Statements

The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns joined 80+ faith- and conscience-based organizations in sending the following letter to President Biden urging him to take several urgent, key steps to advance global vaccine access. 

The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns joined over 50 national Catholic religious and nonprofit organizations in urging Pres. Biden to address global COVID-19 vaccine access at the G7 summit in June.

The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns joined 65 other organizations in signing the following statement expressing opposition to a Cold War mentality that is increasingly driving U.S.-China policy. 

On behalf of the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, Susan Gunn, director, signed the following letter to President Biden strongly encouraging him to adopt a policy that sets the United States on course not just to “curtail the use of landmines,” but to ban their use, production, acquisition, and transfer and to swiftly accede to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty.

The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns signed the following letter calling for the reduction of wasteful military spending and proposing specific cuts to the budget. 

The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns issued the following statement on April 21, 2021, following the conviction of former police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd.

The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns joined a coalition of over 180 organizations in sigining this letter to the UN Security Council urging them to hold the Myanmar miitary junta accountable for violating the human rights of women. 

The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns joined other Catholic organizations in issuing the following statement to President Joe Biden and Congress, urging them to increase targeted sanctions and support a global arms embargo against military leaders in Myanmar.

On Feb. 25, the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns to President Biden, signed by 26 national Catholic organizations, urging the president to rejoin the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), otherwise known as the Iran nuclear deal.

The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns joined a coalition of organizations in sending the following letter to President Biden, urging him to prioritize creating just and equitable policy toward the development, manufacturing, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.

The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns joined a coalition of organizations in sending the following letter to President Biden, urging him to work to improve U.S. relations with Cuba through taking several key steps. 

The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns released the following statement on February 5, 2021, regarding the Biden administration's renewal of the New START Treaty with Russia to limit and regulate nuclear weapons.

The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns issued the following statement regarding several adjustments to border policy made by the Biden administration in its first week. 

The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns issued the following statement on the Inauguration of President Joe Biden and several key executive orders issued by the President on his first day in office. 

The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns signed a public letter calling for Congress to fulfill its legal duty to confirm the U.S. presidential election results on January 6, 2021.

The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns released the following press statement on November 4, 2020, regarding the United States' formal exit from the Paris Climate Agreement. 

The leadership of the Maryknoll Sisters, Fathers and Brothers, Lay Missioners, and Affiliates issued the following statement on the 2020 U.S. elections on October 22, 2020. 

The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns signed the following letter to Secretary Mnuchin urging him to support debt cancellation and the use of Special Drawing Rights by the International Monetary Fund to help developing countries, particularly in Africa, manage the COVID-19 crisis. 

The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns issued the following statement on September 15, 2020, regarding the Ninth Circuit Court's decision to allow for the termination of TPS for four countries. 

The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns signed on to the following statement in July 2020 in support of the Korean American Churches. 

The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns signed on to the following letter to members of the Senate, urging their support for a proposed amendment that would reallocate 10 percent of the Pentagon budget toward human needs priorities, especially in light of the pandemic. 

The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns issued the following statement on June 18, 2020, in response to the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. 

The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns joined other faith-based organizations in the Washington Interreligious Staff Community in sending the following letter to Congress urging Congress to address police violence and systemic racism.

The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns joins several other faith-based organizations in the U.S. in launching a campaign in support of Big Shift, a global effort calling on the World Bank to end support for fossil fuels and shift investment to renewable energy. 

The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns joined nearly 40 other organizations in issuing the following joint statement regarding the release of the SIPRI data on global military spending.

The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns released the following statement in response to President Trump's executive order suspending immigration to the U.S. during the pandemic.

As a member of the Jubilee USA Network, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns joined the USCCB in a letter to the White House calling for a moratorium on debt payments for poor countries hit by the coronavirus pandemic. 

On December 9,  the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns joined other faith-based organizations and faith leaders in an open letter to all the 2020 presidential candidates urging them to call for significant cuts to the nation's military budget.

The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns released the following statement on the political crisis in Bolivia on November 27, 2019.

The plan to admit only 18,000 refugees in 2020 is a moral failure for the United States.

The MOGC executive committee announces the resignation of Gerry Lee and appointment of Susan Gunn.

With great concern for the state of the U.S. democracy, eleven national and international Catholic social justice organizations sent the following statement to Congress on the occassion of Martin Luther King Day.

The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns joined thirty-six national, faith-based organizations calling on Congress to rein in funding for unchecked, unaccountable detention, deportation, and border enforcement policies.

We call on Congress to reverse the course of the Trump administration.

Leaders of faith-based organizations oppose the historically low resettlement goal for Fiscal Year 2019 and urge the Trump administration to resettle 75,000 refugees.

As the leadership of the Maryknoll Sisters, Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers and the Maryknoll Lay Missioners, we denounce the cruel and immoral “zero-tolerance” immigration policy enacted by the Trump Administration which has resulted in the separation of over 2,300 children from their parents, the criminal prosecution of anyone who crosses the U.S.-Mexico border illegally, and severe restrictions on asylum applications.

The international Catholic community decries President Trump’s decision to end U.S. participation in Iran deal.
 

On May 14, 2018, fourteen faith groups who are members of the Faith Forum on Middle East Policy sent the following letter to Congress.

"As Pope Francis has insisted, dialogue is the only way to peace."

Members of the Faith Forum on Middle East Policy issued a statement on the latest violence at the Gaza border fence on April 12, 2018.

The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns issued the following press statement on September 13, 2017.

The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns calls for an open and transparent NAFTA renegotiation that values people and Creation over profits.

With the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal apparently stopped, faith groups continue to call for a trade model that promotes the common good.

We celebrate the signing of the historic Paris climate agreement!

We urge Congress to support the $750 million budget request for the Green Climate Fund to both reduce greenhouse gas emissions and respond to the needs of the most vulnerable.

A broad coalition of faith-based organizations, including the Maryknoll Office of Global Concerns, celebrates the United States' first disbursement of $500 million to the Green Climate Fund.

On December 12, world leaders concluded final negotiations of the climate agreement in Paris. Chloe Schwabe, Faith Economy Ecology Project Coordinator, was an official observer at the two-week conference. The following is her statement.

On December 8, 2015, eleven faith groups who are members of the Faith Forum on Middle East Policy met with the U.S. Department of State.

On November 20, 14 Catholic organizations, including the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, sent a statement to members of Congress regarding the Syrian refugee crisis and the need to welcome Syrian refugees.

The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns is grateful for President Obama’s rejection of the permit to pump tar sands oil through the U.S. heartland via the Keystone XL pipeline.

On the occasion of his first visit to the United States, the leadership of the Maryknoll Sisters, Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, and the Maryknoll Lay Missioners offer a warm welcome to Pope Francis. 

The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns (MOGC) applauds the Obama Administration’s March 31 announcement of the U.S. Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) that will reduce emissions 26-28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025.

The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns congratulates President Obama for his Nov. 20 announcement to take executive action to provide protection from deportation for possibly five million undocumented persons.

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.

Maryknoll leadership endorsed this statement in June 2004.