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Fall 2009 Issue of JPIC Report Available On-Line September 8th, 2009
The Fall 2009 issue of JPIC Report, the newsletter of the US Justice, Peace/Integrity of Creation Office of the Missionary Oblates is available on line. This issue features updates on Sri Lanka, Comprehensive Immigration Reform, Oblate work on faith responsible investing and much more.
Read the Fall 2009 Issue (Download PDF)
U.S. Catholic Bishops Visit Zimbabwe and South Africa September 8th, 2009
A delegation of American Catholic bishops has recently visited the church in Zimbabwe and South Africa. Bishop John H. Ricard of Pensacola, Florida, and Bishop John C. Wester of Salt Lake City, Utah visited Zimbabwe from August 26 to 28. They then traveled to South Africa where they stayed until September 6th, and where they were joined by Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, retired Archbishop of Washington D.C. The purpose of the delegation was to observe first-hand the important humanitarian aid work done by the Church, especially in fighting HIV/AIDS and poverty. The bishops are members of the USCCB Subcommittee on Africa. They visited church officials and projects funded by the Pastoral Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa which raises money in the US to help the Church in Africa.
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Labor Day Statement of Support issued by US Catholic Bishops September 4th, 2009
The U.S. bishops are calling on Catholics to recommit this Labor Day to supporting all workers and praying for those who have lost jobs during the economic recession. The Catholic ishops issued their call in their annual Labor Day statement: “The Value of Work; The Dignity of the Human Person.”
The statement was released on September 3 and signed by Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre, New York. Bishop Murphy, chairman of the Bishops’ Conference Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, said that Labor Day is a time to celebrate “the value and dignity of work and the contribution and rights of the American worker.”
Solidarity with Southern Sudan August 22nd, 2009
On August 21, the Catholic Task Force on Africa, of which the Oblate JPIC Office is a member, held a briefing on the project called Solidarity with Southern Sudan. Sr Cathy Arata, SSND who had been Justice and Peace Coordinator for the Sisters of Notre Dame in Rome presented. Sr. Cathy is currently living in Juba, southern Sudan where she is coordinating a multi-religious community initiative to strengthen the health, education and pastoral sectors in Southern Sudan.
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Stop Vulture Funds Bill Supported by Broad Array of Faith Groups and NGOs August 21st, 2009
The Oblate JPIC Office joined a broad array of faith groups and Non-Governmental Organizations in sending a letter to US Congressional Representatives asking for their support for the Stop Vulture Funds Act. This is newly introduced legislation that would prevent vulture funds (often a type of hedge fund) from making this excessive profit at the expense of poor countries struggling under the burden of debt.
‘Vulture fund’ is a name given to a company that seeks to make profit by buying up debt that is in default on the secondary market for pennies on the dollar, then sues the country in US or European courts once creditor countries forgive the debts owed them by a struggling country. As the value of the remaining debt rises, the Vulture Fund can often recover up to ten times the purchase price.
Some vulture funds target failing companies, but the ‘vulture fund’ campaign is focused on those that target the sovereign debts of impoverished countries.
