News - Full Stories
January 2009

Coming February 1st - A new-look overhauled website to celebrate our 90th Anniversary

Scarboro Missions celebrates 90th Anniversary with mass and luncheon (Nov. 9, 2008)

Two new Posters to celebrate 90th Anniversary

On November 9th this year, Scarboro Missions celebrates its 90th year of service to God's mission. Scarboro is so very grateful to the Church in Canada and the thousands of benefactors who have been so generous in their support of our work over the years - all of whom are remembered in our daily prayer and Eucharist.

To assist in the animation of the Church in Canada in its commitment to global mission, Scarboro is issuing two new posters (attached) that reflect two areas of concern for Scarboro and its outreach.

1. Catholic Milestones in Interfaith Dialogue: this poster is intended to help members of the Church in Canada appreciate the wonderful leadership and initiative of the Popes and the Vatican in the area of interreligious dialogue since the 1960's. Click here to see poster

2. Catholic Social Thought: this second poster is based on the rich tradition of the Social Teaching of the Church and highlights the key principles in this area. Click here to see poster. For Catholic Social Teaching documents, go to the Justice & Peace Section.

LAY MISSION OFFICE NEWS

Listen, Learn and Proclaim

by Kate O'Donnell
Lay Mission Office

It was a joy and a privilege to attend the CAM3 Congress held in Quito, Ecuador, August 2008. Five of us attended this congress as Scarboro delegates, namely, Kathy Murtha, Fr. Terry Gallagher, Julia Duarte-Walsh, Peter Bagnall and Kate O'Donnell. We stayed with local families, which was indeed an interesting experience and it helped us with the language and the culture.

The congress was attended by about three thousand delegates from the Americas with the majority of people coming from Latin and South America. It was indeed an uplifting and energizing experience to be with so many missioners and the presence of the Holy Spirit was very evident as we prayed, sang and danced in unity.

The theme for the congress was; Listen, Learn and Proclaim. The speakers were energizing as they encouraged us to be missioners proclaiming the love of God for all people.

We attended the congress for three days and spent a day with our host families visiting various areas of Quito. We spent a day and a half with Fr. Charlie Gervais who continues to mission in Riobamba. He took us to San Paulo to meet the Indigenous people that Scarboro Missions has worked with for many years. It was a pleasure to visit with these wonderful people who made us feel very welcome and proudly showed us around their village. It is good to see that the work Scarboro started continues with much enthusiasm. We also had a chance to visit the seminary in Chambo; this project was built under the guidance of Fr. Frank Hegel. Everyone we met spoke very highly of all the Scarboro missioners that have worked in the area. For me personally this visit to Riobamba was the highlight of our trip. It was indeed a privilege as well as a humbling experience to be so warmly embraced by such a loving community.

We returned to Quito to attend the closing mass of the congress. It was held at the Super Dome in Quito and about 25,000 people were in attendance. This mass was lively and energizing. Unfortunately we did not have translators so we were unable to understand the homily but the feeling of love and unity was very evident.

New Dormitories and Refectory

Glenn Harty
Scarboro Lay Missioners in Thailand

Glenn (and his wife Anne) were missioned to Thailand in 2006. They are both involved in teaching English. Glenn also oversees the construction of multiple building projects, one of them being the new dormitories.

Our previous Priest and Head Administrator of Nuchanat Anusorn School, Father Komkrit had a dream to educate and prepare the children of the Wiang Pa Pao area to become morally responsible adults and leaders of Thailand. As of this year, we have complete classes, from kindergarten through to grade twelve, making a total of nineteen hundred students.

It was also Father Komkrit's plan to build two dormitories, one for the girls and one for the boys along with another building to house a kitchen and dining area, all to be used by the grade twelve students. He, along with his right hand person, Sister Bene, were successful in raising enough funds for the two dormitories. The types of dwellings and living conditions that many of our students come from vary greatly from those in larger centers where universities, colleges, and vocational centers are located. It was because of this knowledge Father Komkrit wanted the grade twelve students to experience future living conditions and gain life skills before venturing out on their own.

The plans were drawn up, the location picked out and the contractor had been chosen. Then the unthinkable happened, Father Komkrit was in an automobile accident and died instantly on June 21 2007. That left the entire Catholic Mission in Wiang Pa Pao in shock and chaos. Thank God for the many Sisters, who were able to hold the community together, as well as the dream of Father Komkrit. Sister Bene became even more earnest to have the dormitories built. However, because of the delay, prices had increased substantially, and Sister Bene fell short of raising enough money to complete the refectory but managed to raise enough to receive permission from the Bishop to begin construction on the dormitories, which began on Dec 30 2007. We, at the Catholic Mission are most grateful to all the benefactors both from Thailand and abroad who have been so generous to date.

These buildings are to house some of the grade twelve students who along with their parents or sponsors would have to agree to a very disciplined lifestyle with the purpose of gaining expected life skills. Some of our students are very bright and show much promise but unless there are different avenues and opportunities, it is all too easy to end their education here at Nuchanat Anusorn School. As mentioned, it will be a highly disciplined atmosphere where the students will be expected to make wise choices about their behavior, if, they want to remain a part of the program. They will also be in charge of regular house keeping chores, along with preparing a certain amount of their own meals. Their lunch will be made for them while they are at school but the other meals including food purchasing and preparation will be their responsibility. It is hoped that the students will develop time management skills as well as learning how to maintain a food budget. Laundry and ironing will be each student's responsibility. They will need to understand that a certain level in their academic studies will have to be maintained. At this time it is expected that the students who live close to the school will be able to go home one weekend per month, the others, as reason permits.

With Father Komkrit deceased and no permanent replacement for him, Sister Bene asked me if I would like to become involved with the dormitory project and be the building supervisor during construction as well as the liaison between the contractor and the school. It has been a privilege for me to assist in making Father Komkrit's dream become a reality. I work closely with the construction foreman, Mr. Mack, to make sure the building is structurally sound, using local labor and methods that are quite different from the ones used in Canada. We have had our struggles but I think we have learned from each other and due to mutual respect, we have a very good working relationship.

It was my hope from the beginning that all the employees would take pride in their work and the buildings, and have come to realize that they do indeed have that pride and I don't ask for anything more.

Careful where you set your Foot!

Susan Keays
Scarboro Lay Missioner in Thailand

Susan Keays was missioned to Thailand in 2002 and is presently working with Wildflower Home which assists young mothers in crisis and their children. The young mothers include refugee women from Laos and Myanmar, women from several different tribes, and also some Thai women. WFH (Wildflower Home House) offers them safe shelter, counseling, medical care, literacy and vocational training ... in short, whatever it is that a woman might need to help her become self-sufficient and able to support herself and her children.

My guardian angel was really looking out for me recently. I was very upset about something ... one of our babies had taken a serious fall ... and after he left for the hospital I went out to "walk it off" (incidentally the baby turned out to be fine – no serious injuries). As I walked I was pretty distracted but just before I put my foot down on what looked like a lime green leaf stem it registered somewhere in the deep recesses of my brain that it was an awfully long leaf stem, so I thrust my foot forward an extra inch or two to avoid tromping on it. Then I turned around and looked at it more closely and saw that the other end of "the stem" was a snake with its head raised up in strike position! I was so stunned I couldn't quite believe what I was seeing, so there I stood for a minute try to absorb things and get a closer look to verify that I was seeing what I was seeing. Then it dawned on me that I was a little too close for comfort and that I was only wearing rubber flip flops so I high-tailed it out of there.

I've heard that if a snake slithers away it's likely a harmless one but that if it holds its ground, it's because it's got some pretty potent weapons at its disposal. I checked it out on the internet and found my snake alright. The headline read, "The most dreaded snake in all of Asia"!

Are you interested in becoming a Scarboro Missioner?

Lay Mission work in October 2006 Magazine Issue

To read about the current Lay Mission work in the latest magazine issue, click here

INTERFAITH DESK NEWS

Guidelines for Designing a Multifaith Prayer Service

Multifaith prayer is a growing international phenomenon that yields many spiritual, social and cultural benefits for the various faith groups and individuals involved. But there are a number of religious, cultural and practical challenges involved in organizing multifaith prayer services. This set of comprehensive guidelines provides an abundance of information, resources and guidelines for designing and implementing a multifaith spiritual service in your community. Read more ...

Guidelines for group visits to Houses of Worship

Visiting houses of worship of other faith traditions is one of the most effective ways to learn about other religions. This set of comprehensive guidelines provides all the necessary information for making such a group visit a wonderful cultural, religious and educational experience. The guidelines were written by JW Windland, a highly respected multifaith educator with 40 years of experience in visiting houses of worship. Read more ...

Scarboro Missions honoured by the North American Interfaith Network

The Scarboro Missions Interfaith Department has been chosen as one of eight interfaith organizations to be profiled at the 20th anniversary conference of the North American Interfaith Network (NAIN) www.nain.org. It will be held at the University of San Francisco in July of this year, sponsored by the Interfaith Center at the Presidio.

Planners thought that during this retrospective celebration of the past 20 years of grassroots interfaith dialogue, they would do well to hold up good examples of the various new ways interreligious bridge-building is being done. When they asked people to suggest exemplary groups to profile, Scarboro Missions was nominated. Here is the criteria the planning committee worked from:

"Vital, successful organizations developing new approaches to multifaith relationship-building"

In the 20 years since the North America Interfaith Network started, thousands of local grassroots groups have organized across the continent. NAIN 2008 will profile eight from among the thousands, not because they are biggest or best, but because they seem to be doing exemplary work in new ways and we know about them. Had we more time at the conference, the list could have been much longer.

At the conference, Scarboro Missions will be invited to make a presentation of its work to a plenary audience of 200 people.

Building a Global Interfaith Community – Jan-Feb 2007 issue

This special edition of Scarboro magazine reports on the international interfaith activity of the Catholic Church. The reader is taken on a journey from Egypt to Rome, Canada, Guyana, the United States and to Africa and across Asia. With inspiration from the last four Popes, Catholics around the globe are embracing interfaith dialogue and often in leadership roles. Read articles from this Jan-Feb 2007 issue.

Learn more about Interfaith Resources

There is a wealth of information about Interfaith Dialogue (e.g., Golden Rule, Teaching Models, Guidelines for Dialogue) on this web site. Read more...

JUSTICE AND PEACE OFFICE NEWS

Raposa Serra do Sol: Brazil's Supreme Court votes in favour of Indigenous People

On December 10th, the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, eight of eleven Supreme Court judges in Brazil voted in favour of maintaining the demarcation of Raposa Serra do Sol as one continuous area. The Indigenous peoples and their supporters are celebrating this victory. The case is not entirely over as three judges have yet to give their decision and some conditions have yet to be elaborated. The Supreme Court also has yet to decide on the requirement for all non-indigenous people to leave the Raposa area, including the rice growers responsible for much of the violence there. These decisions are expected in early 2009.

Joênia Barbosa, a Wapichana lawyer and first indigenous person ever to address the Supreme Court, regretted the court decision to suspend the eviction of the non-indigenous people in the area. "We're afraid for the safety in the area, now the rice farmers know they will have to leave."

Read more about this news here.

Read background information here.

Pope Benedict XVI's Message for 2009 World Day of Peace

In his 2009 World Day of Peace Message, Pope Benedict encourages reflection on Fighting Poverty to Build Peace. The Pope discusses poverty's relationship with globalization and various moral implications including demographic change, pandemic diseases, child poverty, disarmament and the current food crisis. He calls particular attention to the "immense military expenditure" in the world and resources "diverted from development projects for peoples". The Pope invites States to "reflect seriously on the underlying reasons for conflicts, often provoked by injustice, and to practice courageous self-criticism. If relations can be improved, it should be possible to reduce expenditure on arms. The resources saved could then be earmarked for development projects to assist the poorest..."

To build peace and fight poverty Pope Benedict emphasizes the need for greater global solidarity in trade, finance, development and other aspects of international cooperation. The Pope concluded that in following Christ's command "'Give them something to eat yourselves' (Lk 9:13),... the Christian community will never fail, then, to assure the entire human family of her support through gestures of creative solidarity, not only by 'giving from one's surplus,' but above all by 'a change of life-styles, of models of production and consumption, and of the established structures of power which today govern societies.'"

To read the 2009 World Day of Peace message go here.

Sign the Kyoto plus petition

Canadian environmental and public interest organizations are asking individual Canadians to sign the KYOTOplus Petition. The petition calls for Canada to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at least 25 per cent (from the 1990 level) by 2020. They are targeting a minimum of one million signatures for this petition. They will deliver these signatures to the United Nations climate conference that will take place in December 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark. This conference will make the crucial decision about a second phase of the Kyoto Protocol. Canada must be part of the solution, not part of the problem.

The Petition for Concerned Canadians reads as follows:

Whereas global warming is an unequivocal threat to our environment, our economy and to people's lives; and

whereas global warming must be kept as far below 2øsius as possible (relative to the pre-industrial level) in order to prevent catastrophic consequences; requiring developed countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 25 to 40 per cent (from 1990 levels) by 2020; and

whereas Canada should join the global community in agreeing to these reductions at the United Nations climate conference in Copenhagen, Denmark in December 2009; therefore

I call on elected officials to ensure that Canada honours its Kyoto commitment and sets a national target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by at least 25 per cent (from the 1990 level) by 2020.

Canada must have a credible plan to meet this 2020 target, including:

• a just price on greenhouse gas pollution;
• world-leading regulations and effective investments to cut greenhouse gas pollution from vehicles, buildings and other sectors;
• strong measures in support of energy conservation and renewable energy; and
• urgent measures to minimize climate change impacts on people and ecosystems here and abroad.

Go here to sign the petition online...

KAIROS News: Second campaign year of Re-energize – Time for a Carbon Sabbath calls to "End Oil Aid"

"Oil Aid" is the practice whereby the world's wealthiest nations, including Canada, use precious development funds, tax breaks, and loan guarantees to subsidize the highly profitable oil and gas industry.

The Canadian oil industry turned a profit of $26.4 billion in 2007. Canada gave it nearly $1.4 billion in subsidies. The "Big Five" oil companies turned a global profit of US $123 billion in 2007. Export Development Canada, a government agency, supported $13.2 billion of overseas oil and gas projects, and the World Bank gave the oil and gas industry $1 billion in financing.

That means that 5 cents of every dollar of oil profit made in Canada is public money. Global oil and gas exploration by private companies continues to be propped up by public money, and 1 cent of every dollar of their profit is public money.

Our frenetic consumption of fossil fuels and the tight relationship between governments and the oil industry means that Canada and other industrialized countries are providing oil aid to multinational corporations. Is this how public money should be spent?

In the race for oil, fragile ecosystems are placed at risk and Indigenous rights are violated from Ecuador to Indonesia to Canada. Oil conflicts rage from Colombia to Nigeria to Iraq. And greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, threatening vulnerable peoples the world over.

As consumers, we need to use far less energy and use it more efficiently. As citizens, we must ask our government to take action.

The second campaign year of Re-energize – Time for a Carbon Sabbath calls on the Prime Minister, for the sake of the Earth and its people, to end Oil Aid – to take those six cents away from the oil industry and invest it instead in energy conservation and sustainable renewable energy alternatives.

New resources and action ideas for participating in the second year activities for the Re- Energize campaign include:

• "End Oil Aid" action card;
• "A Different Kind of Oil Crisis" education and action guide. Includes instructions for how to hold a "Bake Sale for Big Oil" (skit or actual public event); an outline for Earth Hour 2009; and a host of advocacy ideas ranging from raising public awareness to meeting with your MP to making a presentation at the pre-budget hearings.
• "A Different Kind of Oil Crisis" PowerPoint/Flash video presentation (15 minutes). Why is responding to the Re-Energize campaign a question of faith? Watch this video and find out.

For more information on these resources, or to sign up for the Re-Energize campaign information list, contact Campaigns Coordinator Sara Stratton at sstratton@kairoscanada.org or 1-877-403-8933 x 241.

Ecuador: Sign the Yasuní Green Gold Online petition

Yasuní National Park in the Ecuadorean Amazon is one of the most biodiverse places on the planet and home to various Indigenous groups including some still living in voluntary isolation. A plan to drill half a billion barrels of oil in the ITT reserves lying beneath the park threatens devastating environmental and social impacts and would provide the world with just five days' worth of oil consumption. While the President of Ecuador has announced a proposal to conserve Yasuni with financial support from the international community, his proposal still needs support and improvement and time is running out.

The Yasuní Green Gold campaign is promoting an online petition calling on:

"Ecuador's government to commit to unconditionally and permanently conserving the Yasuni, and guaranteeing the rights of its local and indigenous people, through a coherent plan which involves their full participation in the decisions which affect their lives.

World leaders to commit to working with the Ecuadorian government and local people to help create the best possible plan to save the Yasuni and to support the plan financially in a way that ensures that the Yasuni is unconditionally preserved and that the rights of its people are respected now and in the future."

Go here to learn more and sign the petition...

Make Poverty History Campaign calls for More Aid as the Canadian government prepares its next Federal Budget

Make Poverty History Canada continues to call on Canada to Get to the point seven – to keep its promise of giving 0.7% of our national income in development assistance. The United Nations and donor nations agreed that this level of aid was necessary to make serious progress towards alleviating extreme poverty in the world. Canada is not even halfway to this UN target whereas many other countries either are giving at least 0.7% or have a plan to get to 0.7% in the next few years.

The world food crisis and the effects of climate change disproportionately affect poorer nations and yet the global financial crisis puts aid spending at risk. The poor should not pay the price for the excesses of rich bankers and speculators. The Canadian government has started working on its next Federal Budget and how much it budgets for aid will be one of the decisions it has to soon make. The campaign calls on the federal government to announce a commitment in the next Federal Budget to annual 15% increases in aid to achieve the 0.7% target within 10 years.

Visit the Make Poverty History website to learn more and participate in this campaign. Go here...

KAIROS News: Christian Faith and the tar sands-add your voice

The Alberta tar sands are one focal point in KAIROS' Re-energize Campaign. KAIROS is organizing a delegation of Canadian church leaders to visit the tar sands in May 2009. In preparation for the forum and church delegation, they have produced a reflection paper on the tar sands. The paper is available in English and in French on the KAIROS website in PDF format here.

KAIROS invites you to enter into the discussion about Christian faith and the tar sands. You may wish to do this in a small group in your church, a special study group or with friends. How do you respond to the ideas and questions put forward in the reflection paper? What do you agree with? Where do you disagree? What else do you think needs to be said about Christian faith and the tar sands? KAIROS invites you to provide your feedback, long or short. This feedback will help to shape KAIROS policies and actions, not only about the tar sands, but also about the whole issue of fossil fuels, climate change, human rights and other related justice issues. Please send your written comments to the KAIROS Ecological Justice Program Coordinator, Dorothy McDougall dmcdougall@kairoscanada.org.