News Items

The Forum regularly posts news articles of interest here from a variety of sources and news outlets. You can check back here or view the most recent ones from the homepage. We also archive these articles here, for those doing research, with news going back to 2006. Use the menu on the right to explore the archived articles.

News

Catholic social teachings call to the dignity of creation

May 13, 2016
By Denis M. Hughes and Brian Jordan
National Catholic Reporter

On May 15, 1891, Pope Leo XIII issued the seminal encyclical for workers Rerum Novarum (On the Condition of Labor). This memorable encyclical officially...

Can India's Sacred But 'Dead' Yamuna River Be Saved?

May 11, 2016
By Julie McCarthy
NPR

A fire crackles along the banks of the Yamuna River: a cremation of a young mother, struck by a car while she was fetching water.

The stench of the river engulfs the sad assembly.

Before the hissing funeral pyre, floating down the river, white blocks of what looks like detergent appear like icebergs. It is 95 degrees in Delhi...

BC indigenous leaders seek UN support against gas project

May 12, 2016
WRAL

UNITED NATIONS — First Nations leaders from British Columbia brought their fight against a proposed liquefied natural gas project in the province to the U.N. on Thursday, saying it could threaten the wild salmon habitat on their ancestral lands.

The group sought the support of United Nations members for its demand that the Canadian government reject the $36...

First Nation Wins Historic Victory Over Mammoth Coal Export Terminal

US Army Corps of Engineers denies permit for proposed Cherry Point terminal, which would have been the largest in North America

By Lauren McCauley
Common Dreams
May 10, 2016

In a move being hailed as a landmark victory for the climate movement, Pacific Northwest communities, and tribal members alike, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Monday...

10 Latin American Indigenous Rights Warriors You Need to Know

May 8, 2016
Telesur

These Indigenous human rights and environmental activists are making waves in Latin American and beyond.

Indigenous leader around the world are on the front lines of struggle against corporate exploitation, resource extraction, neoliberal policies, and other injustices impacting people and the environment.

Here’s a look at some of the most...

Radical art form blazing a trail for environment, indigenous rights

May 9, 2016
FMT News

PETALING JAYA: An alternative art group born through a love of punk rock has gained popularity across Malaysia in just a matter of six years, from its humble beginnings in Ranau, Sabah, according to a report by the South China Morning Post.

Pangrok Sulap uses woodcut printing for some controversial and confrontational art pieces that aims to address...

Mining and extraction coalition at UN holds countries, companies accountable

May 9, 2016
By Chris Herlinger
Global Sisters Report

Global Sisters Report is focusing a special series on mining and extractive industries and the women religious who work to limit damage and impact on people and the environment, through advocacy, action and policy. Pope Francis last year called for the entire mining sector to undergo “a radical paradigm change.” Sisters...

An interfaith view on climate change

May 7, 2016
By David Boyd
Nelson Star

Here in Nelson, a local interfaith group has come together to advocate for climate justice and to urge all citizens to participate in the transition to a zero-carbon future. The following groups are working together for carbon pollution solutions and sharing spiritual practices: Ascension Lutheran Church, Cathedral of Mary Immaculate,...

Catholics and Buddhists should work together for the environment

May 6, 2016
Vatican Radio

The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue has sent a message to the Buddhists of the world to mark the Feast of Vesakh, which commemorates the his birth, enlightenment and death of Gautama Buddha.

This year’s Message was inspired by...

Young woman sees mapping Catholic lands as an environmental blessing

May 6, 2016
By Tom Condon
The CT Mirror

 

Though she considered herself a “conservative Catholic,” the great activist Dorothy Day would chide her church on occasion. More than once, from her Catholic Worker mission in Manhattan’s Bowery, she urged the church to use its landholdings in the Hudson Valley to grow food and provide housing...

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