Missionary Oblates JPIC Office – 2017 Year in Review

 Originally Published on OMIUSAJPIC.ORG

Here are highlights of the JPIC Ministry’s activities and engagements in 2017. We look forward to continuing our engagement with you in 2018! Wishing you a blessed NEW YEAR!

• January: Fr. Seamus Finn, OMI, along with Fr. Joseph Gomes, OMI, of Bangladesh, attended  a UNIndigenous forum in New York
• February: OMI UN Representative Fr. Daniel LeBlanc and JPIC Director Fr Antonio Ponce jointly led a JPIC workshop in Guatemala
• February: Prompted by alarming executive actions by the new administration, former U.S. Provincial Fr. Bill Antone, OMI invited Oblates and Associates to reflect on the nation’s challenges in a letter titled, Responding to Signs of Our Times in the Spirit of St. Eugene de Mazenod
• February: Fr. Seamus P. Finn, OMI made a presentation on Catholic Investing at a Catholic Community Foundation event in Minnesota
• February: OMI JPIC  launched its new and improved website with a fresh design, color scheme, and navigation options.
• April: On the eve of the People’s Climate March in Washington, DC the local ABC News affiliate interviewed Gail Taylor of Three Part Harmony Farm and Alison Cohen of WhyHunger on their missions to “end hunger and poverty by connecting people to nutritious, affordable food and by supporting grassroots solutions that inspire self-reliance and community empowerment.”
• June: On World Refugee Day JPIC promoted actions for Refugees and Migrants
• June: JPIC issued alerts and participated in an Interfaith Health Coalition prayer vigil at the U.S Capitol in Washington, DC to voice concern over Medicaid cuts in the health care bill.
• June: JPIC reported on a public protest in Sri Lanka by Families of Disappeared People and significant participation by Oblate fathers of Jaffna and Colombo, who stood stand in solidarity with these families
• June: Las Casa Memorias Hospice Vegetable Garden launched in Tijuana, Mexico
• July: Missionary Oblates took the pledge and joined  the national Catholic Campaign to End theUse of The Death Penalty
• Throughout 2017: JPIC promoted actions and conducted advocacy in support of the DeferredAction for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Act. We distributed resources, issued action alerts, participated in a local prayer vigil and contributed an official  letter to the ’50 letters’ campaign urging Congress to uphold the Dream Act
• August: JPIC reported on an article in The Economist  that referenced the work of OIP Investment Trust
• August: OMI JPIC USA and OMI Lacombe Canada co-hosted a climate symposium, “The Cry of the Earth is the Cry of the Poor, the New Faces of Poverty.” The event took place at St Paul University in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and was streamed live.
• September: JPIC Committee Member Sr. Maxine Pohlman was presented with the 2017 Confluence Conservation Leadership Award at the annual Mississippi Earth tones Festival in Alton, IL
• Throughout 2017: JPIC developed resources, issued action alerts and partnered with other groups to raise awar
  

  Sr. Maxine Pohlman, SSND

  eness and conduct advocacy around issues related to Human Trafficking.

• November: JPIC issued an action alert urging Members of Congress to extend Temporary Protected Status for Haitians
• December: JPIC Director Fr Antonio Ponce, OMI, was assigned to a formation ministry in San Antonio, TX and Br Jason Rossignol, OMI, was officially appointed the new JPIC director.