News Archives » Social Justice
2016 World Social Forum Opens in Montreal, Canada August 10th, 2016
The forum kicked off on August 9 with several hundred people marching from La Fontaine Park to the streets of Montreal. Started in 2001 in Brazil, The World Social Forum (WSF) is the largest gathering of civil society to discuss and find solutions to current global problems. This year’s theme is: Another world is needed. Together, it is possible.
(From Left to right) Fr. J. Antonio Ponce, OMI, Oblate JPIC; Fr. Kennedy Katongo, OMI, JPIC General Services ; Fr. Warren Brown, OMI, General Services North American Region Representative
Frs. J. Antonio Ponce, OMI, Kennedy Katongo, OMI, and Warren Brown, OMI, march through Montreal with forum attendees.
Fr. Kennedy Katongo, OMI watching performances on opening day of 2016 World Social Forum.
Activists at 2016 World Social Forum
Fr. Antonio Ponce, OMI join other civil society participants at World Social Forum.
Dr. Victor Carmona Pens Article on Mercy for Immigrants and Refugees August 10th, 2016
By Dr. Victor Carmona, OMI JPIC Committee Member
As a Mexican American Catholic, I think asking whether the influx of immigrants and refugees is a threat or an opportunity is the wrong question; their presence is not merely a political, economic, cultural, or national security problem to be solved. Their presence among us is ultimately a reality that calls for mercy, not just for their sake but ours as well. Instead of those questions, many in our Hispanic communities are struggling with more basic ones, like how do we remain faithful and hopeful when so many of our country’s leaders toy with immigration issues for political gain. I have found some answers in unlikely places.
Read the full article at patheos.com.
Dr. Victor Carmona is professor of moral theology at Oblate School of Theology. Before becoming a moral theologian, he served migrants and urban communities with the Mexican Catholic Conference of Bishops and the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. He is a current member of the Justice, Peace & Integrity of Creation Committee at Missionary Oblates – US Province.
OMI JPIC Hosts Youth Group from Alaska and Bishop D’Cruze of Bangladesh August 9th, 2016
A youth group from St. Patrick’s Parish in Anchorage, Alaska visited JPIC offices on July 28.
Bishop Bejoy D’Cruze, OMI, of the Diocese of Sylhet, Bangladesh visited JPIC offices on July 29. (Left to right): Fr. Seamus Finn, OMI, Sr. Nathanael Lee, LSHF, Rowena Gono, Bishop Bejoy D’Cruze, OMI, (Francis, a colleague of Bishop D’Cruze), George Ngolwe
Zambian Oblate Bishop Chinyemba: Your Peaceful Votes Do Count August 1st, 2016
In a stinging analysis, Zambia’s Diocese of Mongu Bishop, Evans Chinyemba has decried Zambia’s deteriorating media freedoms and said that the country would in two weeks’ time (11 August) conduct general elections under the climate of public service media that only speak for the party in power. He has since urged the Zambian government to stop abusing the public service media sector for its ends.
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Read the article on Vatican Radio.
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Read Bishop Evans Chinyemba’s statement on Zambia’s upcoming election.
July 30 is World Day Against Human Trafficking July 29th, 2016
“This immense task, which calls for courage, patience and perseverance, deserves the appreciation of the whole Church and society. Yet, of itself, it is not sufficient to end the scourge of the exploitation of human persons. There is also need for a threefold commitment on the institutional level: to prevention, to victim protection and to the legal prosecution of perpetrators. Moreover, since criminal organizations employ global networks to achieve their goals, efforts to eliminate this phenomenon also demand a common and, indeed, a global effort on the part of various sectors of society.” (No Longer slaves, but brothers and sisters, Pope Francis’ message for World Day of Peace, 2015)
In 2013 the UN adopted a resolution designating July 30 as the World Day Against Human Trafficking to “raise awareness of the situation of victims of human trafficking and for the promotion and protection of their rights.”
The International Labor Organization estimates that 21 million people worldwide are victims of human trafficking. Human trafficking is a crime that exploits women, children and men for numerous purposes including forced labor and sex. Every country in the world is affected by human trafficking, whether as a country of origin, transit or destination for victims.
Source: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
- Read a book review I Have a Voice – Trafficked Women – in their own words by Mary O’Herron
- Read a July 19 speech by Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Holy See Permanent Observer at the United Nations on eliminating the trafficking of children and young people
- Visit the UN Office on Drugs and Crime for more information and ways to get involved
