Faith leaders defend right to asylum
We call on Congress to reverse the course of the Trump administration.
Latin America
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.
Maryknoll Leadership Statement on the Migrant Caravan
A call for compassion and transformation.
Maryknoll leadership statement on the ongoing "zero tolerance" and family separation crisis
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.
NAFTA renegotiations: Put people and creation at the center
The Trump administration announced plans to renegotiate NAFTA.
Articles, alerts, events
Brazil: TIAA-CREF and Land Grabbing
In November, a report was presented by the Social Network for Justice and Human Rights, a human rights organization in Brazil, and GRAIN, a food sovereignty NGO, about land grabbing in Brazil by TIAA-CREF, at the International Seminar on Land Grabbing, at City University of New York Graduate Center.
Brazil: Worst environmental disaster in history
Southeastern Brazil has been devastated by toxic mud due to a dam that burst at an iron-ore mine in November. Brazil is calling it the worst environmental disaster in its history.
Seeds of the Church
Ten Maryknoll Sisters joined the SHARE Delegation to El Salvador for the 35th Anniversary of the martyrdom of the four churchwomen from November 28 – December 5.
Mexico: Costs of immigration enforcement
The U.S. and Mexican governments have not addressed the root causes of the flow of migrants from Central America to the U.S.; rather, they have worked together to stop the flow by force.
Honduras: OAS plan to combat corruption
Despite the growing political volatility in Honduras, President Juan Orlando Hernandez has managed to remain in office by negotiating with the Organization of Americans States (OAS) to adopt a plan to facilitate national dialogue.
Guatemala: Latest election no laughing matter
On October 25, former comedian and television celebrity Jimmy Morales won Guatemala’s presidential election after a rising anti-corruption citizens’ movement helped bring down President Otto Pérez Molina. The underlining challenges and the political views of Jimmy Morales signal major troubles ahead.
Sign the petition: Demand justice for human rights defenders in Guatemala
Our colleagues at ActionAid USA are circulating this petition to demand the Guatemalan government investigate the murder and detention of human rights defenders.
Development that doesn’t respect human rights isn't ‘aid’
Chloe Schwabe, Faith-Economy-Ecology program director, reports from the 2015 Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and the IMF in Peru.
El Salvador: Instability foments violence
In recent months, violence in El Salvador has spiraled, with the daily death rate now higher than during the peak of the civil war.
El Salvador: Gangs defined as “terrorists”
In an unsurprising decision, El Salvador’s Supreme Court has decreed that gangs and their “apologists” are now legally defined as terrorists under El Salvador’s Special Law Against Acts of Terrorism (LECAT).
Honduras: Proposal for impunity commission fails
While protesters in Guatemala City celebrated the resignation of their country’s president and vice president, their compadres in Honduras have been less successful in their efforts to bring reform and justice.
Guatemala: Pérez Molina resigns
The arrest of Guatemala’s President Pérez Molina on charges of corruption on September 3 was a surprising turn of events that brings a ray of hope to a long-suffering country where Maryknoll missioners have served for decades.
Bolivia: Eco-unfriendly projects move ahead
Bolivia's decision to go ahead with a controversial highway and other projects represents a contradiction within the government of Evo Morales that advocates for a greener economy on the international stage while continuing to depend on environmentally destructive ventures nationally.
Central America: Corruption fuels protests
In Honduras and Guatemala, corrupt and criminal elites have colluded to enrich themselves by stealing hundreds of millions of dollars in the last few years alone from government agencies that provide social services, and revenue for the government.
Support the SOA Watch campaign by ordering a limited edition t-shirt
Maryknollers have been actively supporting the SOA Watch campaign to close the School of the Americas (now WHINSEC) at Fort Benning, Georgia since 1990, and you can too. Purchase a limited edition t-shirt and support the growth of the movement for justice and self-determination in the Americas.
Pages
Scripture reflections
Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
November 11, 2018
Maryknoll Lay Missioner Marilyn Kott in Brazil reflects on the lessons the Scriptures offer on experiencing and responding to anger.
All Saints’ Day
November 1, 2018
Maryknoll Lay Missioner Kathleen Bond in Brazil reflects on the saints among us on this holy day.
Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 23, 2018
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.
Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 2, 2018
Maryknoll Sister Madeline "Maddie" Dorsey, wrote the following reflection on caring for God's goodness amid great suffering.
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 12, 2018
Jean Walsh, a returned Maryknoll Lay Missioner who served in Mexico, reflects on the relationship between humans and the natural world, what Pope Francis calls integral ecology.
Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 22, 2018
Returned Maryknoll Lay Missioner Dan Moriarty reflects on the importance of inclusion and encounter in our church and society.
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 15, 2018
Maryknoll Lay Missioner Heidi Cerneka, currently on mission in Kenya after many years in Brazil, reflects on Jesus' instructions to the disciples to go out in the world.
Feast of Corpus Christi
June 3, 2018
Maryknoll Father Bill Donnelly reflects on the faith of the people of Guatemala who have endured years of violence and oppression yet live in hope that justice will prevail.
Feast of the Ascension
May 13, 2018
Maryknoll Sister Melinda Roper in Panama reflects on the struggles of small farmers to survive.
Good Friday
March 30, 2018
Maryknoll Lay Missioner Tim Ross in El Salvador reflects on God's answer to the cries of all those who are suffering.
Third Sunday of Lent
March 4, 2018
The following reflection was prepared by Maryknoll Sr. Efu Nyaki, who works with women in Brazil.
Second Sunday of Lent
February 25, 2018
Maryknoll Father Stephen Judd reflects on restoring relationships during the season of Lent.
First Sunday of Lent
February 18, 2018
Maryknoll Father Dennis Moorman in Brazil reflects on Jesus' call for transformation of our sinful social structures as well as ourselves.
Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time
February 4, 2018
Dwayne Fernandes, a Maryknoll Lay Missioner in El Salvador, reflects on God's call to heal a broken humanity.
Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time
January 28, 2018
Maryknoll Father Paul Masson shares a story about a parish in Bolivia that is answering God's call to be a prophetic community.