Africa: Responses to economic crisis
According to the IMF’s April 2015 report "Regional Economic Outlook: Sub-Saharan Africa Navigating Headwinds," Africa’s economies are predicted to grow at about 4.5 percent during 2015, yet African economies face enormous uncertainties and risks.
Sudan: Bashir evades International Criminal Court
Despite indictments by the International Criminal Court in 2009 and 2010, Sudan's President Bashir remains in power and has not been brought to justice, and the killing and displacement of Sudanese by their own government is again on the upswing.
The Encyclical Launch, an Appeal to be Heard
The following commentary was written by Fr. John T. Brinkman, MM, who attended the launch of the encyclical Laudato Si' on June 18 at the Vatican.
Maryknoll celebrates publication of "Laudato Si’"
The Maryknoll mission family celebrates the publication of "Laudato Si’" ("Praised be: On the care of the common home"), Pope Francis’ letter to the people of God that calls for a greater understanding of the integration of human ecology and our planet, identifies human activity as a primary source of climate change, and calls for a conversion to a lifestyle of greater simplicity
The U.S. should lead – not compromise – on human rights
The following opinion piece by Sr. Helene O'Sullivan, MM was published in the Hill newspaper on June 12, 2015.
Nepal: Update from Maryknoll (May 5)
Maryknoll missioners have served in Nepal for many years; currently, Fr. Joe Thaler lives and works in Kathmandu.
Resources from the May-June 2015 NewsNotes
Torture Awareness Week (June), Campaign Nonviolence national conference (August), a book on drones, a report on climate change, and a kit to teach peace.
UN: Reports from CSW59, “Change is coming”
Held two decades after the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women, which took place in Beijing, a repeated theme at this year’s Commission on the Status of Women was that, in too many places, not enough progress has been made.
Trade: No consensus for Fast Track, TPP
The proposed Trade Promotion Authority (TPA, "Fast Track") legislation, touted as bipartisan, is opposed not only by most Democrats and some Republicans, but also by civil society groups representing consumers, faith communities, immigrant rights organizations, labor, public health advocates, and environmentalists.
U.S. bishops: “Improve in-country refugee program for minors”
In a recent press release, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) stated, “The Central American Minors (CAM) program ... which allows children in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador to apply for asylum and humanitarian parole in the U.S. from their home countries, is a tool that helps save children’s lives.”
Eliminate detention bed quota for immigrants
The U.S. has the largest immigration detention infrastructure in the world. The expansion of this system in recent years is partly due to the immigration detention bed quota, policy passed by Congress under which 34,000 immigrants are held in ICE detention at any given time: “. . . funding made available under this heading shall maintain a level of not less than 34,000 detention beds.” This policy is unprecedented; no other law enforcement agency operates on a quota system.
World Bank projects displaced 3.4 million
“Evicted and Abandoned: The World Bank’s Broken Promise to the Poor” is a global investigation that reveals how the World Bank has regularly failed to follow its own rules for protecting vulnerable populations.