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 WASHINGTON- The United States has a moral obligation to protect unaccompanied children and families from persecution in Central America, said Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas, in testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, October 21. Bishop Seitz is an advisor to the USCCB Committee on Migration and a member of the board of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC).

The humanitarian outflow, driven by organized crime in the northern triangle countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, continues, with nearly 40,000 unaccompanied children and an equal number of mothers with children having arrived in the United States in Fiscal Year 2015.

"If we do not respond justly and humanely to this challenge in our own backyard, then we will relinquish our moral leadership and moral influence globally," Bishop Seitz said.

Bishop Seitz pointed to the human consequences of U.S. policies which are designed to deter migration from the region, including U.S. support for Mexican interdiction efforts which are intercepting children and families in Mexico and sending them back to danger, in violation of international law.

Bishop Seitz recommended an end to these interdictions and the introduction of a regional system which would screen children and families for asylum in Mexico and other parts of the region. He also called for Congress to approve and increase a $1 billion aid package proposed by the Administration.

"If we export enforcement," Bishop Seitz said, "we also must export protection."

Bishop Seitz recalled the words of Pope Francis before Congress in September, when he invoked the golden rule in guiding our nation's actions toward those seeking safety in our land.

Quoting the Holy Father, Bishop Seitz repeated to the committee, "'The yardstick we use for others will be the yardstick which time will use for us.'"

"Mr. Chairman, I pray that time, and history, will conclude that we honored this rule in meeting this humanitarian challenge," Bishop Seitz concluded.

Bishop Seitz' testimony can be found at http://www.usccb.org//about/migration-policy/congressional-testimony/upload/seitz-ongoing-migration.pdf

Keywords: Bishop Mark J. Seitz, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, USCCB, Congress, Senate, Committee on Migration, migration, unaccompanied children, violence, Pope Francis
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Norma Montenegro Flynn
O: 202-541-3200

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 WASHINGTON-The chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Committee on Catholic Education, Archbishop George J. Lucas of Omaha, Nebraska, applauded President Obama's signing today of the Every Student Succeeds Act into law.

"The Every Student Succeeds Act demonstrates that there is broad bipartisan agreement on restoring equitable treatment of private schools and ensuring that all children are afforded the education services, benefits, and opportunities they deserve, regardless of the type of school they attend," said Archbishop Lucas.  

The Every Student Succeeds Act reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the federal law that provides funds to local and state education agencies for elementary and secondary education programs. The law was last updated in 2001. Since its inception in 1965, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act has long upheld the principle that students in need, regardless of whether they attend a public or private school, are entitled to an equitable share of services and benefits. The Every Student Succeeds Act, a bipartisan compromise that received overwhelming support in both the House and Senate, continues that standard.

The USCCB Committee on Catholic Education provides guidance for the educational mission of the Church in the United States, which includes more than 1,974,000 students in 6,594 Catholic elementary and high schools.
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Keywords: Every Student Succeeds Act, Catholic Education, Elementary and Secondary Education Act, private schools, Archbishop George J. Lucas, USCCB, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
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MEDIA CONTACT
Don Clemmer
O: 202-541-3206

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(Vatican Radio) Incoming Argentine President Mauricio Macri, is promising a new direction and an array of business orientated reforms to pull the country out of the economic dolldrums.  

However, it's been a spat-full start for the new President. 

Listen to the report by James Blears:

Mauricio Macri is promising to be quote: "A leader who listens more than talks."  Outgoing Cristina Fernández who's famously said: "I'm not going away,"  has stayed away from his Inauguration.  

He insisted this would be done in the Presidential Palace. She was equally adament it would be in Congress.  

She said he shouted at her over the phone...so NO show.  She's the first leader NOT to hand over the Presidential sash since the end of the dark days of the Junta in 1983.  

Argentina newspaper La Prensa described it, as without precendent....it was also minus one President!

This controversy  ends 12 years of rule by Néstor Kirchner and then Cristina Kirchner de Fernández.
 
Mauricio Macri who's twice been elected President of Boca Juniors soccer club and was Mayor of Buenas Aires, has now got the top job.  He defeated Cristina's chosen successor Daniel Scioli, who was the  Governor of the State of Buenas Aires.
 
Double M is  promising to tackle the country's 30 percent inflation, improve conditions for business, improve infrastructure, sweep away restrictive currency controls, which has produced a booming black market for dollars, plus improve relations with the United States and Britain. No majority in either House of Congress is going to make much of this difficult.
 
A civil engineer by training, Mauricio Macri faces a long road ahead over the next four years. 

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(Vatican Radio) Indonesian President Joko Widodo's administration has failed to promote human rights since taking office more than a year ago, according to a survey by the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace.

The survey — released Dec. 9 — a day ahead of Human Rights Day, said the achievement index for human rights promotion fell slightly this year from an already-low 2.49 to 2.45. The survey scores range from zero to a high of seven. The study, which was conducted from Nov. 5 to Dec. 5, involved 215 respondents in 19 provinces.

"This shows that there have been no changes during the administration of President Widodo, even though he promised to protect human rights. The results are not surprising because human rights issues have evidently not been a priority in the Jokowi-JK administration,” said Setara Institute deputy chairman Bonar Tigor Naipospos, referring to Jokowi and Vice President Jusuf Kalla, during the survey's launch in Jakarta.

According to Bonar, the promise made during the election campaign was not reflected in a number of government documents, including the National Mid-Term Development Plan (RPJMN), the National Plan of Action on Human Rights (RANHAM) and the Government Working Plan (RKP).

Setara research director Ismail Hasani said that respondents, who consisted of human rights experts and activists, were disappointed that human rights protection was not outlined in Jokowi’s Nawa Cita (nine agenda) development principles and at the failure to set up a special commission on past human right abuses that was initially proposed.

Instead, Bonar explained, the government has been inconsistent in the matter and has neglected to bring to light the truth in regards to these issues, such as by restricting discussions on the 1965 communist purge and questioning every move by the public to demand full disclosure.

The survey graded Indonesia on a number of controversial issues such as human rights abuses and protection, abolition of the death penalty, safeguarding freedom of expression, association and religion and economic issues.

Ismail said the executions of convicted foreign drug offenders earlier this year had negatively impacted diplomatic relations on the human rights front within the international realm and therefore affected the protection of Indonesian citizens on death row abroad, he explained.

However, Ismail continued, there were also some improvements, such as a rise in economic, social and cultural rights that went up from 2.99 to 3.22 in the past year. Ismail said the study showed that Jokowi was leaning too much toward infrastructure development while neglecting human rights issues.

While most variables showed performance decreases across the board, the survey showed improvements in the economy, Naipospos said.

"Based on this data, Widodo's administration still prioritizes the economic and infrastructural developments and ignores the issues of human rights," he said.

"It must be balanced though. It cannot focus on one sector only and forget others," he said.

Setara national committee secretary, Father Antonius Benny Susetyo, urged for a balanced approach from the government, adding that upholding human rights and democratic values would also promote economic growth.

There is a need to break ties to the past, Benny said, adding that it was necessary for the government to own up to past failures. He also said the President should not be afraid to ignore politicians in his circle that had conflicts of interest in order to experience real growth in the promotion and protection of human rights.

According to Susetyo, "many political parties supporting the president are perpetrators of past human rights violations." This has contributed to Widodo's failure in human rights protection and enforcement, he said.

Father Susetyo also cited human rights violations in Papua as an example of where the current administration has failed. Widodo expressed a willingness to address persistent abuses in the province, "but officials surrounding him don't follow his lead," he said.

In Jayapura, the Papuan capital, about 300 priests, nuns, seminarians and university students held a silent protest in front of the local legislators' office to mark Human Rights Day on Dec. 10.

"Stop the violence and killings in this land [of Papua]. Stop the killings of the Papuan people," Father Neles Tebay, coordinator of the Papua Peace Network, told ucanews.com.

Last year, on Dec. 8, four students died and many others were injured when security forces allegedly opened fire on a crowd of protesters. The crowd gathered to protest against the beating of a child — allegedly by soldiers — in Ipakije village the night before.

(Source: UCANews.com; Jakarta Post) 

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