From Cambodia to El Salvador, Bangladesh to Tanzania, Maryknoll missioners accompany people and communities affected by poverty and extreme poverty.
Based on our belief that each person is both sacred and social, created in God’s image, and destined to share in the goods of the Earth as part of a community of justice and mercy, we hear the cry of the poor and we are called to respond. From the time of the Old Testament to today, we recognize poverty as a common result of unjust oppression of those forced to live on the margins, prohibited from participating in society. We listen to our suffering brothers and sisters and we hear echoes of God’s frequent warnings to the Israelites in the Book of Exodus, of their duty to care for those who are poor, powerless, and excluded by society.
Embracing this duty, we advocate for social and economic change, to eliminate the roots causes of poverty found in unjust economic structures. We promote the globalization of solidarity, the enhancement of inclusive human security, and development that is rooted in social justice and ecological sustainability.
Maryknoll Leadership Statement: Trading in justice: The local impact of global economic decisions
WEBINAR: U.S. Trade Policy – Putting People and Planet First
PRAYER: Virtual Good Friday Way of the Cross for Economic and Ecological Justice
POLICY BRIEF: End the Pandemic Through Global Vaccine Access
SPECIAL PROGRAM: Integral Ecology Program
NEWSLETTER: Encounters Where Faith, Economy, Ecology Meet
PRESS STATEMENT: Faith communities call for a new trade model
September 2024 Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns joined 23 other organizations in a policy brief on biodiversity: Protecting the Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities to Halt Biodiversity Loss. The policy brief notes the importance of addressing biodiversity loss while also emphasizing the role of Indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ knowledge in protecting…
With the United States elections on November 5 around the corner, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns seeks to address some key policy areas that are at stake. For the month…
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns will hold webinars on policy issues relevant to the United States elections, which are only two months away.
An update on the Sustainable Development Goals shows not enough progress made on the improvement targets.
Tens of thousands of Maasai People living in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in northern Tanzania joined a five-day protest in August, forcing President Samia Suluhu Hassan to acknowledge their demands to restore essential social services and the right to vote.
Kenyan Catholic bishops expressed solidarity and support for young people in Kenya who, frustrated by corruption, grinding poverty, and lack of jobs, protested President Ruto’s proposal to raise taxes for making payments on debts to international creditors, and won.
When Congress returns from recess next month, make sure they know to pass international climate finance in the 2025 budget.
José Bayardo Chata, Maryknoll mission partner at Derechos Humanos y Medio Ambiente (DHUMA) in Puno, Peru, tells of the progress that is needed to meet the first goal of the SDG’s–the eradication of poverty, in all its forms, everywhere.
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns joined 34 other faith organizations in a letter to the trade representatives negotiating trade in the Western Hemisphere asking for the removal of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms from existing trade and investment agreements.
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns joined 65 other organizations in a letter to the Chair and Ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senators Christopher Coons and Lindsey Graham, requesting funding for peacebuilding, human rights, humanitarian aid, migration, international climate finance, poverty-focused development assistance in the upcoming Fiscal Year of 2025.
Political maneuvering over the five-year-long bill may result in a deferred renewal.
Legislation in the state of New York has the potential to ease the international sovereign debt crisis for countries around the world, including Kenya.
New York State has a unique chance to clear a path to dignity for millions of people who live in highly indebted nations, as state legislators weigh the Sovereign Debt Stability Act.
As international negotiators work out the details of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, key victories in the Digital Trade sphere of negotiations have already been achieved.
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns joined 40 human rights and faith-centric organizations in a “Thank you” letter to President Biden and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai for withdrawing U.S. support for extreme digital trade proposals in the ongoing negotiations in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity.
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns joined 102 other Refugee and Human Rights Organizations in a Letter to President Biden, Speaker Johnson, and Majority Leader Schumer on Restoring U.S. Funding to UNRWA. The UN aid organization had its funding frozen by law in this current Congress while famine and starvation conditions exist in Gaza now.
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns coordinated a letter from 35 different faith groups in a letter to the newly appointed Loss and Damage Fund Board Members who meet for the first time this week. The letter requests that the Fund be accessible, effective, and debt-free; that it consider objectives holistically between economic and non-economic damage; and that plan a long-term strategy to address its true need.
Maryknoll Sister Nonie Gutzler invites us to consider how Jesus’ Resurrection brings us to the edge of “eternal morning.”
