JPIC

When I read the rest of the paper, I had so many - too many - thoughts. But I will spare you and try to be brief and concentrate on the recomendations because there are some that we can carry out personally and as fraternities.

I must admit at the outset that the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (D&P) sprang to mind frequently as a vehicle through which we can act to implement the recomendations of FI.

In the recomendations FI reaffirmed the importance of the extremmely poor to the right of participating in the decisions that affect them. If you want a really good example of this approach having been most effective you need only to get hold of the D&P dvd "After the Tsunami- Rebuilding our villages, our lives". If you want to show this to your fraternity ask your local D&P members or let me know and I can send you my script notes and other material and help you get a dvd. As Franciscans we are hopeful and trust in God, well, this will make you sing with joy!

Recomendation 1 asks for Governments to take administrative and legislative action. Again that's exactly what the D&P campaigns do! So go to www.devp.org and click on campaigns and do them! They are mentioned in the OLOTA JPIC Action Plan 2008 and 2009 which every fraternity has.

Recomendation 2 was about cancelling the national debt of poor countries. D&P did a campaign on that a few years back and of the approx 600,000 cards recieved by the Canadian government close to 500,00 came from Catholics due to D&P.

Recomendation 3 is about microcredit. Check out Oikocredit on google.

Recomendation 4 is about impact assesments. Check out Bishop Luc Bouchard's recent Pastoral letter on the Alberta Oilsands.(See under Announcements from Andrew Conradi)

Recomendation 5 is about solidarity. Everything we do to help reduce poverty is an act of solidarity. But only if we act. We must make time. Sorry, prayer is only the basis of action and alone is not enough (unless we are incapable of action due to circumstances beyond our control. Signing a petion is not difficult but actually doing something more concrete is difficult for most people).

Recomendation 6 is about the duty of duty holders to do their duty (Gotta love my way with words!) That means our governments and businesses and us personally. Do what we can. Work together in our fraternities.Pressure Government and business. Its our duty! Even simple things like buying Fair Trade chocolate, tea and coffee help reduce poverty in the global south.

Recomendations 7-11 are not for us.

Recomendation 12 is for Non governmental organiztions to be active. They are and they need our support. So support FI and D&P!

The foregoing are all small concrete actions that we can do. They must be based on prayer and continuing interior conversion.

Forgive my rant (its my job!).
Pax et bonum,
Andrew