Latest OMI JPIC News
Shareholders Commend Walmart for Stepping Out to Promote Gun Safety September 5th, 2019
Members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) are highlighting gun safety measures announced by Walmart on Tuesday as an example of how companies can show leadership in responding to gun violence when legislators fail to act.
The investors urged the company to publicly commit to lobby for reasonable gun laws and press Congress to ban assault weapons, tighten background checks and institute gun licensing, among other policy changes, and were encouraged to see that Walmart is using its influence to press for these reforms. You can read the full statement here.
Presenting Our 2019 Summer JPIC Report With a Fresh New Look! August 16th, 2019
We are excited to share the 2019 Summer JPIC Report with a fresh new look: we hope you like the new design. Please share your feedback and story ideas by emailing us at jpic@omiusa.org.
A PDF version of the newsletter can be downloaded here.
Past issues can be found in the Resources section of the website.
JPIC Report is the twice-yearly newsletter of the US Oblate JPIC Office. It is an informational resource about and for Oblates and others involved in the work of promoting justice, peace and the integrity of creation.
Mass Shooting Tragedies Are the Expected Consequences of Hatred and Violence August 6th, 2019
Pax Christi USA, the national Catholic peace and nonviolence movement, joins with the thousands of individuals and groups who have raised their voice over the mass shooting events of the past ten days.
These mass shooting tragedies are not the new normal, but they are the expected consequences of the continued and growing rhetoric of hatred, fear, bigotry, racism, and intolerance voiced consistently from the White House.
Read the full statement at: www.paxchristiusa.org
Missionary Oblates – U.S. Province Joins Faith Groups in 2019 Bipartisan Budget Letter to Congress August 2nd, 2019
Rev. Louis Studer, OMI (Provincial of the U.S. Province), joined national leaders representing a broad array of religious beliefs and faith traditions in a sign-on letter last week urging the administration to pass a bipartisan budget agreement that ‘lifts spending caps for non-defense programs and raises the debt ceiling.’
Citing their responsibility as faith leaders, the group advocated for an agreement that would enable all people to live with ‘dignity and the opportunity to flourish.’ “Federal nutrition assistance, housing assistance, reentry services, education and job training programs, international humanitarian and development assistance, and environmental protections are examples of the critical role federal funding plays in advancing these fundamental values,” the letter states. A bipartisan deal was reached on the bill last week. Read the sign-on letter here.
A Conversation with Bro. Patrick McGee, OMI August 1st, 2019
Brother Patrick McGee, OMi is Novice Director at the Oblate Novitiate in Godfrey, IL. As one group of Novices prepares to make their First Religious Profession, and a new group prepares to move in, Brother Patrick sat down to reflect on the year just passed, the job of an Oblate Formator, and his view on the future of Oblate Formation.