Tag: Justice and Peace Page 6 of 7
JPIC/ED Bulletin and Antislavery Campaign
The Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ),
The Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ)
and the Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC)
“I have seen the Miserable State of my People … I have heard their Cry” (Ex 3:7)
We the three Christian Church Mother Bodies namely: the Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ), the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ) and the Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC) are repeatedly saddened at the rampant political violence that keeps on popping its ugly face especially in the recent by-elections. As people who have a God given mandate of exercising the prophetic mission in our nation and in our time, we cannot tolerate such abominable and immoral acts being committed right before our very eyes. Our nation today, stands at the crossroads and we are in a crisis. We face many challenges related with governance and survival, among which, are increasing levels of poverty among the majority of our people, a pervading cancer of rampant corruption, escalating youth unemployment, the growing gap between the rich and the poor, an education system that is falling apart, a poor health service delivery coupled with the unclear constitution making process, the gagging or muzzling of people’s freedoms, the arrests of the opposition party leaders and human rights violations. As Zambians, we all need to examine our conscience, seek the truth and work towards bringing back hope to our people. READ MORE
Welcome to this new interview of the Antislavery Campaign Series with Annmarie Early.
In this interview we explore the reality of slavery from the perspective of “Attachment Theory,” narrative affects and neurobiology.
Annmarie’s insights allow us to better understand the biological happenings that cause acts of violence. We shall see how early experiences in our lives (relationship with our caregivers) extend through our lifespan and across contexts, greatly at the subconscious level.
We shall navigate into new areas of awareness receiving insightful tools for our pastoral work, personal and community life. In the last part of the interview we shall explore religious life from the angle of “Attachment Theory.”
This resource interview invites us to jump into liminal spaces of initial and ongoing religious formation.
Lilongwe, Malawi (Agenzia Fides) – The Catholic Bishops of Malawi have expressed gratitude for the solution to a serious two week tug of war between the government and civil servants demanding a 67% pay rise. Protests caused serious social disruption. The authorities have agreed on a 61% per cent increase to the lowest salaries and 5% to the highest ones.
In a statement sent to Fides by the Bishops’ Commission for Justice and Peace, the Catholic Church in Malawi, tracing the roots of the trade union crisis, takes a position regarding the economic crisis which has afflicted the country for some time. The statement says the decision to devaluate Malawi Kwacha and continued floatation and the linkage of the fuel prices to the global market prices leading to automatic fuel price adjustments is worsening the economic situation of the people.
The Commission also criticises certain economic moves of the government such as the decision to privilege some investments over others.
These economic measures, say “Justice and Peace” have created a serious social fracture. “Malawi is seriously entrenching a two-tier society with over 80% of the population struggling to survive and depending on poor, over-stretched and quality-compromised public service delivery; while the 20% are affording privatized education, health and security services.” the statement affirms “This 20% of the population that is able is creating a section of passive and irresponsive citizenry that has become silent to the plight and cries of the majority poor”. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 25/2/2013)
JCTR Press Release 22 February 2013
Welcome to this Antislavery Campaign interview with Lora Steiner. As an Euro-American woman she explores new horizons of meaning beyond the inculcated “American Dream.” She says that in America “we don’t learn to think critically. We don’t sit in a classroom and ask each other, was your ancestor a slaveholder? What does it mean that your ancestors were forced here for free labour?” Lora invites us to be curious and creative dealing with the systemic forces that keeps enslaving us. She talks prophetically when saying that “Americans don’t know much about the world. We learn our geography through wars.” She keeps saying that if forgiveness has happened in America, reconciliation certainly hasn’t. Americans don’t recognize that a country founded on genocide and enslavement still may carry the scars, and certainly, the trauma.” Lora shares with us her wisdom as woman, writer, historian and theologian. READ MORE
Nairobi | CISA N0 0016 | http://www.cisanewsafrica.com/ | February 19, 2013
The Catholic Church in Africa has been challenged to intensify its ‘war’ against human trafficking.
Sister Maggi Kennedy of Missionaries of Our Lady of Africa (MSOLA) congregation, formerly White Sisters, told delegates at a symposium on: From the Anti-slavery campaign to the fight against human trafficking held at Tangaza University College, langata on February 16.
“As we meet here, probably one or many women and young girls are being trafficked either locally or internationally,” she further told the symposium delegates through her presentation whose theme was: “Human Trafficking…21st Century Slaves –the silent epidemic…Our Story-our challenge.
The Catholic Nun, a renowned activist in the war against human trafficking, said this year marks a momentous moment in our history as a Church when 125 years ago at the request of Pope Leo XIII, himself a man of vision with radical concern for social justice especially in the area of abolition of slavery and Slave Trade, appointed Cardinal Charles Martial Lavigerie, Archbishop of Algiers in North Africa to spearhead the Catholic Church’s contribution to the abolition of slavery and the slave trade.
The symposium, jointly organized by MSOLA and Tangaza University College aimed to commemorate the 125th anniversary of Cardinal Lavigerie, Archbishop of Algiers’ entry into the anti-Slavery Campaign in 1888.
“Human trafficking,” the Catholic Nun said, “is the world’s best money earner after drugs and small arms.”
“There is a serious link between human and drug trafficking; hence a fight against one should involve the other,” she explained.
In his paper on: Fighting Genocide and a Crime against Humanity: Cardinal Lavigerie and the African Slave Trade, Tanzanian Catholic priest Father Dr Laurent Magesa said much of the cotemporary African political , economic and social situation cannot be reasonably explained without reference to the horror of the Slave Trade.
Tonny Moses Odera, a Kenyan High Court Advocate and human rights lawyer, underscored that engaging in any acts that promote child trafficking including adopting or offering a child for fostering and offering a child for guardianship is a criminal act.
“Involved persons are liable to imprisonment for a term not less than 30 years or a fine not less than Kshs 20 million,” he explained.
Radek Malinowski, a researcher on human trafficking lamented that the area -human trafficking – is under researched.
Justice & Peace in Mozambique
Our vocation in the Church is linked with our fight for more justice in society. Already the Second Vatican Council said explicitly that “the joys and hopes, the grief and the fears of the people of today meet an echo in our hearts” (GS 1). The Church feels intimately linked with the cares and needs of all people. The Second Assembly of the Bishops likewise emphasised the necessity of working for justice: “The task of justice is an integral part of the mission of evangelisation of the Church” (Justice in the world, 1971). Engagement in justice and peace is part of the missionary’s action in all Christian communities as it is prayed in the fourth Eucharistic prayer for various needs: may your Church stand as a living witness to truth and freedom, to peace and justice, that all people be raised up to a new hope.
In Sena Parish (diocese of Beira, Mozambique), the people managed to organise themselves for the protection of their land against a multinational that wanted 18 000 hectares of their land in order to grow sugar cane and produce ethanol for the european market. This multinational intended to expel the inhabitants to other areas lacking basic infrastructures like schools, hospitals, proper roads and stores. The person in charge of promoting justice and peace issues distributed documents explaining the Law of the Land to all churches and beyond. He was threatened at the Local Court, but people who don’t belong to our Church protected him. Then, with their Paramount Chief, people started to get involved. They finally succeeded to protect their land with the help of the Diocesan Commission of Justice & Peace. A lawyer assisted them too to be officially recognised as an Association. As a result, the multinational had to withdraw from the area. Sadness and fear were tr
ansformed into joy and hope for a better world. Seeing this success story other communities want to do the same. Together with prayer and worship in church the work of evangelisation means helping people to overcome powerlessness, ignorance and submission to the powerful. It is the will of Jesus to work against injustices and all inhuman conditions including slavery.
Norbert Angibaud, M.Afr
The Antislavery Campaign was officially launched in Rome on 9th November 2012. Each Province/Sector was asked to organize its own calendar of events already at the time of Richard Nnyombi’s visit which took place about a year ago. Though we got off to a somehow slow start, it doesn’t mean that nothing has been done yet.
In South Africa Michel Meunier had a calendar and a book mark printed for the occasion, gave an interview on Radio Veritas and a talk in Pretoria. In Malawi, as Bill Turnbull told us, “at the 8th December celebrations in Balaka, our students presented two excellent plays and a poem. The topic of the plays was human trafficking. They were lively, humorous, educative and straight to the point”. There is now a plan to repeat the performance in Lilongwe in front of a wider audience. In Zambia, on 26th November, our confreres in Kasama combined our Founder’s Day with their own little opening of the year of anniversary for the Antislavery Campaign. As part of their celebrations, they had an input on the Antislavery campaign of Lavigerie and its place within the history or our Society by Paul Johnston. FENZA centre is planning a conference on the topic in the next few months. At the moment we are also preparing a leaflet explaining a few basic facts about the campaign. It should be distributed in parishes at the beginning of Lent. I am sure that more initiatives were taken by others which I am not aware of. Please let me know directly or use this forum to share them.
Maybe this is the time to set aside a few commitments and concentrate more on this strong appeal that is coming from the Society. All of us are asked, as individuals and in our communities, to continue praying, sharing, reading and being up-to-date on the event.
For those in parish work is just a question of using the various means already at their disposal: talking about the campaign and its meaning in homilies, talks, Parish councils meetings and newsletters. Lent is coming soon: we received from Rome the Stations of the Cross adapted to what we are celebrating; if we are not happy with them let’s come up with something new but let’s make the most of this opportunity!
On a different level, in our countries we can easily go into schools, give interviews on the radio and have articles printed in the local newspapers. Our candidates in the different houses of formation are also warmly invited to give their creative contribution. Balaka has shown us the way, let others follow the example!
Following in the footsteps of the Cardinal who was capable of dropping everything and started touring the capitals of Europe to deliver his message, we are also asked to show some enthusiasm and determination in order to make known the slogan of the campaign: Let’s break the chains!
Finally, there is still a lot of uncertainty about the way we will close this year’s celebrations which should happen in September or thereabouts. The grand finale with the bus tour seems to be losing support by the day and surely it will not make sense if there isn’t an adequate preparation in the months leading up to it. Maybe the project was not properly presented and/or understood but it is becoming increasingly evident that it will be difficult to pull it off. Malawi has already withdrawn and Zambia will take a decision in the next few days. But even if this particular project does not get off the ground it does not mean that we should give up all.
In February, March and April I will be visiting the communities in South Africa, Mozambique and Malawi and I hope that such
occasion will present us with an excellent opportunity to find out where we are at, to clarify some issues and to share ideas and plans for the coming months.
Best wishes in all your endeavours, Claudio Zuccala, M.Afr
All born equal and free! Bulletin JPIC-ED No 7 December 2012 – January 2013
In the preface of the booklet on Cardinal Charles Lavigerie and the Antislavery Campaign, the Superior General tells us that, in our fight against modern forms of slavery, we are motivated by the belief that we are “all born equal and free”. For us Christians, this belief and conviction is sealed in the birth of our Brother and Lord, Jesus Christ. Saint Paul expresses it well, in his letter to the Galatians: “There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither slave nor freeperson, there can be neither male nor female – for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (3: 28) … by Nnyombi Richard, M. Afr.