The Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities have had an active Peace and Justice Committee since the early 1980s. The committee focuses on increasing awareness through education and on promoting individual and communal action steps on issues of immediate concern and of more lasting impact. They meet four to six times a year to discern what most needs attention out of the vast array of emerging and ongoing issues.
Areas of concern
• Reverencing creation
• Promoting peace for the world and for individuals
• Working with others including other religions of the world, to
promote peace and justice for all
• Living out Gospel values and Catholic social teachings
FRANCISCAN ACTION NETWORK
Transforming the World in the Spirit of St. Francis and St. Clare
What is the Franciscan Action Network?
Inspired by the lives of St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi and the long heritage of men and women who follow in their footsteps as present day disciples of Jesus Christ, the Franciscan Action Network is designed to bring a coordinated and effective voice to matters of Justice, Peace and Care for Creation in our world. The particular focus of the Franciscan Action Network's advocacy is the U.S. Government and related Washington, DC based insitiutions (e.g., World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States...). The sdvocacy topics will be both international and domestic in scope. In these arenas, the Franciscan Action Network hopes to bring a spirit of healing and reconciliation as they advocate for the transformation of the world, as inspired by the Spirit of God.
GOVERNOR DAVID PATERSON SUPPORTS EXTREME ABORTION PROPOSAL.
On April 25, 2007, Governor Eliot Spitzer put forth a radical abortion proposal that would go far beyond Roe vs. Wade. The Governor’s bill could, among other things, force Catholic hospitals to allow abortions and make abortion virtually immune from any reasonable state regulation such as parental notification or informed consent. His bill would enshrine abortion in our law as a ‘fundamental right’ and legalize it through all nine months of pregnancy, for virtually any reason. Recently Governor David Paterson has shown support for this bill.
Take action now to tell your lawmakers to oppose this extreme bill!
Click here to take action.
FOOD AND WATER WATCH 
Food and Water Watch is a Nonprofit Comsumer Organization that works to ensure clean water and safe food. Click here to read more...
Catholic Social Teachings – Major themes
Dignity of the human person
Community and the common good
Rights and responsibilities
Option for the poor
Dignity of work
Solidarity
Role of government and subsidiarity
Economic justice
Stewardship of God’s creation
Promotion of peace and disarmament
For a more complete explanation, go to:
www.networklobby.org
www.osjspm.org
Ongoing education and action
Local areas where our sisters live
In the local areas where our sisters and associates live and work, we try to involve ourselves with the concerns of the city, towns, rural areas, and neighborhoods. Every sister in every ministry along with our associates and collaborators tries to promote peaceful and just ways of doing things and of living our daily lives.
VIVE in Buffalo
Vive, a refugee organization at La Casa in Buffalo, provides shelter, food, medical services, and legal assistance to world refugees seeking asylum.
In need of support through monetary donations, clothing, food, bedding, paper products, cleaning supplies, Vive also welcomes volunteers to play with children, work with the nurse, teach English, register refugees, serve meals, paint and clean, and enter data into computers.
Over the past 20 years, one of our sisters has been on the Board and one has been on staff working with refugees at La Casa in Buffalo.
Western New York Peace Center
State
At the state level, we are alerted to important issues by the
New York State Catholic Conference, an organization of the eight dioceses of the state. Our sisters take action on issues by emailing their appropriate legislators.
Nation
At the national level, we are alerted to issues by the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops (USCCB) and also secure excellent publications from them.
Network
Based in Washington, D.C., this group, founded in 1972 by 47 Catholic sisters, now has more than 100,000 members. Network uses lobbying and legislative action as avenues to greater justice and peace. Their site provides educational resources as well as ways to take action on priority issues and current legislation under consideration.
Pax Christi – USA
This national Christian group promotes nonviolence and seeks to transform structures of society toward peace and away from war.
Bread for the World
This nationwide Christian movement seeks to end hunger for all peoples of the world through lobbying our national legislators. We participate in their annual letter-writing campaign.
World
Zenit story on the Vatican Council for Justice and Peace
This Council, in November 2005, presented a Decalogue on Ethics and Environment. The full text of November 8, 2005, is available at Zenit News Agency.
In summary, the Decalogue asks for:
Bible as source of fundamental moral principles
Ecological conscience
Collective good of the whole planet
Primacy of rights of humans over technology
Divine reality of the natural world
Universal destiny of all goods
Collaborative development in poor areas
International collaboration
More sober lifestyles
Spiritual response to Creator
Pax Christi International
Pax Christi International, a non-profit, non-governmental Catholic peace movement, works worldwide on issues of human rights, security and disarmament, economic justice, and ecology.
Amnesty InternationalAmnesty International is a world-wide movement working to prevent violations of people’s fundamental rights by governments.
Vatican – Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
Franciscans InternationalHas consultative status as a non-governmental organization at the United Nations. It is a network of Franciscans collaborating on world issues and a forum for the poor to have a voice at the United Nations.
Witness for Peace –
U.S. policies and the people in South and Central America
Center of Concern – Jesuit publications
A prophetic voice for justice in the age of globalization
Pace e Bene – Franciscan Friars of California
Committed to helping the dream of a nonviolent world become a reality.
African Faith and Justice Network –
a Voice for Africa in U.S. policy
Our success stories:
Adelphia
When we learned from Bishop Edward Kmiec of Buffalo and the New York State Catholic Conference of Adelphia cable’s intention of broadcasting XXX adult films, we asked our sisters to write or email objections about this to Adelphia’s vice president in our area. WE provided our sisters and associates with sample letters, a practice we often use in letter writing campaigns. Many did so and we later learned that Adelphia withdrew their plans for these types of films.
Violent Video Games
We learned from the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility about a campaign to object to violent video games as children’s play. Many sisters wrote to several companies and we received back favorable responses from Toys R Us and Circuit City.
Legislative Priorities
At a recent meeting of the Peace and Justice Committee, we made known the legislative priorities before Congress as established by Network and encouraged our sisters to address one or more of these issues.
Peace SiteOur grounds at St. Mary of the Angels, 201 Reist Street, Williamsville, NY have been dedicated as a peace site.
Corporate Stands
In 1999, our sisters took a corporate stand for life
In 1991, our sisters took a corporate stand seeking a peaceful solution to the Gulf Crisis.
Socially Responsible Investigating
In an effort towards wise stewardship of our resources we use socially responsible strategies that seek to avoid participation in harmful activities while actively pursuing good and using our role as stockholders for social stewardship. Our membership in the interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) assists us in this effort. The ICCR is an association of faith-based institutional investors. It helps members use their investments to advocate for social concerns, and it collaborates with investment managers to promote socially responsible investing.
Socially Responsible Investments
A portion of our resources are placed in Alernative Investments which are investments at work for the poor.
Self Help
Leviticus 25:23 Alternative Fund
New Community
Your concerns – email us and we will respond to you
If you have an interest in one or more peace and justice topics, you may request from us titles of good printed and media resources and web sites.
If you have a particular concern, please write to us and we will do our best to answer your questions or steer you to someone who could.
Other Links of Interest
Sojourners
This national Christian group publishes a magazine of the same name. It puts it efforts toward social change and related spirituality by critiquing faith, politics, and culture.
Bridges TV
This North American Muslim television network in English, produced locally in Orchard Park, NY, goes out to the whole country on cable and satellite. It provides news and lifestyle programming of interest to both Muslim and non-Muslim audiences. Its two-fold purposes includes celebration of the rich diversity and talents of American Muslims and the building of bridges of understanding and friendship among American Muslims and all Americans.
