The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Whereas, recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world. Whereas, disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people.

These opening words of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, whose 60th anniversary we celebrate this year, help us to understand the dignity and value of the human person. They were first said in 1948 after the most vicious of inhuman atrocities on a scale never before endured by the human species.It was just after the horrors of WWII that the nations of the world realized the evil that had been perpetrated on millions of innocent people. The unspeakable horrors of torture, genocide, and mass murder are the shocking evidence that human beings are a flawed and dangerous species capable of the destruction of their entire species, every other species and even the planet itself.

The human race came together in 1948 to say never again would such atrocities be allowed to rise unchallenged or occur with impunity. Once the universal rights of the individual were established "once and for all," they would be protected and defended by all nations who declared they would honor and uphold them. Unfortunately, the rule of law and respect for the individual are weak when the lust for power, crass desire and destructive selfishness sweeps away the rights of others.

We can see the global crises of the present in the greed of the recent past. The global economy is at the brink of implosion, and millions are on the brink of starvation. The rights of others are almost completely forgotten and ignored.“Never again,” they said. Yet here it is again, staring at us from the television, the newspapers and the internet. The bloated bodies of the hungry, the shrunken bodies of the cholera victims of Zimbabwe tell of a world spiritually paralyzed and the declaration of human rights becomes nothing but a wet sheet of paper. Then there is the Eastern Congo, Iraq, Afghanistan, and before that Palestine, Rwanda, and Bosnia.

"Never again" is all too frequently repeated.The few that strive to promote and persuade mankind to embrace the values of generosity, peace, cooperation, respect, equality, compassion and care, are the people whom we need to be, united in our goal of making those universal rights a reality for as many as possible.

Fr. Shay's columns are published in The Manila Times, in publications in Ireland, the UK, Hong Kong, and on-line. Contact Fr. Shay Cullen at the Preda Center, Upper Kalaklan, Olongapo City, Philippines. e-mail: preda@info.com.ph Visit www.preda.org for more articles.

Missionary Society of St. Columban receives Presidential Medallion from Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska.

Winter weather did not deter more than 225 students, their family and friends from gathering Saturday, Dec. 20 to celebrate Creighton University’s winter commencement. The ceremony took place on campus at the Kiewit Convocation and Fitness Center. Presiding at the ceremony was the Rev. John P. Schlegel, S.J, Creighton University President.

About 131 baccalaureate degrees were conferred with 95 students receiving advanced degrees.

Several awards honoring people and organizations that have made positive differences in the Omaha community and across the nation were given.

The Rev. Arturo Aguilar, SSC, Regional Director for the Missionary Society of St. Columban, USA, accepted the University’s Presidential Medallion on behalf of the Society, which celebrated the 90th anniversary of their founding in 2008.


In the photo, from left to right, Rev. Roc O’Connor, S.J. Rector of the Jesuit Community; Rev. Arturo Aguilar, S.S.C receiving award; Rev. John P. Schlegel, S.J. Creighton University President.

The Message of Christmas

By Fr. Shay Cullen

Soon the Christian churches in the Philippines and around the world will be full on Christmas night celebrating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, savior of the world. Christians believe that Jesus came to save us from sin, not only from our personal sin by calling us to repent and believe the good news, but also from the"sins of the world," or from the sinners in the world.

The really big thing about Christmas and the birth of Jesus Christ (and even non-Christians can welcome this), is that Christ brought a message of equality for all, and established the dignity and rights of women and children. Amazingly, the poor learned that the individual was not a slave of the state but has profound inalienable rights as a human being, a child of God.

So if ever you are made feel inferior by others, empower yourself with the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth and know that all humans are equal before God which should be the basis of justice and equality before the law of land.Jesus was born as an impoverished child and stories spread that there was a rival born that would establish a new kingdom in Palestine. King Herod the Great, a bloodthirsty tyrant, ordered all boys two years and younger to be killed. What a slaughter on the word of one cruel, power-crazed man determined to prolong his family dynasty. Jesus and his parents were refugees, asylum seekers in Egypt.

Unfortunately today, we still have killers like this doing away with outspoken people pursuing the truth and social justice, even priests and pastors. The sins of the world are very much with us. We have, in different degrees, failed to accept and follow Jesus and live up to His teachings to love and respect one another, share the wealth and live in peace.

We must continue to try to make Jesus better known and admired and his teachings more accepted. We can only do this by practicing, as Jesus said, “By your love for one another they will know you are my disciples."His message is just as dangerous now as it was for His disciples. After His birth, He spread the news that all are equal in the eyes of the creator and have equal rights, dignity and a place in God's Kingdom of love and justice.

It was an electrifying message and subversive to the theological and political rulers whose position had never been challenged. But poor people were lifted up and empowered by Jesus. “You can believe in me,” Jesus said, “God wants all to be respected and to love each other and share the blessings of the earth fairly and equally”. That's the message of Christmas.

Contact Fr. Shay Cullen at the Preda Center, Upper Kalaklan, Olongapo City, Philippines. e-mail: preda@info.com.ph; Visit www.preda.org for more related articles.

The Negros Nine

Dear Friends,

Over the years I have been a little disturbed by the fact that the story of the Negros Nine is often inaccurate and incomplete. I am attempting, for historical purposes, to set the record straight.

With the establishment of the Negros Nine Human Development Foundation Inc. in the year 2000, it was inevitable that we would one day have a website. Please bear with us as we develop our site. Hopefully the site will be self explanatory in terms of our purpose in having the webpage. Your comments will be appreciated. The past should be our mentor as we move to the future.

Please visit our website at www.negrosnine.com.

Peace, Fr. Brian Gore

Columban Mission Office Collects Toys for Tots

The Columban Mission office in Omaha, Nebraska jump started their holiday giving with their annual Toys for Tots collection. Employees donated to the Toys for Tots campaign throughout the month of October. Although we are a small office, we collected several boxes of toys for needy children. Two local marines, SSgt. Geist & SSgt. Nelson, Inspector Instructor Staff, Engineer Maintenance Company, joined us for lunch on Friday October 31 and picked up the toys. SSgt. Geist and SSgt. Nelson conveyed the toys to the local distribution point which they described to us as a gymnasium which by mid-December is filled from floor to ceiling with presents for children.

The office extends our gratitude to all participating employees and the marines for distributing the toys during the holiday season.

Save the Refugees in the Eastern Congo

Fr. Shay Cullen

A stronger, better-armed UN force is urgently needed to protect the hundreds of thousands of innocent women and children in the Eastern Congo. Five million people have died in that region over the past several years. If the people of the Eastern Congo are not killed by machetes, bullets and bombs, then they die of starvation and disease. In these recent weeks thousands of people caught in the crossfire are fleeing from one temporary refugee camp to another.

Charities have appealed for donations to ease the plight of refugees in and around Goma, the capital of the Eastern Congo. There are 17,000 UN peace keepers in the Eastern Congo, the biggest in the world, yet there is no peace — only continual fighting by rival forces.The situation is complex as the Congolese government troops and their allied militia called the Mai-Mai battle with the rebel group led by a Rwandan Tutsi leader General Laurent Nkunda. Also fighting him are the Hutu militia who fled Rwanda after the genocide was stopped by the returning force of Tutsi exiles. There are persistent reports that all groups are recruiting child soldiers.

Government troops have also clashed with the Mai-Mai militia who are supposedly their allies. Government troops have set up their own lucrative mining business profiting from selling tin ore, diamonds and gold and other precious minerals that end up in the laptops and cell phones of consumers around the world. Laurent Nkunda (supported by President Kagame of Rwanda) claims that his goal is to protect the thousands Rwandan Tutsis living in the Eastern Congo who fled there during the genocide unleashed against them by the Hutus in 1994. His enemies say he is aiming to seize power and the mineral wealth of the region. He is the key player in solving the conflict and peace talks have to be pursued with him. President Kagame is also playing a role as he sent troop across the border into the Eastern Congo a few weeks ago.

The world community cannot allow more killing and massacres in the Eastern Congo. They turned away from the Rwandan genocide. Will they do it again? The French foreign minister said the UN force is in disarray and can't protect the people. The French and Spanish commanders have resigned in frustration. How many times are we all to say “never again” to genocide, mass murder and a "catastrophic" situation?

Fr. Shay's columns are published in The Manila Times,in publications in Ireland, the UK, Hong Kong, and on-line.Visit www.preda.org for more related articles.Contact Fr. Shay Cullen at the Preda Center, Upper Kalaklan, Olongapo City, the Philippines. e-mail: preda@info.com.ph