All posts by Stephen Cooke

NJPN Comment in the Catholic Universe: Fr Rob Easdaile – Testing Our Assumptions

Back in 1950, Pope Pius XII solemnly defined the dogma of The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, ‘brought body and soul to the highest glory of heaven’. Seventy years on, what will we make of the feast as it is kept in our churches this Sunday?

 

I could certainly make no sense of it at all as a young man. What use to me were clouds of glory? Wasn’t this ‘world-denying’ in the worst sense? To my juvenile mind the feast seemed to dismiss the life I loved as just the ‘vale of tears’ from which we ‘poor banished children of Eve’ must yearn to escape. Mary, being perfect, got her ‘get out of jail free’ card (and, according to the artworks, seemingly still looking pretty good for her age). But what use was that to me? And where did the body ‘go’?

 

My assessment of the feast could not have been more wrong, I think – even if most painted depictions of it still leave me cold. The dogma states the very opposite of what I had read into it then. It is neither about Mary attaining escape velocity as she ‘cast off this mortal coil’ nor even about her sidestepping death. The Eastern title for the feast is, after all, the ‘Dormition’ of the Mother of God. She also knew the sleep of death, as did her Son before her. But like him she knew it sinlessly, hence sharing fully from the get-go in his Risen Life.

 

These are revolutionary thoughts, not pretty pieties. From now on death is to be seen as no mere husking to release ‘the soul’, no winnowing away of the chaff of physicality. With Mary, created matter is drawn fully into redemption and into the eternal life of the Trinity. If the Incarnation made the Covenant bond of God and humankind unbreakable, the Assumption of Mary shows our humble humus eternally enthroned as (to quote the poet Gerald Manley Hopkins) ‘immortal diamond’.

 

In the light of the Assumption, no Christian spirituality which dismisses the physical realm can be seen as adequate (or even orthodox). No expression of hope which seeks only ‘flight from the world’ can be seen as true. With Mary, the whole of our humanity has been raised body and soul into the presence of God. True piety means a radical commitment to care for the whole person and the whole planet. For we are daughters and sons of the second Eve, and our song is her Magnificat.

 

Fr Rob Esdaile is Parish Priest of Our Lady of Lourdes, Thames Ditton.

NJPN Universe comment

NJPN E-Bulletin – 9th August 2020

 

———————————————————-
Prayer for the people of Beirut (Courtesy of CAFOD)
LIGHT OF NEW HOPE
God of refuge,
hear our prayer
as we hold the people of Beirut
in our hearts at this time.
Fill us with compassion
and move us to reach out in love.

In your mercy,
bring comfort to those who mourn,
healing to those who are injured,
shelter to those who are homeless
sustenance to those who hunger.

Give strength to those who are working
to rebuild shattered lives,
and protect those who are vulnerable
especially in a time of coronavirus.

Lead us in your ways
so that together we may bring
the light of new hope
wherever there is destruction and despair.

We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen.

 

 

Dear Friends,

Dominating the news this week has been the explosion in Beirut that took place on the 4th August. Aid to the Church in Need and CAFOD are all appealing for help. The British Government has also stepped in and promised emergency support to Lebanon, both through the sending of experts and up to £5 million in humanitarian funding. The people of Lebanon need both physical, monetary and prayerful support.

This week also marks the 75th Anniversary of the atomic bombs being dropped on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We have several articles leading this e-bulletin in the work that has gone on this week, and the work that still goes on, to make sure these events never happen again.

A reminder that the next NJPN Networking Day will take place via Zoom on Saturday 19th September, from 10.30am until 4pm. Tickets available from Eventbrite.

Also, the NJPN AGM has also been rearranged to Saturday 21st November, in London at an event to be confirmed, but with Zoom access for anyone not able to travel. Please make a note in your diaries, and more information will be given nearer the time.

Don’t forget, if you have something you particularly want shared in this e-bulletin, send it to ebulletin@justice-and-peace.org.uk. We will be taking a break for the remainder of the holiday season, and the next e-bulletin will be winging its way into your inbox around the 13th September.

Wishing you a good few weeks, and God bless you all,

Editor

Please note we are still using a temporary postal address due to the closure of the Eccleston Square office:

Geoff Thompson, NJPN, c/o CAFOD Lancaster Volunteer Centre, St Walburge’s Centre, St Walburge’s Gardens, Preston PR2 2QJ.

You can still use the same phone number.

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E-Bulletin Contents: –

News and Comment

  1. We remember the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
  2. Beirut – the situation at this present time
  3. NJPN columns in the Universe
  4. Amazon – how it is still avoiding paying digital sales tax
  5. Praying with Detainees 
  6. Churches need to lead the way in economic inequality
  7. Death of a Peacemaker – John Hume RIP
  8. US veterans work for peace on Korean Peninsula
  9. Human Trafficking – a worrying increase
  10. Climate Coalition and Fairtrade
  11. Humana Communitas in the era of pandemic 
  12. A Catholic response to #BlackLivesMatter
  13. Maureen Matthews RIP               
Newsletters
   
    14. Operation Noah July 2020
   15. Ecumenical Council for Corporate Responsibility July 2020Events

    16 Birmingham Justice and Peace Assembly
    17. Church Action on Poverty – ‘The Collective’
    18. World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel
    19. National Day of Action – Stop Arming Israel
    20. Church Action on Poverty Sunday 2021
   21. Life on the Breadline Conference
    22. Green Christian Workshop
    23. A Reminder – 11th August – ‘At Home’ Open Evening
    24. Pax Christi Study Programme on Nonviolence
    25. Social Justice Films available via streaming services

Actions and Appeals

    26. ***ACTION OF THE WEEK*** Is Profit More Important?
    27. Free Mahmoud Nawjaa
   28. Ask Prince Charles and the Church to grow more trees
    29. #BoycottPuma
  

E-Petitions

   30. Tesco – stop buying meat from forest destroyers
  
Resources

  31. Catholic Association for Racial Justice 
                                  – Notes on their review of two publications.
  
  
  Vacancies

  32. Join Christian CND’s Executive Committee
  33. Volunteer for the Jesuit Refugee Service

The Last Word

 34. I Take a Knee

 

NEWS AND COMMENT

1. Hiroshima and Nagasaki – 75th Anniversary.

On the 6th August, a Joint Interfaith Statement was released, calling for the rejection of nuclear weapons. The statement, signed by 189 organisations is available to read on the World Council of Churches website.

Pope expresses closeness to Japan on 75th Anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima
Pope Francis wrote a message to the Governor of the Hiroshima Prefecture expressing his closeness and calling for an end to the use of nuclear weapons. His words are available to read through Vatican News.
Vatican News also reports on how the survivors of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima remembered the victims with a solemn commemoration, 75 years after the attack, as Catholic Bishops warn against growing threats to global peace. Click here for the full story.

‘The Priests Tale’ is an adaptation by actor/playwright Michael Mears of one of the survivor’s accounts from John Hersey’s classic book HIROSHIMA. Father Wilhelm was a German Jesuit priest living in Hiroshima at the time of the first atomic bombing. His account is a compelling and clear-eyed description of his experiences that day and in the subsequent months and years – told with compassion and warmth. Find the video here.

Japanese and US Bishops call for abolition of nuclear weapons
Archbishop Takami, president of the Japanese bishops’ conference, opened his remarks by explaining how he is a survivor of the bombing of Nagasaki, his hometown and the centre of Japan’s Catholic faith community. He was in his mother’s womb at the time. Read the story of how it affected his family here.

Comment and Statement from Christian CND
Thursday, the 6th August marked 75 years since the United States dropped a nuclear bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. It was just after 8am when the bomb detonated in Hiroshima from a cloudless sky. More than 140,000 civilians were killed in the bomb.
Three days later shortly after 11am a further bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki, killing around 75,000 people. Many more people died in the years to come as a result of the radiation from the bombs, with survivors, known as Hibakusha continuing to live with the consequences to this day.
Every year we remember Hiroshima and Nagasaki: the horrors; the stories; the photos and the survivors and the international community says “never again”. Yet while there are still nuclear weapons in the world there is a chance that this will indeed happen again and another generation will suffer.

Christian CND exists to work and pray for a nuclear weapons-free world. These anniversaries are not only a time to reflect on the past but also look to and pray about the future. 

They have been coordinating a statement remembering those events but also calling on the UK government to scrap our nuclear weapons. That has now been signed by more than 170 Christian leaders from 8 denominations. Click here to read the full text of that statement.

2. The aftermath of the explosions in Beirut

On the evening of Tuesday, the 4th August, two large explosions at the port of Lebanon’s capital sent enormous shockwaves across the city. Homes and livelihoods are destroyed. More than a hundred people have been killed. Thousands more are seriously injured and rescue workers are still searching for missing people. Aid to the Church in Need are sending an emergency food package worth £226,000. As mentioned in the Editorial above, the Government are sending experts and have promised emergency aid.
Speaking from Beirut, ACN project partner Father Raymond Abdo told the charity: “The explosion felt like an atomic bomb with red smoke everywhere and huge damage.”
The Christian zone of Beirut has been completely devastated, with at least 10 churches destroyed and 300,000 homeless. Here are links to both Aid to the Church in Need and CAFOD where you can read more details and donate if you wish. 
Your support of our Beirut Emergency Appeal will provide the people of Beirut with the things they need to survive – medical supplies, emergency food, hygiene kits and shelter. Through the work of local experts across our Church network, we can reach survivors and their families.

3. Latest NJPN Columns in The Universe

31st July issue – Patricia and Michael Pulham – ’75 Years On’

‘”The recollection of what happened on 6 August 1945 should be of utmost importance for the behaviour of mankind.” (click on the date to read the full article)

7th August issue – Henrietta Cullinan – ‘At the Limits of Morality: Deterrent’

“Today is the seventy fifth anniversary of Hiroshima. I usually mark this day to myself, sitting on a beach with my family. Umbrella to umbrella, we pin ourselves to the vast, relentless beach of dangerous rip currents and burning sun.” (click on the date to read the full piece)

Thanks to our friends at The Universe for their support. If you would like to help them by taking out a subscription; 3 months at £22 or 12 months at £80, click on this link.

4. Amazon – passing digital sales tax onto small businesses

Hands up who buys from Amazon? Despite the fact that you probably know you shouldn’t and that they will be the death of small shops and the High Street; plus reports of poor working conditions and low tax contributions are common knowledge. 
Most of us buy from them as they are generally (but not always) cheaper; you don’t have to leave the comfort of your armchair, and delivery in most cases is quick and efficient.
A good reason to change your mind can be found in this article on the smallbusiness.co.uk website. Instead of forcing the internet giant to pay its fairer share of corporation tax, all the new digital sales tax put in place by the Government has done is hiked up fees to sellers, “punishing small businesses in a crisis.” Click here for the full story.
Finally, just to say that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is now officially the richest person in the world with a net worth of $180 billion. Enough said…

5. Jesuit Refugee Service – ‘Praying with Detainees’ (August 2020)

The JRS send out a reflection every month, with a story about some of the detainees that they deal with. This months story, by Sr Vui, who volunteers with the JRS detention outreach team and regularly accompanies those detained at Harmondsworth and Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centres near Heathrow, is as follows:-
Confusion and uncertainty are all consuming in immigration detention. Yet for those who only understand a little English, or for whom English is not their first language, this confusion is intensified.
“In my role with the JRS Detention Outreach team, I would arrive in the Welfare Office at Harmondsworth IRC with a queue of Vietnamese men waiting to speak with me. They cannot understand or speak English and so their time in detention is all that more difficult. Things that we may assume to be simple, such as receiving a monthly report from the Home Office, can cause confusion and distress for someone who may not know what is written there, and can only assume the worst. During our drop-ins they could sit with me, another Vietnamese national, and feel free to tell me about their situation – what was happening in their lives – with confidence, as I understand them, as well as the cultural values they carry.
In accompanying these Vietnamese men in detention, I encounter the same story.

They tell me how they have fallen victim to burdensome debt in Vietnam, often at the hands of dangerous loan sharks who demand high rates of interest when money cannot be repaid. Many have come from poor families and the money borrowed is to cover health costs, yet they are unable to repay their loans as their debt continues to grow. Many are forced to make a deal with their lenders or enticed by gangs who promise work overseas as a way to pay off their debt and send money back to their families. They know that they are taking a great risk but it is often the only option that they can see.
On leaving Vietnam, many have good faith that if they work hard they will be able to repay the money they owe and will be able to support their families. However, upon arriving to the UK, they are forced to work in cannabis farms and hidden by their traffickers. They work hours upon hours, days upon days, not able to leave the premises or the room in which they tend to the cannabis plants. Their traffickers assure them that their money is being sent back to Vietnam but it never is. They are convinced by their traffickers that if they turn to the police or authorities that they will be deported. They are beaten and threatened.
When raids occur our friends are found, often alone, in the property and arrested on drug charges. We hear how many are persuaded to plead guilty in order to receive a shorter jail sentence, not knowing that their time in jail will be followed by their indefinite detention. I especially remember meeting one man who was under 18 and had been through all of this only to end up in detention; he stays in my mind.
These men were already wounded on the long journey from Vietnam to different places before arriving in the UK. They were beaten and badly treated. They were slaves of traffickers who made false passports for them to get through Vietnamese Authorities. When we encounter them in detention they have already experienced so many hardships and their needs are many. They need support and to be living in safety in a place to heal their wounds with kindness and understanding, not held in detention where their wellbeing only deteriorates.
When we sit with our friends in detention we go to befriend them, to listen to their stories without judgment or trying to ‘fix’ them. We listen as they try to unlock their stories that they have kept for a long time inside themselves. We accompany them in our love and prayers and assure them that they are not forgotten.
The 30th July was the UN day against trafficking of persons, an opportunity to reflect on the plight of those who are trafficked and endeavour to do more to help and protect them. Those we meet in detention are people, human beings from families far from home, feeling lonely and desperate to be where they are loved. They should be treated with compassion but instead are detained. It is unjust, it is wrong, it is inhuman.

As a JRS volunteer I have taken these stories to my personal prayer; journey with them and let them know that we are there by their side at all times. ”
 
As a footnote to this article, this week the British Government has announced plans to strengthen the UK borders, after another week in which many migrants have attempted to cross the Channel to reach England.
British authorities say at least 235 migrants in 17 boats landed or were picked up by the British Coast Guard and Border Force boats on Thursday. That surpassed last week’s record of 202 arrivals in one day. Read the full Vatican News article here. 

6. Call to Churches to lead the way on economic inequality

Simon Perfect, author of Bridging the Gap: Economic Inequality and Church Responses in the UK, a report published last month by Theos, the religion and society thinktank, reflects on some of the key things churches can do to help address the gap between rich and poor. You can read more here.
It makes for very interesting and thought-provoking reading through the The Ecumenical Council for Corporate Responsibility website. The link to their newsletter is available further down in the ‘Newsletter’ section of this e-bulletin.

7. John Hume remembered

John Hume, human rights champion and Nobel Peace Prize winner for his work on the Good Friday Agreement passed away on the 3rd August at the age of 83. Vatican News give more details of his achievements and tributes from Bishops on their website.

An exclusive report from Mary Carson on the funeral of John Hume is available to read through the Independent Catholic News website. She describes John Hume as ‘one of the world’s most ambitious peacemakers; a man of the same stature of Martin Luther King and John Lewis.’ The report also includes words from Mr Hume’s son, John Jr. Find it here.

8. US veterans work for peace on divided Korean Peninsula

Seventy years after the start of the Korean War, many surviving U.S. veterans of that conflict are working hard for peace on the Korean Peninsula.
“I really believed that what we did in Korea was the right thing to do. It was under the United Nations, which I do believe in. But now I question everything,” said Stan Levin, a U.S. Navy veteran who lives in San Diego, California.
“Korea was really bad. A lot of people died for nothing.”
The World Council of Churches is sharing personal stories and interviews that inspire others to work for peace. The stories feature the perspective of U.S. war veterans, all of whom are also featured in video interviews. Click here to read the full article.

9. Worrying increase in human trafficking

On the eve of the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, Caritas Internationalis urged governments to increase efforts “to identify victims of trafficking and exploitation.”
According to a statement released by Caritas Internationalis the number of persons falling prey to human trafficking has increased to a “worrying” proportion due to coronavirus lockdown measures.
The full story is available from Vatican News.
For more information on human trafficking and modern day slavery, check out the Anti-Slavery website here.

10. Climate Coalition and news from Fairtrade

Farmers and workers across the Global South did the least to cause the climate crisis but are living with its worst effects already, and without decent incomes, too many are struggling to adapt to rising temperatures, volatile weather patterns and increasingly common plant diseases. 
As well as a fairer income, Fairtrade offers training and support on sustainable farming techniques. 
Combined with their eco-friendly Fairtrade Standards, which includes biodiversity protection, when you choose Fairtrade, you’re taking meaningful action to address this truly global problem.
Fairtrade alone won’t solve the climate crisis. They are part of Climate Coalition, a UK-wide group of charities, businesses and campaign groups committed to pushing national and international governments for historic action on climate change. 
Over the next few months they will be calling for international commitments to a green and fair recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, and real commitments ahead of the UK’s hosting of the COP26 UN Climate Summit next year.  
For more information on the Climate Coalition and to sign their declaration, click here.
Choose the world you want to see.  And don’t forget to watch and share the new Fairtrade and climate short film!

11. Humana Communitas in the era of pandemic:
                          Untimely reflections on the rebirth of life

A brilliant and important document issued by the Pontifical Academy for Life.
“We have not paid sufficient attention, especially at the global level, to human interdependence and common vulnerability. While the virus does not recognize borders, countries have sealed their frontiers. In contrast to other disasters, the pandemic does not impact all countries at the same time. Although this might offer the opportunity to learn from experiences and policies of other countries, learning processes at the global level were minimal. In fact, some countries have sometimes engaged in a cynical game of reciprocal blame.” Click here to read the full article.

12. Westminster: A Catholic response to #BlackLivesMatter

“When you say, ‘I’m not racist’, you deny structural injustice” an African-American woman from the United States told a Westminster Justice and Peace Zoom meeting on Friday 24th July.
More than 65 people joined the meeting, ‘A Catholic Response to George Floyd and Black Lives Matter,’ where Leslye Colvin, speaking live from Alabama, deplored “racially segregated Christianity”
To read the account of the meeting by Ellen Teague, go to the Independent Catholic News website.

13. Rest in Peace Maureen 

“It is with great sadness that I write of my memories of Maureen Matthews who passed away last weekend.

The words that I wrote on her retirement as NJPN Administer in December 2007 provide a brief picture of her years of commitment to the network and still serve as a reminder of all her efforts on our behalf.

Through all the challenges the network has faced over the past few years we have been greatly supported and often ‘carried’ by the skill, commitment and enthusiasm of Maureen Matthews as Administrator of NJPN, a position she has filled very successfully for eleven years.

Maureen has worked to coordinate the preparation for each of the last 11 NJPN Conferences and her administrative and organisational skills have contributed greatly to the success of Conference.

Maureen has been responsible for editing and producing our newsletter a huge task the extent of which we may not fully appreciate.

Maureen has established and continues to develop an email link group through which members can receive regular updates on a range of issues relating to justice and peace.

In addition to the regular administrative tasks relating to NJPN meetings and events Maureen has given much of her time to creating valuable resources for NJPN. She has produced a range of cards, posters, bookmarks, banners and flags all which have been a source of income for NJPN as well as visually enhancing our gatherings.

Maureen has represented NJPN at a European level and has established many international links.

Over the past few months Maureen has been working to develop the NJPN website, a huge commitment which she has undertaken with great enthusiasm and we can already see the result of all her efforts

As Maureen retires from her role as Administrator we thank her for her absolute belief in the need for a National Justice and Peace Network and for all her dedication to the task of ensuring that we continue to grow as a network and be as we are called to be.

Maureen had been very unwell for a number of years but her involvement with justice and peace never wavered. She was unable to attend the NJPN conference in 2019 but was determined to be present this year and was one of the first to return her booking form. She had a keen eye for detail and was most particular when hanging the rainbow drapes on the stage and in attempting to do the same last year I remember saying ‘this wouldn’t do for Maureen’

Maureen had also been a member of the J&P Commission in Nottingham diocese, making a journey of up to 2 hours in order to attend meetings. She was also active in her own community, bringing together different faith and secular groups as chair of the local environment group MESS (Marple, Mellor and Marple Bridge Energy Saving Strategy)

In September 2019 Maureen wrote:

‘On a Sunday afternoon of torrential rain in late September 290 people turned up for “Climate Crisis in Marple” The event staged by the local environment group MESS was seen as a prelude to a bigger event in 2020.

The afternoon was introduced by young people from the local high school and Sixth Form College and there was a speaker from the Tyndall Climate Research Centre in Manchester. Following a question and answer session there were some twenty stalls from local organizations such as the Green Party; Friends of the Earth; Red Cross Recycling; a LED lighting business; Walk//Ride Marple and many more. A food stall produced some very tempting non-meat samples which proved very popular. The afternoon continued with local people explaining their own initiatives and encouraging everyone to make their own ‘pledges’ to alter some aspect of their lives for the coming year

An Art Competition was held for the local primary schools and the high school. The entries were amazing with the young people showing their involvement and understanding of the climate issue. Some of the entries were displayed around Marple during the following month.

Following the success of this event MESS is planning a “Climate and Environmental Festival from 19—27 September next year. This will include sessions on Food, Gardening, Clothes, Films Transport and a Repair café etc. The theme is ‘Action for Life in Marple’ and it is hoped that what is achieved this year will be celebrated and encouraged going forward from 2020.’

The last time I spoke to Maureen before the lockdown, she was so excited about the planned festival, this coming autumn.

It was Maureen who introduced me to the beautiful coastline of Northumberland when she invited me to stay with her for a few days and with her I paid my first visit to Lindisfarne. It was early December and Maureen had warned me that it would be very cold, she was so right, we had to spend our evenings thawing out by drinking Lindisfarne sloe gin in front of a warm fire.

Maureen and I travelled together to a number of NJPN meetings around the country; she said she enjoyed the company whilst driving. We completed our initial teacher training at Digby Stuart and although our paths did not really cross at the time, we shared stories of our time there. A few years ago we happened to be driving past the main entrance and persuaded security to let us go in and have a walk around and reminisce, I must say her experience seemed to have been much more lively than mine.

There are many who will have known Maureen much more closely than I did but I have only happy memories of shared experiences and meals at both of our homes. What I can say is that she was totally committed to NJPN and she felt that our network should strive to be the ‘go to place’, the ‘one stop shop’ for justice and peace.

Whilst with Maureen on Lindisfarne I picked up a prayer card with the following blessing and I offer it now for Maureen, for David and her family.

To the prayers of our Island Saints we commend you. May God’s angels watch around you to protect you. May the Holy Spirit guide and strengthen you for all that lies ahead. May Christ Jesus befriend you with his compassion and peace.

Rest in peace Maureen”

Anne Peacey

NEWSLETTERS

14. Operation Noah July 2020

Operation Noah have news of new trustees, a Methodist motion to divest from fossil fuels and Climate Sunday is just over a month away now! To read more, click here.

15. Ecumenical Council for Corporate Responsibility July 2020 

It’s been an interesting month with the reopening of many businesses in our communities, and the government announcing details of their Covid-19 economic rescue package. Churches have been given the green light to reopen, admittedly with a raft of conditions which make the experience look and feel quite different. 
But while some aspects of life are “getting back to normal”, the Coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the vast inequalities within the UK. Even before the crisis, the UK had one the of the highest levels of income inequality in Europe, with the top 10% of households owning 45% of the country’s wealth. To read more on their work and comments, click here.

EVENTS

16. Birmingham Justice and Peace Assembly 2020


Full details of the Assembly, and a link to book are available here 

17. ‘The Collective’ brought to you by Church Action on Poverty

The Collective is Church Action on Poverty’s new monthly show that brings together inspiring stories from across the country of collective action to promote dignity, agency and power.
The first episode focused on Church Responses to the Crisis and included stories from Liverpool and Sheffield. If you missed it you can find it on Facebook, or you can read a summary of it here.
The next episode will look at community responses and will be live Zoom and Facebook on Tuesday 15th September, 2 – 2.40 pm.

18. World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel

Under the theme “Creative Solidarity in Common Fragility,” people of faith all over the world are encouraged to demonstrate the power of prayer during the World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel. This special week of prayer coupled with action is annually held 13 – 21 September and includes the International Day of Peace on 21 September.
This year’s theme, chosen during an era of extreme fragility, lifts up creative solidarity as a sign of hope that, through the power of prayer and common action, people across the world can make the restoration of peace and justice in the Holy Land both possible and a lived reality or all people of the region. Further information is available from the World Council of Churches.

19. Stop Arming Israel; National Day of Action

6 years ago Israel’s aerial bombardment and ground invasion of besieged Gaza killed over 2,200 Palestinians, nearly a quarter of them children, in a 51 day long massacre. Since then, Israel has continued to kill and oppress Palestinians with impunity.
Will you take action in your community on Saturday August 22nd to demand that the UK stop arming Israel?
Israel can only carry out its grave violations of international law because of weapons and equipment it receives from companies around the world.
The UK government continues to grant licenses for arms export licenses for companies in this country to sell Israel weapons and components worth hundreds of millions of pounds.
The chain of complicity that runs from the UK to Israel must be severed through an immediate two-way arms embargo. To join in with the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, click here.

20. Advance Notice – Church Action on Poverty Sunday 2021

Church Action on Poverty Sunday 2021 (21st February) will explore the theme ‘New Wineskins’ – as we journey together through these difficult times, how can we ensure people on the margins are fully included in our work for a new and better world? Use our resources to reflect on the theme in church, and raise funds to ensure people in poverty have dignity, agency and power.
Please mark the date in your diary – and make sure your church and worship team know about it. Register your interest here, and they will send you a resource pack in October with fundraising and worship materials.

21. Life on the Breadline Online Conference

Having postponed the Life on the Breadline Conference: Faith-Based Activism in Austerity Britain back in March 2020 due to Covid-19, we pleased to share that the conference will now be online on 11th September 2020 9.30am to 12.40pm BST.
The conference is free to attend but please register in advance through Eventbrite. Click here for more details.

22. Green Christian Workshop: ‘Non-Violent Direct Action’

This new series of online workshops is a response to the Radical Presence course, where we have got together to listen for God’s word in this time of pandemic. The participants spoke of a strong desire to see vision and leadership to address the climate crisis.
These workshops aim to ‘bridge’ ideas and thinking into grass-roots action on the ground. This one takes place on Monday 17th August at 7pm and it will be a discussion  on Non-Violent Direct Action: What is it about and what relevance does it have for Christians concerned about climate change?
Find out more and book here.

23. Jesuit Refugee Service ‘At Home’ Open Evening

JRS UK is currently looking for new volunteer hosts to join their ‘At Home’ hosting scheme which facilitates short-term hosting placements in London for our refugee friends at high risk of street homelessness.
Join us from 18:30-19:15 on Tuesday 11th August on Zoom for a discussion with Naomi, At Home’s coordinator. For more details follow this link.

24. Pax Christi Study Programme

Pax Christi are running a new five session Study Programme on Nonviolence. Begins Thursday 20th August at 11am. Email info@paxchristi.org.uk for more details.

25. Social Justice films available on streaming services.

America online magazine has produced a guide to social justice films that are now widely available on Netflix and Amazon, for those who are subscribers. It is a worthwhile read, as many of the films are not widely known. Click here to read a synopsis.
 

ACTIONS/APPEALS

26. ***ACTION OF THE WEEK*** 

Is Profit More Important?
Ban Harmful Pesticides Now.
 

The European Commission could finally approve Austria’s ban on glyphosate in less than two weeks – a milestone on the way to an EU-wide ban! But Bayer-Monsanto lobbyists are pushing the Commission to say “NO” to defend their profits. Let’s tell the Commission to put our health first and uphold the right to ban harmful pesticides. 
Sign the petition to counter Bayer-Monsanto’s lobbyists here.

 

27. Free Mahmoud Nawajaa

On the 30th July, Israeli forces carried out a night time raid to arrest Palestinian Human Rights Defender Mahmoud Nawajaa, the general coordinator of the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC).  – ripping him from his wife and three children and illegally transferring him from his home in the West Bank to Israel in shackles.
No charges or evidence of wrong doing have been presented to Mahmoud or his lawyer. This is normal in Israel. Using what is known as “Administrative Detention”, Palestinians can be indefinitely incarcerated without ever even hearing what they are accused of doing.
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign are asking that you write to your MP here, asking them to support the release of Mahmoud.

 

28. Ask Prince Charles and the Church to grow more trees

Doubling tree cover is vital to tackling the climate and ecological crisis. But England’s biggest landowners don’t have anywhere near enough trees on their land, say Friends of the Earth.
Right at the bottom of the list is the Church of England and the Prince of Wales.
The Church’s investment arm – the Church Commissioners – has just 3% woodland cover on its vast estates. The Prince’s Duchy of Cornwall estate does a little better at 6%. But both are well below England’s national average of 10%, which is tiny compared to the EU average of 38%.
Friends of the Earth have produced an Open Letter which they are asking you to sign, asking the Prince and the Church of England to grow more trees.

29. Palestinian Solidarity Campaign – #BoycottPuma

Last week Championship football club Luton Town FC dumped PUMA as their kit manufacturer, following months of campaigning by PSC activists. 
However, several UK football clubs still have contracts with PUMA, who sponsor the Israel Football Association, which includes clubs in illegal Israeli settlements. Will you write to the clubs and tell them to give PUMA the boot? Link to the PSC website here.

E-PETITIONS

30. Tesco – stop buying meat from forest destroyers

Greenpeace writes ‘Forests are being cleared and replaced with cattle ranches and soya farms for animal feed. In the process, vast amounts of CO2 are released into the atmosphere, Indigenous Peoples are subjected to violence, and natural habitats are destroyed, which increases the risk of future pandemics by shaking loose viruses from their natural hosts.
The rising demand for meat in the UK and around the world has created a destructive, greedy and bloated meat industry. And Tesco is supporting it by buying meat from companies owned by JBS – the biggest meat producer in the world – which has repeatedly been found guilty of driving deforestation in the Amazon. 
Tesco has the power to help break the destructive cycle of industrial meat production by refusing to stock products from companies owned by forest destroyers like JBS. But until they hear it from the public, Tesco will keep making the excuse that consumers don’t want to see change.
That’s why we’re asking Tesco to drop Amazon destroyers from their supply chains. And to tackle the climate emergency, they also need to replace half their meat products with plant-based alternatives by 2025.Click here to make a difference.

RESOURCES

31. CARJ Meeting 29th July 2020

Members of the CARJ Urban Network participated in a Zoom Session on
29 July 2020. Mrs Yogi Sutton chaired the meeting which was attended
by twenty participants. Two documents were in particular under discussions; details of which are below:
1. Ethnicity, Race and Inequality in the UK: State of the Nation *
Policy Press, 2020
In the light of recent calls for a race equality strategy for the UK, the meeting looked at the Runnymede Trust’s recent Report – Ethnicity, Race and Inequality in the UK. The Report was presented to the meeting by five speakers, each summarising two of the chapters.
These presentations were followed by a wide ranging discussion among all the participants, some of whom stressed the need to move on from the important analysis in this Report to the proposed Strategy. Yogi informed the group that CARJ would continue to use and recommend this book as reliable background to inform ourselves and participate in the wider discussion of a national strategy for racial justice in the UK.

2. Serving a Multi-Ethnic Society: Guidelines for a review of Catholic organisations and institutions in the light of the Macpherson Report
Catholic Bishops Conference of England & Wales, 1999 **
Yogi presented this Report in which the Bishops of England & Wales welcomed the Macpherson Report and ‘in the light of its useful definition of institutional racism, urged all Catholic organisations and institutions to look again at how they could better serve minority ethnic communities in our society.’
CARJ will be keeping under discussion both the guidelines and the review over the coming months.

VACANCIES

32. Join the Christian CND Executive Committee

Christian CND is made up of believers from all denominations and traditions from all over the country who come together to work and pray for a nuclear weapons-free world. A key part of the organisation is the Executive Committee, which is elected annually at their AGM.
Due to the current restrictions on meetings, the AGM this year will take place online, as they are trialing remote voting for the Executive, either by post or online. Nominations are open now and will close at 9am on August 31.
‘We welcome any Christian CND member who joined before 1 January 2020 to put their name forward. The Exec is ecumenical to reflect the wider organisation, with a range of skills and campaigning experience represented from across the country. The sad death of Caroline Gilbert, a long standing member of Exec and former co-chair, means that we are particularly in need of fresh talent to join the team this year.’
More details and a nomination form are here.

33. Jesuit Refugee Service are looking for volunteers

JRS are looking for a Volunteer Driver on their Emergency Response Team and Phone Support Volunteer. To find out more, go to their website.

 343.  THE LAST WORD – Poem: I Take a Knee Everyday
                                            (courtesy of the Mill Hill Missionaries website)

I TAKE A KNEE EVERYDAY!

To the Almighty God!
To Jesus on the Throne, on the Cross!
To Jesus in the Eucharist and in the Elders!

I take a knee for the poor, for the sick, for the marginalized!
I take a knee for the oppressed and the unevangelized!
I take a knee for carers and mothers,
For labourers and toilers in the hot sun or heavy rains!
I take a knee for the uninformed, the unemployed and the underpaid!
For the burdened of sin, sickness, crime, addict and the maimed!

To take a knee is noble – literally or figuratively – with the knee or with the heart!
The knee of prayer, adoration, lament, silence, resonance, resilience, empathy!
I take a knee for reconciliation, forgiveness, healing, peace!
I take a knee at every glimpse of love, joy, glory!

Oh the knee of the priest, of the nun!
Oh the knee of the cleaner or the prayer!
Oh the knees of the suffering, of the lover, of the server!

I take a knee everyday – I take a knee everyday !
The knee of prayer, of adoration, of lament, of silence every day!
I take a knee of resonance, of resilience, of empathy every day!

                                                                                                        
Emmanuel Mbeh, 28/07/2020.
 

 

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NJPN eBulletins

Is Profit More Important? –

Hi,

Last year, Austria was the first EU country to vote to ban glyphosate, and after a few delays it’s nearly about to adopt its ban! [1] But there’s one major hurdle before the glyphosate ban is enacted: the European Commission has to give its approval for Austria’s glyphosate ban. And Bayer-Monsanto is trying to stop it with expensive lobbyists. [2]

Bayer-Monsanto wants to stop Austria’s ban at any cost, because it knows that once EU countries show that it’s possible to ban the substance, others will follow like dominoes. Harmful synthetic pesticides are a cash cow for agribusiness, so they’re going to try to defend them with everything they’ve got.

That’s why we have to bring everything we have, too! The Commission has the power to decide the ban’s fate, so we need to counter Bayer-Monsanto’s lobbyists with a massive show of people-power. If we show the Commission that Europeans are watching their decision with a massive petition, they’ll see a groundswell of support from all over Europe that they won’t be able to ignore. Let’s prove that our people power is stronger than the corporate lobby – will you sign?

Counter Bayer-Monsanto’s lobbyists: Sign the petition

The European Commission has always said that EU countries can ban glyphosate within their own borders. [3] But, of course, Bayer-Monsanto doesn’t care: they’ve even come out publicly saying that they expect the European Commission to strike down Austria’s ban on glyphosate. [4]

The pesticide industry maintains that glyphosate is safe, but scientific evidence of glyphosate’s carcinogenic effect is increasing. A review of existing studies from the University of Washington found that exposure to glyphosate increases the risk of cancer by 41 percent. [5] They noted that a “compelling link” exists between exposure to glyphosate and one type of blood cancer.

Now, more EU countries are talking about glyphosate bans and restrictions: Luxembourg will completely phase-out glyphosate by the end of this year, and even Germany has committed to phase-out glyphosate by the end of 2023! [6] Together we can convince the Commission to allow for a ban on glyphosate in Austria, setting the conditions for more countries to do the same. And all we need to do is remind the EU Commission of their own words!

Defend our health and the environment: Sign the petition

We’ve been fighting against the likes of Bayer-Monsanto for years – and we’ve made a difference. In 2017 we launched an official European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) which gathered over 1 million signatures in favour of banning glyphosate. And as a direct response to our ECI, the EU changed the law so that formerly secret industry safety studies must be shown to the public! [7]

Together we’ve proven that our people-power is stronger than the corporate lobby. Austria’s historic ban could finally prove to be the catalyst that influences all of Europe to remove glyphosate from our food supply. Let’s keep up the pressure and tell the EU Commission to resist Bayer-Monsanto’s lobbyists and respect all EU countries’ rights to ban harmful pesticides.

With determination,
David (London), Giulio (Rome), Marta (Warsaw), and the entire WeMove Europe team

 

PS: In the second quarter of this year, Bayer-Monsanto made a net loss of almost €10 billion due to its multibillion dollar settlement with US plaintiffs alleging that Bayer-Monsanto’s glyphosate herbicides cause cancer. [8] And just last month, a California appeals court rejected Bayer-Monsanto’s attempt to overturn a verdict requiring Bayer-Monsanto to compensate the plaintiff tens of millions of dollars. [9] The facts, science, pressure, and law is closing in on glyphosate – now it’s time we do our part. Please sign now.

 

References:
[1] While the Austria glyphosate ban was scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2020, the country’s caretaker leader announced she would not sign the ban into law, citing that Parliament had not formally provided the correct notification to the EU. Subsequently, the Austrian Parliament has sent the formal notification to the EU and the Commission has until August 19, 2020 to comment or object.
https://www.dw.com/en/austrian-parliament-votes-to-ban-glyphosate-weedkiller/a-49450418

Austria on course to become first EU country to ban glyphosate


[2] This is where the Austrian government has notified the EU of its intended ban on glyphosate – you can find comments from civil society and industry on the page: https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/tris/en/search/?trisaction=search.detail&year=2020&num=308
[3] In German: https://ec.europa.eu/germany/news/hintergrund-fragen-und-antworten-zu-einer-m%C3%B6glichen-neuzulassung-von-glyphosat_de
In French: https://fr.news.yahoo.com/glyphosate-france-autoris%C3%A9e-%C3%A0-prendre-mesures-dinterdiction-154014834.html
[4] https://www.wsj.com/articles/austrian-herbicide-ban-adds-to-problems-for-roundup-owner-bayer-11562087770
[5] https://edition.cnn.com/2019/02/14/health/us-glyphosate-cancer-study-scli-intl/index.html
[6] https://www.brusselstimes.com/all-news/eu-affairs/92006/luxembourg-will-be-first-eu-country-to-totally-ban-glyphosate/
https://www.dw.com/en/whats-driving-europes-stance-on-glyphosate/a-53924882
https://www.dw.com/en/germany-set-to-ban-glyphosate-from-end-of-2023/a-50282891
[7] http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20181205IPR20935/food-safety-more-transparency-better-risk-prevention

MEPs ready to negotiate EFSA’s transparency rule, but need to find a new negotiator


http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P8-TA-2018-0489+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN&language=EN
[8] https://www.wsj.com/articles/bayer-swings-to-net-loss-on-roundup-settlement-deal-11596526076
[9] https://www.dw.com/en/bayer-loses-california-appeal-of-roundup-cancer-verdict/a-54250334

 

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Campaigns

Rest in Peace Maureen

Rest in Peace Maureen

It is with great sadness that I write of my memories of Maureen Matthews who passed away last weekend.

The words that I wrote on her retirement as NJPN Administer in December 2007 provide a brief picture of her years of commitment to the network and still serve as a reminder of all her efforts on our behalf.

Through all the challenges the network has faced over the past few years we have been greatly supported and often ‘carried’ by the skill, commitment and enthusiasm of Maureen Matthews as Administrator of NJPN, a position she has filled very successfully for eleven years.

Maureen has worked to coordinate the preparation for each of the last 11 NJPN Conferences and her administrative and organisational skills have contributed greatly to the success of Conference.

Maureen has been responsible for editing and producing our newsletter a huge task the extent of which we may not fully appreciate.            

Maureen has established and continues to develop an email link group through which members can receive regular updates on a range of issues relating to justice and peace.

In addition to the regular administrative tasks relating to NJPN meetings and events Maureen has given much of her time to creating valuable resources for NJPN. She has produced a range of cards, posters, bookmarks, banners and flags all which have been a source of income for NJPN as well as visually enhancing our gatherings.

Maureen has represented NJPN at a European level and has established many international links.

Over the past few months Maureen has been working to develop the NJPN website, a huge commitment which she has undertaken with great enthusiasm and we can already see the result of all her efforts

As Maureen retires from her role as Administrator we thank her for her absolute belief in the need for a National Justice and Peace Network and for all her dedication to the task of ensuring that we continue to grow as a network and be as we are called to be. 

Maureen had been very unwell for a number of years but her involvement with justice and peace never wavered.  She was unable to attend the NJPN conference in 2019 but was determined to be present this year and was one of the first to return her booking form. She had a keen eye for detail and was most particular when hanging the rainbow drapes on the stage and in attempting to do the same last year I remember saying ‘this wouldn’t do for Maureen’

Maureen had also been a member of the J&P Commission in Nottingham diocese, making a journey of up to 2 hours in order to attend meetings. She was also active in her own community, bringing together different faith and secular groups as chair of the local environment group MESS (Marple, Mellor and Marple Bridge Energy Saving Strategy)  

In September 2019 Maureen wrote:

On a Sunday afternoon of torrential rain in late September 290 people turned up for “Climate Crisis in Marple” The event staged by the local environment group MESS was seen as a prelude to a bigger event in 2020.

The afternoon was introduced by young people from the local high school and Sixth Form College and there was a speaker from the Tyndall Climate Research Centre in Manchester. Following a question and answer session there were some twenty stalls from local organizations such as the Green Party; Friends of the Earth; Red Cross Recycling; a LED lighting business; Walk//Ride Marple and many more. A food stall produced some very tempting non-meat samples which proved very popular. The afternoon continued with local people explaining their own initiatives and encouraging everyone to make their own ‘pledges’ to alter some aspect of their lives for the coming year

An Art Competition was held for the local primary schools and the high school. The entries were amazing with the young people showing their involvement and understanding of the climate issue. Some of the entries were displayed around Marple during the following month.

Following the success of this event MESS is planning a “Climate and Environmental Festival from 19—27 September next year. This will include sessions on Food, Gardening, Clothes, Films Transport and a Repair café etc. The theme is ‘Action for Life in Marple’ and it is hoped that what is achieved this year will be celebrated and encouraged going forward from 2020.

 

The last time I spoke to Maureen before the lockdown, she was so excited about the planned festival, this coming autumn.

 

It was Maureen who introduced me to the beautiful coastline of Northumberland when she invited me to stay with her for a few days and with her I paid my first visit to Lindisfarne. It was early December and Maureen had warned me that it would be very cold, she was so right, we had to spend our evenings thawing out by drinking Lindisfarne sloe gin in front of a warm fire.

Maureen and I travelled together to a number of NJPN meetings around the country; she said she enjoyed the company whilst driving. We completed our initial teacher training at Digby Stuart and although our paths did not really cross at the time, we shared stories of our time there. A few years ago we happened to be driving passed the main entrance and persuaded security to let us go in and have a walk around and reminisce, I must say her experience seemed to have been much more lively than mine.  

There are many who will have known Maureen much more closely than I did but I have only happy memories of shared experiences and meals at both of our homes.  What I can say is that she was totally committed to NJPN and she felt that our network should strive to be the ‘go to place’, the ‘one stop shop’ for justice and peace.

Whilst with Maureen on Lindisfarne I picked up a prayer card with the following blessing and I offer it now for Maureen, for David and her family.

To the prayers of our Island Saints we commend you. May God’s angels watch around you to protect you. May the Holy Spirit guide and strengthen you for all that lies ahead. May Christ Jesus befriend you with his compassion and peace.

Rest in peace Maureen.

Anne Peacey

 

 

 

Obituaries

NJPN Comment in the Catholic Universe: Henrietta Cullinan – At the Limits of Morality: Deterrent

Today is the seventy fifth anniversary of Hiroshima. I usually mark this day to myself, sitting on a beach with my family. Umbrella to umbrella, we pin ourselves to the vast, relentless beach of dangerous rip currents and burning sun.

 

Nearby, facing each other across a broad river, are a pair of seventeenth century, star-shaped forts. The U.K. has a similar one at Southsea, in Portsmouth. A huge amount of human effort must have gone into building them; the land was expropriated from the local population, and the marshy site made the garrison vulnerable to epidemics. They were built in order to deter enemy ships from sailing up the river to Bordeaux but ‘not a single shot was fired in anger’. There was a fashion all over the world for these forts; their pointed geometric shapes were thought to be good for deflecting canon balls.

 

 

When 650,000 people in the world have died of coronavirus, and many in developing countries face starvation, it is plain how costly and wasteful is the maintenance, research and development of a nuclear deterrent. Against the threat of a pandemic, a nuclear warhead is useless. Worse, as Pope Francis said in 2017, we are at the limits of morality and legality in possessing nuclear weapons.

 

Last week, Boris Johnson compared a second lockdown to a nuclear deterrent, ‘a tool I won’t abandon but don’t want to use’. It’s hard to understand why he would use this comparison. Hidden in the language of ‘deterrent’ is the language of the ultimate threat.

 

It’s not possible to threaten a virus, so Johnson must be threatening the public, who, he assumes, consider a lockdown to be a fate worse than death.

bel hooks in, All about love, writes that western society’s idolisation of money, power and weapons is the worship of death. It runs through our patriarchal governments, institutions, religions, keeping us from love and life. She writes,

 that ‘our cultural obsession with death consumes energy that could be given to the art of living.’

 

Lockdown is a way of keeping everyone safe. Unused to the language of life, loving and caring, the prime minister regressed to idolising death, the very trait we need to give up if we are to live and die well in a modern-day pandemic.

 

 

Henrietta Cullinan is a member of the London Catholic Worker.  https://www.londoncatholicworker.org

NJPN Universe comment

NJPN Conference 2020 – Dr Joseph O’Hanlon

JUSTICE & PEACE NETWORK 2020

 

JUSTICE AND PEACE NETWORK

ON-LINE CONFERENCE

 

18TH JULY, 2020

 

This week a BBC reporter commented on the Corona virus with these words:

          The England that entered this pandemic is not the England

          that will emerge from it.

Sadly, I said to myself,

          The English Catholic Church that entered this pandemic

          IS the Church that will emerge from it.

I have not detected any signs that we realize we are in a new place and a new time.  Sadly, we have not and are not learning that God is calling us to fresh fields and pastures new.  Cardinal Vincent Nichols informed all clergy that we can return to our churches in small numbers and with an abbreviated liturgy.  He announced that in these days of cut-down Masses we must leave out the Prayers of the Faithful. The People of God are always at the bottom of the ecclesial pile.

    I wish to say first some words about what our Bible has to say about “the kingdom of heaven”, as St Matthew names what the rest of the New Testament calls “the kingdom of God”.  This has featured of the last few Sunday’s Gospel readings.  Then a brief reflection on Justice and Peace. And finally, some reflections on the online churches that have, thank God, sprung up all over this green and pleasant a land.

kingdom of god/heaven

If I asked a Sunday congregation what is the message of Jesus, would I be greeted with a loud shout “the kingdom of God”?  Yet all the Gospels and almost every document in the New Testament declare it to be so.

     I know that “the kingdom of God” is the most important idea in the New Testament because Jesus says so, in all four Gospels. The first Gospel to be written was the Gospel according to St Mark. He summarises the Jesus project as provided by Jesus himself:

Now after John [the Baptist] was handed over [arrested], Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God.

and saying,

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand”.

Mark 1:15

 

The phrase means that in Jesus, in his person and in his words, we see God’s design for creation.  We see what the world would be like were it totally conformed to God’s wishes.  As the jargon says, what Jesus meant was,

God rules!

O.K?

 

What would the world be like if God’s rule ran throughout the universe?  The answer is Justice and Peace.  That is the destiny of humanity.  But what is Justice and what is Peace?

   To answer this we need to know WHAT God is.  In Psalm 136, the poet calls on all who pray to give thanks to God for “God is good”.  The Psalm begins,

                 Give thanks to the Lord,

                                                     for he is good …

Why give thanks?  What is God good for?

    The answer is,

… his steadfast love endures forever.

The poet runs through the history of the people in relation to God and finds 26 reasons for declaring,

his steadfast love endures forever.

Twenty-six times! 

Psalm 136 is a psalm for slow learners.

  The Hebrew word in our Bible, Hesed, needs two English words to translate it precisely.  God’s hesed, God’s love, endures forever.  It is the only love that has no beginning, no end.  God’s love is not stuttering-stammering love. Hesed, steadfast love, is what God is or who God is. 

How do we see this love in our world?  We see steadfast love in our world when we see what God DOES.  What God does is Justice and Peace. 

    Justice and Peace in Jewish and Christian speak is not what we do. It is what the God, who is Love, does.  God’s justice is not making sure that everyone is equal before the law.  God’s justice is not making sure that there is not one law for the rich and another for the poor.  God’s justice is not seeing that everyone gets a square deal.

      God’s justice is better understood as God’s righteousness. The Hebrew word şādîq means “true”, in the sense of  “the right thing”, “the right way”, “the appropriate action”.  It is used in the Bible according to circumstances.  So it is said of a king:

Behold! a king will reign in righteousness,

and princes will rule in justice.         

Isaiah 32:1

But more often than not what princes do is,

… you trample on the poor,

you exact taxes on grain,

you build houses hewn out of stone …

Amos 5:11

Kings and ordinary people are expected to have concern for their neighbour, to fulfil the demands of God’s covenant.  What God screams to every heart is,

… let justice roll down like waters,

and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

Amos 5:24

Doing the right thing, doing right in this world is doing according to the word of God.  Everyone is called to live righteously, to live justice, to do what is right as God sees it:

Listen to me,

you who pursue righteousness,

you who seek the Lord:

look to the rock from which you were hewn,

and from the quarry from which you were dug.

Isaiah 51:1

Humanity is quarried out of God.  Humanity must act justly, must be righteous.  For to this we are all called:

… to make wilderness into Eden,

deserts like the garden of the Lord;

joy and gladness will be found there,

thanksgiving and the voice of song.

Isaiah  51:3

To mirror God’s steadfast love in the world is to teach the world to sing.

 

peace

The word “peace”, shalôm in Hebrew, fundamentally means “wholeness”.  The Bible reviews and reflects on everything that makes people whole.  Two points – and these are generalisations that need much teasing out. 

   Among the blessings of Shalôm, are

 

Security:

God has not forsaken us in our slavery,

but has extended to us his steadfast love

 …  to give us protection.

Ezra 9:9

Prosperity:

For there shall be a sowing of peace.

The vine shall give of her fruit,

and the earth shall give its produce …

Zechariah 8:12

Truth:

These are the things that you shall do:

Speak the truth to one another;

render in your gates judgements that are true,

and make peace.

Zechariah 8:18

Righteousness

Steadfast love and faithfulness meet;

 righteousness and peace kiss each other.

Psalm 85:10

 

A GIFT OF GOD

May the Lord give strength to his people!

May the Lord bless his people with peace!

Psalm 29:11

Let me hear what God will speak,

for he will speak peace to his people,

to his saints;

let them not turn back to folly.

Psalm 85:8

 

O Lord,

you will ordain peace for us!

Isaiah 26:12

The truest ordination, the most sacramental of all ordinations, is the ordination of the world to peace.

 

   The New Testament is a riot of peace, of peace-making, of living in peace, of giving and receiving peace.  A sentence we all know from our Crib may stand for all words of peace:

Glory to God in the highest,

and peace, good will among all people.

the future

Just two remarks on the future:

We cannot dismiss the online churches that have received the breath of the Holy Spirit in these troubled days.  People have gathered on-line and broken together “God’s holy words”, as St Francis called our Bible.  And did not their hearts burn within them as Jesus in their midst talked to them, and opened to them the Scriptures (see Luke 24:32)?   These churches must not be shut because other church doors open.

    Secondly, as a retired priest, I find myself celebrating with God’s people in a variety of parishes.  I am usually asked to hear confessions before Mass.  I am always amazed that four or five people come to confess. Yet everybody, or almost everybody, receives Communion.  What is that saying to us? 

   The official book on The Rite of Penance offers a service of General Confession and Absolution.  This is a truly enriching sacramental opportunity.  It brings a community together to listen to God’s word, to meditate on our calling our calling together to live as Jesus lived, as God demands of us.  Together, as a community, we can repent of our social sins, our failures to live justice and do peace.  We can together make a firm purpose of amendment, and determine before God, as a parish, as a house-church, whatever, wherever, and receive a renewal of the Holy Spirit to gospel the world as Jesus did. We can stop being tiny, individual candles, and become a huge Easter Candle, lighting our world along the path of peace. General Penance is a sacrament of encouragement and strength to be together a voice for God in the world.  This is one of the many pastoral ways these young on-line churches can empower us all to create a new future, full of grace and truth, full of God’s justice and God’s peace.[1]

  And I never mentioned the ordination of women and married men.  These are matters crying out for God’s justice and God’s peace!

                                                                     Dr Joseph O’Hanlon.

18th July, 2020

Note:

The words just, justice, justify, justification occur 381 times in the Bible.

The words peace, peaceful, peacefully occur 384 times in the Bible.

The words righteous, righteousness, righteously occur 563 times in the Bible.

 [English Standard Version]

‘JUSTICE AND PEACE NETWORK ON-LINE CONFERENCE’  18TH JULY, 2020

Copyright ©2020 by Dr. Joseph O’Hanlon

 

JUSTICE & PEACE NETWORK 2020 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conference Reports

NJPN Conference Report 2020

NJPN Mini Conference 18 July 2020

Post Pandemic Church:

Paralysed or Energised? Recovered or Re-imagined?

 

The restrictions of the past months are slowly being eased and we are hearing a great deal about ’getting our lives back on track’, ‘getting back to normal’, or finding ‘the new normal’ but as people with a concern for justice and peace,   we cannot and must not return to life as it was before the onset of the virus, because for so many of our sisters and brothers here and around the world normal was not great, in fact normal was very bad. Many felt and indeed – were excluded, neglected and ignored – socially and politically, as well as in some of our places of worship.

As the 2020 NJPN Swanwick conference has now been re-scheduled for July 2021, it is important that we take time to reflect on the past few months and begin to re-imagine how, as a network, we contribute to building a better world for all people. The NJPN mini conference could be seen as the beginning of a process of discernment as we move into a time of great uncertainty and instability for our world.

The morning session opened with a reflection on Psalm 139 ‘O God you search me and you know me’ beautifully sung by Anna and Eleanor Marshall. Paul Bodenham J&P worker in Nottingham hosted this session and asked that “we listen with the ears of the heart” reminding us of the opening words of Gaudium et Spes:

The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the people of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ.

POPE PAUL VI, DECEMBER 7, 1965

On the 5th anniversary of Laudato Si’ we can also recall Pope Francis’ words:

“Peace, justice and the preservation of creation are three absolutely interconnected themes, which cannot be separated and treated individually without once again falling into reductionism”

POPE FRANCIS (PARA: 70)

During this first session we heard from those who have been alongside some of the most vulnerable in our society as their pre-existing and newly emerging difficulties have now become ever more exposed. We heard from Colette Joyce from Westminster J&P about the homeless people she encountered whilst working at the feeding station set up in Trafalgar Square, a fantastic witness by people of different faiths working together for the common good. Whilst we were all being urged to stay at home and many homeless people were placed in hotels the plight of our sisters and brothers with no recourse to public funding became even more critical, evidence of the hostile environment  where many seeking a place of safety barely exist, as one person commented ‘living in the shadows’

Nick Hanrahan from the Jesuit Refugee Service, speaking from his experience of working alongside his refugee friends during the pandemic also emphasised the plight of those with no recourse to public funding, who are forbidden to work and the hostile environment in which many who have come to us seeking safety find themselves. Walking alongside refugee friends during the pandemic has been challenging, with the closing of the centre where many found pastoral support, friendship and opportunity to develop skills.   Visits to those in detention centres cannot take place and Nick highlighted the difficulties in being alongside refugee friends when the only contact is by telephone, when feelings of isolation and anxiety are increased.

JRS has become ‘a mobile service, during the pandemic, providing food parcels and top up vouchers to those who are destitute. Many of the refugees belong to BAME community and are susceptible to the virus, have little access to ongoing healthcare and rely on agencies such as JRS for survival.

Nick urged those concerned with justice and peace to speak up for those with no recourse to public funding.

We next heard from Kevin Flanagan from St. Anthony’s Centre for Church and Industry Trafford.  Work has continued throughout the past months and Kevin spoke about the current and long term effects of the pandemic on working people and families. Kevin reminded us of the requirements of Catholic Social Thinking in referring to Pope John Paul II, (Centesimus Annus 1991)

“Human work is probably the fundamental key to the whole social question”

Kevin went on to say that “marginalisation is linked to work or lack of work” and that job losses will increase as a result of COVID 19 and many more families will be living in poverty by the end of 2020. Kevin is convinced that the future for working people relies on training for work. Apprenticeships are key to enabling people to work but over the past years funding has been reduced and employers are reluctant to invest in training. Many young workers are employed in less secure areas of work, the arts, entertainment and hospitality and in the post pandemic workplace competition for available jobs will increase. 

As members of the Church, Kevin believes that we should be calling for greater engagement with Catholic social teaching for both clergy and laity, we should be campaigning for fair and secure employment for all and working for a “radical and transformational Church that witnesses that which it preaches in a very radical way” Kevin concluded that it is not time to sit on the fence but is time for action.

The final speaker in our morning session was Clare Dixon Head of CAFOD – Latin America, who gave an overview of the international impact of CIVID 19. All that has been experienced locally and nationally has been seen globally. Currently the greatest impact of the virus has been in the countries of Latin America where the impact of the infection has been under reported. The Church response has provided signs of hope for those living in impoverished communities where there is huge resilience and generosity. CAFOD and its partners invest in people and have been urged to re-purpose money in order to better respond to immediate need.

Countries in Africa will  be increasingly affected, where there will be crises of hunger, lack of human rights and equality, poor governance and gender based violence, hence the launch of the DES emergency appeal.

 Middle Eastern countries are facing the same issues, with under reporting of cases and lack of testing. In many situations lack of access to healthcare, political, social and economic injustice has devastating effect on already struggling communities. In the occupied territories of Palestine, demolition of homes have continued, without permits and people have no recourse to law as the court system is closed down cue to the virus.

Everything that is being experienced here is being experienced globally; there must be a strengthening of global solidarity.

In the breakout session which followed we were invited to reflect on how we felt about what we had learned about those living on the margins of our society.  

The morning session ended with a hymn of repentance for all that shames our common humanity.

The lunch break provided an opportunity for informal discussion, to catch up with friends and to share information relating to issues and campaigns. 

In the afternoon session we were asked to consider our response to what we had heard throughout the morning and how we move to an alternative model of being Church. Our speaker Rev. Dr. Joseph O’Hanlon began by reflecting on the “kingdom of God” as the key Gospel message and stated that as we move to a new place and time we must discover in “fresh fields and pastures new” the kingdom of justice, peace and love. Psalm 136 declares that

‘his steadfast love endures forever’

We find God’s love in a world where justice and peace flourish. God’s justice is to be understood as righteousness and we were reminded that we are called to live righteously and act justly as

“we are built from the rock of God”

                                        (Isaiah 51:1)

Joseph went on to say that God’s peace is a gift of ‘wholeness, truth and steadfast love’ to and for all people.

So how do we move into what must be a very uncertain future?  Joseph reminded us of the many blessings found in the many small virtual communities of Church that have developed over the past months and how all who gathered “received the breath of the Holy Spirit in these troubled days” He emphasised that these Churches must not be seen as a ‘stop gap’ but we must consider what have we learned from these small ‘house Churches’ gathering as did communities in the early Church, and how the Holy Spirit is calling us to bring healing to our Church.

We must gather in a spirit of reconciliation and repent as communities of our structural and social sins. Joseph believes that in this way we can move forward as communities of justice and peace and “we can stop being tiny, individual candles, and become a huge Easter candle, lighting our world along the path of peace.”

At the end of the Gospel according to Matthew we are told:

“ and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”

                                                     Matthew 28:20

 

The afternoon session opened and closed with prayer led by Marty Haugen, who has dedicated his new hymn ‘For our Common Home’ to the work and witness of the National Justice and Peace Network. We thank Marty for this wonderful gift.

After the meeting ended participants were invited to stay for an informal networking session to share information relating to events and campaigns and issues of interest as well as to catch up with many friends and colleagues whose company we value and have missed.

 

Anne Peacey

  

 

 

Conference Reports

***NJPN Action of the Week*** Citizens UK

***NJPN Action of the Week*** Citizens UK

Nobody should be left behind – not now, not ever!

 

Covid-19 has shone a brighter light on the injustices that many migrants face. Many of our neighbours are unable to access government help because of where they were born, and the immigration papers they have.  

This is because of a government policy called No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) that denies people living and working in the UK crucial forms of support from the government. Without assistance like Universal Credit and housing benefit, many people – including 100,000 children – are feeling stranded and left without a safety net. 

Take action here:

https://www.citizensuk.org/endnrpf

NJPN Action of the Week

NJPN eBulletin – 26th July 2020

A Taster of J & P issues, plus comments on the Mini-Conference

 

 

———————————————————-

“Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice. Like Slavery and Apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. YOU can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom.”
― Nelson Mandela
 

 

Dear Friends,

Apologies for the delay in sending the e-bulletin. We decided that it would be a good idea to wait until after the Mini-Conference last weekend, which went very well. You will find comments about it below.
What came across to me personally was how many good things are going on, and how many good people are involved. We all have our part to play in creating a better, fairer world, for all to live in. Paraphrasing Nelson Mandela above ‘WE can be that great generation. Let’s go out and let our greatness blossom.’ 
If this has whetted your appetite for more, the next NJPN Networking Day will take place via Zoom on Saturday 19th September, from 10.30am until 4pm. Tickets available from Eventbrite.
The NJPN AGM has also been rearranged to Saturday 21st November, in London at an event to be confirmed, but with Zoom access for anyone not able to travel. Please make a note in your diaries, and more information will be given nearer the time.

Don’t forget, if you have something you particularly want shared in this e-bulletin, send it to ebulletin@justice-and-peace.org.uk. The next e-bulletin, all being well, will be produced for the weekend of the 9th August.

Wishing you a good fortnight, and God bless you all,

Editor

Please note we are still using a temporary postal address due to the closure of the Eccleston Square office:

Geoff Thompson, NJPN, c/o CAFOD Lancaster Volunteer Centre, St Walburge’s Centre, St Walburge’s Gardens, Preston PR2 2QJ.

You can still use the same phone number.

See below for: – 

Note on Data Protection

About these E-Bulletins

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E-Bulletin Contents: –

News and Comment

  1. Comments on the NJPN Mini-Conference
  2. Various articles linked to the Covid-19 pandemic 
  3. NJPN columns in the Universe
  4. An Open Letter from Christian Clergy from the Bethlehem area
  5. World Council of Churches sets vision for unity, justice and peace 
  6. Migrants and Refugees – an update
  7. Pope Francis invites us to join the Season of Creation
  8. John Lewis RIP 
  9. Being Black and Catholic
  10. Global Amazon Assembly update 
  11. Rio Tinto destroys 46,000-year-old Aboriginal site 
  12. Lebanon: collapsing amid international indifference
  13. Korean womens’ struggle with 70 years of war
  14. Achieving ‘zero hunger’ by 2030 in doubt 
  15. Kidnapped Christian girl pregnant 
  16. #ApartheidOffCampus
  17. South African women face femicide   
  18. Forced abortions and sterilisation in China 
  19. Six reasons to choose Fairtrade Chocolate                            
Newsletters
   
    20. London Mining Network Newsletter of 16th July
   21. Faith Matters – addressing issues in Christianity 
   22. Embrace Magazine June 2020
   23. Grapevine – Diocese of Nottingham
   24. Joint Public Issues Team July Newsletter
   

Events

    25. Birmingham Justice and Peace Assembly
    26. Jesuit Refugee Service ‘At Home’ open evening 
    27. Embrace Prayer Diary 
    28. Southern perspectives on the coronavirus pandemic
   29. Christian CND Prayer Meeting
    30. ‘The Filter’ – a mini-series on Fairtrade Coffee
    31. Annual Big Ride for Palestine

Actions

   32. ***ACTION OF THE WEEK*** Time to end NRPF
    33. Christian CND Short Survey
   34. Hope not Hate Open Letter
    35. Help release Elżbieta
    36. ShareAction Survey

E-Petitions

   37. Secret Covid-19 deals with big pharmaceuticals
   38. Coronavirus; Drop the debt **another chance to sign** 
   39. Tell Boris to stop hijacking the aid budget

Resources

  40. New Network for young Christians
  41. Global Healing – a film-based resource
  42. Global Caring – a downloadable resource
  43. ‘Prepare the Future’ – by Million Minutes
  
  Vacancies

  44. Opportunity for students from the
                                     Palestinian Solidarity Campaign
  45. Vacancies with the Jesuit Refugee Service

The Last Word

 46. ‘A Whole New World’

 

NEWS AND COMMENT

1. ‘A celebration of what it is to be J & P people’

Ellen Teague has written her summary of the mini-conference held by Zoom on the 18th July, which replaced the annual Conference that had to be cancelled due to the pandemic.
Entitled ‘Post-pandemic Church: Paralysed or Energised? Recovered or Re-imagined?’
Anne Peacey, NJPN Chair, described the conference as “a real celebration of what it is to be J & P people,” and it was!
Between 200-300 people participated, both young and old, lay and religious. Ellen’s report is available to read through the Independent Catholic News here.
Also, there is a good summary of the conference by Chris Housden, East Anglian Region JPIC Minister on the Secular Franciscan Order of Great Britain website. Available to read here.

2. Covid-19; up to date comments on issues around the world.

Africa’s inadequate response mired in colonial legacy.
South Africa has become the 5th worst-affected country in the world in terms of coronavirus cases. Cardinal Wilfred Fox Napier blames colonialism as one of the main reasons for the continent’s inability to respond adequately to the emergency. 
There are lots of things he has also brought into it, including the burden of international debt. Read the article and listen to the interview through Vatican News.

EU Leaders agree on Coronavirus Fund, but not without tensions 
Leaders of the European Union have agreed on an unprecedented 1.82 trillion euro ($2.1 trillion) budget and coronavirus recovery fund at a time when the EU is tackling the most significant recession in its history.
After lengthy negotiations, summit chairman Charles Michel praised the results as a step forward for Europe. “I believe this agreement will be seen as a pivotal moment in Europe’s journey, but it will also launch us into the future,” he told reporters. “In fact, it is the first time in European history that our budget will be clearly linked to our climate objectives. The first time that the respect for the rule of law is a decisive criterion for budget spending,” Further details are available here.

Covid 19: G20 nations put off debt relief decisions until autumn meeting
After approving debt relief for the world’s poorest countries in April, G20 Finance Ministers announce that further decisions on debt suspension have been moved to its meetings in the Autumn. The next round of decisions on Covid-19 health and economic solutions are scheduled for the October International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank meetings, and the November G20 meetings. Further details here.

Columbia: Human rights being abused under cover of Covid-19
Within the context of confinement to prevent the spread of COVID-19, multifaceted violence persists in Colombia, as well as violations of the rights of social leaders, Indigenous, Afro-Colombian and peasant populations. The full story is available here.

3. Latest NJPN Columns in The Universe

Taking the UN seriously – Bruce Kent is Vice-President of both Pax Christi and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. His column below was in the Universe edition dated the 10th July.
75 years ago, on 26th June 1945, the Charter of the United Nations (UN) was signed. It is available
now as a pocket-sized document of about 100 pages. The main problem today is that very few
people have ever seen it. I have never seen one on display in a parish or cathedral book shop.
That is why some of us have had the Preamble to the Charter printed out on A4 card, ideal for
church or other notice boards. Just ask me for one – free from info@abolishwar.org.uk.
The Preamble starts with this ringing sentence: ‘We the Peoples of the United Nations determined
to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war…’ But ending war was not the
only United Nations aim. It has worked hard and well over the years, with little publicity, to free
the peoples of the world from hunger and disease, for the nonviolent settlement of conflict, and
for the safeguarding of all human rights.
Despite all the deaths and suffering caused by our current epidemic, new opportunities are
opening up, forcing us to think more seriously about a world free of war – where sharing and common humanity are our guiding principles.
It makes no sense to me that Britain can spend over £200 billion on yet another generation of
nuclear weapons but can’t afford to spend, as we ought to spend, on our NHS. The courage and devotion of NHS staff deserves decent work conditions and wages which reflect the hard work and
grave risks for all involved.
So let us all take seriously our main international organisation, the UN, which aims at justice and
decent lives for all. Many recent Popes have pointed us in that direction. I still have, in slightly
tatty condition, a copy of the Catholic Truth Society pamphlet, The Popes Appeal for Peace.
It is the story of Pope Paul VI’s visit to the UN General Assembly in 1965. He said then that the United Nations was, for all peoples, ‘the best hope for peace and concord.’
Our current Pope Francis has even rejected, not just the use of nuclear weapons, but their very
possession. Hopefully, our bishops will follow him. Let us all remember that God did not
divide his world up into nearly 200 countries – we did! It’s high time for us to behave now as one
united human family.
 
The Value of Trees– Barbara Butler, Executive Secretary of Christians Aware, an ecumenical member of NJPN writes in The Universe on the 17th July.  
Trees are essential to life. They stabilise the soil, generate oxygen, store carbon, provide a home for
wildlife, raw materials and shelter. In addition they provide food, timber, medicines and fertility for the
soil, help the water cycle by holding rain on slopes and increase the water stored in the soil.
Trees cover roughly 30 per cent of the global land surface and the world’s forests are home to more
than 300 million people, including roughly 60 million indigenous people. More than 1.6 billion people depend directly on forests: 1.2 billion people in the developing world rely on agroforestry for their
livelihoods. They shield food and other crops from wind and heat, while leguminous trees transfer
nitrogen from the air into the soil. Forests are also magical places, inspiring meditation, poetry and stories. They are wonderful places
to walk and relax in.
Yan Martell went to the Andes in 2009. He joined a trek starting from depleted glaciers near Cuzco
in Peru, walking past shrinking glaciers, cloud forests, lower forests, deforested areas and the
Amazon River basin. He wrote about his wonder and enthusiasm for the variety of trees and wildlife
he saw. He was told that one tree could be home to 100 different species of termites.
Deforestation is a very serious problem in today’s world. In Ethiopia, for example, 45,000 people are being turned off their land and large areas of forest are being felled. However, reforestation is
being tackled in many parts of the world. This will make a contribution to soil and water protection
and to biodiversity.
The Kenya Greenbelt Movement was a pioneer in tree planting. It was started in 1977 by Wangari
Maathai and the National Council of Women. It took the needs of communities into its work and
encouraged the planting of nutritious food crops and the introduction of water harvesting schemes
and training programmes. Today, in Kenya, people across the country see the need to plant trees and work hard to do so.
The UK Government recognises the value of trees in the fight against climate change. Many
more woodlands must be planted if we are to reach the goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The government is committed to planting one million trees by 2022.
We can all help.
Christians Aware has a collection of new summer cards which are made from a renewable forest
source. Contact eliam.christiansaware@outlook.com

Christians and Power – Fr. Rob Esdaile, parish priest of Our Lady of Lourdes, Thames Ditton, writes his column for this weekend, the 24th July.  
We stand at the juncture of the only two months in our calendar which are named after Roman Emperors – Julius and his successor Octavian who became Augustus. That seems a good moment to reflect on Christian attitudes to power. It’s easy to romanticise ‘the Church of the Catacombs’, when Christians were locked out from influence (along with most of the rest of the population, it should be noted!). It’s easier still to criticise the ‘Alliance of Throne and Altar’ which gradually developed after the conversion of the Emperor Constantine and endured to the French Revolution and beyond. For centuries (shockingly, to our post-modern eyes) Bishops relied on the State to kill dissidents.
We cannot follow the early Church’s option of simply praying “for kings and others in authority, so that we may be able to live peaceful and quiet lives,” (1 Tim 2.2), keeping our heads down and not making waves. We are not powerless. Nor is ‘entryism’ an effective way of evangelising the political world. Not even the evident holiness of Basil Hume brought about much conversion in Downing Street and Whitehall.
Rather than fretting about whether we have influence in the corridors of power, we’d do best to adopt the counsel given to St. Paul in a very different context: “They asked only one thing: that we remember the poor, which was actually what I was eager to do,” (Gal 2.10). Faced with any political policy our first questions should be: “Who benefits and who loses as a result? Who gets included and who gets marginalised?” Then we have a firm foundation for discerning a way forward in these uncertain times, and we shall find our voice in wider debates. Sometimes it will be a voice which speaks truth to power prophetically, very much from outside ‘the system’. At other times we shall be able to underline values and insights already there in the culture, discerning the action of the Spirit in societal change.
We know that pursuing the Common Good cannot ever mean leaving people behind. Being Catholic means looking out for everybody. We are people of communion, seekers of solidarity, with a grasp of the importance of community. Being critics is not enough. We have a vision to share of the flourishing of the whole of Creation, what Jesus called the Kingdom of God. So, beyond every challenge we offer to ‘The Powers-That-Be’ lies a bigger challenge to ourselves: how are we going to work heart-and-soul for the flourishing of all and the inclusion of the outcast?

Our thanks go to our friends at The Universe for supporting us. If you would like to take out a subscription to their newspaper, please follow the link.

4. An Open Letter from Christian Clergy from the Bethlehem Area
 

“Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed” (Jeremiah 22: 3)

We are writing this letter in our capacity as spiritual leaders of various Christian communities in the Bethlehem Area. The Israeli Government is planning to annex more occupied Palestinian land. According to the information they have released, this process could begin on July 1st. For Palestine, Bethlehem and particularly for its Christian population, this new process of annexation will be particularly catastrophic.
Soon after the occupation of 1967 Israel annexed over 20,000 dunums of land in the northern parts of Bethlehem, Beit Jala and Beit Sahour, for the construction of illegal colonial settlements. This severely hindered our capacity to grow as communities. They have already annexed one of the most important Christian religious sites of Bethlehem, the Mar Elias Monastery, and separated Bethlehem from Jerusalem for the first time in the two-thousand years of Christian history in Holy Land.
One of the only areas left for our expansion, as well as for agriculture and simply for families to enjoy nature, are the valleys of Cremisan and Makhrour, both located to the west of our urban areas and are under the current threat of annexation by Israeli authorities. This will affect the private property of hundreds of our parishioners. In the Cremisan Valley we also conduct spiritual activities. There is a school run by Salesian Nuns in addition to a historic monastery. The western Bethlehem countryside is also in danger, where some of our parishioners have been farming for generations, and this includes the Tent of Nations in Nahhalin. At the same time, and in accordance to the original maps of the US Plan, there are threats against the eastern part of Bethlehem, including the Ush Ughrab area of Beit Sahour, where there has been plans for years to build a children hospital to serve the local community.
Our biggest concern is that the annexation of those areas will push more people to emigrate. Bethlehem, surrounded by walls and settlements, already feels like an open prison. Annexation means the prison becomes even smaller, with no hopes for a better future. This is land theft! We are talking about land that is largely privately owned and that our families have owned, inherited and farmed for hundreds of years.
Most of our parishioners have lost hope in earthly powers. They feel hopeless and helpless, evident in the words a parishioner this month as he watched his land devoured by Israeli bulldozers preparing the way for more wall expansion: “It is devastating. You see bulldozers destroying your land and you can do nothing. No one is stopping them.”
Our parishioners no longer believe that anyone will stand courageously for justice and peace and stop this tremendous injustice that is taking place in front of your eyes. The human rights of Palestinians have been violated for decades. Hope is a pillar of our faith, yet is being challenged due to the actions of those who claim to care about the Christians in the Middle East. In practice, annexation could be the final straw when it comes to a viable Christian presence in Palestine, as well as the national aspirations to live in freedom, independence, dignity and equality in our homeland in accordance with international law.
Nobody can claim that they did not know the consequences of annexation for Palestine in general and Bethlehem in particular. We feel the burden of history upon our shoulders to keep the Christian presence in the land where it all started.
As we continue to put our hope and trust in God, we call upon the leaders of this world to stop this severe injustice. We remain committed to peace with justice, and find strength in the support of many around the world, specially the support of many churches. We hope that the world takes decisive and concrete actions to stop this injustice and provide the conditions to restore hope for a future of justice and peace that this land deserves.
Fr. Yacoub Abu Sada – ‘The Theotokos’ Melkite Church Bethlehem
Fr. Issa Musleh – Forefathers Greek Orthodox Church Beit Sahour
Fr. Hanna Salem – Catholic Church of the Annunciation Beit Jala
Fr. Bolous Al Alam – St. Mary Greek Orthodox Church Beit Jala
Rev. Ashraf Tannous – The Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Reformation Beit Jala
Fr. Suheil Fakhouri – Our Lady of the Shepherds Melkite Church Beit Sahour
Rev. Munther Isaac – The Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church Bethlehem and The Evangelical Lutheran Church Beit Sahour

5. WCC Executive Committee addresses global concerns

In a meeting with a format and focus dictated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the executive committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) met online between 20 – 24 July and addressed vital international developments and situations. Covering many areas and problems around the world, the summary of their discussions make an interesting read. Click here.

6. Comments and articles on Migrants and Refugees

Waiting for the Prime Minister to reply on child migrants
Seven Catholic leaders signed the Faith Leaders’ letter to the Prime Minister on World Refugee Day,  June 20th, asking him to ensure that unaccompanied child migrants seeking to reach the UK could be given safe and legal routes  and a welcome, along the lines of the pre-war Kindertransport initiative.   These measures would help to avoid the human rights abuses that young people  currently suffer in the Greek camps and on the UK-French borders.
Bishop Paul McAleenan, lead Bishop for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, Bishop Nicholas Hudson, of Westminster Justice and Peace, Bishop Declan Lang, Bishop for International Affairs, and Bishop William Nolan, of Scottish Justice and Peace, as well as  Fr Dominic Robinson sj current Chair of Westminster Justice and Peace, Fr Joe Ryan, retired Chair, and Canon Pat Browne, chaplain to Parliament, have all signed this important message to the Prime Minister. 
More than 2 weeks on, the Prime Minister still has not replied, but Safe Passage, who organised the Letter, is calling for the provision  for family reunification for the thousands of children, stranded across Europe, to be included in the Immigration Bill currently going through Parliament.   Alas the relevant amendment, on family reunification, was defeated by the Commons at this stage.  It has still to go to the Lords and then back to the Commons. 
The Bill has several omissions which will adversely affect migrants and refugees, including no end to indefinite detention.  Bishops Paul McAleenan and William Nolan had already protested about this in an earlier statement.  Nor is there any provision for Family Reunification for unaccompanied migrant children.  Beth Gardiner Smith, CEO of Safe Passage, said,
“We are inspired and grateful that so many faith leaders stand shoulder to shoulder with child refugees. Last winter, the government gave repeated assurances in Parliament that it was committed to helping child refugees join their relatives in the UK but it has now published a Brexit negotiating position that would replace concrete family reunion rights with a watered-down, discretionary system. There is a clear moral case for the UK to take leadership of this issue and provide safe and legal routes for child refugees.”
Three Catholic members of the Safe Passage Campaigns team,  Judyann Masters of Holy Apostles, Pimlico, Barbara Kentish, of Westminster Justice and Peace, and Judith Williams, of St Mary’s, Poole, Dorset,  are seeking further partners to lobby for more Catholic support for this issue.   If you have the time, contact the following for further information:
Barbarakentish@talktalk.net ; or judyannmasters@gmail.com ; or Judith Williams via Safe Passage organiser, Mia.barlow@safepassage.org 

Threat of homelessness for destitute asylum seekers
On Friday 3rd July, BBC Newsnight interviewed Sarah Teather, director of the Jesuit Refugee Service in a special report on homelessness after the coronavirus pandemic. The report showed some of the work being done at the their centre in Wapping, which includes delivery of emergency food and toiletry packages to destitute refugees around London. BBC Newsnight journalist Richard Watson also spoke with one of JRS UK’s destitute refugee friends, who is temporarily housed in hotel accommodation. To see more about the programme, and how you can catch it on iPlayer go to the JRS website. There are also lots of other positive articles on the work they are doing. If you are interested in their ‘At Home’ hosting scheme, there is more information below under the Events section of this e-bulletin.

Bishop urges UK and France to address reasons why migrants
                                               risk their lives to cross the Channel
Bishop Paul McAleenan, the lead Bishop for Migrants and Refugees has urged the UK and French governments to work together to eradicate the underlying reasons that result in migrants risking their lives in an attempt to cross the English Channel to reach Britain. Bishop McAleenan has said that he would like to see the joint agreement made between the UK and France, and that he wanted to see protection of the vulnerable as the principle motivating factor. His full comments are available to read here.

‘To listen in order to be reconciled’ Sarah Hassan reflects on her experience of becoming internally displaced, ahead of the 106th World Migrant and Refugee Day slated for 27 September. Available on the Vatican News website.

Pope Francis keeps the spotlight on the plight of migrants and refugees.
On July 8, 2013, Francis made his first journey outside the Vatican as pope to visit the remote island of Lampedusa, near Sicily, to draw attention to the plight of migrants and refugees. There he threw a wreath of flowers into the sea in their memory and wept for the thousands who had died on the Mediterranean during perilous sea-crossings as they sought refuge in Europe. Then, in a powerful homily at Mass on the Lampedusa sports ground, he denounced “the globalization of indifference” in the face of the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II.
Seven years to the day later, Francis recalled that visit as he celebrated Mass in the chapel of the Santa Marta guesthouse where he lives in the Vatican. During his homily, Pope Francis reminded believers that “the encounter with the other is also an encounter with Christ. He himself told us. It is he who knocks on our door, hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, imprisoned, seeking an encounter with us and requesting our assistance. And if we still had any doubt, here are his unequivocal words: ‘I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me’” (Mt 25:40).
America Magazine reports the full story.

7. Pope Francis and the background to the Season of Creation

The Season of Creation is an annual celebration uniting Christians in prayer and action for the protection of our common home. The idea of celebrating 1 September as a day of prayer for creation began at the wish of the Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios in 1989, and was endorsed by Pope Francis in 2015. The season runs from September 1 to October 4, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi.
Read more through the Catholic Bishops Conference website here.

8. Remembering US Civil Rights Leader John Lewis

US Congressman John Robert Lewis, the last surviving speaker at the 1963 March on Washington, has died at the age of 80 on the 17th July, just a day ahead of Nelson Mandela Day. He was a pioneer of the US civil rights movement, and co-organised the 1963 March on Washington, at which Martin Luther King delivered his famous ‘I have a dream’ speech. Vatican News sum up his life and death here.

 A final Freedom Ride: Kerry Kennedy, daughter of Robert F. Kennedy, tells 
John Lewis’ story:-
‘It had been more than 50 years since John Lewis had first traveled through Montgomery, Alabama as a Freedom Rider, a fateful journey that would leave him bloodied and beaten and shape the course of his life.
But the memories instantly flooded back, fresh and raw, as the civil rights icon told my family his story in full, in his gentle, slow style.’ Read the full article through America Media here.

John Lewis has Left The Good Trouble to Us – John Pavlovitz writes beautifully and succinctly about the passing of John Lewis and finishes with:-

May we work for those on the horizon of history.

May we be faithful servants of our better selves.

May we be steadfast in making the America that could be.

May we be worthy caretakers of the struggle.

May we be the very good troublemakers now.

Read his full article here. 
John Robert Lewis, you were a true civil rights hero. Thank you, and may you now rest in peace.

9. Being Black and Catholic

During the past few months, with the reality of racism coming into the spotlight, and the need to tackle prejudice, The Diocese of Westminster Communications Team has invited four individuals to share openly and frankly their experiences of being Black and Catholic. The result is a video that combines their stories. 
Rev Paschal Uche is a deacon and will soon be ordained as the first British-born Black priest in the Diocese of Brentwood. Kamara Katama is a lay chaplain at a Catholic sixth form college in South London. Caroline King is an Executive Head teacher in the London Borough of Hackney, with responsibility for two primary schools. Fr Joseph Okoro is Assistant Priest at Holy Rood Church, Watford and was ordained as a priest in the Diocese of Westminster three years ago. Go to the Independent Catholic News website to read the full article and listen to the videos.

10. Global Amazon Assembly ends with call to defend region

The First Global Assembly for the Amazon closes with a Final Declaration which states that ecocide, ethnocide and terricide are worse than the Coronavirus. Read more here.
 

11. The Damage Done – Reputational and Real (London Mining Network)

In solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, LMN recently issued a statement making clear the link between mining, imperialism and racism. Rio Tinto then swiftly gave the world a further illustration of it: it destroyed a 46,000 year old Aboriginal site of ‘staggering’ significance in Western Australia so that it could expand its Pilbara iron ore operations. Read the full article here.

12. Lebanon in crisis and no one cares.

At a press conference presenting Caritas Internationalis’ annual report, the Lebanon representative of the Church’s humanitarian agency gives a harrowing account of the spiraling humanitarian crisis crippling the country.
The Caritas Lebanon Director, Rita Rhayem, explained that Lebanon, a crucial player in the Middle East, a nation that “that hosts an important number of Syrian refugees and migrant workers, is now at the verge of collapse, amid the silence of the international community.” Read and listen here.

13. 70 years of War on the Korean peninsula – the women work for peace

A Women of Faith Pilgrim Team gathered, some in person and others virtually, in South Korea from 13-15 July. They were there to listen and accompany Korean church women as they called for an end to patriarchy – manifested in the Japanese colonization of Korea and establishment of ‘comfort women’ and also in the Korean War — and to the resulting pain and injustice that remains a grim daily reality for many today. To read the article go to the World Council of Churches website.
 
Statue of Peace in the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas, a symbol of the victims of
wartime sexual slavery, known as comfort women. Photo: Grégoire de Fombelle/WCC

14. Stark warning from the UN re hunger 

More people are going hungry, an annual study by the United Nations has found. Tens of millions have joined the ranks of the chronically undernourished over the past five years, and countries around the world continue to struggle with multiple forms of malnutrition.
The latest edition of the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, published on the 13th July, estimates that almost 690 million people went hungry in 2019 – up by 10 million from 2018, and by nearly 60 million in five years. High costs and low affordability also mean billions cannot eat healthily or nutritiously. The hungry are most numerous in Asia but expanding fastest in Africa. Across the planet, the report forecasts, the Coronavirus pandemic could tip over 130 million more people into chronic hunger by the end of 2020. (Flare-ups of acute hunger in the pandemic context may see this number escalate further at times.). Read more through the UNICEF website (or follow the link above to the report itself).

15. Pakistan: Kidnapped Christian girl pregnant

We reported some months ago about the fact that around 1,000 Christian and Hindu women and girls are abducted every year in Pakistan. The parents of Huma Younus, who was 14 years old when kidnapped, and is now 15, have received a telephone call from Huma telling them that she has now become pregnant as a result of the sexual violence she has been subjected to. Further details on this sad tale are available from Independent Catholic News.

16. Palestinian Solidarity Campaign’s ‘University Complicity Database’

Israel’s system of institutionalised racist discrimination, amounting to the crime of apartheid, can only be sustained because of weapons, technology and other support it receives from companies around the world. UK Universities collectively invest nearly over £450m in companies complicit in Israeli violations of international law. 
Check out the PSC’s  guide on how to build a campaign to get #ApartheidOffCampus and get your university to pledge to be #ApartheidFree!

17. Coming out of Covid lockdown, only to face another deadly problem…

A wave of killing of women and children has horrified South Africa in recent weeks since the gradual easing of the coronavirus lockdown restrictions on the 1st June. The police say the end of the nine-week ban on alcohol sales contributed to a spike in crime and gender-related violence directed at women and children.
With one of the highest rates of violence against women in the world, gender-based violence is not a new problem in South Africa. A woman is murdered in South Africa every three hours. To read the article go to America Magazine.

18. China: forcibly aborting, sterilising hundreds of thousands

The Independent Catholic News have reported on the above happening in the Xinjiang area of China; seemingly happening only to ethnic minorities. Read their full report here.

19.Six reasons to choose Fairtrade Chocolate –
     (and yes, you knew there would be chocolate in here
                                                           somewhere…)

Think all chocolate is the same? And what about all the different sustainability labels you find on supermarket shelves? Think again…
If you love chocolate, and who doesn’t, you want your choices to actually make a difference for farmers. Follow this link to the Fairtrade site, and see what Fairtrade means for incomes, empowerment and farmers having control over their own futures.

NEWSLETTERS

20. London Mining Network of 16th July

If you haven’t heard of them before, the London Mining Network has a vision of a just future based on a lower demand for mining and on respect for human rights and ecological justice (including the rights of nature) where mining does take place. Their July newsletter has lots of interesting articles and about where they are getting involved. Click here.

21. Faith Matters

Year 12 students at St John Bosco College Battersea have produced the second edition of their magazine, ‘Faith Matters’, written and edited by students for an audience of adults. The termly magazine is produced for staff at the college, and the editorial group aims to address issues in Christianity that have captured their attention and are not widely covered in the press. Not all of it is J & P related, but it is still a good and thought-provoking read.

22. Embrace Magazine

Embrace is the Christian development charity tackling poverty and injustice in the Middle East. There are lots of positive bits of news in their June magazine. They also mention the cancellation of their June lecture, which would have featured journalist John McCarthy, who you may remember was kidnapped in Beirut in 1986, and miraculously released some years later. He will still be appearing in what they bill as a series of online digital events taking place in the Autumn. That will certainly be one to look out for.

23. Diocese of Nottingham – Grapevine

News from Adult Formation, Justice and Peace, and Caritas – obviously a lot is related to the good work going on in the Diocese of Nottingham, but still an interesting read. Click here.

24. JPIT July Newsletter

As summer gets underway and schools finish for the holidays, we are beginning to look ahead at
what life over the next few months might look like. As churches, closely linked to our local
communities, we know that this transition will be different for everyone. New challenges will
arise, particularly for those locked in poverty, facing unemployment or dealing with physical and
mental health challenges. It continues to be incredibly important that we Stay Alert to Justice,
seeking to include everyone in recovery.
This month, as we respond to the Government’s plans, we’re inviting you to explore with us
what an economy that supports us from recovery to flourishing might look like. We’ve also got
some calls to action, to speak out with Fairtrade farmers and countries facing overwhelming debt. Click here to read more.

 
EVENTS

25. Birmingham Justice and Peace Assembly 2020

 26. JRS Open Evening for their At Home scheme

JRS UK is currently looking for new volunteer hosts to join their ‘At Home’ hosting scheme which facilitates short-term hosting placements in London for our refugee friends at high risk of street homelessness.
Join us from 18:30-19:15 on Tuesday 11th August on Zoom for a discussion with Naomi, At Home’s coordinator. For more details follow this link.

27. Embrace Prayer Diary

Embrace had over 160 years’ experience of responding to humanitarian needs and upholding the Christian presence in the Middle East.
The world has changed a lot over those long decades, but one thing remains constant – our partners’ faith in God’s transformational love. It’s a source of strength and inspiration for them to know that people across the world are praying for them as they face the challenges of life amid conflict, poverty and injustice.
Your prayers are more important than ever in these difficult times and the new format enables them to give you more detail and more creative prayer ideas.
Their Prayer Diary is issued twice a year and includes one prayer prompt for each week. You can use them in your church services, in prayer groups, or during private prayer. Click here for more information. 

28. Global Justice Now Videos

Global Justice Now have put together a series of video interviews giving southern persepectives on the coronavirus pandemic. The video interviews present internationalist viewpoints on how Covid-19 is playing out in different societies. Each interview is with a leader or member of southern movements and progressive organisations that they are working with and respect. They want to highlight their visions and the possibilities born out from social activism and progressive processes they are building. Interviews are available here.

29. Christian CND Prayer Meeting

Christian CND invite you to join them at their next Prayer Meeting via Zoom, taking place on Wednesday 29th July at 8pm. Please use this Twitter link to see more details.

30. ‘The Filter’ – Fairtrade’s mini-series on Coffee

Start learning the secrets of great coffee; from top tips on brewing up at home, to how farmers’ hard work gives us those brilliant beans in the first place. Sign up here.

31. The annual Big Ride for Palestine

You can ride 36 or 44 miles in the seven days from Monday 27th July to Sunday 2nd August as part of the Big Solidarity Ride, or you can take the Big Ride Challenge, and cycle 440 miles before the end of August.
However you take part, you’ll be raising vital funds for Middle East Children’s Alliance. The money raised will fund sports programmes for children in Gaza, where trauma is common as a result of the Israeli siege and regular brutal military assaults.
This year, the ride is raising money to support the construction of a playground in Khuza’a Village in Southern Gaza. The village faced almost total destruction in Israel’s 2014 ground invasion and aerial bombardment of Gaza. Follow this link.

ACTIONS/APPEALS

32. ***ACTION OF THE WEEK*** 

Time to End no Recourse to Public Funds
Nobody should be left behind – not now, not ever!
 

Citizens UK have been working on some issues with people who have no recourse to public funds. Please follow this link and support them in their work.

 

33. Short Survey for Christian CND

“Christian CND is committed to sharing the message of nuclear disarmament and peace to all believers in the UK. Working with you we have a vision for the church united in working and prayer for a nuclear weapons-free world.
We know it isn’t always easy to talk about these issues though, some of the information and concepts can be daunting and there are differing views on the teaching of the Bible. However we believe many Christians will support nuclear disarmament if we can just get their attention and explain the issues in a clear and unbiased way.
Christian CND are putting together a range of resources which we hope will help you speak to your friends, family, small groups of Christians and even your church. To make sure we serve you in the best possible way, we want to hear from you about what you’d find useful.
There’s a short survey you can take to help us as we develop things in the coming weeks and months.”

 

34. Hope Not Hate Open Letter

Across the northwest Chinese province of Xinjiang the Uyghur people are being persecuted, and household brands are profiting because of it.
In the Xinjiang province in northwest China as many as three million Uyghur people have been held in so-called re-education camps.
There they have been brutalised, many have been tortured, and there are even credible claims of women being subject to forced sterilisations. 
Please sign this open letter to the Chief Executives of Nike, Adidas, Puma, Fila, BMW, Jaguar and Apple, asking them to confirm that they are not using forced labour and that they review all their China-based operations. 

 

35. Elżbieta – imprisoned for ‘offending religious beliefs’

Elżbieta Podleśna, an LGBTI+ activist in Poland, has just been indicted for ‘offending religious beliefs’. Her crime? Allegedly owning a poster of the Virgin Mary with a rainbow halo.
Elżbieta could face up to two years in prison.
The police raided Elżbieta’s house early in the morning on 6 May 2019.They arrested her and detained her for several hours, confiscating her electronic equipment, including laptop, phone and memory cards. 
There’s no evidence of a crime being committed here, which means Elżbieta has simply been targeted for her peaceful activism.
LGBTI+ rights defenders are facing more and more harassment in Poland. With your help we can fight back. She urgently needs your support. Please email Poland’s Prosecutor General through this link.

Many of you will not be aware that there is a LGBT+ Catholics Westminster Group. Click on the link for more information.

 

36. Help shape ShareAction’s work

Covid-19 has made it clear that our pension providers should be considering health, workers’ rights and the climate when they invest our pension savings. 
ShareAction are determined to build a financial system that works for people and planet, anre currently planning their next 12 months of work – and want to hear from you! 
It’s your money – through your pension – that props up the financial system. They want to make sure that their campaigning reflects what you want your money to do.
What campaigns and content do you want from them in the coming year? Can you fill in the ShareAction survey to let them know?  

E-PETITIONS

37. Do not let the Covid-19 Vaccine be part of a secret deal

Luigi was one of the first volunteers to take part in Oxford University’s Covid-19 vaccine trials. 
But he was shocked to find out that despite public funding for the research, Oxford University has signed a secret agreement with UK pharma giant, AstraZeneca to manufacture the vaccine. And worries that big pharma monopolies could stop access to this vital vaccine. 

Co-sign Luigi’s letter to Oxford University and AstraZeneca. He’s demanding they publish their secret deal and ensure big pharma monopolies don’t stop affordable Covid-19 vaccines for all. Click here to add your support.
 

38. Global Just Now: Coronavirus – Drop the debt
We included this in the last e-bulletin, but in case you missed it, please consider signing this petition to our Chancellor of the Exchequer, urging proper debt cancellation. The number of new coronavirus cases across Africa increased by 24% last week. We’ve been warned that 500 million people could be pushed into poverty because of the pandemic. Countries like El Salvador have been completely overwhelmed, its health system is close to collapse.
This pandemic is far from over. Yet as governments across the global south struggle to deal with the crisis, they continue to pay hundreds of millions of pounds to some of the richest hedge funds on earth. Today we launch a report with Jubilee Debt Campaign, Oxfam and Christian Aid, which shows that even in the pandemic, the lowest income countries are spending $2.8 billion a month servicing their debts – with nearly $1 billion every month going into the coffers of large banks and investment funds.
More information and to add your name, click here.

39. Tell Boris to stop hijacking the aid budget

Last month, the prime minister announced plans to hand over control of UK aid to the Foreign Office. This is almost certain to mean more money going to fossil fuel projects, private hospitals and unaccountable private equity funds.
The ‘merger’ of the Department for International Development into the Foreign Office is a terrible decision that will destroy aid effectiveness and transparency, hinder public scrutiny of development policy, and see aid being used to boost British businesses rather than tackling global inequalities. For further details and to sign the e-petition, click here. 

RESOURCES

40. Young Christian Climate Network

A group of Christians aged 18-30 are in the very early stages of setting up a Young Christian Climate Network (YCCN), the first independent, youth-led Christian network of climate justice activists and advocates in the UK. 
If you know any Christians aged 18-30 who would be interested in shaping this network, please get in touch with them! They will need to email: – hello@yccn.org for more information.

41. Global Healing

Global Healing is a film-based resource to help us to respond to the damage being done to our planet – our common home. It’s for parishes, groups and individuals and aims to inform, challenge and equip people to engage with Pope Francis’ vital call to Care For Our Common Home.
“There’s no doubt that we are doing great damage to our planet – our common home. Pope Francis calls on all of us to respond and this CaFE-filmed resource will help us do that together in our communities and families, for the sake of future generations.”
Right. Reverend John Arnold, Bishop of Salford

42. Global Caring

‘Global Caring’ works as a stand-alone or companion volume to ‘Global Healing’ and is intended to encourage parish groups and individuals to living in harmony with God’s creation.
“We are recognising the extent of the challenge. I hope that Global Caring will assist in developing that essential, practical and spiritual response that we all need to make. Let’s celebrate all that is being achieved and, with hope and determination, work to repair our common home.”
Right. Reverend John Arnold, Bishop with responsibility for the environment

43. Prepare the Future

Pope Francis has called us to ‘prepare the future’, not passively ‘prepare for the future’. With this new 12 unit resource we hope our young people – as prophets of change for the world – will begin to paint a picture of tomorrow. Each unit offers leaders’ notes (also suitable for young adults) alongside young people’s notes and resources for reflection. We also provide editable material for you to create your own, bespoke resources. The first two units – Called to be and Called to listen – can be downloaded from Million Minutes.

VACANCIES

44. Palestinian Solidarity Campaign – Youth opportunity

Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) is looking for talented and enthusiastic students to join its Youth and Student Committee (YSC.) We are looking for enthusiastic campaigners with relevant experience who are committed to the aims and objectives of PSC. Working with the rest of the YSC, you will advise on campaigns and aid us in bringing effective support to student societies. You will be creative, enthusiastic, and understand how to work well with others. Details here.

45. Jesuit Refugee Service

JRS are looking for a part-time Grants and Trusts Fundraising Officer, and a Detention Outreach Manager. More details of both vacancies are available here.

 46.  THE LAST WORD

Community choirs in Sheffield have come together online beautifully for an e-choir rendition of the Disney classic ‘A Whole New World’ from the film Aladdin. Thanks to Church Action on Poverty for sharing it. Click here to read the story and enjoy the singing!

 

NEWS LINKS

Independent Catholic News
Find Justice and Peace stories at:
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Latest Zenit Headlines here
 
Vatican Radio homepage: http://en.radiovaticana.va/
 
World Council of Churches
https://www.oikoumene.org/en/
 
UK Parliament News
https://www.parliament.uk/business/news/
 
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