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May 2008
J/P Alert is the newsletter of the Justice and Peace office of CMSM. It is intended to inform and stimulate discussion and involvement among the members. Its contents do not necessarily represent official positions of CMSM.
79 religious organizations oppose Energy Department plan for nuclear bomb plant
[FCNL, April 30, 2008]
Washington, DC… Seventy-nine Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, and Protestant groups [including CMSM] have joined together to reject administration plans to reactivate the U.S. nuclear weapons infrastructure and build new nuclear bomb plant facilities, the Friends Committee on National Legislation (Quakers) announced today. In a formal letter to the Energy Department, religious organizations from across the country called instead for the United States to end new nuclear weapons production and commit to multilateral disarmament.
"We call on our political leaders to show the moral and political courage necessary to bring about a shift in our nation's nuclear weapons posture. Today we have a historic opportunity to begin the journey out from under the shadow of nuclear weapons," stressed the religious groups.
The letter was submitted to the Energy Department as part of a public comment period required to assess the environmental impact of Complex Transformation, the proposed plan to rebuild the U.S. nuclear weapons complex. The centerpiece of this proposal is a new nuclear weapons facility at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, located 25 miles northwest of Santa Fe, NM. The new bomb plant facility would enable the mass production of plutonium pits, the primary detonators in modern nuclear weapons.
The statement's signers expressed concern that the new and upgraded facilities would be used in the development of a new generation of nuclear warheads, despite the moral and legal obligations of the United States to reduce its weapons arsenal.
The Friends Committee
on National Legislation organized
the coalition letter in cooperation with the National
Religious Partnership on the
Nuclear Weapons Danger. Read the full
text (PDF) of the statement,
and see a list of signers.
_____________________
The Friends Committee on National Legislation, the oldest registered
religious lobby in Washington, is a non-partisan Quaker lobby in the
public interest. FCNL works with a nationwide network of tens of thousands
of people from every state in the U.S. to advocate for social and economic
justice, peace, and good government.
WASHINGTON- Testifying before Congress on behalf of the U.S. Catholic Bishops, Anastasia K. Brown, director of Refugee Programs at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), said May 1 that the United States is "not doing everything in its power" to avert a looming refugee crisis in the Middle East. Currently, there are an estimated two million Iraqi refugees, mostly in Jordan and Syria, and two and a half million displaced in Iraq.
Ms. Brown stated that the United States "should and must" do more to alleviate the suffering of the Iraqi refugee population, which is languishing in countries nearby to Iraq- mainly Jordan and Syria. Calling for a commitment of more resources, Ms. Brown specifically pointed to the small number of Iraqi refugees resettled in the United States. Only 4,000 Iraqi refugees have entered the United States since the beginning of 2007, despite 24,000 vulnerable cases being referred to the United States for resettlement by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Ms. Brown called the U.S. response to date "shockingly inadequate."
Ms. Brown recalled earlier large-scale U.S. resettlement efforts to demonstrate that the United States is capable, given the political will, of operating similar operations to avert humanitarian crises. She reminded legislators of the resettlement of 135,000 Vietnamese in one year at the end of the Vietnam War and the placement of 14,000 Kosovars in six months in 1999. Ms. Brown concluded that the United States could resettle at least 60,000 Iraqis a year, which would help relieve pressure on host countries and rescue vulnerable refugee groups.
The testimony was presented to the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittees on International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight, and the Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia in joint hearing that sought a Non-Government Organization (NGO) perspective on Iraqi Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). A copy is available upon request.
As Ms. Brown was testifying, Migration and Refugee Services of the USCCB, in conjunction with the International Migration Commission (ICMC), released a detailed study of the needs of vulnerable Iraqi refugees within Syria. The report examines the plight of Iraqi refugees with special needs, such as unaccompanied children and women heads-of-households. It also assesses the existing system of response to these needs, and makes recommendations of the best approaches to address their protection needs. The report can be accessed at http://www.usccb.org/mrs/tripreport.shtml.
Church
Leaders Condemn State Violence in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe Church Leaders
As the shepherds of the people, we, Church leaders of the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe (EFZ), the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference (ZCBC) and the Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC), express our deep concern over the deteriorating political, security, economic and human rights situation in Zimbabwe following the March 29, 2008 national elections.
Before the elections, we issued statements urging Zimbabweans to conduct themselves peacefully and with tolerance towards those who held different views and political affiliation from one's own. After the elections, we issued statements commending Zimbabweans for the generally peaceful and politically mature manner in which they conducted themselves before, during and soon after the elections.
Reports that are coming through to us from our Churches and members throughout the country indicate that the peaceful environment has, regrettably, changed:
Given the political uncertainty, anxiety and frustration created by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC's) failure to release the results of the presidential poll 4 weeks after polling day:
- Organized violence perpetrated against individuals, families and communities who are accused of campaigning or voting for the ‘wrong' political party in the March 29, 2008 elections has been unleashed throughout the country, particularly in the countryside and in some high density urban areas.
People are being abducted, tortured, humiliated by being
asked to repeat slogans of the political party they are alleged
not to support, ordered to attend mass meetings where they are
told they voted for the ‘wrong' candidate and should never repeat it in the run-off election for
President, and, in some cases, people are murdered.
- The deterioration in the humanitarian situation is
plummeting at a frightful pace. The cost of living has gone beyond
the reach of the majority of our people. There is widespread famine
in most parts of the countryside on account of poor harvests and delays in the process of
importing maize from neighboring countries.
The shops are empty and basic foodstuffs are unavailable. Victims of organized torture who are ferried to hospital find little solace as the hospitals have no drugs or medicines to treat them.
As the shepherds of the people, we appeal:
- To the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN) to work towards arresting the deteriorating political and security situation in Zimbabwe.
We warn the world that if nothing is done to help the people of Zimbabwe from their predicament, we shall soon be witnessing genocide similar to that experienced in Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi and other hot spots in Africa and elsewhere.
- For the immediate end to political intimidation and retribution arising from how people are perceived to have voted in the March 29, 2008 elections and arising from the desire to influence how people will vote in the anticipated run-off in the presidential poll.
Youth militia and war veteran/military base camps that have been set up in different parts of the country should be closed as a step towards restoring the peace and freedom of people's movement that was witnessed before and during the March 29, 2008 elections.
- To ZEC to release the true results of the presidential
poll of March 29, 2008 without further delay. The unprecedented
delay in the publication of these results has caused anxiety,
frustration, depression, suspicion and in some cases illness among people of Zimbabwe
both at home and abroad.
A pall of despondency hangs over the nation which finds itself in a crisis of expectations and governance. The nation is in a crisis, in limbo and no real business is taking place anywhere as the nation waits.
- To, finally, the people of Zimbabwe themselves. You played your part when you turned out to vote on 29 March 2008. We, again, commend you for exercising your democratic right peacefully. At this difficult time in our nation, we urge you to maintain and protect your dignity and your vote.
We urge you to refuse to be used for a political party
or other people's selfish end especially where it concerns
violence against other people, including those who hold different
views from your own. It was the Lord Jesus who said, ‘Whatever you do to one of these little ones, you
do it
unto me' (Matthew 25:45).
We call on all Zimbabweans and on all friends of Zimbabwe to continue to pray for our beautiful nation. As the shepherds of God's flock, we shall continue to speak on behalf of Zimbabwe's suffering masses and we pray that God's will be done.
We remain God's humble servants:
The Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe (EFZ)
The Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference (ZCBC)
The Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC)
Colombia:
Death threats against Jesuit project
On 10 April, the Development and Peace Program of Magdalena Medio (Programa de Desarrollo y Paz en Magdalena Medio - PDPMM) was the second Colombian Jesuit program to be targeted by a rearmed wing of the AUC paramilitary group, which calls itself the "Black Eagles - The Rearmament." In this most recent communication the paramilitaries threatened priests, parishes, human rights groups and humanitarian workers with death, claiming the peace workers targeted were named by Colombian government sources as allies of the guerillas. The Black Eagles have been responsible for deaths and displacements throughout the Atlantic Coast and Southern regions of Colombia in the past year and appear to be growing in size and strength.
The message describes the parish priest of the Regidor municipality (in southern Bolívar, Colombia) as "an obstacle to the municipal government," the parishioners of Tiquisio and Arenal as "war workers," and members of the Development and Peace Program of Magdalena Medio as "perpetrators of criminal acts against democratic security".
The Catholic Dioceses of Barrancabermeja and Magangué and the Jesuit-run Development and Peace Program of Magdalena Medio responded on 15 April with a joint statement addressing the threats against priests, parishioners, and humanitarian workers. Condemning the ongoing violence, the statement denounces the killing of over 2,000 people in the region since 1986, including 28 workers of the PDPMM.
The public statement can be found here:
http://www.sjweb.info/documents/sjs/docs/PDPMM_ENG.pdf (in English) and here: http://www.sjweb.info/documents/sjs/docs/PDPMM_ESP.pdf (in Spanish); and on the website of the PDPMM http://www.pdpmm.org.co (in English, Spanish and German).
[HEADLINES 2008/04 ... News from the Jesuit Social Apostolate]
25 years of Education and Advocacy for Africa
Moved to action by their personal experiences in Africa, members of three Catholic missionary congregations founded the Africa Faith and Justice Network (AFJN) in 1983 to transform United States understanding and policy towards Africa and her people. Since that time, membership has grown and remains committed in faith to advocate in Washington, DC for U.S. relations with Africa that foster justice and peace, and to educate the public across the United States about Africa. The members bring their own experience from Africa to the network and to the policy makers. AFJN is intent on reflecting on policy from a faith perspective, in a spirit of solidarity with the people of Africa who have touched us by their lives and courage.
Rooted in and inspired by Catholic Social Teaching, AFJN
has engaged in policy analysis on issues such as hunger, conflict resolution,
international
debt, trade and food security. A newsletter Around Africa was created
early on, providing membership with difficult-to-obtain information on
Africa in general and on African policy concerns. Periodically, publications
were produced to explain the varied aspects of issues affecting Africa's
people. More recently AFJN has a website as well as email updates that
offer current information on urgent African issues, the status of Africa-focused
legislation in Congress, explores various issues pertinent to the continent
and her people, and inform people of opportunities for public action.
Annual meetings gather members to reflect on a theme and to engage in
discussion with eminent Africans and others.
AFJN is the only remaining faith-based, pan African education and advocacy organization in DC. It is issue oriented for the most part, not country specific and attempts to reflect and voice the concerns of Africans and missioners alike to the US. The three focus issues that AFJN is now attending to are: Restorative Justice, especially as found in indigenous African societies to heal from conflicts as opposed to Criminal Justice; AFRICOM, the new military command for Africa; and issues arising around the upcoming Synod for Africa on the theme of Justice and Reconciliation. AFJN is also working on two particular conflict area issues: Northern Uganda and DR Congo.
AFJN collaborates on common issues with a number of other groups in DC and is a part of the Catholic Task Force for Africa, the Advocacy Network for Africa (ADNA), the working groups for Sudan, Water Issues, and Africom to name a few.
The Africa Faith and Justice Network is supported financially by institutional and individual members who feel called to advocate and mobilize in their communities and to the US Government. In its early years, most members were from religious missionary communities who had first hand experience in Africa. Recently membership has expanded to other individuals who have served in Africa with NGOs, or parish and Diocesan communities that are twinned with African Parishes or Dioceses, as well as University faculty members and students who are linked with Africa. Presently there are three college campuses that have AFJN chapters. All attempt to bring their service or scholarship to advocacy through AFJN. A lot has changed over these 25 years and AFJN is adapting to those changes.
A 15 person Board of Directors guides the network and reflects the diversity of its overall membership. There is a three person staff that coordinates the network out of DC. Opportunities for internships are available in the DC office throughout the year. We invite you to get a first hand look at what AFJN does by visiting the web site at www.afjn.org.
Fr. Rocco Puopolo, s.x.
Executive Director, AFJN
director@afjn.org
Spanish
version of the Faithful Citizenship website
Dear Colleagues,
We're very pleased to announce that the Spanish version of the Faithful Citizenship website is now ready for you to use! The site can be entered in two ways:
1) You can send those who speak Spanish as their first language directly to www.ciudadanosfieles.org for a version of the site entirely in Spanish.
2) English speakers looking for copies of the resources in Spanish can simply go to www.faithfulcitizenship.org and click on the "En Español" link that can be found on each page in order to access the translated resource.
We hope you enjoy the website!
Estimados colegas,
Nos complace ununciar que la versión en español de la página digital de Ciudadanos Fieles, ¡ya está lista! Se pueden acceder a la página de dos maneras diferentes:
1) Quienes tengan al español como lengua materna pueden ir directamente www.ciudadanosfieles.org donde encontrarán una versión en español de toda la página digital.
2) Angloparlantes que busquen materiales en español pueden ir a www.faithfulcitizenship.org y en cada página pulsar donde diga "En Español", con lo que accederán a ese recurso específico en español.
¡ Esperamos que disfruten de esta página digital!
Sincerely/Sinceramente,
Joan Rosenhauer
Associate Director
Dept. of Justice, Peace, and Human Development
United States Conference
of Catholic Bishops
Social Action Summer Institute
The Social Action Summer Institute this year is scheduled for July 20-25 in Atlanta.
The program includes a Catholic Social Teaching Track with Fr. Thomas Massaro, SJ and Sr. Barbara Reid, OP, and an Advanced Symposium on Racism, led by outstanding sociologists, theologians, and pastoral ministers. Diocesan and parish staff, commission members, and other leaders will have opportunities to sharpen their skills in the Parish Skills for Social Action track and the Diocesan Skills for Social Action track. Participants will also have an opportunity to visit the King Centers during commemorations of the 40th anniversary of Dr. King's assassination.
Brochure and registration form are available here. Financial aid is available on a "rolling" basis. For information, please contact Jeff Korgen at jkorgen@nplc.org.
National
Migration Conference to Focus on Challenges, Abuses Faced by Refugees,
Migrants, Human Trafficking Victims
WASHINGTON - Registration for this year's National Migration Conference is already under way. The Conference is scheduled for July 28-31 in Washington and it is co-sponsored by the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC) and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Migration and Refugee Services (USCCB/MRS).
With the theme, Renewing Hope, Seeking Justice the conference will focus on the challenges and abuses faced by refugees, immigrants, migrants, trafficking victims, and other persons on the move in the United States and throughout the world. Its goal is to increase public awareness on migration questions and to educate public policy makers and those interested in related public policy issues. The conference also aims to develop and strengthen dioceses' and parishes' capacity to welcome and provide hospitality to newcomers and their families.
Speakers for this year's conference include Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles; Edwidge Danticat, Haitian refugee and author, whose books include Breath, Eyes, Memory and Brother, I'm Dying; U.S. Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ), a long-time advocate for global human rights and assistance to victims of human trafficking; Immaculee Ilibagiza, Rwandan genocide survivor and author of Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust; and Marcelo Suarez-Orozco, Ph. D., renowned migration expert and university professor on globalization and education at the Steinhardt School of Education of the New York University.
The conference will address an array of issues, including global migration trends, identifying and supporting survivors of traumatic events, immigration law and crimes, detention issues, employment issues, ethnic information on new refugee populations and family-based immigration.
Ambassador Johnny Young, Executive Director of MRS, commented on the timeliness of the conference.
"The timing of The National Migration Conference is particularly important given that it falls in an election year that will usher in a new Presidential Administration; we have a real opportunity through this Conference to begin shaping the debate on issues related to migration for the next four years."
"Given the current urgency of issues related to immigration, refugees, and trafficking victims, the National Migration Conference provides a forum that will examine in-depth the injustices and shortcomings in the current legal and political system. It will also promote a faith perspective that calls on all Americans to welcome the immigrant and the refugee into our communities and into our churches," Young said.
Donald Kerwin, Executive Director of CLINIC, highlighted the opportunities for immigration practitioners, advocates and service providers to network, share experiences and receive substantive training that enhances their ability to serve immigrants. It also can educate the general public interested in learning about the complexity of immigration issues.
"The workshops and plenary sessions are unique opportunities in which participants can hear from and interact with legal experts, advocates, government officials, and policy makers who play an important role in shaping the laws and policies that impact immigrants and refugees," said Kerwin.
More information can be found on The National Migration Conference website http://nationalmigrationconference.org/ or by contacting Izzy Menchero of CLINIC at 202-635-5825 or imenchero@cliniclegal.org, and Jim Kuh of MRS at 202-541-3220 or jkuh@usccb.org.
Save the date: USCMA Mission Conference
The upcoming USCMA Mission Conference which will be held on October 24-26, 2008. The theme of the Mission Conference is: "Mission: A Journey of Hope."
This year is an important year for the US Church in mission. On June 29, 1908, Pius X issued Sapienti Consilio which moved the US Church from primarily a mission-receiving territory to a mission-sending one. It has been one hundred years since. This year also marks 200 years that Baltimore became the first Archdiocese in the country. A highlight of our Conference will be the liturgy on Saturday which will be celebrated by Archbishop O'Brien at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore, which is America's First Cathedral.
Michael Amaladoss, SJ, and Dianne Bergant, CSA, will be keynote speakers, together with 15 other speakers and panelists that include Paul Lininger, OFM Conv., and Arturo Aguilar, SSC.
A pdf version of the conference brochure and registration materials are available on the USCMA web site.
Your comments and suggestions are always welcome.
How
can the Justice and Peace Office help you get involved?
T. Michael McNulty, SJ, editor
mmcnulty@cmsm.org
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8808 Cameron St., Silver Spring, MD 20910
Tel: 301-588-4030
• Fax: 301-587-4575 • www.cmsm.org
