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Missionary Oblates Welcome Executive Action for Migrant Families November 24th, 2014
Immigration Reform Rally, Capitol Lawn; photo taken on April 10, 2013; Cool Revolution on Flickr, Some rights reserved
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Missionary Oblates JPIC applauds President Obama’s Administration for taking bold action to protect migrant families. On November 20, President Obama announced an historic action to provide deportation relief to an estimated 5 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States.
It is an historic victory that could not have been accomplished without the determined advocacy efforts of religious communities, immigrants and human rights groups. The executive action on immigration is welcome news for millions of immigrant families who have been living in the shadows for a long time.
The executive action will provide protection against deportation and will provide work permits to parents of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents (LPR) who have resided in the country for five years. It will also expand legal status protection to young people who came to the United States as children, but who were not able to qualify for DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) when it was first announced in 2012.
“Due to the failure of Congress to move on comprehensive immigration reform, President Obama was right to act to stop deportations, which would lead parents to be separated from their American-born children,” said Fr. John Cox OMI, Pastor of Most Holy Redeemer parish in Ogema MN and a former member of the U.S. Province JPIC Committee.
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Executive Action: Keeping Migrant Families Together November 23rd, 2014
The Oblate JPIC Office joins with other religious communities in celebrating President Obama’s historic action to provide deportation relief to an estimated 5 million of our undocumented immigrant brothers and sisters. See the JPIC blog on the President’s recent announcement.
Popular Movements Meet with Pope Francis at the Vatican November 20th, 2014
“I accompany you with my heart on this journey. Let us say together from our heart: no family without a dwelling, no rural workers without land, no worker without rights, no person without the dignity that work gives.” —Pope Francis
Pope Francis called a meeting at the Vatican of Popular Movements in late October.
In his address, Pope Francis invited the assembly to be in solidarity with each other and the church. “Solidarity.” He said, “means much more than some acts of sporadic generosity. It is to think and to act in terms of community, of the priority of the life of all over the appropriation of goods by a few. It is also to fight against the structural causes of poverty, inequality, lack of work, land and housing, the denial of social and labor rights. It is to confront the destructive effects of the empire of money: forced displacements, painful emigrations, the traffic of persons, drugs, war, violence and all those realities that many of you differ and that we are all called to transform.”
Read an account of the session: World Meeting of Popular Movements, Oct. 2014
- Speech of Pope Francis (English, unofficial translation) Spanish
- 15-Point Declaration (English, unofficial translation) Spanish
Midwest Oblates join Faith-Based Community Organizing Coalition November 20th, 2014
The Missionary Oblates of the Midwest Area are now official members of United Congregations of Metro East. This ecumenical faith based organization provides a cooperative forum for member congregations in promoting issues of Social Justice, and offers social organizing training on behalf of the poor. They already have been working informally with the Ecological Learning Center in Godfrey, and look forward to partnering with the Hispanic Ministry at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in order to have greater influence in the surrounding Latino community.
UCM was established in early 2000 with six churches. With technical assistance and training from the Gamaliel Foundation, they have grown to represent over 34 congregations with approximately 27,000 members. Member congregations represent the full range of communities in southwestern Illinois: older urban communities and new suburban areas, white, African-American and Hispanic, wealthy and impoverished.
For more information visit: www.ucmetroeast.org/
Canadian Mining Symposium a Success November 9th, 2014
Over a hundred and fifty people gathered on November 7th and 8th, 2014 at St. Paul’s University Campus for a symposium on mining organized by the Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation ministry of the Canadian LaCombe Province. The gathering, titled SYMPOSIUM: Mining Extraction and Justice “The Global Cry of the People”, looked at the impacts of mining on affected communities, and their response. The dialog of faith groups with mining companies was also examined. Fr. Seamus Finn, OMI from the US JPIC Office, who has actively engaged a number of multinational mining companies, moderated one of the discussion panels. The symposium featured Fr. Gustavo Gutierrez, author of A Theology of Liberation, as the Keynote speaker.
Official Program available here.
