NJPN eBulletin – 11th May 2020
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All posts by Stephen Cooke
Laudato Si Week 16th -24th May 2020
On the Feast of Pentecost five years ago (24 May 2015), Pope Francis unveiled his great encyclical letter on the environment: Laudato Si (Praise Be). It is subtitled “On Care for our Common Home” and is addressed not just to the Catholic Church, but to the whole of humanity as we face the global climate emergency.
The week of 16th-24th May 2020 has been designated “Laudato Si week” when we are asked to pray about caring for Our Common Home, Laudato Si’ Week will end on Sunday, 24 May, with a global day of prayer.
The weeklong celebration is to honour Pope Francis’ encyclical on ecology and climate change, and to encourage us to build a better world together. Pope Francis has encouraged us all to participate in Laudato Si’ Week through a video message. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHlzOWp8ZQY&=&feature=youtu.be
There are many resources on-line (some links below), previously planned events for Laudato Si’ Week are now not possible, but we can grow through the crisis of the current moment by praying, reflecting, and preparing together for a better world to come. The lessons of the encyclical are particularly relevant in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, which has brought many parts of the world to a halt.
Pope Francis in a recent weekly address said, “As the tragic coronavirus pandemic has taught us, we can overcome global challenges only by showing solidarity with one another and embracing the most vulnerable in our midst.” He went on to say, “As a single and interdependent family, we require a common plan in order to avert the threats to our common home.”
Laudato Si’ offers a vision for building a more just and sustainable world.
Further Information – Reflection from Sr Margaret Atkins
SVP and CSAN Toolkit: Keeping Parishes Safe
St Vincent de Paul Society (E&W) and Caritas Social Action Network have released a toolkit to help Catholic parishes and groups develop safe, local responses to people in need during the Covid-19 pandemic. The toolkit addresses the Christian call to step out in love to those excluded and at risk, throughout a time when the Government has asked people to stay at home as far as possible. It includes examples of how parishes can offer support, advice and guidance on safeguarding, communication, dealing with health and other risks, referring people on as needed and to volunteer with other initiatives. Help could include keeping in touch with a friendly chat on the phone, shopping for food and other essential items, dog walking, help with prayer and advice on how to get involved with other initiatives locally. It can be adapted to local circumstances.
Please give a thought to those who do not have access to the internet, nor the use of a mobile phone as they can feel quite cut off from society and perhaps unaware of the help that is on offer to them.
If a parish does not already have its own befriending group, local outreach group or equivalent (with strong procedures in place) then the temporary or full membership to the SVP is a safe, quick and effective response to the current crisis.
For individuals seeking to help, for more information about this please visit: www.svp.org.uk/svps-response-covid-19 to join with the efforts in your local area.
To download the SVP toolkit:
https://www.svp.org.uk/sites/default/files/content/Covid-19-Response-Toolkit-Apr20.pdf
To donate to the work of the SVP: www.svp.org.uk/donate-now
Latest News From Lancaster
“In the F&J May E-News there is an update of resources and information I have received focussing on the impact of COVID-19.
I hope it is helpful, and we are able to continue keep those effected by Covid-19 in our thoughts, prayers and actions.
The newsletter can also be downloaded at : https://tinyurl.com/y7pncqq6
Reports, newsletters and posters mentioned in this issue and previous newsletters are also available at http://www.lancasterfaithandjustice.co.uk/newsletter/
Maggie”
You can download the newsletter by clicking here.
Together for the Common Good – Covid-19: Political Implications
What are the longer term implications of Covid-19 for the political realignment that was already underway? Events are moving very fast and the British government is facing unprecedented challenges. We have gathered some links to help you make sense of the issues at stake.
https://togetherforthecommongood.co.uk/news/political-implications-of-covid-19
NJPN E-Bulletin – 26th April 2020
“2020 Vision: Action for Life on Earth”
c/o CAFOD Lancaster Volunteer Centre,
St Walburge’s Centre, St Walburge’s Gardens,
Preston PR2 2QJ
” What I do is a drop in the ocean. But many drops make a different ocean.”
St. Teresa of Calcutta
Dear Friends,
So the lockdown continues for however long the Government sees fit. The important thing for all of us is to stay safe and well, and sane, in these unprecedented times.
Hopefully, by the end of this, we will all step out to a better, cleaner and perhaps more kind world. One where we look out for our fellow humans, and our planet. That has to be our prayer really, doesn’t it.
God bless you all and your families.
NJPN Updates: – Just a reminder that our Networking Day and AGM on 2nd May has been cancelled, and the AGM re-scheduled to take place on 19 July at the Annual Conference.
As previously mentioned we are still taking bookings for the Conference (details above).
If your organisation is interested in running a stall at the conference, please contact the Just Fair Manager, Ann Kelly at annkellynjpn@btinternet.com
Please note also 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: –
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E-Bulletin Contents: –
News and Comment
- Covid-19 Toolkit for Catholic Parishes and Caritas Diocesan Agencies.
- Pope Francis speaks out on Earth Day
- Busting the myths over Fairtrade
- One Year on from the Terrorist Attacks in Sri Lanka
- Women on the front line of the crisis
- Ex-Detainees write to Priti Patel
- Dorothy Day: new film showing her vision is very much alive
Newsletters
about the effect that Covid-19 and the lockdown is having
around the world.
Interest
12. ‘Love unites us all.’ Christian Aid’s latest Newsletter
13. Latest Newsletter from the Joint Public Issues Team
Actions
14. Millions of garment workers going without pay.
15. Sign for a temporary ceasefire.
16. Email Matt Hancock
17. Tell Dominic Raab to end UK arms sales
18. UK urged to ban cotton imports from Xuar
The Last Word
18. Robert Lindsay sums up life as it is for us now
News and Comments
1. Covid-19 Toolkit courtesy of CSAN/SVP
Caritas Social Action Network and the St Vincent de Paul Society (England and Wales) have released a toolkit to help Catholic parishes and groups develop safe, local responses to people in need during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The toolkit addresses the Christian call to step out in love to those excluded and at risk, throughout a time when the Government has asked people to stay at home as far as possible. It includes examples of how parishes can offer support, advice and guidance on safeguarding, communication, dealing with health and other risks, referring people on as needed and to volunteer with other initiatives. Help could include keeping in touch with a friendly chat on the phone, shopping for food and other essential items, dog walking, help with prayer and advice on how to get involved with other initiatives locally. It can be adapted to local circumstances.
To download the toolkit, click here
2. News from the Vatican and the Pope at audience on Earth Day
Holding his weekly general audience on the 50th Earth Day on Wednesday, Pope Francis called for common action and ecological conversion that lead to a deeper love for our common home and our brothers and sisters, especially the most vulnerable.
The full article can be read here
“We can each contribute in our own small way,” Pope Francis urged.
3. Why are there so many misconceptions over Fairtrade goods?
In an article that the Fairtrade Foundation produced last year, they are again trying to bust those myths surrounding Fairtrade. Makes thought-provoking reading, and something to share with anyone who has something negative to say about goods with the Fairtrade logo.
Read here.
4. A year on from the terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka
More than 270 people were killed in April last year, and Rome Reports have made a short documentary available on Rome Reports Premium. The trailer is available here
‘The wounds were still fresh, and the fear palpable, but the faith and joy of the country’s Catholics transcended the pain.’
5. Podcast from Global Justice Now
Global Justice Now have produced a podcast about women on the front line of the crisis. They talk to two women, one in the Philippines and one in South Africa, about their experiences during the coronavirus pandemic. To listen, please click here.
6. Ex-detainees speak out
Freed Voices is made up of people who have experienced immigration detention in the UK, and are now committed to speaking out. Between them, they have lost over 20 years of our lives to detention, and they have written this urgent letter to the Home Secretary concerning the risks posed by Covid-19 to those in Immigration Removal Centres. Read it through the London Economic here.
7. Dorothy Day: Anarchist Grandma, Patron Saint of the Resistance
When Pope Francis addressed Congress during his 2015 visit to the U.S., he named four great men and women whose legacies helped shape the fundamental values of the American people: Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., Thomas Merton, and Dorothy Day, the Catholic social activist and pacifist.
It was among his most audacious statements during the trip, and he got away with it because—outside of churches and the peace movement—Dorothy Day, the woman who could become America’s next saint, is largely unknown.
Revolution of the Heart: The Dorothy Day Story, a new documentary film by Martin Doblmeier, wants to put that right. It has been released in the US, but there is no release date for it here at present.
If you want to read more about Dorothy Day, her Granddaughter, Kate Hennessy, has published a book about her ‘The World Will Be Saved By Beauty.’
To hear a talk given by Kate Hennessy, and to buy her book, please go to the Pax Christ website.
NEWSLETTERS
8. NJPN E-Bulletin North West
Our friends in the North West have put together a very interesting and informative e-bulletin. Always a good read…click here
9. Church Action on Poverty Newsletter
Sparks, the Church Action on Poverty’s Summer Newsletter is available to read here and will replace the printed copies that normally get sent out.
10. Newsletter from Operation Noah
Operation Noah, who provide a Christian response to climate change have produced their latest newsletter. There is a tribute to the eminent Meteorologist, Sir John Houghton, who recently passed away; plus an invitation to encourage your church to move away from fossil fuels.
Find the full newsletter here.
11. Quarterly Return Newsletter
Shared Interest are celebrating 30 years of helping people trade their way out of poverty. Discover their story, and find out about the people and places they are involved in here.
12. ‘In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps’ Proverbs 16:9 NIV
Love has been the driving force for communities to stand together during this period of uncertainty. And we’re reminded that love unites us all.
In this month’s campaigns newsletter, Christian Aid celebrate love in action, highlight some activities you can get involved in and share campaign successes. Find it here.
13. Joint Public Issues Team Newsletter
In the midst of a changing world, the team at JPIT still want to continue to hold their Six Hopes for Society before the Church by continuing to work for peace and justice. One of the ways that they are doing this is through their Stay and Pray initiative. To find out more, go to
ACTIONS
14. Traidcraft Exchange – many garment workers are not being paid.
Some of the UK’s biggest fashion brands are refusing to pay factories that make clothes and shoes for them. The factories have done the work, but the brands aren’t paying up.
Millions of garment factory workers are going without pay as a result.
Traidcraft Exchange are contacting brands including Marks and Spencer, John Lewis, Edinburgh Woollen Mill, Clarks, Primark, and the group that owns shops like Burton and Dorothy Perkins.
For more information and to send a message to the brands follow the link
15. Global Action is needed now!
World Beyond War is calling for a temporary ceasefire, with a view to making it permanent, and including weapons production and shipment.
Sign the petition and find details of #NoWar2020 going virtual at the end of May.
16. Support access for all to Covid-19 testing, treatments and vaccines.
The spread of Covid-19 globally will only be halted if everyone has access to tests, treatments and any future vaccine. Global solidarity has never been more important. Sharing knowledge openly would speed up research while removing monopolies on treatments and vaccines would save lives quickly. Global Justice Now are asking us to petition the Secretary of State for Health, Matt Hancock, to publicly welcome and commit to supporting the proposal for a Covid-19 global mechanism for all countries to get access to affordable testing, treatment and vaccines.
Click here to add your name.
17. Campaign Against Arms Trade – contact Dominic Raab
The UN Secretary General has called for an historic global ceasefire, to allow war-torn countries the chance to focus on responding to the COVID-19 crisis. A ceasefire could allow vital humanitarian aid to people in need, alleviate already stretched healthcare workers, and offer a crucial window to build lasting political solutions.
UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has backed the call for a global ceasefire. Let’s encourage him to turn these words into action.
18. Sign Freedom United’s petition to ban cotton imports from
XUAR
The UK should block cotton imports from Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), Northwest China, due to the systematic forced labor its people face, rights groups argued this week.
In a 60-page letter to the UK’s customs authorities, the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) and Freedom United partner World Uyghur Congress (WUC) submitted “overwhelming and credible evidence concerning the scale and gravity of the forced labour regime in Xinjiang.”
At the start of this month, Freedom United launched a campaign calling on the Chinese government to end the forced labor of Uyghurs and other marginalized ethnic groups, bolstered by multiple partners including Anti-Slavery International. To read more and sign, click here.
The Last Word
Unashamedly borrowed from a Tweet he posted on the 14th April following the death of a friend, please find below a shortened version of words from Robert Lindsay, summing up the emotions we are all feeling right now: –
“How did it come to this? How did we find ourselves in isolation for fear of our lives, fearful for our children and our loved ones? How many charities have materialised to help fund our NHS workers when we’ve all watched the years of under-funding and how our unappreciated Health Service has been treated?
The NHS was totally unprepared for this global catastrophe and we watch in horror how the front-liners (many of whom are reinforcements) are coping amidst this chaos.
Throughout all the Brexit madness – the lies – the spin – the fake promises our NHS would benefit from, when we all knew that many of our doctors and nurses had moved into the private sector and all the heath service employees from overseas would be sent back home.
We knew from Branson and Trump that many deals were being put in place to privatise our National Health Service – and now the people of this country are applauding from their doorways and streets a service so unprepared with doctors and nurses fighting under abject conditions.
My children constantly ask when things will go back to normal, that’s what we all want to know, but I don’t want things to be going back to normal – I want life to be better, gentler, kinder, more honest in an environmentally-friendly world.
This virus is a killer. It’s killed old people, it’s killed young people, it’s killed people we know. There will be other diseases which infect our globe if we carry on destroying our environment and abusing our wildlife, our oceans and forests…so let’s not go back to normal. If we learn anything from this insanity that has affected us all LET’S MAKE LIFE BETTER
NEWS LINKS
Independent Catholic News
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World Council of Churches
https://www.oikoumene.org/en/
UK Parliament News
https://www.parliament.uk/business/news/
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CARJ welcomes the inquiry into the impact of coronavirus on black, Asian and minority ethnic communities
On 23 April 2020, Mrs Yogi Sutton, Chair of CARJ, received an email from Rev Dr Alfred Banya, Head of Chaplaincy at Kings College Hospital in London. Rev Banya said he had been seeing first-hand the devastating effect of the virus on patients and relatives. He went on to say:
‘We noticed being called to much younger Black and Ethnic Minorities after the first two weeks of the outbreak. Now we hear from the press disproportionate numbers of BAME people are dying from the virus but there seems to be no urgent action to address this. Can CARJ raise questions about this with its contacts in the House of Commons and House of Lords?’
The note from Rev Banya reflects the growing concern over the disproportionate numbers of Black and Minority Ethnic people who are affected by the corona virus. A Guardian analysis (22 April 2020) indicated that ethnic minorities are dying from the virus in disproportionately high numbers.[i]
Some have suggested this might be due to demography – the virus hit London first and very hard. Another explanation suggests co-morbidities could play a role. Black and Asian people are particularly affected by diabetes, hypertension and other underlying conditions.
An earlier article by Dr Omar Khan, Director of the Runnymede Trust, argued that ‘ethnic minorities are at greater risk because social and economic disparities lead to poor outcomes in health [ii]
As background to his argument, Dr Khan referred to Ethnicity, Race and Inequality in the UK: State of the Nation (Policy Press, 2020). This very useful Report includes a chapter on ‘Health Inequalities’ [iii]
The Government has launched an official Inquiry to consider why people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds appear to be disproportionately affected by coronavirus. The Inquiry will be led by NHS England and Public Health England.[iv]
CARJ welcomes the inquiry, but agrees with some who have questioned whether a more independent Inquiry might be appropriate [v]
CARJ welcomes the announcement that Baroness Doreen Lawrence will lead a Labour Party Review into the impact of coronavirus on black, Asian and minority ethnic communities[vi]
It is also important to consider the vulnerability of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Communities during the corona virus. On 24 March 2020, Friends Families and Travellers and 29 other organisations wrote to Government Ministers, asking them to take action to support GRT Communities at this difficult time: [vii]
CARJ will continue working with others to consider all these matters.
[i] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/22/racial-inequality-in-britain-found-a-risk-factor-for-covid-19?CMP=share_btn_link
[ii] https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/20/coronavirus-racial-inequality-uk-housing-employment-health-bame-covid-19
[iii] https://www.runnymedetrust.org/blog/state-of-the-nation-new-comprehensive-analysis-on-race-in-britain
[iv] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/16/inquiry-disproportionate-impact-coronavirus-bame
[v] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/20/bame-covid-19-deaths-demand-a-broader-inquiry
[vi] https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/uk-politics-52405243
[vii] https://www.gypsy-traveller.org/health/covid-19-uk-government-must-lay-out-clear-plan-to-support-gypsies-travellers-and-boaters/
NJPN Comment in the Catholic Universe: Barbara Kentish
NJPN Comment in the Catholic Universe
Barbara Kentish; Crisis of refugees– or of attitude?
Calais’current migrant issues are an illustration of the bigger challenges of welcome facing Greece and Italy. Many in Calais have passed through
southern Europe, their fingerprints fed into the pan-Europe database.
While there remains a need for a coherent humanitarian policy at
European level, local hospitality initiatives are inspiring. Volunteers in northern France are going the extra mile to welcome migrants into their homes. People such as V, who renovated her outhouse to equip it with water and electricity, to host two migrants; and P, who rents a disused presbytery to house five more. This winter, in disused parish rooms, he welcomed a further 11, while the Catholic Worker House is currently home to 16 others. Citizens are allowed to offer hospitality. France’s well-known ‘crime of solidarity’, forbidding help to
those without papers, has been attenuated by a judge who ruled that the primary value of ‘Fraternité’ trumps that of excluding non-citizens from human rights. It is an interpretation often challenged on the ground, however, and helpers must beware of profiting from any quid pro quo services.
Despite this climate of deterrence, the welcome of NGOs in the Calais region has operated brilliantly until the Covid-19 crisis. Utopia56,
Refugee Community Kitchen, Project Play and Woman’s Aid, Collective Aid and Secours Catholique have now dovetailed efficiently to provide a range of hospitality services. One scheme deserving mention is Migr’action59, a family hosting project in Lille. It offers weekend respite stays to migrants, taking them away from the life of struggle, providing meals, a clean bed, showers and clothes washing. Another drop in the ocean? Sophie Djigo, a philosophy lecturer and founder of Migr’action59, claims not: rather, such actions can break down barriers between migrant ‘outsiders’, and ‘citizen’ society. Eating, socialising and sleeping in the same house are steps towards recognising equality between human beings, regardless of their circumstances. Migr’action has found that the 48-hour break allows the ‘exilés’ to take stock and rediscover a little hope in humanity, after their multi-country rejection. A
few reconsider their plans to reach the UK, seeing other possibilities, including asylum in France. These French citizens are reasserting their instinct to offer hospitality to others, resisting the apparently state-sanctioned violence towards the scapegoats for European problems. We don’t find these beacons of hope much in the papers. After all, they may be crimes of solidarity!
Barbara Kentish is a member of Westminster Justice and Peace.
Latest News From The NorthWest
Latest News From The NorthWest
The April 2020 edition of the NW NJPN E Bulletin looks at the many changes we are having to make to our daily lives and the way we worship due to the coronavirus pandemic. Poems and reflections help us to adapt to what Cardinal Vincent Nichols calls ‘a strange, strange Sunday’, the first of many for the foreseeable future. Let’s use this enforced solitude well to reflect on all that is good, to slow down our busy lives and take stock. Let’s celebrate the many acts of kindness from friends, family and strangers in our communities.
Central America also features this month as well as the results of the Columban’s ‘Throwaway Culture’ competition for young writers and film makers. There are book reviews and a song for St Patrick’s Day to lift our spirits.
Please read and pass on and do take good care in these difficult times.