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
Join the U.S. Caravan for Peace and Justice! From the Americas Program at Center for International Policy: Mexico’s Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity set off from San Diego on August 12 to traverse the country with a message: To end the war on drugs in the U.S. and Mexico. The caravan description reads: “Led by…
The following statement was approved on September 6, 2006 by Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers General Council, the Maryknoll Sisters of St. Dominic Congregational Leadership Team, and the Maryknoll Lay Missioners Association Leadership Team.
Join the annual vigil to close the School of the Americas/Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, Nov. 16-18, 2012, in Columbus GA at the gates of Ft. Benning. Learn more about workshops and other events that weekend at the SOA Watch website.
This week’s reflection is from Sr. Madeline Dorsey, who spent many years of her mission life in war-torn El Salvador.
Fr. Jack Northrup reflects on his ministry in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico: “The God of our Lord Jesus Christ is constantly drawing all of us to life, no matter what bleak prisons we may have made for ourselves. Because of God’s choice to constantly offer the free gift of grace to the most needy, we can wake from our sleep, from the illusions of happiness that this world offers. At this very moment we can choose life in its fullness.”
Susan Weissert, who worked as a lay missioner for many years in South America and at the Maryknoll center in New York, asks: Can we look back on our actions/words/decisions today and see that they were shaped by love of God and love of neighbor?
Former lay missioner Jean Walsh shares a reflection on her time in Oaxaca, Mexico, and how the lessons from the Oaxacan farmers’ commitment to the Earth can lead us to more sustainable, integrated lives.
MIgrants continue to suffer tremendously as they search for a better life for themselves and their families.
Sr. Luise Ahrens, who has spent many years in Cambodia, writes in this week’s reflections about the challenges of living in a interconnected world … How do we make choices that are clarified by God’s wisdom? How can we live a life formed and informed by the Spirit of Jesus?
In this week’s reflection, Fr. Tom Marti recalls his service in the Philippines, and that beautiful nation’s efforts to reverse the devastating ecological destruction it has experienced in recent decades.
In the past six years, Mexico’s “war on drugs” has led to as many as 60,000 deaths and 10,000 disappearances, and has displaced 160,000 people. Characterized by an intense militarization, including the deployment of over 50,000 troops and federal police, this strategy has undermined the country’s social fabric and security even more deeply, but has done little to address the painful iniquities of drug trafficking in Mexico. Some victims are saying enough, and demand an alternative to militarization and the war on drugs. Their message is not only directed at the government and people of Mexico: This summer they will bring their message to the U.S. to raise awareness around the U.S. connection to Mexico’s war on drugs. The following piece was written by Brennan Baker and published in the July-August 2012 NewsNotes.
Four Maryknollers attended the United Nations Earth Summit Rio + 20 which took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in June 2012. Sr. Ann Braudis, one of the participants, wrote the following reflection for the July-August 2012 NewsNotes.
Our colleagues at Amazon Watch are circulating the following alert.
This week’s Middle East Notes includes materials on the settlements, the IDF, a detailed history on the separation barrier and its effects on Palestinians and Israelis alike, and a present Israeli policy to drive Palestinians and Bedouins from the Jordan Valley.
This issue of NewsNotes includes articles on recent protests in Peru, an update on Sudan and South Sudan, a report from the Rio+20 Earth Summit, and much more …
This week’s reflection was written by Maryknoll lay missioner Heidi Cerneka, who works in prison ministry in Brazil.
Maryknoll lay missioner Dave Kane shares about his life with recyclers in Brazil.
