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Missionary Oblates join faith,business & human right groups to urge Congress to Support U.S. Embassy in Cuba. July 20th, 2015
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Missionary Oblates joined more than 28 diverse organizations including our partner organization,Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) in issuing a joint statement urging Congress to support the establishment of a U.S. embassy in Cuba.
The statement reads, “The establishment of embassies is not an endorsement of a foreign government. It is simply a platform from which to engage host country government officials, members of civil society and business groups.”
Read the statement here: Support for a US Embassy in Cuba FULL HOUSE and SENATE (1)
Goodbye to Plastic Bags in Laredo Texas April 14th, 2015
Laredo, Texas has banned the use of plastic bags, after a nearly decades-long campaign by community based environmental groups. Fr. Bill Davis, OMI joins in this PSA video to alert people to the ban, which will start on April 30th.
The ban will prohibit single-use retail plastic bags with a less than 4 mil thickness, and single-use paper bags with a less than a 30-pound weight standard. Exceptions have been made for restaurants, fast food establishments, meat products, dry cleaners, newspapers, nonprofits, and foods that are chilled or frozen.
Each year, Laredo – a city of roughly 240,000 people – consumes an average of 120 million plastic bags, according to city estimates. The city is littered with plastic bags, and they have created a significant problem for the city’s creeks and storm drains, as well as the Rio Grande, the city’s only source of drinking water.
The Rio Grande International Study Center (RGISC), a non-profit that works with the Oblates in Laredo and now the JPIC Office, spearheaded the effort to clean up local waterways.
Oblates Press Banks to Restore Public Trust May 21st, 2014
JP Morgan Chase Tower, Houston, TX; by Gabor Eszes, used under Creative Commons license, Wikimedia Commons
Fr. Seamus Finn OMI represented the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate and other members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) at the Annual General Meeting of JP Morgan Chase in Tampa on Tuesday.
Fr. Finn commended the bank on the steps taken thus far to produce a report commissioned by the Board of Directors in response to an ICCR shareholder proposal. The report is to describe “the steps that the Firm has taken to address a number of challenges it faced” since the near collapse of the global financial system in 2008.
Fr. Finn noted that “too many people are still living with the consequences of that crisis and the TRUST and confidence of the public has neither been repaired or restored. We believe the report that we have requested and our company has agreed to complete over the coming months can, when its recommendations are implemented, make a contribution to the restoration of the trust that is necessary for the reliable, safe, effective and ethical functioning of the financial system.”
Read the complete Statement at JP Morgan Chase AGM
Connect with OMI JPIC Today! February 21st, 2014
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What You’ve Missed on the Oblate JPIC FaceBook Site January 16th, 2014
Fr. John Cox OMI shared a brief reflection on the social justice ministry at his Oblate community on our Facebook page this week. He says social justice ministry involves building bridges of awareness, acceptance and appreciation between natives (Ojibwe) and non-natives on the reservation. It is encouraging alcoholics, meth and prescription pill addicts and their families to seek recovery; and lastly educating people about domestic violence and the resources and programs available on or near the area that help families.
Members of the Ojibwe tribe at the annual pow-wow in Ponsford, MN
Youth Confirmation Class, flanked by Fr John on the left and their coordinator, Mrs. Angie Lehrke on the right.
(Fr. John Cox OMI is a Pastor and Director to Oblate Parish Ministry Team in Waubun in MN. He joined Walter Butor OMI there in the past year. His work includes pastoral ministry to Native Americans. Fr. John is also a former member of the Oblate JPIC Committee)
