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"Peace, justice and the preservation of creation are three absolutely interconnected themes, which cannot be separated and treated individually . . ."
Thank you for all you do to promote peace, justice and care of creation in the SSND spirit of Shalom.
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Shalom North America Contacts
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Click here
for our printer-friendly (pdf) version of the newsletter.
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Integrity of Creation
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 UN Climate Action Summit
The recent UN Climate Action Summit featured sobering statistics, inspiring stories, and calls to action from the likes of
Pope Francis and
Greta Thunberg, and the launch of the
Faiths for Forests campaign. 65 countries and major sub-national economies such as California committed to cut greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, while 70 countries announced they will either boost their national action plans by 2020 or have started the process of doing so. Over 100 business leaders delivered concrete actions to align with the Paris Agreement targets, and speed up the transition from the grey to green economy.
Read this summary. However, the outcome of the summit has been viewed by some as a disappointment -
read this critique.
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Integrity of Creation
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 Climate Change and the Oceans
Climate change is heating the oceans and altering their chemistry so dramatically that it is threatening seafood supplies, fueling cyclones and floods and posing profound risks to the hundreds of millions of people living along the coasts, according to a
sweeping new United Nations report. The report concludes that the world's oceans and ice sheets are under such severe stress that the fallout could prove difficult for humans to contain. There is some guarded hope that the worst impacts can be avoided, with deep and immediate cuts to carbon emissions.
Learn more.
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| Oceans approach climate tipping point, UN report shows |
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Integrity of Creation
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 Feast of St. Francis (10/4)
The Feast of St Francis of Assisi (10/4) marks the conclusion of the season we have come to know as the
Season of Creation. We invite you to take the occasion of the Feast of St. Francis to pause and use
this Examen of Consciousness to consider in a contemplative way the interconnectedness of all of God's creation.
Learn more about this patron saint of ecology and ways to honor and imitate his example. As we carry our developed consciousness of the web of life through the upcoming liturgical year, let us make the prayer of St. Francis our own: "Lord, make me an instrument of your peace."
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Integrity of Creation
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 Synod on the Amazon
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Human Life and Dignity
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 Refugee Acceptance Cap Cut Dramatically
The Trump Administration has just set a target cap of admitting no more than 18,000 refugees into the U.S. during the next 12 months, the all-time-lowest number in our history (the average had been 95,000). In addition, a new executive order from the President will allow state and local authorities to block refugees from settling in their areas. Meanwhile, there are nearly 26 million refugees worldwide with 1.4 million needing resettlement. The administration said the decision was necessary so it could focus on processing asylum seekers at the southern border.
Learn more. Read/reflect on
Pope Francis' message on migrants and refugees,
let your voice be heard.
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Human Life and Dignity
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 Day of the Girl (10/11)
Nearly 25 years ago, some 30,000 women and men from nearly 200 countries gathered in Beijing, China for the Fourth World Conference on Women, determined to recognize the rights of women and girls as human rights. The conference culminated in the adoption of a comprehensive policy agenda for the empowerment of girls/women. Today, more girls are attending and completing school, fewer are getting married or becoming mothers while still children, and more are gaining the skills they need to excel in the workplace. This year's theme for the
Day of the Girl is "GirlForce: Unscripted and unstoppable".
Learn more.
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Human Life and Dignity
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 Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples' Day (10/14)
Columbus Day was first recognized in 1937 when, in response to lobbying by Italian-American community groups, President Franklin D. Roosevelt made it a federal holiday. More recently it has been criticized for celebrating the discovery of a place that was already inhabited and because Columbus never actually set foot in North America, among other reasons. Several states and more than 130 cities and towns have now replaced their observance of Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples' Day. Learn more, teaching resources.
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| Columbus Day vs. Indigenous Peoples Day |
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Human Life and Dignity
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 Harvest of Justice
The National Farm Worker Ministry (of which SSND is a sponsor) encourages us to take time this fall to reflect upon and stand with farm workers. Their theme for this year's Harvest of Justice season is Ending Gender-Based Violence in the Fields. A disturbing 80% of farm worker women surveyed in a California Central Valley reported that they had experienced sexual harassment at work. Let us recognize farm worker women and efforts that challenge this harassment and oppression.
Learn more/take action.
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Human Life and Dignity
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 Record Income Inequality
Income inequality in the United States has hit its highest level since the Census Bureau started tracking it more than five decades ago, even as the nation's poverty and unemployment rates are at historic lows. The gap is most pronounced in wealthy regions along both coasts, as well as in areas with widespread poverty, such as Puerto Rico and Louisiana. The most troubling thing about the new report, says William M. Rodgers III, a professor of public policy and chief economist at the Heldrich Center at Rutgers University, is that it "clearly illustrates the inability of the current economic expansion, the longest on record, to lessen inequality." Learn more.
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Human Life and Dignity
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 Eradicate Poverty Day (10/17)
The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty presents an opportunity to the global community to acknowledge the effort and struggle of people living in poverty, a chance for them to make their concerns heard, and a moment to recognize that poor people are the first ones to fight against poverty. This year's theme is "Acting together to empower children, their families and communities to end poverty". It is crucial that children's participation be recognized as a process and not a onetime event. Too often consultation is mistaken for participation. Whereas the process of consultation gathers children's views on a particular issue or question, participation means that children actually join in the decision-making.
Learn more,
prayer resource.
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Peace and Non-Violence
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 International Day of Non-Violence (10/2)
The International Day of Non-Violence is observed on October 2, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of the Indian independence movement and pioneer of the philosophy and strategy of non-violence. The Day serves as an occasion to disseminate the message of non-violence, reaffirm "the universal relevance of the principle of non-violence" and the desire "to secure a culture of peace, tolerance, understanding and non-violence". We invite you to learn about the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative and the SSND CPP corporate stance on nonviolence, consider these resources, and (for those in the U.S.) urge Congress to support efforts to prevent global violence and conflict.
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| Mahatma Gandhi - Non-Violence Speech |
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Peace and Non-Violence
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Sustainable Development Goals Need Support
In his recent presentation to world leaders, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres indicated that efforts to rid the world of poverty, inequality and other social problems are being derailed by violent conflicts and climate change, and world leaders must invest more in health, education and technology in order to meet sustainable development targets. "We must step up our efforts, and we must do it now," Guterres urged world leaders. With just 10 years to go until the goals' deadline, he made a call for a "decade of action", with an annual meeting on the goals beginning next September.
Learn more.
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Peace and Non-Violence
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 World Disarmament Week (10/24 - 10/30)
The elimination of nuclear and all other weapons of mass destruction remains a central but elusive objective of the United Nations. Despite commitments from Member States, there has been limited progress on this long-standing goal. For nuclear weapons, this is largely due to growing tensions between nuclear-armed States and the rigidity of the disarmament machinery. Learn more.
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| Why Only 9 Countries Have Nuclear Weapons |
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Peace and Non-Violence
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The charter of the United Nations, formed 74 years ago, lists four main purposes: to maintain worldwide peace and security, to develop relations among nations, to foster cooperation between nations in order to solve problems, and to provide a forum for bringing countries together. School Sisters of Notre Dame, founded 186 years ago, share much of that same purpose in our focus on educating with a world vision, perceptively reading the signs of the times, and risking innovative response to the needs of the world. Happy anniversary to both!
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The SSND International Shalom Network witnesses to the Gospel with audacity and hope as we collaborate to build just relationships and respond to the urgent needs of our times.
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 Shalom News North America is an e-publication of the Shalom North America Contacts (SNAC) of the School Sisters of Notre Dame - Arlene Flaherty, Ethel Howley, Jeanne Wingenter, Kathleen Bonnette, Rose Mary Sander, and Tim Dewane. Your comments, suggestions, and feedback are always welcomed. Email us at
[email protected].
Please only print this e-publication if necessary.
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Talitha Kum - Ten Years of Action on Human Trafficking 
