Shalom News North America
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An instrument of hope, formation, and action
concerning priority matters of social justice.
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Laudato Si'
UN Climate Report
Biodiversity Treaty
Fossil Fuels
Water
Earth Day
Migrant Children Labor
Seeking Asylum
Letter from Birmingham Jail
Anti-Trafficking with a Racial Equity Lens
Gun Violence
Way of the Cross
Pacem in Terris
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Dear Friend,
In the encyclical Laudato Si’, Pope Francis emphasizes that the social and ecological challenges of our day are interrelated (integral ecology). As you read through this month's newsletter, and the social and ecological concerns it highlights, consider how these concerns are related to the Laudato Si' Goals and SSND becoming a Laudato Si' Congregation.
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Shalom North America Contacts
(If the newsletter images are not loading properly, click here to view as webpage. Click here to download a pdf version of newsletter.)
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Laudato Si' Resource Guide
A new SSND Laudato Si’ resource guide is now available for anyone looking to take action to address the climate emergency and ecological crisis. This guide contains a brief overview of Laudato Si’, as well as suggested changes to make in your life to promote stewardship of creation and resources for further learning. Best of all, this guide can be easily shared with others. View the guide here. Learn more about Laudato Si’ and ways to build a better future together at ssnd.org/shalom/laudato-si.
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UN Climate Report - "A Survival Guide for Humanity"
The latest report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes that "there is a rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all." The report, a synthesis of the most up-to-date science we have from a global community of experts, highlights that while the world’s poorest countries and low-lying island nations suffer the most from the climate crisis, as climate disruption increases, not even the wealthiest and most well-protected places will be immune. Unless we reduce greenhouse-gas emissions significantly this decade, we are locking ourselves into a future of escalating climate extremes, food crises, and nature loss. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres says the IPCC report “is a survival guide for humanity…but it will take a quantum leap in climate action." Learn more here.
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Historic Biodiversity Treaty
For the first time, United Nations members have agreed on a unified treaty to protect biodiversity in the high seas — representing a turning point for vast stretches of the planet where conservation has previously been hampered by a confusing patchwork of laws. The legally binding “high seas treaty” will create a new body to manage conservation of ocean life and establish marine protected areas in the high seas. As Germany’s environment minister observed, "Comprehensive protection of endangered species and habitats is now finally possible on more than 40% of the Earth's surface." Learn more.
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Fossil Fuel Free Pacific
On March 17, six Pacific Island governments committed to create a “Fossil Fuel Free Pacific” and called for all countries to join them in managing a global, equitable, and unqualified phase out of coal, oil and gas. "As Pacific leaders shoulder the burden of climate leadership," this call "is a reminder that despite the doom and gloom, another world is possible, a fossil fuel-free world that is just, equitable, and sustainable." Learn more about this commitment to a Fossil Fuel Free Pacific and the related Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty initiative. Watch the TED talk below by Tzeporah Berman, Initiative chair.
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Publicly Funded Oil and Gas Subsidies
By this time each year, the Canadian government gives the oil and gas industry $2 billion in subsidies and other public funding, despite rising prices and massive profits. Our government is moving in the wrong direction. Together we can build a just transition – one that supports fossil fuel workers, other affected workers, and communities while we decarbonize the economy and wind-down the fossil fuel sector. Read more here. Ask your Member of Parliament to support just transition legislation, click here to take action.
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Global Water and Sanitation
Approximately 2 billion people worldwide lack access to safe drinking water, while 3.6 billion need basic sanitation services, the UN's 2023 World Water Report warns, adding that global water consumption continues to climb as supplies decline. The report warned that "seasonal water scarcity will increase in regions where it is currently abundant - such as Central Africa, East Asia and parts of South America - and worsen in regions where water is already in short supply, such as the Middle East and the Sahara in Africa." Learn more. Prayer resource.
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Bottling Canadian Groundwater
Recently, a giant American corporation, Blue Triton, was granted permission to extract and bottle billions of liters of groundwater from Ontario. Blue Triton, formerly Nestlé, would have enough groundwater to fill as many as 14 billion plastic bottles. Laid end to end, those bottles would stretch 5.6 million kilometers – enough to circle the globe 70 times. Water is a human right – not a commodity to be bought and sold. It’s time to stop big water from wasting our precious resources for profit. Click here to take action.
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International Mother Earth Day (4/22)
Mother Earth is clearly urging a call to action. Nature is suffering because oceans are being filled with plastic and turning more acidic. Climate change, along with changes to nature caused by people as well as crimes that disrupt biodiversity, such as deforestation, land-use change, intensified agriculture and livestock production or the growing illegal wildlife trade, can accelerate the speed of destruction of our planet. The healthier our ecosystems are, the healthier the planet - and its people. How will you commemorate Earth Day this year? Consider making use of the Catholic Climate Covenant Earth Day materials. Prayer resource.
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Migrant Children Working Adult Jobs
Working long shifts, often in dangerous or impermissible jobs, an increasing number of migrant children are carrying adult workloads. Their employers - manufacturers and staffing agencies - are violating child labor laws that have been in place for decades, the New York Times reported. This has been fueled by increasing numbers of unaccompanied children arriving in the U.S., 250,000 in the last two years alone, and employers who cannot find enough adult workers to fill the jobs. Disturbingly, at least nine states have legislation under consideration to expand work hours for children, lift restrictions on hazardous occupations, allow them to work in locations that serve alcohol, or lower the state minimum wage for minors, a New York Times editorial disclosed. Learn more about efforts to address forced labor and how you can be part of healthy supply chains by supporting the Fair Food Program.
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Canada and U.S. Asylum Agreement
The U.S. and Canada have reached a deal that would give both countries the authority to turn away asylum-seekers at unofficial crossing points on their shared border. Migrants who cross into Canada between official ports of entry will be quickly returned to the United States. Likewise, the agreement will allow the U.S. to send asylum-seekers who cross the norther border between official ports of entry back to Canada. Canada has also agreed to provide "access to legal pathways" for an additional 15,000 migrants per year from South and Central America. Learn more.
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Podcast - Migration, We Stand in Solidarity
In Season 3 of our podcast series, Called to Action, the School Sisters of Notre Dame explore the topic of comprehensive immigration reform. Check it out!
Read more
www.ssndcentralpacific.org
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60th Anniversary of "Letter from Birmingham Jail"
In his April 16, 1963 “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr responded to an open letter from eight white clergymen urging the local black population to be patient and use negotiation and the courts, not protesting, to secure civil rights. Dr. King’s letter to his “Fellow Clergyman” and as “brothers” addressed their various statements, inferences, and assumptions, and laid out his own vision for the church as an agent of God's justice and peace. This “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was rapidly picked up by media around the world and was immediately recognized as a document of historic significance. Take time this month to read and sit with Dr. King’s letter. Consider making use of these study and prayer resources.
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Conducting Anti-Trafficking Work Using a Racial Equity Lens
The U.S Department of State is hosting a public meeting to seek input, information, and recommendations from a broad array of stakeholders in the public, private, advocacy, not-for-profit, and philanthropic sectors, including state, local, tribal, and territorial areas, on available methods, approaches, and tools to apply a racial equity lens to federal government anti-trafficking efforts. Learn more. This web-based public meeting will be held on May 3 from 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm (Eastern). To attend the public meeting, you must register by April 23. The meeting will be accessible via webcast. To register, visit the Eventbrite registration page.
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Human Dignity and Nonviolence |
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Addressing Sexual Exploitation
The 2023 Canadian Sex Exploitation Summit (CSES) is a free, online conference, May 3 – 5. Fifty expert speakers will present the latest research, innovative strategies and lessons helpful to leaders from every sector in the fight against sexual exploitation. You can register for CSES as an individual or as a group. Learn more. Register here.
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Gun Violence
Our hearts are heavy with grief as we try to process and respond to another mass shooting in the United States. We are further burdened by the daily gun violence that terrorizes people in communities throughout this nation. We pray for the victims, survivors, and their families and communities, but we know that we also must act to prevent such violence from happening again. Let your voice be heard! Click here to use the SSND Voter Voice Tool to send an email or make a call. Prayer resource.
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A Virtual Economic and Ecological Way of the Cross
Our Good Friday reflections on the suffering of our Lord Jesus through the Way of the Cross can take on an added dimension when comparing Jesus’ suffering to modern-day injustices. The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns is offering a Virtual Way of the Cross for Economic and Ecological Justice on April 7 from 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm (Eastern). Each station will focus on a different economic or ecological challenge or sign of hope for our times. Click here to register via Zoom. You will also be able to watch the presentation live on YouTube. The script will be uploaded to this website for your own use, to use with your community, or to follow along. Join in prayer with the 14 co-sponsoring organizations on Good Friday.
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60th Anniversary of Pacem in Terris (4/11)
In her reflection on the 60th Anniversary of the encyclical Pacem in Terris (Peace on Earth), Sister Marinez Capra, Coordinator of the SSND Shalom International Network, observes that “Pacem in Terris paved the way for the strong commitment of the Catholic Church and faith-based organizations in the promotion of human rights, justice, peace-building, and peaceful resolution of conflicts. It was also, for SSNDs, a foundational document for the establishment of the Shalom Network and for our continued work to build a Culture of Peace.” Read more here.
We invite you to click on the video link below to view a reflection Cardinal McElroy recently offered on Pacem in Terris and the current challenges of peace as part of a University of Notre Dame forum on war and peace. You can read his remarks, which promote moving nonviolence to the center of Catholic teaching on war and peace, here.
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The SSND 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 - Barb Paleczny SSND, Colleen Kammer, Ethel Howley SSND, Pat Stortz, and Tim Dewane. Your feedback and suggestions are always welcomed. Email us at tdewane@ssndcp.org.
Please only print this e-publication if necessary.
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