News Archives » North America
Missionary Oblates JPIC Applauds Final Release of a Rule on Oil and Mining Transparency June 30th, 2016
The Missionary Oblates Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation office applauds the final release of a rule by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which requires oil, gas and mining companies to disclose and report payments they make to governments for resource extraction. Section 1504 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (2010) requires U.S.-listed oil, gas and mining companies to disclose what they pay to governments in annual filings.
This rule will increase transparency on payment for extractives, especially to governments in Africa and Latin America. We believe this rule will make a significant difference in the lives of poor people living in resource rich countries by allowing more transparency from oil, gas and mining companies about payments made to national or regional governments.
Knowing information about payments received for resource extraction will empower local communities to demand their governments invest into local community initiatives, especially in schools, hospitals and roads. Missionary Oblates JPIC staff participated in several partner meetings, signed-on to letters and attended conferences that called for the adoption of stronger rules on resource extraction.
Meet Our 2016 Summer Intern – Deaglan McKillop June 30th, 2016
Deaglan McKillop, 2016 JPIC Intern
Deaglan is from Liverpool, England and will intern at JPIC for two weeks. He is a law student at the University of Liverpool. Before attending university Deaglan took a year off to do some volunteer work. He spent two months in South Africa working at Little Eden, a community that cares for adults and children who are disabled. In 2015 Deaglan interned at the Pontifical Mission Societies in New York under Fr. Andrew Small, OMI. He will spend this summer interning both at JPIC in Washington, DC and again at Pontifical Mission Societies in New York.
Pope Francis Addresses Constantinople Patriarchate Delegation, Highlights Plight of Refugees June 30th, 2016
Pope Francis addressed a delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, with whom he held a private audience on Tuesday in the Vatican, calling the mercy of God ‘the bond uniting us.’
The delegation came to Rome following the conclusion of the week-long Pan-Orthodox Council, which was held on the Greek island of Crete.
Read the article and full statement.
“..I thank the Lord that this past April I was able to meet my beloved brother Bartholomew when, together with the Archbishop of Athens and of All Greece, His Beatitude Ieronymos II, we visited the Isle of Lesvos, to be with the refugees and migrants. Seeing the despair on the faces of men, women and children uncertain of their future, listening helplessly as they related their experiences, and praying on the shore of the sea that has claimed the lives of so many innocent persons, was a tremendously moving experience. It made clear how much still needs to be done to ensure dignity and justice for so many of our brothers and sisters. A great consolation in that sad experience was the powerful spiritual and human closeness that I shared with Patriarch Bartholomew and Archbishop Ieronymos…”
Read the article and full statement.
U.S. Civil Society Organizations Support Bilateral Ceasefire in Colombia June 24th, 2016
After half a century of brutal war, the Colombian government and FARC guerrillas have reached an agreement for a bilateral ceasefire, holding out the promise that a final peace agreement is near.
Missionary Oblates JPIC joins other groups in welcoming this historic step forward. At the same time, there are tremendous challenges ahead, including to launch successful negotiations with the last remaining major guerrilla group, the ELN; and to dismantle the paramilitary successor groups that continue intimidating and harming communities throughout Colombia. And the major challenge will be to build peace from the ground up, ensuring that the victims of violence have real access to truth, justice, reparations and the guarantee that the violent past will not return.
As Colombia moves towards a negotiated settlement, we urge the international community to support efforts to build a just and lasting peace.
Read the full public statement here.
A Disappointing Ruling For Millions Of Immigrants June 23rd, 2016
By a 4-4 split, the U.S Supreme Court has ruled against President Barack Obama’s immigration plan – Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) and the expansion of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
The two initiatives were announced by President Obama to provide some deportation relief and work permits to qualified undocumented immigrants. This means the decision by a lower court upholding the preliminary injunction against these immigration relief measures will stand.
“It is very sad indeed to see that this process is caught up in partisan politics and what continued inaction will mean for immigrant families,” said U.S Missionary Oblates Provincial Fr. Bill Antone, OMI. “These decisions open the door to serious injustices in which talented young immigrants who have grown up in the U.S. and their precious parents and families are torn apart by deportation simply to satisfy short-sighted political interests.”
Missionary Oblates JPIC joins other faith communities, religious leaders and immigrant rights groups in expressing deep disappointment with this ruling. Earlier this year, diverse faith based organizations joined in filing an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in support of these two executive orders to provide deferred action for millions of undocumented families.
The fact is DAPA and DACA would have helped millions of immigrant families to stop living with the constant threat of family deportation.
