News Archives » oblates
Protection of Khasi Villages Overturned by Court Order March 19th, 2010
A January victory by the Khasi people in stopping logging on their lands has been overturned by a High Court decision issued in late February. Four indigenous villages in Bangladesh, with their 500 Khasi residents, will be destroyed if logging by a local tea estate owner is allowed to continue.
An Oblate priest, Fr. Joseph Gomes, OMI, along with other colleagues from the environmental community have been working with the Khasi people to protect the forest and their villages. We urge all parties in a position to do so, to raise serious concerns with the Government of Bangladesh regarding this situation.
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Earthquake in Chile March 3rd, 2010
Oscar Gonzales OMI in Chile writes of the destruction in the country from the recent earthquake. He reports that the Oblates have suffered no major harm, except perhaps some damage to the Provincial House. They are working hard to help those who have been affected, especially the impoverished families with whom they work.
Read the message from an Oblate in Chile…
This information is also available in Spanish.
Haiti : Vatican Radio Interview March 1st, 2010
In an interview with Vatican Radio, Séamus Finn, OMI – Director of the US Oblate JPIC Office – talks about the situation in Haiti and re-development needs of the devastated country. The Oblates are the largest male religious congregation in the country. In the interview, he touches on important Haitian realities: the poverty, the stranglehold of Haiti’s debt and a process for re-building.
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Oblates Join Broad Coalition in Call for Reform of Financial Markets February 8th, 2010
Commodity Markets Oversight Coalition and Americans for Financial Reform Call for Reforms that Could Have Prevented Economic Crisis and Commodities Bubbles
The Missionary Oblates, long active in shareholder advocacy, have been pressing for major reforms in derivatives trading and commodity speculation in their dialogs with major banks and other financial services institutions. Recently, the Oblates joined a broad coalition calling for needed reform of the financial system to prevent a repeat of last year’s financial meltdown.
Advocates for financial reform have formed a powerful partnership with business interests ranging from heating and motor fuels retailers to cotton marketers, and trucking companies to airlines, and this new alliance is calling on Congress and Federal Regulators to bring derivatives out of the shadows and into the daylight.
Read the Coalition’s “Joint Statement of Shared Principles for Needed Reforms in the Futures/Derivatives Markets.”
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Zambia: Oblate Bishop Paul Duffy Attacked for Speaking on Behalf of the Poor January 21st, 2010
Oblate Bishop Paul Duffy of Mongu diocese, who has been doing missionary work for the last 25 years in Zambia’s Western Province, called on the Government of Zambia to help the poor by fulfilling a campaign promise to rebuild the main road and provide more economic opportunities for local people.
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