Latest OMI JPIC News
Superior General’s Letter for “Oblate Day,” February 17, 2020 February 12th, 2020
The Letter of the Superior General on the 194th Anniversary of the Papal Approbation of the Constitutions and Rules
Fr. Louis Lougen, OMI Superior General
Dear Brother Oblates and all who live inspired in the Oblate charism,
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19)
Each time I hear these words proclaimed or ponder them in prayer, I believe that we are anointed anew for the mission of Jesus. The Trinity is working within and among us: the Father, in an outpouring of love, fills us with the Spirit and sends us to partake in the Mission of the Word made flesh.
Today, we celebrate the Church’s blessing upon the missionary vision of Eugene de Mazenod. Surprisingly, the Church’s approval was granted quickly. Eugene de Mazenod knew it was divine providence that guided him and that moved Pope Leo XII to grant pontifical approval of our Constitutions and Rules on February 17 1826. The Pope desired renewal of the Church, and hearing about the wonders of this band of missionaries in France, he sped up the process of approbation.
Click here to read the full letter.
Putting Treasure Where the Heart Is February 12th, 2020
Review by Kirsten Snow Spalding, rector of the Church of the Nativity in San Rafael, CA & senior director of the Investor Network on Climate Risk and Sustainability at Ceres, a non-profit advocacy organization
Fr. Séamus Finn , OMI authors chapter on human dignity, trafficking & investing in newly-released book,” Faithful Investing, The Power of Decisive Action and Incremental Change.”
Faithful Investing, edited by James Murphy, explores a range of perspectives on why and how congregations have used investment practices to address issues important to people of faith, including human rights and human trafficking, tobacco, gun control, climate change, gender diversity, pay equity, poverty, and immigration.
The collection includes essays written by investment professionals; faith leaders with long experience in corporate governance work and investment strategies; and advocates who work with a variety of institutional investors. Unlike many resources on this subject, Murphy’s collection offers alternative approaches, without taking a hard line about one “right way” to address these issues.
Each of the authors uses plain language to explain the rationale behind a particular investment approach — divesting or negative screening; engaging with companies through direct dialogues; collaborative engagements with other investors; filing proxy resolutions and voting on them; incorporating ESG (environmental, social and governance) factors into investment decision-making; taking a “best-in-class” fundamentals approach to building a portfolio or investing for impact in one or multiple asset classes. For someone new to the field, Faithful Investing suggests the critical questions that need to be asked before recommending a particular strategy. Read the full review here.
Book can be purchased online from Amazon.
This unique collaboration of voices from multiple Christian denominations include James W. Murphy, Byrd Bonner, Tim Brennan, Sister Patricia Daly, The Rev. Séamus P. Finn, Bobbi Hannigan, Lisa Hinds, Joseph M. Kinard, Kathryn McCloskey, The Rev. Aimee Moiso, Mark A. Regier, Greg Rousos, Carsten W. Sierck, The Rev. William Somplatsky-Jarman.
Pope Francis and World Leaders Call for Inclusive Economy February 5th, 2020
Pope Francis addressed a small group of Finance Ministers, the head of the IMF and noted economists urging the creation of new global debt and tax policies that can reduce inequality and end poverty.
“Pope Francis asserts that to live in a world with so much wealth, when there is so much poverty, is sinful,” stated OMI JPIC partner Eric LeCompte who leads the religious development group Jubilee USA. LeCompte serves on United Nations finance expert groups. “Inequality and extreme poverty are the results of current debt and tax policies that concentrate wealth in too few hands.”
The high-level seminar, New Forms of Solidarity Towards fraternal Inclusion, Integration and Innovation Seminar, was organized by the Papal Academy of Social Sciences and held in the historic Casina Pio IV.
During the event, Kristalina Georgieva who heads the IMF, encouraged curbing tax avoidance and evasion. Nobel Laureate, Joseph Stiglitz and Argentine Minister of Economy, Martin Guzman related the deep need for a global bankruptcy process to prevent financial and debt crises. Read more about the meeting on Jubilee USA’s website.
Fr Séamus Finn, OMI Among Roundtable Experts at the 2020 Global Mining and Tailings Safety Summit, London, England February 3rd, 2020
On January 24, 2019 the Brumadinho tailings dam disaster occurred at the Córrego do Feijão iron ore mine near Brumadinho, Minas Gerais, Brazil, killing 270 people. The dam was owned by Vale, the
same company involved in a 2015 dam disaster in the Mariana, Minas Gerais, Brazil. (A tailings dam is an earth-fill embankment dam used to store byproducts of mining operations).
On the first anniversary of the Brumadinho tailings dam disaster a Global Mining and Tailings Safety Summit was held on Friday, January 24 in Church House, Westminster, London, England.
Convened by the Church of England Pensions Board and the Council of Ethics for the Swedish National Pension Funds, participants included investors, banks and insurers working to take decisive action on tailings safety across the mining sector. Ahead of the Summit a Service of Remembrance was held in the Church House Chapel led by the Bishop of Birmingham, Rt Revd David Urquhart.
The Investor Mining & Tailings Safety Initiative is an investor-led engagement convening institutional investors active in extractive industries including major asset owners and asset managers. Inputs into the investor process have been sought from communities impacted by the recent disaster, leading international experts, government representatives, leading international technical advisors as well as company representatives.
Remembering Survivors & Victims of Human Trafficking January 30th, 2020
If you are local to Washington, DC, join human trafficking advocates & the general public on Feb. 8th for a special intercultural mass to remember the survivors and victims of human trafficking. RSVP to: MRSTraff@usccb.org
http://omiusajpic.org/…/St-Josephine-Bakhita-flyer-final.pdf
