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Celebrations and concerns at Justice and Peace AGMs


 L-R: Pat Gaffney, Jose Henriquez, Anne Peacey, Tina Beattie and Ann Dodd

L-R: Pat Gaffney, Jose Henriquez, Anne Peacey, Tina Beattie and Ann Dodd

Justice and Peace (J&P) work nationally was celebrated on Saturday at the joint AGMs of the National Justice and Peace Network (NJPN) and Pax Christi, amidst worries that this mission is not more central to Catholic leaders in England and Wales. The day, at Holy Apostles parish hall in London’s Pimlico, was attended by more than 100 people from across England and Wales.

NJPN administrator Ann Kelly, expressed “a lot of concern about the loss of J&P fieldworkers in dioceses” over the past year. “J&P is not being given any priority at diocesan level in many places so we are losing ready contacts at that level”. She added that “now only one diocese – Liverpool - still has a full-time fieldworker”. Ann produces a weekly roundup of campaigning information sent out to contacts. She reported that in a recent NJPN survey most J&P contacts in the dioceses of England and Wales felt they did not get enough support in their dioceses and were also very uncertain about the future.

However, more upbeat news included the success of last year’s packed annual NJPN conference focusing on China, and the bookings coming in at a pace for this July’s conference, with US theologian Megan McKenna as keynote speaker.

The NJPN Environment Working Party reported on pushing the Live Simply Parish Award and was cheered by representatives in the room from West Green and Hitchin parishes in Westminster Archdiocese which recently won the award. The working party is also pushing Creation Time, the ecumenical initiative focusing on care for creation from 1 September – 4 October, plus urging engagement with the ecumenical initiatives Christian Ecology Link and Operation Noah.

NJPN’s Ethical Investment Working Party reported that it continues to try and get environmental criteria into diocesan ethical investment policies, as only four currently have this. Columban JPIC was thanked by NJPN Chair Anne Peacey for supporting distribution three times a year of the NJPN newsletter to more than 6,500 contacts, and the Mill Hill Missionaries for giving financial support to website production. And there was appreciation to the Catholic Bishops Conference and CAFOD for providing office space and rooms for meetings. Religious present, particularly JPIC Religious Links representatives, reported that they would be at the IF Religious Lobby on Food at the Houses of Parliament on 15 May, in the leadup to June’s G8 meeting.

The Pax Christi AGM too reported disappointment regarding episcopal engagement. “We have made very little headway in our efforts to engage bishops on nuclear war, our paper on the use of drones, and military chaplains” reported Pax Christi chair Ann Dodd. There was appreciation for Peace Sunday outreach in parishes, but the terrible weather in January 2013 has meant that income is down this year.

General Secretary Pat Gaffney reported on Pax Christi’s successful seminar last year on drones and its recent presence at an RAF Waddington protest “now that drones is a domestic issue”.

Israel/Palestine is another key area and she said that Pax Christ was among faith-based groups trying to raise the issue of the Israeli occupation . A relevant Kairos UK document will be launched at the Greenbelt Festival in the summer, and in October a small Pax Christi group will visit the region to build links with Israeli and Arab Israeli peacemakers.

A campaign to raise awareness of the massive scale of military spending worldwide, even in times of economic downturn, included the production of a Pax Christi youtube video for the first time. It was noted that a Catholic school in Leamington Spa sent teachers and pupils to the Ash Wednesday annual service of repentance at the Ministry Defence this year, deploring the planning for nuclear war in that building. It was hoped that other schools will follow the example of Trinity Catholic School in the future and join Pax Christi, engaging with its peace education outreach.

Bruce Kent, who is currently concluding a ‘Scrap Trident’ tour of Britain, urged everyone to bring concern about nuclear weapons to the attention of political and religious leaders. “This is a passionately urgent issue in our world today” he said. The Secretary General of Brussels-based Pax Christi International, José Henríquez from El Salvador, was present at both AGMs. He said afterwards that: “the focus on values and the commitment to acting together is very powerful in terms of living the Gospel”.

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