“it is not the use of violence that leads to peace. War calls on war, violence calls on violence. I invite all the parties involved and the international community to renew their commitment so that dialogue, justice and peace prevail.” Pope Francis, Audience, May 16, 2018
In a meeting with California officials to discuss Sanctuary Cities, Trump uttered the following: “We have people coming into the country, or trying to come in — and we’re stopping a lot of them — but we’re taking people out of the country. You wouldn’t believe how bad these people are. These aren’t people. These are animals.”
Below is a “Call to Solidarity” from The Asociación de Trabajadores del Campo (ATC), or Rural Workers Association in Nicaragua in relationship to the current political crisis. As the international media continues to emphasize only the voices of opposition groups, it is important that we work to get out other perspectives on what is happening.
The world’s major media outlets have spoken, and the verdict is in: Daniel Ortega is on his way out. After years of cronyism, his dictatorial rule has met with mass popular resistance, a resistance Ortega’s government responded to with unprecedented force. All of this signals that Ortega is isolated and clueless, and that “the people” have had enough.
We all know we’re going to die. We understand that fact intellectually, but few of us have what Heidegger called an “authentic being towards death.” For most of us that only comes, if at all, when we come face to face with it – when our death is imminent. Sometimes we get a momentary sense of it when someone close to us dies, especially if that death is unexpected, or if we witness a death.
Part VI of the Inspirational and Influential Women of the World Blog Series
"Don't Call Me A Saint." - Dorothy Day
As briefly noted yesterday, Thursday was an eventful day for church, state, and everything in between.
On April 13 and 14, 2018, the Quixote Center Reunion gathered long-standing QC friends and former and current staff members to celebrate our shared history of pursuing impossible dreams. If it felt at times like a high school or college class reunion, there is a good reason. Since its founding 42 years ago, the Quixote Center has often functioned as a school where young, idealistic people learned about the nuts and bolts of working for peace and justice.
More on this tomorrow, but...today, on the National Day of Prayer, Trump ushered into being a White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative to attend to “poverty, religious liberty, education, strengthening the family, helping prisoners, mental health and human trafficking.”
I’m sure they’ll do a great job.
Over the last week there have been a number of stories that have illustrated the ways in which the Trump administration’s war on immigrants is having a disproportionate impact on children. From continuing a hard line against the caravan of migrants, mostly people fleeing violence in Honduras, to the shocking admission that the administration lost track of 1,500 immigrant children last year, the war on immigration is hurting families, and doing so with the intention of discouraging their claims for asylum in the United States.
Caravan Update
Part V of the Inspirational and Influential Women of the World Blog Series
Click here to support Sister Pauline's work in Uganda
Sister Pauline Quinn, a Dominican recognizable in her full habit, is best known for launching one of the first, revolutionary, prison puppy programs in the United States, expanding it to dozens of prisons around the world, and inspiring similar programs across the country.
The NICA Act is legislation proposed by Ted Cruz (R-TX) in the U.S. Senate (a version has already passed in the House) that would require the U.S. representatives at multilateral institutions to vote against new loans for Nicaragua (at the World Bank and IMF that means a veto). The NICA Act is in response to U.S. “concerns” over electoral manipulation by the Sandinistas, and would require suspension of assistance until democratic reforms are undertaken.
