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.
CIDSE, an international alliance of Catholic social justice organizations which includes the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, issued the following statement after the collapse of a mine waste dam in Brunadinho, Brazil.
Speak out against the Honduran government’s attacks on human rights and environmental defenders.
Since February 7, protests have erupted across Haiti over allegedly misappropriated government funds and a massive devaluation of the Haitian currency, the gourde.
The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns condemns President Trump’s emergency declaration and calls on Congress to enact immigration policies that protect human rights.
Kathy McNeely, a returned Maryknoll Lay Missioner who lived and worked in Guatemala, reflects on the important gifts offered by the prophets among us.
The words and actions of Jair Bolsonaro as president-elect and on his first day as president paint a dark picture for Brazil.
Maryknoll Father Frank Breen reports on his visit to El Paso, Texas in December, where he met up with Maryknoll Father Bill Donnelly of St. Patrick Parish. Together they toured some of the shelters for migrants and refugees
Possible shutdown solutions and a moral response to migrants and refugees.
Praying with the Amazon in Advent
Seeking asylum is a human right.
We call on Congress to reverse the course of the Trump administration.
Maryknoll Lay Missioner Marilyn Kott in Brazil reflects on the lessons the Scriptures offer on experiencing and responding to anger.
A call for compassion and transformation.
Maryknoll Lay Missioner Peg Vámosy writes about celebrating the canonization of Archbishop Romero with her parish in Monte San Juan, El Salvador on the Maryknoll Lay Missioners website. Reprinted in the November-December 2018 issue of NewsNotes.with permission. The canonization of Óscar Arnulfo Romero, the martyred archbishop of San Salvador was a true fiesta. While the…
Maryknoll Lay Missioner Kathleen Bond in Brazil reflects on the saints among us on this holy day.
On World Food Day, please join us for a special briefing: “Indigenous Peoples, Human Rights, and Food Security in Guatemala: It’s time for governments to be accountable.” Co-sponsored by: ActionAid USA, Guatemala Human Rights Commission, USA, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Interfaith Working Group on Global Hunger and Food Security, Latin America Working Group,…
Phil and Kathy Dahl-Bredine, who served as Maryknoll Lay Missioners and continue to live in Mexico, reflect on the urgent need to proclaim a Gospel of peace and simplicity.
Catherine “Kitty” Madden reports on the crisis in Nicaragua. Madden has lived and worked in Nicaragua since 1986, some of that time as a Maryknoll Lay Missioner and many years as a Maryknoll Affiliate.
