ACAT UK: Response to the possible re-introduction of the use of torture in the United States
ACAT UK very much regrets the suggestion made by President Donald Trump that the USA would consider re-introducing ‘Waterboarding’ during the next few months.
Being realistic it is unlikely to happen because of the likely opposition from within the Senate and the Congress. It is reported that Republican Senator John McCain said yesterday that even if President Donald Trump were to sign an executive order allowing torture, US law is clear on the practice.
“The President can sign whatever executive orders he likes. But the law is the law. We are not bringing back torture in the United States of America,” the Arizona senator said in a statement. It also appears that President Trump’s Cabinet members, including his Defense Secretary James Mattis and the CIA Chief Mike Pompeo disagree with the President on this matter.
We greet this response with gratitude and relief although we cannot disregard the statements of the new President. This matter will be kept under constant review by ACAT worldwide.
ACAT UK stands by the UN Declaration of Human Rights when it says in Article 5 –
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
We stand with Archbishop Romero of El Salvador when he said –
“Whoever tortures a human being, whoever abuses a human being, whoever outrages a human being abuses God’s image, and the Church takes as its own that cross, that martyrdom”
Read more about Action by Christians against Torture UK here
NJPN action of the week: Stop refugees freezing to death In Greece
People are at imminent risk of freezing to death because European leaders are failing to help them. As heavy snow and sub-zero temperatures hit Greece, thousands of people are being held in makeshift detention camps on the Greek islands.
Women, men and children could freeze to death as arctic weather sweeps across the Greek islands. Trapped in squalid detention camps, refugees are surviving in flimsy, snow-covered tents as temperatures plummet below zero. No one should be left to live or die like this.
We all have the right to seek safety, to escape war and persecution.
Call on the President of the European Commission to ensure that people are moved to a safe place on the mainland now.
CND- Trident in crisis: demand an inquiry
The news that Theresa May covered up a failed Trident missile test in 2016 is a crisis for our democracy as well as a crisis for the security of Britain.
As CND’s Kate Hudson said to the media: “this is a very serious failure of the Trident system and there’s absolutely no doubt this would have impacted on the debate in Parliament on Trident replacement. The government’s motivation for holding back this vital information is therefore clear.
“Instead of crucial information being given by the government at the appropriate time to inform the MP’s debate, it’s been revealed by a senior naval figure months after it took place.”
More information here
NJPN Open Networking Day – ‘Being a Listening Church’
Saturday 18 February 2017
10.30 – 4.00
Oxford Place Centre, Oxford Place, Leeds LS1 3AX
A day of short inputs, drama, prayer and interactive workshops to help us listen better to others and to understand their real needs. This event has been organised in conjunction with Leeds Justice & Peace Commission.
During the day there will be opportunities to meet with justice and peace activists from around the country.
Book here:
Sr. Josephine Bakhita – Patron saint of human trafficking and slavery
On February 8, the Catholic Church commemorates the life of St. Josephine Bakhita, a Canossian Sister who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in Sudan when young. The trauma of Bakhita’s abduction caused her to forget her own name. The name by which she has become known is a mixture of the name given by her slave traders (bakhita, Arabic for ‘lucky’) and the Christian name, Josephine, she took in adulthood.
In 1883, Bakhita was bought and taken to Italy. She made her profession in 1896 with the Canossians and was assigned to a convent where she spent the remaining 45 years of her life dedicated to assisting her community and teaching others to love God.
Bakhita’s last years were marked by pain and sickness, but she retained her cheerfulness. If asked how she was, she always answered smiling ‘as the Master desires’.
St. Josephine was beatified in 1992 and canonized shortly after in October 2000 by Pope John Paul II. She is the first person to be canonized from Sudan and is the patron saint of the country and the patron saint of victims of human slavery and trafficking.
The Global Slavery Index estimates there are 45 million slaves today in the world and Government estimates in the UK suggest that there may be up to 15,000 men, women and children at present who are victims of human trafficking and slavery.
The Medaille Trust is a charity founded by Religious – by Priests, Sisters and Brothers from many Orders and Congregations to help men, women and their children who have been rescued from the evil of human trafficking. the work of The Medaille Trust is to care for and empower victims of human trafficking in the UK and to raise awareness of the plight of those who are enslaved and exploited in the trafficking industry, and campaign on their behalf. Working together with victims we rebuild lives and offer brighter futures. The charity does this by providing safe housing for both male and female victims of human trafficking and their dependents in 10 houses located across the breadth of England.
Pope John Paul II said “The trade in human persons constitutes a shocking offence against human dignity and a grave violation of fundamental human rights.” Pope Francis says that trafficking is “an open wound on the body of contemporary society.”
Please pray with St Josephine Bakhita for the men women and children who are victims of trafficking and slavery still.
The Trust has Diocesan representatives available to deliver talks and presentations in schools, parishes and to other groups about the work of the Medaille Trust in combatting human trafficking and slavery in the UK and globally.
Please contact Medaille Trust at:
mailto:enquiries@medaille-trust.org.uk
For more information about the Medaille trust:
https://www.medaille-trust.org.uk/
Bishops’ annual visit to Holy Land
During their annual visit to the Holy land this week, as part of the Holy land Co-ordination 2017, three of our Bishops will be working to promote dialogue and the building of bridges on the 50th anniversary of occupation.
Read more here:
https://catholicnews.org.uk/Home/Featured/Holy-Land-Co-ordination-2017/HLC-2017
Lancaster Diocesan Faith & Justice Commission: Newsletter January 2017
The latest issue of the Lancaster faith and Justice Commission provides information on events and awareness raising opportunities. Among topics addressed are the following: Palestine, fracking, ecumenical initiatives and refugee stories
Down load the newsletter here:
https://www.lancasterfaithandjustice.co.uk/newsletter/
Portsmouth diocese: Justice, Peace and Social Responsibility – January 2017
In the latest newsletter from Portsmouth diocese you will find articles covering issues of peacemaking, ethical shopping, homeless Sunday, Christian unity week, the Holy land, the Medaille trust and modern slavery.
Download the newsletter here:
https://www.portsmouthdiocese.org.uk/jpsr/
CND: Stop Trumps Nuclear Arms Race
The last few weeks have seen international tensions grow as US President-elect Donald Trump has made an alarming series of statements, the consequences of which could spell nuclear annihilation.
Breaking with decades of US presidential policy, Trump has spoken in favour of nuclear proliferation – suggesting that more countries should develop their own nuclear weapons. Referring to Japan and South Korea countering North Korea, he said he’s fine about a nuclear arms race in East Asia. There can be few more dangerous developments.
But dangerous statements and actions abound. Before Christmas he said “the United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability”, and at the end of the year he was reported as saying “let it be an arms race” in a telephone call to the MSNBC presenter Mika Brzezinski.
He has already stated that he wishes to end the nuclear deal with Iran. His decision to end decades of agreement with China by phoning the Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen raises the spectre of a conflict too terrible to contemplate.
Our movement must confront this situation as a matter of urgency: the real world effects of this provocative approach to international relations by Britain’s main ally – the most powerful military force in the world – can already be felt.
Join us to say Stop Trump’s Nuclear Arms Race on the day of the US President-elect’s inauguration. We’ll be outside the US Embassy in London on 20 January from 5pm.
Up-to-date info about the protest can be found on the CND web site
“EU action to combat money laundering and organised crime”
Launch of the Justice & Peace Europe Memorandum
Organised crime and money laundering constitute one of the main concerns for European citizens and for the European institutions today. They are also a matter of serious concern to the Church.
Therefore, Justice & Peace Europe initiated the work on a Memorandum on “EU action to combat money laundering and organised crime” which was officially launched and published on 14 December 2016 in Brussels.
Read the text of the memorandum here:
https://www.juspax-eu.org/de-wAssets/docs/Tree/Tree-Of-Justice/JUSTICE/Economy/JUSTITIA-ET-PAX-ANGLAIS_MEMO-2.pdf
