SYRIA / IRAQ
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 JPIC’s Op EdViatorian Bro. Michael Gosch had this op-ed published in the Chicago Herald. I encourage you to take a prayerful look.We continue to visit congresspersons and the administration, communicate with religious in the region, as well as mobilize religious organizations around how to de-escalate this war and cultivate a justpeace. There may be a war authorization vote in Congress after the elections.In the meantime, please consider writing letters to the editor and op-eds. See below for some more key educational pieces.“Drones vs. Beheadings:” See this article for some good critical thinking about this distinction. As many activists have been saying recently, drone bombings usually separate persons from their heads as well.Syrian Women Know How to Defeat ISIS: click here.David Cortright, professor at Notre Dame, writes about the “folly of bombing:” click here.
U.S. lowers “restrictions” on civilian casualties: click here. This is a predictable shift as we enter the ways of violence, our supposed “moral framework” gradually gets peeled away.
Congressional Votes correlate with Money from Weapons Corporations: When the congress voted in September to arm the Syrian rebels “officially,” there was a predictable correlation discovered. On average, the “Yea” voters had received more than $36,000 in contributions from the defense sector during the last campaign cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The “Nay” voters had taken only about $22,000. Read the article here.
Americans Who Have Not Read a Single Article about Syria Strongly Support Bombing It
TAKE ACTION: To de-escalate the war in Iraq/Syria, contact the President and your congresspersons here. For ideas about justpeace alternatives you could add see our coalition letter here.
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PALESTINE / ISRAEL
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British Parliament voted overwhelmingly (274-12) to recognize Palestine as a state. More details.
 Human Rights Watch issued a report on Israeli violations of international law and call for the reverse of their appropriation of land. “The International Criminal Court statute prohibits, as war crimes, the voluntary transfer by an occupying power of its civilians into occupied territory, the seizure of property unless imperative as a matter of military necessity, and the forcible transfer of the local population of the territory – like Israel’s practices in the West Bank.
The Geneva Conventions prohibit an occupying power from expropriating public or private property except as strictly required by military necessity. Israel’s land-use policies in the West Bank, which benefit settlers and harm Palestinians without such justification, are discriminatory, Human Rights Watch said.”
Action Alert: Ask the President to declare that in current circumstances Israeli land appropriation, settlement construction, and population transfer are “illegal,” not just “illegitimate.”Click here.
Action Alert: Join Maryknoll and the Faith Forum on Middle East Policy by urging Congress to support Gaza aid and end the blockade. Click here.
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FERGUSON
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 Clergy and leaders — including Jim Wallis and Cornel West — were arrested in Ferguson during “an array of scheduled protests in Ferguson and St. Louis called ‘Ferguson October,’ which drew hundreds of activists from St. Louis and around the country.” More details: click here.Over 100 youth entered St. Louis City Hall seeking to speak with the Mayor about calling for a civilian review board and body cameras for police. More details: click here. More resources for teaching about Fergusonprovided by Georgetown University’s justice and peace studies program are online.
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IMMIGRATION
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Sanctuary Movement 2014: The National Sanctuary Movement has a Sanctuary Declaration Sign-On for those willing to at least be supporters of Sanctuary. This has been effective in getting stays of deportation and mobilizing religious communities to personalize the situation as well as disrupt the unjust system.
Cities increasingly refuse to help the federal government deport immigrants: click here.
For-profit prisons impact on disrupting immigration reform: click here.
Columbans Offer Border Awareness Trips
At the Columban Mission Center in El Paso, Texas, the Columban Fathers offer border awareness programs to visiting groups and facilitate their contact with organizations and institutions related to U.S.-Mexico border issues: economic policy, poverty, violence, immigration and human rights. In addition, the Center is a venue for talks, courses and workshops for the local community. Programs run from 3-10 days based on the needs of the group. Columban missionaries live and serve the people of God in both Juarez, Mexico, and El Paso, Texas. They stand with the poor, the migrant, and the victim of violence, living out their faith in the practice of ecological and social justice.
They offer life-giving and graced opportunities for personal growth and clarity:
- Learn about human rights and sustainable living
- Visit institutions that assist the migrant populations
- Pray and reflect on your experience
- Stay in an eco-friendly center
Contact: Fr. Robert Mosher
816 Magoffin Ave.
El Paso, TX 79901
915-351-1153
Email: <cmc@columban.org>
<www.facebook.com/columbanmissioncenter/>
El Salvador trip reflection “Life is Worthless” by Matt Cuff, Jesuit Conference, and member of CMSM Justice and Peace Committee: click here.
Action Alert: Join the Justice for Immigrants Campaign’s message to the President opposing family detention here.
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CONFERENCE ON RESTORATIVE JUSTICE
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| November 21, 2014: “Restore Justice! Encounter and Mercy: A Conference on Restorative Justice” sponsored by the Institute for Policy Research & Catholic Studies at the Catholic University of America, Mount St. Mary’s University, the National Religious Campaign Against Torture and Catholic Mobilizing Network.The conference will be live streamed at <ipr.cua.edu>, and you can participate in the conversation via Twitter using the hashtag #restoringjustice.Download this Publicity Flyer and this Featured Speakers Flyer to share with others.
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Climate Change
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Maryknoll and the Faith Economy Ecology Transformation Working Group is hosting a four-part webinar series on corporate power this fall with faith leaders, experts in the field, and advocates for change. The series will explore how the role of corporations in society has changed over time, what positive alternative forms of corporations exist, and how people of faith can play an active role in confronting corporate power on a local, national, and international scale. Sign up here!
Join us for one or all the webinars. Use one link to sign up.
- November 5: National Campaigns to Diminish Corporate Power – Robert Weissman (Public Citizen), Mateo Nube (Movement Generation)
- November 19: Taking Action to Address International Corporate Power -Kirsten Cross (Corporate Accountability International), Melinda St. Louis (Public Citizen-Global Trade Watch)
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MONEY IN POLITICS
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Franciscan Action Network’s money in politics workshop last week was featured in America magazine.
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| RESPECT LIFE PROGRAM |
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 As we mark this month of October as Respect Life Month, a time to particularly reflect on life issues and to pray for and promote greater respect for all human life, we would like to share with you the new resources for our 2014-2015 Respect Life Program.Each program packet includes a folder with this year’s theme on the cover; a set of three horizontally-oriented, letter-size “mini posters”; a catalog of Respect Life resources; a brief, bilingual flyer exploring the theme; and six new articles on varying topics.Printable versions of these materials (except the folder), as well as ordering information, the 2014 statement for Respect Life Month, and liturgical resources, are available at <www.usccb.org/respectlife>. Most resources are also available in Spanish. A brief video on this year’s theme, “Each of us is a masterpiece of God’s creation,” is also available online (en espanol). Please be sure to visit throughout the year for additional materials that will be added to this webpage, such as updated 9 Days for Life resources for 2015. (See the 2014 materials at <www.9daysforlife.com>).Contact Anne McGuire, Assistant Director of Education and Outreach, at <amcguire@usccb.org>. If you would like to order any of these resources, please call our order desk toll-free at 1-866-582-0943. |
IGNATIAN SOLIDARITY NETWORK
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Nov. 15-17 in Washington, DC
will be the annual Teach-In for Justice. Guest speakers include Michael Lee, Ismael Moreno Coto, S.J., Marie Dennis, and James Martin S.J. It will be the 25th anniversary commemoration of the Jesuit martyrs in El Salvador. CMSM’s Eli McCarthy will be offering a workshop on domestic peace teams. More details and registration: click here. |
| INTERFAITH CONFERENCE ON DRONES |
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 An interfaith group of organizations and persons have got funding to set up a weekend conference on how the faith community might respond to lethal drones.The conference will be held on Friday Jan. 23rd at dinner through lunch on Sunday Jan. 25th at Princeton University in NJ. Many of the organizations helped to set up the National Religious Campaign against Torture. The Catholic groups include CMSM, USCCB, and Maryknoll. For more details: click here. Further details are forthcoming. |
ECUMENICAL ADVOCACY DAYS
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Breaking the Chains: Mass Incarceration & Systems of Exploitation
April 2015 National Gathering of EAD in Washington, D.C. will address solutions to national and worldwide issues of imprisonment, exploitation, and forced labor
Come to Washington, DC, April 17-20, 2015, at the Doubletree Hotel in Crystal City, VA, for the 13th Annual National Gathering of Ecumenical Advocacy Days for Global Peace with Justice titled, “Breaking the Chains: Mass Incarceration and Systems of Exploitation.”
Join over 1,000 Christian advocates in building a movement to shake the foundations of systems of human exploitation (Acts 16:16-40), including a prison-industrial system that incarcerates millions of people in the U.S. and abroad. A world that incarcerates so many and allows some to profit from the exploitation of slave, trafficked and forced labor remains far from the “beloved community” which we are all called to seek.
The U.S. makes up only five percent of the world’s population yet holds nearly a quarter of the world’s prisoners. Still, “imprisonment” is a worldwide problem and takes various forms, as everywhere people around the world remain trapped in detention centers, prisons, factories and drug wars that bind and dehumanize individuals for political or economic profit. Lamentations asks, “When all the prisoners of the land are crushed under foot, when human rights are perverted in the presence of the Most High, when one’s case is subverted – does the Lord not see it?” (Lam. 3:34-36) Do we?
As people of Hope, we are reminded that Jesus’ radical message was one of liberation for all and restoration of right relationships. Through prayer, worship, advocacy training, networking and mobilization with other Christians, we will face the reality of mass incarceration and corporate exploitation, and call for national policies that bring liberation both to the prisoner and to a world in need of restoration – all culminating with EAD’s Congressional Lobby Day on Capitol Hill.
More details and registration: click here.
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CATHOLIC SOCIAL MINISTRY GATHERING
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Register Now!
“To Go Forth: Encountering Christ in the Heart of the World”
Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington, DC
Special early bird registration rate ends November 14th.Don’t miss this central annual gathering of U.S. leaders in Catholic social ministry and advocacy. Connect with colleagues from around the country, and meet current and emerging leaders sharing new energy and ideas. Excellent plenary presentations, briefings, and workshops will focus on pressing domestic and international social concerns and our response as Church. Then lend your voice to our advocacy for the common good with members of Congress
Act now to be part of our special initiatives developing diverse leaders and young leaders in Catholic social ministry. There will be a gathering for religious at this conference as well as a workshop on creating an “Inclusive Peace Economy” which I encourage you to check out.
To register or for more information: click here.
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YEAR OF CONSECRATED LIFE
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| The website for the YCL has a special section on the mission of justice and peace for your use. |
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