Brian R Corbin's Reflections on Religion and Life

Living Your Faith as Citizens and Leaders in Politics, Culture, Society and Business

April 23, 2009 • 4:12 pm 0

UN conference was exploited for extremist remarks, says Vatican rep


By Carol Glatz
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — An international conference dedicated to combating racism unfortunately was used as a platform for taking “extreme and offensive political positions the Holy See deplores and rejects,” said the chief Vatican representative to U.N. agencies in Geneva.

The Durban Review Conference was meant to be an “occasion to set aside mutual difference and mistrust; reject once more any theory of racial or ethnic superiority; and renew the international community’s commitment to the elimination of all expressions of racism,” said Archbishop Silvano Tomasi.

While the work of the April 20-24 conference took a step forward in combating racism, it “has unfortunately been used to utter extreme and offensive political positions,” which do not contribute to dialogue, “provoke unacceptable conflicts, and in no way can be approved or shared,” he told conference participants in Geneva April 22. The Vatican released a copy of the archbishop’s remarks late that same day.

The archbishop was referring to remarks Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made about Israel at the U.N.-sponsored conference April 20.

Ahmadinejad said that Israel had “resorted to military aggression to make an entire nation homeless under the pretext of Jewish suffering” and had established a “totally racist government in the occupied Palestine.” His comments prompted a temporary walkout by dozens of diplomats in attendance.

The U.N. conference, which was a follow-up meeting to examine a statement adopted in 2001 at the U.N.’s first conference on racism held in Durban, South Africa, was being boycotted by the United States, Canada and several other Western countries. The boycott stemmed from fears the Geneva conference would provide a platform to critics of Israel.

Archbishop Tomasi underlined the Vatican’s position, which also had been expressed by Pope Benedict XVI April 19, that participation in the conference was an important way to promote concrete measures to prevent and eliminate every form of racism and intolerance.

The reason most countries chose to participate in the conference and not walk out was a desire to make progress in eliminating old and new forms of racism, said the archbishop.

U.N. officials said that the text under consideration in Geneva was revised in recent months, and the latest draft does not include references to Israel or Zionism.

Archbishop Tomasi told Catholic News Service April 20 that much more significant than Ahmadinejad’s speech were the real advances made in the draft conference document, which recognizes the Holocaust as something not to be forgotten and condemns anti-Semitism as well as intolerance against other religions.

In his speech April 22 to U.N. delegates, the archbishop said racism, discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance “are evils that corrode the social fabric of society and produce innumerable victims.”

“Combating racism is a necessary and indispensable prerequisite for the construction of governance, sustainable development, social justice, democracy and peace in the world,” he said.

Coming together to share ideas and implement recommendations “is the duty and responsibility of everyone,” he said.

Archbishop Tomasi said education, the media and faith-based communities play an instrumental role in helping shape mentalities and consciences that are free from fear and prejudice against others.

He also expressed the Vatican’s alarm at “the still latent temptation of eugenics that can be fueled by techniques of artificial procreation and the use of ‘superfluous embryos.'”

“The possibility of choosing the color of the eyes or other physical characteristic of a child could lead to the creation of a ‘subcategory of human beings’ or the elimination of human beings that do not fulfill the characteristics predetermined by a given society,” he said.

He also warned against the introduction of “excessive measures and practices” in the legitimate fight against terrorism.

Efforts for greater security should never exacerbate people’s irrational fear of foreigners or undermine the protection and promotion of human rights, he said.

Filed under: Official Statements, Social Justice

April 19, 2009 • 7:33 pm 1

Pope: UN racism conference ‘important’

Pope: UN racism conference ‘important’ By FRANCES D’EMILIO

The Associated Press April 19, 2009 »

Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday praised this week’s U.N. anti-racism conference and urged countries to join forces to eliminate intolerance, as the Vatican appeared to distance itself from the U.S. boycott of the meeting.

The conference beginning Monday in Geneva is an important initiative, the pope said, because ‘even today, despite the lessons of history, such deplorable phenomena take place.’

Some countries are boycotting the meeting to protest language in the meeting’s final document that they say could single out Israel for criticism and restrict free speech. Among those countries is the United States. The State Department said Saturday that the Obama administration would not join the conference ‘with regret.’ But department spokesman Robert Wood said the U.S. was ‘profoundly committed to ending racism’ and would work with all people and nations ‘to build greater resolve and enduring political will to halt racism and discrimination wherever it occurs.’

Italy has also said it would skip the weeklong conference if changes are not made at the last minute. The Netherlands announced on Sunday that it would not go to the conference because some nations are using it as a platform to attack the West.

‘The Holy See is distancing itself from the criticisms of some Western countries,’ Asia News, a Catholic news agency that is part of the missionary arm of the Vatican, said of Benedict’s words. Benedict said he sincerely hoped that delegates who attend the conference work together, ‘with a spirit of dialogue and reciprocal acceptance, to put an end to every form of racism, discrimination and intolerance.

‘ Such an effort, Benedict said, would be ‘a fundamental step toward the affirmation of the universal value of the dignity of man and his rights.’ Benedict told pilgrims at the papal vacation retreat in Castel Gandolfo that the declaration, born out of the first world conference on racism in Durban, South Africa, in 2001, recognized that ‘all peoples and persons form one human family, rich in diversity.’ But beyond such declarations, firm and concrete action is needed at national and international levels, he said.

The Vatican, an independent city state, holds observer status at the United Nations. It had already announced it will send a delegation to Geneva for the racism conference. Monsignor Silvano Maria Tomasi, the Vatican’s diplomat for the U.N. based in Geneva, had said some weeks ago that the Vatican was hoping that a ‘balanced’ final declaration could emerge from the conference, the Italian news agency ANSA reported.

Filed under: Culture, Politics, Social Justice

April 5, 2009 • 7:00 pm 1

World Fair Trade Day is May 9

Because we’re going to break the world’s record for the largest Fair Trade break on World Fair Trade Day, May 9th! We’re an ambitious bunch even when we’re relaxing.

Breaking the Record: The World’s Biggest Coffee Break

Catholic Relief Services is rallying its troops to get ready for World Fair Trade Day on May 9.

The CRS Fair Trade Fund is a proud sponsor, and we invite you to join us in celebrating the power of economic justice! Fair Trade supporters around the country will take a Fair Trade Break in an effort to break last year’s record, when 50,000 people in Finland took a Fair Trade Break. Find out how you can participate .

Filed under: Caritas, Catholic Relief Services, consumerism, Fair Trade, Social Justice, Spirituality

March 25, 2009 • 6:37 pm 0

RESPONSIBILITY, SOLIDARITY and SUBSIDIARITY THINK THE G8 IN CONNECTION WITH THE DOHA CONFERENCE

Statement by the

“Cardinal Van Thuân International Network”

on the occasion of this year’s G8

Underway over the last few years has been a substantial crisis of the model of global governance of the economy and finance founded on institutions that were either unable or unwilling to delve deeply into the issues of development, fair competition, and tax evasion. In fact, affirmed on one hand have been new “fora of power” – such as, for example, the G7/G8 – where there is a real possibility of having an impact on political and economic developments on this planet, while, on the other hand, the attributions of the United Nations and its agencies have lost much of the influence and effectiveness they have on paper.

During an economic and financial phase of blatant crisis when under discussion and review are the selfsame foundations of the dominant model of development, it appears essential to take a close and critical look at the mechanisms of global governance so they may implement not just stopgap measures needed to defend the status quo – and all its evident inequalities – but rather a new policy pursuing human development.

In this sense it is necessary to look with attention and hopefulness upon preparations for the G8 meeting scheduled to take place this July on La Maddalena Island (Italy), and in particular the meeting of the G20 due to take place in London at the very beginning of April.

A renewed global governance of the economy – as well as taxation and finance – must necessarily originate from three fundamental principles: responsibility, solidarity and subsidiarity .

In the light of evidence during the first part of this III millennium, clamorously timely are the prophetic words of Paul VI in Populorum Progressio : “Humanity is advancing along the path of history like the waves of a rising tide encroaching gradually on the shore. We have inherited from past generations and we have benefited from the work of our contemporaries: for this reason we have obligations towards all, and we cannot refuse to interest ourselves in those who will come after us to enlarge the human family” (n°17).

Therefore, the governance of the global economy must begin from individual and community mutual responsibilities so often disregarded in the itineraries of economic growth embarked upon by many countries now considered to be developed: responsibility towards economic systems having made less progress, towards the poorest of the poor, towards new generations, etc.

Responsibility which means consideration for the interdependence of action undertaken by the “big nations” with respect to global equilibrium, but also with respect to the equilibrium proper to other countries. A clear stand was taken in this sense by the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who, during his official visit to Benedict XVI, wrote the following in the Osservatore Romano: “This crisis has shown us that we cannot permit problems to worsen in one country, because the echo of their impact will be felt by one and all. It is therefore our common duty to see to it that the requirements of the poorest countries do not become secondary considerations embraced out of moral compulsion or feelings of guilt. The time has come to see developing countries included in the international solutions we need. And it is fundamental for these international solutions to take developing countries into consideration”. This is an ethical imperative, but it is likewise an economic opportunity. As Sollicitudo rei socialis sustains, the poor are a resource to be enhanced and not a burden to be shouldered. The failure of economic-financial policy relative to development and the fight against poverty will remain much of a failure if it is not based on the principle of responsibility.

Hand in hand with this, governance must then be reformulated through a larger democratic participation in decision-making processes – and hence responsibility as well – of all actors and stakeholders: the governments of developed countries, the major international financial institutions and international organizations, as well as the governments of developing countries, professional organizations of workers and entrepreneurs, and all the way to the full involvement of civil society. New rights to participate can be called only after the assumption of the duty to respect human rights and democracy.

Delicate indeed are the issues on the table because they involve not only the regulation of the international market of finance and related products – a problem as urgent as it is delicate – but also the inclusion of the less developed countries in international commercial circuits, fair international competition that would put an end to phenomena of speculation on the cost of labor and working conditions, transparent access to capital and financial product markets, or, in other words, a revisiting of so-called tax havens, the reduction of the volatility of capital whereby poor countries finance rich ones, and the battle against corruption. The recovery includes all this, and all this is unfeasible if it is not done together with the poor countries. Working for them means working for everyone.

During times as critical as these, international organizations and individual nations must do their own part, ever mindful of the need, however, for their endeavors to pursue the revival of subsidiarity. This does not preclude “providing aid”, and indeed so requires, but always with the end purpose of enhancing active participation and involvement at the grassroots level. Participation such as this constitutes the basic assumption for authentic human development, and this in economic terms as well. The risk inherent in sudden and ill pondered decisions to set public accounts aright is that of a ‘domino effect’ all the way down to the existential conditions of smaller scale expressions and realities of daily life: public administrations are not to download budget cuts on to civil society, but first attend to their own reform; states are only to step in with a spirit of indirect rather than direct replacement; the inclusion of poor countries is to entail the enhancement of their resources, including human resources.

We therefore trust and hope that the current series of international encounters coming to an end at La Maddalena (Italy) this July will ensure well structured linkage between concerns regarding both renewed financial stability and the economic recovery in developed countries and the sense of the Final Declaration of the Doha Conference on development financing held last December, as well as the Note of the Pontifical Council of Justice and Peace issued on 18 November 2008 precisely with a view to the Doha Conference.

Rt. Rev Giampaolo Crepaldi

CARD. VAN THUÁN INTERNATIONAL NETWORK

International Observatory Cardinal Van Thuân

for the Social Doctrine of the Church Verona (Italy)

Center of Social Catholic Thought, UCSP, Arequipa (Peru)

Paul VI Foundation, Madrid (Spain)

Filed under: Economic Policy, Market Place, Social Justice

March 22, 2009 • 7:24 pm 0

Operation Rice Bowl Continues: week 4 of Lent

Fourth Week of Lent: Solidarity Will Transform the World

Honduras

Located in Central America, Honduras is a resource-rich country that also struggles with the devastating effects of tropical storms and political conflict. More than one-third of the workforce is in agriculture, most as subsistence farmers. Through its Natural Resource programming, Catholic Relief Services helps farmers, like Martín Reyes Granados, to develop sustainable methods of farming, increasing their yield so they can sell their surplus.

Pray

What do we see when we look at the world with the light of Christ? We see a world so beloved by God that God entered our human existence in order to dwell in it with us. We see a world that sings of the presence of the divine, in its abundance, its beauty, its creative genius. And we see a world that continues to suffer as it waits for the peace, justice and common good promised in God’s reign. As Nicodemus discovered when he visited Jesus under the cover of darkness, if you want to associate with the Son of God, you have to be willing to walk with him into the light of day and get to work. In your prayer this week, express your gratitude for the many blessings that God has placed in your world. At the same time, reflect on the work that is still to be done, the suffering and need that occur right before us in the light of day. Ask God to give you the courage to respond with the compassionate light of Christ.

Fast

People are not the only ones to suffer from injustices, from imbalances of power, from conflict and greed. The earth suffers too as it is worked in ways that are not sustainable, as it is deforested, eroded, poisoned and paved over. This week, let your fast express care of the earth. Fast from foods that are produced in wasteful or inhumane ways and instead eat foods that are produced locally using sustainable and ethical methods. Fast from modes of transportation that pollute and waste resources, and instead walk, bike, carpool or take the bus. Fast from purchasing items that are over packaged, and instead bring your own bags to the grocery store or buy used items from a local non-profit thrift store. Fast from purchasing items that are produced using unfair labor conditions, and instead purchase items that are certified as Fair Trade.

Learn

Martín Reyes Granados learned he did not have to go it alone as a small subsistence cattle farmer living in Estancias, Honduras. By attending the CRS-sponsored Country School for Small Farmers, he found himself in a network of support and learning that helped him to change his farming practices and improve his entire agricultural community. The school teaches small farmers to learn from one another and share experiences and experimentation. After joining the school, Granados went from owning a small herd of cows that barely produced milk to running a small but productive dairy farm. Today he is working to improve his community and region as the president of a local dairy co-op and a member of the Fair Trade Network in Honduras.

Give

This week, free up some money for your Rice Bowl while implementing some cost-saving green principles in your own home. Here are several suggestions: * Instead of purchasing paper towels to clean up messes, cut up several old towels and t-shirts to make a pile of rags to keep in the kitchen and bathrooms. Drop them into a basket after you’ve used them, so you can wash and reuse them. Need a little extra scrubbing power? Wrap a rag in a plastic mesh fruit bag, the kind that oranges come in. These can be reused over and over again.

* Instead of purchasing window and counter cleaner, put a mixture of equal parts water and vinegar in a spray bottle. You can use this everywhere, from sinks to counters to windows. For your windows and mirrors, use newspaper instead of using paper towels.

* Instead of buying powdered cleansers, pull out the baking soda and the borax for a little extra scrubbing power.

* Instead of throwing the laundry in the drier with softening sheets, hang it outside to dry and to be freshened by the sun.

Put the money that you didn’t spend into your Rice Bowl this week.

Monies collected from Operation Rice Bowl, collected in the parishes during Holy Week, are split between local (25%) and international (75%) efforts.  The local amount remains in the Diocese of Youngstown for small grants to parishes and groups working to relieve hunger.  The 75% goes to Catholic Relief Services to provide humanitarian and long term development efforts around the world.  Thanks for your generosity.

Filed under: consumerism, Culture, Market Place, Personal Reflections, Social Justice, Spirituality

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