Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation » Issues

Threat to Water from Mining in Peru Mobilizes Masses

christina — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 04:25:24 +0000

Thousands of Peruvians from the Amazon to Lima have mobilized against a serious threat to the water in the Cajamarca region of Peru. Residents there, mostly indigenous peoples, are deeply concerned about the threat to their water from a proposed mining development by the American company, Newmont Mining. Oblates in the US have engaged Newmont about the impact of their operations on communities where they have mining operations. The Yanacocha mine has been a priority in those conversations though the recent turmoil in the Cajamarca region is related to the proposed development of Minas Congas and extension of the Yanacocha project. The Oblates in Peru are supporting the March for Water that has been organized by civil society in the impacted areas.

The movement claims “the right to be consulted, to be respected and heard in decisions about its development model, for socially-just participation in economic growth, the prohibition of mining in the headwaters of rivers, and a stop to mining with cyanide and mercury that is causing so much damage to land and water.” The marchers are proclaiming their human right to water, and drawing support from churches and civil society alike in a several day march from Cajamarca to Lima. The Great National Water mobilization began on February 1st and will conclude with a convocation in Lima on February 9-10.

Read a full description of the mobilization (in English translation):

“SMALL STREAMS MAKE THE GREAT RIVER OF LIFE”: THE GREAT NATIONAL WATER MOBILIZATION”

Materials in Spanish are also available under News in the Spanish section of this website

Recrearte 2012: A Significant Experience in the Peruvian Jungle

christina — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:15:47 +0000

Oblates in Peru are working with children of the indigenous kichwa in the Amazon, whose communities are threatened by intensifying economic activity: oil exploration, increased illegal logging, pollution related to informal gold mining, commercial fishing operations, and the social ills that follow, including an increase in drug dealing. There is an increasing lack of teachers at all levels. Read the encouraging story of their recent RECREARTE Project.

Click here to download the PDF

Women religious, shareholders raise awareness about child sexual exploitation during the Super Bowl

christina — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:27:50 +0000

Building off of last year’s successful campaign, Celebration without Exploitation, members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) are once again coordinating with local law enforcement to raise awareness of the risks of child sex trafficking during the Super Bowl.

While football fans pour into Indiana next week to cheer for their favorite teams, traffickers in the sex trade are gearing up for their most profitable weekend of the year. Because trafficking is reported to peak at large sporting events and hotels are the prime venue for prostitution, shareholders have initiated a multi-pronged campaign to keep hotels trafficking-free during Super Bowl weekend and beyond.

ICCR members from the Coalition for Corporate Responsibility for Indiana and Michigan (CCRIM) are coordinating volunteers to deliver materials to local hotel management with specific guidance on how to spot and report suspected trafficking incidents to local law enforcement.

Said Sr. Ann Oestreich of CCRIM, “This was a real grassroots effort on behalf of the 11 CCRIM congregations which included contacting 220 hotels within a 50 mile radius of the Stadium. We asked hotels what they were doing to educate their staffs, and we are hand-delivering anti-trafficking materials to hotel management.”

ICCR members have been in dialogue with companies in the travel and tourism sector regarding anti-trafficking policies for several years.

Said Mark Regier of Everence Financial, “As investors, we believe that human trafficking poses a significant business risk, wherever and whenever it occurs. Unlike the annual Super Bowl Championship, human trafficking takes place year-round across the globe.”

ICCR’s campaign began with the 2010 World Cup in South Africa when investors wrote the hotels, airlines and event sponsors in their portfolios to alert them to the risks of trafficking and request that they adopt formal human rights policies including the ECPAT code against child sex tourism. The Super Bowl initiative, which began last year, is a continuation of this campaign.

Said David Schilling of ICCR, “In light of the upcoming London Olympics, we are already coordinating with investor groups in the U.K. to guard against labor and sex trafficking during the games and we will continue to press all companies to uncover and eliminate human trafficking abuses within their spheres of influence.”

“The clandestine nature of child sex trafficking is what makes it so difficult to investigate and prosecute,” said Deputy Attorney General Abigail Kuzma, director of Consumer Protection for the IN Attorney General’s office. “Indiana’s tougher anti-trafficking legislation, poised for approval ahead of Super Bowl weekend, is both timely and welcome. And we are grateful to CCRIM for enlisting the support of area hotels to shed light on this horrific crime. Once people know what to look for, traffickers will have no place to hide.”

A telenews conference for members of the media will be held on January 30th at 2pm EST. Participants should call (866) 200-6965 and enter the participant PIN code 26308996#.

Contact: Veronica Welch CWR & Partners, LLP 508-222-4802 Ronnie@cwrpartners.com

About ICCR

Currently celebrating its 41st year, ICCR is the pioneer coalition of active shareholders who view the management of their investments as a catalyst for change. Its 300 member organizations with over $100 billion in assets have an enduring record of corporate engagement that has demonstrated influence on policies promoting justice and sustainability in the world.

About Everence Everence helps individuals, organizations and congregations integrate finances with faith through a national team of advisors and representatives. Everence offers banking, insurance and financial services with community benefits and stewardship education. To learn more, visit www.everence.com or call (800) 348-7468.

About CRRIM The Coalition for Corporate Responsibility for Indiana and Michigan (CCRIM) is a faith-based investor group comprising 11 orders of Catholic women religious. CCRIM engages in socially responsible investing in collaboration with hundreds of other faith-based investor groups through the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility.

Bangladeshi Conference on Indigenous Peoples and the Environment a Great Success

christina — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:12:36 +0000

Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA), Bangladesh Environment Network (BEN) and Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) sponsored a successful major conference on Indigenous Peoples and the Environment in Sylhet, Bangladesh January 12-14, 2012. Amidst cultural exhibitions and art displays, hundreds of participants attended workshops on environmental, social and economic issues affecting the indigenous peoples and the tea plantation workers of the Sylhet region in Northeast Bangladesh.

BAPA works closely with the Adivasi and indigenous efforts to protect their land and livelihood. The conference emphasized the importance of the need for enforcement of their rightful ownership of land and of access the courts to defend their rights and limit harassment. In light of government statements in the past year that have failed to recognize the presence of indigenous peoples in Bangladesh, the conference was also a bold statement to political leaders and government authorities about the reality of indigenous peoples in Bangladesh, the dignity of their culture and traditions, and their rightful ownership of land.

Economic development is an imperative for the government of Bangladesh, but in the northeast, this has come into conflict with the rights, needs and desires of the indigenous peoples on whose land some of this development has taken place.

Fr. Joseph Gomes, OMI spoke at the conference on logging, indigenous livelihoods and the environment. Sharif Jamil, a close collaborator of the Oblates who helped organize the conference, kindly sent us pictures and the program which can be viewed here:

Click on each page separately to view the Conference Program Page 1; Page 2; Page 3; Page 4; Page 5; Page 6; Page 7

A full conference report is expected soon.

Watch a slideshow of pictures from the Conference…

Updates on Events and Resources from the JPIC Commission Office in Rome

christina — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:53:46 +0000

The following is a list of useful upcoming JPIC events and resources:

A course on Catholic Social Teaching (in Spanish): A comprehensive written course on Catholic Social Teaching, prepared for University students, was written and published in Latin America. It can be downloaded at: http://www.kas.de/sopla/es/publications/29414/

JPIC Promoter’s Formation Course in the USA: An intensive week-long seminar for JPIC Congregation promoters takes place at Saint Mary’s Notre Dame, Indiana from June 3-10. The brochure is due out in February. For more information, go to http://www.holycrossjustice.org/JusticeCraft/JusticeCraft.asp

Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves: On December 7th the US Special Representative for Global Partnerships, Kris Balderston, gave a briefing at the US Embassy to the Vatican on The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves Initiative. This project encourages the development and use of clean cookstoves. The alliance ‘100 by 20’ calls for 100 million homes to adopt clean efficient stoves and fuels by 2020. 2 million people die each year from exposure to cookstove smoke. For more information go to the following web sites:

2014 The International Year of Family Farming (IYFF): On December 23rd, the General Assembly of the United Nations declared 2014 to be the International Year of Family Farming (IYFF). For more information go to:

In English: http://www.familyfarmingcampaign.net/noticias/ver.asp?id=en&pag=&Nnoticia=381072685
In Spanish: http://www.familyfarmingcampaign.net/default.asp?id=es
In French: http://www.familyfarmingcampaign.net/default.asp?id=fr

World Inter-Faith Harmony Week (Feb 1-7): The United Nations (UN) on October 20, 2010 recognizing the need for dialogue among different faiths and religions and their contribution for peace in the world, proclaimed the first week of February of every year the “World Inter-Faith Harmony Week” between all religions, faiths and beliefs. For more information go to, http://worldinterfaithharmonyweek.com/

Useful Resources:

World Peace Day Message (2012): ‘Educating Young People in Justice and Peace’ for copies go to:

Holy Cross JPIC: Check out the Holy Cross International Justice office web site at: http://www.holycrossjustice.org/

Environmental Justice: For an article that makes the link between the Virgin of Guadalupe and Environmental Justice, go to: http://franciscanaction.wordpress.com/2011/12/11/the-virgin-of- guadalupe-and-the-call-to-environmental-justice-part-ii/

Earth Charter: For News and updates on the Earth Charter in English, Spanish and French at http://www.earthcharterinaction.org/content/

Mining Watch: MiningWatch Canada is a pan-Canadian initiative. Go to: http://www.miningwatch.ca/home

Justice Jottings: A Marianist Social Justice Web page. Go to: http://www.msjc.net/Justice%20Jottings/Justice%20Jottings%20-%20December%20%2710.aspx

Defenders of Indigenous Peoples: For reflections (in Spanish) on two Dominican (Antonio de Montisinos and Bartolomé de las Casas) defenders of Indigenous peoples in Latin America at the time of the conquest, go to http://www.redescristianas.net/2011/10/30/el-grito-de-montesinos-ayer-y-hoyvictor-codina-sj-sacerdote-jesuita-teologo/ and http://blogs.periodistadigital.com/xpikaza.php/2011/12/09/dom-11-xi-11-todos-estais-en-pecado-mort

Ethically Responsible investment: To read an article (in English) entitled ‘Investing with a Clear Conscience’ go to http://www.osv.com/tabid/7621/itemid/8853/Investing-with-a-clear-conscience.aspx

Renewing the Face of the Earth: Lenten Reflections on Air: For copies of an 8 page booklet by the SHCJs go to: http://www.shcj.org/amer/documents/2012LentReflectionBookAir_001.pdf

Faith-Based Investors Call on House Leadership to Support Human Trafficking Legislation

christina — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:50:30 +0000

The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate joined members of US Social Investment Forum and The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) in a letter to The Honorable John Boehner (Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives) and The Honorable Eric Cantor (Majority Leader, U.S. House of Representatives) seeking their support on the Business Transparency on Trafficking and Slavery Act (HR 2759). The letter strongly encourages the House leadership to support investors, companies, workers and consumers by moving this important legislation forward in an expeditious manner.

This letter was drafted, reviewed and contributed to by a broad coalition of experts and members of US SIF and ICCR. Read the letter…

Pro-Life Marchers Brave Cold, Wet Weather

christina — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 22:32:15 +0000

Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched in the annual Pro-Life March in Washington, DC today, with demonstrations planned in cities and towns across the country, calling for an end to abortion in America. Tens of thousands of pro-life supporters marched through downtown San Francisco on Saturday, January 21, to mark the 39th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.

Seminarians attending the rally were hosted at the Oblate headquarters in Washington.

Learn more…

Corporations, Taxes and Responsible Investors

christina — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:47:11 +0000

Read the latest from Fr. Seamus Finn, OMI on Huffington Post.

He highlights the responsibility of corporations that “…rely on numerous public resources and services to operate their businesses and maintain their profitability…[to] contribute their fare share to the public coffers that enable governments to develop the foundation and provide the services that corporations and all citizens count on to survive.”

He ends with a clear call: “Shareholders, and especially faith based and socially responsible investors, will need to consider how to engage companies that are identified as the most aggressive in developing legal strategies to either avoid or evade the payment of approved taxes. The use of such tools and action that are clearly designed to profit by avoiding responsibility to contribute appropriately to the revenue streams, that are essential to the fulfillment of the government’s mandate to safeguard the public welfare and protect the common good, deserves much closer evaluation and scrutiny.”

2012 promises to be an interesting year as societies across the globe struggle with financial and environmental sustainability in the context of justice.

Oblate Parish in Roma, Texas Celebrates National Immigration Week

christina — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:44:58 +0000

Parishioners at Our Lady of Refuge Parish in Roma, Texas commemorated National Immigration Week (Jan 8-14) with a homily on immigration and prayers for refugees and immigrants. The parish staff also used the bulletin insert provided by the USCCB and encouraged everyone to take it home and use it in prayer all week. The issue of immigration is a story close to home for many of the parishioners at Our Lady of Refuge. The parish is very close the Rio Grande River and members include large landowners, local government officials and immigrant families whose relatives may have faced detention and deportation issues before. Thanks to Fr. Bob Wright OMI for leading the parish into celebrating National Immigration Week.

Stop Trafficking!

christina — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:44:07 +0000

This latest issue of the newsletter Stop Trafficking! has good descriptions of the California Supply Chain Act, as well as information about actions being taken around the Super Bowl. Stop Trafficking! is made possible through the supportive sponsorship of national and international congregations of women religious and their partners.

Read the January 2012 issue