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STOP Trafficking During FIFA! June 5th, 2014
In a week, “the biggest single-event sporting competition in the world” will commence: The FIFA World Cup. Half a million people are anticipated to attend the 2014 World Cup, which will be held in Brazil.
Live Your Dream is an online community empowering offline action, helping women and girls to live their dreams. They sponsored a #STOPTrafficking Awareness Week before the Superbowl in January. Along with spectators, large sporting events see an influx of sex trafficking victims.
You can take action to STOP Trafficking during FIFA!
Live Your Dream has created a resource and letter for nearly 200 hotels in the 12 Brazilian host cities to help hotel employees recognize the signs of trafficking and encourage them to contact the authorities if they suspect trafficking.
GOAL: 7,000 signatures in 7 days – SIGN HERE! Over 4,000 people have signed the letter as of this posting.
With the World Cup a week away, the organization is trying to get as many signatures of support as possible. Please sign your name now, and share this action with others so they may help put a stop to this atrocious crime against women and girls.
Resources to Root Out Slavery June 2nd, 2014
Below are two great resources to help us learn about and do something about modern day slavery. Please check them out.
Know The Chain is a resource that can be used to educate people about the existence of slavery in supply chains. It seeks to open dialogue to help companies build supply chains free of forced labor and trafficking. Visit the site: www.knowthechain.org
The Amistad Movement is a national education campaign, sponsored by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, that works through churches, cultural organizations, and other community-based groups to empower immigrants and local leaders to prevent human trafficking in their communities.
Through the training you will learn how to:
- identify human trafficking and exploitation in the domestic, agricultural, service, and sex industries;
- establish partnerships with coalitions and other organizations dedicated to combating human trafficking;
- support survivors of human trafficking;
- become an ethical employer and consumer; and
- educate others about this modern day slavery
For more information or to schedule a free training in your community please email MRSTRAFF@usccb.org or call (202) 541-3021.
June is Torture Awareness Month! June 2nd, 2014
Join the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT), which is providing educational, advocacy and worship resources on torture during the month of June. The group is also hosting activities to honor survivors of torture, ensure truth about US torture programs and begin the restoration of human dignity.The theme for the month is Exposing the Truth of U.S. Torture: Restoring Human Dignity.
A Torture Awareness Toolkit is available to help you and your local faith community participate in the awareness initiative. The Missionary Oblates JPIC Office is a member of the National Religious Coalition against Torture (NRCAT), and we encourage you to become involved.
US Catholic Bishops Come to Washington on a Mission for Migrants May 28th, 2014
Members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’(USCCB) Committee on Migration, including those who celebrated Mass at the US-Mexico border in Arizona on April 1, will travel to Capitol Hill on May 29, 2014 to urge lawmakers in the House of Representatives to act on immigration reform legislation. They will be celebrating a special Mass for Immigrants and Immigrant Families. Please join them on Thursday, May 29th at 8:30 AM at St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church, 313 2nd Street SE Washington, DC (Capitol Hill neighborhood).
The Mass will be offered for immigrants and their families who are being subjected to separation because of our broken immigration system.
Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski (Miami), Bishop Eusebio Elizondo (Seattle), Bishop Oscar Cantu (Las Cruces, NM), Bishop Gerald Kicanas (Tucson), Bishop Ricardo Ramirez (Las Cruces, NM), and Bishop Martin Holley (Washington, D.C.) will co-celebrate.
If you cannot attend in person, we encourage you to watch the live video stream of the Mass at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67pLeiEfOYI
If you are tweeting, the hashtags for the Mass are #MassontheHill and #Mission4Migrants.
Justice for Immigrants – the program of the USCCB – is calling for a national call-in day to the US House of Representatives. Please participate in this and spread the word to you friends and families. Download a flyer for the event here…
The toll-free number is 1-855-589-5698 and our ask is for Members of Congress to:
- Vote for immigration reform,
- Support a path to citizenship,
- Preserve family unity, and
- Employ safe and humane immigration enforcement practices.
Shareholder Proposal Succeeds in Bringing Google to the Table to Talk about Corporate Taxes May 23rd, 2014
The Oblates supported a shareholder proposal filed by Domini Social Investments with Internet giant, Google, seeking a responsible code of conduct on global tax strategies. Google has agreed to sit down with the investor group and discuss this issue, which is an important element in the conversation around the role of government and the revenue sources available to it to meet its responsibilities.
Adam Kanzer, Managing Director and General Counsel at Domini, wrote an Op Ed to explain the thinking behind the investor position that corporations need to pay their fair share of taxes. In it, he dispels a few myths about US corporate taxes, and argues that a deeper analysis shows that “Corporate tax minimization strategies present serious threats to long-term wealth creation and might pose greater risks than corporate taxation itself.”
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