Latest OMI JPIC News
Religious Coalition Organizes National “Call Congress” Day on Puerto Rico Legislation April 27th, 2016
Religious Coalition Organizes National “Call Congress” Day on Puerto Rico Legislation
Washington DC – A religious development group is organizing thousands of calls to Congress on Wednesday, April 27 to urge action on Puerto Rico’s debt crisis. Jubilee USA, which is organizing the “Call Congress” day, says constituents are asking for legislation that brings the debt to payable levels, reduces child poverty and respects local democracy. HR 4900, the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA), was introduced by Representative Sean Duffy (R-WI) on April 14 and Jubilee advocates that legislation should pass with several improvements.
“Congress should strengthen and then pass Representative Duffy’s legislation,” said Eric LeCompte, Jubilee USA’s executive director. “Puerto Rico’s people cannot wait any longer for Congress to act.”
The call-in campaign will urge Congress to include comprehensive debt restructuring tools in its legislation. Groups running anti-PROMESA ad campaigns oppose those tools as “a bailout” though they do not involve taxpayer money. Puerto Rico owes $72 billion in debt but cannot access Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection and cannot restructure its debt through its own court system unless the US Supreme Court overturns an existing ruling this June.
“There are no budget cuts or tax hikes that can solve this crisis,” shared LeCompte, who wrote a letter to Congress? urging six changes to PROMESA before passage. “Debt restructuring is a necessity before we can see any economic growth.”
The campaign will call for PROMESA to include language setting clear targets for reducing Puerto Rico’s nearly 60% child poverty rate. Four out of every five children living in Puerto Rico live in “high-poverty” areas. The campaign further asks that PROMESA respect democracy in Puerto Rico.
“Puerto Rico’s people must be part of the solution,” stated LeCompte. “We pray Puerto Rico’s children are front and center on lawmakers’ minds as they debate this legislation.”
Read a timeline of the crisis in Puerto Rico
Read Jubilee USA’s letter to Congress on the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stablity Act (PROMESA)
See Jubilee USA’s National Puerto Rico Call-In Day campaign page
Jubilee USA Network is an alliance of more than 75 US organizations and 550 faith communities working with 50 Jubilee global partners. Jubilee USA builds an economy that serves, protects and promotes the participation of the most vulnerable. Jubilee USA has won critical global financial reforms and more than $130 billion in debt relief to benefit the world’s poorest people. www.jubileeusa.org
Available for interview: Eric LeCompte, Executive Director
Contact: Greg Williams, Communications Director
greg@jubileeusa.org / (o) (202) 783-3566 x101 (m) (443) 854-1405
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Earth Day 2016: Emphasis on Trees and Forests Worldwide April 20th, 2016
Earth Day 2016: Emphasis on Trees and Forests Worldwide
The first Earth Day was observed 46 years ago on April 22, 1970. It is the largest civic observance in the world, with millions of school children, teachers, and ordinary citizens participating in educational, civic and outdoor activities. The highlight of this year’s observance is the official signing ceremony for the Paris Climate Agreement. In December 2015 192 countries of the world adopted the agreement in Paris, France. In a symbolic gesture, the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has invited every nation to officially sign the agreement this Earth Day, April 22nd, 2016, at the UN headquarters in New York.
This Earth Day our partner organizations, Catholic Rural Life and the Catholic Climate Covenant are calling for a greater appreciation for trees and their ability to keep the air we breathe clean. Catholic Climate Covenant is offering a free program guide for planning a one-hour Earth Day celebration in your parish or school. Download the program guide.
Visit the Catholic Rural Life website for more information on their work in supporting Integrity of Creation.
Earth Day Prayer – For Our Earth (Laudato Si, Pope Francis)
All-powerful God,
you are present in the whole universe
and in the smallest of your creatures.
You embrace with your tenderness
all that exists. Pour out upon us
the power of your love,
that we may protect life and beauty.
Fill us with peace,
that we may live as brothers and sisters,
harming no one.
O God of the poor,
help us to rescue
the abandoned and forgotten
of this earth,
so precious in your eyes.
Bring healing to our lives,
that we may protect the world
and not prey on it,
that we may sow beauty,
not pollution and destruction.
at the expense of the poor and the earth. Touch the hearts
of those who look only for gain
at the expense of the poor and the earth.
Teach us to discover the worth of each thing,
to be filled with awe and contemplation,
to recognize that we are profoundly united
with every creature as we journey
towards your infinite light.
We thank you for being with us each day.
Encourage us, we pray, in our struggle
for justice, love and peace.
Earth Day Video: Faith, Relationships and Creation – This video reflection produced by Oblates JPIC office (3:01 minutes) with meditative text invites you to reflect with Pope Francis on our relations with one another and Creation.
Earth Day Action:
- Add your name to the Interfaith Climate Change statement.
- Support moral principles and priorities in climate change discussions, legislations and decisions, especially as they impact those who are poor and vulnerable in society.
Resources
Catholic Climate Covenant
http://www.catholicclimatecovenant.org/
Catholic Rural Life
https://catholicrurallife.org/
International Mother Earth Day 22 April
http://www.un.org/en/events/motherearthday/
Earth Day Network
http://www.earthday.org/
Where You Bank Matters April 20th, 2016
Where You Bank Matters, by Fr. Seamus Finn, OMI
In collaboration with the Socially Responsible Investment Coalition (SRIC), ICCR sponsored an informative and engaging roundtable on sustainable banking at the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio on April 6th. The idea for the roundtable was part of the vision and mission of the ICCR financial services caucus and was realized when the group found an accomplished and energetic partner in the Global Alliance for Banking on Values.
Read the full article here.
Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation on Love in the Family April 8th, 2016
Missionary Oblates JPIC welcomes the teaching from Pope Francis’Apostolic Exhortation on Love in the Family – “Amoris Laetitia – The Joy of Love.”
With insights from Synod of Bishops, local Bishops and families around the world, the apostolic teaching reminds us of the importance of family life, love and marriage in society.
The apostolic exhortation was released on April 8. In Amoris Laetitia – The Joy of Love, Pope Francis reminds us:
This Exhortation is especially timely in this Jubilee Year of Mercy. First, because it represents an invitation to Christian families to value the gifts of marriage and the family, and to persevere in a love strengthened by the virtues of generosity, commitment, fidelity and patience. Second, because it seeks to encourage everyone to be a sign of mercy and closeness wherever family life remains imperfect or lacks peace and joy. (5)
Read: Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation “Amoris Laetitia – The Joy of Love“
Fr. Seamus Finn, OMI, Moderates Sustainable Banking Rountable at Oblate School of Theology April 7th, 2016
From L to R: Josh Inner, CEO ICCR, Anna Falkenberg, ED SRIC, Rev Seamus P. Finn OMI OIP Trust, Vincent Siciliano, CEO New Resource Bank, Laurie Spengler, President & CEO Enclude, Darrin L. Williams, CEO Southern Bancorp, Jan Pierce, Enclude
On April 6 the OIP Trust www.oiptrust.org joined with the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility www.ICCR.org , the Socially Responsible Investing Coalition of San Antonio www.SRIC-south.org and the Global Alliance for Banking on Values www.gabv.org to sponsor a roundtable on Sustainable Banking. The event was moderated by Rev. Seamus Finn, OMI, and took place at the Whitley Theological Center at Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, TX.
The roundtable brought together local bankers, faith consistent investors, academics and asset managers. The panelists helped to identify and demonstrate models of sustainable banking that are consistent with the kinds of banks that Pope Francis continues to call for as he calls the global community to the creation of a Capitalism 2.0 that offers needed services to all especially the poor and marginalized and places a much higher priority on “care for our common home”.
