- Development and Peace (Canada)
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Development and Peace is the official international development arm of the Catholic Church in Canada. It is a member of Caritas Internationalis, and Halifax Initiative.
Contents
History
Founded in 1967 by Canadian bishops, clergy and laity, it is a membership-driven organization whose mission is to fight poverty in the Global South and promote greater international justice. The name of the organization comes from the Church encyclical Populorum Progressio, which links true development with lasting peace.
Members
Development and Peace has 13,000 members across Canada. They contribute to educating the Canadian public and Canadian politicians to social justice and international development issues, they organise fundraisers and they participate in the governance of the organisation. Members elect representatives to the National Council and its various committees.
Currently, the President of the National Council is Ronald Breau, member of Development and Peace from New Maryland, New Brunswick.
International Programs
The organisation's regular programming spans 33 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. Individual projects are proposed by partner organisations - generally local non-governmental organisations or social movements. The programs and projects are meant to support the poor as they improve their living conditions in a sustainable way and increase their participation in their country's development.
Several times a year, program officers from Development and Peace's main office in Montreal, Quebec, visit the partners to evaluate progress, provide training and resources, foster networking between organisations and plan future activities.
Emergency Relief
Following natural disasters or conflicts, Development and Peace provides resources for emergency relief and reconstruction.
In early 2010, Development and Peace members with the Canadian public raised over 21 million for emergency relief and reconstruction efforts in Haiti, after the January Haiti earthquake. Other noteworthy campaigns in the past include Hurricane Mitch (1998), the Tsunami (2004), the Nargis Cyclone in Burma (2008) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2008).
Education Campaigns
Each year, in the fall, members organise an education campaign within Canada. The campaign is targeted at members of the Canadian public and at Canadian politicians. In 2007 and 2008, Development and Peace campaigned to make Canadian mining companies responsible for their operations abroad. Due to lax laws in developing countries, Canadian companies often get away with violating human rights and destroying the environment.
Since the beginning of the campaign, over 200,000 Canadians sent postcards to the Canadian government asking that it legislate corporate social responsibility. Since 1994, Development and Peace has been a member of the Halifax Initiative, a coalition of Canadian non-governmental organizations for public interest work and education on international financial institutions.
Lent, from Ash Wednesday to Easter, is the biggest fundraising period at Development and Peace. Typically, the organisation raises $ 10 million, mostly on the 5th Sunday of Lent, during which a special collection takes place in churches across Canada. Other fundraising activities also take place during the year.
Abortion Controversy
On March 12, 2009, LifeSiteNews.com (a non-profit website focusing on life and family issues) published allegations claiming that Development and Peace was funding five groups in Mexico that were pressuring the Mexican government to legalize abortion[1].
To respond to these claims, Development and Peace along with the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) organized a committee of inquiry to travel to Mexico to investigate the claims. On June 18, 2009, the Permanent Council of the CCCB received the report by the Committee of Inquiry.
The Committee of Inquiry was composed of Most Reverend Martin W. Currie, Archbishop of St. John’s and Bishop of Grand Falls, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Most Reverend François Lapierre, P.M.É., Bishop of Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec. Assisting them were Msgr. Mario Paquette, P.H., CCCB General Secretary, and Msgr. Carlos Quintana Puente, C.S.S., from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, where he is Executive Director of its Secretariat for the Church in Latin America.
In the course of a visit to Mexico, 15 to 18 April 2009, the Committee met with representatives of the Mexican Episcopal Conference, as well as with senior representatives of the organizations which have been accused of expressing support for abortion.
On June 28, 2009, the Committee of Inquiry came to the conclusion that the allegations that “... financial assistance by Development and Peace aided projects related to the promotion of abortion” were unfounded. At the same time the Committee recognized that the five Mexican organizations were imprudent in signing a United Nations report on the human rights situation in Mexico that included orientations not in accord with Catholic teaching. The Committee of Inquiry encouraged the CCCB to continue to support Development and Peace, which it had founded more than 40 years ago.[2]
See also
Halifax Initiative
References
Categories:- Organizations based in Canada
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