Jenn and Lauren with fellow students and staff from Loyola Maryland on Capitol Hill

written by: Lauren O’Brien and Jennifer Ruckel, Loyola University Maryland ’14

On February 26, we were privileged to use our knowledge of comprehensive immigration reform to advocate with students from other Jesuit universities through the Ignatian Solidarity Network. Advocating was a new experience for many of us, and it was certainly rewarding to directly engage in the political process after studying an issue we are all incredibly passionate about. In the morning, presentations on the experiences of undocumented student added a new dimension to our understanding of immigration. Not only were we given the chance to be informed about a study by Fairfield University’s Center for Faith and Public Life examining the experiences of undocumented students at Jesuit universities, we also heard from Mary Small, a woman who works with Jesuit Refugee Services/USA.

It was an educational experience both through the presentations but also through the hands on experience advocating. Although it was frustrating at points to see the realities of politics, ultimately, the day was a reminder that our voices are powerful and that there are many ways we can use them to advocate and serve. Advocating for comprehensive immigration reform made strive to be women for others in a new way through the public expression of solidarity. In partnership with students from all over
the country, we re-energized our dedication to work for equality. It gave us both such joy to see a room full of people who were willing to work from the ground up and from the top down to enact a lasting change to the experience of immigrants in the U.S.

We left D.C. that day feeling both educated and challenged. We felt compelled to do something with the stories we had heard, continue using our voices in political processes, and remain informed on the issue as it progresses. Now that we have seen, we are responsible. It is our responsibility to remain actively engaged in politics surrounding not only this issue, but also many others that encompass the principles of Catholic social teaching. As Ghandi once said, “In a gentle way we can shake the world.”

Learn more about the Ignatian Solidarity Network (ISN) at: href="http://www.ignatiansolidarity.net">www.ignatiansolidarity.net

written by: Grace Donnelly, John Carroll University

Grace with one of the Fair Trade Fashion Show models Photo Credit: Rebecca Ferlotti

The week of April 15th our Fair Trade Committee at John Carroll University held our fair trade awareness week. We organized the week as a kickoff to our efforts with Fair Trade Colleges and Universities to make the campus fair trade. Our goal for the week was to make the campus aware of our campaign and to gain support for our effort over the next few years.

McKenzae Bartels, ISN intern and JCU Fair Trade Committee member, helped fellow JCU students try to taste the difference between fair trade hot chocolate and non-fair trade brands.

We began the week with an Open Mic Night organized by our sustainability club Green Streaks. At the event we set up a tasting in which students tasted the difference between Equal Exchange Coffee, hot cocoa and chocolate, Hershey’s chocolate, Folgers coffee and Swiss Miss hot cocoa. Tasters were challenged to guess which was fair trade, and while some were were stumped, many knew the answer instantly. The Open Mic Night was a great way to celebrate sustainability and fair trade on campus while highlighting students’ musical and comedic talents.

In our Student Center and during each of our events we set up a table with information on fair trade along with promotional pins and stickers. Social media was an essential piece of the week, and we used it to both promote events and educate the campus on fair trade. For example, we posted images explaining the process our coffee goes through before it is poured into our mug, and ones comparing the distribution of profit to a fair trade coffee grower and a non-fair trade coffee grower. These posts reached more than our usual 300-400, and were seen by thousands of fellow students and people within their networks.

Throughout the week we wanted to reach out to as many groups as possible. On Thursday we held a Greek letter making night at which we gave members of Greek life free shirts from Alta Gracia. Green Streaks supported us throughout the week and attended many of our events. The Cubby (fair trade coffee shop on campus) promoted our events and provided donations of delicious cookies and brownies. The gracious support of these groups gave us hope for the future of our campaign in the coming years.

The Fair Trade Fashion show featured products from the local fair trade store, Revive. Photo Credit: Scott Soethe

Our biggest event during Fair Trade Week was the fair trade fashion show. John Carroll students and staff modeled clothes from Revive, a local fair trade store. The show was set up in our student center during the two busiest times for lunch, and models walked and danced down the catwalk to salsa music and cheers from the John Carroll community.

This week has pushed John Carroll students to look at their cup of coffee, chocolate bar, and t-shirts, and think about where it came from. I hope our committee’s efforts in the coming years will help the John Carroll community understand the great impact their consumerism has on the world. The week was a great success and we are excited for next year!

Learn more about the Ignatian Solidarity Network (ISN) at: href="http://www.ignatiansolidarity.net">www.ignatiansolidarity.net

ISN Staff Report

Savar, Bangladesh

4/25/13 – On Wednesday morning April 24, 2013, an eight story building in Savar, Bangladesh which housed several garment factories, including New Wave Style, Ether Tex, Canton Tech Apparel, and New Wave Bottoms, collapsed.  According to various news sources the collapse left nearly 200 people dead, hundreds injured, and an unknown number of individuals trapped in the rubble. News sources also reported that the popular kids chain The Children’s Place sources from a factory located in the building and that Ether Tex listed Wal-Mart as one of its buyers, though it is not clear if the retailer was currently sourcing from the factory. (SOURCE: Money CNN)

At the time 2,000 people were in the Rana Plaza building. The collapse occurred in the suburb of Savar and is the largest accident to afflict Bangladesh’s garment industry,  which is the second leading garment exporter behind China.  It has been reported by the Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights (ILRF) that on Tuesday morning April 23, 2013, significant cracks and fissures could be seen on the exterior of the building and about 2,500 workers refused to enter. When they returned the next morning they were told the building was fine and if they did not enter they would not be paid. An hour later the building collapsed. Reuters further stated that doctors at local hospitals were unable to cope with the number of victims brought in.

Via Reuters report:
“Mohammad Asaduzzaman, who was in charge of the area’s police station, said factory owners appeared to have ignored a warning not to allow their workers into the building after a crack was detected in the block on Tuesday.”

According to the New York Times, Bangladesh has the lowest labor costs in the world with  the average monthly wage in the garment factories set around $37/month and stated that the accident represented a failure of government inspectors to ensure safety standards were met. It additionally highlights that this occurred just five months after a fire was set at the Tazreen Fashion Factory killing 112 workers. These two tragedies so close together raise concerns for workers safety in Bangladesh who are forced to keep wages low in order to compete with China, Pakistan, Cambodia etc.

Green America states their, “allies at ILRF are hosting former Bangladeshi garment workers Kalpona Akter and Sumi Abedin (survivor of the 2012 fire) at Gap headquarters in San Francisco this Thursday, April 25.

Learn more about the Ignatian Solidarity Network (ISN) at: href="http://www.ignatiansolidarity.net">www.ignatiansolidarity.net

Award recipient Don MacMillan, S.J. with members of the ISN Board, guest Victoria Kennedy, and ISN Executive Director, Christopher Kerr

4/24/13 – On April 24, 2012, Fr. Don MacMillan, S.J. was honored with the Robert M. Holstein “Faith Doing Justice” Award at Boston College.  More than 125 people gathered to celebrate Macmillan’s witness to the Social Teachings of the Catholic faith through his solidarity with the economically poor and marginalized in the United States and around the world.

The evening featured great food and conversation, as well as remarks by ISN executive director, Christopher Kerr, a tribute to  MacMillan by Victoria Kennedy, the award presentation by ISN board members Robyn Caponi and Jack Raslowsky, and finally remarks by Macmillan.

Learn more about previous Holstein Award Winners

Learn more about the 2013 Holstein Award Winner: Sr. Helen Prejean, C.S.J.

Don MacMillan S.J.’s Remarks:

Amilcar Lopes ‘97 started me on this faith and justice journey at BC. He helped me build on past experiences…walking with MLK, Jr. back in 1964/5 for civil rights when I was in philosophy studies; being stunned by the death of Rutilio Grande, SJ and then Archbishop Romero when I was a high school teacher and administrator; then the Jesuits at the UCA.

Eventually missioned to BC where I met Amilcar, he wanted a memorial service for the Jesuits of the UCA plus their two friends. So we nailed together some crosses, formed a prayer service and have been doing it ever since. Then I learned that students were driving to Georgia for the SOA vigil. I read up on it and learned that it was started by Fr. Roy Bourgeois and Jack Seery plus a few others. Jack was a Jesuit with me.  Fr. John Savard, SJ and I decided to go to Georgia to the SOA vigil/protest.  Students planned to drive down…we blessed them and missioned them off from the St. Ignatius Church parking lot and the next morning John and I flew down to meet them there. Younger though we were at that time, we were not driving 24 hours to Georgia. The next year another group formed and off we went again to Georgia. This time I was determined to cross the line and so we all did. I probably don’t deserve this award because unlike Bob Holstein who got arrested and imprisoned for his speaking out  against this injustice, I got bused to a football field three miles away and didn’t even get a ban and bar letter from federal property. I failed as a protester!!! After that, I stuck with the prayer part!

And so BC was among the growing community from across the country that was waking up to the actions of the School of the Americas. We heard Joe Kennedy, then a member of Congress, file bill after bill to get Congress to stop funding this school. He almost succeeded, coming within seven votes. Still we kept going. Large groups of student showed up at my office every fall and we would prepare them and fund raise and go to Georgia. One year we had 110 students plus a group of others who met us there. Some colleagues and faculty, JVCers, Alums and more went to the Vigil. “No mas, no more, cry the hills of Salvador” became our anthem among other songs. By this time, the Teach-In started under the leadership of Bob Holstein and his companions. And then ISN came into being in 2004 and the teach-in continues. Martin Sheen, Sr. Helen Prejean, Fr. Roy Bourgeois, Congressman Jim McGovern of Massachusetts,  and many more came/come to speak to the large Jesuit gathering each year.

MacMillan speaking during the “Prayer for the Jesuit Martyrs” at the 2006 Ignatian Family Teach-In in Gerogia

Mass grew beyond the boundaries of the tent. It seemed that almost everyone in Columbus came to that Mass. All 28 Jesuit Universities and Colleges plus a growing number of secondary schools and parishes came. We joined in with the others and the prayer vigil numbered close to 20,000 at one point.  Today we still go to the teach-in but it’s in Washington, DC now to give us access to Congress for advocacy. A shameless plug for next November 16-18.  Without getting political, attention is diminishing somewhat…media doesn’t cover it and federal officials have intensified their actions against the protesters but the cause remains and we need to keep talking and calling for a change. Delegations go directly to the Latin American and South American governments asking them to stop sending troops to the WHINSEC. For the most part, they are beginning to stop.

I have been privileged to visit families in El Salvador who were victims of the civil war conducted by soldiers trained at the SOA. This whole vigil started because 6 Jesuits and their housekeeper and her daughter were killed the night of November 16, 1989. Congressman Joe Moakley took up the charge after Joe Kennedy and now Jim McGovern. It’s just hard now in the arrogant climate of Washington. And all we are doing is what is written in the gospel to care for the oppressed and deliver them from every evil to the best of our ability. I go to Cuernavaca, Mexico each summer with a delegation of students and we sit in the houses of the poor and hear their stories of survival and sometimes failure. It’s heartbreaking but also inspiring.

Faith doing justice is a way of life for those who follow Jesus Christ. That’s what I try to do here and have tried to do in past apostolic assignments at BC High for example and Bishop Connolly High School in Fall River.  Sowing seeds in people’s hearts, letting them know that they can do something. They don’t have to take on the SOA, but they can serve as Jesus serves. Every neighborhood has needs. Parents can raise children with awareness of others who need compassion and help. I have a friend who donated a kidney to her friend’s daughter; another works in immigration services to relieve the burdens placed on people who are trying to have a dignified life; people have donated money to help students get an education; a student gathered an international group in Boston to discuss arms trading and control; another student has created a website that helps others find something they can do to deal with, and I’m quoting only a few of the possibilities, “homelessness, human trafficking, immigration detention, criminal justice reform and education reform.”  Groups of BC students work all year long in various programs such as 4Boston, Appalachia, Urban Immersion, Loyola Volunteers, Pulse and many more. Lawyers do a lot of pro-bono work for the poor; medical professionals offer free services to the wounded and sick of the cities; everyone can do something. The service groups on this campus come to realize that there is much more to this “being for others” than building a resume. They come to understand that we are not building just a community, but a just community.

So some of the seeds that many of us plant are taking root and growing. I am very confident that the next generation will change the ways things are done. The tenets of Catholic Social teaching will be more than tenets; they will be the way of life. Human rights and responsibilities will be the daily process. There will be corporate responsibility. There will be no more sweatshops. My favorites to dislike Coca-Cola and Nike will begin to be responsible companies among other companies that need to step up to justice. Consumers can help in getting corporations to be responsible organizations, responsible to people and to the planet. Treaties like NAFTA and CAFTA will cease to exist and neighbors will be neighbors not competing tribes for turf and dominance. But it’s a struggle and will be because sin exists in our hearts. If we want justice on our planet, we need to be just persons ourselves. God’s grace is there for the asking…in fact He just gives it out…so let me thank people and this is dangerous to do because I can’t name everyone, so you are not left out if I don’t say your name: Bob Holstein who lived his Christian commitment and raised the awareness of Jesuit institutions across this country to the actions of the SOA – may he rest in peace ; Sarah Berger Gonzales, his niece, a BC Alum and someone who brought her passion and commitment to BC and to us all and continues to do so in her work at the World Bank, dealing with women’s  issues in developing countries; Mrs. Vicki Kennedy and her work for equal rights among many other things; Fr. Tom Massaro, SJ a theologian who has taken the lead in writing about Catholic Social Teaching and justice; Fr. Jim Bernauer, SJ who has formed the Center for Jewish-Christian Studies; Fr. David Hollenbach, SJ for his formation of the Center for Human Rights and International Justice; Fr. Fred Enman, SJ who founded Matthew 25 and builds houses for the lower income and poor families in Worcester, MA; Dan Ponsetto and the Volunteer and Service Learning Center; Stephen Pope, John Makransky, Matt Mullane, Michael  Himes, John Paris, Jim Keenan , Lisa Cahill, Shawn Copeland, Ruth Langer, Chris Darcy, Dan Leahy and the list goes on with all the women and men who teach and sow the seeds of faith doing justice in every department at this university both academic and in residential life. BC is where we have been planting these seeds, the world is where these people will go to grow and bloom and develop peace and justice.

ISN’s ED Christopher Kerr & Fr. Don MacMillan, S.J.

And now ISN is in the very capable hands of Chris Kerr. He was handed a great package of deeds and efforts from Ann Magovern, the former director and BC Alum. I thank them for not just honoring me but all of us at BC, the Jesuit order and beyond who have been educated by the Jesuits ever to excel. We know our responsibilities and will follow the advice of Fr. Pedro Arrupe and seconded by Fr. Peter Hans Kolvenbach, both former Superiors of the Jesuit Order, to be women and men for others.

Let me close with a prayer from Fr. Arrupe that many BC students and Alums have heard many times:

Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in love in a quite absolute way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything.

It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you will do with your evenings, how you spend your weekend, what you read, what you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decided everything.

Education is the key, so let’s get on with it.

Thank you, Ann Magovern, Chris Kerr and the ISN Board – I am grateful and proud to accept this honor and to share it with all who seek justice.

Learn more about the Ignatian Solidarity Network (ISN) at: href="http://www.ignatiansolidarity.net">www.ignatiansolidarity.net

ISN staff report

4/22/13 – Across the Americas there may be signs of hope for the eventual sainthood of the slain archbishop of El Salvador, Óscar Arnulfo Romero.  Romero was gunned down while celebrating mass in a small San Salvador chapel on March 24, 1980.  His vocal advocacy for the poor and marginalized during a volatile time in El Salvador’s history has inspired millions of people in Latin America and beyond to see the social imperative of the Gospels as core elements of a Christian faith.

A number of Catholic publications have reported that Vatican sources have suggested a growing openness to Archbishop Romero’s case for beatification.  According to National Catholic Reporter, “a Vatican official responsible for the sainthood cause of Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador announced Sunday that the cause has been “unblocked” by Pope Francis, suggesting that beatification of the assassinated prelate could come swiftly.”

Additional resources on the case for Romero’s beatification can be found at:
Francis ‘unblocks’ Romero beatification, official says (4/22/13 – National Catholic Reporter)
St. Oscar Romero (4/22/13 – America Magazine)
Vatican official says Archbishop Romero’s sainthood cause ‘unblocked’ (4/22/13 – Catholic News Service)
Pope Francis reportedly supports Romero sainthood (3/25/13 – National Catholic Reporter)

BIOGRAPHY OF ARCHBISHOP ROMERO (source: United Nations - http://www.un.org)

Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez (August 15, 1917 – March 24, 1980) was a prominent Roman Catholic priest in El Salvador during the 1960s and 1970s becoming Archbishop of San Salvador in 1977. After witnessing numerous violations of human rights, he began to speak out on behalf of the poor and the victims of repression. This led to numerous conflicts, both with the government in El Salvador and within the Catholic Church. After speaking out against U.S. military support for the government of El Salvador, and calling for soldiers to disobey orders to fire on innocent civilians, Archbishop Romero was shot dead while celebrating Mass at the small chapel of the cancer hospital where he lived. It is believed that those who organised his assassination were members of Salvadoran death squads, including two graduates of the School of the Americas.

Oscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez was born in Ciudad Barrios, El Salvador, on August 15, 1917. His father apprenticed him to a carpenter when he was 13, but the young Romero felt a vocation for the Catholic priesthood and left home the following year to enter the seminary. He studied in El Salvador and in Rome and was ordained in 1942.

Romero spent the first two and half decades of his ministerial career as a parish priest and diocesan secretary in San Miguel. In 1970 he became auxiliary bishop of San Salvador and served in that position until 1974 when the Vatican named him to the diocese of Santiago de María, a poor, rural region which included his boyhood hometown. In 1977 he returned to the capital to succeed San Salvador’s aged metropolitan archbishop.

Romero’s rise to prominence in the Catholic hierarchy coincided with a period of dramatic change in the Church in Latin America. The region’s bishops, meeting at Medellín, Colombia, in 1967 to discuss local implementation of the recommendations of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), had resolved to abandon the hierarchy’s traditional role as defender of the status quo and to side, instead, with the continent’s poor in their struggle for social justice. This radical departure divided both the faithful and the clergy.
During this period Oscar Romero’s reputation was as a conservative, and on more than one occasion he showed himself skeptical of both Vatican II reforms and the Medellín pronouncements. For this reason his appointment as archbishop in 1977 was not popular with the socially committed clergy, to whom it appeared to signal the Vatican’s desire to restrain them. To their surprise, Romero emerged almost immediately as an outspoken opponent of injustice and defender of the poor.

By Romero’s own account, he owed his change of attitude to his brief tenure as bishop of Santiago de María, where he witnessed first-hand the suffering of El Salvador’s landless poor. Increasing government violence against socially committed priests and laypersons undermined his trust in the good will of the authorities and led him to fear that the Church and religion themselves were under attack. The assassination on March 12, 1977, of his long-time friend Jesuit Father Rutilio Grande brought a stinging denunciation from Romero, who suspended masses in the capital’s churches the following Sunday and demanded the punishment of the responsible parties.

As Romero spoke out more and more frequently over the following months, he gathered an ever-increasing popular following who crowded into the cathedral to hear him preach or listened to his sermons over YSAX, the archdiocesan radio station. In his youth Romero had been a pioneer of broadcast evangelism in El Salvador, and he now turned the medium to great effect as he denounced both the violence of El Salvador’s incipient civil war and the deeply-rooted patterns of abuse and injustice which bred it. In a country whose rulers regarded dissent as subversion, Romero used the moral authority of his position as archbishop to speak out on behalf of those who could not do so for themselves. He soon came to be known as the “Voice ofthe Voiceless.”

When a coup d’état overthrew the Salvadoran government on October 15, 1979, Romero expressed cautious support for the reformist junta which replaced it. He soon became disenchanted, however, as the persecution of the poor and the Church did not cease. In February 1980 he addressed an open letter to U.S. President Jimmy Carter in which he called upon the United States to discontinue military aid to the regime. “We are fed up with weapons and bullets,”he pleaded.

Romero’s campaign for human rights in ElSalvador won him many national and international admirers as well as a Nobel Peace Prize nomination. It also won him enemies, however. On March 24, 1980, an assassin fired from the door of the chapel where Romero was celebrating mass and shot him dead. The archbishop had foreseen the danger of assassination and had spoken of it often, declaring his willingness to accept martyrdom if his blood might contribute to the solution of the nation’s problems. “As a Christian,” he remarked on one such occasion, “I do not believe in death without resurrection. If they kill me, I shall rise again in the Salvadoran people.”

Learn more about the Ignatian Solidarity Network (ISN) at: href="http://www.ignatiansolidarity.net">www.ignatiansolidarity.net

4/8/13 – The time to advocate for “humane” comprehensive immigration reform is now.  It is likely that later this week the U.S. Senate “Gang of 8″ (4 Democrats and 4 Republicans developing an immigration reform bill) will introduce legislation for comprehensive reform.   Across the country, Ignatian family advocates have been calling for reform that:

•Creates a clear pathway to citizenship that is not contingent upon a “secure border”
•Keeps families together
•Enacts the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act
•Respects the rights of workers
•Protects those most vulnerable, especially women and children

This call has included meetings with 55+ U.S. Senators and Representatives, including more than 20% of the U.S. Senate.  However, more advocacy is needed to bring these points forward, and ISN is calling for an “IGNATIAN FAMILY IMMIGRATION CALL-IN DAY” on Wednesday, April 10, 2013.

Why Wednesday, April 10th?

Your advocacy will support the Jesuit-oriented immigration efforts already scheduled to take place:

1.  A group from St. Mary’s Student Parish, a Jesuit parish in Ann Arbor, Michigan will join thousands of other “humane” immigration advocates (likely including other Jesuit institution groups) for a rally in Washington D.C.  Learn how St. Mary’s is connected to the immigration issue from Fr. Dan Reim, S.J., associate pastor at the parish.

2.  Jesuit Father Sean Carroll, S.J., executive director of the Kino Border Initiative (bi-national Jesuit social ministry on the U.S. Mexico-Border) will give testimony at a special U.S. House Representatives hearing.

You can be a voice of solidarity with Fr. Carroll and the St. Mary’s group!

WHAT SHOULD I DO?

Contact your U.S. Representative and both U.S. Senators offices and share this message:

“HUMANE” IMMIGRATION RESOURCES:

Shaina Aber, is the policy director for the U.S. Jesuit Conference Social and International Ministries Office in Washington, D.C.  She offers perspective on the current immigration debate and important points of action for those advocating humane reform.

Jesuit Father Dan Reim, S.J., is an associate pastor at St. Mary’s Student Parish in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Fr. Dan speaks Spanish and ministers to the growing Latino Catholic community in the Ann Arbor area.

2013 Ignatian Family Advocacy Month (IFAM) Immigration Talking Points

JESUIT RESOURCES ON IMMIGRATION:

Jesuit Provincial Sign-On Letter on Immigration 
A 2010 letter signed by each of the Jesuit provincials (leaders) in the U.S.

Immigration: Undocumented Students in Higher Education Research Project (coordinated by Fairfield University)

Jesuit Social Research Institute
Institute directed by Fred Kammer, S.J., based at Loyola University New Orleans with excellent resources on immigration

Kino Border Initiative
Kino Border Initiative, a Jesuit run social ministry and research center on the US-Mexico border

OTHER RESOURCES:

Immigration 101
Justice for Immigrants

Catholic Social Teaching and Migration
Jesuit Social Research Institute

Immigration Myths Busted from LIRS
This link takes you to a chart from Lutheran Immigrant Relief Services (LIRS) hosted by the Interfaith Immigration Coalition. Jesuit Refugee Service/USA works in coalition with this group, and their website provides national and state level immigration resources and campaigns.

Deferred Action FAQ
United We DREAM

Sojourners Immigration Blogs
Sojourners

Border Fact Check
Washington Office on Latin America

ISN is calling for a national “#Ignatian Family #Immigration Call-In Day” this Wednesday (4/10). Learn more: bit.ly/11Klx0R

— Ignatian Solidarity (@IGsolidarityNET) April 8, 2013

Learn more about the Ignatian Solidarity Network (ISN) at: href="http://www.ignatiansolidarity.net">www.ignatiansolidarity.net

Archbishop Oscar Romero was assassinated in El Salvador on March 24, 1980. His spirit remains a witness to the Christian call for peace and justice. This video offers images of the events surrounding the 33rd anniversary of his death in San Salvador, El Salvador.

In honor of this anniversary we offer the following interview and resource.  You can also view Part I of our anniversary feature.

The Project: Martyrs Prayers: An Interview with Michael Glen Bell and Duane W. H. Arnold 

The Martyrs Project aims to strengthen 21st century Christian music by reconnecting current needs and concerns with ancient roots. It uses historic forms of prayer in a contemporary and inclusive expression to inspire and to teach, but most of all, to re-discover in the Martyrs’ Prayers, the mystery of God. ISN has chosen to bring attention to the project because of the emphasis on Archbishop Oscar Romero, assassinated in El Salvador in 1980 as a response to his vocal advocacy for the poor and marginalized.

The interview features the creators of the project Michael Glen Bell and Duane W. H. Arnold.

More information about the project can be found at: http://www.themartyrsproject.com or watch the music video of “Romero” below.

“Martyrs Project: Archbishop Oscar Romero”

Learn more about the Ignatian Solidarity Network (ISN) at: href="http://www.ignatiansolidarity.net">www.ignatiansolidarity.net

March 24, 2013 marked the thirty-third anniversary of the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero in San Salvador, El Salvador.  Prior to his death Romero reflected on the potential of losing his life because of his vocal advocacy for the economically poor and marginalized.  He said, “If they kill me, I will live on in the Salvadoran people.”  This foreshadowing is an understatement in many ways, as Romero has become an inspiration for people well beyond the borders of El Salvador.

In honor of the anniversary we offer the following images for reflection.  You can also view Part II of our anniversary feature.

33rd Anniversary of Archbishop Oscar Romero – March 24, 2013 

Archbishop Oscar Romero was assassinated in El Salvador on March 24, 1980. His spirit remains a witness to the Christian call for peace and justice. This video offers images of the events surrounding the 33rd anniversary of his death in San Salvador, El Salvador.

Videos and photos were captured by Kevin Yonkers-Talz, co-director of Santa Clara University’s Casa de Solidaridad program in El Salvador. (http://www.scu.edu/casa)

Learn more about the Ignatian Solidarity Network (ISN) at: href="http://www.ignatiansolidarity.net">www.ignatiansolidarity.net

3/5/13 – The following is an ISN interview wth Georgetown University student Sydney Browning on her involvement with the University Endowment and Divestment Campaign.

Sydney Browning, a sophomore at Georgetown University

ISN: How’d this all get started?

Sydney: Our campaign is about 2 months old.  It started in January 2013, but we had been planning for some time before. We started by sending a letter to the President of Georgetown, Dr. John DeGioia, to inform him of the campaign and ask for support. We also made a proposal for Georgetown to divest from all fossil fuel and coal companies within 5 years and then reinvest in more socially responsible alternatives. We also reached out to the Socially Responsible Investment Committee to try and see greater transparency about investment and to also have a stronger review of where Georgetown is investing money.

We sent some press releases, hung banners, did dorm storming in order to try and get students to sign on. So far, 1,500 students have signed on.  Our group is hopeful to meet with Dr. DeGioia sometime this spring.  In addition we are working to gain the support of faculty, alumni, and campus groups.  Georgetown University’s College Republicans and College Democrats have already signed on showing their support for our effort. Beyond Georgetown, we are reaching out to other campaigns across the country to become more connected with some of the 200+ divestment campaigns taking place throughout the country right now.    

ISN: How did you get involved?

Syndey: I got involved because some of my friends have been involved on other campuses. I was inspired when I saw some campaigns at the SOA Watch Vigil at Fort Benning, Georgia.  I started to build up a core group of others that were interested.  I am very passionate about the environment and student rights on campus and having a say in investment, so this was a way to bring those together.

ISN: Why is this important for it to be a campaign of divestment versus shareholder advocacy?

Sydney: Usually the purpose of shareholder advocacy is to get companies to change their behavior, but this is very difficult when you are working with fossil fuel companies.  They are not going to stop being fossil fuel companies.   Shareholder advocacy would not allow us to work for the significant changes related to global climate change that we hope to see.  

ISN: How have you been able to draw students into the effort?

Sydney: We have been talking to students and letting them know that we are out there.  They know what is happening and they want to help and show their support.  It helps to be in DC because there many national gatherings related to climate change that happen here regularly.

ISN: What are your hopes for the movement going forward?

Sydney: I hope the campaign creates greater opportunities for dialogue throughout the Georgetown community and leads to our university becoming a leader in the climate change movement.  More generally speaking, we of course hope to see the slowing of climate change.

ISN: Any message you want to share with students at other Jesuit universities?

Sydney:  We have a special set of values that I admire and want to dedicate my life to, and I think that divestment adheres to those values. In order to adhere to these values, we should look at these companies that are violating human rights and the environment. As students we have a distinct responsibility to fight for divestment.

Learn more about the Ignatian Solidarity Network (ISN) at: href="http://www.ignatiansolidarity.net">www.ignatiansolidarity.net

This stuff keeps me going…

written by: Kim Miller, Ignatian Solidarity Network

As I sit down to write this post on World Water Day, I can’t stop thinking about the ways water has played an integral role in my morning routine.  There’s that coffee I’ve been slurping down to ward off the scary caffeine withdrawal headache interspersed with sips of H20 fresh from the bathroom sink, my morning shower and decision to wear jeans this morning, the bathroom break and hand washing. The list keeps going…

I’ll admit it: on most days, I don’t actively think about my water usage beyond the quick reduce, reuse, recycle decisions. Frankly, I often take it for granted. And then days like today come around to give me a kick in the butt and remind of what’s at stake when it comes to H20–millions of lives.

So, I invite you to join me in facing some water facts today:

Source: United Nations World Water Day 2013

Then there are the sobering water consumption statistics, like the fact that it took 2,900 gallons of water to produce the jeans I’m wearing today. Or that my 5 minute shower this morning used the same amount of water that the average person in a 3rd world country uses in one day.  You can find plenty more stats like this here.

Moving past the guilt trip, there are plenty of ways I (we!) can continue to curb our water usage and be more mindful of the water crisis affecting our brothers/sisters worldwide:

1. Cut down meat consumption. 1,800-2,500 gallons of water go into ONE pound of beef. Consider adopting a meat-free day beyond the season of Lent.

2. Reduce junk mail. 10-24 billion gallons of water go into producing junk mail each year. Get on the Do Not Mail list at directmail.com

3. Paper or Plastic? Neither. Bags, cups, plates, you name it, reusable is the way to go.  Schools like Gonzaga University have banned the sale of bottled water on campus. Here in Cleveland, I’ve noticed those cool new reusable bottle filling stations at St. Ignatius High School and John Carroll University.

4. Ask policymakers to support small-scale farms. Currently, the United States agricultural subsidies provide more support for  large-scale agribusinesses, but it’s the small-scale farmers who are more likely to produce food in sustainable ways. 

5. Learn more about the call for water cooperation. This year’s World Water Day theme is “Water Cooperation.” Since a majority of water sources do not exist within explicit political boundaries, water resources must be shared. Learn more about this issue on the UN website. 

I’ll leave you with the words of Satoro: “Individually, we are a drop in the ocean. Together, we are the ocean.“

Learn more about the Ignatian Solidarity Network (ISN) at: href="http://www.ignatiansolidarity.net">www.ignatiansolidarity.net

After years of debate, the state of Maryland is set to repeal the death penalty.  The effort has been led by Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley (a graduate of Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C.).

The Washington Post reports:

The House of Delegates voted 82-56 to repeal Maryland’s death penalty on Friday, making the state the sixth in as many years to abolish executions and delivering a major legislative victory to Gov. Martin O’Malley.

The bill, which passed the Senate last week, now heads to the governor for his signature. O’Malley (D) has lobbied lawmakers for years to end capital punishment, and he put the full weight of his office behind it this session.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

The Ignatian Solidarity Network applauds this decision and wishes to highlight the work of some of advocates working to abolish the death penalty in Maryland and beyond:

Interview: Greg Callaghan Nat. Coord. of the Dead Man Walking School Theater Project	Gonzaga College High School Students join Governor O’Malley to Lobby Against the Death Penalty	Helen Prejean, C.S.J., Death Penalty Activist, to be Honored with ISN’s “Faith Doing Justice” Award

Learn more about the Ignatian Solidarity Network (ISN) at: href="http://www.ignatiansolidarity.net">www.ignatiansolidarity.net

Ignatian Family:

Pope Francis

What a special day for the Catholic Church and for Jesuit institutions throughout the world.  The announcement of Pope Francis (formerly known to us as Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio) brings about many new pages in history, including the Church’s first Pope from outside of Europe and the first Jesuit Pope.

During his time as a Cardinal in Argentina he became known as a bold voice for social justice in the Church.  It has been reported by many sources that as Cardinal he chose to use public transportation in an effort to live simply and also brought attention to many injustices in Argentina over the years.

Clearly, as time moves forward there will be much to learn about Pope Francis, but for the time being we thought we would share a few quotes that represent the importance the social mission of the Church has played in his ministry:

Speaking of contrast between the economically rich and poor, “Poor people who are persecuted for demanding work, and rich people who are applauded for fleeing from justice”.  -August 2001 Speaking at the church dedicated to San Cayetano, the patron saint of work and bread (SOURCE: BBC News)

“We live in the most unequal part of the world, which has grown the most yet reduced misery the least…The unjust distribution of goods persists, creating a situation of social sin that cries out to Heaven and limits the possibilities of a fuller life for so many of our brothers.” -2007 Gathering of Latin American Bishops (SOURCE: National Catholic Reporter)

Preaching on the Gospel story of the good Samaritan, the cardinal said: “Every economic, political, social or religious project involves the inclusion or exclusion of the wounded lying on the side of the road. Each day, each of us faces the choice of being a good Samaritan or an indifferent bystander.” -2003 homily, location unknown (SOURCE: AmericanCatholic.org)

“The Gospel promises of God’s love, of salvation in Jesus Christ and of unchanging moral values still have the power to guide and to give life…the church must lead the way in reaching out to the elderly, to suffering children, to the poor and others excluded from the mainstream of modern society.” April 2005 Interview (SOURCE: Catholic News Service)

Our prayers are with Pope Francis and the Church in this time of transition, as we respond to the Gospel call of justice & solidarity.

Peace,
Ignatian Solidarity Network

Learn more about the Ignatian Solidarity Network (ISN) at: href="http://www.ignatiansolidarity.net">www.ignatiansolidarity.net