Fruits of the Harvest

My family went apple picking over the weekend. It was a gorgeous, warm day at the orchard. We climbed the hill, carried our cloth bags into the rows of trees and marveled at the abundance of the fruit weighing down the branches. In a short time, our bags were very full and heavy. We began the trek back to the building where our apples would be weighed and we would pay for them.

As we rounded the final corner toward the weighing shed, we ran into a group of professional apple pickers. They were at the orchard for the apple harvest and would move on when it was finished. They carried huge, nylon slings filled to the top with apples and were headed to the weighing shed as well. As we walked, we chatted a bit about kids (they were parents too), the weather, the popularity of certain apple varieties. We wished them well in their work and parted company when we reached the visitors’ weighing shed.

My family picked 30 pounds apples at the orchard. We added a gallon of fresh apple cider to our apples, paid for everything and loaded it into our car. During the ride home, I thought about how much fun we had together, how much I enjoy knowing where the food we eat comes from, how I like supporting local farmers. And, I thought about the farm workers who pick apples as a way to provide for their families, not as a fun family activity.

Kate Kenny is the managing editor of Columban Mission magazine.

New Laws Bring Hope in the Philippines

There is good news from the Philippines as we celebrate the passing of new human rights legislation and the progress that has been made on other important pending legislation in the Philippine Congress.

The administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is striving to leave behind an impressive body of new legislation. After many years of hard work by non-government organizations, human rights groups, women’s organizations, people’s associations, church activists and letter-writing supporters, a women’s rights bill was signed into law by President Macapagal-Arroyo. The Magna Carta of Women, as the Republic Act 9710 is called, was signed into law after seven years of struggle.

Its key importance is the recognition that “Women’s Rights Are Human Rights.” The new law says that all “rights,” as stated in the constitution and in international conventions ratified by the Philippines “shall be the rights of women under this act to be enjoyed without discrimination.” The law forbids any form of discrimination against women and promotes equality and dignity of women. In addition, there must be gender balance in the police departments and other government service personnel within five years under the law. Government developmental councils must have 40% female members, and political parties with women's agendas will get incentives. The law also protects pregnant women and single mothers from any kind of discrimination in school or the work place.

A law banning torture by government officials, their agents and any private person is near the final voting. The bicameral conference committee reconciling the house and senate versions approved the consolidated version of the bill, and it will be ratified within the week.

These new laws are good news indeed, but will they ever be implemented? Those of us working for justice and peace believe that I mplementation will be the biggest challenge.

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

Lomas del Poleo Update

Friday, August 21, 2009

Dear Friends and Supporters of Lomas del Poleo:

Peace. Thank you for your ongoing, active and generous support of the residents of Lomas del Poleo.

This has, indeed, been a prolonged, complex and painful struggle. While it has been a window on corruption, impunity, and injustice in Mexico and along its borders with the United States, it has also manifested the commitment of a small community of courageous settlers to persevere under the most difficult of circumstances. It has highlighted the dedication and skills of social activists committed to the transformation of their country and the willingness of people of faith and good will from across the globe to advocate for and support the oppressed seeking justice.

The residents of Lomas, accompanied by local activists and the Lomas support group of El Paso and Las Cruces, continue to make and sell items to raise funds for legal and travel costs. The responses of various individuals, churches and non-profits have been excellent and so the struggle continues.

The following account is based on the written report by Cristina Coronado and conversations with her and Juan Carlos Martinez.

This past Tuesday, August 18, the audience at the Agrarian Tribunal in Chihuahua continued the people’s case begun on April 6 of this year. The audience was the longest so far, going from 200-630p.m. In these four-and-a-half hours more was achieved than in the previous two years. The people were once again represented by the law office “Land and Liberty”, and its principal lawyer, Barbara Zamora, assisted by her husband, Santos Garcia.

Two weeks earlier on August 4, the audience was suspended because the Zaragozas presented a new suit against Vicente Estrada claiming they owned the land upon which his house is built. They had previously denied ownership of this and the land where the other families represented by Barbara Zamora live, only claiming ownership of some 70 square meters of Vicente’s land, the exact area that the Camino Real road traverses. Ms. Zamora asked for the length of time allowed by law to prepare a response to the new suit by the Zaragozas.

The parties re-gathered at the Agrarian Tribunal on August 18 at which time Barbara Zamora attempted to submit the proof/documentation of the Lomas residents’ claims. The court rejected them saying the time for submission of documentation had elapsed. Magistrate Imelda Basurto, however, later accepted Barbara’s arguments and allowed the submission of documents.

The people’s documents demonstrated that those living on this land in Lomas del Poleo for more than thirty years have the right of possession and that the lands themselves are federal not private lands.

Zaragoza’s lawyers then presented their proofs and documents. They then asked permission of the court to address the residents of Lomas directly, offering a negotiation. They said the Zaragoza’s have always been “well disposed to relocate and to negotiate with the people inhabiting this private property.” They would build a house equal to the house the Colonos now lived in, on other lands also owned by Pedro Zaragoza. They claimed to have already relocated the majority of the people and that many had accepted a “just” payment and been treated with respect.

Barbara Zamora turned and looked at the people, asking for a response to the negotiation offered. Theirs was a resounding “No!” The people of Lomas have witnessed the tricks, lies, abuse and violence that those in the employ of the Zaragozas have used to try and displace them from the land for the last six years. They said they would stay with the legal process until the court reached a decision. Barbara reaffirmed her commitment to accompany them until the case is resolved.

During this same audience the Magistrate concluded the submission of documentation and set the date for the presentation of the results of the land surveys/civil engineering results and the testimony of witnesses. This is the most important element of the Agrarian cases. These will be presented on September 28.

To that end there will be a meeting in Lomas del Poleo on September 10 at 12 noon. The Magistrate has ordered that the civil engineers for the Zaragozas and for the Colonos of Lomas del Poleo will gather that Thursday under the supervision of a Court official to take the measurements of the land in dispute in accordance with the Agrarian law. If either party fails to appear, they lose their right to present the measurements/expert testimony as proof in support of their case.

I spoke with Barbara Zamora by telephone and she said the engineer, Hector Alvarez, had gone to Chihuahua today to be officially mandated by the court to take the necessary measurements for the Lomas group and to present them to the Tribunal. Barbara was very happy with the outcome Tuesday, though she confessed she was exhausted by the lengthy audience and travel back and forth to Mexico City. Please keep her and Santos in your prayers, as well.

Conclusion:
This is the most significant advance seen in the case of Lomas del Poleo; a case in which Pedro Zaragoza had constantly refused to appear in or send his representatives/lawyers to the Agrarian Tribunal. After having been allowed to use a variety of pretexts to defer the case, now he has complied with the demands of the court, sending his representatives, lawyers, submitting documentation and technical proofs the same as the Colonos of Lomas.

In large part this advance has been possible thanks to the generosity, support and advocacy efforts of all of you who have remained close and in solidarity with the residents throughout this struggle.

The law services of “Land and Liberty” whose honesty and professionalism have forced the case to stay right where it belongs—in the Agrarian Tribunal—are due much credit. The friends of La Otra Compana in Chihuahua have also done much to offer moral support through their presence at the audiences and their willing to help convey documents and messages between the court, Land and Liberty and the Colonos themselves.

Finally, your prayers and support are still asked for all involved in this case especially for the small community of courageous settlers of Lomas del Poleo whose willingness to peacefully resist the evils inflicted upon them and faithfully remain in the way of the laws and constitution of Mexico.

Gracias a Dios!
And to all of you,
Fr. Bill Morton, SSC

Taiwan typhoon damage update

Fr. Pat O’Beirne provided the following update regarding the damage sustained from typhoon Morakot.

Greetings to all,

A couple of people have emailed me inquiring about the typhoon damage in Taiwan, so I thought I should send a short update. Moving slowly, typhoon Morakot brought torrential amounts of rainfall in its tail. The south of the island, especially Kaohsiung county, was most severely hit. All 15 Columbans currently assigned to Taiwan live and work in the north western part of the island, so we are all safe and sound, thank God.

However, the devastation and loss of life in the south has still not been finally tallied. So far, 103 people are dead and 61 people are missing. There was $300,000,000 U.S. worth of damage done to agriculture and aquaculture and $100,000,000 U.S. worth of damage to roads and bridges. Loss to personal property is still unknown. Rescue efforts are still being hampered by bad weather.

In the mountain parish where Fr. Larry Barnett, lay missionaries Tabitha Bark and Vida Hequilan and I live, we were without electricity for almost two days. The roads in the area have been severely damaged by landslides. One main road to our parish has been temporarily repaired. Speaking from past experience, many of the the aborigine survivors who are trapped in the mountain villages are elderly and require regular access to medical clinics. The situation with the roads is an added stress for them.

The government of Taiwan is getting severe criticism nationally and internationally for its slow response to the crisis and for initially refusing offers of help in the rescue effort, except for financial donations which came in from 50 nations. Many thanks for your concern for our safety. Please continue to keep the people in your prayers,

Fr. Pat O’Beirne

One Dollar A Day

How much money do you spend every day on food?

In the U.S., people spend an average of $10 per day on food. In developing countries, 2.7 billion people live on less than $2 a day, and 1.1 billion survive on under $1. [Source: thinkquest.org]

In my family of two adults and two children, we spend roughly $5.35 per day per person. The total includes 28 breakfast meals, 18 lunch meals, 28 dinner meals and approximately 50 snacks. My son buys lunch at school during the academic year, and my daughter’s lunch is included in the price of her preschool tuition. I did not add those amounts to our weekly total. My best estimate is that we spend $175.00 per week on food, a total that includes purchases from the grocery store and farmer’s market. I believe that we are under the U.S. average primarily because we don’t go out to eat very often; my husband and I take our lunches to work; we buy locally as often as possible. I anticipate that our food bill will increase significantly as our children get older.

In September 2008, a young married couple vowed to spend $1.00 per day (each) on food. Christopher and Kerri chronicled the month on their blog, http://onedollardietproject.wordpress.com. At the risk of spoiling the ending, I will say only that they were successful and did not cheat.

However, some interesting questions arose during the month.
• Would it be ok to eat “free” food (i.e. food provided at work conferences, samples at the grocery store, cookies from students) without subtracting the cost from their daily total?
• Why do people with the most food security have the most access to free food?
• How do the demographics of the areas in which we live help determine our food security?

What would you do if you were living on $1.00 a day? $2.00 a day?

Kate Kenny is the managing editor of Columban Mission magazine.

News from Pakistan

Pakistan-based Columban Fr. Tomas King emailed the following correspondence from Bishop Joseph Coutts regarding the recent killings of Christians in Pakistan.Fr. King offered the Bishop condolences and solidarity on behalf of the Columbans.


The beast has had its fill and is now digesting its meal before hunger drives it again to look for new prey.

Christians in Pakistan were once again the target of Muslim mobs looting, burning down their houses and killing. This time the epicenter was a village called Korian, very close to the small city of Gojra about 50 kilometers from Faisalabad. On July 26, 2009 there was a Christian wedding in the village. Some children cut up pages of an old book to use as sort of ticker tape to shower on the wedding party. They had unknowingly cut up pages from an old school book of Islamic Studies. The next day when some Muslims found pieces of paper with Arabic script and some Qur’anic verses scattered about, there was an uproar in the village. However, the matter was settled amicably when it became clear that this had been done by children who were illiterate and there was no intention of desecrating any holy texts.

Life in Korian returned to normal, and the matter was almost forgotten. However, sinister forces were at work. The rumor was being spread that the Christians of Korian had desecrated the Holy Qur’an by tearing out pages and scattering them on the roadside to be trampled underfoot. Around sunset on July 30, a large mob descended on Korian demanding that Taalib Masih (the father of the children) be hanged for blasphemy. Fortunately the Christians had been forewarned and had already fled their homes to safer places. The mob then began its spree of looting and burning the 70 to 80 Christian houses in the village. The two small churches, one Protestant and the other Pentecostal, were ransacked but not burned down. There was no loss of life.

The following day, July 31, the Federal Minister for Minorities, Shahbaz Bhatti, came from Islamabad to view the scene of destruction. The Provincial Minister for Minorities & Human Rights, Kamraan Michael, was also there as were a number of Christian members of parliament. Assurances were given that every effort would be made for compensation and to bring the situation back to normal. It seemed as if this was the end of a terrifying and traumatic experience.

But malicious rumors continued to be circulated that Christians had desecrated the Holy Book. It did not matter where this had happened or who had done it or whether it was true. Christians in many surrounding villages and towns began receiving threats as Mullahs (Muslim clerics) began preaching hatred and revenge. On August 1 a large mob moved towards a Christian locality called Christian Town in the center of Gojra city. They carried sticks, clubs and even firearms. The small police force’s half-hearted attempt to stop them was ineffective. Some Christians who had pistols or hunting rifles tried to defend themselves but soon ran out of ammunition. The mob overwhelmed the locality and went on a rampage looting and burning about 60 Christian houses. Police reinforcements arrived by late afternoon, but it was too late - the damage had been done. Till evening bodies were being recovered from the smoking ruins of the houses. The number of injured is not known, but seven Christians were killed, two of them children.

It was planned to have the funeral of the Christians around noon on Sunday, August 2. But when the local Action Committee came to know that the police had not yet registered a report against 12 persons who they had identified and two city officials for criminal negligence, they refused to release the bodies for burial. The Provincial Law Minister, Raja Sanaullah, who was present, supported the demand of the Christians. But the police delayed in registering the report, offering to enter a milder, watered-down version instead. But the Christians did not back down. By 4:00 p.m. a large group carried the seven coffins and placed them on the railway track. They then sat down around the coffins thus blocking the railway track and disrupting rail traffic. Hundreds of other Christians waited in the church compound, singing Psalms and hymns, praying for the deadlock to be broken. Finally, around 8:30 p.m., the police entered the report and the funeral took place by 9:30 p.m.

Bishop Joseph Coutts, who was present with the people throughout the day, presided at the funeral accompanied by Rt. Rev. John Samuel, the Protestant bishop. Bishop Coutts appealed to the government to repeal the infamous Blasphemy Law that was repeatedly being misused and had now caused the death of seven innocent Christians. He also said that the government’s plan to celebrate August 11 as “Minorities’ Day” should be observed as a “Black Day” or “Day of Mourning” instead.

There are indications that the attack on Korian as well as on Gojra was planned and the people instigated by a banned Islamic group. Such extremist Islamic groups want to “purify” Pakistan by making it a strictly Islamic, theocratic state. Democracy is rejected as something Western and un-Islamic. Non-Muslims should either convert to Islam or leave the place. They want a sort of religious cleansing.

In describing the hatred and destruction it would be unfair not to mention and commend those Muslims who gave shelter to their terrified Christian neighbors or tried to help in other ways while the storm of hatred and destruction raged around them all. The government has announced compensation of Rs. 500,000 (US $ 5,250) for each of the affected families. The Chief Minister of Punjab province has also announced that he will visit Gojra on August 3 to condole with the Christian community there and to listen to their grievances.

What happened in Korian and Gojra was almost a replication of what had happened near Kasur a small city about 40 kilometers from Lahore only a month ago. Similarly, in 2005, in the town of Sangla Hill, Christian houses, two churches, the parish house, a high school and convent were ransacked and badly damaged. In 1987 a large Christian village called Shantinagar was reduced to ruins. In all these cases the police did almost nothing to stop the rampaging mobs. No doubt condolences, apologies and assurances pour in from officials and other citizens after the event. But the timely action required to prevent such incidents has always been missing.
+ Joseph Coutts
Bishop of Faisalabad

Parish travel in the Philippines

I work in Santa Cruz parish in the Southern Philippines. It is situated between two towns, one of which, Tambulig, is in the diocese of Pagadian;, the other ,Bonafacio, is in the diocese of Ozamiz.. We have over 1800 Catholic families with 800 of those families living in six areas. Each of the six areas has its own church and its own primary school but is close enough, within a 15-minute drive or a 30-40 minute walk, to attend Sunday Mass in the little village of Liloan where there is a large church and community center.

The other 1000 families live up in the hills and grow coconuts, rice and bananas. They have twenty community churches, two of which are at the edge of the forest where tribal Filipinos live. The communities in the hills organize their own liturgies on Sundays and for the annual fiesta. They have their own prayer leaders, choir leaders, Eucharistic ministers and volunteer catechists, who teach religion for an hour every week in the other schools in the parish.

I try to visit these communities at lease twice a year – once when I have Mass and confessions in each school and once for the fiesta. The problem is getting up to these communities as there are no all-weather roads, just trails that have been leveled out by a bulldozer and a grader. Each rainy season the water pours down from the hills and makes deep canals in the roads. When it is raining the roads are impassable. In the dry season, I can drive in the parish truck to the foot of the hills where I am picked up on a motorcycle by someone from the community. Sometimes I just have to slush my way up through the water. When I feel like complaining, I remember the people who have to make the same trek each and every time they need to go shopping.

Submitted by Fr. Damien McKenna, July 2009

A Fascinating Adventure

Mission has become a fascinating adventure, peppered with challenges that introduce me to a new people in a new culture in a new society. I'm pleasantly surprised every day.

The journey has its difficulties, but it is possible to walk with cheerful enthusiasm if we are willing to open our hearts to receive all the new things that God is giving us. There is always a fresh story that motivates me to continue, good news that renews my hope and strengthens my spirit and missionary vocation.

I enjoy the beautiful adventure of the mission that God has offered to me as a token of His love and trust. I live happily and am grateful for the welcome of the Filipino people, for the gift of their smiles, their meals, their liturgical celebrations; their sorrows and joys. Each experience shows me that God is alive among His people, among my friends and companions in the mission, and that God "hears the cry of His people and goes with them wherever they go."

Antonio J. Salas Villagómez is a Columban lay missionary in Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur, the Philippines.

The Fun in Fundraisers

“Frankly, any disease for which they have fundraisers is no fun.”

I heard that phrase as I was draining a large vat of noodles in the kitchen of a church hosting a spaghetti feed several years ago. The proceeds from the evening were going to a family that had three children battling cystic fibrosis. Even with good medical insurance and two working parents, the medical bills were piling up for the family, and their church family stepped in to help them out. Were their medical bills wiped out from the proceeds of the evening? I doubt it since we were charging $3.00 per plate, all one cared to eat, kids under 6 free.

Nonetheless, the event was a success. The family witnessed how many people from their church and local community would stand with them, assist them, pray for them. Sometimes a $3.00 plate of spaghetti satiates more than hunger. The act of coming together as a community, to comfort, aid, celebrate or mourn, feeds the soul.

Check the local paper for fundraisers in your community. While the reasons behind the fundraisers are never fun, the events themselves are a good opportunity to connect with neighbors, make new friends and renew our membership as kingdom people.

Kate Kenny is the managing editor of Columban Mission magazine.

Update: Peru

Dozens of letters written by Columban missionaries and friends from the United States and around the world flowed into the Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach (CCAO) over the last week. The letters were a response to our action alert prompted by the violence in Bagua, Peru, over decrees enacted by the Peruvian government to comply with the Free Trade Agreement with the United States.

The CCAO office arranged a meeting with Minister Manuel Talavera, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Peruvian Embassy in Washington, D.C., on June 17. We delivered the letters and during our one hour meeting expressed our concern for the indigenous people of Peru. We specifically urged the Peruvian government to carefully consider the rights and needs of the indigenous people in future trade agreements and decrees through meaningful consultation processes with civil society.

After many months of protesting and violence leading to deaths, the decrees were finally repealed June 18, 2009. The Minister expressed the belief that dialogue would increase in the coming months between the government, NGOs, and the indigenous people as they develop new trade decrees. We will continue to carefully monitor this process and to engage the Peruvian government through the Embassy to respect the rights of the indigenous people and the common good.

Lomas del Poleo Update

June 15, 2009

Dear Friends and Supporters of the Residents of Lomas del Poleo:

As always, thank you for the many ways you have been accompanying the people of Lomas: writing letters to Hilary Clinton and other officials, sharing the story with your friends and wider communities, financial support, and, above all, your prayers that the people will be safe, the Zaragozas and their minions converted and the land dispute resolved peacefully according to the constitution and laws of Mexico.

This past week there have been protests by the families and supporters of the primary school, Alfredo Nava Sahagun, at the Electrical Commission, CFE, demanding the transformer illegally removed by the Commission be restored: the link (in Spanish) follows but may have to be pasted into your browser.
http://www.diario.com.mx/nota.php?notaid=5860ac7c72697e8d6fc0870ace3410d2

The other protest was last week at the SEP (Secretaria Educacion Publica) demanding that the abuse, threats and direct violence of the brothers Jorge and Pedro Zaragoza against the school cease immediately. In particular, the action of one of the Supervisors of the Zone, Blassa Serrano, has tried to shut down the school and force the children to attend the school in the relocation zone, set up by the Zaragozas through their surrogates, the Municipal government of Juarez. Again, the link (in Spanish) follows:
http://www.diario.com.mx/nota.php?notaid=ebe9e84bbaf1e910c4481988872159b3

In an update from Foro Lomas del Poleo, Cristina and Juan Carlos report that Galilea Hernandez Zuniga, from the Alfredo Nava Sahagun Primary School in Lomas, won the First Prize in Academics in the western zone of the Juarez public school system. She is one of the 72 children who attend the school and face threats and harassment when they pass through the gates illegally controlled by the guards paid by Pedro and Jorge Zaragoza Fuentes.

On Monday, June 8, 2009 I spoke to City Representative Beto O'Rourke's weekly community meeting. It was a small group but very interested in and sympathetic to the plight of the Lomas residents when they heard the story. We are visiting the City Councilors to ask their their support for a City Council Resolution condemning the violence and demanding the situation be resolved peacefully and in accordance with the law. Rep. Steve Ortega has invited me to be a guest on the radio program he hosts this Wednesday, June 17, 2009, between 2:30 and 4:00 p.m CDT. I believe there is a call-in period, so if you want to offer support or enlightenment to the wider El Paso community, please call.

Finally, on Tuesday, June 16, the residents are going down to Chihuahua to the Agrarian Tribunal for their audience. Please keep them and their legal team in your prayers.

Gracias,
Father Bill Morton, SSC

Climate Change: the agenda for mission today

Columban Father Patrick McMullan recently edited and published the book Climate Change: the agenda for mission today. The book contains the edited versions of the papers and reports given at the Columban International Conference on Climate Change held in Manila, the Philippines, on September 23-29, 2007.

An excerpt from the introduction by Fr. McMullan of Climate Change: the agenda for mission today:

The claim that climate change is the agenda for mission is, to say the very least, controversial. Yet, in two senses that is precisely the claim made in the title of this book. Firstly, climate change is the lens through which we must now understand the significance and importance of Christian mission. Secondly, climate change is the agenda which takes precedence over other mission agendas. The task, one which we must acknowledge is in its infancy, is to articulate a coherent and grounded theology that takes climate change as its primary data. This book, Climate Change: the agenda for mission today, is but a modest start in the task of creating a fundamental shift in the understanding of mission.

The book is available for purchase at www.missionagenda.com for US $20.00 and includes postage and handling.

Summer Vacation

For students, the end of May marks three glorious months of freedom from school – no homework, no rushing to catch the bus in the morning, no cramming for finals. Many high school and college students planned to work this summer. Unfortunately, the current recession has eroded job possibilities for students along with the regular, full-time work force. These students face a summer without a paycheck in sight and a 2009-2010 academic year that will feel the financial pinch.

If students aren’t working this summer, what options are open to them? They need something constructive to do with their time to give purpose to their days and keep them out of trouble. I’m proud to say that I know several teenagers who developed new opportunities when they were unable to find paying work.

One young lady is volunteering at a nursing home by starting a book club for residents. One young man is mowing lawns, for free, for several senior citizens on fixed incomes. Another teenage girl is volunteering at a local animal shelter. They won’t collect one paycheck for their work all summer long, but the return on their investment, in others and their communities, should pay dividends for their entire lives.

Kate Kenny, managing editor, Columban Mission magazine

2009 World Environment Day

June 5th, 2009 is World Environment Day!

World Environment Day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972 and has been commemorated in a different city each year with an international exposition through the week of June 5. Mexico is hosting the events this year.Please find a prayer for the day at: http://jpicformation.wikispaces.com/

The prayer was developed by members of the USG/UISG Commission for Justice Peace and Integrity of Creation in Rome. The adaptation and use of this prayer in any ministry setting is encouraged. Please feel free to distribute the prayer widely as well.

Remembering Tiananmen Square

People will flock to Victoria Park in Causeway Bay on June 4 to burn candles in honor of those who died in the Tiananmen Square Massacre twenty years ago. Cautious expectations that China was on the verge of some democratic change in 1989 were shattered by early morning gunfire as the Chinese government rolled its tanks into the students, workers, journalists, government officials and people from all walks of life who were calling for reform and an end to corruption.

Thousands gathered in the rain on the evening of June 3 as news filtered into Hong Kong that there was trouble in Tiananmen. On June 4, the extent of the horror was broadcast around the globe. On each succeeding anniversary, the memories of those who died have been honored at a candlelight vigil organized by the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of the Patriotic Democratic Movements of China.

Today, the true death toll of Tiananmen is still unknown. People involved in the pro-democracy movement are still in exile while others are in prison. Families of the victims are still denied the opportunity to mourn their dead, and a group gathered under the collective, Tiananmen Mothers, is harassed and kept under surveillance.

With its current political clout, China can buy the silence of foreign governments and societies.
China adopted economic reform in 1978, but without political reform to safeguard the rule of law, only those in power benefited from it. As long as the economy is used as justification for human rights abuses, candles will continue to burn for the victims, not only in Victoria Park, but in the hearts of millions worldwide.

Columban Fr. Jim Mulroney who is living and working in Hong Kong provided this update.

Bored Media Syndrome

We are a global world. News coverage of any event is instantaneous. Thanks to the internet, a dowdy, middle-aged female in the United Kingdom became an overnight YouTube sensation worldwide and appears to be well on her way to an entirely new lifestyle. When a typhoon struck Myanmar, the rest of the world heard about it and geared up to send aid within hours.

The communication technologies available today make helping our global neighbors easier than at any other time in history. However, with this amazing gift of technology comes responsibility. Just a couple of weeks ago, a new strain of flu with the current moniker H1N1 struck in Mexico. Within hours, the rest of the world knew about it. Over the course of the next several days, news agencies were posting almost minute by minute updates of outbreaks around the world. Every time the CDC raised the awareness level, the news was transmitted. Many news anchors used the phrase, “I don’t want to freak out anyone,” while continuing to report on the possibilities of a global pandemic.

Fortunately, it appears as though the H1N1 will be milder than previously reported. The rate of infection is slowing, and Mexico, the epicenter of the outbreak, is slowly returning to normal. While the virus could always morph into something else, it appears as though the world will be able to handle it with current stocks of antiviral medication.

However, I do wonder if the pandemic hysteria might have been avoided if the world hadn’t been bombarded with minute by minute updates about the spread of the virus. Perhaps if news anchors hadn’t continually used the phrase “freak out,” my local superstore wouldn’t have run out of hand sanitizer. I would like to think that the media wasn’t bored and looking for something that would whip the world into a frenzy. I would like to believe that helping people was at the forefront of the reporting and not ratings.

And just once, I would like to see the same sort of attention paid to the winner of the local spelling bee, the teacher who retired after 45 years teaching second grade or the young man who mowed lawns during the summer to pay for college.

Connie Wacha, Communications/Mission Education Associate, The Columban Fathers

"War is always a defeat for humanity."

“War is always a defeat for humanity.”
--Pope John Paul II

At www.nationalpriorities.org, you can see the up to the minute cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Furthermore, you can find out how much money your state has spent on war spending since 2001 and what that money could have purchased in other areas.

The following information is for the state of Nebraska as of May 8, 2009:

Taxpayers in Nebraska will pay $6.5 billion for total Iraq & Afghanistan war spending (approved & pending) since 2001. For the same amount of money, the following could have been provided:

1,795,978 People with Health Care for One Year OR
6,136,815 Homes with Renewable Electricity for One Year OR
157,386 Public Safety Officers for One year OR
110,641 Music and Arts Teachers for One Year OR
1,111,924 Scholarships for University Students for One Year OR
1,219,375 Students receiving Pell Grants of $5350 OR
72,712 Affordable Housing Units OR
2,393,238 Children with Health Care for One Year OR
929,163 Head Start Places for Children for One Year OR
121,597 Elementary School Teachers for One Year OR
104,274 Port Container Inspectors for One year

How could your state have spent the money?

Sr. Jeanne Janssen, CSJ, Communications/Mission Education Director, The Columban Fathers

Dancing for the World

Dancing for the World presents Crossroads 2009, an evening of cultural presentations of music and dance from countries where the Columban Fathers serve.

When: July 19, 2009, 6 p.m. to 12:00 a.m.

Where: Friendship Auditorium, 3201 Riverside Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m., and the dance program will begin at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are available at the Columban Mission House, 2600 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027.

For more information, please call 323.665.4289 or 213.422.7598

--Ariel Presbitero, Columban Mission Outreach Coordinator, Los Angeles, CA

The Mother’s Day Squirrel

Mother’s Day falls on Sunday, May 10, 2009 in the U.S. this year. Mother’s Day was founded in 1912 by Anna Jarvis, two years after her mother’s death. By 1914, Mother’s Day was a nationally recognized holiday. It was U.S. President Woodrow Wilson who signed the bill into law. Miss Jarvis was very specific about the meaning of the holiday. She meant for each family to honor their mother not to commemorate all mothers in the world.

In 1972, my husband purchased a decorative squirrel with intriguing rhinestone eyes at a garage sale for his mom for Mother’s Day. I believe the purchase price was one nickel which might have been a bit high given the artistic quality of the animal. The squirrel has a place of honor in the china cabinet nestled securely among the stemware. My mother-in-law holds no affection for squirrels in general but stated that if the house were to catch on fire, she’d grab the squirrel on her way out. Why? The squirrel was given by a young boy to the mom he loved.

Fast forward to Mother’s Day 2008, and my five year old son gave me a concrete squirrel festooned with rhinestones and glitter. I’m hoping to receive another one this year and turn them into bookends.

Some people give chocolates and flowers to their mothers on Mother’s Day. We give decorative squirrels. The gifts and customs may differ by age, gender and financial means, but they help us convey our affection and gratitude to the women of our families.

Kate Kenny, Managing Editor, Columban Mission magazine

Middle School Promotion

I recently received an eighth grade promotion announcement in the mail. Quite frankly, it has me a bit stymied. The ceremony used to be called eighth grade graduation, and I gather that both parents and educators are endeavoring to move away from the graduation aspect of the exercise. While many young people may be unable to pursue college degrees due to cost or poor academic achievement, in the U.S. everyone is expected to attend high school. Fortunately the days of heading off to the coal mine or other full-time employment after completing eighth grade are well behind us.

Sadly, not all fourteen year olds are feted with cake and presents after eighth grade. Young people across the globe are forced to leave school due to economic, political and social concerns at young ages. Many of them go to work often in dangerous fields. The young girls may get married and become completely reliant on their husbands. Whatever their circumstances, their potential is stunted which is a sad fact that everyone should mourn.

I will celebrate the achievements of the newly minted middle school graduate, mark the occasion with a card and give thanks that she will be going to high school in three months. I will give thanks that she has the opportunity to take Latin, algebra, English and biology even though she may very well dislike some of her classes. I will give thanks that her biggest complaint about junior high was the fact that her mom didn’t let her wear make-up.

And I will pray for all children who are forced to leave school without completing their educations due to circumstances beyond their control.

In Memory of Cardinal Kim Suhwan

In Memory of Cardinal Kim Suhwan

Dust of snow,
a wind that chills to the bone,
pinched mourning faces,
collars raised, hats pulled low,
the shiver of death everywhere.
Cardinal Kim Suhwan
is lowered to his final resting place.

He brought forth simplicity,
a water simplicity that quickened
every root it touched.
He brought forth patience,
a medicament patience that salved
the wounds of the poor.
He brought forth compassion,
a loving compassion that embraced the world.
Simplicity, patience, compassion,
these three:
timber for a master carpenter,
clay for a master potter,
the hub of a master priest’s wheel.
“If you bring forth what is inside,
what you bring forth will save.”

Fr. Kevin O'Rourke

A poem for Fr. Noel Ryan

Death Song –
After a poem by the Koryo monk Ch’ungji

Seventy years have passed;
now all is consummated.
The road home is smooth;
there will be no more pain.
Your faith and the love of your friends
is all you carry, but it is enough.
For our part memory assuages,
a medicament that cannot be bought
for a thousand pieces of gold.

2009 Ecumenical Advocacy Days Conference in Washington, D.C.

On Friday March 13th 2009, over 700 people from almost every Christian denomination gathered at the Hilton Alexandria Center in Washington for the annual Ecumenical Advocacy Event. The theme for 2009 was climate change. The event began with a prayer service focused on God’s creation. The opening meditation traced both the emergent journey of the Cosmos during the past 13.7 billion years and highlighted the contemporary challenge to protect creation which is so wantonly being destroyed in many parts of the world. The opening prayer captured the theme of the celebration. O Eternal Wisdom, who laid the foundations of the earth, and breathed life into every creature, creating us in our variety to cherish your world and seek your face: we praise you and give you thanks for your abundant love towards this earth violated with our injustice and polluted by our sin.

The gospel reading was from John 10: 1-18 celebrating the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. Jesus tells us that “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” (Jn. 10:10). I was asked to preach and attempted to link climate change with the gospel of Jesus. I recalled that Christians are called like Jesus to be truth tellers. In order to be authentic truth tellers in relation to climate change we need to listen to the voice of scientists especially those associated with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). They argue that the climate change we are now experiencing goes beyond the range of natural fluctuation and that it is caused by human activity, particularly the burning of fossil fuel. Furthermore, they are telling us that unless we drastically reduce the amount of carbon dioxide which we are emitting the consequences, in terms of extreme weather, melting of glaciers and significant rise in sea-levels, will be horrific, especially for the poor, who have done least to cause the problem. In such a rundown and depleted world, life to the full would not be possible for the vast majority of people.

During Saturday and Sunday a variety of seminars took place on the theme of Economic Justice particular as it charts how climate change is affecting the poor. On Saturday afternoon I led a seminar on how climate change and other ecological issues such as deforestation and currently mining are having a detrimental impact on the ecosystems and habitat in the Philippines.

On Saturday evening and Sunday morning each denomination celebrated their liturgy. The Presider at the Catholic Eucharist was Rev. Msgr. Raymond East, Executive Director, Office of Black Catholics, Archdiocese of Washington, DC. On Sunday afternoon, in collaboration with Sister Miriam Therese MacGillis, OP, Genesis Farm, I attempted to tease out how ecological issues, such as climate change are challenging many of the assumptions of contemporary economics. Most basic of all, can we still promote economic growth even though we are living on a planet with both finite resources and a limited ability to absorb high levels of human-generated pollution?

On Monday the participants headed for the U.S. Congress to lobby their Congress Men and Women and Senators on the urgency of framing effective legislation on climate change. The baseline request was that legislation be enacted which would ensure that the earth’s temperature does not increase by more than 2 o Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

I visited with both Republican and Democrat Congress people and Senators from areas of the country were Columbans were living and ministering. I was accompanied by staff and interns from the Columban Justice and Peace Office in Washington who had researched how conversant a particular lawmaker was on issues of climate change. I found that the spectrum ran from those who were still sceptical about whether climate change was being caused by human activity to those who were actively promoting climate legislation.

As a Missionary Society that works among the poor, we decided to focus on two aspects of climate change: The International Adaptation measures which will be necessary to help poor people cope with the changes which are already in the pipeline due to climate change and, secondly, climate refugees whose habitat will be destroyed by rising oceans levels or melting glaciers. Even Senator Whitehouse’s staff, who are active in framing legislation, were not focusing on these aspects of climate change, and therefore were very open to receiving first-hand stories and data from Columban missionaries so that these elements are addressed in any legislation. Such Advocacy is one way to shine the light of the Gospel on contemporary issues.

Fr. Sean McDonagh, SSC

Cell phones, solar power and the deserts of Pakistan

Columban Fr. Tomas King is living and working in Pakistan. He provided the following information about cell phone use in the desert:


I was recently out in a place called Nagar Parkar, an area that comes under Columban commitment. It's near the desert. The town of Nagar itself is developing, but there are still many isolated villages. However, they do have mobile phone and wireless phone access. I asked a guy who has both a mobile phone and wireless phone acces and whose village is many miles from electricity how he recharged his batteries. So he pointed to the roof of his mud house, where he had a solar panel which generated 12 volts, enough to charge the batteries.

Mobile masts are everywhere while there's a great shortage of clinics and schools. That said, I think mobile phones are about the most genuinely democratic thing to happen to this country.

Releant Radio

On April 15, 2009 Columban Associate Sr. Colleen Nolan, OP, will be a guest speaker on a local Chicago area show on Releant Radio at 9:30 a.m. 950 AM. For those in the Chicago area, Colleen and Sister Madge Karecki, Director of the Catholic Mission Office in the Archdiocese of Chicago, and Maureen, Associate Director and coordinator of the Holy Childhood Association will be speaking about Mission and Global Awareness. They will talk about initiatives in mission they are presently working on especially in the area of mission education.

No Fear, All Faith

The German-American theologian Paul Tillich (August 20, 1886 – October 20, 1965) wrote that “fear is the absence of faith.” During this global economic collapse, when it seems like everyone is afraid, I wonder how Tillich would respond.

Even during economic boom times, most of us fear losing our jobs, our health insurance or our ability to provide food, clothing and shelter for ourselves and our children. In response to fear bred by economic uncertainty, the American public is saving at higher rates, consuming less and looking for ways to cut their spending. In addition, communities are working together to help those who just can not pay their bills and put food on the table.

Is this the silver lining? The renewed sense of community and purpose? An invitation to the table that holds fewer material goods but more spiritual ones and opportunities for fellowship?

My church received two dozen new members on Sunday. Twenty-four men, women and children made a public proclamation of faith, of their desire to help build God’s kingdom, of their commitment to helping others. No fear – all faith.

Kate Kenny, managing editor, Columban Mission magazine

Preda Award

Meteor Music Gives Humanitarian Award to PREDA.

PREDA has been awarded the Ireland Humanitarian Award from Meteor Music in recognition of the importance of their work in combating child abuse, trafficking and sexual exploitation of minors and youth. On St. Patrick's Day, March 17, 2009, the award will be presented to Columban Fr. Shay Cullen.

A few of the previous winners of this award were: Sir Elton John for his AIDS foundation; Christina Noble for her work with street children in Vietnam and Mongolia; Bono who donated it to Goal and Concern; Sister Stanislaus Kennedy for her work with immigrants and children in Ireland; Adi Roche for her work with the children of Chernobyl.

For more information about PREDA, please visit:

http://www.preda.org

Border Exposure Trip, March 12-17, 2009

“Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things - air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky - all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.”
--Cesare Pavese

On March 12, 2009, I am leaving Omaha, Nebraska for El Paso, Texas and Juarez, Mexico. Three fellow Columban employees are going on the trip as well. We are participating in the Society’s Border Exposure Experience, a cross-cultural mission trip designed to introduce people to Columbans, our mission and the people we serve. The program is new in 2009, and we’re working out the logistical kinks by sending members of the home team on the first trip to the Border.

We go without expectations, trusting in God’s plan (and the itinerary provided by Columbans in the area). I’ll post an update and perhaps a photo or two after our return on 3/17.

Kate Kenny, managing editor, Columban Mission magazine

A 100th Birthday Celebration

On February 7, 2009, Daniel Hoare, father of Columban Father Frank Hoare, celebrated his 100th birthday. Fr. Frank celebrated the Mass and dedicated his homily to his father on the most unique and joyful birthday occasion.

After Mass, the group had lunch in a pub beside the church where the publican asked Mr. Hoare to have a photo taken as he pulled a pint. After pulling the pint, Mr. Hoare asked, "Anyone else for one?"

Congratulations to the entire Hoare family on the extraordinary gift of Daniel Hoare’s 100th birthday.

Fr. Frank Hoare currently is working in Myanmar where he has experienced a warm welcome from the people.

Entering, Eating and Breaking

Recently I perpetrated a new crime: Entering, Eating, Breaking and Being Caught Red-Handed! No one would accuse me of being a criminal mastermind after the events transpired.

It happened when I was on a two-week Columban Mission magazine promotion in Mt. Vernon, Washington. Mt. Vernon is north of Seattle, Washington, and has a cluster of parishes with one pastor, Fr. Martin Bourke. Fr. Bourke is a former Columban, a friend of mine and very kind. My first weekend would be in St. Elizabeth parish, several miles from where Fr. Bourke resides.

Prior to my trip, Martin mailed me the keys to the church and the rectory in case the resident priest might take a holiday since I would be celebrating all the Masses that weekend. I arrived in the rain and visited the empty church. I then asked the only person in sight which house was the rectory. He confidently pointed across the street and said “the white house.” I was surprised to find the door open and the house empty. The bedroom on the left, which Fr. Bourke said would be mine for the weekend, had an unmade bed as did the bedroom on the right. Having lived with other priests for so many years, I just smiled. Failing to find any bed linen, I decided to take the chance that the last occupant didn’t have anything contagious.

I would have loved a cup of coffee but had to settle for a tea bag and cup of water heated in the microwave. I also treated myself to a good slice of pumpkin pie that I found in the refrigerator. Then, I did something I hadn’t done in sixty years. I dropped the cup, and it shattered into many pieces. Since it didn’t appear to be part of a set, I decided the best solution was to collect the fragments and put them in my car. Having dabbled in Cannon Law, I knew the danger of habeas corpus.

I looked around and found a widescreen television, so I sat down to watch a golf tournament. After about an hour, my entertainment was disturbed by a young couple. Initially they were quite angry to find a stranger in their home, watching their television. However, after I explained the mix up, they were very understanding and friendly even though they were not Catholic. We had a good laugh before they directed me to the red brick rectory three doors down.

Later in the evening they arrived at the rectory with the sandwich and fries that I had left in their refrigerator. We laughed again, exchanged business cards, shook hands and went our separate ways. It is fortunate they didn’t call the police when they found me in their home. I’m not sure how a police officer would ticket me for eating their pie!

As a missionary who constantly meets new people in new places, I have found that a good laugh, sometimes at my own expense, is a special grace. -- Fr. Peter Kenny, March 2009

South Korea mourns the father of democracy

South Korea paused to mourn the former archbishop of Seoul, Stephen Cardinal Kim Sou-hwan, who died quietly of old age on February 13, 2009. As the body of the 86-year-old cardinal lay in state in the church, over 400,000 people filed past to bid their last farewell.

Widely revered as the custodian of human rights in South Korea, Cardinal Kim had a further vision, democracy. “The will of the people is the will of God, and the will of the people is for democracy,” become his mantra.

Born in Taegu in May 1922, while Korea was under Japanese rule, Cardinal Kim was conscripted into military service by the occupying power during WWII but went to the seminary immediately upon discharge and was later ordained a priest in 1951. He ministered during the Korean War and then watched as his country’s newly-won national freedom was squandered by a series of corrupt and incompetent governments, culminating in the ousting of Rhee Syngman as president in April 1960.

Worldwide fame never sat easily with Cardinal Kim. In is autobiography, he reveals a humble man of doubt. He denies that he was at the forefront of the democracy movement and writes, “I tended to tell the younger priests not to keep holding the emergency prayer meetings.” He then adds, “Rumours that I was the godfather of the Catholic Priests Association for Justice were mistaken.”

Credited as a key influence in bringing an end to the violent government crackdown on the Democratization Movement in Kwanju in May 1980, Cardinal Kim writes, “When someone asks me if I did all I could at that time, I don’t have the confidence to say I did. If I’m then asked if I did nothing, I want to say I worked in my own way to stop what happened.”

Following his retirement in 1998, Cardinal Kim could be found at the Demilitarized Zone, offering Mass for reunification of a people separated by the concrete symbol of a divided country. His concern for the people of North Korea was life-long, constantly saying, “We need to be ready to help North Korea’s people, in any form and in any way, to realize our national aspiration, reunification.”

Priests working in the archdiocese of Seoul say that the Church did indeed grow prolifically under his care. The quiet leadership of what they describe as a gracious and graced man injected a spirit among the people which saw the aspirations of the council take root.

May he rest in peace.

Fr. Jim Mulroney, Hong Kong

After the fire, opportunities abound in Australia

Kevin Rudd, prime minister of Australia, addressed the national parliament as thousands of homes in the far north lay submerged under murky flood waters and the south was engulfed in a blazing ring of fire.

His government’s response revealed the magnitude of human suffering, as he outlined programs to address everything from providing toothbrushes for immediate use to rebuilding community structures down to trauma counselling and helping people verify their very identities.

Rudd spoke of “the rolling miracle of the Australian volunteer community, of the Church and charitable sector, this great army of people immediately comes and is there, without complaint, without request for anything in particular… An extraordinary testament to the Church and the charitable communities…”

Father Frank Marriott, from the fire-struck city of Bendigo, is calling for a renewed commitment to the biblical call to stewardship. “We have had fires before and have not learned,” he recalled. He said that 80 homes were destroyed in his city and one man died, but as he reflected on the cure of the lepers in the gospel for February 15, he wondered if the fires are the leprosy of modern Australia.

“In the beginning, the touch of Jesus healed the leprosy,” he reflected. “But as stewards of creation, we learned how to cure and prevent the disease. We need to be good stewards of creation for our environment too,” he went on. “We must use our brains to find a way to live with the threat and the terror of fire.”

Australians know that their country will always burn. Its unique flora demands it. Some plants require heat and smoke to release their seeds and its prolific eucalypts need fire to generate new growth. “As stewards of creation we need to figure out ways to live with this,” Father Marriott said. “Actually, we already know how to do things, but without the healing touch of the Lord, we misuse them to satisfy our desires.” He explained, “We need to be sensitive to the touch of the Lord in the fires. We can learn how to live with them too.”

Father Marriott prayed that this tragedy may sensitize us to the touch of the Lord, which is so necessary to begin the process of healing.

Fr. Jim Mulroney submitted this update from the Columban office in Hong Kong.

Fr. Ollie C. Kennedy Retirement

On February 9, 2009, the Missionary Society of St. Columban feted Fr. Ollie C. Kennedy with a retirement celebration. After ordination Fr. Kennedy was assigned to Burma (now Myanmar). Unfortunately, when he arrived, no visas were being granted. He then went to Korea until the war forced him to Japan. Fr. Kennedy went back to Korea after the war and then on to Jamaica. After Jamaica, Fr. Kennedy was assigned to the U.S. mission office in St. Columbans, Nebraska, where he served for thirty-three years in numerous capacities.

Fr. Kennedy continues to work in the office before his departure for Bristol, Rhode Island in Spring 2009. Fr. Kennedy’s cheerful greetings, his dignified bearing and gallant manner will be missed in the halls of the house and the mission office.


L-R in the photo: Jeff Norton, Fr. Ollie C. Kennedy, Fr. Arturo Aguilar at the retirement celebration.

Summer Youth Mission Experience

The Missionary Society of St. Columban is proud to announce our co-sponsorship of the Summer Youth Mission Experience (SYME).

The Summer Youth Mission Experience (SYME) is intended for both youths and adults who would like to immerse themselves in border issues and immigration issues through the lens of Catholic social teaching without traveling to the U.S.-Mexico border. The program has been co-sponsored by the Diocese of Gaylord, the Missionary Society of St. Columban and the Justice and Peace Awareness Center of Traverse City, Michigan.

The Summer Youth Mission Experience will be offered twice during 2009:
Sunday, July 5 - Thursday, July 9, 2009
Sunday, August 16 - Thursday, August 20, 2009

You may have noticed that immigration issues are an important concern to the Obama administration. Experiencing SYME will put you right at the interface between Catholic Social Teaching and headline news!


For more information, please contact:

Reverend Wayne DziekanSecretariat for Justice and Peace
wdziekan@dioceseofgaylord.org
Diocese of Gaylord611 West North St.Gaylord, MI 49735
Cell #: 231-409-1387
www.dioceseofgaylord.org

The Food Bank

One of my mother’s most often used phrases during my childhood was “Eat that. Children are starving in China.” Apparently, children in China would have been thankful for my uneaten lima beans and would not have suggested to their mothers that they would have preferred corn.

Fast forward to 2009, and I am the mother shaking her head over my kids’ eating habits. Unlike my mother, I do not tell Andrew and Beth that children starving in China would like their vegetables. Times have changed, and I could list Darfur, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe or any number of countries with starving children. Or, I could say that kids in their own hometown, Omaha, Nebraska, are hungry when they go to bed.

In the end, I don’t say anything about anyone starving. I leave that to another more age appropriate time. I scrape the plates into the trash wondering why they didn’t eat the nutritious yet delicious (ok, average tasting) meat loaf I prepared. And when everyone is tucked in safe and sound for the night, I write a check to my local food bank and give thanks for all that I have been given.

And then I call my mom and apologize for my misguided, failed and ultimately smelly attempt to mail lima beans to China in 1975.

Kate Kenny is the managing editor of Columban Mission magazine.

Flowers in the Desert

I would like to take this opportunity to direct you to the blog written by David and Anna Draper, Columban lay missionaries in Chile. Their blog is www.flowersinthedesertblog.blogspot.com and details their personal and professional lives in Chile.

Their posts are open, honest and personal and provide an excellent glimpse into the life of a young married missionary couple. David and Anna recently became parents to son Joshua whose cuteness defies a written description.

Check out their blog. You’ll be glad you spent some time with them.

Kate Kenny, managing editor Columban Mission magazine

President Barack Obama

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. day on January 19, 2009, the Columban office in Omaha, Nebraska was closed. Yesterday we celebrated the life of a man dedicated to social justice whose mission was far from complete when he was assassinated.

And today, January 20, 2009, president-elect Obama will become President Obama, the 44th President of the United States and the first African American president in our history. Certainly Rev. King would have been proud to see the election of President Obama.

President Obama’s official mission begins today. Let us wish him well as he begins the journey.

Kate Kenny, Managing Editor, Columban Mission magazine

The Knowing

The Knowing
by Roseanna Walters

I am a river flowing through life – endlessly, effortlessly without strife.

Life is a river flowing through me – endlessly, effortlessly into the sea.

“I Am that I Am,” gurgled the river to life, “sometimes cutting through that
Which can feel like a knife.”

Cutting away the grief and despair – opening up to the light and the air.

The Light to see and the air to breathe.

Opening up the Heart to perceive, that the I Am that I am is all that there is.

This is all there is is more than enough, and so it will be – life flowing
From you back into me.

From me to the sea again and again.

On and on – without end.

Roseanna Walters is a Columban associate working in the Omaha, Nebraska office.

JPIC Action Alert

January 2, 2009

THIS CHRISTMAS SEASON THE HOLY LAND IS ENGULFED IN VIOLENCE:
URGE PRESIDENT BUSH TO HELP NEGOTIATE A CEASEFIRE NOW

TAKE ACTION NOW! Visit the CRS Action Center now to contact President Bush and urge him to send a high level personal representative to the Holy Land immediately to help negotiate a ceasefire and ensure that the people of Gaza receive humanitarian assistance.

WHAT IS THE CURRENT SITUATION IN THE HOLY LAND? Escalating violence between Hamas, the Palestinian party that controls Gaza, and Israel has caused death, destruction and great suffering in recent days among Israelis and Palestinian civilians. Unjustified rocket attacks on Israeli civilians and the disproportionate Israeli military actions causing unacceptable casualties among Palestinian civilians will have serious negative effects on any progress in peace negotiations and risk a wider war.

WHY SHOULD CATHOLICS CARE ABOUT THE HOLY LAND? Our Catholic faith teaches us to be peacemakers. The U.S. Bishops wrote in The Challenge of Peace: God’s Promise and Our Response, “Peacemaking is not an optional commitment. It is a requirement of our faith. We are called to be peacemakers, not by some movement of the moment, but by our Lord Jesus.”

Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, has called on the international community to help Israelis and Palestinians to discard the “dead end” of violence and pursue instead “the path of dialogue and negotiations.” Immediate, visible and decisive U.S. leadership is urgently needed.
In a December 30 letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Bishop Howard J. Hubbard of Albany, Chairman of the Committee on International Justice and Peace of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), wrote:

“At a time when the attention of Christians is drawn naturally to the birthplace of the Prince of Peace, it is tragic that innocent civilians are once again the victims of armed conflict and a humanitarian crisis.” A ceasefire and humanitarian relief are indispensable initial steps on the road to a two-state solution—a secure Israel living in peace with a viable Palestinian state—with justice and peace for both peoples.”

WHAT IS THE CATHOLIC CHURCH DOING TO PROMOTE PEACE IN THE HOLY LAND? In 2005, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) launched the Catholic Campaign for Peace in the Holy Land. The campaign’s goal is to create a shared commitment to the broad outlines of a just resolution of the conflict and to raise a united voice with policy makers and the wider public. Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has worked in the Holy Land for nearly half a century, supporting peace with justice for all people, while responding to the humanitarian and sustainable development needs of Palestinians.

Together, USCCB and CRS are advocating for stronger U.S. leadership to hold both parties to the conflict accountable in building a just peace. We also support U.S. funding for the Palestinian Authority to increase its ability to govern as well as urgently needed humanitarian assistance for the Palestinian people.

For more information contact:
Dr. Stephen Colecchi, Director, USCCB Office of International Justice and Peace, scolecchi@usccb.org, 202-541-3196
Tina Rodousakis, Grassroots Advocacy Manager, CRS, trodousa@crs.org; (410) 951-7462


Committee on International Justice and Peace
3211 FOURTH STREET NE • WASHINGTON DC 20017-1194 • 202-541-3160
WEBSITE: WWW.USCCB.ORG/JPHD • FAX 202-541-3339

December 30, 2008

The Honorable Dr. Condoleezza Rice
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520

Dear Secretary Rice:

As Chairman of the Committee on International Justice and Peace of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, I urge you to take immediate action to help end the escalation of violence between Hamas and Israel. The rocket attacks on Israel must be stopped, and Israel’s military attacks on Gaza halted. Our Conference believes that more than words are needed. We ask you to urge the President to send a high level personal representative to the region immediately to help negotiate a ceasefire and make provision for humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.

The toll in human deaths and suffering, the negative effects on progress in negotiations for peace and the risks of wider war caused by this escalation of violence cannot be allowed to continue. Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, has called on the international community to help Israelis and Palestinians to discard the “dead end” of violence and pursue instead “the path of dialogue and negotiations.” Immediate, visible and decisive U.S. leadership is urgently needed.

Our Conference will encourage Catholics to support active U.S. engagement to achieve a ceasefire and we are prepared to do whatever we can to be helpful to efforts to halt the violence and restore progress toward peace.

At a time when the attention of Christians is drawn naturally to the birthplace of the Prince of Peace, it is tragic that innocent civilians are once again the victims of armed conflict and a humanitarian crisis. A ceasefire and humanitarian relief are indispensable initial steps on the road to a two-state solution—a secure Israel living in peace with a viable Palestinian state—with justice and peace for both peoples.

Sincerely yours,

Most Reverend Howard J. Hubbard

Bishop of Albany
Chairman, Committee on International Justice and Peace

Join UNIFEM's Campaign to End Violence Against Women

Statistics indicate that one in three women will be the victim of violence in her lifetime. Violence against women can include beatings, coerced sex or other forms of abuse. It is a universal problem that devastates lives, fractures communities and impedes development.

Violence against women and girls continues unabated in every continent, country and culture. It takes a devastating toll on women's lives, on their families, and on society as a whole. Most societies prohibit such violence — yet the reality is that too often, it is covered up or tacitly condoned. — UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, 8 March 2007

Currently UNIFEM is collecting signatures online in a campaign to Say No To Violence. The goal is to deliver one million signatures to the Secretary General on November 25 in order to send a strong message to the world's decision makers that ending violence against women should be a top priority in the global agenda.

Action: Add your voice to this campaign by signing on at: http://www.saynotoviolence.org/

Background Information:

Statistics paint a horrifying picture of the social and health consequences of violence against women. For women aged 15 to 44 years, violence is a major cause of death and disability. In a 1994 study based on World Bank data about ten selected risk factors facing women in this age group, rape and domestic violence rated higher than cancer, motor vehicle accidents, war and malaria.

The economic cost of violence against women is considerable. A 2003 report by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that the costs of intimate partner violence in the United States alone exceed US$5.8 billion per year: US$4.1 billion are for direct medical and health care services, while productivity losses account for nearly US$1.8 billion. Violence against women impoverishes individuals, families and communities, reducing the economic development of each nation.

In many societies, rape victims, women suspected of engaging in premarital sex, and women accused of adultery have been murdered by their relatives because the violation of a woman's chastity is viewed as an affront to the family's honor. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) estimates that the annual world-wide number of "honor killing" victims may be as high as 5000 women.

Women's bodies have become part of the battleground for those who use terror as a tactic of war. Women are raped, abducted, humiliated and made to endure forced pregnancy, sexual abuse and slavery. Violence against women during or after armed conflicts has been reported in every international or non-international war-zone, including Afghanistan, Burundi, Chad, Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Peru, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Chechnya/Russian Federation, Darfur, Sudan, northern Uganda and the former Yugoslavia.

Several studies have revealed increasing links between violence against women and HIV/AIDS. Women who have experienced violence are at a higher risk of HIV infection. A survey among 1,366 South African women showed that women who were beaten by their partners were 48 percent more likely to be infected with HIV than those who were not victims of battery.


For further information:

www.unifem.org
www.who.int/gender/violence
www.un.org/womenwatch/directory/violence_against_women_3004.htm
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/ViolenceAgainstWomen.aspx