News Archives » Economic Justice
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.”
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.
Learn more about the vulture funds campaign
Bill Clinton Visits Haiti as Special UN Envoy July 10th, 2009
Former United States President Bill Clinton is finishing a three-day visit to Haiti today, his first since being appointed United Nations Special Envoy for the impoverished Caribbean nation.
During a visit to the country in March, Mr. Clinton and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon assessed the situation in the wake of four back-to-back tropical storms that battered the country in 2008, killing nearly 800 people and affecting an estimated 1 million people.
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VIVAT to Promote Regional Networking in Latin America July 7th, 2009
VIVAT International will be holding a Workshop in Cochabamba, Bolivia from July 19th to the 24th for some of the eight Congregational members who work in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. The workshop will inform participants about VIVAT: what VIVAT is, its purpose and goals, and its achievements at the United Nations.
The main aim of the workshop, however, will be to allow members of the different Congregations to get to know each other and to share information about their work. The hope is that participants will form networks for greater effectiveness and better results in their ministries locally, nationally, regionally and with the UN.
