Global chemicals company INEOS wants to frack Sherwood Forest, an investigation by Friends of the Earth has revealed.
https://www.foe.co.uk/news/sherwood-forest-fracking-plans-revealed
There will be a protest rally next Sat 7 Jan, meeting at the Sherwood Visitor Centre at 1pm to walk to the Major Oak and back by 3pm.
Details here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1834309946809745/
2016 has been a year of massive upheaval for people across the world. But you’ve been there. You’ve supported refugees fleeing conflict and disaster. You’ve brought clean, safe water to desperate people. You’ve fought for equality and fairness. And you’ve helped families to start over. You have given hope to millions of people.
World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, condemns the latest terrorist attack against people in Istanbul celebrating the New Year.
At least 39 people were killed and dozens more were wounded when a single gunman attacked a crowded Istanbul nightclub about an hour after midnight on New Year’s Day, Turkish officials said.
It was the fourth terrorist attack in Turkey in less than a month.
“Yet, another terror attack in Istanbul. Innocent people are suffering again and again. This is an evil act. This attack is particularly shocking, in the first place because there seems to have been a clear intention deliberately to target people who were simply enjoying themselves at the New Year’ Day,” said Tveit.
The attack occurred at Reina, a dance club and restaurant located on the banks of the Bosphorus Strait, separating Europe from Asia.
On a typical night, the club hosts several hundred guests and is a popular hot spot for celebrities and foreigners visiting Turkey.
Tveit commented, “In the face of this brutality, the human family, all people of faith and of good will, must stand together to recommit to respecting and caring for one another, to protecting one another, and to preventing such violence.”
The WCC offers its deepest condolences to the bereaved and injured. Tveit said “God in your mercy, be with the victims and their families and those who accompany and help them.”
The lyrics of ‘Anthem’ by Leonard Cohen call us to ‘Search for the ‘crack in everything’ and let the bells of hope ring through’
Even more challenging for each of us ‘and they’re going to hear from me’
UN demands end to Israel’s settlement building.
Click here to read the full story
How many of us have been moved to tears during the past few days as we watched our youngest children take part in the many Nativity plays being presented to proud parents and grandparents? Rightly so, our children, and everyone else’s, are precious and thrive on being loved, protected and affirmed.
In the reading from St. Matthew’s Gospel for the fourth Sunday in Advent we read of the soon to be born child, Emmanuel a name meaning “God is with us” This child who was born a stranger in a town unwilling to welcome and provide shelter for his family.
Again how many of us will gather around the crib in our various places of worship and feel truly blessed as we listen to the sweet music of the well loved carol ‘Silent Night’ and then return home to ‘sleep in heavenly peace’?
Our slumber needs to be seriously disturbed so that we wake up to the harsh reality in evidence all around us. We must listen to and respond to other stories this Christmas, ones that should make us feel much less cosy.
In his Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, Amoris Lætitia Pope Francis urges us all to keep in mind the following words of the Pontifical Council on the Family, (22 October 1983)
“the family has the right to decent housing, fitting for family life and commensurate to the number of the members, in a physical environment that provides the basic services for the life of the family and the community. Families and homes go together and should be able to count on an adequate family policy on the part of public authorities in the juridical, economic, social and fiscal domains”
So, in this bleak mid- winter (not long ago) as we raise our voices and proclaim that had we been present we would have brought lambs, done our part and given our hearts, will we really mean it?
Anne Peacey 23.12.16
Comment for Catholic Universe 23/30.12.16
We offer our prayers and thoughts to everyone involved in the horrendous event in Berlin last evening. We pray for those who lost their lives and for all who were injured or witnessed this tragedy and for their families. We remember also the victims of the attack in Turkey.
The Christmas season should be one of good will to all people, when families and friends make a special effort to celebrate together.
We must all resolve to work together with even more urgency for a change of heart, we cannot place all responsibility on our elected leaders to effect change. We must each use our voice for the good of all people.
We must act in a responsible manner and not allow voices of hate to use this terrible situation to fuel division or the targeting of any vulnerable groups.
Anne Peacey, for NJPN Exec.
20.12.16
NJPN issued the following statement in response to a request from the Catholic Universe for a contribution to the debate on the challenges facing the failing care system.
Statement reads:
A key principle of Catholic Social Teaching is belief in the inherent dignity of all people and that a society’s moral compass can be measured by the way it treats its most vulnerable members.
In Gaudium et Spes we read that:
“There must be made available to all people everything necessary for leading a life truly human” and further that “the social order and its development must invariably work to the benefit of the human person” (para.26)
At the moment we can feel totally overwhelmed and helpless as we hear the stories of the many vulnerable groups within our society, some in work others feeling isolated and excluded. Just how do those in need of suitable housing, adequate medical and social care, mental health provision, a living wage, justice in the workplace, feel valued and supported?
A range of issues but each one the lived experience of many in our society. Hard political decisions must be made but it is just not good enough that we are accepting of a situation where the financial and social burdens are placed unfairly on those least able to carry the load.
Anne Peacey 16.12.16
https://www.thecatholicuniverse.com/
For too long climate change has been a secondary consideration, yet it is the defining challenge of our time. I call on the government to create a separate department and minister of state for climate change, and to make climate change a central consideration of all future policy-making decisions.
Petition: Put tackling climate change at the top of the government’s agenda.
Every day of our lives we are called upon to make choices and the season of Advent is an appropriate time to consider the choices that will shape our lives and the lives of others.
Next week, just one week after the Chancellor’s autumn statement, foodbanks across the country are gearing up for the annual ‘Neighbourhood Food Collection’. Many will choose to donate items of food at their local supermarkets to help others enjoy the season of ‘peace and goodwill to all’ Individuals, small groups and a number of local pubs are already preparing to host Christmas meals and fellowship for our brothers and sisters unable to provide well for themselves. This is surely entering into the true spirit of Christmas. At the grassroots level, the real world for most people, we can see solidarity at work where we see a need and then respond. How often do we hear such remarks as ‘there but for the grace of God…….’?
In its recent report (UK poverty: Causes, costs and solutions. Sept.16) the Joseph Rowntree Foundation states that ‘UK poverty is real, costly and harmful’
How can this be right when the IMF predicts that ours will ‘be the fastest growing major advanced economy in the world this year’, In his autumn statement the Chancellor speaks of raising productivity and building an economy that works for everyone, so why then do so many feel excluded?
Whilst acknowledging some positive aspects in the statement, there remains a huge disconnect between the decision makers and those who bear the heaviest burden of such policies.
We must consider and challenge our elected representatives for the choices made on our behalf. In the words of Pope Francis do we say ‘no to an economy of exclusion and inequality’ (Evangelii Gaudium: para.53) and invest in mental and physical health and well-being, social housing and access to good education to build a good society. Or do we seek productivity and profit whatever the human cost.
Anne Peacey. Chair – NJPN
25.11.16
https://www.trusselltrust.org/
https://www.church-poverty.org.uk/endhunger
https://www.thecatholicuniverse.com/foodbanks-prepare-busiest-month-big-rise-demand-due-11468
