All posts by Stephen Cooke

2024 Conference – Just Politics

Thank you for your interest in Conference 2024 ‘Just Politics’.
 
Once you have read the Conference Details and Terms and Conditions, and are happy to go ahead and book please do one of the of following: – 
 
  1. Save the Word version of the Booking Form to your computer, fill it in, and then email it to admin@justice-and-peace.org.uk, letting us know whether you will be paying by Bank Transfer or Cheque (details on the T’s & C’s document).
 
or
 
  1. Have a go at filling in the Microsoft Form (those of you who attended last year might have booked your Workshop this way). Please note, we are trialing these forms this year, so if you have any feedback do let us know.
 
If you are not attending for the whole of the Conference, and your choice of booking option is not showing on the forms, please contact us by email and we will sort out a price.
 
Also, if you are able to Gift Aid please contact us directly and we will ask you to fill in a form. If you have attended previous Conferences and your Gift Aid circumstances have changed, please also email admin@justice-and-peace.org.uk.
 
 

 

 

 

NW NJPN Justice and Peace E Bulletin January 2024 

The January edition of the North West NJPN Justice and Peace E Bulletin for 2024 is attached and also a series of Lent Reflections which I’ve put together for individual or group use which also will be up on the NJPN website soon. Lent seems to be fast approaching this year! This month’s bulletin is slightly shorter than usual due to time taken sourcing and compiling the Lent resources as well as putting together a service for the start of Lent and one for Good Friday evening (the third year now of quiet reflections around the cross in our parish church) plus lovely family time over the Christmas season.

Please feel free to pass these resources on.

Wishing you all a belated Happy New Year and praying for peace in our troubled world.

Anne O’Connor

NW NJPN Justice and Peace E Bulletin January 2024 

LENT REFLECTION SHEET 2024 [A4]

 

NJPN E-Bulletin 7th January 2024

(Image courtesy of embeddedfaith.org)

“Let us leave behind our divisions and unite our forces … and with God’s help, let us emerge from the dark night of environmental devastation in order to turn our common future into the dawn of a new and radiant day.” 

(Pope Francis – COP28)

Dear Friends,

A Happy New Year to you all! I hope your Christmas was a happy one, and that 2024 will be a healthy one! In our area there seems to have been a lot of people with this ‘100 day cough’, and I must admit that listening to Carols being sung, interspersed with bouts of coughing at our late Mass on Christmas Eve, made me yearn for the bad old days when masks were compulsory!

As you can imagine, we have a packed edition this weekend after a few weeks without. I have tried to keep everything current and relevant. Our Action of the Week is around Peace Sunday, which is next weekend. There are also plenty of articles on the climate.

Exciting news! Our next newsletter will be winging its way to you by post in the couple of weeks if you are a member/subscriber. In with it will be our Conference Booking Form (hasn’t that come around quickly!). In the next few days the Booking Form will also appear on our website, and due to complaints about how hard our previous form was to fill in online, we have changed the format. There will be two options to choose from – the first is a Word Document that you need to download to your PC/Laptop, fill it in, and then email it back to us; the second is that we are trialling a Microsoft Form, which we hope will make life easier. All we ask is that you don’t do both! Just fill in one or the other. Please also be aware that there are a limited number of spaces this year at present. When this Conference was booked a couple of years ago, we were given 130 spaces – and The Hayes have informed us that they are fully booked now that weekend. Once we have filled those spaces anyone else will need to go on a waiting list until The Hayes are in a position to release some more rooms, should they receive any cancellations. If you are planning on coming, please book early.

The next e-bulletin will be out around the weekend of the 21st January, and any articles/events you want shared will need to be with me by Friday 19th.

God bless

Sharon

NJPN E-Bulletin 7th January 2024

Humanity’s finest Consensus – 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and 60th anniversary of Pacem in Terris

A Statement of the Executive Committee of Justice and Peace Europe on the occasion of the International Human Rights Day 2023

On 10 December 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Seventy-five  years later Justice and Peace Europe wishes to underline the enduring importance of this document. The Universal Declaration, together with the encyclical letter Pacem in Terris, published 60 years ago, inspires us in our mission to promote human rights. The lack of respect throughout the world for their contents is deeply worrying.

Universal Declaration and Pacem in Terris
We consider the Universal Declaration of Human Rights the finest consensus of humanity in modern times. However, in a world scarred by cruel wars and deadly famines, and torn apart by so much censorship and intolerance, it may also be the most fragile. For us as the Executive Committee of Justice and Peace Europe a second, equally important source of inspiration is the encyclical letter Pacem in Terris. Pope Saint John XXIII  published it sixty years ago on 11 April 1963, to the attention “of all men of good will”. It was the first time that an encyclical letter referred to the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and it is therefore appropriate to remember both documents together by recalling their key provisions.

Human rights are universal and inalienable
The Universal Declaration established the normative profile of human rights: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights” (Art.1). Thus, it was recognized that this dignity is inherent … and not bestowed by human authority, and that these fundamental human rights are inalienable …and cannot be disenfranchised. The encyclical letter Pacem in Terris repeats this central tenant of human rights. They are not man made, they preexist. Pope Saint John XXIII notably added that the human person has not only rights but also duties, which both are then “universal, inviolable, therefore altogether inalienable” (N° 9).

The right to life and liberty
Among the rights of the Universal Declaration, we recall in the first place the right to life, liberty and security of the person (Art. 3), to which Pacem in Terris adds the right “to the means necessary for the proper development of life” (N°11). Thus, it is saddening to see that despite important progress extreme poverty remains a reality for every tenth person in the world. We also recall the demand of the Universal Declaration “that no one shall be held in slavery and servitude” (Art.4). In Pacem in Terris we read that true freedom is that freedom which most truly safeguards the dignity of the human person”. (N°14). In this respect we are concerned to see that the number registered victims of human trafficking has increased again since the outbreak of the Covid 19 pandemic (+9,5% in the European Union).

Migration, and the right to seek asylum
Art. 13 of the Universal Declaration enounces freedom of movement within the borders of each state and the right to leave any country, including one’s own. Art. 14 defines the right of everyone “to seek and enjoy in other countries asylum from prosecution.” Pacem in Terris acknowledges the right to “emigrate and immigrate”. More generally speaking, people should have the right to stay or to migrate, as Pope Francis recently stressed. In an era of mass migrations because of hunger, war, and climate related natural disasters, respecting these rights is challenging for every government. It is, however, unacceptable that the borders of our continent, in the image of the Mediterranean Sea, have become cemeteries for those who just sought a better future. Pope Francis has incriminated “cruel trafficking and the fanaticism of indifference” for this scandal (22 September 2023 in Marseille). We expect European governments to fulfill their moral and legal obligation to rescue people in distress.

The Family – a primary unit
When it comes to the family, both documents converge. In Art. 16 the Universal Declaration defines the family as “the natural and fundamental group unit of society”. N° 16 of the Pacem in Terrissuggests that “the family, founded upon marriage freely contracted, …, must be regarded as the natural, primary cell of human society“ and goes on to request that “the interests of the family, therefore, must be taken very specially into consideration in social and economic affairs”. In the European Union, family/children benefits rose about 50% between 2000 and 2020 without, however, affecting birth rates, which are well below the replacement fertility rate. In addition to sufficient financial support for parents and family caregivers, it is crucial to shape the structures in the economy and society in such a way that they make it possible to reconcile family life and professional career

Freedom of religion or belief
Freedom of conscience and religion, as expressed in Art. 18 of the Universal Declaration, and the freedom “to profess religion both in private and public” as reads Pacem in Terris (N°14) have deteriorated globally in recent years. In particular, autocratic rule and ethnically and nationalistically charged tensions are a major threat to religious freedom. Lately, countries like Afghanistan, China, Cuba, Iran, Nicaragua, Russia, Saudi Arabia witnessed significant regression of religious freedom. In our view, the freedom to practice religion in private and in public prevailing in most European countries is a privilege, which comes with the duty to promote this fundamental right where it is threatened. European governments and the institutions of the European Union should reinforce their commitment to religious freedom globally. For example, the European Union should ensure that its “Guidelines on Freedom of Religion or Belief” are applied consistently.

Cultural, economic and social rights
One fifth of the articles of the Universal Declaration are dedicated to social rights and they are extensively echoed in the encyclical letter of Pope Saint John XXIII. The latter determines furthermore that “the right to own private property entails a social obligation as well” (N°22). However, in many regions of the world social rights are probably the most disrespected. Currently, global inequalities are still at the level of the beginning of the 20th century with the average income of the global top 10% around forty times higher than average income of the bottom 50%. Reducing inequality by 2030 was one of the 17 UN sustainable development goals (SDGs) agreed by the international community in 2015. Urgent action is needed especially in light of the differing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on rich and poor. Tackling poverty and inequality should become a priority for the new European Parliament and the next European Commission in 2024.

Conclusion
After the atrocities of World War II, mankind has made progress in implementing legal tools and institutions on national and international level, through the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In the past 75 years a strong common ground to defend human dignity has developed across all boundaries. In Europe we are particularly grateful for the European Convention on Human Rights. 60 years after the publication of the encyclical letter Pacem in Terris the Catholic Church has become a more explicit and much stronger promoter of human rights and the dignity of the human person. Both documents will continue to orientate our work as Justice and Peace Europe, whilst a huge lack of respect for human rights in many parts of our planet remains. Indeed, the finest consensus of Humanity, as expressed in these two documents, is also the most fragile. The efforts of all people of good will, will surely be needed to preserve it.

10 December 2023

The Executive Committee of Justice and Peace Europe

NW NJPN E Bulletin December 2023

The December issue of the NW NJPN E Bulletin leads with a challenging opinion piece by Professor Ian Linden entitled ‘Immigration or Inequality?’ – an excellent analysis of the current situation in the UK and beyond.  Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) condemns the resumption of the Israeli bombing of Gaza and calls for an arms embargo. Two recent gatherings to pray for peace – from Palestinian peacemakers The Amos Trust and the Pax Christi Advent service – contain moving prayers and readings that you may find useful for individuals or groups.  There are poems and reflections for Christmas including an interesting perspective on the Nativity story.  Joseph Kelly shares his thoughts on the Covid enquiry and there are also articles on COP28 – but do check out the latest NJPN E Bulletin for more info at https://www.justice-and-peace.org.uk/campaigns/njpn-e-bulletin-3rd-december-2023/

Resources include Pax Christi’s comprehensive range of material for Peace Sunday which will be celebrated on 14 January 2024, Thinking Faith at Boarbank Hall on Zoom and don’t forget we are fast approaching the deadline for The Columban’s Schools Media Competition.

Wishing you all the blessings of the Christmas season and praying for a peaceful New Year.

Anne O’Connor

NW NJPN Justice and Peace E Bulletin December 2023 

NJPN E-Bulletin 3rd December 2023

(Image courtesy of the Salesians)

‘God of blessings, 
the universe sings of your glory. 
Deepen our gratitude for all you have made 
and awaken in us a renewed commitment 
to care for the earth and each other. 

Inspire world leaders at COP28, 
with openness to listen to those most affected by climate change 
and with courage to act urgently and wisely, 
so that our common home may be healed and restored  
and all people, and generations to come, may delight in it. 

Amen.  ’

(Prayer for COP28 taken from the CAFOD website)
 

Dear Friends,

I was working in London on Wednesday, and then had an event to attend afterwards. On my way back across the City to the station I was amazed at the amount of bars and restaurants that are now up there, and how many people were around enjoying a night out. More importantly, though, the amount of lights that there were on – decorations in the street, lights on trees, and a huge number of office buildings burning electricity. It was all very pretty, but considering the price of electricity, and the fact that we know we are depleting the world’s resources, this seemed totally wrong. As my son said, he was pretty sure that they didn’t all have solar panels! Does anyone know if there is a reason for all of these lights to be on (particularly in empty office buildings)? 

I felt so strongly about it, I may well send an email to our MP – but from past experience, I doubt that I will get much of a response. I would be interested to know whether anyone else has noticed an excess of lighting in their local towns or cities, or whether there is a lights-off policy in place.

This leads onto the topic of the moment this week – COP28. We have a COP special for you this time rather than a full e-bulletin. There are still a lot of links to newsletters of other charities, which will tell you about the work that they are doing, and there are the usual Events as well.

Also, we are having a joint Webinar with Christians Aware on Wednesday 13th December, more details of which are below.

Unless anything urgent comes up this will be the last E-Bulletin before Christmas and the New Year, with preparations under way for the Spring Edition of the NJPN Newsletter.

Wishing you a blessed Advent and Christmas, and a very kind 2024,

Sharon

NJPN E-Bulletin 3rd December 2023