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J/P Alert is the newsletter of the Justice and Peace office of CMSM. It is intended to inform and stimulate discussion and involvement among the members. Its contents do not necessarily represent official positions of CMSM.
Religious Community Unites to Make Protection of the Poor the Moral Measure of Climate Change
Senior leaders representing a broad spectrum of religious life in America united today in their call to protect the poor from the impacts of climate change. Protecting the poor will be the central focus of their common message and of any joint actions they take to address their concerns in legislation. At a special press briefing, they released a far-reaching policy agenda aimed at strengthening environmental and economic protections for low-income Americans and vulnerable populations abroad.
Speaking out a day before a Senate subcommittee was to act on a bipartisan climate change bill, senior leaders of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, National Association of Evangelicals, National Council of Churches, and Union of Reform Judaism praised the architects of the Lieberman-Warner plan for their leadership in producing a groundbreaking proposal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and for working to address the faith community's conviction that all climate legislation must have measures that assure protection of poor peoples and nations. The religious leaders were encouraged by aspects of the domestic poverty provisions of the bill and welcomed some initial steps to address international poverty and climate change.
In response to the urging from faith groups and leading
international relief organizations, Senate sponsors agreed to reinsert
a provision
to set aside five percent of emissions-related revenues to help
developing nations adapt to climate change. The religious community will
work
with Senate leaders to strengthen and build on this initial improvement.
"We are encouraged by some of the initial steps taken by Senators Lieberman and Warner and the Chairman Boxer in response to the needs of the poor. We in the religious community will be working closely with them to strengthen and improve protections for the poor and vulnerable as legislation moves forward," according to Paul Gorman, Executive Director of the National Religious Partnership for the Environment.
"We are convinced the real 'inconvenient truth' about climate change is that those who contribute least to the problem are likely to suffer the most, and for us, the moral measure of legislation is how we respond to that truth and work to protect ‘the least among us' in our nation and on the planet we share. We are grateful that the overdue and essential legislative deliberations are now moving forward, and we appreciate the good faith and encouraging efforts underway to address these priorities by the leaders of this important work," said Bishop Thomas Wenksi, Chair of the Committee on International Policy for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
"As a community so deeply engaged in world relief and development, the need to protect the poor has been at the very heart of evangelicals' conversion and commitment to action on climate change," said Richard Cizik, Vice President of Governmental Affairs of the National Association of Evangelicals. "We look forward to working with Senators Lieberman, Warner and Boxer to ensure that legislation substantially addresses this moral obligation, and we appreciate their commitments to do so."
"The Senate now has the opportunity to set aside political posturing and pass strong climate legislation that protects our brothers and sisters both here and abroad," explained Michael Livingston, President of the National Council of Churches, USA. "It is not a question of ‘if' but ‘when' vulnerable communities will experience the devastating effects of flooding, disease and food insecurity that is associated with global climate change."
Rabbi David Saperstein, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, highlighted the fact that "an extraordinarily broad spectrum of faith groups are now organized to assure that fundamental religious teachings will undergird historic legislation, which will change the entire direction of U.S. policy for the long-term."
To help frame the issue and policy options more broadly and define their standards for long-term action, the coalition of faith groups, allied in the National Religious Partnership for the Environment, put forward a "Religious Agenda on Global Climate Change and Poverty." Citing the biblical link between stewardship and justice — "the earth is the Lord's" (Psalm 24:1) and "the Lord hears the cry of the poor" (Job 34:28) — the Agenda declares that legislation would be "substantively incomplete as a matter of policy and morally unacceptable as an expression of values if it does not make protecting those least able to protect themselves a central priority."
The collective voice of the religious community calls upon Congress to take "meaningful and measurable steps to shield vulnerable populations from the disproportionate dangers to which they will likely be exposed as the planet warms."
In particular, the Agenda calls for:
Priorities: Making protecting people in poverty a central
focus of any climate legislation.
Resources: Setting aside 40 percent of all new resources generated
by economy-wide climate change legislation for programs aimed at shielding
vulnerable populations from environmental
dangers and limiting the economic burdens of new policies on low-income
and working families at home and abroad.
Energy Relief: Providing an effective program of transitional and temporary relief and rebates to low- income and working families and individuals in the U.S. to offset any substantial rise in energy prices resulting from climate change legislation.
International Investment : Providing essential help to address the disproportionate impact of climate change upon the most vulnerable people and nations around the world by supporting effective adaptation measures and by investing in mitigation strategies that can help developing nations grow in sustainable and climate-friendly ways.
Evaluation: Studying the particular impacts and consequences of climate change on vulnerable populations around the world and the effectiveness of specific relief efforts.
Preparation: Promoting emergency and long-range planning and assistance to help vulnerable populations in the U.S. and abroad adapt to adverse climate impacts and climate change policy and to participate in mitigation efforts.
For a full copy of the "Religious Agenda on Global Climate Change and Poverty," contact Eric Antebi at 415-901-0111 x328 or eantebi@fenton.com.
The National Religious Partnership for the Environment includes the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the National Council of Churches, the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life and the Evangelical Environmental Network.
[Further climate resources can be found on the Catholic
Coalition on Climate Change web site.]
The persons who are primarily responsible for the development and improvement of the economic, social and cultural dimensions of the evolving Palestinian state are found among the Palestinian people. Bethlehem University, the first university established in the West Bank, is proud to announce the graduation of the 19 students of the first class for the Masters of International Cooperation and Development (MICAD).
The graduates of the MICAD program, the first masters degree offered by Bethlehem University, are highly qualified professional persons who have demonstrated superior skills and knowledge in the areas of sustainable development, with specific knowledge and ethical awareness in human development, social and economic issues, project management, political science and international relationships. With the academic rigor of the MICAD program and their practical professional expertise, the MICAD graduates are prepared to provide NGOs, United Nations agencies and public and private institutions throughout Palestine with ethical leadership in international cooperation and development.
The MICAD graduates are persons of competence, creativity and commitment who will continue with renewed vigor their work in the development of Palestine. Bethlehem University is proud to participate in this historic moment.
The MICAD program at Bethlehem University has been made possible through the generous assistance of more than 21 donors and partner NGOs in collaboration with the University of Pavia, Italy, University College Dublin, Ireland, and Radbound University Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Brother Jack Curran, FSC
Prominent Catholics
Call for Civility in Politics
A diverse group of prominent lay Catholics -- including 11 former U.S. ambassadors and former chairmen of the Republican and Democratic National Committees -- have called for a more civil tone to replace the divisive rhetoric and partisan attacks that define our national political debates.
The leaders in law, politics and religion released the statement, A Catholic Call to Observe Civility in Political Debate, at a news conference at the National Press Club. Ambassador Thomas P. Melady, the former U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See, and Timothy J. May, a Senior Partner with Patton Boggs LLP and Trustee Emeritus with the Catholic University of America, co-organized the statement.
"Civility should be a guiding principle in our public life," the statement says. "Civility and its potential impact on the fabric of the Catholic Church should be of concern to all faithful Catholics, both clergy and lay people."
"The statement directly addresses controversies over Catholic politicians whose positions on various polarizing issues conflict or give the appearance of conflicting with Church teachings," said Ambassador Thomas P. Melady. "Some voices have been shrill. The language at times has been offensive. The level of dialogue and conversation in too many instances has not met the standards that one expects in a country trying to establish worldwide standards for all democracies."
It cautions Catholic politicians whose positions contradict Catholic teachings. "Catholic politicians who advertise their Catholicism as part of their political appeal but ignore the Church's moral teachings in their political life confuse non-Catholics by giving the appearance of hypocrisy," it says. The statement urges lay Catholics to "avoid public statements that undermine the authority of the Church's leaders."
"As lay Catholics we should not exhort the Church to condemn our political opponents by publicly denying them Holy Communion based on pubic dissent from Church teachings," the statement reads. "An individual's fitness to receive communion is his or her personal responsibility. It is a bishop's responsibility to set for his diocese the guidelines for administering communion." The document goes on to say that bishops and all involved in church leadership "should not permit the Church to be used, or appear to be used, as a partisan political tool."
For a copy of the statement and list of signers, click on
Globalization
demands new role for Catholic voters
Bringing a voice of faith, reason and compassion into the political dialogue, the Center of Concern has launched its new project, …voting the common good: ELECTION 2008. The project intends to help guide Catholic and non-Catholic voters alike by applying the values and principles of Catholic social teaching to the issues facing the American people in the coming election year.
"Catholic social teaching is not as well known to the general public as the Church's positions on abortion, marriage, cloning or euthanasia," says James E. Hug, SJ, President of the Center of Concern. "But it provides the kind of careful, practical reflection on biblical teaching and respectful, reasoned argument that the nation needs in today's highly charged and divisive political atmosphere, where faith is too frequently manipulated for partisan advantage."
For more than two thousand years, Christians have struggled over how to live their faith in society and bring their biblical values to bear on the difficult choices confronting them. Since 1891, popes have drawn on that experience to crystallize principles and teachings for Christians in the modern world through encyclical letters and other teaching tools.
"For the more than 70 million Catholics who live in the U.S.," Hug says, "the vision and reasoned argument of this extensive body of Catholic teaching provides important guidance as the nation is plunged into more than a year of political campaigning, culminating in perhaps the most important election of a lifetime." The role of Catholics will be particularly crucial, since many political observers believe the Catholic vote determined last election's winner. "As a result," Hug notes, "Catholics' votes will be vigorously sought by both parties in this campaign season."
To help inform and guide voters in the election process, the Center of Concern is publishing a series of policy papers and educational materials on campaign issues for personal and group reflection. The first set of materials clarifies the notion of the common good as the context for all the major issues of the campaigns. The policy paper and educational materials point out that each issue – from immigration to jobs, from health care to global warming, from poverty to terrorism – is a new or more complicated problem because of globalization.
Besides the policy paper, the packet includes a backgrounder on the common good, group process materials, questions for candidates, talking points, an insert for church bulletins, and a blog entry that can be modified for local use or media outreach.
All materials in the Center of Concern initiative will be posted at www.coc.org and www.educationforjustice.org, and are available free of charge for individual or group use. Future postings in this Center initiative will be made on the 1st and 15th of each month. Topics will include immigration, international relations, jobs and outsourcing, poverty, Iraq and security, health care, and climate change. Other topics may be developed as the campaigns evolve.
"With all the attention paid to the role of faith and faith communities in the nation's political life these days, we believe there have been too many simplistic sound bites and too little careful analysis of the pressing issues and the faith values essential to moving them toward successful resolution," Hug says. "We hope to unite the Catholic and Christian communities in a process of careful discernment of the candidates and their positions during the primary season through to the November election."
[The Center of Concern is an independent Catholic organization working in ecumenical and interfaith collaboration to bring a prophetic voice for social and economic justice to the global context. Founded in 1971 by the Society of Jesus at the request of the U.S. Catholic Bishops, it provides information and analysis and serves as a catalyst for greater justice and more authentic human development for the human community. Through analysis, education, advocacy and capacity-building, the Center challenges structural injustice and promotes innovative economic alternatives. For more information, visit www.coc.org/election2008.]
Invitation To Participate in a Delegation to Guerrero
Three years ago the International Service for Peace (SIPAZ) expanded their work beyond Chiapas to include the Mexican states of Guerrero and Oaxaca. SIPAZ does not have teams in these states but through periodical visits and contact with local counterparts, SIPAZ is able to inform the public (through our web page: http://www.sipaz.org/fini_eng.htm) about the human rights situation in these states.
Monitoring events in Guerrero and Oaxaca has become increasingly important now that the Zapatista uprising has brought national and international attention to the region, which has led to a decrease in direct violence and has generated pressure on the Mexican government due to the political costs of state-sponsored repression and deaths. While the attention has focused on Chiapas, in states like Guerrero, social organizations, peasant farmers, and indigenous peoples have also suffered threats, violence, and abuse linked to increased militarization with little or no denouncements, leaving the doors open for impunity.
Join SIPAZ's Guerrero Delegation - To be held March 6 - 13, 2008
Traveling with SIPAZ to Guerrero will give you the opportunity to get to know Guerrero from the inside, the problems, local resistance processes, and the struggle of indigenous people for a life with justice and dignity. During our 7-day delegation, we will visit indigenous villages, ecologists, human rights defenders, and much more. Through this trip you will acquire a broader understanding of the problems and the human rights situation in Guerrero.
Some of the places that will be visited include:
The Human Rights Center of Tlachinollan, which is collaborating with SIPAZ in the preparation of the delegation.
- Communities facing issues that threaten indigenous rights to maintain their land.
- Communities struggling to overcome impunity,
corruption, discrimination and the
lack of attention given to denouncements made by the indigenous peoples. - Highly militarized areas of the state.
Profile of participants:
SIPAZ invites members of its coalition groups or members of other grassroots organizations with interest in the problems of Guerrero and Mexico who will be able to follow-up on the human rights situation on their return through such possibilities as:
- Giving an oral report to their organization on the trip and what they learned.
- Writing an article on the experience for their organization's newsletter.
- Encouraging their organization and its members to actively follow human rights issues in Guerrero including responding to urgent actions put out by SIPAZ and other groups.
Costs:
750 USD (according to actual costs the price could go
slightly higher or lower)
Double-room accommodations; two meals per day; transportation to
and from all programmed activities; guides and translators; a qualified
trip leader; all program activities; and reading materials.
NOT INCLUDED are airfare, lunches, airport departure
taxes, tips, and personal expenses.
Single rooms are available for an additional $125.
For more information or to obtain an application form for the delegation write to: info@sipaz.org
Your comments and suggestions are always welcome.
How
can the Justice and Peace Office help you get involved?
T. Michael McNulty, SJ, editor
mmcnulty@cmsm.org
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8808 Cameron St., Silver Spring, MD 20910
Tel: 301-588-4030
• Fax: 301-587-4575 • www.cmsm.org
