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Protect the Poor While Caring for God’s Creation April 22nd, 2009
As Americans celebrate Earth Day by leaving our cars at home or volunteering to make the world a greener place, the Catholic Church is making a distinctive contribution to the climate change debate.
A newly unveiled Catholic Climate Covenant calls for action to protect the poor AND care for God’s Creation.
This unprecedented initiative asks Catholics “Who Is Under Your Carbon Footprint?”
The Catholic Climate Covenant asks the nation’s 65 million Catholics to connect their religious values with care for the Earth, to learn how climate change affects poverty-stricken regions, and to lobby legislators on behalf of the poor.
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Socially Responsible Investors Call for Transition to a Low-Carbon, Socially Sustainable Economy April 15th, 2009
Umbrella organizations for the sustainable and responsible finance industry, including the Social Investment Forum, of which the Oblates are a member, have issued an important statement on transforming global capital markets.
They contend that “the current economic crisis affords a unique opportunity and imperative to transition to a low-carbon, resource efficient and socially sustainable economy.” The groups thus have called upon world leaders to respond to the economic challenge facing the global economy by incorporating sustainability and social responsibility measures into both the economic stimulus packages for short-term recovery and the longer-term reform of the credit and investment markets.
Read the full statement (Download PDF)
G20: Prioritize the Needs of the Poor April 7th, 2009
On April 2, the Group of Twenty (G20) World leaders met in London to discuss the global financial crisis and explore ways to address the situation. Created in 1999, the G20 is a meeting of Finance Ministers on matters of global finance. It is composed of a group of seven (G7) wealthy nations, namely Germany, the United States, Britain, Japan, Canada and Italy; 12 members from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and South Africa (the only Africa nation in the G20) and representatives from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Union.
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Civil Society Groups Urge President Obama and Congress to Curb Food Speculation to Fight the Global Hunger Crisis March 27th, 2009
Letter to White House, Congressional Leaders Demands Swift Action
WASHINGTON, DC – Tuesday, a coalition of faith, hunger, international development, farm and food organizations including the Oblate JPIC Office, sent a letter to President Obama requesting decisive support for efforts to wring out excess speculation in agricultural futures markets that threatens the food security of hundreds of millions of people. The letter notes that “A significant part of last year’s food price fluctuations were the result of excessive speculation in the commodities markets by the very hedge funds and investment banks that helped create the current economic meltdown.”
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Cardinal George Calls for End to Immigration Raids March 23rd, 2009
On Saturday, March 21, Cardinal France George OMI, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops called on the Obama White House to end immigration raids that are splitting up families. He challenged the current administration to live by its campaign promises of change by working towards immigration reform.
Cardinal George spoke before several hundred people attending an interfaith prayer forum inside Our Lady of Mercy Church in Albany Park in Chicago. The forum was organized by advocates calling for changes to U.S. immigration policy. It was organized in collaboration with U.S. Representative Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) as part of a 17 – city tour focusing on immigration. Cardinal George articulated the position of the Catholic Church on immigration as one that doesn’t approve of people breaking the law, but that believes everyone deserves respect. He said a cessation of raids would demonstrate the administration’s sincerity to voters in the immigrant community.
