1; Pax Christi International sent the following message of solidarity to the people of South Sudan on December 27, 2013.
For this "third Thursday" alert for December, as we celebrate the birth of Jesus in what is now Palestinian land, we call attention to the fact that Palestinians face severe limitations on their right to movement.
Each year during Advent, Pax Christi International invites prayers and wishes for peace in the Holy Land.
Honey bees, native bees and other pollinators are responsible for one out of every three bites of food we eat, but are now in alarming decline.
For this "third Thursday" alert for November, tell your members of Congress that the people of Gaza need hope, not collective punishment. Tell them it is time to take action lift the Gaza blockade.
From our colleagues at the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT).
Mexico and Central America face extreme levels of violence since the war on drugs was intensified in the region; urge the U.S. Congress to stop funding this war.
On December 1, join the 24-hour prayer vigil for people living with HIV and AIDS.
November 13, the feast of St. Frances Cabrini, will be the date of a national call-in day to the U.S. Congress, urging them to take action for just and humane immigration reform.
The following alert is circulated by the human rights, anti-trafficking group Equality Now.
For this "third Thursday" alert for October, tell your Members of Congress in person or in writing that you oppose ongoing Israeli settlement expansion, particularly its effects on Palestinian movement and access.
The following petition, posted to Change.org, was prepared by former Maryknoll lay missioner Maggie Fogarty, who served with her family in Bolivia.
The following alerts are circulated by SOA Watch and the International Labor Rights Forum.
The following alert is the "third Thursday" alert for September.
The following alert is circulated by the Guatemala Human Rights Commission.
This alert was prepared by the Justice and Peace Office of the Conference of Major Superiors of Men (CMSM).
From our colleagues at the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT).
On August 15, we celebrated the birth of Oscar Arnulfo Romero, a man whose words and example continue to reverberate through El Salvador and the world.
This August, tell your member in person that peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians need to be founded on justice.
Sign this petition in support of the people of Jeju Island.
The following alert is circulated by the Friendship Office of the Americas.
Join the fast to close Guantanamo July 23-24.
Nuns on the Bus will hold a Congressional briefing on immigration on July 24 -- urge your member of Congress to attend.
On June 27, the Israeli civil administration in the West Bank issued 34 demolition orders against Palestinian homes and buildings in the village of Susiya.
Pax Christi International invites signatures on this petition urging Presidents Obama and Putin to hold peace talks on Syria.
ICCR requests signatures on a change.org petition to urge Senators Schumer and Gillibrand to not impede Dodd-Frank implementation.
An action request from our colleagues at the National Religious Campaign Against Torture.
Pax Christi Metro DC-Baltimore (PCMDC-B) has crafted a sign-on letter calling for an end to the use of drone warfare which is scheduled to be published in the August 3 edition of the National Catholic Reporter.
The following alert is circulated by the Africa Faith & Justice Network (AFJN).
The following article and action alert are from the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL, the Quakers).
The following update is from our colleagues with the Interfaith Immigration Coalition.
On April 2, the Arms Trade Treaty passed; June 3 is the first day that UN member states can ratify the treaty.
Important international food aid programs governed by the farm bill – such as Food for Peace (PL 480), which was first signed into law by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1954, and which reached over 53 million people last year – are at risk of devastating cuts.
Take action to show support for men on hunger strike at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The following alert is circulated by Jubilee USA.
Speak out in support of humane immigration reform; don't allow anti-immigrant voices to dominate the conversation.
No More Deaths has circulated the following alert to respond to the death of 16-year old José Antonio Elena Rodriguez.
On March 19, Guatemala's former president Efraín Ríos Montt and José Mauricio Rodríguez Sánchez are going to trial on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity for massacres committed against indigenous civilians in Guatemala's Ixil triangle.
Send this electronic postcard your U.S. senators and representatives asking that they pass just and compassionate immigration reform legislation in the 113th Congress.
The following letter is being circulated by Franciscan Action Network and other U.S. Catholic organizations, urging President Obama to respond to the strong call for positive action on climate change.
Urge your member of Congress to investigate whether U.S. military aid to Israel is undermining prospects for peace in the region.
Urge your senators to sign letter to President Obama in support of a strong Arms Trade Treaty
Monday, Feb. 4 is the faith community's call in day to urge an end to gun violence.
From our colleagues at Pax Christi USA who received it from Interfaith Action of Southwest Florida.
The National Coalition of Environmental Networks in Honduras is calling for urgent solidarity TODAY in order to try to halt the final debate on a mining law that does not incorporate their proposals
Your help is needed to secure the signature of your U.S. representative on this letter.
Kathy McNeely, interim director of the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, along with 35 other faith leaders, recently signed this letter to President Obama calling on him to bring the full energies of his administration to bear towards facilitating a just, durable and final negotiated agreement to end the Arab-Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The letter was organized by Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP).
The Women's Rights Treaty [the Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, also known as CEDAW] is a strong tool that the international community used to protect women and girls from violence, end injustices such as forced marriage and trafficking, and provide access to education and vocational training.
From our colleagues at the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT):
January 11, 2013 will be the 11th anniversary of the opening of the detention center at Guantanamo. Please email your members of Congress and the president now and remind them that you expect them to close the prison at Guantanamo.
The following alert is circulated by SOA Watch
The Rwandan-backed M23 militia withdrew from the eastern area of the DRC on December 1, but, according to Bloomberg news, "the rebels have remained in a ring around the city, within a 20-kilometer (12-mile) neutral zone they had agreed to leave."
The following bulletin is distributed by our colleagues at Pax Christi USA, the national Catholic peace movement.
Pray for peace in Gaza, and urge President Obama to demand a cease-fire and to investigate Israel's misuse of U.S. weapons.
Kathy Kelly with Voices for Creative Nonviolence invites us to participate in the Duvet Project, an effort to support Afghan families during their difficult winter.
The following alert is circulated by the Guatemala Human Rights Commission (GHRC).
In October, the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns joined over a dozen other Christian groups in signing a letter to Congress which urges a closer review of U.S. military assistance to Israel in light of required compliance with U.S. regulations regarding aid and human rights. Read the letter here. Reaction to this letter has been strong.
Write to Guatemalan authorities to ask for an independent investigation into the actions taken by military forces on October 4 which resulted in the deaths of six people and injuries of over 40.
The following “prayer-study-action” reflection – focused on the upcoming election in the United States and published on Oct. 4, the feast of St. Francis - is from our colleagues at Pax Christi USA.
From SOA Watch: This past Saturday and Monday (September 22-24), two human rights lawyers, Antonio Trejo and Eduardo Diaz, were brutally murdered in Honduras, bringing to over 60 the number of victims caught in the struggle for life and land in the Bajo Aguan in Honduras. The debate over the production of food for families versus bio-fuels for corporations has reached a high note.
The U.S. Robin Hood Tax Campaign applauded the introduction in Congress of a bill that would impose a tax on Wall Street speculation. Introduced by Rep. Keith Ellison, HR 6411, the Inclusive Prosperity Act, would raise up to $350 billion in annual revenues that would be used to breathe new life into Main Street communities across the U.S., as well as international health, sustainable prosperity and environmental programs.
The Inclusive Prosperity Act, currently in draft form, will be introduced this Friday by Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN). Please contact your member of Congress as soon as possible and ask him/her to sign on as an original cosponsor of the legislation.
MIgrants continue to suffer tremendously as they search for a better life for themselves and their families.
Learn more about the ongoing conflict in the DRC and sign a petition at Change.org to urge Sec. Clinton's response.
Our colleagues at Amazon Watch are circulating the following alert.
From June 20-22, Earth Summit 2012 will take place in Rio de Janeiro to renew political commitment to sustainable development, assess international progress, and address emerging challenges.