The history of Maryknoll in Latin America is rich and deep. Our commitment to the promotion of social justice and peace in the region cost several of our missioners their lives during the years of oppression, including Fr. Bill Woods, MM in Guatemala (1976), and Sisters Ita Ford, MM, Maura Clarke, MM and Carla Piete, MM in El Salvador in 1980. Some, like Fr. Miguel D’Escoto in Nicaragua, have served in public roles in support of those who live in poverty. Countless others have accompanied the Central American people in their daily struggles for survival, for social justice, for an end to the violence that destroys their communities; for new life.
Among the particular concerns of Maryknoll in Latin America are poverty, its causes and consequences; migration and refugees; health care, especially holistic care that includes good nutrition and preventative care; access to essential medicines for treatable or curable illness; HIV and AIDS; the rights and dignity of women and children; the response of authorities to the growth in gang violence; mining concessions; just trade agreements; debt cancellation; small and subsistence farming and other work accessible to people who are poor; and environmental destruction.
Returned Maryknoll Lay Missioner Kathy McNeely tells a story from Guatemala. We all have our stories. These stories are shaped by our cultural experience, by what our parents teach us and by the way we choose to respond to the world around us. While living and working in Guatemala among indigenous Qeqchi’ people the stories I…
Write to your members of Congress on behalf of Haitian immigrants. Nine months into the U.S.-backed, Kenyan-staffed police mission to restore peace and order to Haiti, the mission is floundering….
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns and 95 organizations sent the following letter to the leaders of the Department of State and Department of Homeland Security asking for immediate action to stop the flow of illegal weapons from the United States to Haiti. August 26, 2025 We, the undersigned 96 organizations, are writing to express our…
On August 15, 2025, the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns joined 36 civil social organizations in signing this letter to members of the U.S. Congress asking them to use their power to prevent the Trump administration from taking military action in Latin America. We, the undersigned good governance, veterans, immigration, human rights, protection of civilians,…
As the violent crisis in Haiti deepens, Haitians in the United States are going to court to protect their right to Temporary Protected Status.
This Sunday’s gospel story of Mary and Martha has long been one of the passages of scripture I have identified with the most. Martha complains to Jesus that her younger sister, Mary, has chosen to sit at his feet listening to him instead of assisting in the chores of serving their guest. “Tell her to…
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns joined 11 religiously-affiliated organizations that provide support to immigrants in writing to the U.S. Court of Appeals on the side of Plaintiffs, immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela who are challenging Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem’s decision to end humanitarian parole.
On May 29, the Bishops’ Conference of El Salvador released a pastoral letter urging, among other things, an end to the state of exception that suspends civil liberties and an end to the detention of migrants from other countries.
The Trump Administration announced it will end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) early for about 500,000 Haitians living in the United States, exposing them to deportation as soon as Sept. 2. This comes three months after the Trump Administration revoked legal protections for thousands of Haitians who arrived legally in the country under a humanitarian parole program.
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns joined an open letter to President Trump noting that 70 percent of firearms recovered from crime scenes in Mexico originated from the U.S. and urging that the administration do more to stem the flow of guns to Mexican cartels.
Ask your senators to support accountability for the treatment of migrants and inmates imprisoned in El Salvador, using the form below. Since March 15, when the Trump Administration sent 238…
Mass incarceration has expanded and democratic governance deteriorated in El Salvador since the state of exception began three years ago.
On March 18, church leaders in El Salvador presented 150,000 signatures of citizens to the Legislative Assembly on March 18, urging the restoration of the metal mining ban.
Nearly a year into the US-backed, international police mission in Haiti, the island nation is still mired in violence.
What should “love your neighbor” mean for U.S. policy toward Haiti? In honor of Pope Francis, who consistently emphasized the importance of “love your neighbor” as a fundamental aspect of…
The setting: Jesus riding in to Jerusalem on a donkey and the crowds loudly shouting their hosannas.It is a time of rejoicing but at the same time, those of us who know the story realize that Jesus is on the way to his eventual execution. The Pharisees, scandalized by the scene that Jesus’ disciples are…
Human rights organizations in Peru win in court on behalf of the victims of a massacre at political protests more than two years ago.
This reflection was originally published in the 2024 Advent Reflection Guide: One Family of God. “And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” LUKE 1:43 Sometimes an encounter with a person fills me with wonder and gratitude and opens my heart to a long-lasting friendship. It…
