News Archives » Social Justice
Shopping After a Factory Fire December 13th, 2012
Squeezed between the news reports of Black Friday weekend, when U.S. consumers spent more than $59 billion dollars, and a Cyber Monday that was the busiest online shopping day ever, came the tragic news of yet another horrible fire in a garment factory…
Read Fr. Seamus Finn’s latest blog on Huffington Post.
Oblates Promote Social Empowerment in Sri Lanka December 13th, 2012
“Social inability” is widely recognized and accepted today as a root cause of poverty. Empowering people to think for themselves, and stand on their own, offers a solid and a permanent way out for people from poverty and social misery. The philosophy that it is better to teach a person to catch a fish than to offer him one is the philosophy behind “The Citizen’s Forum”(CF), which is successfully operating in Sri Lanka under the direction and guidance of the Centre for Society and Religion (CSR). CSR is the Justice Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) institution of the Colombo Province of the Missionary of Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI).
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Catholics Meet on Environmental Justice and Climate Change November 29th, 2012
Between November 8-10, 2012, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Catholic University of America, Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies (CUA) and Catholic Coalition on Climate Change co-sponsored a scholars conference titled: A Catholic Consultation on Environmental Justice and Climate Change: Assessing Pope Benedict XVI’s Ecological Vision for the Catholic Church in the United States. The USCCB published a press release about the conference.
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UN Update: Fall 2012 November 18th, 2012
POST-2015 AGENDA: THE WORLD WE WANT
In 2000 the United Nations agreed on eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to address the needs of the worlds poorest by 2015. While efforts to achieve the original MDGs continue, the UN has launched a global conversation to determine steps after 2015. An Inter-Governmental Working Group is preparing Sustainable Development Goals, and a High Level Panel of twenty-six members of government, civil society and the private sector is working on a Post-2015 Development Agenda. Beyond2015, a coalition of 400+ organizations, is also addressing this issue. UN Agencies are leading nine thematic consultations and more than fifty national discussions. Countries participating in consultations include Brazil, Peru, Congo, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa; plans are in place to add more countries to the list. For an overview of the entire Post-2015 process, go to www.beyond2015.org (in English, French, and Spanish).
There is a good opportunity for participation in a collaborative effort between the United Nations and civil society: The World We Want Campaign invites people around the world to share their visions for the post-2015 world. Materials are accessible in multiple languages.
Go to www.worldwewant2015.org/ and click on your language.
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TAKING THE CONFLICT OUT OF CONFLICT MINERALS: HOPE FOR CONGO
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2012 Fall/Winter JPIC Report Available November 8th, 2012
The Fall/Winter Issue of our bi-annual print newsletter is now available on-line. (Download the PDF)
This issue includes articles on Faith Consistent Investing, social justice education in Sri Lanka, campaigns against torture and the effort to ban conflict minerals, Oblate work in the Peruvian Amazon, faith-based principles for US immigration reform, JPIC network updates, the impact of climate change on the poor, the state of faith-based community organizing and the bountiful Oblate garden in Washington, DC.
We hope you enjoy this issue, and would welcome your feedback on the newsletter. Comments can be left below.
