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Canadian Symposium on Mining and Justice in November October 24th, 2014
The Oblate JPIC initiative in Canada has organized a symposium on mining, called “The Global Cry of the People” Symposium on Mining Extraction and Justice for Friday, November 7th and Saturday November 8th, 2014. It will be held at Saint Paul’s University in Ottawa.
The symposium is designed to create a greater awareness among Canadians about the impact of mining, and will try to create a space for Church, civil society and politicians to learn and discuss the justice issues involved.
Partners in this project include: St Paul University, Canadian Mining Watch, the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace, the Halifax Initiative, Citizens for Public justice, Canadian Martyrs Parish, St Joseph’s Parish, Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace-CCCB and KAIROS. The guest speaker will be the theologian Fr. Gustavo Gutierrez Merino, well-known as the founder of liberation theology in Latin America. The symposium will also feature presentations from experts, which will include Canadian politicians, representatives of the mining industry, and spokespersons with direct experience from mining communities in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Canada.
Information and the registration form, are now available by going to the OMI Lacombe website and selecting Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation/JPIC. There you will find all conference materials. You can also register here.
This symposium is free and open to all who might be interested, although a voluntary donation to cover costs will be accepted at the registration table.
For more information, please contact Leonardo Rego, OMI at jpic@omilacombe.ca
Most Religious Believers Favor International Efforts To Curb Climate Change, Nuclear Risks, Poverty December 12th, 2011
A majority of Americans professing a belief in God, favor cooperative international efforts to combat climate change, environmental degradation, and the spread of nuclear weapons – branding them a moral obligation – says a new public opinion poll conducted jointly by the University of Maryland’s Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM) and its Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA).
The nearly 1,500 Americans surveyed include large numbers of Catholics and Evangelicals. The study, Faith and Global Policy Challenges: How Spiritual Values Shape Views on Poverty, Nuclear Risks, and Environmental Degradation, also finds that a majority of “believers” consider addressing global poverty a “spiritual obligation,” and think that the United States should work cooperatively with other nations to reduce it.
“This research challenges common political stereotypes that pigeonhole religious Americans as liberal or conservative on environmental and nuclear proliferation issues,” says University of Maryland Public Policy Professor and study co-author John Steinbruner, who directs CISSM.
“These findings demonstrate the public’s strong moral impulse to address global policy challenges — an impulse that if applied properly could break the current impasse on these issues,” Steinbruner adds.
Though most believers in the study do not consider addressing environmental and nuclear risks to be spiritual obligations, they do understand these issues as a part of “good stewardship,” the study finds.
“While for many believers there is a tenuous connection between their spiritual values and issues related to the environment and the risk of nuclear war, they are nonetheless very responsive to the idea that there is an obligation to protect God’s creation, or to be good stewards of the earth,” explains study co-author Steven Kull, director of PIPA.
