The following is an archive copy of the J&P Youth Newsletter for the month of November.
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Hello, and welcome to the second J&P youth news brief!
I apologise that this is going out somewhat late; I had written most of it as of November 2nd but last minute edits and the process of moving house has set me back.
Please reply with any details of events, contacts, etc. that might be J&P related, and I will add them to a future newsletter.
There is also much more content on our social media, so please follow us on Twitter and Facebook for daily news and inspiration!
www.facebook.com/WestminJP www.twitter.com/WestminsterJP
As before, I’ve CC’d a few (more) people who haven’t explicitly asked to be added to this missive, on the off chance it may be of interest to you. If this e-mail has reached anyone in error, or if you would like to be removed from the mailing list entirely, please reply or message … with “J&P Youth News” in the subject line.
[[From the Commission]]
Following from our Laudato Si’ and Care for Creation – Where Next? workshops, we’ve put together a resource kit for parishes. If your school, university, or religious community would be interested in an adaptation more geared towards students or young people, let me know and I’ll adapt it accordingly. See here: https://westminsterjp.wordpress.com/2016/10/24/laudato-si-toolkit/
We’ve started a postcard campaign for the Israel-Palestine conflict, highlighting the ongoing displacement and exclusion of Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. We’ve sent a fair number out to parishes already but if you would like some for your school, university, or religious community, let me know! Check out the postcards and the statement here: https://westminsterjp.wordpress.com/2016/11/02/postcards-for-palestine/
The refugees in Calais have been dispersed and relocated, and the UK government has ruled out any further commitment to resettling the minors, after accepting some 274 of them last month. Independent estimates on both sides suggest an additional 700 of the remaining children, now resettled in camps around France, have close connections in the UK. We are working with Catholic agencies in France to try and see what can be done for all the former refugees of Calais, as there is still much interest in supporting them through donations and advocacy. We think it’s important to keep in contact, given that many of the refugees – both minors and adults – have contacts and family in the UK, and many similar refugees have ended up homeless on the streets of Paris and the cities of Europe.
Fr. Joe Ryan, J&P Commission Chair, and Barbara Kentish, J&P Administrator and Fieldworker, recently made a trip to Calais just as the last demolitions were going on. You can read their report here: https://westminsterjp.wordpress.com/2016/11/07/is-the-calais-camp-really-closed/
[[From the Top]]
The Pope’s October video is on journalists. Well worth a view for anyone working in or aspiring to a media career; it highlights some of the important work journalists perform in highlighting J&P issues across the globe, and strikes a hopeful chord on media ethics. TheNovember video, timely given the events in Calais, is on welcoming refugees. Just one minute of pure inspiration! http://www.thepopevideo.org
I’m going to plug the DOCAT again as it really is useful – I would argue, useful not just for young people, but for mature students, teachers, and anyone with an interest in Catholic social thought. There is a lot of new information not included in the Catechism or the Compendium of Social Doctrine, such as on internet issues, sustainability, and globalism. Unfortunately the app is no longer free, but the print version is much better in any case (yes, even for youth)
http://www.ctsbooks.org/docat/
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.docatapp&hl=en
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/docat-what-to-do/id1125955404?mt=8
[[Around the Diocese]]
May you all have a blessed and prayerful All Souls’ Day! In this month of remembrance, we remember especially the unsung martyrs of 2016. For those who have died or are under the threat of death in Syria and the Middle East, there is an Aid to the Church initiative toflood Westminster Cathedral in red light for November. Westminster Abbey and Brentwood Cathedral are following suit. http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2016/10/26/brentwood-cathedral-to-be-floodlit-in-red-to-highlight-the-plight-of-persecuted-christians/
Cardinal Vincent Nichols made some stirring remarks on migrants which gained some attention in the national press (yay!) It will probably get a fuller write-up in the Catholic press, but in the meantime there’s a very good summary on the BBC. North and Central London is home to some of the most ethnically diverse neighbourhoods in the world, and I think many students I’ve met could draw some inspiration here. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-37876157
White “peace poppies” are available from http://www.ppu.org.uk/ppushop/ for those of us of a pacifist bent. The intent is not to “protest” the usual Rememberance activities, but rather to supplement them with concern for the victims of war and the arms trade. (I personally wear the white and red together, when I remember!). If you don’t want to donate directly to PPU, there may be some at your local parish.
Have a look round the Diocese of Westminster Youth Ministry‘s website for more youth events and regular gatherings:
Thanks for reading! If you’d like to share a London-area youthy event or news item on a J&P theme, drop me a line and I’ll pass it around in a future newsletter!
<3 and blessings,
Edmund T. Dean
RCDOW J&P Youth Worker
Diocese of Westminster Justice and Peace Commission 