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May 21 – 29 Week for Oblate Novena of Prayers: A Call of Solidarity for Immigration Reform May 21st, 2010
From May 21st to May 29th, Missionary Oblate communities and parishes around the world are encouraged to participate in actions of prayer and reflection for vocations to Oblate life and mission. May 21 is the Feast of St. Eugene and May 29 is the anniversary of Blessed Joseph Gerard, the Oblate Missionary who worked in Lesotho. These nine days bring oblates, associates, parishioners, mission partners and friends together in prayer and reflection on oblate life and mission.
As an addition to the Oblate JPIC immigration advocacy work and several prayer vigils for immigration reform across the United States, this week of prayers provides an opportunity to engage in prayer of solidarity for those living on the margins of society. Especially vulnerable are the millions of immigrants who live in constant fear of deportation and family separation due to their immigration status.
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Goldman CEO Calls for Internal Review; ICCR Derivatives Resolution Garnered 33.7% of Shareholder Vote! May 9th, 2010
ICCR Members Sr. Barbara Aires (Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth, NJ), Seamus Finn, OMI, Cathy Rowan (Maryknoll) and Kate Walsh (Tri-State Coalition of Responsible Investors) head to the Goldman Sachs AGM, May 7, 2010
The head of Goldman Sachs, Lloyd Blankfein, at the company’s Annual Meeting last Friday, promised to conduct an internal review of the company’s business practices to make sure it was serving its customers and the public interest. The government has accused the bank of defrauding some clients in a derivatives deal.
The Missionary Oblates, along with other faith-based shareholders, filed a Resolution calling for greater transparency on derivatives trading, which captured 33.7% of the shareholder vote, a significant amount. Similar resolutions filed with Citigroup and Bank of America have won 30% and 39% of the shareholder vote, respectively, despite company opposition.
Faith Groups Work to Prevent Human Trafficking During the 2010 World Cup Events in South Africa May 7th, 2010
The Oblate JPIC Office is working in solidarity with the efforts of the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference (Church on the Ball), and local initiatives by the Leaders of Consecrated Religious Life (SA) and the South African Council of Churches to counter human trafficking in South Africa during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
For multinational corporations who are long time sponsors of the FIFA World Cup, this event could be an opportunity to move beyond the usual sponsorship efforts of selling brands and expanding their markets. Official corporate sponsors of the FIFA World Cup are being asked to use the occasion of the World Cup 2010 to be part of the solution to eliminate human trafficking.
Christian Brothers Investment Services has initiated a shareholder advocacy campaign, supported by the Oblate JPIC Office, to engage multinational corporations on the issue of human trafficking during the 2010 Soccer World Cup events in South Africa.
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Fr. Seamus Finn Speaks at Socially Responsible Investment Coalition April 29th, 2010
On April 28, Fr. Seamus Finn was a panelist at the annual Socially Responsible Investments Coalition Annual Event held at the Oblate Grotto Ministries Center in San Antonio, Texas. The discussion panel on current events was titled “Care, Climate and Cash.” It included Alyssa Burgin, founder of the Texas Drought Project, who spoke about specific consequences of climate change in Texas and around the world, as well as Donna Meyer of CHRISTUS Health who spoke about the recently passed health care bill.
Fr. Seamus spoke of the progress made recently by ICCR in pressing for socially responsible investment policies with corporations. He highlighted the much-higher-than expected 39 percent vote at Bank of America earlier in the day in support of the religious shareholders’ proxy resolution on derivatives filed by the Missionary Oblates. The Resolution calls for greater disclosure on derivatives trading on Wall Street. This surprising response from Bank of America shareholders and those of Citicorp, where a strong vote of support was also registered for a similar Resolution led to invitations from EWTN and the Daily Show. (Learn more)
Fr. Seamus also talked about responsible investment in the light of Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical “Caritas in Veritate”. As most of the 100 plus members of the audience were members of Catholic religious orders and church activists, the articulation of the moral, spiritual foundation of work for financial reform and other socially responsible investment work was much appreciated. Fr. Seamus ended with a plea to broaden our thinking and awareness so we see that actions taken in the world of finances and investments have implications not only for people in the United States, but consequences for the entire world.
Thanks to Patti Radle who supplied the material for this report.
Oblate Presents at 12th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice April 29th, 2010
Br. Jose de Jesus Filho, OMI represented the Catholic Prison Ministry of Brazil in discussions at the 12th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice held in Salvador, Brazil from 12-19 April, 2010.
Nearly all countries sent delegations to the Congress. The draft declaration will be finalized in May at the UNODC in Vienna, and presented to the 19th UN Commission on Crime Prevention.
In accordance with the Brazilian Government, the International Prison Ministry promoted an exhibition of paintings by prisoners from all over the world. The National Secretary of Justice Romeu Tuma Jr., along with the President of the International Commission on Prison Pastoral, Christian Kuhn, inaugurated the show with a nice reception. Prisoners were present also through a theater piece called “Bizzarro” promoted by the National Penitentiary Department.
The Prison Ministry was involved in discussion on many important issues, the most important of which were:
- Proposed conversion of existing Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners into a Convention; in other words what is today a soft-law will turn into a binding law;
- Proposal of UN Basic Principles for Pastoral Care in Prisons
- Proposal of Thailand for the Treatment of Women Arrested
The creation of a Convention met resistance from some countries like the United States and Canada, which do not welcome the idea of a new Convention. However, most countries in Latin America are in favor of the idea, because this would be an effort to improve the conditions of incarceration in these countries.
