The work of the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns on peace is focused on identifying and eliminating the root causes of violence and conflict with a focus on specific regions, expressions of violence and areas of conflict affecting Maryknoll missioners, and U.S. aggression and national security policy (e.g. war on terrorism). The nexus of violence and poverty is clear. Unless we dedicate ourselves to building true human security for all, nations – especially poor ones – will continue to fall victim to an unending cycle of economic, political and social violence.
Maryknoll Leadership Statement on Pope Francis’ Fratelli Tutti
Maryknoll Leadership Statement on U.S. elections 2012: Sustainable peace and security for all
Maryknoll Leadership Statement: A call for the abolition of torture
POLICY BRIEF: Abolish Nuclear Weapons, Invest in Peace
WEBINAR: Nonviolence and the Web of Creation
WEBINAR: Human Rights Advocacy and the Legacy of Sr. Dianna Ortiz
WEBINAR: Rethinking Security in a Pandemic: No Justice, No Peace
WEBINAR: Sanctions — Nonviolent Tool or Lethal Weapon?
WEBINAR: Abolish Nuclear Weapons, Invest in Peace
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?
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.
In late June, the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns joined with other colleagues in signing the letter below to the U.S. Senate; it asks the Senate to reconsider the increasingly militarized relationship the U.S. has been fostering with African nations. In the next few weeks we might learn more about the recent resignation of Scott Gration from his position as U.S. ambassador to Kenya; initial analysis points to Gration’s preference for a more conciliatory tone led to disagreements with the administration’s larger plan for the region.
On June 19, the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Human Rights held the first-ever Congressional hearing to reassess the use of solitary confinement. Attendance was so high the hearing room filled and an overflow room contained over 100 more spectators. Following the hearing, Kathy McNeely, director of the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns (MOGC), spoke at an interfaith press conference held by the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT). The following article was written by Ainsley Rossitto, an intern with the MOGC, for the July-August 2012 issue of NewsNotes.
Learn more about the ongoing conflict in the DRC and sign a petition at Change.org to urge Sec. Clinton’s response.
The scripture reflection for July 22 is written by Sr. Rebecca Macugay, who writes of her native Philippines and her mission home in Namibia: “How do we shepherd each other in the paths of justice, in our communities and in our home, planet earth?”
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.
This week’s Middle East Notes includes materials concerning the successful CMEP conference, the Kairos USA document, a detailed lecture by Dr. Richard Falk and an article by Avraham Burg on the mislabeling of products made “across the Green Line” in settlement.
March 2012 — As the world prepares to mark the first anniversary of the tragic tsunami and nuclear accident in Japan, Maryknoll missioners convey their continued sympathy for all those directly impacted by the disaster, and present a new statement that expresses their deep reservations about the continued reliance on the use of nuclear power and the development of nuclear weapons.
This week’s reflection is written by Sr. Euphrasia Nyaki, who lives and works in João Pessoa, Brazil.
The following was published by the Union of Catholic Asian News (UCAN). Read about Jeju Island and its residents’ efforts to stop the construction of a naval base in the September-October 2011 and November-December 2011 issues of NewsNotes.
This issue includes a brief report from Cuba, an update on South Sudan, and a piece about “exporting obesity.”
This issue of NewsNotes includes an update on the Pacific Rim case against El Salvador; the TIPNIS controversy in Bolivia; the historic move in Guatemala to try former dictator Rios Montt for human rights abuses; a report about the “financialization of nature”; and much more.
