Latest News
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Peace and Obama: Reflections of a Concerned Activist
By Allison Burket This first decade of the century was one largely defined by America’s response to 9/11 terrorist attacks. By declaring war on an evasive and loosely bound transnational network of extremists, the Bush administration promised increased security for the American people. Yet, this “we’re at war” way of viewing the rest of the…
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The Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops, “the African Reconciliation Project”: The role of Missionary Institutes
Written by Paul Saa-Dade Ennin sma, posted on January 29, 2009A member of the SMA General Council, Paul Saa-Dade Ennin, participates regularly in reflection sessions organised by SEDOS[1] of which he is an active member. As a preparation towards the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops, he shared his thoughts on the…
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Conference of the Catholic Episcopate of the Great Lakes Region Proposes Guidelines for Common Plan for Peace and Reconciliation in the Region
“The reason for coming together was to hold a conference with the goal of looking for ways and means to work together in order to better contribute as Church to peace building and to promote reconciliation in the Great Lakes Region. The theme of the conference was Conference of the Catholic Episcopate of the Great…
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Update on Northern Uganda/LRA Bill
Thanks again to everyone who signed our online petition earlier this year regarding the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act of 2009 (S. 1067, H.R. 2478). You’ll be happy to know that we succeeded in sounding the alarm about the bill’s readiness to encourage unspecified military action against the LRA and its leader,…
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Climate Change Debate in Copenhagen: U.S Fears and Opportunities
In his opening remarks at November 4th hearing entitled “Copenhagen and Beyond: Is there a Successor to the Kyoto Protocol?”, U.S house committee of international Relations’ Chairman, Congressman Howard Berman underscored what President Obama said in his recent speech at the United Nations in these terms: “…the world can no longer postpone a serious response…
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The Guinea Crisis
Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, the current head of state in Guinea was shot on Thursday, December 3, 2009 by his Camp aid Aboubakar Sidiki Diakite known as Toumba. According to Radio France International, Captain Dadis sustained serious head injuries. His condition is presumed to be serious. He was evacuated to Morocco where he is receiving medical attention….
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AFJN Europe on Corporate responsibility, Arms, Foreign land acquisitions, Agricultural policies and the development and much more
Corporate responsibility http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2009/11/2009111192747615233.html Thousands of people in Ivory Coast poisoned by toxic waste face being cheated out of $45m in compensation after the money, which was deposited in a bank account in the West African country, was frozen. At the same time, a local figure, claiming to be president of the National Co-ordination of Toxic…
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AFRICOM: When it comes to aid to Mali, paitence isn’t always a virture
By Allison Burket Ariticle originally published in the Nov-Dec 09 edition of Around Africa A recent conference on Capitol Hill, hosted by a think tank called the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (CADS) gave AFJN and other organizations an important insight into the ongoing definition and operation of the new military command for Africa (AFRICOM)….
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Message to the People of God Special Assembly of Bishops for Africa October 2009
PrefaceThe following pages contain the public message of challenge and hope that the Second Special Synod of Catholic Bishops for Africa offer to people of good will. This three week gathering which took place in Rome, Italy from October 4th to October 25th was an opportunity to review the situation both of Church and society in…
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Foreign aid reform: Overdue and in Need of Direction
Late August, President Obama issued a request for an interagency review of all U.S. global development policy, responding to the calls from civil society and members of his own administration. He thus added the “Presidential Study Directive on Global Development Policy” to the growing list of development-related initiatives taking place inside the beltway. In July,…
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Outreach Based on Need not Creed
By Rocco Puopolo s.x., Executive Director Bishop George Biguzzi of the Diocese of Makeni, Sierra Leone, was recently invited to Washington to make a presentation on migration in West Africa to the United States Catholics Conference of Bishops (USCCB) Migration and Refugees Services Department. As one of the West African bishop delegates to the African…
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World Food Day: A Time to Listen
October 16 is World Food Day at the UN, and this year focus is how to achieve food security in times of crisis. This is a timely topic on the heels of last year’s food price crisis, the recent financial crisis, and the ongoing and accelerating climate crisis – this year, the global financial crisis has pushed over 1 billion people into hunger, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s latest annual report. Africa in particular feels the pangs of such a global crisis, where around 30 percent of the total population is estimated to be suffering from chronic hunger and malnutrition.
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AFJN Supports an Informed Foreign Aid Reform
As part of the Presidential Study Directive on Foreign Assistance, initiated by President Obama at the end of August, the National Security Council has socilcited input from the NGO community on what U.S. development should look like. AFJN and several partner organizations signed the following statement expressing our position on how foreign aid does and…
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The Changing Face of Mission in Africa
By Rocco Puopolo, S.X., Executive Director As you read this very newsletter, a number of Bishops from Africa and around the world are meeting in Rome for the Second Special Assembly for Africa, commonly called the African Synod. The theme for this synod is The Church in Africa in Service to Reconciliation, Justice and Peace:…
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Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference Pastoral Letter on Healing and Reconciliation
Earlier this month, the Zimbabwain Bishops put out a powerful pastoral letter on healing and reconciliation in their nation, entitled “God Can Heal the Wounds of the Afflicted.” “Today, we all need healing from these hurts and from our guilt. This healing will facilitate reconciliation within and among ourselves and also with our Creator. With…
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U.S Ambassador to DRC on the Obama’s Administration Policies in Congo
During a panel discussion with the U.S. Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mr. Bill Garvelink hosted by the Washington DC chapter of the Society for International Development, Ambassador Garvelink started by saying that President Obama’s administration fully understand that a stable Congo implies a stable Central Africa given the fact that it…
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Climate Change Action: Celebrate the Feast of St. Francis
October is shaping up to be an important month for action on climate change. Last week alone, President Obama indicated his support for the Environmental Protection Agency’s plan to regulate and reduce carbon emissions from major U.S. industry polluters, and Senators Kerry and Boxer introduced their version of the House’s climate change bill to the…
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Clinton’s Visit: A New U.S.-DRC Relationship?
During her August trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Secretary of State Hillary Clinton saw her mission as the beginning of a new chapter in the U.S-DRC relationship. On August 11, 2009, in a private meeting with Congolese President, Joseph Kabila in Goma, Mrs. Clinton raised the following issues: army and police…
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Yes Africa Matters Website Launched!
Catholic Task Force on Africa announces the new websitewww.yesafricamatters.org. The Task Force uses the occasion of the Second Special Assembly for Africa, popularly known as the Second African Synod of Bishops, to offer this website. The Synod took place in Rome from October 4th to 25th in Rome. The theme of the Synod was “The Church in…
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D.R. Congo: A Call for Truth and Reconciliation
Justice in Democratic Republic of the Congo is mainly accessible to and protects the powerful, those who run the system, the politically connected, and the rich who influence decision making and can pay for years of trials. The poor and powerless are prosecuted and exploited with little or no hope except by subscribing to indigenous…
