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The Pope Speaks out on the Economy December 3rd, 2013
Fr. Seamus Finn, OMI was interviewed today by The Lay Catholic on the Pope’s recent exhortation, The Joy of the Gospel.
“…Father Finn said the last two decades in the United States have witnessed a “growth in wealth in assets for the top 1 percent and stagnation of wages and assets for the middle class,” resulting in “widening gaps between a very, very small number of people at the top, a middle class that’s holding its own, and an impoverished sector that is barely hanging on and very dependent on the charity of others.”
“Father Finn said Pope Francis’ portrayal of the ideological struggle over state intervention in the economy is realistic, as exemplified by current debates in the U.S.”
“We have a whole number of folks who are saying, let’s shrink the size of government, let’s let the market and the private sector come up with and propose solutions,” particularly in the education and health care sectors, he said. “And we’ve got lots of other people saying, that’s leaving a lot of collateral damage out there. Who’s responsible for it?”
Oblates Join Faith Groups in Protesting Debilitating Discrimination in the Dominican Republic November 27th, 2013
Photo Credit: HeatherXBradley; Used under Creative Commons License, Flickr
The Missionary Oblates have joined other faith-based organizations and churches in expressing “profound concern” at the September ruling of the Constitutional Court of the Dominican Republic that the children of all persons “in transit” in the country since 1929 are not Dominican. This is part of an on-going effort by the government of the Dominican Republic to deny citizenship and all the rights associated with that to Haitian migrant workers and the children born to them for the past 80+ years. Without legal documents of citizenship (birth certificate, ID cards, passports) Dominicans of Haitian descent are effectively stateless and are unable to go to school, access medical services, open bank accounts, get married, or make needed purchases.
Several years ago, two United Nations human rights experts described in a report a “profound and entrenched problem of racism and discrimination” against blacks in general — and Haitians in particular — in the Dominican Republic.
Dominican citizens of Haitian descent are often among the poorest of the poor. They are the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Haitians who crossed the border in search of a better life, and of migrant workers contracted by the Dominican government to help harvest sugarcane and other crops. They have helped build the wealth of communities, labored at the most difficult jobs, and contributed tremendously to Dominican society and economy. These Dominican citizens for generations have been fully integrated into Dominican society and have long since lost ties to Haiti.
The letter urges “the Dominican government to ensure that all necessary steps are taken to safeguard the nationality and citizenship rights of Dominico-Haitians. This includes ensuring that relevant ministries expedite processing the backlog for issuing of birth certificates and national I.D. cards to Dominicans of Haitian descent born prior to January 2010, whose Dominican nationality is protected by Dominican law as well conventions signed by government.”
The letter goes on to say: “As people of faith, we cannot remain silent as one entire section of the community is dehumanized simply because of the color of their skin and their cultural heritage. Jesus Christ welcomed all into the beloved community, and we cannot honor and follow our Lord and Savior by remaining silent in the face of such extreme injustice.”
Oblates Visit Fast4Families on the National Mall November 26th, 2013
Fr. Antonio with one of the staff at Fast4Families on the National Mall
As a way to raise public awareness and pressure Members of Congress to pass Comprehensive Immigration Reform legislation, Fast4Families has a group of ten people fasting in a tent on the National Mall, just a few yards away from the Capitol. Besides fasting, this group of people is also holding meetings with political leaders and community organizers, and organizing activities to encourage more people to press for immigration reform. “We hunger for an end to the system that brings so much suffering and pain to so many. We are fasting not out of anger or despair, but out of hope”, said Eliseo Medina, one of the ten people who are fasting. On Wednesday, November 20, Fr. Antonio Ponce, OMI and JPIC staff were able to drop by to show support to those who are fasting, and help the staff with some translation.
Learn more about Fast4Families..
Congratulations to Greens of Guadalupe! November 24th, 2013
The Greens of Guadalupe environmental group in Laredo, Texas was awarded “The Green Community Award” for the month of October by Keep Laredo Beautiful and CW (Laredo’s green TV station).
The plaque presented to the Greens of Guadalupe reads:
Community Green Award: Honoring – Greens of GuadalupeFor their continued efforts in “Greening” our Community through Recycling, Community Beautification Improvement and Litter Prevention Education.
Commitment and Dedication of this business is a tribute to our environment and the citizens of our Community.
Thank You for your efforts to Keep Laredo Beautiful!
Greens of Guadalupe was formed in March 2007 after the late Fr. Darrell Rupiper OMI preached a workshop on integrity of creation to parishioners at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church Laredo, Texas.
Great work by chairperson Ms. Birdie Torres and the team!!
ICCR Shareholders Engage JP Morgan Chase at Annual Shareholder Meeting November 24th, 2013
L to R: Fr. Seamus Finn, OMI (Missionary Oblates); Sr Valerie Heinonen, OSU (Mercy Investments); Cathy Rowan (Maryknoll Sisters); Sr. Nora Nash (Sisters of St Francis of Philadelphia); Sr. Barbara Aires, SC (Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth, NJ); Fr Joe La Mar, MM (Maryknoll); Mariela Vargova (Rockefeller Brothers); Sr Pat Daly, OP
Shareholders from the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility engaged JP Morgan Chase at a meeting last Monday in New York on a broad range of issues from risk management to foreclosures and other business practices. On November 19, the bank finalized a $13 billion settlement agreement with the US Justice Department over “alleged bad behavior relating to mortgages and mortgage-backed bonds,” as Marketplace reports.
Brief background:
JP Morgan Chase bought up Washington Mutual and Bear Stearns after they went under in the financial crisis of 2007-08. All three institutions, along with other banks, had bundled hundreds of home loans into securities and marketed them as investments that could be traded like stocks. When millions of homeowners defaulted on their mortgages and the housing market collapsed, the value of the securities took a nose dive and the economy went into a tailspin. Responsibility for the meltdown is still being apportioned, while hundreds of thousands of families lost their homes. ICCR investors hope that some of those who suffered in the financial crisis will benefit from the settlement.
Part of the $4 billion for consumers would go toward helping some homeowners whose mortgages are handled by JPMorgan. Unusually for such settlements, another share would be used to reduce blight in neighborhoods peppered by rundown and abandoned homes.
