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The Mission of Jubilee USA Network Remains Critical April 15th, 2020
As the world’s major trade blocs and financial institutions convene over the next few days to deal with the growing coronavirus crisis, many of the largest religious institutions are urging them to protect the world’s poor by providing debt relief and additional resources.
In recent days, OMI JPIC joined 80 national religious institutions, congregations and partners in a letter organized by Jubilee USA Network to confront the coronavirus crisis. The letter was delivered to the White House, G20 and IMF.
Signers of the letter join calls from Pope Francis, the US Catholic Bishops and 165 world leaders encouraging additional resources, aid and debt relief to ensure all countries can withstand the crisis.
On a positive front, earlier this week the International Monetary Fund approved $500 million to cancel six months of debt payments for 25 of the world’s most impoverished countries: Afghanistan, Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Tajikistan, Togo and Yemen.
While applauding this move, Eric LeCompte, executive director of Jubilee USA Network is pushing for an expansion of this list to include more countries where people live in extreme poverty.
Also reacting to this week’s events, Fr. Séamus Finn, OMI, Missionary Oblates JPIC director remarked, “the chains of financial indebtedness have imprisoned millions around the world for too many years. We need to continue to press on this critical issue which we have dodged consistently over the decades.” “This crisis may be providing us with ‘no other choice’ scenario as we recognize that we are all in this together,” he adds.
The Missionary Oblates were founders of Jubilee USA and have been active members over the years.
Read more about Jubilee USA Network’s recent actions by visiting their website.
Jubilee USA Network Hosts 2018 Council Meeting November 13th, 2018
On November 7 and 8 Jubilee USA held its Annual National Council Meeting to inform constituents about the crisis in Puerto Rico, responsible lending and borrowing practices in the developing world, especially in Somalia, and Africa’s new debt crisis.
Jubilee USA is a coalition of diverse organizations and international partners including faith communities who advocate for debt cancellation for the world’s most impoverished countries. They also promote fiscal responsible economic policies. Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate JPIC has long been a participating member of Jubilee USA. Staff recently attended the 2018 council meeting held at the Methodist building on Capitol Hill in Washington DC.
The annual meeting events included a congressional briefing on November 7 focused on the theme; Lifting Vulnerable Communities: Ensuring Access to Medicines in Trade and Agreements and US Policy. Presenters at the Jubilee USA council meeting were representatives from American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), Puerto Rico Coalition on the Debt and American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). Panelists reminded attendees of the urgency of the Puerto Rico debt crisis and their recovery efforts, and the growing debt crisis in Somalia and other nations in Africa.
Engage with Jubilee USA by participating in Jubilee Weekend 2018. Join other Religious groups and partners in a weekend of reflection, prayers and actions to end extreme poverty and transform our global economic system.
- Sign up here and find resource for actions and prayers for Jubilee Weekend November 16 – 18, 2018: https://www.jubileeusa.org/jubilee_weekend
Celebrating the Jubilee Year of Mercy December 8th, 2015
Celebrating the Jubilee Year of Mercy,
(2015 – 2016)
Honoring the Mother of Mercy – Immaculate Conception
(December 8)
&
Thanking God for the grace of Oblate Triennium
(1816 – 2016)
In his letter for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, our Superior General notes, “One of [Mary’s] titles special to the heart of St. Eugene was the Mother of Mercy.” This is especially fitting as the solemnity marks the beginning of the Jubilee Year of Mercy, inaugurated by Pope Francis. In a recent interview with the Italian Catholic magazine Credere, Pope Francis was asked why he chose ‘mercy’ as this Jubilee’s theme. In response the Holy Father notes, “It’s obvious that today’s world is in need of mercy, it is in need of compassion. We are used to bad news…On one hand we see the arms trade, the production of arms that kill, the murder of innocents in the most cruel possible way, the exploitation of persons, minors, children…” The Pope goes on to say that “we must cultivate a revolution of tenderness as the fruit of this Year of Mercy: God’s tenderness towards each one of us. Each one of us must say: “I am an unfortunate man, but God loves me thus, so I must also love others in the same way.”
On this great solemnity let us ask Mother Mary to teach us the true meaning of mercy and to give us the grace to love others as God loves us.
