Upholding human rights enables a society to put people at the center of all policymaking – political, economic and social – thus protecting the life and dignity of the human person whatever its condition or stage of development. In the year 2020, the world entered into the novel coronavirus pandemic, an unprecedented crisis that impacts all aspects of life and presents new threats to upholding human rights.
December 10 is International Human Rights Day. Join us in reciting this prayer by Rabbi Brant Rosen. Explore our Lenten Reflection Guide on human rights.
To understand what our faith teaches about human rights, see “Catholic Social Teaching and Human Rights.”
To learn about Maryknoll mission experience honoring and protecting human rights and the life and dignity of the human person, especially those who are poor and vulnerable, read Maryknoll’s 100 Years of Mission.
To learn about human rights advocacy, watch a 30-minute webinar, “Human Rights Advocacy and the Legacy of Sr. Dianna Ortiz.” You will also find a corresponding page of resources on current human rights issues.
To learn about new threats to human rights, see our articles featured in Maryknoll Magazine:
Upholding Human Rights During the Pandemic
A “David and Goliath” Story of Water Defenders
The following reflection was written by Maggie Fogarty, a former Maryknoll lay missioner in Bolivia, and is published in A Maryknoll Liturgical Year: Reflections on the Readings for Year B, available from Orbis Books.
Cecelia Aguilar Ortiz, who served as a Maryknoll lay missioner in Thailand, wrote the following reflection.
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
The following letter was sent on December 15, 2014 to Secretary of State John Kerry and USAID administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah.
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.
Maryknoll recognizes the great importance of the publication of the executive summary of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s report on the use of torture, which details terrible acts of horrific brutality.
Come to Washington, DC, April 17-20, 2015, for the 13th Annual National Gathering of Ecumenical Advocacy Days for Global Peace with Justice, “Breaking the Chains: Mass Incarceration and Systems of Exploitation.” Join over 1,000 Christian advocates in building a movement to shake the foundations of systems of human exploitation (Acts 16:16-40), including a prison-industrial system…
Another round of call in days will be held this week, Dec. 9-12, to urge Congress to protect families from deportation.
The following reflection was prepared by Sr. Patricia Gallogly, who served many years in Tanzania. Her reflection can also be found in A Maryknoll Liturgical Year: Reflections on the Readings for Year B, available from Orbis Books.
The following reflection, prepared by Maria Montello, a Maryknoll lay missioner serving in Cambodia, was published in A Maryknoll Liturgical Year: Reflections on the Readings for Year B, available from Orbis Books.
The following reflection was prepared by Maryknoll lay missioner Joanne Blaney and published in A Maryknoll Liturgical Year: Reflections on the Readings for Year B.
The following reflection on the readings for World AIDS Day, December 1, was prepared by Susan Weissert, a former lay missioner who coordinated the Maryknoll AIDS Task Force.
The following reflection, written by former lay missioner Larry Rich, was published in A Maryknoll Liturgical Year: Reflections on the Readings for Year B, available from Orbis Books.
Land confiscation, settlement expansion, and home demolitions continue in the West Bank, with Israel resuming its practice of demolishing homes as a punitive measure.
Fr. Mike Snyder has served in East Africa for many years.
Sr. Helen Graham has served in the Philippines for many years.
Ask U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to contribute to the Green Climate Fund.
Over a month after they started their pro-democracy street occupations on September 28, the most surprising thing about the “umbrella movement” campaigners in Hong Kong is that they are still there.
