I first encountered Thomas when I joined the Passionist community as a postulant, at a very impressionable age. He was controversial; he seemed unusually smart. It was quite captivating, for a young postulant.
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As part of the Passionist Solidarity Network support for projects affiliated with the two U.S. Provinces, a new pilot program in Haiti designed by Fr. Hugo Esparza CP has been funded with a $5000 grant. The grassroots initiative called Konbit Pierre Toussaint, is a program that will enable young Haitians to serve their community and to receive human, religious and professional formation. Fr. Hugo says the project is "inspired by the Passionist Volunteer programs in the USA to create the same opportunity for young Haitians. We started our pilot program with seven young men and women. All of them are formers volunteers at our Kids-Youth Program called Little Stones. All seven of them will volunteer for 10 months part time" The Project is aptly named for the now Venerable Toussaint who was born in Haiti and brought to New York City as a slave. Pierre died a free man and one of New York City’s most well-known Catholics. In New York, plantation owner Pierre Bérard made Toussaint a house slave and allowed his grandmother to teach her grandson how to read and write. It is fitting that Fr. Esparza's project in Haiti will work with young men and women as "alphabetization agents" who are aiding adults that need to learn or improve their capacity in reading and writing. Konbit is a Creole word that reflects rural life in Haiti. A Konbit is a coming together of friends and family members to work in each other’s garden or farms. Watch this video of Fr. Hugo report on his work in Haiti during the 2019 Holy Cross Provincial Chapter. We continue our focus on the effects the extraction of natural resources, such as oil, gas, and minerals. Historically this can be a huge money maker for commercial investment. For those who live in the areas of extraction, it can also be deadly and exploitative, often resulting in extreme poverty and human rights abuses. Extraction provides oppressive governments a huge source of income, preserving their power, while the exploited lands Lands can become polluted and uninhabitable.
As the Amazon Synod meets to discuss a variety of ecological issues and faith connections, the Maryknoll office of Global Concern has summarized them nicely with this article. The fires burning in the Amazon give new urgency to these conversations as so many of the issues facing the region (and the world) are related to extractive industries. Also see this story from a Spanish language website with the perspective of people most effected by mining and fires in the rain forests. http://iglesiasymineria.org/ (as needed, use your browser's "translate" when you open the webpage) Given that the vast majority of scientists agree with this conclusion, it is hard to comprehend why our elected governments refuse to take steps to respond to this crisis. Instead, they continue to deny our role in climate change and go on with business as usual. Clearly they believe that the people who elected them want them to continue to focus on promoting an economy that will deliver the unsustainable lifestyle they have become accustomed to. Their voters fear losing this in the present more than they fear facing some future disaster that will probably take place after they have died. Read the full blog post from JPIC Australia |
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