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Northern Virginia Community Organization Develops $30 Million Redevelopment Fund October 1st, 2013
VOICE, the northern Virginia community organization that has been addressing housing blight in the region, was highlighted in a Washington Post article recently. The organization has put together the $30 million “Prince William, VA Restoration Fund” from mortgage lenders responsible for a major foreclosure crisis in the area. The fund is designed to address neighborhood blight caused by the foreclosure & predatory loan crisis in town home communities like Georgetown South in Manassas, VA. The Oblates have actively supported VOICE’s efforts to develop this community redevelopment fund through our activist shareholder connections.
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Financial Transparency Coalition Meets in Africa on Problem of Illicit Financial Flows September 30th, 2013
The new Financial Transparency Coalition is meeting in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on October 1-2. The theme for the conference, is “Towards Transparency: Making the Global Financial System Work for Development.” Fr. Seamus Finn, OMI, US JPIC Office Director, is officially representing ICCR (Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility) at the conference.
Nearly a trillion dollars a year has been secreted out of developing countries, robbing them of revenue needed desperately for development. The coalition was formed to do something about this problem that is central to the development of poor countries. According to the Coalition, half of the illicit financial flows – a staggering $500 billion – is coming from Africa. Flowing from crime, corruption, and tax evasion, these illicit transfers represent a drain on developing economies that is equivalent to eight times the size of global foreign aid.
The US JPIC Office is involved in several inter-connected organizations in Washington, DC, working for greater financial justice and transparency. These include the Tax Justice Network USA, (where Fr. Finn serves on the Board), and the FACT coalition (Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency Campaign). The international Financial Transparency Coalition was launched in May of 2013, in response to the growing awareness and activism around the problem of illicit financial flows.
Vatican Hosts Mining CEO’s in a “Day of Reflection” September 11th, 2013
Participants of the “Vatican Day of Reflection on Mining” in front of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace in Rome
The CEOs of some of the world’s top mining companies went to the Vatican for a day-long meeting last Saturday to discuss better ways to operate in communities that are increasingly protesting the destructive impacts of mining. Communities are fearful – with good reason – of the impacts of mining on their water, land and air.
Saturday’s “day of reflection with the mining industry,” was organized, at the request of leaders in the mining sector, by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. It included the CEOs of Anglo American, Rio Tinto and Newmont Mining, who alone represented companies with well more than $100-billion (U.S.) in market value. The chairmen, presidents or senior executives of dozens of other companies, ranging from AngloGold Ashanti to African Rainbow Minerals, were also present. Fr. Seamus Finn OMI, from the USP JPIC team in Washington DC, was invited to be a part of the team that prepared the day of reflection and offered input during the day. Pope Francis offered a message of greeting and challenge to the group and offered his prayers and blessings on the event.
The companies were interested “to open a dialogue where mining interfaces with the community … to hear other views with the promise of all of us making a difference.”
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A Strong Dose of Mo Needed August 23rd, 2013
Five years after the near meltdown of the global financial system, federal regulators are still struggling to institute reforms, and build in protections for the millions of ordinary consumers exposed to risk due to a lack of regulation. They are up against the banks and other financial firms, which have spent billions on lobbying against the proposed regulations.
In this recent blogpost, Fr. Seamus Finn, OMI calls on everyone to remember how close the global system came to utter disaster, and how much the lives of ordinary people were turned upside down.
He argues, “We need to get the rules and regulations that respond to real needs and to the needs of communities across the country. The social purpose of the financial system and the institutions that operate in that space must be given priority over quarterly profit goals and expectations.”
“This would be a good time for all banks and their trade associations to work more constructively with regulators to keep the momentum going in the right direction, to restore confidence and rebuild trust.”
Follow Rev. Seamus P. Finn, OMI on Twitter: www.twitter.com/SeamusPFinn
Come, Broaden Your Vision at OMI La Vista Ecological Learning Center… August 21st, 2013
Learn about the La Vista Earth Literacy Program, “Exploring the Sacred Universe,” that was held in early August. Fr. Antonio Ponce, OMI attended the program and made this video to share the experience more broadly.
