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USCCB Labor Day Statement Calls for ‘A New Social Contract for Today’s Economy’ September 2nd, 2010

With millions unemployed and U.S. workers experiencing tragedies such as mining deaths in West Virginia and the oil rig explosion and subsequent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Americans “must seek to protect the life and dignity of each worker in a renewed and robust economy,” said Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre, New York. Bishop Murphy addressed these issues in the 2010 Labor Day Statement of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), entitled “A New ‘Social Contract’ for Today’s ‘New Things,” Download PDF in English or in Spanish

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Comboni Press Network JPIC Calendar of Events September 1st, 2010

The Comboni Press Network issues a Calendar of Events on the first of each month, listing justice & peace-related events in the US and around the globe.

Read the September 2010 issue here. (Download PDF)

Archbishop Miller Issues Plea on Behalf of Tamil Refugees in Canada August 30th, 2010

Archbishop J. Michael Miller of Vancouver Diocese issued a statement on August 25, 2010 on the situation of the 492 Tamil refugees that arrived in Vancouver in early August seeking asylum.

The arrival of the refugees-laden ship has generated controversy within Canada. Canadian Tamils, the largest Tamil community outside Sri Lanka and India, have urged authorities to accept the asylum seekers, saying that the minority group faces continued discrimination at the hands of the majority Sinhalese in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka’s high commissioner to Canada has asked the country to reject their refugee status due to alleged links to the Tamil Tiger separatist movement. The Tamil Tigers or Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) as the military wing of the separatist Tamil movement and was brutally wiped out in the spring of 2009. Tens of thousands of Tamils are believed to have died in the final months of the conflict, trapped as they were between the two warring armies. War crimes are reported to have been committed by both sides.

“Keep the dignity of Tamil refugees in mind during immigration debate”

Statement by Archbishop J. Michael Miller who served on the Vatican Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants.

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World Youth Conference in Mexico: August 23-28, 2010 August 23rd, 2010

The World Youth Conference opened today in Mexico City. It is an initiative of the Government of Mexico, in partnership with the United Nations system and civil society organizations designed to bring together government representatives and civil society organizations to identify priorities of action on youth to be addressed in the international development agenda beyond 2015. With five years to go before the deadline set by the international community to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, Mexico, in partnership with the United Nations system, has invited all countries to participate in the World Youth Conference 2010.

For more information please visit: http://www.youth2010.org/

UN Approves Consensus Resolution on Human Right to Water August 5th, 2010

On July 28th, the UN General Assembly voted in favor of a right to water and sanitation resolution that was introduced by the Bolivian government. 124 states voted for the resolution and 42 abstained, including the U.S. No state voted against the resolution.

While the resolution is not legally binding, it is an important step toward the formal recognition of the Human Right to Water by the international body. The UN Human Rights Council has been deliberating this issue for several years and advocates hope this consensus vote in favor of the right to water will stimulate that work further.

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Read the UN Resolution…

Continued Call for AIDS Treatment at 2010 AIDS Conference in Vienna August 5th, 2010

This report comes from the 2010 International AIDS Conference which took place July 19-23 in Vienna, Austria. The Missionary Oblates JPIC offices were represented by Fr Tomáš Vyhnálek OMI, the JPIC coordinator for Europe based in Vienna. He also represented the Oblate JPIC offices in Washington D.C and the General office in Rome.

The 18th international Aids conference in Vienna ended Friday with one strong message: Despite the financial crisis the fight against HIV/AIDS must not decrease.

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