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“Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice. Like Slavery and Apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. YOU can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom.”
― Nelson Mandela
 

Dear Friends,

Apologies for the delay in sending the e-bulletin. We decided that it would be a good idea to wait until after the Mini-Conference last weekend, which went very well. You will find comments about it below.
What came across to me personally was how many good things are going on, and how many good people are involved. We all have our part to play in creating a better, fairer world, for all to live in. Paraphrasing Nelson Mandela above ‘WE can be that great generation. Let’s go out and let our greatness blossom.’ 
If this has whetted your appetite for more, the next NJPN Networking Day will take place via Zoom on Saturday 19th September, from 10.30am until 4pm. Tickets available from Eventbrite.
The NJPN AGM has also been rearranged to Saturday 21st November, in London at an event to be confirmed, but with Zoom access for anyone not able to travel. Please make a note in your diaries, and more information will be given nearer the time.

Don’t forget, if you have something you particularly want shared in this e-bulletin, send it to ebulletin@justice-and-peace.org.uk. The next e-bulletin, all being well, will be produced for the weekend of the 9th August.

Wishing you a good fortnight, and God bless you all,

Editor

Please note we are still using a temporary postal address due to the closure of the Eccleston Square office:

Geoff Thompson, NJPN, c/o CAFOD Lancaster Volunteer Centre, St Walburge’s Centre, St Walburge’s Gardens, Preston PR2 2QJ.

You can still use the same phone number.

See below for: – 

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E-Bulletin Contents: –

News and Comment

1. Comments on the NJPN Mini-Conference
2. Various articles linked to the Covid-19 pandemic 
3. NJPN columns in the Universe
4. An Open Letter from Christian Clergy from the Bethlehem area
5. World Council of Churches sets vision for unity, justice and peace 
6. Migrants and Refugees – an update
7. Pope Francis invites us to join the Season of Creation
8. John Lewis RIP 
9. Being Black and Catholic
10. Global Amazon Assembly update 
11. Rio Tinto destroys 46,000-year-old Aboriginal site 
12. Lebanon: collapsing amid international indifference
13. Korean womens’ struggle with 70 years of war
14. Achieving ‘zero hunger’ by 2030 in doubt 
15. Kidnapped Christian girl pregnant 
16. #ApartheidOffCampus
17. South African women face femicide   
18. Forced abortions and sterilisation in China 
19. Six reasons to choose Fairtrade Chocolate                            

Actions

   32. ***ACTION OF THE WEEK*** Time to end NRPF
    33. Christian CND Short Survey
   34. Hope not Hate Open Letter
    35. Help release Elżbieta
    36. ShareAction Survey

E-Petitions

   37. Secret Covid-19 deals with big pharmaceuticals
   38. Coronavirus; Drop the debt **another chance to sign** 
   39. Tell Boris to stop hijacking the aid budget

Resources

  40. New Network for young Christians
  41. Global Healing – a film-based resource
  42. Global Caring – a downloadable resource
  43. ‘Prepare the Future’ – by Million Minutes
  
  Vacancies

  44. Opportunity for students from the
                                     Palestinian Solidarity Campaign
  45. Vacancies with the Jesuit Refugee Service

The Last Word

 46. ‘A Whole New World’

NEWS AND COMMENT

1. ‘A celebration of what it is to be J & P people’

Ellen Teague has written her summary of the mini-conference held by Zoom on the 18th July, which replaced the annual Conference that had to be cancelled due to the pandemic.
Entitled ‘Post-pandemic Church: Paralysed or Energised? Recovered or Re-imagined?’
Anne Peacey, NJPN Chair, described the conference as “a real celebration of what it is to be J & P people,” and it was!
Between 200-300 people participated, both young and old, lay and religious. Ellen’s report is available to read through the Independent Catholic News here.
Also, there is a good summary of the conference by Chris Housden, East Anglian Region JPIC Minister on the Secular Franciscan Order of Great Britain website. Available to read here.

2. Covid-19; up to date comments on issues around the world.

Africa’s inadequate response mired in colonial legacy.
South Africa has become the 5th worst-affected country in the world in terms of coronavirus cases. Cardinal Wilfred Fox Napier blames colonialism as one of the main reasons for the continent’s inability to respond adequately to the emergency. 
There are lots of things he has also brought into it, including the burden of international debt. Read the article and listen to the interview through Vatican News.

EU Leaders agree on Coronavirus Fund, but not without tensions 
Leaders of the European Union have agreed on an unprecedented 1.82 trillion euro ($2.1 trillion) budget and coronavirus recovery fund at a time when the EU is tackling the most significant recession in its history.
After lengthy negotiations, summit chairman Charles Michel praised the results as a step forward for Europe. “I believe this agreement will be seen as a pivotal moment in Europe’s journey, but it will also launch us into the future,” he told reporters. “In fact, it is the first time in European history that our budget will be clearly linked to our climate objectives. The first time that the respect for the rule of law is a decisive criterion for budget spending,” Further details are available here.

Covid 19: G20 nations put off debt relief decisions until autumn meeting
After approving debt relief for the world’s poorest countries in April, G20 Finance Ministers announce that further decisions on debt suspension have been moved to its meetings in the Autumn. The next round of decisions on Covid-19 health and economic solutions are scheduled for the October International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank meetings, and the November G20 meetings. Further details here.

Columbia: Human rights being abused under cover of Covid-19
Within the context of confinement to prevent the spread of COVID-19, multifaceted violence persists in Colombia, as well as violations of the rights of social leaders, Indigenous, Afro-Colombian and peasant populations. The full story is available here.

3. Latest NJPN Columns in The Universe

Taking the UN seriously – Bruce Kent is Vice-President of both Pax Christi and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. His column below was in the Universe edition dated the 10th July.
75 years ago, on 26th June 1945, the Charter of the United Nations (UN) was signed. It is available
now as a pocket-sized document of about 100 pages. The main problem today is that very few
people have ever seen it. I have never seen one on display in a parish or cathedral book shop.
That is why some of us have had the Preamble to the Charter printed out on A4 card, ideal for
church or other notice boards. Just ask me for one – free from info@abolishwar.org.uk.
The Preamble starts with this ringing sentence: ‘We the Peoples of the United Nations determined
to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war…’ But ending war was not the
only United Nations aim. It has worked hard and well over the years, with little publicity, to free
the peoples of the world from hunger and disease, for the nonviolent settlement of conflict, and
for the safeguarding of all human rights.
Despite all the deaths and suffering caused by our current epidemic, new opportunities are
opening up, forcing us to think more seriously about a world free of war – where sharing and common humanity are our guiding principles.
It makes no sense to me that Britain can spend over £200 billion on yet another generation of
nuclear weapons but can’t afford to spend, as we ought to spend, on our NHS. The courage and devotion of NHS staff deserves decent work conditions and wages which reflect the hard work and
grave risks for all involved.
So let us all take seriously our main international organisation, the UN, which aims at justice and
decent lives for all. Many recent Popes have pointed us in that direction. I still have, in slightly
tatty condition, a copy of the Catholic Truth Society pamphlet, The Popes Appeal for Peace.
It is the story of Pope Paul VI’s visit to the UN General Assembly in 1965. He said then that the United Nations was, for all peoples, ‘the best hope for peace and concord.’
Our current Pope Francis has even rejected, not just the use of nuclear weapons, but their very
possession. Hopefully, our bishops will follow him. Let us all remember that God did not
divide his world up into nearly 200 countries – we did! It’s high time for us to behave now as one
united human family.
 
The Value of Trees– Barbara Butler, Executive Secretary of Christians Aware, an ecumenical member of NJPN writes in The Universe on the 17th July.  
Trees are essential to life. They stabilise the soil, generate oxygen, store carbon, provide a home for
wildlife, raw materials and shelter. In addition they provide food, timber, medicines and fertility for the
soil, help the water cycle by holding rain on slopes and increase the water stored in the soil.
Trees cover roughly 30 per cent of the global land surface and the world’s forests are home to more
than 300 million people, including roughly 60 million indigenous people. More than 1.6 billion people depend directly on forests: 1.2 billion people in the developing world rely on agroforestry for their
livelihoods. They shield food and other crops from wind and heat, while leguminous trees transfer
nitrogen from the air into the soil. Forests are also magical places, inspiring meditation, poetry and stories. They are wonderful places
to walk and relax in.
Yan Martell went to the Andes in 2009. He joined a trek starting from depleted glaciers near Cuzco
in Peru, walking past shrinking glaciers, cloud forests, lower forests, deforested areas and the
Amazon River basin. He wrote about his wonder and enthusiasm for the variety of trees and wildlife
he saw. He was told that one tree could be home to 100 different species of termites.
Deforestation is a very serious problem in today’s world. In Ethiopia, for example, 45,000 people are being turned off their land and large areas of forest are being felled. However, reforestation is
being tackled in many parts of the world. This will make a contribution to soil and water protection
and to biodiversity.
The Kenya Greenbelt Movement was a pioneer in tree planting. It was started in 1977 by Wangari
Maathai and the National Council of Women. It took the needs of communities into its work and
encouraged the planting of nutritious food crops and the introduction of water harvesting schemes
and training programmes. Today, in Kenya, people across the country see the need to plant trees and work hard to do so.
The UK Government recognises the value of trees in the fight against climate change. Many
more woodlands must be planted if we are to reach the goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The government is committed to planting one million trees by 2022.
We can all help.
Christians Aware has a collection of new summer cards which are made from a renewable forest
source. Contact eliam.christiansaware@outlook.com

Christians and Power – Fr. Rob Esdaile, parish priest of Our Lady of Lourdes, Thames Ditton, writes his column for this weekend, the 24th July.  
We stand at the juncture of the only two months in our calendar which are named after Roman Emperors – Julius and his successor Octavian who became Augustus. That seems a good moment to reflect on Christian attitudes to power. It’s easy to romanticise ‘the Church of the Catacombs’, when Christians were locked out from influence (along with most of the rest of the population, it should be noted!). It’s easier still to criticise the ‘Alliance of Throne and Altar’ which gradually developed after the conversion of the Emperor Constantine and endured to the French Revolution and beyond. For centuries (shockingly, to our post-modern eyes) Bishops relied on the State to kill dissidents.
We cannot follow the early Church’s option of simply praying “for kings and others in authority, so that we may be able to live peaceful and quiet lives,” (1 Tim 2.2), keeping our heads down and not making waves. We are not powerless. Nor is ‘entryism’ an effective way of evangelising the political world. Not even the evident holiness of Basil Hume brought about much conversion in Downing Street and Whitehall.
Rather than fretting about whether we have influence in the corridors of power, we’d do best to adopt the counsel given to St. Paul in a very different context: “They asked only one thing: that we remember the poor, which was actually what I was eager to do,” (Gal 2.10). Faced with any political policy our first questions should be: “Who benefits and who loses as a result? Who gets included and who gets marginalised?” Then we have a firm foundation for discerning a way forward in these uncertain times, and we shall find our voice in wider debates. Sometimes it will be a voice which speaks truth to power prophetically, very much from outside ‘the system’. At other times we shall be able to underline values and insights already there in the culture, discerning the action of the Spirit in societal change.
We know that pursuing the Common Good cannot ever mean leaving people behind. Being Catholic means looking out for everybody. We are people of communion, seekers of solidarity, with a grasp of the importance of community. Being critics is not enough. We have a vision to share of the flourishing of the whole of Creation, what Jesus called the Kingdom of God. So, beyond every challenge we offer to ‘The Powers-That-Be’ lies a bigger challenge to ourselves: how are we going to work heart-and-soul for the flourishing of all and the inclusion of the outcast?

Our thanks go to our friends at The Universe for supporting us. If you would like to take out a subscription to their newspaper, please follow the link.

4. An Open Letter from Christian Clergy from the Bethlehem Area
 

“Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed” (Jeremiah 22: 3)

We are writing this letter in our capacity as spiritual leaders of various Christian communities in the Bethlehem Area. The Israeli Government is planning to annex more occupied Palestinian land. According to the information they have released, this process could begin on July 1st. For Palestine, Bethlehem and particularly for its Christian population, this new process of annexation will be particularly catastrophic.
Soon after the occupation of 1967 Israel annexed over 20,000 dunums of land in the northern parts of Bethlehem, Beit Jala and Beit Sahour, for the construction of illegal colonial settlements. This severely hindered our capacity to grow as communities. They have already annexed one of the most important Christian religious sites of Bethlehem, the Mar Elias Monastery, and separated Bethlehem from Jerusalem for the first time in the two-thousand years of Christian history in Holy Land.
One of the only areas left for our expansion, as well as for agriculture and simply for families to enjoy nature, are the valleys of Cremisan and Makhrour, both located to the west of our urban areas and are under the current threat of annexation by Israeli authorities. This will affect the private property of hundreds of our parishioners. In the Cremisan Valley we also conduct spiritual activities. There is a school run by Salesian Nuns in addition to a historic monastery. The western Bethlehem countryside is also in danger, where some of our parishioners have been farming for generations, and this includes the Tent of Nations in Nahhalin. At the same time, and in accordance to the original maps of the US Plan, there are threats against the eastern part of Bethlehem, including the Ush Ughrab area of Beit Sahour, where there has been plans for years to build a children hospital to serve the local community.
Our biggest concern is that the annexation of those areas will push more people to emigrate. Bethlehem, surrounded by walls and settlements, already feels like an open prison. Annexation means the prison becomes even smaller, with no hopes for a better future. This is land theft! We are talking about land that is largely privately owned and that our families have owned, inherited and farmed for hundreds of years.
Most of our parishioners have lost hope in earthly powers. They feel hopeless and helpless, evident in the words a parishioner this month as he watched his land devoured by Israeli bulldozers preparing the way for more wall expansion: “It is devastating. You see bulldozers destroying your land and you can do nothing. No one is stopping them.”
Our parishioners no longer believe that anyone will stand courageously for justice and peace and stop this tremendous injustice that is taking place in front of your eyes. The human rights of Palestinians have been violated for decades. Hope is a pillar of our faith, yet is being challenged due to the actions of those who claim to care about the Christians in the Middle East. In practice, annexation could be the final straw when it comes to a viable Christian presence in Palestine, as well as the national aspirations to live in freedom, independence, dignity and equality in our homeland in accordance with international law.
Nobody can claim that they did not know the consequences of annexation for Palestine in general and Bethlehem in particular. We feel the burden of history upon our shoulders to keep the Christian presence in the land where it all started.
As we continue to put our hope and trust in God, we call upon the leaders of this world to stop this severe injustice. We remain committed to peace with justice, and find strength in the support of many around the world, specially the support of many churches. We hope that the world takes decisive and concrete actions to stop this injustice and provide the conditions to restore hope for a future of justice and peace that this land deserves.
Fr. Yacoub Abu Sada – ‘The Theotokos’ Melkite Church Bethlehem
Fr. Issa Musleh – Forefathers Greek Orthodox Church Beit Sahour
Fr. Hanna Salem – Catholic Church of the Annunciation Beit Jala
Fr. Bolous Al Alam – St. Mary Greek Orthodox Church Beit Jala
Rev. Ashraf Tannous – The Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Reformation Beit Jala
Fr. Suheil Fakhouri – Our Lady of the Shepherds Melkite Church Beit Sahour
Rev. Munther Isaac – The Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church Bethlehem and The Evangelical Lutheran Church Beit Sahour

5. WCC Executive Committee addresses global concerns

In a meeting with a format and focus dictated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the executive committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) met online between 20 – 24 July and addressed vital international developments and situations. Covering many areas and problems around the world, the summary of their discussions make an interesting read. Click here.

6. Comments and articles on Migrants and Refugees

Waiting for the Prime Minister to reply on child migrants
Seven Catholic leaders signed the Faith Leaders’ letter to the Prime Minister on World Refugee Day,  June 20th, asking him to ensure that unaccompanied child migrants seeking to reach the UK could be given safe and legal routes  and a welcome, along the lines of the pre-war Kindertransport initiative.   These measures would help to avoid the human rights abuses that young people  currently suffer in the Greek camps and on the UK-French borders.
Bishop Paul McAleenan, lead Bishop for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, Bishop Nicholas Hudson, of Westminster Justice and Peace, Bishop Declan Lang, Bishop for International Affairs, and Bishop William Nolan, of Scottish Justice and Peace, as well as  Fr Dominic Robinson sj current Chair of Westminster Justice and Peace, Fr Joe Ryan, retired Chair, and Canon Pat Browne, chaplain to Parliament, have all signed this important message to the Prime Minister. 
More than 2 weeks on, the Prime Minister still has not replied, but Safe Passage, who organised the Letter, is calling for the provision  for family reunification for the thousands of children, stranded across Europe, to be included in the Immigration Bill currently going through Parliament.   Alas the relevant amendment, on family reunification, was defeated by the Commons at this stage.  It has still to go to the Lords and then back to the Commons. 
The Bill has several omissions which will adversely affect migrants and refugees, including no end to indefinite detention.  Bishops Paul McAleenan and William Nolan had already protested about this in an earlier statement.  Nor is there any provision for Family Reunification for unaccompanied migrant children.  Beth Gardiner Smith, CEO of Safe Passage, said,
“We are inspired and grateful that so many faith leaders stand shoulder to shoulder with child refugees. Last winter, the government gave repeated assurances in Parliament that it was committed to helping child refugees join their relatives in the UK but it has now published a Brexit negotiating position that would replace concrete family reunion rights with a watered-down, discretionary system. There is a clear moral case for the UK to take leadership of this issue and provide safe and legal routes for child refugees.”
Three Catholic members of the Safe Passage Campaigns team,  Judyann Masters of Holy Apostles, Pimlico, Barbara Kentish, of Westminster Justice and Peace, and Judith Williams, of St Mary’s, Poole, Dorset,  are seeking further partners to lobby for more Catholic support for this issue.   If you have the time, contact the following for further information:
Barbarakentish@talktalk.net ; or judyannmasters@gmail.com ; or Judith Williams via Safe Passage organiser, Mia.barlow@safepassage.org 

Threat of homelessness for destitute asylum seekers
On Friday 3rd July, BBC Newsnight interviewed Sarah Teather, director of the Jesuit Refugee Service in a special report on homelessness after the coronavirus pandemic. The report showed some of the work being done at the their centre in Wapping, which includes delivery of emergency food and toiletry packages to destitute refugees around London. BBC Newsnight journalist Richard Watson also spoke with one of JRS UK’s destitute refugee friends, who is temporarily housed in hotel accommodation. To see more about the programme, and how you can catch it on iPlayer go to the JRS website. There are also lots of other positive articles on the work they are doing. If you are interested in their ‘At Home’ hosting scheme, there is more information below under the Events section of this e-bulletin.

Bishop urges UK and France to address reasons why migrants
                                               risk their lives to cross the Channel
Bishop Paul McAleenan, the lead Bishop for Migrants and Refugees has urged the UK and French governments to work together to eradicate the underlying reasons that result in migrants risking their lives in an attempt to cross the English Channel to reach Britain. Bishop McAleenan has said that he would like to see the joint agreement made between the UK and France, and that he wanted to see protection of the vulnerable as the principle motivating factor. His full comments are available to read here.

‘To listen in order to be reconciled’ Sarah Hassan reflects on her experience of becoming internally displaced, ahead of the 106th World Migrant and Refugee Day slated for 27 September. Available on the Vatican News website.

Pope Francis keeps the spotlight on the plight of migrants and refugees.
On July 8, 2013, Francis made his first journey outside the Vatican as pope to visit the remote island of Lampedusa, near Sicily, to draw attention to the plight of migrants and refugees. There he threw a wreath of flowers into the sea in their memory and wept for the thousands who had died on the Mediterranean during perilous sea-crossings as they sought refuge in Europe. Then, in a powerful homily at Mass on the Lampedusa sports ground, he denounced “the globalization of indifference” in the face of the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II.
Seven years to the day later, Francis recalled that visit as he celebrated Mass in the chapel of the Santa Marta guesthouse where he lives in the Vatican. During his homily, Pope Francis reminded believers that “the encounter with the other is also an encounter with Christ. He himself told us. It is he who knocks on our door, hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, imprisoned, seeking an encounter with us and requesting our assistance. And if we still had any doubt, here are his unequivocal words: ‘I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me’” (Mt 25:40).
America Magazine reports the full story.

7. Pope Francis and the background to the Season of Creation

The Season of Creation is an annual celebration uniting Christians in prayer and action for the protection of our common home. The idea of celebrating 1 September as a day of prayer for creation began at the wish of the Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios in 1989, and was endorsed by Pope Francis in 2015. The season runs from September 1 to October 4, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi.
Read more through the Catholic Bishops Conference website here.

8. Remembering US Civil Rights Leader John Lewis

US Congressman John Robert Lewis, the last surviving speaker at the 1963 March on Washington, has died at the age of 80 on the 17th July, just a day ahead of Nelson Mandela Day. He was a pioneer of the US civil rights movement, and co-organised the 1963 March on Washington, at which Martin Luther King delivered his famous ‘I have a dream’ speech. Vatican News sum up his life and death here.

 A final Freedom Ride: Kerry Kennedy, daughter of Robert F. Kennedy, tells 
John Lewis’ story:-
‘It had been more than 50 years since John Lewis had first traveled through Montgomery, Alabama as a Freedom Rider, a fateful journey that would leave him bloodied and beaten and shape the course of his life.
But the memories instantly flooded back, fresh and raw, as the civil rights icon told my family his story in full, in his gentle, slow style.’ Read the full article through America Media here.

John Lewis has Left The Good Trouble to Us – John Pavlovitz writes beautifully and succinctly about the passing of John Lewis and finishes with:-

May we work for those on the horizon of history.

May we be the very good troublemakers now.

Read his full article here. 
John Robert Lewis, you were a true civil rights hero. Thank you, and may you now rest in peace.

9. Being Black and Catholic

During the past few months, with the reality of racism coming into the spotlight, and the need to tackle prejudice, The Diocese of Westminster Communications Team has invited four individuals to share openly and frankly their experiences of being Black and Catholic. The result is a video that combines their stories. 
Rev Paschal Uche is a deacon and will soon be ordained as the first British-born Black priest in the Diocese of Brentwood. Kamara Katama is a lay chaplain at a Catholic sixth form college in South London. Caroline King is an Executive Head teacher in the London Borough of Hackney, with responsibility for two primary schools. Fr Joseph Okoro is Assistant Priest at Holy Rood Church, Watford and was ordained as a priest in the Diocese of Westminster three years ago. Go to the Independent Catholic News website to read the full article and listen to the videos.

10. Global Amazon Assembly ends with call to defend region

The First Global Assembly for the Amazon closes with a Final Declaration which states that ecocide, ethnocide and terricide are worse than the Coronavirus. Read more here.
 

11. The Damage Done – Reputational and Real (London Mining Network)

In solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, LMN recently issued a statement making clear the link between mining, imperialism and racism. Rio Tinto then swiftly gave the world a further illustration of it: it destroyed a 46,000 year old Aboriginal site of ‘staggering’ significance in Western Australia so that it could expand its Pilbara iron ore operations. Read the full article here.

12. Lebanon in crisis and no one cares.

At a press conference presenting Caritas Internationalis’ annual report, the Lebanon representative of the Church’s humanitarian agency gives a harrowing account of the spiraling humanitarian crisis crippling the country.
The Caritas Lebanon Director, Rita Rhayem, explained that Lebanon, a crucial player in the Middle East, a nation that “that hosts an important number of Syrian refugees and migrant workers, is now at the verge of collapse, amid the silence of the international community.” Read and listen here.

13. 70 years of War on the Korean peninsula – the women work for peace

A Women of Faith Pilgrim Team gathered, some in person and others virtually, in South Korea from 13-15 July. They were there to listen and accompany Korean church women as they called for an end to patriarchy – manifested in the Japanese colonization of Korea and establishment of ‘comfort women’ and also in the Korean War — and to the resulting pain and injustice that remains a grim daily reality for many today. To read the article go to the World Council of Churches website.
 
Statue of Peace in the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas, a symbol of the victims of
wartime sexual slavery, known as comfort women. Photo: Grégoire de Fombelle/WCC

14. Stark warning from the UN re hunger 

More people are going hungry, an annual study by the United Nations has found. Tens of millions have joined the ranks of the chronically undernourished over the past five years, and countries around the world continue to struggle with multiple forms of malnutrition.
The latest edition of the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, published on the 13th July, estimates that almost 690 million people went hungry in 2019 – up by 10 million from 2018, and by nearly 60 million in five years. High costs and low affordability also mean billions cannot eat healthily or nutritiously. The hungry are most numerous in Asia but expanding fastest in Africa. Across the planet, the report forecasts, the Coronavirus pandemic could tip over 130 million more people into chronic hunger by the end of 2020. (Flare-ups of acute hunger in the pandemic context may see this number escalate further at times.). Read more through the UNICEF website (or follow the link above to the report itself).

15. Pakistan: Kidnapped Christian girl pregnant

We reported some months ago about the fact that around 1,000 Christian and Hindu women and girls are abducted every year in Pakistan. The parents of Huma Younus, who was 14 years old when kidnapped, and is now 15, have received a telephone call from Huma telling them that she has now become pregnant as a result of the sexual violence she has been subjected to. Further details on this sad tale are available from Independent Catholic News.

16. Palestinian Solidarity Campaign’s ‘University Complicity Database’

Israel’s system of institutionalised racist discrimination, amounting to the crime of apartheid, can only be sustained because of weapons, technology and other support it receives from companies around the world. UK Universities collectively invest nearly over £450m in companies complicit in Israeli violations of international law. 
Check out the PSC’s  guide on how to build a campaign to get #ApartheidOffCampus and get your university to pledge to be #ApartheidFree!

17. Coming out of Covid lockdown, only to face another deadly problem…

A wave of killing of women and children has horrified South Africa in recent weeks since the gradual easing of the coronavirus lockdown restrictions on the 1st June. The police say the end of the nine-week ban on alcohol sales contributed to a spike in crime and gender-related violence directed at women and children.
With one of the highest rates of violence against women in the world, gender-based violence is not a new problem in South Africa. A woman is murdered in South Africa every three hours. To read the article go to America Magazine.

18. China: forcibly aborting, sterilising hundreds of thousands

The Independent Catholic News have reported on the above happening in the Xinjiang area of China; seemingly happening only to ethnic minorities. Read their full report here.

19.Six reasons to choose Fairtrade Chocolate –
     (and yes, you knew there would be chocolate in here
                                                           somewhere…)

Think all chocolate is the same? And what about all the different sustainability labels you find on supermarket shelves? Think again…
If you love chocolate, and who doesn’t, you want your choices to actually make a difference for farmers. Follow this link to the Fairtrade site, and see what Fairtrade means for incomes, empowerment and farmers having control over their own futures.

NEWSLETTERS

20. London Mining Network of 16th July

If you haven’t heard of them before, the London Mining Network has a vision of a just future based on a lower demand for mining and on respect for human rights and ecological justice (including the rights of nature) where mining does take place. Their July newsletter has lots of interesting articles and about where they are getting involved. Click here.

21. Faith Matters

Year 12 students at St John Bosco College Battersea have produced the second edition of their magazine, ‘Faith Matters’, written and edited by students for an audience of adults. The termly magazine is produced for staff at the college, and the editorial group aims to address issues in Christianity that have captured their attention and are not widely covered in the press. Not all of it is J & P related, but it is still a good and thought-provoking read.

22. Embrace Magazine

Embrace is the Christian development charity tackling poverty and injustice in the Middle East. There are lots of positive bits of news in their June magazine. They also mention the cancellation of their June lecture, which would have featured journalist John McCarthy, who you may remember was kidnapped in Beirut in 1986, and miraculously released some years later. He will still be appearing in what they bill as a series of online digital events taking place in the Autumn. That will certainly be one to look out for.

23. Diocese of Nottingham – Grapevine

News from Adult Formation, Justice and Peace, and Caritas – obviously a lot is related to the good work going on in the Diocese of Nottingham, but still an interesting read. Click here.

24. JPIT July Newsletter

As summer gets underway and schools finish for the holidays, we are beginning to look ahead at
what life over the next few months might look like. As churches, closely linked to our local
communities, we know that this transition will be different for everyone. New challenges will
arise, particularly for those locked in poverty, facing unemployment or dealing with physical and
mental health challenges. It continues to be incredibly important that we Stay Alert to Justice,
seeking to include everyone in recovery.
This month, as we respond to the Government’s plans, we’re inviting you to explore with us
what an economy that supports us from recovery to flourishing might look like. We’ve also got
some calls to action, to speak out with Fairtrade farmers and countries facing overwhelming debt. Click here to read more.

 
EVENTS

25. Birmingham Justice and Peace Assembly 2020

 26. JRS Open Evening for their At Home scheme

JRS UK is currently looking for new volunteer hosts to join their ‘At Home’ hosting scheme which facilitates short-term hosting placements in London for our refugee friends at high risk of street homelessness.
Join us from 18:30-19:15 on Tuesday 11th August on Zoom for a discussion with Naomi, At Home’s coordinator. For more details follow this link.

27. Embrace Prayer Diary

Embrace had over 160 years’ experience of responding to humanitarian needs and upholding the Christian presence in the Middle East.
The world has changed a lot over those long decades, but one thing remains constant – our partners’ faith in God’s transformational love. It’s a source of strength and inspiration for them to know that people across the world are praying for them as they face the challenges of life amid conflict, poverty and injustice.
Your prayers are more important than ever in these difficult times and the new format enables them to give you more detail and more creative prayer ideas.
Their Prayer Diary is issued twice a year and includes one prayer prompt for each week. You can use them in your church services, in prayer groups, or during private prayer. Click here for more information. 

28. Global Justice Now Videos

Global Justice Now have put together a series of video interviews giving southern persepectives on the coronavirus pandemic. The video interviews present internationalist viewpoints on how Covid-19 is playing out in different societies. Each interview is with a leader or member of southern movements and progressive organisations that they are working with and respect. They want to highlight their visions and the possibilities born out from social activism and progressive processes they are building. Interviews are available here.

29. Christian CND Prayer Meeting

Christian CND invite you to join them at their next Prayer Meeting via Zoom, taking place on Wednesday 29th July at 8pm. Please use this Twitter link to see more details.

30. ‘The Filter’ – Fairtrade’s mini-series on Coffee

Start learning the secrets of great coffee; from top tips on brewing up at home, to how farmers’ hard work gives us those brilliant beans in the first place. Sign up here.

31. The annual Big Ride for Palestine

You can ride 36 or 44 miles in the seven days from Monday 27th July to Sunday 2nd August as part of the Big Solidarity Ride, or you can take the Big Ride Challenge, and cycle 440 miles before the end of August.
However you take part, you’ll be raising vital funds for Middle East Children’s Alliance. The money raised will fund sports programmes for children in Gaza, where trauma is common as a result of the Israeli siege and regular brutal military assaults.
This year, the ride is raising money to support the construction of a playground in Khuza’a Village in Southern Gaza. The village faced almost total destruction in Israel’s 2014 ground invasion and aerial bombardment of Gaza. Follow this link.

ACTIONS/APPEALS

32. ***ACTION OF THE WEEK*** 

Time to End no Recourse to Public Funds
Nobody should be left behind – not now, not ever!
 

Citizens UK have been working on some issues with people who have no recourse to public funds. Please follow this link and support them in their work.

33. Short Survey for Christian CND

“Christian CND is committed to sharing the message of nuclear disarmament and peace to all believers in the UK. Working with you we have a vision for the church united in working and prayer for a nuclear weapons-free world.
We know it isn’t always easy to talk about these issues though, some of the information and concepts can be daunting and there are differing views on the teaching of the Bible. However we believe many Christians will support nuclear disarmament if we can just get their attention and explain the issues in a clear and unbiased way.
Christian CND are putting together a range of resources which we hope will help you speak to your friends, family, small groups of Christians and even your church. To make sure we serve you in the best possible way, we want to hear from you about what you’d find useful.
There’s a short survey you can take to help us as we develop things in the coming weeks and months.”

34. Hope Not Hate Open Letter

Across the northwest Chinese province of Xinjiang the Uyghur people are being persecuted, and household brands are profiting because of it.
In the Xinjiang province in northwest China as many as three million Uyghur people have been held in so-called re-education camps.
There they have been brutalised, many have been tortured, and there are even credible claims of women being subject to forced sterilisations. 
Please sign this open letter to the Chief Executives of Nike, Adidas, Puma, Fila, BMW, Jaguar and Apple, asking them to confirm that they are not using forced labour and that they review all their China-based operations. 

35. Elżbieta – imprisoned for ‘offending religious beliefs’

Elżbieta Podleśna, an LGBTI+ activist in Poland, has just been indicted for ‘offending religious beliefs’. Her crime? Allegedly owning a poster of the Virgin Mary with a rainbow halo.
Elżbieta could face up to two years in prison.
The police raided Elżbieta’s house early in the morning on 6 May 2019.They arrested her and detained her for several hours, confiscating her electronic equipment, including laptop, phone and memory cards. 
There’s no evidence of a crime being committed here, which means Elżbieta has simply been targeted for her peaceful activism.
LGBTI+ rights defenders are facing more and more harassment in Poland. With your help we can fight back. She urgently needs your support. Please email Poland’s Prosecutor General through this link.

Many of you will not be aware that there is a LGBT+ Catholics Westminster Group. Click on the link for more information.

36. Help shape ShareAction’s work

Covid-19 has made it clear that our pension providers should be considering health, workers’ rights and the climate when they invest our pension savings. 
ShareAction are determined to build a financial system that works for people and planet, anre currently planning their next 12 months of work – and want to hear from you! 
It’s your money – through your pension – that props up the financial system. They want to make sure that their campaigning reflects what you want your money to do.
What campaigns and content do you want from them in the coming year? Can you fill in the ShareAction survey to let them know?  

E-PETITIONS

37. Do not let the Covid-19 Vaccine be part of a secret deal

Luigi was one of the first volunteers to take part in Oxford University’s Covid-19 vaccine trials. 
But he was shocked to find out that despite public funding for the research, Oxford University has signed a secret agreement with UK pharma giant, AstraZeneca to manufacture the vaccine. And worries that big pharma monopolies could stop access to this vital vaccine. 

Co-sign Luigi’s letter to Oxford University and AstraZeneca. He’s demanding they publish their secret deal and ensure big pharma monopolies don’t stop affordable Covid-19 vaccines for all. Click here to add your support.
 

38. Global Just Now: Coronavirus – Drop the debt
We included this in the last e-bulletin, but in case you missed it, please consider signing this petition to our Chancellor of the Exchequer, urging proper debt cancellation. The number of new coronavirus cases across Africa increased by 24% last week. We’ve been warned that 500 million people could be pushed into poverty because of the pandemic. Countries like El Salvador have been completely overwhelmed, its health system is close to collapse.
This pandemic is far from over. Yet as governments across the global south struggle to deal with the crisis, they continue to pay hundreds of millions of pounds to some of the richest hedge funds on earth. Today we launch a report with Jubilee Debt Campaign, Oxfam and Christian Aid, which shows that even in the pandemic, the lowest income countries are spending $2.8 billion a month servicing their debts – with nearly $1 billion every month going into the coffers of large banks and investment funds.
More information and to add your name, click here.

39. Tell Boris to stop hijacking the aid budget

Last month, the prime minister announced plans to hand over control of UK aid to the Foreign Office. This is almost certain to mean more money going to fossil fuel projects, private hospitals and unaccountable private equity funds.
The ‘merger’ of the Department for International Development into the Foreign Office is a terrible decision that will destroy aid effectiveness and transparency, hinder public scrutiny of development policy, and see aid being used to boost British businesses rather than tackling global inequalities. For further details and to sign the e-petition, click here. 

RESOURCES

40. Young Christian Climate Network

A group of Christians aged 18-30 are in the very early stages of setting up a Young Christian Climate Network (YCCN), the first independent, youth-led Christian network of climate justice activists and advocates in the UK. 
If you know any Christians aged 18-30 who would be interested in shaping this network, please get in touch with them! They will need to email: – hello@yccn.org for more information.

41. Global Healing

Global Healing is a film-based resource to help us to respond to the damage being done to our planet – our common home. It’s for parishes, groups and individuals and aims to inform, challenge and equip people to engage with Pope Francis’ vital call to Care For Our Common Home.
“There’s no doubt that we are doing great damage to our planet – our common home. Pope Francis calls on all of us to respond and this CaFE-filmed resource will help us do that together in our communities and families, for the sake of future generations.”
Right. Reverend John Arnold, Bishop of Salford

42. Global Caring

‘Global Caring’ works as a stand-alone or companion volume to ‘Global Healing’ and is intended to encourage parish groups and individuals to living in harmony with God’s creation.
“We are recognising the extent of the challenge. I hope that Global Caring will assist in developing that essential, practical and spiritual response that we all need to make. Let’s celebrate all that is being achieved and, with hope and determination, work to repair our common home.”
Right. Reverend John Arnold, Bishop with responsibility for the environment

43. Prepare the Future

Pope Francis has called us to ‘prepare the future’, not passively ‘prepare for the future’. With this new 12 unit resource we hope our young people – as prophets of change for the world – will begin to paint a picture of tomorrow. Each unit offers leaders’ notes (also suitable for young adults) alongside young people’s notes and resources for reflection. We also provide editable material for you to create your own, bespoke resources. The first two units – Called to be and Called to listen – can be downloaded from Million Minutes.

VACANCIES

44. Palestinian Solidarity Campaign – Youth opportunity

Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) is looking for talented and enthusiastic students to join its Youth and Student Committee (YSC.) We are looking for enthusiastic campaigners with relevant experience who are committed to the aims and objectives of PSC. Working with the rest of the YSC, you will advise on campaigns and aid us in bringing effective support to student societies. You will be creative, enthusiastic, and understand how to work well with others. Details here.

45. Jesuit Refugee Service

JRS are looking for a part-time Grants and Trusts Fundraising Officer, and a Detention Outreach Manager. More details of both vacancies are available here.

 46.  THE LAST WORD

Community choirs in Sheffield have come together online beautifully for an e-choir rendition of the Disney classic ‘A Whole New World’ from the film Aladdin. Thanks to Church Action on Poverty for sharing it. Click here to read the story and enjoy the singing!

NEWS LINKS Independent Catholic News Find Justice and Peace stories at: http://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/justice-peace-environment Sign up to receive these regularly.    Catholic Communications Network Find news stories at www.catholicnews.org.uk   Latest Zenit Headlines here   Vatican Radio homepage: http://en.radiovaticana.va/   World Council of Churches https://www.oikoumene.org/en/   UK Parliament News https://www.parliament.uk/business/news/   Follow us on Twitter: @NJandPNetwork Follow us on Facebook: National Justice and Peace Network

———————————————————-

“I am gentle and humble of heart”
Matthew 11:29
 

Dear Friends,

We have the usual mix of social justice and peace issues. The situation in the Holy Land with the annexation of Palestinian land continues, and there is much about how we want our world to be after the Virus, both environmentally and financially. 
This week, the time limit on immigration detention vote did not pass, but we still keep on with the pressure. There are comments below from the Jesuit Refugee Service and Safe Passage.

Don’t forget, if you have something you particularly want shared in this e-bulletin, send it to ebulletin@justice-and-peace.org.uk. The next e-bulletin will be produced for the weekend of the 19th July.

Wishing you a good fortnight, and God bless you all,

Editor

Please note we are still using a temporary postal address due to the closure of the Eccleston Square office:

Geoff Thompson, NJPN, c/o CAFOD Lancaster Volunteer Centre, St Walburge’s Centre, St Walburge’s Gardens, Preston PR2 2QJ.

You can still use the same phone number.

See below for: – 

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E-Bulletin Contents: –

News and Comment

1. Traidcraft comment on #BlackLivesMatter 
2. The Arc of Racial Injustice 
3. NJPN column in the Universe
4. Articles on Immigration Detention
5. Comments on the situation in the Holy Land
6. The Pope prays for the people of Yemen and Ukraine
7. Breaking the debt bonds – modern slavery in the time of coronavirus
8. Windrush – lessons learned
9. Hottest Temperature ever recorded in the Arctic
10. Dire situation in Cameroon – fighting Covid-19 as well as a civil war
11. 600 million children at risk in South Asia due to pandemic
12. United Nations statement in Support of Victims of Torture
13. Thoughts on the Post-Covid world
14. Korea – Ecumenical Peace Message
15. Bad news for the poor? Why the abolition of DFID matters.
16. Keep KitKat Fairtrade                                     

Actions

    26. Global Justice Now: halt the potential profiteering

***NJPN Action of the Week***

  
    27. Christian CND Statement to mark 75th anniversary of
        bombings in Nagasaki and Hiroshima.
   28. Boycott Puma for sponsoring the Israeli football team
    29. Biofuelwatch – “Green Heat” cannot come from intensive farming
    

E-Petitions

   30. Protect, not neglect; help protect victims of slavery in the UK 
   31. Global Justice Now – Flagrant profiteering on Covid drug 
   32. Don’t bring back benefit sanctions 
   33. Petition the Government re creating green jobs
   34. Coronavirus: Drop the debt
   35. Stop Arming Saudi
   36. Tell the EU to end Slavery in Libya

Resources

  37. The Word and the Common Good –  a course of six sessions
  38. Our Common Home – CAFOD’s new strategic framework
  
  Vacancies

  39. Quaker Trustee (The Peace Museum)

The Last Word

 40. Reflection from CAFOD

NEWS AND COMMENT

1. Thoughts on the Black Lives Matter march in Newcastle

Traidcraft are actively, noisily passionate about equality, religion and opportunity, regardless of background, heritage, experience or inheritance, and have been for over four decades.
This month, Robin, their Mission and Transparency Lead, defied Government advice and joined the (socially distanced) Black Lives Matter march in Newcastle. 
“We listened to speeches, we knelt, we were silent, and, of course, we marched. No justice, no peace.”
Robin’s thoughts on the March are available to read here.

2. ‘The Arc of Racial Injustice’ by William Collins Donahue

‘Violence against black people has become so prevalent that it is impossible to maintain even a residual faith in the narrative of gradual racial justice.’ 

An interesting piece of writing about how, over the last 50 years or so, not much has changed in regards to racial injustice in America. A country where ‘older white rightwing protesters (like the ones who occupied the Michigan State Capitol with guns strapped across their chests just a few weeks ago) are treated much more respectfully and gently than younger people, including people of color, protesting the murder of Floyd and police brutality more generally. The president himself made full use of police power to disperse a peaceable crowd so that he could stage a photo-op of himself holding up a Bible in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church. He has also threatened to deploy the military against U.S. citizens.’ For the full story, click here.

3. Latest NJPN Columns in The Universe

From Goal to Vision – Fr. Rob Esdaile, Parish Priest of Our Lady of Lourdes, Thames Ditton, talks about the growing impact of poverty and the sort of questions we need to be asking of ourselves. The article was published in The Universe on the 26th June. Read it here.
Sampling a Better Life – Dr. Andrew Neil Rollinson is an independent energy engineer and a member of the NJPN Environment Working Group. His article in The Universe of the 3rd July talks about the environment and the difference a few weeks of lockdown have made to wildlife, and that it is possible to bring about systemic change. Read it here.

Our thanks go to our friends at The Universe for supporting us. If you would like to take out a subscription to their newspaper, please follow the link.

4. Immigration Detention and the vote that took place this week

Catholic and Anglican Bishops send letter to The Telegraph
The Bishops have sent a letter to The Telegraph urging MPs to support a time-limit on immigration detention in the UK. This was ahead of the crucial vote in Parliament this week. Details of the letter are here. As you will see below, the majority of MP’s voted against this, sadly.

 Detained and Dehumanised: the impact of immigration detention
The Jesuit Refugee Service have published their new report ‘Detained and Dehumanised: the impact of immigration detention.’ Their research is drawn from the accounts of 27 forcibly displaced people supported by JRS with direct experience of detention. It is a powerful yet devastating read. In it we find that the UK’s practice of indefinite immigration detention has a deep and lasting impact on the person, on their mental and physical health, on the way they interact with the world, and on their sense of self and humanity. The report can be read here.
Joanna, from the JRS Communications Team, says the following; ‘The release of our report coincided with a debate in parliament on the Immigration Bill, with MP David Davis leading a call for a time limit of 28 days to be introduced, in line with the recommendations presented in our report. While he and several other MPs mentioned our report in their debate on Tuesday, ultimately the majority voted against this proposed time limit. While we are disappointed at this stage, we will continue to fight for an end to the cruel and inhumane practice of indefinite detention. I truly hope that our report, and the press coverage around it might encourage many more of you to support us in this mission.’

Update on the vote on Family Reunion from Safe Passage
The vote in the Commons on family reunion for refugees didn’t win, but a lot of Conservative MP’s voted against the Government. The Government was obviously spooked, trying to stop larger numbers rebelling by sending round a document full of dubious claims just hours before. Safe Passage have produced a Factcheck, so that you can see the arguments that the Government put forward, and the actual truth of the matter. Find it here.  The next stage for the Bill is the House of Lords. Watch this space and share the details of the Factcheck to everyone you know.

5. Holy Land – various comments and articles

A Reflection on the Holy Land Situation from the Independent Catholic News
Joseph Hazboun, Regional Director for Palestine and Israel for the Pontifical Mission, Jerusalem, writes:
In our tiny piece of land, we watch as two leaders have put their agendas onto unpleasant paths. Netanyahu, with his expansion, annexation, and oppression plans, is leading the region into riot and chaos while Trump with his bullying attitude, is leading the whole world towards war. However, politics is not our business, people’s wellbeing are.
The full article is available to read here.

Holy See to US and Israel: Unilateral actions jeopardize peace in the Middle East
The Vatican Secretary of State met with U.S. and Israeli Ambassadors last Tuesday, expressing the Holy See’s concern “regarding possible unilateral actions” and reiterates its position that both Israel and Palestine have the right to exist, and to live in peace within internationally recognised borders. The full article from Vatican News is available here.

Joint Ecumenical Statement: Annexation will undermine peace and justice
The World Council of Churches, World Communion of Reformed Churches, ACT Alliance and Lutheran World Federation have released an “Ecumenical Statement on the Planned Annexation of Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
The statement expresses concern over the planned annexation of occupied Palestinian territories in the West Bank by Israel, and can be found here.

6. Pope Francis prays for those suffering in Yemen and Ukraine

Pope Francis has invited us to pray for those suffering in war-torn Yemen and those affected by flooding in Ukraine. He particularly mentions the malnourished children of Yemen, and the full article from Vatican News is here.

7. Traidcraft Exchange on modern slavery in the time of the coronavirus.

A vicious circle of borrowing money to feed your family in exchange for your labour. Read the article about the trap that people can easily fall into, and in particular certain people in India and Bangladesh. Click here.
 
8. The Catholic Association for Racial Justice welcomes the promise
     to implement the Windrush Recommendations.

The Windrush Lessons Learned Review led by Wendy Williams was published on 30 March 2020 with 30 recommendations. The Home Secretary, Priti Patel, has accepted all 30 recommendations and promised to implement them. This announcement by the Home Secretary is very welcome.

The full press release from CARJ can be found here.

The Review by Wendy Williams is available to read here.

Plus, Bishop Paul McAleenan’s article on Windrush Day. He heralds the importance and value of the Windrush Generation as well as that of the UK’s migrant and ethnic minority communities.
Find it here.

9. A disastrous summer in the Arctic

Siberia is in the midst of an astonishing and unprecedented heatwave, with a temperature of 100.4 Fahrenheit recorded on the 20th June. An interesting article from The New Yorker, with rather a depressing ending, is available here.

10. International Community call for ceasefire in Cameroon

Respected leaders from the international community under their umbrella body, the Global Campaign for Peace and Justice in Cameroon (GCPJC), have called on warring parties in the Central African nation to reach a ceasefire if the fight against COVID-19 pandemic in the country can be effective. The article from Association for Catholic Information in Africa can be read here.

Also, the leadership of the Rome-based Catholic Lay Religious Sovereign Order of Malta, Malteser Intentional (MI), is sending an Emergency Medical Team to Cameroon in response to the Central African nation’s appeal for international assistance in controlling the “the rapid spread of COVID-19.” They will be assisting and providing training for medical staff in three hospitals.
Click to read more..

11. UNICEF: Future of 600 million children at risk due to pandemic

This week, the UN Children’s Agency, UNICEF warned that the Coronavirus pandemic is “unravelling decades of health, education and other advances for children across South Asia”.
In a new report issued on Tuesday, the agency said that “governments must take urgent action to prevent millions of families from slipping back into poverty.” Further details, including an interview with the report’s author, Simon Ingram, can be found on the Vatican News website.

12. ‘Torturers must never get away with their crimes.’

On International Day in the Support of Victims of Torture, United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, urged everyone to speak out against torture: ‘an abhorrent denial of human dignity. The UN statement is available to read through Vatican News and mentions that the Covid-19 pandemic has led to an escalation of torture worldwide. Click here for details.

13. Post-Covid thoughts and reflections

The World after Covid-19: a typology of crises by Frank Turner Sj
While certain restrictions may be easing in the UK, the prospect of a world after Covid-19 still seems to be remote, if it is possible at all. When it comes to shaping the post-virus world, how do we even frame the right questions, and from which perspectives do those questions need to be asked? In the first of a two-part article, Frank Turner SJ surveys the complex political, economic, environmental and civic terrain to which coronavirus has directed our attention, and from which decisions must be made. Available here.

The time is now
A Rocha UK CEO, Andy Atkins, comments on the critical window of opportunity to ‘build back better’ from the pandemic. He discusses the environmental impact of Covid-19 and the opportunity we need to take to rescue our future. Click here to read further.

WWF video on Nature and Pandemics
What causes a pandemic like Covid-19, and why is protecting nature so fundamental to reducing the risk of future outbreaks? Available to watch here.

14. Joint Ecumenical Peace Message on the anniversary of the start of the Korean War

Seventy years ago, on the 25th June 1950, the Korean War began. It was to cost the lives of approximately three million people – the majority of them civilians, result in the destruction of virtually all of the major cities on the Korean Peninsula, separate many families, and leave a lasting legacy of bitterness, fear and division among people who share the same language, traditional culture and ancient history.
The World Council of Churches have issued a Peace Message, which, quite rightly, calls for a formal declaration of the end of the Korean War, and swift moves for adoption of a Peace Treaty. Read their statement here.

15. Joint Public Issues Team on the abolition of DFID

JPIT’S Simeon Mitchell, who worked in the International Development Sector for twenty years, offers a personal perspective on the merging of DFID with the FCO and why many people feel it is a bad idea. Read his article here.

16. Fairtrade producers ask Nestlé to keep KitKat Fairtrade

After a decade of sourcing cocoa and sugar for KitKat in the UK and Ireland, Nestlé have informed Fairtrade they no longer plan to buy Fairtrade cocoa and sugar from some of the world’s most vulnerable small scale farmers.  
The move will mean a loss of almost £2 million (£1.95 million) in Fairtrade Premium each year for co-operatives in Côte d’Ivoire, Fiji and Malawi, representing 27,000 small scale producers. This income is a real lifeline for some of the world’s poorest farmers.
Read the full article here.
There is also a petition to keep KitKat Fairtrade. Follow this link…
There will certainly not be KitKats in our house in future. (Editor)

NEWSLETTERS

17. Caritas Social Action Network June 2020

CSAN have produced a very good newsletter covering various social justice issues. You can sign up to receive their newsletter here.

18. Operation Noah – June 2020

Operation Noah have a couple of events coming up; plus a recording of their Webinar about church investments in major oil companies, along with other interesting articles. Read it here.
 

19. Together for the Common Good Pentecost Newsletter

Together for the Common Good have produced a very informative newsletter, including a call to the church to renew its vocation. You can read the newsletter here and subscribe to future editions here.

20. Lancaster Faith and Justice July Newsletter

A lot of interesting articles about the effects of Covid-19, plus the ethics of our politics and economics, as well as comment on the whole DFID/FCO story. You can download it from their website here.

21. FareShare Newsletter

Thanks to an incredible campaign by FareShare supporter Marcus Rashford the Government did a U-turn on its free school meal vouchers a couple of weeks ago. 
However, we know there’s still more to do. Families on low incomes have been one of the groups hardest hit by this crisis. Even with the voucher scheme in place we’ve seen demand for food skyrocket – with 80% of the new charities we’ve signed up since lockdown now providing food parcels to children and their families.
To see what is being done, and what can be done in your area, sign up to their newsletter.

 
EVENTS

22. Online Rally – And Still We Rise!

Palestine Solidarity Campaign will be co-hosting an online rally on Friday 10th July at 6pm,  ‘Minneapolis, Soweto, London, occupied Jerusalem & beyond: United against Racism & Colonialism!’
They will be joined by US activist Marc Lamont Hill, Stefanie Fox from Jewish Voice for Peace, Chief Mandla Mandela from South Africa, Zita Holbourne from UK Black Activists Rising Against Cuts, Omar Barghouti from the BDS movement, and many more!
Register now.

 23. Church Action on Poverty – The Collective

The Collective is Church Action on Poverty’s new monthly show that brings together inspiring stories from across the country of collective action to promote dignity, agency and power.
The first episode will focus on Church Responses to the Crisis

You can watch it on Zoom or Facebook Live on Tuesday 14th July, 2pm – 2.40 pm. Sign up for updates direct from their website.

24. CAAT Reading Group via Zoom.
First Session – Introduction to the Arms Trade.

Beginning on Thursday 16th July at 6pm, and then weekly, discussing a range of topics – starting with an introduction to the arms trade, then delving deeper into issues from Coronavirus and the arms trade to the Stop Arming Saudi Campaign. Register here.

25. ECCR – Money Makes Change Workshops

Join ECCR in the last two of three workshops, being held on the 8th and 15th July. There are two sessions to choose from: – 11am – 12.30pm, or 8pm – 9.30pm. They will be exploring how to better connect faith and money and how it can be used to shape a fairer, more sustainable world. 
More details here…

ACTIONS/APPEALS

26. Global Justice Now: halt the profiteering

As governments struggle to try and protect their citizens from the fallout of coronavirus, lawyers and big business are threatening to use trade deals to profiteer from this crisis.

A wave of new ‘corporate court’ cases threatens to drain vital funds from the public sector, as big business tries to cash in by challenging policies introduced to protect people’s safety and jobs from the pandemic.

Take Action Now.

*** NJPN Action of the Week***
 

27. New Statement to mark 75th anniversary of the nuclear bombing in Japan

Christian CND is coordinating the signing of a statement to mark the 75th anniversary of the bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The statement notes that not only did the bombings kill hundreds of thousands of people but they left many more dealing with the environment, physical and psychological damage, which continues to this day.
To be involved in adding your name to the statement, go to Christian CND.

28. Puma and it’s involvement in Israel

Palestine Solidarity Campaign writes: – Despite growing international pressure, Puma remains the main sponsor of the Israel Football Association (IFA) – which includes teams in Israel’s illegal settlements. Every settlement is a war crime under international law, and they are a fundamental assault on Palestinian rights.
By sponsoring the IFA, Puma is supporting settlement infrastructure and the dispossession of Palestinians from their land. In addition to this, Puma’s exclusive licensee in Israel – Delta Galil Industries – is listed in the UN database of companies sustaining Israel’s illegal settlement enterprise. This video explains the situation.
also
British model and actress Cara Delevingne is known for using her platform to advocate for justice and equality for all. She is an advocate of LGBTQIA+ rights and gender justice.
She has condemned institutionalized racism, joining Black Lives Matter protests in Los Angeles this month and echoing calls to #DefundPolice.
She has drawn the parallels between today’s Black-led global uprising against racism and the June 27, 1969 Stonewall uprising, when Black Trans woman Marsha P. Johnson led the revolt against police harassment of and violence against queer communities.
Let’s thank Cara Delevingne, brand ambassador for Puma, for advocating for justice and urge her to join us in telling Puma to end support for Israeli apartheid. 
Urge Cara Delevingne to take her message of equality and justice for all to Puma here.

29. Biofuelwatch – help needed re two key issues

“Green Gas Support Scheme” Consultation 

1. Tell the UK Government: “Green heat” can’t come from more intensive farming
 
Right now, the UK Government is consulting on a new “Green Gas Support Scheme” which threatens to harm wildlife, make us more dependent on food imports and damage our soils which we depend on for food. Biofuelwatch need help to tell the Government that we do not want new “green gas subsidies” to be used to find biomethane from “energy crops” such as maize and grass.
Click here to help.

Cut Carbon not Forests

2. NGO coalition launches new campaign to redirect biomass power subsidies to clean energy

Biofuelwatch is pleased to announce being part of a coalition of environmental advocacy groups which have launched the Cut Carbon Not Forests campaign to expose the UK’s wasteful subsidies for companies that burn trees for electricity and to put pressure on policy makers to support reform.
They are asking us to email our MP with a clear message to scrap subsidies for fake climate solutions that destroy forests.
Please add your name here.

E-PETITIONS

30. Protect victims of slavery in the UK

Who would you turn to? If you were looking for a better life but instead found yourself trafficked. If you were threatened, beaten, tortured, raped. Who would you turn to in a country where you don’t speak the language? Where you have no way to communicate the terror you live with?
Victims of modern slavery don’t know where to go or who to turn to for help. Even when they manage to escape from the criminals who coerce, threaten and exploit them, they face a system that neglects them. Many face destitution, homelessness and a return to the slavery they escaped from. Read more and send your petition to Priti Patel, asking for protection for the victims of slavery.
 

31.Global Justice Now re Covid-19 drug

US pharmaceutical company Gilead announced that they will charge an extraordinary $2,340 for the drug remdesivir, which is being used as a treatment for Covid-19. The drug has been developed with substantial amounts of public money in the US and researchers have estimated that it can be made for $9, including a reasonable profit.
This is a blatant act of corporate profiteering and shows a barefaced disregard for the public health crisis that the world is facing. Vast sums of public money are being poured into the urgent research and development of Covid-19 vaccines and treatments and yet there are no safeguards to ensure that these will be global public goods – affordable to all countries and free to the public. This news about Gilead could be a sign of things to come if we don’t pressure governments to act.
Add your name here.

32. 38 Degrees – Don’t bring back benefit sanctions

Imagine arriving to work five minutes late and having your pay docked. For anyone who depends on benefits, it only takes missing the bus to the JobCentre to be given a sanction and lose payments. With the UK economy going to be hit hard with job loses in the thousands, we cannot let benefit claimants have their money stopped or cut.
During the height of the coronavirus crisis, there were no sanctions. The government stopped them for 3 months. We know that the benefits system can function without sanctioning people.
But benefit sanctions are set to return in England. Huge public backlash could force the government to rethink their decision, and stop the unfair and cruel sanctions for good.
For more information and to sign the petition go to…

33. Petition the Government re the creation of green jobs

Boris Johnson announced that we will “build back greener”, but the climate emergency barely got a look-in when it came to how money is going to be spent. 
As well as tackling the climate emergency, a green recovery could create 1.8 million green jobs.
These jobs would provide a vital lifeline for young people, those transitioning from polluting industries, and people facing unemployment after coronavirus. As we face a major unemployment crisis, we need the government to act quickly as possible to create jobs that will benefit us, and the planet. Sign Greenpeace’s petition to the Government to create 1.8 million green jobs.
 
34. Global Just Now: Coronavirus – Drop the debt

Countries around the world need to massively scale up their health budgets to fight the coronavirus crisis. But lower-income countries are due to spend $40 billion on debt payments in 2020 alone.
In Mali, the country has 20 ventilators for a population of 19 million. In Haiti, there are 64 ventilators to cover 11 million people. Kenya has 130 beds in intensive care units, for 50 million people. We have 4,000 ICUs in the UK – and we all know it’s not enough.
The UN has called this crisis the biggest challenge for the world since World War Two, and called for global solidarity. That starts by dropping the debt.
Please sign the petition to the UK Chancellor now.

35. Campaign Against Arms Trade – Stop arming Saudi

We must end UK complicity in the war in Yemen. Thousands of people have been killed by five years of bombing in Yemen, many more by hunger and disease. Now Yemen is facing the dual threat of cholera and COVID-19 with a health system shattered by war.
Shamefully, UK-made fighter jets, bombs and missiles have played a central role in this destruction. The UK government has continued to support the supply of weapons to the Saudi-led coalition, even as it bombed schools, hospitals and food supplies.
In June 2019 the Court of Appeal ruled that UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia for use in Yemen are unlawful – but the government continues to fight the Court’s judgment, and to supply arms.
Please stand with us to end these arms sales once and for all.

36. Tell the EU to end Slavery in Libya

Ninety-three migrants have been rescued and returned to Libya after trying to reach Europe across the Mediterranean, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported on Twitter last week.
The UN agency said that one woman among them gave birth on a rubber dinghy, while six more died before the survivors were rescued and returned to the city of Khoms.
For migrants like those rescued, a return to Libya often means a return to the country’s notorious detention centers, where they face forced labour and violence among other human rights abuses.
Freedom United has been campaigning for the end of forced labour in Libya by calling on the European Union to cease its funding to the Libyan coastguard.
Stand with migrants like those rescued last week and add your name today.

RESOURCES

37. The Word and the Common Good

Together for the Common Good have produced a short course of six 45 minute sessions to support the use of Scripture to reflect on the Common Good, to prompt people to build on community spirit and strengthen local relationships. During the Coronavirus crisis we are making this course available to download for free. 
Also available from them is ‘Let’s continue to build community by pursing the Common Good. The sessions stimulate discussions framed around Common Good principles and help you develop an action plan together.  They’re suitable for running online or face to face. Leadership of the group can be shared, so there’s no need for one person to do it all. This is a new resource we are offering to help people at this time – please try it. The Session Guide is free to download. 
This resource is suitable for all and is designed for a mix of local people from different backgrounds, classes and political views. For example: neighbours, key workers, faith leaders, acknowledged community leaders and volunteers, local business leaders, local representatives of ‘agencies’ e.g. Local Authority, police, NHS, schools, people who have used the foodbank or other community services. The resource is intentionally written in non religious language to be inclusive for people of all faiths and none. Download it here.
 

38. Our Common Home – CAFOD’s new strategic framework

Taking its name from Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’ – On Care for Our Common Home.  This new framework offers staff, volunteers and external stakeholders a unifying vision and direction for CAFOD for the next ten years and beyond.  It builds on 60 years of organisational history, working for and achieving local and global change together with the Catholic community in England and Wales and our partners across the world. 
It builds on the best of what we do in reaching out and including the poorest, the most vulnerable and marginalised amongst us; always rooted in Gospel values.  It also challenges us to redefine our understanding of progress and increase our focus on the interconnected cry of the earth and the cry of the poor and to work co-operatively in making this a reality. 
This great resource is available to download here.

VACANCIES

39. The Peace Museum – Vacancy for a Quaker Trustee

With origins in a Quaker Trust, 30 years ago, The Peace Museum has long valued its relationship with the Society of Friends, and the support we receive from Quaker Meetings and individuals.
Would you be interested in joining the Board of The Peace Museum?
We are currently looking to strengthen Quaker representation on The Peace Museum’s board of trustees. We require one, or possibly two, new trustees, familiar with the working of the Society of Friends and committed to the values of the Museum. Although not a prerequisite, we would be especially interested in expressions of interest from Quakers with a finance or fundraising background.
Based in Bradford, we are a national body, and we would welcome applications from across the country.
If you would like to know more about what being a trustee of The Peace Museum might involve, please contact Beryl Milner, aandbmilner@btinternet.com.  

 40.  THE LAST WORD

This week’s piece comes from the CAFOD Theology Team: – 

Matthew 11: 25-30 This passage contains some of the most comforting words anywhere in the gospels. God’s message of love and concern are not just for those who study and analyse Jesus’ words, but for all who open themselves fully to the message of the gospels. An open attitude of mind and heart are necessary to receive the gospel message and carry it out in our lives. In this way we may hope to glimpse the fullness of God and to deepen our own spiritual lives. Jesus then brings to our attention those people upon whom poverty, slavery, exhaustion or deep sadness weigh heavily. Like Jesus, we must be prepared to take up and share these burdens. In our own lives we become able to face – with Jesus’ help – our everyday trials and problems. By asking for his help, our spiritual lives are also transformed. Serving God is no longer onerous; instead joy and tranquility pervade our lives and our service. We pray, Creator God, that our lives may be of service to you and your people. May we bring about change in our world, in its attitude to those who are poor or struggling in so many ways to survive. Amen.

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