For immediate release

Church leaders share vision on migration at 109th meeting of the ICMC Governing Committee VIENNA, 23 January 2010High-level Church leaders gathered in Vienna discuss global approaches to migration and appeal for solidarity with Haiti at the 109th meeting of the International Catholic Migration Commission Governing Committee. In the days immediately following the 96th World Day of Migrants and Refugees, H.E. Christoph Cardinal Schnborn welcomed International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) President, Mr. John Klink, and eighteen members of the Commissions Governing Committee and staff to Vienna, to jointly address critical migration-related issues from the Churchs perspective.

Among the distinguished members of the committee are H.E. Cardinal Schnborn, H.E. John Cardinal Njue, Archbishop of Nairobi; H.E. George Cardinal Pell, Archbishop of Sydney; H.E. Oscar Andres Cardinal Rodriguez Maradiaga, Archbishop of Tegucigalpa and His Beatitude Gregorious III, Greek Melkite Patriarch.

Established by the Holy See nearly 60 years ago, ICMC plays a distinct role within the Church, notes Governing Committee member, H.E. Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, Representative of the Holy See to the UN in Geneva. ICMCs special charisma not only lies in its relationship with the Holy See and Episcopal Conferences worldwide, but also in its potential to drive global approaches to migration that are consistent with the Churchs concern for the most vulnerable. ICMC accomplishes this work with staff and operations in 40 countries and with advocacy work carried out before international organisations.

Over the course of the three-day meeting, the Committee discussed challenges of human trafficking, refugee protection and integration, migrant rights and responsibilities, the right not to migrate, migration management and the care and protection of vulnerable migrant children.

Participants also expressed concern over signs of growing xenophobia and racism towards migrants, and entered into strategic discussions on how ICMC might engage with partners in addressing migration-related issues expected to emerge with yet greater severity in the months following the recent earthquake in Haitiincluding the potential for an increase in human trafficking.

Together with the whole of ICMC, Cardinal Schnborn expressed great sorrow for the victims of the earthquake and their families, calling for continued prayers and solidarity at a special mass celebrated in honor of the International Catholic Migration Commission at St. Stephans cathedral Thursday night.

In the months ahead, ICMC members will be engaged in preparations for the November 2010 meeting of the Commissions Council in Rome. High-level representatives of all Catholic bishops conferences worldwide, and observers from other organizations involved in migration are expected to be present at the meeting to discuss the greater promotion of human dignity and well being, and family unity within migration globally.

***

For further information, please contact: Alanna RYAN, ICMC Communications, + 41 22 919 10 20; ryan@icmc.net

____________________________________________________________________________ International Catholic Migration Commission – 1, Rue de Varemb – P.O. Box 96 – CH-1211 Geneva 20 – Switzerland TEL: +41 (0)22 919 10 20 – FAX: +41 (0)22 919 10 48 – email: info@icmc.net

To opt out of mailings please click: mailto:o.322.41425.55c802a5734d9bd3@icmc.net ICMC: Rue de Varemb 1 PO Box 96 1211 Geneva 20 GE Switzerland

}

Copenhagen Conference Statement from the Anglican Communion

Mt. Meru, Tanzania

The Hope We Share:  A Vision For Copenhagen

A Statement from the Anglican
Communion Environmental Network

12 October, 2009

In preparation for the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference Of Parties
(COP) Meetings, the Fifteenth Session, to be held in Copenhagen, Denmark
in December 2009

To Anglicans Worldwide, to COP Delegates, Faith
Community Representatives, Observer Organizations, Friends of Creation

Is there anyone who does not seek a sustainable world, a world which
promotes justice and harmony for all and hope for future generations?
May the participants of the Copenhagen conference meet in this spirit
and combine to envision a better, more harmonious and just world. We
Anglicans are found in all corners of the globe and our experience is
that the world is changing around us to the great disadvantage of the
poorest of us and with considerable anxiety for all our children, in the
developed and developing world alike.

Anglicans in the Pacific and Bangladesh speak of the constant threat of rising waters.
The millions of us who live on the continent of Africa know the constant threat of
drought and failed crops. In Australia we are experiencing a
considerable reduction in rainfall patterns with heightened threat from
bush fires and severe lack of water. In some of our communities violence
has already broken out as neighbouring tribes and families struggle to
gain access to greatly reduced natural resources. From all points of the
globe we point to the reality of climate change and to the very serious
effect it is already having upon our people; from severe weather events,
to prolonged droughts, major floods, loss of habitat and changing
seasons. Many of our peoples no longer have access to drinkable water,
many of our farmers are no longer able to grow crops, and many of our
peoples suffer from diseases which in the past have not affected us in our homelands.

Sadly many of our peoples are now on the move in the vain
hope that they might find another place to live, given the place of
their birth can no longer support them. Our faith and our ancestors have
always taught us that the earth is our mother and deserves respect; we
know that this respect has not been given. We know that like a mother
the earth will continue to give its all to us. However, we also know
that we are now demanding more than it is able to provide. Science
confirms what we already know, our human footprint is changing the face
of the earth and because we come from the earth, it is changing us too.
We are engaged in the process of destroying our very being. If we cannot
live in harmony with the earth, we will not live in harmony with one
another. Those of us who live in the developed world realise all too
painfully that our contribution to the human foot print is unreasonably
high while the burdensome consequences of climate change is unequally
born by our sisters and brothers in the developing world who have
contributed least to the problem and who have limited if any choices
available to respond to it. This is a moral issue.

The Lambeth Conferences of Anglican Bishops of 1998 and 2008
speak of creation as gift and sacrament which must be treated with respect
and that human beings are both co-partners with the rest of creation, and living
bridges between heaven and earth with responsibility to make personal
and moral sacrifices for the common good of all creation. The Anglican
Consultative Council meeting held in Jamaica earlier this year called
upon Anglicans everywhere to reduce their footprint by 5% year on year.
We cannot say we do not know, we have always known, but the pain we see
in the changing landscape brings home to us the extent of the burden we
carry and the urgency required in our response.

We look to the Copenhagen conference with hope but also with realism. We realise
that this huge task must be tackled simultaneously from two directions. There
needs to be common agreement, but there must also be a desire on the
part of every nation to do what they know they must, not because they
are legally bound, but because they share a vision for a more just and
sustainable future. The world has every right to expect the conference
to produce agreed and enforceable targets and outcomes. When a crisis
hits a family, village, or nation, the benefits of living through it and
sharing the reconstruction is itself a lasting heritage: the benefits
which will flow to the human family as we share responsibility for this
crisis will be infinitely greater than the perceived economic costs in
some sectors. We have the chance to build a new world order of mutual
trust and respect.

We pray that each nation will come to the conference
wanting the highest level outcome; that demanding targets will be set,
not in an attempt to discipline reluctant participants, or to give some
preferential treatment which undermines the whole; but that a greater
vision might be shared. Is it too much to hope that all developed
countries will commit to significant and immediate reductions in total
emissions and that they will work with developing countries to ensure
continued development without increased emissions. Is it too much to
hope that all subsidies for fossil fuels will be immediately halted and
that subsidies will be increased for renewable energies in their
development stages. Is it too much to hope that developed economies
consciously break the nexus between economic growth and population
expansion. Clearly world population is already at its absolute upper limits.

Is it too much to hope that countries most responsible for
increased emissions provide funds and expertise to mitigate the effects
of climate change in those countries most adversely affected, investing
in the protection of ecosystems and bio-diversity. Is it too much to
hope that developed economies will no longer encourage rampant
consumerism as a solution to perceived short term economic woes, but
will slow consumerism, preserve resources, and invest in choices which
minimise alienation through enhanced human fulfilment. Is it too much to
hope that every country, developed and developing, will commit to the
view that what is in the worlds best interest is in their best interest.

We believe these hopes are reasonable and urgent, and we join with all
our Christian sisters and brothers and those of other faiths in
commitment to a sustainable future. The earth is the Lords. We have
always known that without a vision, the people perish. The Copenhagen
Conference can either produce a bland, minimalist set of non enforceable
targets or it can sketch a vision to inspire the world and its peoples.
Leaders lead, please . . . do not let us down. Our prayers will be with
the world leaders as they meet to discuss the most important topic
imaginable  the future of the world and its peoples.

Bishop George Browning Convener Anglican Communion Environmental Network (ACEN)
http://acen.anglicancommunion.org/index.cfm Contact: The Rt. Rev. George
Browning, Convener gandmbrowning@bigpond.com The Rev. Ken Gray,
Communications canadaacen@shaw.ca Office of the UN Observer, New York
unoffice@anglicancommunion.org The Rev. Terrie Robinson, Anglican
Communion Networks Coordinator Terrie.Robinson@anglicancommunion.org The
ACEN http://acen.anglicancommunion.org/index.cfm

As an official network
of the Anglican Communion the ACEN strives: To encourage Anglicans to
support sustainable environmental practices as individuals and in the
life of their communities. To provide information about policies
embraced by synods, councils and commissions, and especially by the
instruments of Unity (Statements by the Archbishop of Canterbury,
Resolutions and Reports of the Lambeth Conference and the Anglican
Consultative Council) To support local initiatives by providing
information about ideas and best practices developed around the
communion. To share information about resources and initiatives that may
be of value to Anglicans everywhere. To provide an opportunity for
interested Anglicans to meet both as a formal network, and informally
via electronic media.

*********************************** Jim Sniffen Programme Officer UN
Environment Programme New York tel: +1-212-963-8094/8210
info@nyo.unep.org www.nyo.unep.org *********************************

Edmund Rice Christian Brothers, N. America
Office of Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation
Br. Kevin Cawley

350_finallogo_cmyk

EDMUND RICE INTERNATIONAL CONNECTIONS:

Climate Change and Human Rights

The Edmund Rice International Team attended the recent celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This event took place at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. One of the more striking presentations took the form of a panel discussion on The Earth Charter.  Some are familiar with the words of the Preamble for the charter: ” We must join together to bring forth a sustainable global society founded on respect for nature, universal human rights, economic justice and a culture of peace.”  It is a small step from here to the tenets of Catholic Social Teaching that call for taking seriously our responsibility to each other.  Mary Robinson, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and former President of Ireland,  has spoken recently of the immense human consequences of climate change on the most vulnerable peoples.  People who are already vulnerable will be disproportionately affected. ” Slowly and incrementally , land will become too dry to till, crops will wither, rising sea levels will undermine coastal dwellings and spoil freshwater, species will disappear, livelihoods will vanish. Only very gradually will the  awful consequences reach those whose lifestyles and activities are most to blame. “   In response to some of these kinds of entreaties about how we live now, the recent Province Chapter of Edmund Rice Christian Brothers North America was clear in its resolution that we strive to live sustainably.  There was clearly a sense at the Paris conference that the link between care of the Earth and universal human rights can no longer be dismissed as mere semantics.  The human right to a decent habitat and adequate food supply is clearly compromised when global warming harms the planet for so many.   Human rights law is relevant because climate change causes human rights violations.
Continue reading Earth Charter , Climate Change and Human Rights

Brothers Kevin Cawley ,CFC, Denis Claivaz, FPM, and Moy Hitchen, CFC.

Photo above taken by Br. Brian Bond, CFC, of Australia serving on the Edmund Rice International Team in Geneva, Switzerland.  The ERI Team met in Paris in September at the United Nations  UNESCO headquarters.  The UNESCO site served as the setting for the Annual Conference of the United Nations Department of Public Information and Non-Governmental Organizations.  This year celebrated the 60th  anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  The conference was held in Paris because UNESCO Headquarters in Paris was the location for the initial ratification of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.

The aim of the Conference is to highlight effective ways in which civil society, in partnership with others, can contribute to the advancement of human rights at the international, regional, national and local levels. A major feature of this conference will be its emphasis on active participation which is intended to generate greater awareness of human rights issues and strengthen commitments to address them among diverse stakeholders worldwide.

There was a series of workshops and presentations by those working in the field of human rights and appearances by people from nations reporting human rights shortcomings.  The most dramatic of these events was an appearance by video conference from New York by Ingrid Betancourt recently released from 6+ years of captivity in Colombia.

Kevin Cawley cfc at UNESCO

Copenhagen Conference

We are working on the site.  This post is going up on October 14, 2009.  I hope to place a statement here about the Copenhagen Conference on Climate which is to take place in December.  We urge all to contact their government leaders and emphasize the need to set rigorous goals for the reduction of greenhouse gases and other pollutants and adhere to them for the sake of the people and other life of the planet least able to speak for themselves.

Welcome to the new Edmund Rice Christian Brothers North America JPIC website and blog. This replaces the former .Mac Groups site. All previous users will have been issued already with the necessary passwords. Instruction for using this site will be posted in the days ahead.

Welcome!