Content in this edition: i) JPIC General Chapter proposals – an additional one; ii) New JPIC Team; iii) News from the Conferences; iv) JPIC Animation Committee meeting; v) JPIC European Continental meeting, 2004; vi) Franciscan Nonviolence Book in Portuguese; vii) Franciscans International and the Nobel Symposium; vii) Free Trade – some worries; viii) interesting web sites; ix) new JPIC provincial animators.

 

JPIC office Web page: Please visit our web page at: www.ofm-jpic.org or through the Curia page www.ofm.org and click on to the Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation office marker. There is a section entitled “What’s new?”, where all the latest items in different languages are placed.

 

Proposals of the General Chapter for Justice Peace and Integrity of Creation: (http://www.ofm.org/01other/DocFinCG.html)

 

Important note: Due to an oversight we neglected to include another important Chapter proposal regarding JPIC:

 

(41). The General Chapter requests that courses dedicated to JPIC, in which special attention is paid to the topics of creation and non-violence be established at the Pontificium Athenaeum Antonianum (PAA) of Rome and recommends that similar courses be given in all the Franciscan Institutes of Higher Education.

 

New JPIC Team:

Two full time brothers have been appointed to the JPIC office. They are Rodrigo C. Amédée Peret ofm, (48) Foundation of our Lady of Fatima, Brazil – Province of Salerno, Italy - and Alejandro Castillo Morga, (35) Holy Gospel Province, Mexico. Both have worked in their entities in JPIC, as well as at the International level on the JPIC animation committee. They assume responsibility for the office in November. They are competent and well qualified brothers for the job. Rodrigo has worked with and for the landless for many years. He coordinated the JPIC commission of the Brazilian Conference for six years, until 2000. He has been a member of the JPIC Animation Committee of the International Council of the Order for six years (1994-2000). He was appointed as liaison with Franciscans International by the Brazilian inter-Franciscan JPIC commission. As a simply professed brother Alejandro was a member of his province’s JPIC commission and an active member of the Conference JPIC commission. He set up the inter-Franciscan JPIC commission in Mexico city. While working he pursued a Masters degree in Human Rights He was appointed to the JPIC Animation Committee of the Order two years ago.

 

Former JPIC team email addresses: Peter Schorr ofm, now in Vossanack, Germany, can be reached at: schorr.peter@debitel.net Gearóid Francisco Ó Conaire ofm, can be reached at: gfoconaire@yahoo.co.uk

 

 

JPIC news from Central Europe: News and publications from the JPIC commission of the Central European Conference in the German language can be accessed on their web page: http://www.franziskaner.de/d_wmf.php

JPIC news from Central America:

1) Ecology Seminars in Guatemala : Members of the JPIC Salvadorian JPIC office team (Patricia Quinteros and Xiomara Ventura), invited by the JPIC commission and the Franciscan Centre of Guatemala, promoted six environmental seminars there. 2) Fasting and prayer for peace in El Salvador: As part of the world peace day, established by the United Nations, the JPIC commission, along with the Poor Clares, organized a day of prayer, fast and reflection in the Poor Clare Monastery in San Salvador, attended by 100 people on Sept 20^th. 3) Parish Ecology Teams: the process of forming parish ecology teams continues in San Salvador. The pilot project promoted by the JPIC commission, consisting of seven parishes of the Vicariate of Mons. Romero, started two years ago, will be extended to the remaining ten parishes in 2004. As part of the preparation, a lay missionary, Anna Hoekstra, is doing a survey. She hopes to establish what expectations the parishes, about to embark on ecology seminars, have for the future. Also on what the parishes, which have already established Ecology teams, expect of them now.

 

JPIC News from Japan: The Japanese version of the JPIC Resource Book is available on the JPIC office web page. The commission has also translated the “Sister Water” document and intends to publish it, along with a re-printing of the Climate Change Document.

 

New Indonesian JPIC Team: Peter Amon ofm, former JPIC coordinator, has just started Doctoral studies in Moral in Rome. A number of friars and lay staff continue the work in the JPIC office in Jakarta. They are Mike Peruche (Coordinator), Marinus Nuhan (General Secretary), Save Adir (Economo), The staffs are: Alex Aur, Cypri Jehan. The e-mail addresses of the office are: jpicofm@hotmail or jpicofm@yahoo.au

 

JPIC news from Indonesia: Peter Amon ofm, recently participated at a Seminar on the 40th Year of Pacem in Terris in Jogyakarta, jointly organized by the OFM-JPIC commission and Bhumiksara (Association of the Catholic Intellectuals in Indonesia). In November 2003 the new team will organize another workshop on JPIC for the Franciscan family. The first workshop took place in July 2003. As a result of this workshop a JPIC inter-Franciscan secretariat was established. For the moment OFM-JPIC run the secretariat. The JPIC commission are drawing up guidelines and elaborating material for the JPIC education of the students in Franciscan high schools.

 

Incorporating JPIC into Education Programmes for schools: Two hundred youth gathered in Jakarta to celebrate the Feast of St. Francis. They were from 10 different Franciscan High Schools around Jakarta. Each group presented a show, focussing on JPIC values such as “say no to violence; stop inter-ethnic attacks; save the planet our common home, concern for the poor and homeless, etc”. It was the first time young people were involved in the feast day celebrations. The event was jointly organized by the Franciscan Family. The evaluation proposed the event be celebrated annually. Prayers were offered by members of different religions: Islam, Protestant, Hindu, Budha and Catholic. They concluded with the Peace Prayer of St. Francis.

 

JPIC themes for use in Franciscan Schools: Another initiative of the JPIC Office has been the preparation of suitable JPIC themes, now accepted by the federation of Franciscan Schools in Indonesia as part of their school curriculum.

 

Franciscans in Croatia Advocate the Rights of the Workers: The Franciscan Institute for the Culture of Peace (JPIC) in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina initiated a campaign on May 1, 2003, together with the Caritas Croatia, trade unions and the associations of employers to ban work in shops on Sundays. The Parliament recently enacted a law as a result of this campaign, to avoid a referendum, after more than three hundred thousand signatures were collected.

 

JPIC and Inter-provincial Novitiate programme, Italy: Nicola Riccardi ofm, in the final stages of a doctoral programme and a member of the inter-provincial novitiate team, is developing a programme on JPIC for the Novices. It has three principal parts: i) the Church in the World (Gaudium et Spes, the signs of the times, the centrality of the person and his/her activities); ii) personal and social ethics and iii) Social Ethics themes (integral development of the person, JPIC, just trade and the globalization of markets). Nicola asked the JPIC office for a copy of the JPIC Resource Book for each of the Novices, as well as all the available JPIC materials, to help develop the course.

 

Formators and JPIC animators historic meeting: for the first time ever all of the formators of the Italian provinces met to share and discuss the theme of JPIC and how to incorporate it into the formation programmes at every level, in Assisi, on September 25, 2003. Both meetings were organized to coincide with one another so as to have some time together. The overall evaluation was very positive with an open and frank discussion taking place. It is hoped that some systematic initiatives will be developed so as to ensure the incorporation of JPIC into each stage of the initial and ongoing formation programmes.

 

 

JPIC Animation Committee meeting: With the participation of the new JPIC team the Animation Committee of the International council will meet in Rome, November 1-7, 2003. Two members, Teddy Lennon ofm, South Africa and Cesare Azimonti, Italy, will participate for the first time. The agenda is very full. The meeting will start to orientate the new members as well as initiate JPIC planning for the next six years, based on the General Chapter resolutions and the agreements reached at the JPIC International Council meeting at San Luis Rey, December 2002. Francisco will hand over the running of the office to Rodrigo and Alejandro during the meeting.

 

European JPIC Continental meeting: The European JPIC Conference coordinators from four of the six Conferences (José Lucas Tejera ofm Confres, Markus Heinze ofm, Mefra, Piotr Kwoczala ofm, West Slav and Cesare Azimonti ofm, COMPI and Francisco Ó Conaire ofm from the Rome office), set the date for the second JPIC European Continental meeting. It will take place in Santiago di Compostella, Spain, during the Holy Year, October 17 – 24, 2004. A detailed programme was drawn up, based on the experiences of the first meeting in Assisi 2002, on the formation needs of JPIC animators and challenges facing Franciscans in Europe. The programme is being translated into different languages and will be made available through the conference coordinator. For copies in Italian write to Cesare at: c.azimonti@tin.it

 

Inter-Franciscan JPIC meeting in the U.S.: possibly the first ever JPIC meeting of the Franciscan Family will take place in New York, November 7-14, 2003. The theme will be on Franciscans International. A visit to the FI office in New York as well as a visit to the United Nations offices is part of the programme. For further information contact Mark Schroeder ofm.

 

Franciscan Nonviolence: The Portuguese translation of the Franciscan Nonviolence Book is on the JPIC office web page. Go to: http://www.ofm-jpic.org/peace/index.html

 

English Speaking JPIC report: for a copy of the report, October 2002 – October 2003, presented at a recent meeting of the Provincials, write to Mark Schroeder ofm at: bromarko@att.net

 

“Sister Water” document: Check the web page for new language additions: www.ofm-jpic.org/agua (most recently in Polish and soon in Maltese and Slovak).

 

Franciscans International (FI) – John Quigley OFM, jquigley@compuserve.com – participated in October at the 125th Nobel Symposium in Oslo, Norway, which is focused on the Right to Development (RTD). The world’s leading development economists, human rights experts, and officials of development agencies explored the meaning and practical implications of rights-based approaches to development. Franciscans International were among a handful of NGO’s invited to participate, a sign of respect for FI’s work and an opportunity to influence the direction on the right to development debate. For further information go to the new-look web site: www.FranciscansInternational.org

 

Free Trade Pact Has Hurt the Farming Sector - a conclusion reached at the October meeting of the Commission for Social Pastoral Care (CEPS) of the Mexican and U.S. bishops' conferences, assisted by specialists of the farming sector. They emphasised that Economic development must put people first. Since the free trade agreement in 1997 (NAFTA) between the US, Canada and Mexico unemployment increased by 2 million in the Mexican agricultural sector. An estimated 300,000 Mexicans cross the border annually in search of work in the United States. This agreement has led to "the collapse of the productive structure" and "the weakening in workers' acquisitive power -- the current minimum salary represents 22.9% of the salary of 20 years ago." These evaluations will help to throw light on some of the likely outcomes if the proposed free trade agreement for the whole of the Americas, due to come into effect in 2005, comes into effect.

 

Canadian Bishops Pastoral letter on Ecology: This letter published on the feast of St. Francis can be accessed in English and French at: http://www.cccb.ca/Files/pastoralenvironment.html

 

Genetically Modified Seeds: The long-running debate over genetically modified crops is being examined by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. A panel of scientists, convened by the Vatican will meet in Rome in November.

 

Web sites:

§      "Pacem in Terris": The Vatican has decided to republish Pope John XXIII's 1963 encyclical "Pacem in Terris" because of its relevance for world peace today. For copies in different languages go to: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_xxiii/encyclicals/index.htm

§      World Coalition against the death penalty: Claud Vermot ofm, from France alerts us to a multilingual site agaist the death penalty: www.worldcoalition.org

• Powerpoint presentation of the Catholic Social Teaching (Archdiocesis of St. Paul)

in English: well worth a visit at: http://www.osjspm.org/cst/cst.ppt They also have many resources in the Spanish language at: http://www.osjspm.org/cst/

 

Change of Addresses/new appointments:

§      Ecuador: Luis Fernando Barahona ofm, new provincial JPIC animator for the Province of Ecuador. His address is: Convento de San Francisco, Apartado 03-01-730 Ecuador. He can be reached by sending emails to Walter Heras ofm, the new provincial, at waljhese@hotmail.com

§      Colombia: Hernán Elías Peña Quijano ofm, new JPIC animator for the Sant Fe Province of Colombia. His email is hernan.pena@usbbog.edu.co

• Franciscans International (Geneva): Fr Yves Soudan OFM, France, an expert on economic and development issues, has joined the team in Geneva.
• Franciscans International (Bolivia): IHardingOFM@FI-Bolivia.ORG

 

Gearóid Francisco Ó Conaire, OFM

OFM JPIC Office

Via S. Maria Mediatrice 25

00165 Rome, ITALY

E-mail: pax@ofm.org     Web: http://www.ofm.org/

Tel: (+39-06) 6849-1218 Fax: (+39-06) 6849-1266