Brazil: Massive debt struggles
Dave Kane wrote the following update on Brazil’s debt for the November-December 2013 NewsNotes.
Guatemala: Communities release statement
The following piece, published in the November-December 2013 NewsNotes, was prepared by Eben Levey, an intern with the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns.
Honduras: Intimidation in upcoming election?
The following was written by Eben Levey, whose internship with the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns focuses on Central America issues. Eben will participate in an election-monitoring delegation in November.
Bolivia: Groups address violence against women
The following article, prepared by Dan Moriarty, Jason Obergfell and Sr. Leila Mattingly, MM, all of whom live and work in Cochabamba, Bolivia, appeared in the November-December 2013 issue of NewsNotes.
MOGC joins “pilgrimage for courage and common good” in Congress
On Tuesday, October 15, more than 30 national faith-based organizations, including the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns (MOGC), endorsed a statement directed to the U.S. Congress, urging the legislative body “to place shared democratic values above short term political expediency, exercise the courage to fund our nation’s government, raise the debt limit without preconditions and get back to work on a faithful budget that serves the common good.”
2013 report on food, access to food to be released in U.S.
“Stop policies that foster hunger,” urge advocates.
MOGC signs letter to GCF for environmental, social protections
The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns was one of many signatories on the following letter to the board of the Green Climate Fund (GCF), which expresses our unified call for the adoption of the most robust environmental and social protections possible at the GCF.
Guatemala: Increased repression in Huehuetenango
Over the last four days, less than a month after President Perez Molina visited the town of Barillas in the department of Huehuetenango and announced the formation of a formal space for dialogue between communities, the government, and the hydroelectric companies Ecoener Hidralia Energía/Hidro Santa Cruz S.A., police and military actions have markedly increased.
Chile’s coup, 40 years later
As we pray on September 11, we remember those who suffered through the 1973 coup in Chile and the subsequent dictatorship.
Reflection paper on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)
Maryknoll missioners have worked alongside farmers for decades. Their experiences inform this reflection paper on GMOs.
People of faith respond to threats of attack on Syria
As President Obama brings his case for a military strike on Syria to the U.S. Congress and the U.S. public for their approval, people of faith speak out with a strong voice to oppose the use of violence.
Religious community asks Obama to choose Fed chair who will regulate Wall Street
The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns joined dozens of other religious groups to urge President Obama to appoint a chair of the Federal Reserve who will focus on re-establishing the separation between investment and commercial banking.
Resources from September-October 2013 NewsNotes
The following article appeared in the September-October 2013 issue of NewsNotes 1) Farmlandgrab.org: This website contains news reports about the rush to buy up or lease farmlands abroad as a strategy to secure basic food supplies or simply for profit. Its purpose is to serve as a resource for those monitoring or researching the issue,…
UN: Voice of youth
At the UN, July 12 was designated Malala Day in honor of Malala Yousafzai, the young Pakistani woman who was attacked in October 2012 for her efforts to gain an education.
More transparency in corporate political spending?
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission swept away restrictions on the amount of money corporations could spend to influence campaigns, leaving decades of precedent in disarray
Debt trial of the century
On August 23, a U.S. appellate court upheld an earlier decision requiring Argentina to pay a number of hedge funds more than $1.3 billion.
Food sovereignty best addresses public interests
For the past two decades, small producers and family farmers have been shaping the concept of food sovereignty, based in the belief that all people deserve a say in how their food is produced, as well as the right to grow and produce it themselves through ecologically sound and sustainable methods.
Time for fossil fuel divestment campaign
Universities, religious institutions, governments and other investors are withdrawing their investments from the fossil fuel sector – corporations that extract oil, coal, gas and other fossil fuels.