News Archives » Peace
Faith-Based Investors Urging Bold Action with Companies on Climate Change July 26th, 2013
The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) recently released a white paper on engagement with the energy sector to address the serious risks posed by rapidly rising levels of CO² in the atmosphere. The paper is, in large part, a response to the fossil fuel divestment campaign coordinated by 350.org, and serves to lay out a range of responses open to concerned investors in response to the looming climate crisis.
Read: Insights for Investors Working for Bolder Intervention on Climate Change
Oblates Join Anti-Nuclear Protest in Kansas City July 15th, 2013
Oblate Superior William Antone, OMI joined Carl Kabat, OMI last Saturday in at an anti-nuclear weapons protest in Kansas City. They were among two dozen protestors who were arrested at the PeaceWorks rally at the Honeywell Plant. The plant is managed and operated by Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies, which produces 85 percent of the nonnuclear material used in the United States nuclear bomb arsenal.
Those arrested had crossed onto Honeywell property. Roughly 60 people were present, with quite a few young people from Catholic Worker communities.
The Catholic Worker Community has posted photos of the protest on Flickr. View them here…
See pictures of the protest from KSHB, a local news station…
National Catholic Reporter has a good story on the action…
Oblate JPIC Office Intern arrives in Washington from San Antonio June 29th, 2013
The Oblate JPIC office is proud to welcome our newest intern, Erin Chase. He will be focusing on human rights and social media use for justice. Here is a brief bio:
Erin Chase: Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Erin graduated from Saint Anthony Catholic High School where he first encountered the Oblates. He was very active in St. Anthony during his time there. In the Young Oblate’s club, he worked with Oblate brothers and fellow peers to organize monthly community gatherings with the homeless. He also served on the music and organizational teams for the students’ home-designed SALVE Retreat, which stands for Service and Action, Love, Vocation, and Evangelization. It’s a 3-4 day, student-designed retreat. Additionally he served on the team for the local ACTS retreats. While in high school, Erin became an Eagle Scout, and received the Junior Oblate Cross and the Archbishop’s Medallion for his commitment to service and Catholic devotion. He is currently a rising junior at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, where he is majoring in Religious Studies.
Erin is involved in a number of faith-based activities at Wesleyan. During his freshman year, he revived the Catholic Student Organization, which provides educational and spiritual opportunities for faith development on campus. The group, which works in an interfaith context, tries to engage students of any or no faith. Erin continues to lead this community, and, in addition, directs the Catholic liturgical choir. Other initiatives in which he is involved include Shining Hope for Communities, a grassroots organization combating generational poverty and gender bias in Nairobi, serving as an executive member in the Wesleyan chapter. Other involvements are with the outreach team at Amazing Grace Food Pantry in Middletown, and with the Middlesex United Way, where he serves as the Special Projects Coordinator. In his spare time, Erin enjoys songwriting, coffee, and learning about social entrepreneurship. He hopes to utilize his skills and develop his understanding of social justice issues through working with the Missionary Oblates JPIC Office.
Pope Francis Urges Humanity to Cultivate and Care for Creation, Not Money June 6th, 2013
Pope Francis dedicated the catechesis of Wednesday morning’s general audience to the environment, noting that June 5th is World Environment Day promoted by the United Nations. The following is the summary of his address. The full text of the Pope’s catechesis is available in the link given below.
“When we speak of the environment, of creation, my thoughts go to the first pages of the Bible, to the Book of Genesis, where it is affirms that God puts man and woman on earth ‘to cultivate and care for it’. And the question comes to me:” the Pope said to the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square, “What does it mean to cultivate and care for the earth? Are we truly cultivating and caring for creation? Or are we exploiting and neglecting it?”
“Cultivating and caring for creation,” explained the Holy Father, “is God’s indication, given not only at the beginning of history, but to each one of us. It is part of his plan. It means responsibly making the world grow, transforming it so that it becomes a garden, a place that all can inhabit.”
“Benedict XVI recalled many times that this tasked entrusted to us by God the Creator requires that we understand the rhythm and logic of creation. Instead, we are often guided by the arrogance of dominating, possessing, manipulating, and exploiting. We don’t ‘take care’ of it; we don’t respect it; we don’t consider it as a freely-given gift to be cared for. We are losing the attitude of wonder, of contemplation, of listening to creation. Thus we are no longer able to read in it what Benedict XVI called ‘the rhythm of the story of God’s love for humanity’. Why is this happening? Because are we thinking and living ‘horizontally’; we are drawing away from God; we are not reading his signs.”
“But cultivating and caring for doesn’t just refer to our relationship with the environment, the relationship between humanity and creation. It also concern human relationships. … We are living a moment of crisis. We see it in the environment, but above all we see it in humanity. The human person is in danger. … This is the urgency of human ecology! The danger is serious because the root of the problem is profound, not superficial. It isn’t just a question of economics but of ethics and anthropology. … The dynamics of an economy and finance that lack ethics are dominating.”
Speaking off the cuff, the pontiff added: “What is in charge today isn’t the human person but money. Money is in command. And God our Father has given us the task of caring for the earth not for the money, but for us: for men and women. This is our charge. Instead, men and women are sacrificed to the idols of profit and consumption. It is a ‘culture of waste’.“
The full text of the Pope’s remarks are available here… (Download PDF)
Zambian Oblates hold Justice and Peace Workshop June 5th, 2013
Fr. Kennedy Katongo OMI (far left) with Oblate Pre-novices
From February 4th to 8th 2013, a workshop on the spirituality of Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation was held for Oblate pre-novices at the Oblate Formation House in Lusaka, Zambia.
Fr. Kennedy Katongo OMI, Director of the Oblate’s Justice and Peace Office in Zambia, convened the workshop. Fr. Katongo shared on the importance of preaching and living the Gospel. He called for JPIC awareness for global positive happenings and challenges facing the world today. ‘Positive happenings’ include industrialization, multiculturalism and intercultural dialogue, development of human rights, transportation and communication. Some of the challenges that require immediate actions include global warming, poverty violence and human rights abuses.
In the workshop closing remarks, the Oblate students were urged to live justly, promote peace and uphold the integrity of creation. Justice and peace work is a call to identify and respond to injustices in society. For Missionary Oblates, the scriptures, Catholic Social Teaching, and Oblate principles provide a background for how we need to respond.
This article first appeared in the OMI Zambia Delegation Newsletter for March 2013 and was written by Oblate Students Chikweto Chungu, Godwin Wali and Ackim Phiri, Lusaka, Zambia.
