Our articles and resources are prepared by staff, other members of the Columban community, and organizations the Columbans work with. We welcome their use for your prayerful reflection and your advocacy efforts.
Three months have now passed since the administration announced its intention to withdraw from the global climate accord known as the Paris Climate Agreement. The United States’ withdrawal left the world reeling. How has the world, and the Columbans, reacted?
On Sunday, June 18, the church marks the second anniversary of Pope Francis’ ground-breaking encyclical letter, On Care for Our Common Home, otherwise known as Laudato Si’. Perhaps now, more than ever, with record-breaking rises in the earth’s temperatures, sea levels, droughts and floods and other extreme weather events, the nations of the world are taking notice. Even more, now, the teaching of Laudato Si’ is relevant, in the wake of the U.S.’ dramatic pull-out of the historic 2016 Paris Agreement...
Welcome back to From the Hill, your bi-monthly update on all things Washington, DC. This month’s edition focuses on the process to fund the federal government called appropriations.
Praised be! On June 18, 2015 Columban missionaries welcomed and celebrated the release of Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment, Laudato Si’. The full title translated into English is Praised Be, On Care for Our Common Home and is available online for everyone to read. While it is written in a way that should be accessible to most readers, it is 190 pages long and full of many thought-provoking teachings on the right relationships between religion and science, and between...
Power and prosperity can stifle the Spirit, blind us to others and prevent us from understanding the weak. Witness the rich man who never understood or appreciated Lazarus at his door. (Lk 16:19-31) In 2013, the World Council of Churches met in Pusan, Korea, and published "Together Towards Life." One of its most challenging chapters is "Spirit of Liberation: Mission from the Margins." Jesus' mission was to liberate the oppressed, to open the eyes of the blind and to announce the Kingdom of God by opting to spend His time with the marginalized people of His day...
I welcomed the opportunity to represent Columban JPIC (Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation) at a recent conference on, ‘Nonviolence and Just Peace: Contributing to the Catholic Understanding of and Commitment to Nonviolence’. It was hosted by Pax Christi International and the Pontifical Council on Justice and Peace, and held in Rome from April 11-13, 2016. Participants gathered from Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and included lay people, theologians, and members of religious congregations, priests, and bishops...
by Hannes Zetzsche, a volunteer with the Missionary Society of St. Columban who is currently serving at the Hope Workers' Center in Zhongli, Taiwan..
From March 15 – 30, the Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach helped to host a delegation of indigenous and pastoral leaders from the Pan-Amazonian Church Network (REPAM). Indigenous and pastoral leaders from communities in Brazil, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia, shared stories of survival and hope. They were accompanied by Cardinal Claudio Hummes, a Brazilian Franciscan, former archbishop of Sao Paulo Brazil, and a close friend and advisor to Pope Francis...
The Standing Rock Sioux, other indigenous people and their allies are now gathering in Washington, D.C. to speak with policy makers about their sacred duty to protect the water, the land, all of creation. We are invited to join them in “standing up like a mountain” with our own prayers, advocacy and public witness...
Women in Africa are courageously speaking out about their particular concerns in areas scarred by mining and are pointing the way to a future of smaller-scale extraction of natural resources that benefits local communities and minimizes impact on Earth. We pray that their voices be heard in discussions of implementing global goals for sustainable development. Prayer: “God of love, may we grow in our love for you, responding with justice and mercy to the cry of the poor and with reverence...
