Philippines: Catholics protest threats to life
The Council of the Laity in the Philippines organized its annual “Walk for Life” on February 24 to protest extrajudicial killings and the push to reinstate the death penalty in the country.
South Sudan, DRC: Prayer and Fasting for Peace
Pope Francis designated the First Friday of Lent, February 23, to be a day of prayer and fasting for peace for South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Canada: Ombudsperson for extractives industry
On January 17, Canada’s Trudeau administration announced a new ombudsperson to oversee Canadian mining, oil, and gas companies after more than a decade of pressure from Canadian human rights advocates, affected communities, and other organizations in solidarity with communities harmed by Canadian extractive industries.
Colombia: Integral Human Development
Dallana Contreras of Cáritas Colombia wrote the following article about her work with communities defending their land rights against national and international economic interests in the Amazon and Orinoco regions.
Pope Francis visits Amazonia
Pope Francis continues to raise the importance of the Amazon region, its indigenous communities and unique natural environment, to the Church and the world. But questions remain and more dialogue is needed.
UN: Ten acts for safe global migration
Civil society organizations at the UN concluded their consultations on the proposed “Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration” in December with a 15-page report entitled “Ten Acts for the Global Compact.” The report lists actions needed to ensure that human mobility, envisioned as a normal and inescapable fact of life, will be safe and provide migrants with opportunities for human development. The following are excerpts from the report which has been given to UN member nations participating in negotiations scheduled for February to July 2018.
UN Commission for Social Development 2018
The following article was written by Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns staff member Sr. Marvie Misolas, MM. Sr. Marvie serves as Maryknoll’s representative at the United Nations where the Maryknoll Sisters and the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers have consultative status with the Economic and Social Council.
U.S. cuts funding for Palestinian refugees
On January 16 the Trump Administration sent a letter to United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) announcing its decision to withhold $65 million from its scheduled $125 million contribution to the agency’s humanitarian programs.
Palestinian peacemaker on U.S. embassy move
Nora Arsenian Carmi, a Palestinian Christian, writes from East Jeruslam.
“Bridges, Not Walls”: U.S. Bishops visit Holy Land
The following is a reprint of a news release by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on January 30, 2018.
Protecting Dreamers through the courts
The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns joined the legal effort to keep the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) program alive by writing about the lived experiences of Maryknoll missioners in an amicus brief supporting a case on behalf of 42,000 DACA recipients in the state of New York.
Catholic institutions divest from fossil fuels
Catholic institutions are divesting from fossil fuel companies and investing in renewable energy as part of their response to the urgent call Pope Francis sounded in Laudato Si’ and in response to the statement by Catholic Bishops from all continents at the Paris climate talks in 2015.