Resources from May-June 2017 NewsNotes
New programs at the Maryknoll Mission Institute, a film from the Interfaith Drones Network, an advocacy summit from Churches for Middle East Peace, and much more.
South Sudan: Shifting the Lens on Famine
For the first time in six years, the United Nations has declared that a situation of famine exists on the continent of Africa.
Israel/Palestine: 50 years of occupation
2017 marks 50 years of Israel’s military occupation of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem and 10 years of Israel’s blockade of Gaza.
Maryknoll supports environmental defenders
In March, the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns supported two delegations from Latin America who spoke at separate hearings at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in Washington, D.C.
El Salvador votes for water over gold
After a 12-year campaign, Salvadoran lawmakers have voted to ban mining for metals. The following article was written by Pedro Cabezas, coordinator of the International Allies against Metal Mining and originally published on Inequality.org.
Faith in action: Protect Haitians in the U.S.
The following action alert was published in the May-June 2017 issue of NewsNotes.
Global migration crisis: Border walls destroy life
On April 28, the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns joined 38 national faith-based organizations and 41 state & local faith-based organizations and congregations in a letter to all members of Congress urging them to oppose funding for a border wall and further militarized infrastructure along the U.S.-Mexico border. Instead, we ask Congress to appropriate funding that supports our shared faith principles and reorients the Department of Homeland Security’s strategies toward more sensible and humane solutions that are informed by and to the benefit of border communities.
Korea: Moving from crisis to peace
The following article is written by Irish Columban missionary priest Pat Cunningham, SSC, who lives and works in Seoul, South Korea. Father Cunningham is an active member of the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative and the Catholic solidarity movement for peace on the Korean peninsula which opposes the construction of a military base to host U.S. military ships and personnel on the beautiful island of Jeju.
Nuclear disarmament needed now
In March, UN member states held the first round of controversial negotiations on a nuclear weapons ban. One month later, amid rising tensions between the U.S. and North Korea, the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns co-sponsored a conference on nuclear disarmament at the U.S. Capitol where leading voices for nuclear disarmament were heard.
The Trump effect on the environment
Over the past several months, President Trump has appointed staff and made changes to environmental regulations that affect U.S. efforts to address climate change, protect public lands, and ensure clean air and water.
Economy of right relationship: CEO pay problem
The city government in Portland, Oregon is trying to address economic inequality by raising corporate taxes on companies whose CEOs make significantly more than their employees.
Trade: What does renegotiating NAFTA mean?
President Trump has agreed “not to terminate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) at this time” but to “to bring NAFTA up to date through renegotiation.” How the lives, livelihoods, and the environment in Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. will be affected is uncertain. The following article was published in the May-June 2017 issue of NewsNotes.