***NJPN Action of the Week***
UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has backed the call for a global ceasefire.
Now he must turn these actions into words.
All posts by Stephen Cooke
Latest News From Lancaster
Lancaster’s June F&J E-Bulletin can be found by clicking here.
We hope you will be able to take the time to read and share the newsletter.
The newsletter can be downloaded at https://tinyurl.com/y8ltte6l
Reports and newsletters mentioned in this issue, advice from CVS Lancaster for Third Sector Organisations on coronavirus on and previous newsletters are available at http://www.lancasterfaithandjustice.co.uk/newsletter/
Latest News From The NorthWest
Two comments in Becoming, the recent Netflix documentary about MIchelle Obama, seem significant in the light of the killing of George Floyd and its aftermath. Obama said that although she became the most prominent person in the US, she never forgot that her great-grandmother had been a slave. She also expressed profound disappointment that Black Americans hadn’t bothered to vote in the 2016 election: it felt like a betrayal of what the first African American presidency had hoped to achieve. If the Black Lives Matter movement is to have real and (we hope) lasting success it will come through the ballot box, establishing strong support for change in Congress and the Senate, but this will only happen if Black and Hispanic communities turn out in force to vote in November.
Following the weekend protests across the UK in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in the US, it was disappointing but sadly not surprising to see the government’s reaction. Focusing on ‘damage‘ and ‘thuggery’ completely misses the point; likewise implying it’s a US issue only. A failed opportunity to engage with the many many people in the UK who suffer racial abuse. And a failure to read the signs of the times and show some much needed empathy.
The July edition of the NW NJPN E Bulletin is dominated by the brutal murder of George Floyd with several hard-hitting opinion pieces. Book reviews also feature as well as a look at how the poor have been adversely impacted by the Covid19 virus.
Please read and pass on.
Best wishes and stay safe.
NW NJPN Justice and Peace E Bulletin July 2020
NJPN eBulletin – 7th June 2020
POST PANDEMIC CHURCH: PARALYSED OR ENERGISED? RECOVERED
OR RE-IMAGINED?
Mini-Conference via Zoom to be held on Saturday, July 18, 2020 from 10:30 AM to 3:30 PM (BST)
Following the postponement of this year’s NJPN Annual Justice and Peace Conference at Swanwick to July 23-25 2021, the planning team are in the process of developing a Mini-Conference via Zoom. This will be 2 sessions on Saturday 18th July 10.30 to 12 and 2 to 3.30.
Preparing for a new world order. How do we, as Church , move to an alternative model of being. In the light of the Gospel message and Pope Francis Catholic Social Teaching documents (Laudato Si’, Evangelii Gaudium) How do we begin to build and ‘Care for Our Common Home’. This will lead us into preparing for ‘2021 – Action for Life on Earth’, the new name for our postponed ‘2020 Vision: Action for Life on Earth’.
Timetable and speakers will be sent out to you once confirmed. Booking in advance allows us to sort out the technology of having breakout groups with facilitators in the session. Book via Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.com/e/post-pandemic-church-paralysed-or-energised-recovered-or-re-imagined-tickets-108604414728
We look forward to seeing you on zoom as we can’t see you in person.
———————————————————-
#Black Lives Matter
Dear Friends,
What a sad week it has been. The unnecessary death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, at the hands of the Police, has ignited a flame around the world, and highlighted again the issue of racism. I was going to use the phrase ‘All Lives Matter’ at the start of this newsletter – but my 19 year old son said to do that would actually dumb down the issue, and make it not about racism. He then went into several examples of how, through media reporting, often black and ethnic minorities get a raw deal. Thank goodness for the youth, who often have a far better insight into the problem in hand.
So, this issue has a strong theme running through it about the issue of racism and we hope that you are able to engage with it, and go out and make a difference in the world (if not physically, then virtually).
On another matter, if you have any comments, or articles that you would like highlighted in this e-bulletin, we now have a designated email address just for this purpose: –
ebulletin@justice-and-peace.org.uk. Our aim is to send the ebulletin out every fortnight.
We pray that you stay safe out there, now there has been some easing of the lockdown.
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: –
Note on Data Protection
About these E-Bulletins
Donate to NJPN
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No sensitive data (such as credit card details) is given to MailChimp because we do not have an e-commerce element.
You can unsubscribe or update your preferences at any time by clicking the links at the bottom of the page.
E-Bulletin Contents: –
News and Comment
- Various comments on the killing of George Floyd and racism issues
- Feeding Programme for Street Children in Kenya
- NJPN column in the Universe
- Truth Commission in Colombia
- News on the forthcoming Refugee Week
- Apostolic Blessing for Day for Life
- Remember Tiananmen; Prevent Tiananmen v.2
- Protecting the Rainforest through Chocolate.
- Disparity in the risks and outcomes of Covid-19 and what it is like to be a refugee in the pandemic.
- Modern Slavery possibly growing during the pandemic
Newsletters
11. News on our own NJPN Newsletter
Events
12. Liverpool Justice and Peace Assembly
13. Free Film Screening – Monday 8th June at 6pm
‘The Truth: Lost at Sea’
14. Operation Noah Webinar concerning Church investments in oil companies.
15. Global Justice Now Webinar – 8th June 3pm – 4.30pm
16. Ecumenical Council for Corporate Responsibility – ‘Money makes Change’
Actions
17. Catholic Association for Racial Justice – petition re George Floyd.
***NJPN Action of the Week***
18. Show your support in ending detention (Jesuit Refugee Service)
19. Stop arming US state violence.
E-Petitions
20. Tell Kirin to stop funding genocide!
21. Iranian women sentenced over viral video
Resources
22. Season of Creation Resources
23. Banks, Pensions and Nuclear Weapons: Investing in Change
The Last Word
24. Thy Kingdom Come: Offering up our Broken World
News and Comments
1. George Floyd RIP – the straw that broke the camel’s back?
Many of our partner organisations have issued very powerful statements on their websites concerning the killing of George Floyd, and the protests this has led to around the world. A selection of them are highlighted below:-
Amidst the chaos going on in the US at present, Pope Francis has assured the American people and the US Bishops of his prayers at this time. Vatican News reports here.
‘How Long, O Lord?’ Psalm 13 is the cry of black Americans.…a deeply touching essay by black American Jesuit, Mario Powell. You can read it here.
‘Discrimination is the fuel that powers slavery’ writes Ryna Sherazi from Anti-Slavery International. Her reflection is available here to read.
Campaign Against Climate Change believe that there will be no climate justice without an end to racism. Climate breakdown has always been an issue of racism as well as social and economic injustice. How could it be otherwise, when the Global South suffers so disproportionately from something it has done so little to cause? Click here to read their full article.
Finally, the US Bishops’ statement is available to read:- ‘Racism is a Life Issue.’
2. How a feeding programme for street children has been sustained during the pandemic
Sr. Winnie Mutuku has managed to maintain a feeding programme for street children in Kitale, Kenya, despite Covid-19 ravaging the country. Read all about Sr. Winnie and how she went about it in a Q & A interview here.
3. Latest NJPN Columns in The Universe
The Women’s Bishop – Celia Capstick (past president of the National Board of Catholic Women) writes a tribute to Bishop Vincent Malone. Read it here. (from the 5th June issue of The Universe)
Imagine – Phil Kerton (Co-Director of Seeking Sanctuary, and active with Southwark Justice and Peace) writes about Refugee Week, running from the 15th to the 21st June, with the theme of ‘Imagine.’ The full article is available to read here. (this article will be in the 12th June issue of The Universe)
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. Bishop calls for Colombians to share their experiences of conflict
Bishop Declan Lang is encouraging the Colombian people who have been affected by the conflict to share their experiences with the Truth Commission, which was set up as part of the peace process.
The full story is available through this link.
5. Refugee Week (15th – 21st June)
Normally this would be a week full of activities and events showing solidarity with our refugee friends, but like most things this year, it will be different. However, it will still be celebrated, to show refugees that they have not been forgotten, and to try and change public and government perceptions. News about Refugee Week and the events you can be involved in are available here.
6. Day for Life 2020 receives an Apostolic Blessing
This year, the theme for Day for Life is ‘Choose Life,’ which will focus on the dignity and worth of the unborn child and expectant mothers. To read Pope Francis’ message, and the response by Bishop John Sherrington, the Lead Bishop for Life Issues, go to…
7. Remembering Tiananmen Square; prevent a second one….
31 years ago, on the 5th June 1989, the world watched as the Chinese Communist Party sent tanks and guns into Tiananmen Square, massacring thousands.
Today the world is beginning to wake up to the sheer brutality, inhumanity and mendacity of the Chinese regime as we see the incarceration of more than a million Uyghur Muslims in concentration camps, the way the regime’s repression of truth led to a global pandemic, and the direct threat it now poses to Hong Kong’s autonomy and freedoms. And there are growing fears that we are closer to a Tiananmen 2.0 than at any point in the past three decades. For an insight into what is happening, click here.
8. Chocolate, and the power to protect the Rainforest.
Just through buying a Fairtrade Chocolate Bar or a product containing cocoa, you can help protect the Rainforest. Watch this video about Beshey and his family, working to protect their environment. Plus, not only have Waitrose and John Lewis pledged this year to use only Fairtrade cocoa in their own brand confectionary; but Lidl have just launched their own ‘Way to Go!’ Fairtrade chocolate bar. Buying this way certainly makes me feel better about the odd sweet treat or few!
9. Covid-19 Deaths, and the life of a refugee in this pandemic
The long-awaited report from Public Health England about the Disparities in the risk and outcomes of Covid-19 is now available to view here.
The Jesuit Refugee Service reports on the systemic injustice and the need to do something. Read their article in depth here.
A refugee has written an article in the Independent newspaper about the impact of the pandemic on refugees and asylum seekers. You can access it here.
10. Report shows trafficking on increase
It would appear that joblessness, growing poverty and food insecurity generated by the restrictions have made many people, especially the poor, more vulnerable to human trafficking, exploitation and modern slavery. Various reports from around the world are available to read on the Vatican News site; click here.
Also, according to Every Child Protected Against Trafficking (ECPAT) for children and young people affected by trafficking, the government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic has created a new set of risks and obstacles – deepening inequalities, worsening instability and creating a perfect storm for children to be re-trafficked or harmed. Their full article, including how you can get involved, is available to read by clicking here.
NEWSLETTERS
11. The NJPN Newsletter
Due to the printer telling us they were unable to print our newsletter and informing us the mailing company was also closed we postponed putting together our newsletter. When Ellen was able to get the printer and mailing company to agree to send out Vocation for Justice we were still waiting for Swanwick to cancel our conference so decided to wait and send out by email until a final decision about the conference was made. Individual members and representatives of member organisations will be emailed out a copy when it is finalised next weekend. It will then be available on the website for others to download. It won’t include a diary page.
We will also be putting together a further newsletter to be emailed out at the start of July. We are asking what you, as an organisation, a parish or an individual have done over the lock down period in the field of Justice and Peace. Have your projects continued, been furloughed or contracted; have new projects/work been needed and started in your area? Could you send to admin@justice-and-peace.org.uk a short article/picture to be included in this newsletter to give a picture of Church, not as buildings but as the body of Christ working for the Common Good. Also any diary dates for July, August, September and early October.
EVENTS
12. ‘See, I am making all things new’: our Christian response to the COVID-19 crisis
This year in place of the Liverpool Archdiocese’s usual annual assembly, we will be hosting four events on Zoom,
On Sunday 28 June (7.30 – 8pm) Cardinal Michael Fitzgerald MAfr will offer a spiritual reflection, to open the week of events, then Monday 29 June (7.30 – 8.30pm) Fr Diarmuid O’Murchu MSC will discuss ‘framing the conversation’: local and national issues followed by breakout groups.
This will be followed on Wednesday 1 July (7.30 – 8.30pm) by Christine Allen, Director of CAFOD discussing international issues followed by breakout groups and the week will conclude on Saturday 4 July (10am – 12pm) with a sharing of responses to the earlier talks, followed by Q&A to a panel made up of the speakers and politicians.
The entirety of the week’s events will take place free of charge, on Zoom, for which places must be registered for, for free. It is possible to attend as many or as few events as you like. The talks, and panel discussion will also be available on Facebook, and YouTube. See here for more information.
13. The Truth: Lost at Sea – a free film screening
Join film maker Rifat Audeh, and passenger Sarah Colborne, in the story of Israel’s assault on the Mavi Marmara as it tried to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza in 2010. The film screening takes place on Monday 8th June at 6pm, and will be followed by a Question and Answer session. This is free to watch, but you must register to get a zoom joining link. Click here.
14. Church investments in major oil companies: Paris compliant or Paris defiant?
Operation Noah are hosting the above Webinar on Wednesday 10th June from 7pm to 8.30pm. They will be launching their new report. This report shows the gap between the business plans of major oil companies and the Paris Agreement targets, and calls on Churches in the UK to urgently divest from fossil fuels to tackle the climate emergency. To book your place click this link.
15. US political crisis and the need for internationalism
Join the Global Justice Now panel as they analyse the events in the US, their causes, their global repercussions and the need to create a new world out of this crisis. Taking place Monday 8th June, 3pm to 4.30pm. Register here.
16. Money makes Change – free taster session.
ECCR want to make it easy for Christians to make connections between their faith and their finances. Their interactive workshop resource gives you everything you need to start that conversation and explore how the choices we make around money can change the world for the better. Join them for an interactive and informative session on Thursday 18th June at 11am or 8pm. For more information, click here.
ACTIONS
17. The Catholic Association for Racial Justice have put out a statement about racism, including a comment from Mrs Yogi Sutton, the Chair of CARJ, about the death of George Floyd.
You can view it here and put your name to the petition about George Floyd that they are asking you to sign.
*** NJPN Action of the Week***
18. The Jesuit Refugee Service is asking us to write to our MPs to end indefinite detention
MPs are currently tabling amendments to the Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU withdrawal) Bill that would introduce a 28-day time limit on detention, together with judicial oversight of the decision to detain. Can you help JRS UK support the proposed time limit and call for an end to the UK’s system of indefinite immigration detention? Please show your support by reading the article and contacting your MP. Find it here.
19. Campaign Against Arms Trade: Stop Arming US state violence
The UK government has licensed crowd control equipment of the type that has been used in violent attacks on protesters and others in the United States. The UK’s own export control rules say that arms exports should not be licensed where there is a clear risk that they might be used in repression. CAAT are asking us to contact our MP to ask them to support the cancellation of these licenses. More details here.
E-Petitions
20. The Japanese beer giant, Kirin, needs to stop funding genocide.
Kirin is a Japanese brewery which operates worldwide. They make Kirin lager sold in the UK, and distribute the popular Casillero del Diablo wine brand.
In Burma they are in not just one, but two joint ventures with the Burmese military. One is Myanmar Brewery, which makes the best selling beer in Burma, and the other is Mandalay Brewery.
Kirin manage the breweries, bring their global experience to increase sales and make more money for the Burmese military. Money which the military use in their campaigns against ethnic minorities, killing, raping and burning homes.
On Friday, they announced that there would be an outside investigation of two Myanmar beer ventures it operates. More information is available here.
Burma Campaign UK have set up an e-petition to be sent direct to Kirin, asking them to stop funding genocide in Burma. Find it here.
21. Iranian women sentenced for ‘inciting prostitution.’
Three Iranian women were jailed and charged with “inciting prostitution” among other bogus charges after a video went viral showing them on a train in Tehran with their heads uncovered.
Please help Amnesty International free these women.
Sign the petition here.
Resources
22. Season of Creation Resources
The World Council of Churches now have available a downloadable Season of Creation 2020 Celebration Guide – ‘Jubilee for the Earth.’ For more information about the Season of Creation, please click here.
23. Report: Banks, Pensions and Nuclear Weapons: Investing in Change
Pax Christi, along with other interfaith groups, have spent more than a year researching the role of our financial institutions in supporting the production of nuclear weapons. On 27th May that report was published. For details follow the link to the Independent Catholic News here.
The Last Word
24. The Kingdom Come: Offering up our Broken World
Celebrate with Dr. Krish Kandiah and his family here.
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
About these E-BULLETINS
The items above are emails received from around the Network which may be of interest to those involved in working for justice and peace.
The views expressed are not necessarily those of NJPN.
To unsubscribe from these mailings, email ebulletin@justice-and-peace.org with “unsubscribe” in the subject box. We also welcome your feedback at the same address.
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NJPN Comment in the Catholic Universe: Phil Kerton – Imagine
This is Refugee Week 2020, running from 15 to 21 June and including UN World Refugee Day on 20 June. The theme is ‘Imagine’. Imagine a world after the Covid-19 era. Many see signs of hope for a future where we develop new ways to care for our planet and protect and value human lives. We may look less at how much things cost or how much a person earns, but rather at the benefits they bring.
Hopefully, more people will start to imagine how desperate people must be to leave homes and families, taking perilous sea journeys in the hope of reaching places where they may find an end to conflict and famine. They hope to find decent shelter, education and employment, so becoming able to contribute to society and retrieve some sense of dignity.
It’s easy to write off those refugees stuck near Calais as only seeking better lives and somehow dragging the rest of us down. As individuals made in God’s image, they deserve better lives than those from which they have fled and genuine chances to realise their potential.
20 years ago, during the night of 18 June, Dover port workers and Customs officers were traumatised to find the bodies 58 young Chinese in a sealed trailer arriving from Zeebrugge, victims of a bungled trafficking operation. We imagined that lessons had been learned, but then on 23 October 2019 another sealed and overheated container arrived at Grays in Essex, again from Zeebrugge, and contained the bodies of 39 Vietnamese migrants.
We had hoped to gather in Dover on 20 June – as we did last year – and remember the Chinese deaths – and hundreds of others occurring as people seek to reach Britain to claim asylum. Surely those in authority must imagine a better safe and legal procedure?
Conforming to the spirit of social distancing, Dr Rose Hudson-Wilkin, Bishop of Dover, will join a tiny live gathering at 11.30 am on Saturday 20 June. This will be live-streamed and reach a larger audience with a recording remaining for more to view at www.kentpahirestreaming.co.uk
Additionally, an earlier virtual ‘Zoom’ rally will be hosted by ‘People not Walls’ focussing on the plight of unaccompanied minors experiencing human rights abuses near the French coast. Join for free by registering beforehand at the link below. It will end by switching to the Dover remembrance.
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/keep-children-from-danger-tickets-107546307902?utm_campaign=post_
Phil Kerton is a co-director of ‘Seeking Sanctuary’ and active with Southwark Justice and Peace.
He is a former Chair of NJPN and remains an adviser to the Executive.
***NJPN Action of the Week*** Catholic Association for Racial Justice
“More than forty years ago, our predecessor – the Catholic Commission for Racial Justice (CCRJ) – issued a paper on ‘The Police and the Black Community in the Metropolitan Area’. They said in that paper that they felt the problem between the police and the black community was ‘of such seriousness that it should be brought to the attention of the Catholic community.’
In 1981, disturbances involving the police and black communities in Brixton, Toxteth and Moss Side led to the Scarman Inquiry; and similar disturbances at Broadwater Farm Estate in Tottenham in 1985 led to the Gifford Inquiry.
On 18 October 1986, CARJ organised a Conference on Police/Community Relations. The Conference was organised to follow up issues raised in the Gifford Report – the report of the independent inquiry on the disorders at Broadwater Farm Estate in Tottenham in 1985.
In 1991, the Bishops Conference was invited to make a submission to the Royal Commission on Criminal Justice. The Bishops’ Committee for Community Relations prepared a submission focusing on the experience of black people with the police.
The murder of Stephen Lawrence (1993) was eventually the subject of the Macpherson Report (1999) in which the police response was judged to have been inadequate; and the issue of ‘institutional racism’ was finally addressed.
In our Submission to the Lammy Review (June 2016), we concluded: ‘Despite real improvement over the years, the legacy of this history is still in place today. People from BAME communities are over-represented in almost all areas of the Criminal Justice System. They are more likely to be the target of ‘stop and search’, more likely to be arrested and more likely to receive a prison sentence.’
Mrs Yogi Sutton, Chair of CARJ, has commented on the death of George Floyd :
‘I am appalled that year after year, brutality on our fellow beings still occurs because of racism. The latest death of Mr Floyd will also simply become yet another statistic. There will be widespread protests and then …….. Silence …….. Nothing will change.
I do not condone violence, but peaceful protests are very important. How else are people to show solidarity. However, history shows, the protests are not sufficient means to bring about change. 3 June 2020 CARJ Briefing I want to call on people around the world, especially Catholics because we believe and profess that we are ALL made in the image and likeness of our Creator, that we are all Sisters and Brothers in Christ, to speak up for justice by acknowledging racism in all its forms. Any addict will tell you that there is no cure until one accepts that one is an addict. In the same way, we must acknowledge that we are racist. If and when we genuinely understand and accept this, then we will face the road to solutions.
This is what I would pray for:
I am generally one who prefers the circular movement for change, asking everyone to do his/her bit, this time I would start at the top and implore Governments to take a stand. Not to speak of zero intolerance of racism but to practice the same. No Minister should be allowed to stay in his/her position should they make any racist statement or behave in any racist manner. Coming from the top in every organisation in the media, in business, in education, in the workplace, anywhere and everywhere. If the punishment was the same universally, for all, immediate and transparent, the message would soon get through and be learnt. No one would put a hand in the same fire after being burnt.
Anti racist training should become part of every profession, administration, everywhere. It should be part of the curriculum in schools. We should learn how to respect, accept and live with and along side one another in joyful, peaceful harmony.’
A petition has been created about George Floyd. You could consider signing it
https://secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/george_floyd_loc/?zOECLab
CARJ, 9 Henry Rd, London N4 2LH. 020 8802 8080. Info@carj.org.uk. The Catholic Association for Racial Justice (CARJ) is an independent charity committed to working with others of diverse backgrounds and beliefs to bring about a more just, more equal, more cooperative society. CARJ Briefings are primarily intended to give readers accurate and relevant background information on current issues. Occasionally, a position or argument may be put forward provisionally for reflection and further discussion.
NJPN Comment in the Catholic Universe: Celia Capstick – The Women’s Bishop
Bishop Vincent Malone, who died recently, was a much-loved Episcopal Liaison to the National Board of Catholic Women from 1999 to 2007. He survived through the reigns of four Board presidents, all of whom found him supportive and caring. His role was to be a bridge between the Bishops’ conference and its consultative bodies, of which the Board is one.
For us, he communicated the current issues of the Bishops and in turn he would convey, often as an advocate, our concerns to them. He co-chaired, with the President, the Joint Dialogue Group which was set up by Cardinal Hume to give women a stronger voice in the church and which, in the beginning, had three bishops as members to emphasise its importance. Throughout the ups and downs of those years his was a calming and gentle presence. He did not always agree with us but was willing to listen and then express his views with clarity and precision and a dry wit.
He rarely missed a meeting of the Board, including our weekend AGMs. He enjoyed the evening socials and on request he would delight everyone by reading the monologue ‘Albert and the Lion’ and joining in the dancing. On one occasion he played the part of Prince Charming in the pantomime Cinderella to great acclaim.
During one discussion he was happy to agree that, for some women, confessing to a woman religious rather than a male priest should sometimes be possible, showing, for the time, quite a forward-looking theology. On another occasion he pointed out that it would be difficult to change the Our Father to a gender-neutral address as the words were those of Jesus Himself. He was supportive of the Board’s mission to enhance the role of women in the Church but – like Cardinal Hume – realised that the pontificate at that time was unlikely to encourage any radical change.
His homilies during the Masses he celebrated with us were always meticulously prepared and relevant. We loved him and he seemed to enjoy our company. He said he enjoyed being an auxiliary bishop – it gave him more time for being with people. It may have been in fulfilling this pastoral role that he became infected with Covid-19. I like to think that he would have seen it as sharing in the distress of the people he loved. The Board missed him when he retired. We miss him now in another way: gone to God whom he served so faithfully.
Celia Capstick is a past president of the National Board of Catholic Women.
NJPN eBulletin – 25th May 2020
***IMPORTANT NEWS ON CONFERENCE***
Unfortunately the NJPN annual conference will not now take place. The Hayes Christian Conference Centre have taken the decision to cancel all bookings up to the 27th July.
We hope to arrange an alternative event around the same time, so please look out for further details which will be posted in due course.
Those who have already booked to attend our 2020 conference will be contacted individually by Geoff, NJPN Administrator.
…so that they may be one as we are one.
John 17:11
Dear Friends,
This weekend marks the end of ‘Laudato Si week’, marking the fifth anniversary of Pope Francis’ landmark encyclical about caring for our common home.
In those five years certainly many churches and charities have become more aware of the need to look after our precious planet and its resources. But it is more than that; it is about looking after everything and everyone in it. Are we prepared to see the effects of poverty across the globe, and not do anything towards it? We need to accept responsibility for looking after our world and our neighbours.
This newsletter highlights many of the struggles that are real and happening right now both in this country and elsewhere. We hope that you engage with the contents, and do what you can to change the world that you live in. Every little gesture makes a difference somewhere…
God bless you and your families, and please continue to stay safe.
Temporary Mailing Address
Please note that, due to the closure of the Eccleston Square office, the NJPN are using the following address:
Geoff Thompson, NJPN, c/o CAFOD Lancaster Volunteer Centre, St Walburge’s Centre, St Walburge’s Gardens, Preston PR2 2QJ.
The telephone number remains the same: – 020 7901 4864
See below for: –
Note on Data Protection
About these E-Bulletins
Donate to NJPN
Note on Data Protection
Your email address is stored with MailChimp only to allow us to send you these emails, and to track interactions (e.g. open rates). To read more about how MailChimp stores and uses your information, click here for the full MailChimp Privacy Policy. Sections referring to Distribution Lists concern your emails.
No sensitive data (such as credit card details) is given to MailChimp because we do not have an e-commerce element.
You can unsubscribe or update your preferences at any time by clicking the links at the bottom of the page.
E-Bulletin Contents: –
News and Comment
- Spotlight on Refugees from JRS and Safe Passage
- Palestinian Nakba Rally and Peace Plan
- Update on Laudato Si Week
- NJPN Column in the Universe
- 14 Year Old Girl Forced to Marry – from Independent Catholic News
Newsletters
6. North West Justice and Peace Newsletter
Events
7. Campaign Against Climate Change Webinar
8. Global Justice Now about the restarting of the US-UK Trade
Talks
9. Fellowship of Reconciliation – It’s time to make peace the new
normal
10. Christian CND Prayer Meetings
11. Leeds Justice and Peace Commission – A Pentecost Liturgy
Actions/Appeals
12. Rainforest Action Network: No more business as usual
***NJPN Action of the Week***
Petitions
13. Take a Stand against Child Trafficking into Orphanages
Resources
14.Gleanings Report – Listening and learning about poverty under
lockdown
The Last Word
15. You’ve got a friend
News and Comments
1. Refugees, and the challenges faced by Covid-19; plus some good news!
The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) have had to adapt to the challenges faced by them in regards to their Detention outreach work. On the positive side, many refugees have been released from detention; but on the flip side, those that are left are struggling even more to cope.
Read about their work here.
Care4Calais, in their May update, describe the harsh eviction of refugees to temporary shelters; which isn’t necessarily a good thing. They are also appealing for any tents that have been bought for a holiday or a festival that may not get used. Read here for more information.
On a happier note, Fr. Pat Browne from the Church of the Holy Apostles, Pimlico, reported in his newsletter on the 17th May: –
‘ Last Monday a plane arrived at Heathrow from Greece. Some highly vulnerable migrants arrived in the UK on an “unprecedented” family reunion flight to be reunited with their families. Many of the individuals, some with severe health problems, had been living for several months in the dire conditions of Greek refugee camps. Among these people are children that will finally be with their siblings, men and women to finally be reunited with their spouses. British refugees travelled to Heathrow to greet nephews, brothers, husbands and wives after Monday’s flight brought people from Syria, Somalia and Afghanistan to join close family in the UK. The reunion was the result of two months of intense lobbying by the campaign group Safe Passage and the British peer Alf Dubbs. I am very proud of some of our parishioners who helped to make this happen through their lobbying and action for justice for these people.’
Safe Passage this week shared a YouTube video of a young refugee, Tekle, who wanted to be reunited with his brother. Watch his story here.
2. Palestian Nakba Day, and comment on the ‘Peace Plan’
On the 15th May, Palestinians marked Nakba Day, which commemorated the event in 1948 that saw over 750,000 Palestinians flee from their homes, and over 450 Palestinian towns and villages wiped off the map.
Ben Jamal from the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign, presents the Nakba Rally that took place virtually. Please watch it here.
With regards to the Peace Plan, there is an interesting article here concerning the ‘mortal blow’ it delivers to the future of Christianity in the Holy Land.
3. Laudato Si Week – 16th to 24th May 2020
By our actions, we can mitigate the effects of climate change, stop the destruction of habitats and reverse the decline of species worldwide. The way we treat the earth today is already affecting the poorest and most vulnerable in the world and, in time, will affect us all.
I urgently appeal, then, for a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet.
We need a conversation which includes everyone, since the environmental challenge we are undergoing, and its human roots, concern and affect us all.
Pope Francis, Laudato’ Si
This week marked the end of the commemoration of Pope Francis’ encyclical that came out five years ago.
If you have a TV Licence, and haven’t yet seen it, Climate Change – the Facts by David Attenborough is worth watching on iPlayer, particularly if you have only recently become more aware of the need for action.
On Vatican News, Fr Joshtrom Kureethadam, who is the Coordinator of the Sector on Ecology and Creation, which functions under the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, talks about the precarious state of Our Common Home. Read the article and listen to him now.
“Creation is God’s first and primordial revelation. Creation is, indeed, the very first epiphany of God,” the Apostolic Nuncio in Kenya and South Sudan, Archbishop Bert van Megen said. Click here to read the full details of his speech on 18th May.
4. The latest NJPN Comments in The Universe
Colette Joyce, Westminster Justice and Peace Co-ordinator, on Living Laudato Si from the 22nd May edition is available here.
Other news has been made available here thanks to our friends from the Catholic Universe. If you are able to subscribe, please do so. In this time of lockdown, they are dependent on home subscriptions to survive.
5. Article in the Independent Catholic News re abduction in Pakistan
On the 19th May, the Independent Catholic News reported about a 14 year old Christian girl that was abducted and forced to marry a man and was forced to abandon her faith. According to reports, around 1,000 women are abducted and forced to marry every year. More details of the case are available here.
NEWSLETTERS
6. North West Justice and Peace Newsletter
The June 2020 edition focuses on how the Coronavirus is changing our view of the world, and our interconnectedness with all creation. There are also lots of resources around Laudato Si, along with prayers and reflections. A great, thought-provoking and interesting read as usual. Find it here.
EVENTS
7. No Going Back: Climate, Jobs and Justice in a time of Covid
Crisis (held by Campaign Against Climate Change)
Taking place on Monday 25th May, 6pm until 7.30pm, it highlights the fact that the Coronavirus is not just a public health crisis, but one of inequality.
For more details and to register for the Webinar, taking place via Zoom,
go to…
For more details and to register for the Webinar, taking place via Zoom,
go to…
8. Global Justice Now – Why the US-UK Trade Deal will make us
more vulnerable to crisis.
Taking place on Friday 5th June at 2pm, this Webinar held via Zoom, will be looking at how trade rules underpin the corporate structure of the global economy, what the Trump administration’s trade agenda is, and how the pandemic could lead to a new wave of corporate court (ISDS) cases – and what to do to change this. To register, click here.
9. It’s time to make peace the new normal.
Fellowship of Reconciliation invite you to join in a Day of Action on Wednesday 27th May to speak out for peace and urge politicians to make ‘peace the new normal’ as the reality of living life in a pandemic continues.
For more details and your Action Pack, sign up here.
10. Invitation from Christian CND to their Prayer Meetings
So next week we’re running two Prayer Meetings on Zoom, one on Tuesday at noon and another on Thursday at 8pm. We’ll be using our Prayer Diary as a basis for our prayers, with lots of time for contributions from you.
There will be chance to pray for the current pandemic facing the world, as well as issues around nuclear weapons including the upcoming talks at the United Nations.
It doesn’t matter if you’ve never taken part in a Christian CND event before, we always love to see new faces. If you are able to join us, please email CCNDDevelopment@cnduk.org for the link to join the Zoom meetings.
More information can be found on Facebook: –
Tuesday Prayer Meeting and Thursday Prayer Meeting
11. Renewing the Face of the Earth
Leeds Justice and Peace Commission are holding an online liturgy for Pentecost to pray for the renewal of the Earth post the current crisis.
Details of how to join available here.
ACTIONS
12. Rain Forest Action Network: No more business as usual
*** NJPN Action of the Week***
Chase says it supports the Paris Agreement and a liveable climate, but we have the receipts that say otherwise. $269 billion in fossil fuel finance calling its bluff. Today, let Chase know that this is OUR bottom line: Put your money where your mouth is and defund climate change.
Click here to make a difference.
E-Petitions
13. Freedom United want Volunteer Tour Operators to take a stand
Criminals are profiting from the trafficking and abuse of children in orphanages around the world. Traffickers, attracted by the funding orphanages receive from donations and organisations offering ‘voluntourism’ placements, effectively turn children into commodities by ensuring there is a constant supply of children available to attract funding.
For more information and to sign the petition, click here.
Resources
14. From the Joint Public Issues Team and Church Action on
Poverty:- Gleanings: Listening and Learning about poverty
under lockdown.
JPIT and Church Action on Poverty have started an ongoing programme of research looking at and listening to the experiences of poverty during the pandemic, with churches and local charities. Through surveys and regular focus group conversations they are aiming to understand the impacts being seen on the ground. To see a snapshot of the findings click here.
The Last Word
15. You’ve Got a Friend
The Folk Group at Holy Apostles, Pimlico, central London, leads the congregation in singing at the family Mass every Sunday morning – or at least they did until the 22nd March 2020, when the Covid-19 lockdown began.
They knew that a lot of people were finding it really hard during lockdown, and they wanted to bring a smile to people’s faces, so they decided to record the song ‘You’ve Got a Friend’ by Carole King. The story of what they did, and the song, are available here….and it was so good, Carole King even shared it on her Instagram page! Now that’s certainly a great tribute to them!
NEWS LINKS
Independent Catholic News
Find Justice and Peace stories at:
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Find news stories at www.catholicnews.org.uk
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https://www.oikoumene.org/en/
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https://www.parliament.uk/business/news/
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Bishops denounce causes of health care crisis in Brazilian Amazon
The explosion of cases of COVID-19 in the Brazilian Amazon led the Catholic Church to launch several initiatives to coordinate assistance in the region. Bishops and missionaries working in the Amazonian church acknowledge, nevertheless, that the crisis is too big. For them, it’s up to Catholics now to assume a prophetic voice, denouncing the government’s negligence in providing health care services to indigenous peoples and the poor.
***NJPN Action of the Week*** Rain Forest Action Network: No more business as usual
***NJPN Action of the Week***
Rain Forest Action Network: No more business as usual
Chase says it supports the Paris Agreement and a liveable climate, but we have the receipts that say otherwise. $269 billion in fossil fuel finance calling its bluff. Today, let Chase know that this is OUR bottom line: Put your money where your mouth is and defund climate change.
Take action here: