Eradication Of Poverty is a Moral Commitment

VATICAN CITY, JUL 14, 2007 (VIS) - Made public today was an address delivered by Archbishop Silvano Tomasi C.S., permanent observer to the Office of the United Nations and Specialized Institutions in Geneva, during the "Substantive Session" of the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

In his English-language talk, which he delivered on July 4, Archbishop Tomasi made it clear that "the continued effort to address the plight of people trapped in poverty and to search for new ways and means to free them from its destructive consequences remains essential if the international community wants to achieve truly integral human development. Poverty elimination demands an integration between the mechanisms that produce wealth and the mechanisms for the distribution of its benefits at the international, regional and national levels. The projects of multilateral institutions and developed countries aimed at reducing poverty and improving growth in poor regions, like the Millennium Development Goals, the Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative and the Poverty Reduction Strategy, have made some limited progress," said the permanent observer.

After highlighting the fact that "eradication of poverty is a moral engagement," Archbishop Tomasi concluded by saying that "the various religions and cultures see the achievement of this end as a most important task that frees people from much suffering and marginalization, that helps them to live peacefully together, and that provides individuals and communities the freedom to protect their dignity and actively contribute to the common good."

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No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Mozlink’ for any or all of the articles/images placed here. The placing of an article does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.

Human Trafficking:

Vulnerable Men, Women and Children in Slavery

• Forced labor?
• Domestic Servitude?
• Sexual Exploitation?
• Slavery?

Owning a slave has never been cheaper than it is today. Women, children, and also vulnerable men, work in factories, mines, fields, restaurants, hotels, homes, and in every facet of the sex industry. This slavery exists in every country, including Ireland.

In fact, trafficking in women and girls has become one of the fastest growing enterprises in the world. The United Nations estimates that over two million women and girls are taken from their homeland into other countries under false pretenses for the purposes of forced labor, domestic servitude or sexual exploitation. Trafficking and slavery are never "stand alone crimes." They are linked to money laundering, drug trafficking, document forgery, human smuggling, rape, and torture.

The United Nations estimates that 4 million men, women and children are bought and sold each year. The US State Department's 2005 "Trafficking in Persons" report estimates that 800,000 to two million women and girls, some as young as age five, are trafficked across national borders each year and bought and sold for sexual purposes. The same report notes that, at any given time in our world, 12.3 million women, men, and children are enslaved in forced labor, bonded labor, sexual servitude, involuntary servitude, or domestic servitude. The Federal Bureau of Investigation reports that, in the USA alone, trafficking and slavery generate 9.5 billion dollars a year.

Experts in the field say that one of the most difficult realities in the trafficking issue is the propensity of governments worldwide to treat trafficked persons as criminals or as unwanted undocumented workers rather than as people with human rights that are being violated. Moreover, the reality of trafficking and slavery remains mostly invisible in many cultures and countries. Trafficking for labor or the sex trade often occurs right under our noses. We simply do not see it. Nor do we recognize the women, children, and men who are the victims.

This modern-day slave trade is not only one of the most horrific human rights issues of our time, but is also a significant health issue, for the global sex market is hastening the spread of HIV-AIDS and other diseases.

This is a complex, multi-national, economically-driven, politically charged reality... a reality that impacts us even if we do not yet recognize it. We are called to respond. First, we must strive to understand the situation, a situation so far beyond our personal experiences that we may minimize it, or even redefine it solely in terms of a personal experience of violence or sexual abuse. It is, indeed, that, but it is so much more complicated. (END)

Statement from Joint IRISH NGO Group concerned with

Trafficking in Human Beings

18^th June, 2007

We are concerned with attempts by a US State Department report to minimise Ireland’s challenges with the issue of Trafficking in Human Beings. We refer to the recently published Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report 2007 (US State Department).

We must question how the US State Department received and composed this information – and stress that such inaccurate information serves no purpose for Ireland - either nationally or internationally.

In our considered view, this year’s TIP Report departs from standards of objectivity and lacks a checking of data, thereby drawing inaccurate conclusions. The document refers to Ireland as a ‘potential problem’ and says there are ‘only a small number of cases.’ We wish to dispute this comment. It is simply not factual, based on the information available to all relevant agencies. This may be in reference to the number of prosecutions but it does not refer to the cases presented to NGOs or cases investigated. There is definitive evidence to show that well over 100 people have been trafficked into Ireland for sexual exploitation and forced labour.

This report has not highlighted the current legislative vacuum in Ireland in relation to trafficking, not does it include the fact that the Criminal Justice (Trafficking in Persons and Sexual Offences Bill) 2006 was sent to the Irish Human Rights Commission to assess its compatibility with Ireland’s obligations to Human Rights standards.

The report also refers to a figure of €580,000 being provided by the Government to ‘a local NGO’ to fund victim care and living expenses while victims await court appearances’. We are not aware of any such figure being provided for this purpose.

Our main concern around this report is that it does not reflect the reality of trafficking of persons into Ireland - as experienced by those organisations who work in this and related fields.

Issued by the following groups:

(Contact details of spokespersons alongside individual organisations)

Ruhama (Ireland) – Gerardine Rowley – 353 86 2591247

Amnesty International Ireland – Fiona Crowley – 353 01 6776361 / 353 087 2505551

CORI/IMU Ad Hoc Working Group on Trafficking – Maura O Donohue –353 085 7161916

Migrant Rights Centre Ireland – Delphine O’Keeffe- 353 087 241 0039

National Women’s Council (Ireland) – Joanna McMinn – 353 01 8787248

European Women’s Lobby (EWL) – Grainne Healy – 353 087 2473286

EWL Irish Observatory on Violence against Women – Monica O Connor – 353 01 8787248

What is trafficking?

Why does trafficking occur? What are its causes?

Catholic Religious Australia (CRA) has formally accepted the challenge of working against the trafficking of women, children and men.

Australia July 4th 2007: CRA's 180 members have pledge to "do what we can within our structures and ministries to promote justice and healing for victims of trafficking". The members have also agreed that CRA should take a "collective and public stance" against trafficking in women, children and men. This gives formal CRA recognition to the work of ACRATH, Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking in Humans, which has been supported by a substantial number of congregations, individually. The decisions were taken at the CRA 2007 Assembly held in Perth.

Since May 2005, a National Religious Congregations' Anti-Trafficking Working Group has operated to raise awareness about the issue, to provide support for the women rescued from slavery and to work towards visa reform. This group also works collaboratively with, and in support of, other networks involved in this area of Trafficking in Persons, especially in women and children.

At last year's assembly (2006) in Adelaide, CRA members helped bring the plight of this modern-day slavery into sharp focus with a public rally. ACRATH Coordinator Sr Pauline Coll SGS says that Australia is considered a "high"-ranked destination for trafficking in persons, while our neighbour, New Zealand is considered "medium". Mostly women are the victims while the number of minors is less and there are no references to men and boys as victims of trafficking in this region.

Trafficking in Australia is primarily, but not exclusively, for sexual exploitation. "Trafficking exists in almost all countries of the world," Sr Pauline said. It is estimated that between 700,000 and two million people are trafficked into the sex industry, forced labour, domestic labour, for marriage or for body organs, each year. Clandestine in nature yet highly profitable, it is an evil in our own communities that must be publicly worked against."

In a report to the CRA 2007 Assembly, Sr Pauline said that during the past 12 months, ACRATH had continued to work in education, awareness raising, advocacy and lobbying, networking and collaborating with various groups, both religious and civil, nationally and internationally. Catholic Religious Australia is the peak body for 180 religious orders in Australia, representing more than 8000 religious sisters, brothers and priests.
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Vatican Becoming Green

The Vatican, in responding to its own call that mankind become a more aware and more active caretaker of the earth, will take a step to lift its carbon footprint and become the first entirely carbon neutral sovereign state in the world. In a brief July 5 ceremony, the Vatican declared that it had accepted a proposal to create a new Vatican climate forest in Europe that will offset all of the Vatican City State’s carbon dioxide omissions for this year.

“Environmental protection,” said Cardinal Paul Poupard, head of the Pontifical Council for Culture, “is not a political issue.” Planktos/KlimaFa, a climate eco-restoration company, made the donation of forestland in Hungary’s Bukk National Park to create the new Vatican climate forest. “I am honoured to receive this donation,” Cardinal Poupard said. “In this way, the Vatican will do its small part in contributing to the elimination of polluting emissions from carbon dioxide which is threatening the survival of the planet.”

A “carbon footprint” is a measure of the amount of carbon dioxide emitted through the combustion of fossil fuels. Carbon dioxide is recognised as a greenhouse gas, of which increasing levels in the atmosphere are linked to global warming and climate change. As plant life gives off oxygen, the planting of forests is seen as a way of mitigating the environmental impact of the consumption of natural resources.

"As the holy father, Pope Benedict XVI, had recently stated, the international community needs to respect and encourage a ‘green culture,’ characterised by ethical values,” Cardinal Poupard said. “The Book of Genesis tells us of a beginning in which God placed man as guardian over the earth to make it fruitful. When man forgets that he is a faithful servant of this earth, it becomes a desert that threatens the survival of all creation,” he added. "The Holy See's increasingly creative environmental leadership is both insightful and profound,” said Russ George, Planktos chief executive officer and KlimaFa managing director. “Not only is the Vatican steadily reducing its carbon footprint with energy efficiency and solar power, its choice of new mixed growth forests to offset the balance of its emissions shows a deep commitment to planetary stewardship as well. It eloquently makes the point that eco-restoration is a fitting climate change solution for a culture of life."

"We believe this climate forest initiative clearly reflects the Vatican's deep commitment to both environmental healing and the welfare of the poor,” said David Gazdag, KlimaFa's managing director. “Besides their local ecological and global climatic benefits, these projects offer many rewarding new eco-forestry jobs to struggling rural communities and increasing eco-tourism employment opportunities as these beautiful woodlands mature."

The dimensions of the new Vatican climate forest will be determined by the Vatican’s 2007 energy usage and the success of its current emission reduction efforts. Planktos/KlimaFa also announced that it has committed to work with the Vatican and the Pontifical Council of Culture to develop methods to calculate the carbon emissions of individual Catholic churches and offer eco-restoration options to turn their carbon footprints green.

The announcement came less than two months after the Vatican told member countries of the United Nations that the world community must address the threat posed by global warming and build more sustainable economies or face the continued drift toward tensions, conflicts and a crisis in the very existence of peoples. The reforestation project is part of a broader effort by the Vatican to go green. Some of the Holy See buildings will start using solar energy next year, with photovoltaic cells to convert sunlight into electricity being placed on the roof of the Paul VI auditorium, which is used for the pontiff's general audiences. The Vatican is also considering solar energy for other Holy See buildings, though historic landmarks like St Peter's Basilica will not be touched.
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Dynamic Profile of Catholic Evangelisation

LONDON - 12 July - New book: 'What does evangelisation mean in a Catholic context? What does it involve? Who's doing it and how effective actually is it?' are just some of the questions answered in a new book which will be launched next week.

Changing Evangelisation: Themes and Stories from Catholics in Local Mission, provides insights into the way mission and outreach are understood by what is fast becoming the UK's largest Christian denomination. The book's editor, Fr Philip Knights said: "Catholicism is experiencing growth both in the UK and in many parts of the world at present. This book attempts to provide an overview of the way Catholics understand their missionary identity. I'm sure that many will find it surprising and challenging."

Part One of the book provides an overview and unpacks particular aspects, such as what it means to be an 'Evangelical Catholic', the part that social justice work plays in evangelisation and the role of Charismatic Renewal in contemporary Catholicism. Part Two provides intriguing stories of renewal and growth and features: www.life4seekers.co.uk; an innovative and fast expanding website for spiritual seekers, St Patrick's School of Evangelisation; a new school of mission based in the red light area of Soho and Catholic Evangelisation Services (CaFE); this is a charity which makes DVD resources to help Catholics confidently know and share their faith.

Mgr Keith Barltrop is Director of the Catholic Agency to Support Evangelisation (CASE), which is an agency of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales and has supported the book's creation (see: www.caseresources.org.uk). He said: "Many people have an image of Catholicism which is stagnant and uncreative. What this book reveals is a contemporary understanding, providing examples too, of what the late Pope, John Paul II, called the 'new evangelisation'; this is a missionary activity which is new in ardour, means and expression. It invites all to nurture a mentality and mission spirituality which can be of service to us all, irrespective of our denominations."

The book is being published by Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI) and will be launched next Tuesday July 17th. It is the fourth publication in a 'Changing' series; the other titles include: Changing Churches, Changing Mission and Changing Communities. The series was inspired by the Building Bridges of Hope Project (see below). Copies are available from Methodist Publishing House at www.mph.org.uk or telephone 01733325002.

Janice Price, Executive Secretary of the Global Mission Network of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland said: "These pages tell stories of remarkable innovation and a clear and persistent movement of God's grace. Reading as a member of one of the Churches of the Reformation, it is clear how much we have to learn from such a picture. I warmly commend it to all who seek to take their part in God's mission in God's world."
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No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Mozlink’ for any or all of the articles/images placed here. The placing of an article does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
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Capuchins support displaced people in Darfur

LONDON - 16 July 2007 - An Order of Capuchin Franciscan friars based in Kent, has donated £20,000 to the Darfur/Chad appeal run by Catholic aid agency CAFOD. The money from the Order, based at a Friary, in Erith, will help to ease the desperate plight of those made homeless by conflict in what was referred to by the United Nations as the 'world's worst humanitarian crisis'.

Provincial Minister Brother James Boner said: "We can't sit back and do nothing, we have to help the people in Darfur and Chad who are suffering unimaginable horrors. They have been forced to leave their homes and live in sprawling camps where conditions are atrocious, where food and water is scarce and access to medical help and schooling is limited. "It fits with the ethos of our order to give to the poor and abandoned. Sudan is one of the countries where the Capuchins don't have a presence so it's vital we can help the people through a trusted aid agency like CAFOD."

CAFOD director Chris Bain, who has recently returned from Darfur, said: "I've seen for myself the desperate situation and need of the people. I also saw how CAFOD partners are carrying out life-saving work and reaching the most vulnerable. It's this work that needs funds as the crisis in Darfur continues to deteriorate. "CAFOD is thankful for this generous gift of £20,000 from the Capuchin Franciscans to ensure this vital work goes on."

In 2004, over one million people in Darfur were at risk. Now more than 200,000 are believed to have died and over two million people have been forced from their homes. A further one million people in surrounding towns and villages have to share scarce water, healthcare, firewood and food with the new arrivals. About 225,000 refugees have crossed the border into eastern Chad. CAFOD has been working in Darfur since the outset of the crisis in 2004, through ACT/Caritas. They reach 325,000 people through the joint programme providing shelter, safe water and sanitation for the vulnerable women, children and men that crowd into make-shift camps. CAFOD has also given £100,000 for refugees and host communities in eastern Chad, where CAFOD partner SECADEV is managing three refugee camps in the east, Farchana, Kounoungo and Mile, host to approximately 38,000 people.
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Latin American Bishops meet with Cuban government:

Avoid human rights discussions
HAVANA (AP) July 14th. - Roman Catholic cardinals and bishops from across Latin America and top Cuban officials discussed how to improve relations between the church and the communist government but avoided thorny topics such as human rights and free speech.
The closed-door talks took place during a four-day Latin American Bishops Conference, which brought about 70 bishops from the region to Havana and ended Friday. Conference President Raymundo Damasceno Assis, archbishop of the Brazilian shrine city of Aparecida, said four cardinals and several bishops met with Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage and other officials.
«It was the first dialogue, the first of what we hope will be many between the church and the government,» Assis said at a news conference Friday. Bishop Emilio Aranguren, of the Cuban province of Holguin, said the meeting further improved a relationship that is «purifying itself of prejudices. He said Cuban officials agreed to allow Catholic leaders to provide religious instruction to foreign youngsters who come to the island as exchange students. Both sides also discussed the possibility of easing bans on Catholic and other religious schools. Aranguren said the church also asked the government to allow its leaders to play a more active role in prisons, not only ministering to those behind bars but also their families.
Catholic officials here have long avoided criticizing the Cuban government for alleged human rights abuses, such as the jailing of critics and restrictions on access to information, free speech and travel for Cubans. In the past, however, church leaders have asked authorities to allow some religious services and events to be aired on government-controlled radio and television.
But Aranguren said neither topic came up at the meeting. «We conversed about the issues that really mattered to the bishops who were present,» he said. The bishops conference said Friday it had received several letters from activists, including the wives and mothers of Cuban political prisoners, decrying human rights abuses on the island. The bishops turned the missives over to local Catholic leaders, but took no further action.
While most Cubans are nominally Catholic, the country was officially atheist for years, until relations between the church and the government began to warm in the early 1990s. Cuba eventually allowed religious believers of all faiths to join the Communist Party for the first time and Pope John Paul II became the first pope to visit the island in 1998. The Cuban government did not officially comment on its meeting with the bishops, which occurred Wednesday but was not made public until Friday. A story in the Communist Party newspaper Granma, however, called the discussions "cordial and constructive".
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West Africa: Hub for Drugs and Immigrants

Because of its proximity to Europe, West Africa is struggling to cope with drugs and immigrants.

Eighteen months ago, fishermen in the West African state of Guinea-Bissau hauled up packages of a mysterious white powder in their nets. Some reportedly sprinkled it on their crops, killing them, while others—once they discovered the powder was cocaine—sold it and used the windfall to start businesses. When you live in the fifth-poorest country in the world, it’s hard not to look at drug trafficking as a business opportunity, and Guinea-Bissau’s drug business is booming. Western officials estimate $150 million of cocaine flows into Guinea-Bissau per month from Latin America, equal to the country’s annual gross domestic product.

Drug traffickers couldn’t have designed a better transit hub. Guinea-Bissau’s coastline has at least fifty uninhabited islands, some with long-abandoned, Portuguese-built airstrips. The country lacks the resources to pay its police or equip them to bust sophisticated drug smuggling operations. The military, for its part, has been linked to drug trafficking operations. Guinea-Bissau stands out as a dramatic case-study, but a profitable drug trade is burgeoning across West Africa. The United Nations’ special representative to the region lists Burkina Faso, Mauritania, and Niger as other major hubs. Soaring demand for narcotics among Europeans underpins this business. Cocaine use has roughly tripled in Europe over the past decade, and European cocaine retails for about double the price of American cocaine.

Thomas Pietschmann, a research expert at the UN Office on Drugs and Crime says high levels of corruption in Africa make it very easy to use the continent’s ports and airports for trafficking. A recent UNODC report notes a sevenfold increase in African cocaine seizures—fourteen tons, up from two tons—between 2005 and 2006. This spike in illicit activities is not limited to the drug trade. West Africa is also a growing source of illegal migrants. According to the International Organization for Migration, more than thirty thousand West Africans attempted the treacherous trip from Senegal to Spain’s Canary Islands in 2006. “They assume that even the worst life in Europe is better than the best life in Africa,” Geoff Porter of the Eurasia Group tells CNN. Migrants are not just fleeing Africa, they are often chasing jobs. Europe faces an impending labor shortage, as this new Backgrounder explains, but disagreement among EU states has prevented the adoption of a common EU policy on immigration from Africa.

While traffickers use the same land and sea routes from West Africa to Europe, there is little evidence linking groups that transport humans with those that transport drugs. Human “mules” are sometimes used in West Africa to carry drugs to Europe, but this is just one of many tactics. In terms of stemming the drug flow, American and EU officials are pondering different tacks. The European Union is considering sending investigators to West Africa to stem the flow of drugs, while the United States has reopened a diplomatic office in Guinea-Bissau in July after a decade-long absence, hoping a more active diplomatic presence will allow greater U.S. regional influence. But as this Backgrounder on the U.S. drug war explains, attempts to cripple the narcotics trade have often just caused it to relocate. As long as there is demand, experts say, traffickers will find a way to supply it.
Prepared by: Stephanie Hanson
Mozlink writes: I wonder if this was the source of the bales of cocaine (worth c. €110 million) discovered floating in Dunlough Bay, Co. Cork last week..
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Burma - Myanmar: Less We Forget

Burma, also known as Myanmar, is ruled by a military junta which suppresses almost all dissent and wields absolute power in the face of international condemnation and sanctions. The generals and the army stand accused of gross human rights abuses, including the forcible relocation of civilians and the widespread use of forced labour, which includes children.

Prominent pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi, has had various restrictions placed on her activities since the late 1980s. Her party, the National League for Democracy, won a landslide victory in 1990 in Burma's first multi-party elections for 30 years, but has never been allowed to govern.

Burma has been under military rule since 1962; the regime stifles almost all dissidents. It is one of Asia's poorest countries; its economy is riddled with corruption and is seen as a pariah state by the West, which maintains sanctions; China is its main ally Military-run enterprises control key industries, and corruption and severe mismanagement are the hallmarks of a black-market-riven economy. The armed forces - and former rebels co-opted by the government - have been accused of large-scale trafficking in heroin, of which Burma is a major exporter. Prostitution and HIV/Aids are major problems.

The largest group is the Burman people, who are ethnically related to the Tibetans and the Chinese. Burman dominance over Karen, Shan, Rakhine, Mon, Chin, Kachin and other minorities has been the source of considerable ethnic tension and has fuelled intermittent separatist rebellions. Military offensives against insurgents have uprooted many thousands of civilians.

A largely rural, densely forested country, Burma is the world's largest exporter of teak and a principal source of jade, pearls, rubies and sapphires. It is endowed with extremely fertile soil and has important offshore oil and gas deposits. However, its people remain very poor and are getting poorer. The country is festooned with the symbols of Buddhism. Thousands of pagodas throng its ancient towns; these have been a focus for an increasingly important tourism industry. But while tourism has been a magnet for foreign investment, its benefits have hardly touched the people.
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Bishops Express Concern over Security and Natural Resources

Democratic Republic of CONGO (formerly Zaire}: KINSHASA, July 13, 2007 (CISA) -Catholic Bishops of Congo called for a “great national leap forward and a new mentality to save the country from new danger” in a message to mark Independence Day.

The message, reports FIDES, was issued at the end of the 43rd assembly of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Congo held in the capital, Kinshasa, July 3 to 7. The bishops expressed concern for persisting insecurity in many parts of the country. “In every diocese all over the country, episodes are reported which demonstrate insecurity: robberies, rapes, violence, hostage taking, exaggerated taxes and arbitrary arrests. We condemn these crimes committed by members of the police, the army and foreign rebel troops present on our national territory”.

The bishops stressed the need for “the authorities, the people and all men and women of good to join forces to spare the country from another war.” They called for transparency in managing the country's natural resources and urged Congolese to invest and not rely only on foreign investment and aid. “We must not sleep; our house is on fire,” the bishops wrote. “Our national leaders must watch carefully to prevent the plunder of natural resources”.

The imminent drilling of oil under Lake Albert in Ituri where the situation is already tense is causing concern as to whether the local people will benefit, the bishops said. “The people want to know the truth and they fear oil wars”. “A country can never develop on foreign aid alone. Only hard work and transparent managing brings real development. The hour for Congolese investors has come!”
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Archbishop: Zimbabwians Desperate for New Leader

Report Accuses Mugabe of Violent Repression. Our people are desperate for President Robert Mugabe to relinquish power, said Archbishop Pius Ncube. Archbishop Ncube of Bulawayo said this Tuesday, while launching a report titled “Destructive Engagement: Violence, Mediation and Politics in Zimbabwe,” published by the Solidarity Peace Trust, a Church-based nongovernmental organization working for justice and peace in the country.

Archbishop Ncube urged the president to step down as the country sinks deeper into political and economic woes, according to the Catholic Information Service of Africa. “Mugabe is a man who is a megalomaniac. He loves power, he lives for power. Even his own party is appealing to him to step down,” the archbishop said. Torture: In the 44-page document, Mugabe’s regime is accused of the continued use of violence against political opponents to maintain power. “Out of 414 individuals interviewed, 30%, or 122, reported torture between March, April and May 2007,” the report said. “This is a shockingly high figure, yet it represents (only a) tip of the iceberg in Zimbabwe.

“Apart from politically motivated torture, torture of those arrested on suspicion of having committed a criminal offence is routine in Zimbabwe.” The report added: “In 90% of the attacks, government agencies such as the police, the central intelligence organization, the criminal investigation department and the army” were involved. More than three-quarters of reported cases were in the capital, Harare, “one of the two major urban areas considered to be opposition territory,” it continued.

The report’s launch came as President Mugabe ordered price cuts because of runaway inflation and widespread shortages. The Catholic Information Service of Africa reported that more than 1,300 supermarket managers and owners have been arrested for refusing to sell their merchandise at the lower prices.
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26,000-strong African Union-U.N. peacekeeping force for Darfur

UNITED NATIONS: Britain and Ghana circulated a draft Security Council resolution Wednesday that would authorize a 26,000-strong African Union-United Nations peacekeeping force for Darfur and threaten "further measures" against combatants who attack civilians and obstruct peace efforts. The draft resolution, obtained by The Associated Press, states that there will be a single chain of command for the "hybrid" force, provided by the United Nations, a move that would clear up the contentious issue of who will be in charge of the joint AU-UN force.

U.N. peacekeeping chief Jean-Marie Guehenno indicated last month that the Sudanese government had accepted that the United Nations would have overall operational control of the force while day-to-day operations would be in the hands of its African commanders. But many Security Council members wanted that spelled out clearly in a resolution. The draft states that the AU-UN hybrid operation in Darfur, to be known as UNAMID, will have up to 19,555 military personnel, including 360 military observers and liaison officers, a civilian component including up to 3,772 international police, and 19 special police units with up to 2,660 officers.

It demands that all parties in Darfur "immediately cease hostilities and attacks" on the AU force, civilians and humanitarian workers. It also emphasizes that "there can be no military solution to the conflict in Darfur and calls upon the government of Sudan and the rebel groups to enter into talks" to reach a political settlement.

The four-year conflict between ethnic African rebels and pro-government janjaweed militia in Sudan's vast western region has killed more than 200,000 people and displaced 2.5 million, and a beleaguered 7,000-strong African Union force has been unable to stop the fighting. A peace agreement signed a year ago year between President Omar al-Bashir's government and one rebel group in Darfur has been ineffective because more than a dozen other rebel factions rejected the deal as insufficient and are still fighting.

The U.N. and Western governments have been pressing Sudan since November to accept a U.N. plan for a hybrid force to replace the poorly equipped and underfunded AU force. In April, Sudan agreed to a "heavy support package" to strengthen the AU force, including 3,000 U.N. troops, police and civilian personnel along with aircraft and other equipment. The draft resolution calls on all parties to urgently facilitate the full deployment of the heavy support package and an earlier light support package, and to finalize contributions to the hybrid force within 30 days of the adoption of the resolution. Guehenno has said he hopes the heavy support package can be in Darfur in the coming months so that by the end of year deployment of the hybrid force can start.

The draft resolution asks Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to report to the council in three months on progress — and obstacles — to deploying the light and heavy support packages, to implementing a U.N.-Sudan agreement to speed up humanitarian assistance, to promoting a political settlement, to achieving a cease-fire, and to implementing last year's Darfur Peace Agreement. It also asks the secretary-general and a panel of experts "to report immediately to the council on any failure by the parties to comply with this resolution." The draft stresses that "in the event the parties to the conflict in Darfur fail to fulfill their commitments or cooperate fully with this resolution" or previous resolutions "the council, drawing on the above reports, will take further measures." It does not state what these measures could be, but further measures often refers to sanctions.

The draft resolution also reiterates the council's readiness to consider deploying a U.N. mission to eastern Chad and northeastern Central African Republic, which have been affected by the spillover of the Darfur conflict. The draft resolution welcomes the appointment of Force Commander Martin Agwait of Nigeria and the AU-UN Joint Special Representative for Darfur Rodolphe Adada, a former Republic of Congo foreign minister. Guehenno has said Agwait will report to Adada.
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Protect Rights of Migrant Workers and Their Families

VATICAN CITY, JUL 11, 2007 - Made public yesterday afternoon was a speech delivered by Archbishop Agostino Marchetto, secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples, during the Global Forum on Migration and Development, held in Brussels, Belgium from July 9 to 11.

Speaking English, the archbishop recalled how "migrants contribute to their host country's well-being, and also because of this their human dignity must be respected and their freedoms guaranteed: the right to a dignified life, to fair treatment at work, to have access to education, health and other social benefits, to grow in competence and develop humanly, to freely manifest their culture and practice their religion. "But rights and duties go together," he added. "Therefore, at the same time, migrants have the duty to respect the identity and the laws of the country of residence, strive for proper integration (not assimilation) into the host society and learn its language. They are to foster esteem and respect for their host country, even to the point of loving and defending it.

"Unfortunately, among them there are immigrants in an irregular situation, who, however, independently of their legal status, have inalienable human dignity. Therefore their rights must be safeguarded and not ignored or violated. An irregular migration status, in fact, does not mean criminality. The solution is better international cooperation that discourages irregularity, with increased legal channels for migration." Archbishop Marchetto concluded his talk by renewing the call made by the Pope in his Message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees for "governments who have not yet done so, to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and the Members of their Families."

Nairobi (ENI). Churches around the world are concerned about the fate of migrants fleeing poverty or violence in their home countries. In Africa, many young people are lured to Europe and the United States by the promise of a better life there. However, many who make the journey end up as illegal migrants. In Sri Lanka, the armed conflict between government forces and Tamil rebels is producing displaced people by the thousands. In Jordan and Syria, some Iraqi Christians have waited for immigrants' visas for more than 10 years.
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Essays mark 40th anniversary of Populorum Progressio

LONDON - 10 July 2007: The International Jesuit Network on Development (IJND) has published a collection of essays to mark the 40th anniversary of Populorum Progressio, the papal encyclical on development and justice. This visionary encyclical, which highlighted many of the issues which we now see as central to development, is sadly still relevant in a world where millions of people in our world today live in misery. Children in Central America scavenge in rubbish tips to survive; in sub-Saharan Africa life expectancy has dropped to forty-five, due largely to HIV/AIDS; and over a billion people around the world live on less than two dollars a day.

"In the light of this scandal, the urgent call for action for global justice issued by Pope Paul Vl in his encyclical Populorum Progressio is as necessary today as when it was written in 1967," according to IJND.

To mark the fortieth anniversary of Populorum Progressio, its central messages have inspired experts in development to reflect on its enduring relevance. The Development of Peoples: Challenges for Today and Tomorrow looks at issues across today s development spectrum, including poverty, debt, trade, peace and conflict, human rights, globalisation, HIV/AIDS, gender inequality, the environment, and migration.

The writers come from five continents, and include Mary Ann Cejka, Peter Henriot SJ, Michael Kelly SJ, Justin Kilcullen, Peadar Kirby, Mulima Kufekisa-Akapelwa, Maria Reilly OP, and Jon Sobrino SJ. The Foreword is by Mary Robinson, the founder of Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative, and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The essays were commissioned by the International Jesuit Network for Development, and were prepared for publication by the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice in Dublin.

The Development of Peoples: Challenges for Today and Tomorrow by the International Jesuit Network for Development ISBN: 9781856075749

To order see: Columba Press: www.columba.ie, or Amazon on the Home page of ICN.
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Arms Spending Continues to Grow

ROME, JULY 9, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Annual Report Reveals Big Increase in Arms Trade. World military expenditure grew 3.5% in 2006, reaching $1,204 billion. On June 11th the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute published the latest edition of its annual yearbook that provides an ample panorama of armaments and global security issues. Last year's increase means that between 1997-2006 world military expenditure rose by 37%. Moreover, almost 50% more conventional weapons were transferred internationally in 2006 than in 2002.

Elisabeth Sköns, one of those involved in writing the report, commented: "It is worth asking how cost-effective military expenditure is as a way of increasing the security of human lives, if we talk about avoiding premature deaths and disability due to current dangers." "For example, we know that millions of lives could be saved through basic health interventions that would cost a fraction of what the world spends on military forces every year," she said in a press release accompanying the report's publication.

The report pointed out that world military expenditure is unevenly distributed to an extreme degree. In 2006, the 15 countries with the highest spending accounted for 83% of the global total. The United States spent $528.7 billion. Military spending by the U.S. has increased sharply due to the cost of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. The report noted that in 2006 China's military expenditure continued to increase rapidly, reaching $49.5 billion. For the first time it surpassed that of Japan ($43.7 billion), thus making China the biggest military spender in Asia and the fourth biggest in the world. In fact, Japan decreased its military spending last year, for the fifth consecutive year. India was the third biggest spender in Asia, at $23.9 billion.
Father John Flynn, L.C.
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South African bishop banned from visiting Zimbabwe

BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe -- A South African Catholic bishop has become the latest target of Zimbabwean authorities who accuse him of criticising President Robert Mugabe’s human rights records. Authorities have reportedly barred Bishop Kevin Dowling of Rustenburg, South Africa, from visiting the country.

Dowling was in Zimbabwe’s second city, Bulawayo, last week where he held a series of meetings with local clergy. Sources in the city told NCR that Dowling was detained for hours by agents of the Central Intelligence Organisation who quizzed him about his business in the city, which is home to the outspoken Archbishop Pius Ncube. Dowling was a speaker at a prayer meeting organized in the city to pray for Zimbabwe’s torture victims and pro-democracy activists who lawyers and civic groups allege have been abducted by the ruling party’s militias and state security agents.

Ecumenical News International in Geneva reported that Dowling had said that the government of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe had lost its legitimacy. “A government that tortures its own people is not a government but a regime, an illegitimate regime,” Dowling was quoted as saying. “God was not with the apartheid regime [in South Africa], and God is not with this regime in Zimbabwe. It will fall,” Dowling said. Five other pastors travelling with Dowling had their passports confiscated. “They effectively told him not to come back to Zimbabwe,” Rita Normington, Ncube’s secretary said.

However, Dowling was expected back in Bulawayo on Thursday (July 5) this week, and the archbishop’s office, which was to host him, expressed fears that Dowling would be detained again or denied entry into Zimbabwe. Dowling was also one of the main speakers at a similar pray rally Ncube organized in April, and sources here say this was when Dowling attracted the attention of the authorities. Zimbabwean immigration officials have turned down work permits from Catholic priests, and there are fears the government is slowly getting rid of all missionaries working in the country. Authorities have in the past threatened to confiscate Ncube’s passport to stop his travelling abroad. They accuse him of “telling falsehoods” about the country’s continuing crisis and growing repression as the regime cracks down on opposition voices.

Zimbabwe’s bishops’ conference issued a pastoral letter, “God Hears the Cry of the Oppressed,” just before Easter that said Zimbabwe’s crisis is one of governance, leadership, spirituality and morality. To avoid “further bloodshed and avert a mass uprising,” a new constitution is needed to guide democracy “chosen in free and fair elections that will offer a chance for economic recovery under genuinely new policies,” the bishops wrote. The letter is the strongest statement the bishops have issued since the country began an economic meltdown some two years ago. The unemployment rate of 80 percent and an inflation rate of more than 1,700 percent has “made the life of ordinary Zimbabweans unbearable, regardless of their political preferences,” the bishops said. Since the letter’s release Mugabe has accused the Catholic hierarchy of dabbling in politics and has threatened them with unspecified action.
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The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.

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Women's Leadership on AIDS is Vital

Nairobi: An international women's summit in Nairobi on HIV and AIDS has concluded with a "call to action" that asserts women's leadership is essential if the course of the current pandemic is to be changed. "Women are infected more easily than men, and they are the ones that carry the burden of caring for the sick," said Anne-Marie Helland, special advisor for social and political rights with Norwegian Church Aid. "This is why it's so important that women are involved in the process to decide the direction in which we shall continue in the fight against HIV and AIDS," she added.

7/7/7 - NOW is the Time

Halfway to the Millenium Development Goals

July 07 marks the middle point of this possible life changing campaign for millions of people. These Millennium Development Goals, or MDGs, set out specific, achievable targets on issues ranging from world hunger to HIV/AIDS to child mortality rates.

The Goals, however, are about much more than governments and world leaders. They are about a global people trying to bring about a standard of living for the earth’s people.

The Irish Missionary Union represents has 2184 lay and religious missionaries working in 83 countries. These Missionaries represent the commitment that comes from the Community of Christian faith here in Ireland. Part of the Irish Missionary vision includes working towards the Development Goals, as these Irish missionaries are working with some of the poorest and most vulnerable in our world.

According to the Evekline Herfkens, (Executive Coordinator for the Millennium Campaign) "People of faith are key to achieving the Millennium Goals. They know that malnutrition, ill health, lack of education and lack of economic opportunity violate human dignity, and that there is no excuse for this situation to continue. And every day they turn this conviction into action, by caring for the neediest and most vulnerable. Religious communities have done more than any others to make us aware of the sheer scale of human suffering in our world, and of our duty to end it.

Already many people of faith are standing up against poverty across the globe, and demanding that political leaders honor their promises to fulfill the basic needs of very person. This work must continue: it is very important that religious leaders enable the voices of the poor to reverberate in the halls of power, especially as there are encouraging signs that political leaders are listening. Religious leaders and people of faith can make an important and unique contribution. As we approach the 2015 deadline to meet the Goals, we must all step up pressure on governments to scale up implementation

IF you are interested in joining in the campaign finding our more about these goal please click here (http://www.millenniumcampaign.org/).
See also for action on water and sanitation ... http://www.unicef.org/wes/mdgreport/millenium.php
& http://www.wssinfo.org/en/welcome.html

Baptized Are Envoys of Peace, Says Pope

The Gospel “reawakens in all those who are baptised the awareness of being missionaries of Christ, called to prepare the way for him through words and the witness of one’s life”, because mission “is not reserved solely for the Apostles but also extends to the other disciples”.This was what Benedict XVI had to say about today’s Gospel reading (cfr Lk 10:1-12; 17-20), before the Angelus. Taking his cue from this passage, he stressed that “the harvest is plentiful but the labourers are few.”

The Pope noted how today’s Gospel presents “Jesus sending the seventy-two disciples in villages where he is about to go, so that they may prepare the environment. And this is a particularity of the evangelist Luke, who underlines that mission is not reserved for the 12 Apostles but extends also to the other disciples.” In fact, “there is work for all in the field of God”. But Christ, says Benedict XVI, “does not limit himself to sending them: He also gives the missionaries clear and precise rules of how to behave. Above all, he sends them ‘two by two’, so that they may help each other and bear witness to fraternal love. He warns them that they will be ‘like lambs amongst wolves’: thus they must be peaceful despite everything and bear a message of peace in all situations; they will not take clothes or money with them, to live off what Providence offers them; they will take care of the sick, as a sign of the mercy of God; they will leave from those places where they are refused, limiting themselves to delivering a warning about the responsibility of rejecting the Kingdom of God.”

St Luke, continues the pontiff, “highlights the enthusiasm of the disciples for the good fruits of the mission, and records that beautiful expression of Jesus: ‘Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven’ (Lk 10:20). This Gospel reawakens in all those who are baptised the awareness of being missionaries of Christ, called to prepare the way for him through words and the witness of one’s life.”

Right before the prayer, the Pope recalled that tomorrow he will leave for his summer holidays in Lorenzago di Cadore, in the house that welcomed John Paul II and he augured that all, “especially those who feel they really need it, will be able to take some vacation, to reinvigorate physical and spiritual energies and to recover healthy contact with nature.” The mountains, he added, “evoke the ascent of the spirit, the elevation towards ‘the high measure’ of our humanity, which unfortunately daily life tends to bring down.”

In conclusion, Benedict XVI recalled the fifth Pilgrimage of youth to the Cross of Adamello, where John Paul went twice. The pilgrimage took place recently and shortly before the Angelus, it culminated in Holy Mass celebrated at an altitude of around 3,000 metres. Greeting the Archbishop of Trento and the Secretary General of CEI, as well as the authorities of Trento, the Pope recalled his date with all Italian youth on 1 and 2 September in Loreto.

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The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.

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Monastery Life

A young monk arrives at the monastery. He is assigned to helping the other monks in copying the old canons and laws of the church by hand. He notices, however, that all of the monks are copying from copies, not from the original manuscript. So, the new monk goes to the head abbot to question this, pointing out that if someone made even a small error in the first copy, it would never be picked up! In fact, that error would be continued in all of the subsequent copies.The head monk, says, "We have been copying from the copies for centuries, but you make a good point, my son." He goes down into the dark caves underneath the monastery where the original manuscripts are held as archives in a locked vault that hasn't been opened for hundreds of years. Hours go by and nobody sees the old abbot.
So, the young monk gets worried and goes down to look for him. He sees him banging his head against the wall and wailing,

"We missed the R ! We missed the R ! We missed the R !"

His forehead is all bloody and bruised and he is crying uncontrollably. The young monk asks the old abbot, "What's wrong, father?" With A choking voice, the old abbot replies,"The word was...CELEBRATE!!!"

Live Earth just as big as Live8: Gordon Brown

The British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has hailed the Live Earth concerts as just as big and important as the anti-poverty event Live8. Mr Brown said tackling climate change would be a personal priority for his premiership.

Mr Brown's remarks come as a university in England says it is launching the world's first master's degree aimed at helping to reduce carbon emissions. Star-studded concerts in New York and Rio de Janeiro were the last to get under way, after a day-long global music event that kicked off yesterday in Sydney before moving to Tokyo, Shanghai, Johannesburg, Hamburg, London and Washington.

Former US Vice-President Al Gore, speaking via a satellite link, urged audiences at venues around the globe to take a seven-point green pledge to reduce their own carbon footprints on the planet and to lobby governments and industries to educe the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere. However, critics pointed out that pollution caused by the concerts makes them part of the problem as well as the solution.

The concert in Shanghai, which was only attended by about 2,700 people, was seen as key in the drive to raise awareness about climate change, with China already or soon-to-become the biggest greenhouse gas emitter in the world.
The Johannesburg event was almost sold out, with the South African Grammy award-winning Soweto Gospel Choir, Beninese singer Angelique Kidjo, British diva Joss Stone and the reggae group UB40.
In Rio, 400,000 people girated to Live Earth music by Lenny Kravitz, Xuxa and Pharrell Williams on Copacabana beach.

The concerts, many powered with renewable energy and featuring recyclable stages, were carried by 120 television networks around the world and streamed live on the Internet. By 0200 GMT some 150,000 persons had pledged to decrease their use of fossil fuels, according to the Live Earth website. Live Earth featured some 7,000 events in 129 countries, with a smaller concert staged in the Japanese city of Kyoto and an unusual performance by scientists-cum-rockers Nunatak in Antarctica, where temperatures have risen by nearly three degrees Celsius in the last 50 years.
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The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.

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