Justice and Peace Group
Your Group, with the support of our Parish Priest, Parish Council, parishioners and friends have made reasonable progress since our last report.
Our three main areas of interest being the same as last year with the addition of The International Development Group based at Holyrood Parliament building.
1) S.C.I.A.F / FAIRTRADE
The major success story of 2005 was the 'Make Poverty History' march on 2nd July in Edinburgh. Our Parish was represented and despite logistical problems, some were able to complete the full circuit.
Much good has come from the event but much more remains to be done. Many Western governments made promises which remain in default, so we must ensure that they meet their commitments.
We can do this by supporting S.C.I.A.F. initiatives e.g. 'Cut the strings' postcards issued recently in the church. Our participation as a Parish is key to realising Nelson Mandela's dream of 'Making poverty history’.
As a Fairtrade Parish we will continue with our quarterly 'Awareness Sundays' in support of local traders supplying Fairtrade goods.
2) DIOCESAN PRIESTS WORKING IN THE MISSIONS
There is still a need for prayers and material aid in all areas of their work. One has only to listen to Fr. Henry McLaughlin relate some of his experiences to realise how fortunate we are in this land, despite the shortage of priests currently existing!
3) AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
This organisation does exceptional work in the field of 'Human Rights' and we as a Parish are registered with them for information on their activities world-wide.
Thanks to Ted Campbell we had a succesful campaign at Christmas when Parishioners sent cards to ' Prisoners of Conscience' in various countries. It may not seem much to some but it is of great moral benefit to those in captivity. This year we intend to increase the number of prisoners contacted by our Parish.
4) INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT GROUP
The Parish is also registered with this Group at Holyrood. The contact is David Hamilton who assists Mr. Des McNulty MSP in I.D.G. matters.
Mr. Hilary Benn MP is the Secretary of State for International Development and the team in Holyrood liaise closely with him.
The I.D.G. are active in Thirld World debt problems, amongst others, and should be contacted at Holyrood if you have a view on any relevant subject.
Public Meetings on some aspects of their work are occasionally held at Holyrood and we will be advised of them to allow us to attend.
Input by the Public is important and we should follow the example of Cardinal O'Brien and The Moderator of the Church of Scotland who have criticised some of the decisions made by the I.D.G., particulary with regard to the Middle East.
5) FUNDS RAISED
In October we were able to send £3632 to Fr. Henry Mc Laughlin in CHIAPAS, Mexico. This was made possible with the help of Parishioners and friends giving their support to our Social event and Fairtrade Awareness Sundays plus a generous donation from a parishioner.
Fr. Henry put the funds to good use and, in the interests of transparency, sent us a detailed account of the activities he assisted in the Diocese.
We must also acknowledge the continuing support of the Parish whose help is vital in helping Diocesan Priests bring some relief to their materially impoverished parishioners.
The purpose of this Group is not simply to raise funds for our Missionaries, important though that is to their work. There are other issues, such as Catholic Social Teaching, Human Rights abuses and World Poverty.
In order to expand our interests we need more people to become members of the Group. Our present complement is too small to be really effective.
This is not a political Group! We are merely attempting to meet the pleas of our Cardinal, Keith Patrick, for all Christians to speak out on behalf of the World's poorest nations. By eliminating poverty we make this World of ours a safer place for our children and grandchildren.
To paraphrase a statement of the late President John F. Kennedy," Do not ask what can my World do for me? But rather "What can I do for my World?".
September 2006.
Membership consisted of:- Parish Priest, Louise Stewart (Chairperson), Eamon Stewart,
Amy & John McGurn, Rose Burchell, Ted Campbell, Peter Gabbitas,
Alice Hoffie, Bill Hoffie (Secretary).