News Archives » North America
Kids: Pass on Your Stuff and Help Save the Earth February 7th, 2011
Kids, wouldn’t it be great if there was a way to help save the Earth, get rid of stuff you don’t want, and make someone happy, all at the same time? There is. Instead of throwing away your old things, you can find a new home for them. Pass on to someone else those old board games you don’t play with anymore, books you outgrew, and puzzles that are now too easy for you.
Patti Radle Interviewed on Upcoming Trip to the World Social Forum February 4th, 2011
Ms Patti Radle, based in San Antonio, will represent the U.S. Oblate JPIC Committee at the upcoming 2011 World Social Forum (WSF) in Dakar. In a short video interview made by the JPIC staff using Skype, she shares her expectations about the trip. The WSF will run from February 6 to 11.
Watch the video:
Prayer Service for Victims and Survivors of Human Trafficking January 28th, 2011
A prayer service for victims and survivors of human trafficking will be held on February 8th in the Crypt Church of the Basilica of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception near Catholic University (6pm). Prayer services will also be held at St. Mary’s Cathedral in the Archdiocese of Portland (6:30-7:30). February 8th is the feast day of St. Josephine Bakhita, a victim of human trafficking. There’s a move under way in Oregon (USA) to seek Vatican approval for a patron saint of human trafficking and slavery victims.
Human trafficking is a modern-day form of slavery that consists of the illegal trade of human beings through force, fraud, or coercion for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation or forced labor. Some people are trafficked for prostitution, pornography, and other forms of sexual exploitation. Some are trafficked for forced labor in agriculture, sweat shops, and domestic servitude. Some are trafficked for both.
The Catholic Bishops of the United States have condemned this practice in no uncertain terms. Pope John Paul II at one point declared that human trafficking “constitutes a shocking offense against human dignity and a grave violation of fundamental human rights.” With your help and through your prayers, we can help to put an end to this abomination.
Hans Rosling’s 200 Countries, 200 Years: The Joy of Stats January 28th, 2011
This wonderfully creative four-minute graphic lecture combines enormous quantities of public data with an entertaining style to reveal the story of the world’s past, present and future development. In this video, Hans Rosling, a Swedish medical doctor, academic, statistician and global health activist, explores statistics in an appealing way – using augmented reality animation.
In the ‘The Joy of Stats’ Dr. Rosling tells the story of the world in 200 countries over 200 years using 120,000 numbers – in just four minutes. Plotting life expectancy against income for every country since 1810, Dr. Rosling shows how the world we live in is radically different from the world most of us imagine.
Oblates at the 2011 World Social Forum in Senegal January 26th, 2011
Fr. Walter Butor OMI, Ms Patti Radle and Fr. Jose Ponce OMI will represent the U.S. Oblate JPIC Committee at the upcoming 2011 World Social Forum (WSF) in Dakar, Senegal which will run from February 6 to 11. The three will join other Oblates from around the world who will be attending the Forum.
The World Social Forum is an annual summit held by non-governmental organizations, civil society members and religious leaders who believe that “another world is possible”. Participants meet to coordinate global campaigns and share organizing strategies in panels and workshops through which participants will exchange experiences, best practices and networking action. The World Social Forum meets at the beginning of each year to offer an alternative platform to the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
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