News Archives » South America
America Magazine Examines Climate Change November 29th, 2012
A November 19, 2012 editorial in America magazine examines the issue of climate change. The editors note that “Hurricane Sandy was the latest in a series of extreme weather events that the overwhelming majority of scientists say is related to global climate change.” They go on to say that, “The decision not to address climate change at all in the presidential campaign now seems foolish. Both Republicans and Democrats deserve blame for this state of events . . . Until climate change is seen as an issue that affects all Americans, indeed the entire international community, we will fail to make progress in addressing its effects. Climate change is an issue that is vital to the common good and should be treated as such…”
“…Here is where the Catholic community can help. In an address in 2006, Pope Benedict XVI emphasized that climate change is not a political issue but a human one . . . That same year, the U.S. bishops helped launch the Catholic Climate Covenant to bring climate change to the attention of all people of faith. The church directs our attention to where it should be focused: on the poor, who suffer the ravages of climate change more than anyone else.”
“In conclusion”, the editors at America say, “Climate change is an issue that transcends borders and demands an international response. The United States can and should play a key leadership role in this effort. Perhaps, moved by the plight of the storm’s victims and prompted by a renewed commitment from people of faith, it will finally assume that responsibility.”
Learn more on climate change and global warming at Catholic Coalition on Climate Change
Tell Congress: Cuts will Cost Lives! November 6th, 2012
As Congress returns for a Lame Duck session after the November 6 elections, your voice is needed to preserve poverty-focused international assistance during Congressional deliberations on debt reduction and appropriations legislation. Urge your Senators and Representative to pass fiscal year (FY) 2013 poverty–focused international relief and development funding at the levels passed by the Senate earlier this year. For Countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti and Zambia, this small amount of funding that represents less than 1% of the federal budget saves millions of lives.
Read the USCCB and CRS joint Action Alert for details on how to take action (Download PDF)
100 Years in the Amazon Basin October 18th, 2012
Fr. Seamus Finn OMI with Fr. Roberto Carrasco Rojas OMI in Iquitos, Peru
A recent trip to the Peruvian Amazon served to remind me of the vast expanse of the region and the great diversity that lives within its boundaries. While I was ready for the heat and humidity that Iquitos is known for, I was hardly prepared for the great network of major rivers that are an essential part of transportation in the region…
Read Fr. Seamus Finn’s latest post on Huffington Post
Oblate Newsletters from Iquitos, Peru Highlight Work with Indigenous October 11th, 2012
Fr. Seamus Finn, OMI on a recent visit with children at the parish of Santa Clotilde
An interesting and informative series of newsletters from the Oblates in Iquitos, Peru, is now available on the Spanish section of this website.
The Oblates are working in the Parish of Our Lady of the Assumption, located in Santa Clotilde, a town on the Rio Napo in the Amazon rainforest of Peru. It has a population of about 2,000 people and serves as the capital district for about 23,000 people in 100 villages, spread over 400 km. of the Napo River and its tributaries. All transport is river water, with occasional planes. Most are native peoples who continue to live through hunting, fishing and subsistence farming.
Today in the parish, Oblate Fathers Edgar Nolasco OMI, and Roberto Carrasco Rojas OMI, with the Pastoral Coordination, Apostolic Vicariate, San Jose of the Amazon, are working with Norbertine priest and medical doctor, Jack MacCarthy, O. Praem, and many lay workers and volunteers.
For more information and to access the newsletters, please visit http://omiusajpic.org/espanol/global/america-latina-y-el-caribe/peru/peru-iquitos/
Peruvian Archbishop Appointed to the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace October 11th, 2012
- Archbishop Pedro Barreto Jimeno, SJ., Archbishop of Huancayo, Peru
Pope Benedict XVI last week appointed Monsignor Pedro Barreto Jimeno, SJ., Archbishop of Huancayo and First Vice President of the Peruvian Episcopal Conference, as a new member of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace of the Vatican.
This nomination is added to the responsibility that the Archbishop already performs as President of the Department of Justice and Solidarity of the Latin American Bishop’s Council (CELAM).
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