The Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities have had an active Peace and Justice Committee since the early 1980s. The committee focuses on increasing awareness through education and on promoting individual and communal action steps on issues of immediate concern and of more lasting impact. They meet four to six times a year to discern what most needs attention out of the vast array of emerging and ongoing issues.
Areas of concern:
• Reverencing creation
• Promoting peace for the world and for individuals
• Working with others including other religions of the world, to promote peace and justice for all
• Living out Gospel values and Catholic social teachings
Peace and Justice Links
VIVE in Buffalo
Vive, a refugee organization at La Casa in Buffalo, provides shelter, food, medical services, and legal assistance to world refugees seeking asylum.
In need of support through monetary donations, clothing, food, bedding, paper products, cleaning supplies, Vive also welcomes volunteers to play with children, work with the nurse, teach English, register refugees, serve meals, paint and clean, and enter data into computers.
Over the past 20 years, our sisters have served on the organization’s board of directors as well as on the staff of La Casa in Buffalo.
Western New York Peace Center
Nation
At the national level, we are alerted to issues by the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops (USCCB) and also secure excellent publications from them.
Network
Based in Washington, D.C., this group, founded in 1972 by 47 Catholic sisters, now has more than 100,000 members. Network uses lobbying and legislative action as avenues to greater justice and peace. Their site provides educational resources as well as ways to take action on priority issues and current legislation under consideration.
Pax Christi – USA
This national Christian group promotes nonviolence and seeks to transform structures of society toward peace and away from war.
Bread for the World
This nationwide Christian movement seeks to end hunger for all peoples of the world through lobbying our national legislators. We participate in their annual letter-writing campaign.
World
Zenit story on the Vatican Council for Justice and Peace
This Council, in November 2005, presented a Decalogue on Ethics and Environment. The full text of November 8, 2005, is available at Zenit News Agency.
Pax Christi International
Pax Christi International, a non-profit, non-governmental Catholic peace movement, works worldwide on issues of human rights, security and disarmament, economic justice, and ecology.
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is a world-wide movement working to prevent violations of people’s fundamental rights by governments.
Vatican – Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
Franciscans International
Has consultative status as a non-governmental organization at the United Nations. It is a network of Franciscans collaborating on world issues and a forum for the poor to have a voice at the United Nations.
Witness for Peace –
U.S. policies and the people in South and Central America
Center of Concern – Jesuit publications
A prophetic voice for justice in the age of globalization
Pace e Bene – Franciscan Friars of California
Committed to helping the dream of a nonviolent world become a reality.
African Faith and Justice Network –
a Voice for Africa in U.S. policy
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Your concerns – email us and we will respond to you
If you have an interest in one or more peace and justice topics, you may request from us titles of good printed and media resources and web sites.
If you have a particular concern, please write to us and we will do our best to answer your questions or steer you to someone who could.
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