Maryknoll welcomes new transparency rules for oil, gas, and mining companies
The Securities and Exchange Commission released a long-awaited new rule on Section 1504 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act passed in 2010.
Faith groups ask President Obama to grant “Temporary Protected Status” to Central American refugees fleeing violence
The time is now for “Temporary Protected Status” for Central American refugees fleeing violence.
Resources from May-June 2016 NewsNotes
The following resources were published in the May-June 2016 issue of NewsNotes.
UN Commission on Status of Women
Maryknoll Sister Veronica Schweyen, who was on mission for more than forty years in Tanzania and is a volunteer with the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, reports on the sixtieth session of the Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations in March.
UN review of peacekeeping operations
The following article shares the findings of three recent reviews of UN peace and security operations that are at the center of a debate in the UN General Assembly about the necessary changes needed to meet a changing world.
HIV/AIDS: UN commits to “leave no one behind”
The commitment to ‘leave no one behind’ has been a key feature of all the discussions on the the Sustainable Development Goals at the United Nations. This commitment includes ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic by 2030. One key factor in meeting this goal is funding.
Climate justice: New, creative actions
Civil society is taking new and creative action to move governments to follow through on their commitments made in the Paris climate agreement and to do more to address the urgent need to address climate change.
Haiti: U.S. plans peanut dumping
A coalition of faith and development organizations, including the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) calling for the immediate cancellation of USDA’s planned shipment of 500 metric tons of U.S. peanuts to Haiti.
Bolivia: Catholic bishops speak out on drug trade
The Bolivian bishops issued a pastoral letter on drug trafficking and drug addiction in Bolivia.
Honduras: Indigenous peoples’ rights
The assassination of environmental and indigenous rights activist Berta Cáceres in Honduras on March 3 brought international condemnation and action.
Philippines: Catholic clergy “break free from coal”
The following article about Philippine church leaders launching the global call to “break free from coal” in Quezon province, dubbed as the “coal capital” of the Philippines’ island of Luzon, was published in the Union of Catholic Asian News (UCAN) on April 12.
Africa: Climate change and agriculture
The following article examines the evidence supporting Pope Francis’ startling warning in Laudato Si’: “the warming caused by huge consumption on the part of some rich countries has repercussions on the poorest areas of the world, especially Africa, where a rise in temperature, together with drought, has proved devastating for farming.”
Global Migration Crisis: Faith in action
As the global migration crisis continues, Pope Francis traveled to the Greek island of Lesbos on April 16 to meet with some of the many thousands of refugees there and returned to Rome with twelve refugees – a remarkable demonstration of social justice for world leaders grappling with welcoming refugees.
Nonviolence and Just Peace: The way of Jesus
Maryknoll Sister Teresa Hougnon attended the Nonviolence and Just Peace conference, representing the Maryknoll Sisters’ peace-building team in Africa, based in Nairobi, Kenya. The following is her reflection on the conference.
Nonviolence and Just Peace Statement
The following statement, entitled “An Appeal to the Catholic Church to Re-Commit to the Centrality of Gospel Nonviolence,” was affirmed by the participants of the Nonviolence and Just Peace conference held in Rome, April 11-13, 2016.
Nonviolence and Just Peace Conference
For many months Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns worked with other Catholic organizations and religious communities in planning a landmark Nonviolence and Just Peace Conference, hosted in Rome by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and Pax Christi International April 11-13, 2016.
Laudato Si’ and evolutionary consciousness
Maryknoll Sister Ann Braudis writes about the aspects of the encyclical of Pope Francis that are in harmony with evolutionary consciousness.
Bangladesh Apparel Workers Still at Risk, Investors Say
Concerns about corporate commitments to workplace remediation plans remain as implementation lags.