It is when things get difficult that it may be challenging to have an attitude of gratitude

That is why I am often amazed at the amount of times while working with homeless people I hear “Thank you.” It is incredible.

So I invite that spirit of gratitude to be woven in our hearts. And, celebrated in prayer at the Eucharist. I appreciate my late parents at this time of year when there are Mother’s and Father’s Days.

Ultimately, my gratitude goes to God in prayer and at Mass for the Great Sacrifice of Jesus Christ who gave His Live so that others may live.

Thanks be to God.
Columban Fr. Tom Glennon

The Senate Judiciary committee will be hosting a number of hearings through the end of May to vote on proposed amendments in the Senate’s Comprehensive Immigration Bill, S.744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act.

On May 9^th, the Senate reviewed Title one of the bill on border security provisions. They passed some amendments that will certainly strengthen protections for children and their guardians under threat of deportation and that will prevent local law enforcement from receiving federal money in cases of detention from racial profiling. The Senate also prevented even further militarization of the US- Mexico border and an amendment that would have indefinitely held up the path to citizenship for the millions of undocumented brothers and sisters who are contributing to our faith communities.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is back in session on Tuesday to consider amendments to another title of the bill. Watch for an announcement on Monday for how you can help defend and strengthen the immigration bill to create more humane and compassionate immigration policy.

See the Columban U.S. Region’s immigration statement here.

We visited them to give them tokens for food rations soon after the recent floods washed away most of their village. Their house, like the houses of their fellow villagers, had been constructed of dried mud so were washed away by the floods. The only building left standing was the parish school, which is built of brick and concrete.

We planned to do what we had gone to do and move on to the next needy family, but they insisted that we stay. The mother of the house said that she had already sent someone out to kill the chicken. They lost so much in the flood and don’t even have a roof over their head, and yet they want to offer us hospitality.

I see the poor I meet in the course of my daily work as the soft and gentle side of Pakistan. Whatever their religious faith may be, they are so hospitable, and sharing food seems to break down barriers. Even with so little they are grateful to God for what they have. They see our visit as a blessing, and it is a moment to celebrate.

Since the floods in the parish we have traveled the back roads of our parish in a four wheel drive vehicle, especially the back roads far from the main highways. Along the sides of these roads refugees in their thousands from the floods have camped (the roads are raised between one and two meters above the level of the adjacent fields). Those on the back roads generally receive little or no aid. We have been able to give them food ration tokens, blankets and sometimes two kilogram food parcels with rice, sugar, lentils, flour, oil and tea, the basics of the local diet. We were able to give freely without discrimination and without demanding an identity card.

Most of those we meet are strangers to us and we to them. We don’t introduce ourselves but rather just leave them something to alleviate their difficult situation and move on. One woman told us with a smile of gratitude that we were the first to give them a hand. We would return on another occasion and some remained but some were no longer there. Hopefully the flood waters had subsided enough for them to return to their villages to make a new start.

Floods come and go, and the meteorological experts tell us to expect more frequent flooding in the coming years. However, life goes on and some of our parishioners asked us to take on a new project. Some women told me that they would like to be able to read the Bible. Consequently, we organized a pilot project to teach women to read and write and presently have a group of 21 women aged from 15 to 45 years. They are Parkari Kholi and Punjabi women. We began in September but had to close for the floods, but we called the group to class again in October and, much to my surprise, all 21 turned up.

One member of the class told her brother in another village about our class, and he requested adult literacy classes for his village. We want to respond but first we will complete the course we have started and evaluate it. We don’t want to fail by attempting to bite off more than we can chew. Also, we feel that it’s a matter of hastening slowly.

Our teacher is Berna. She receives a salary, and we charge the participants 30 rupees a month (around 20 cents). The classes run from Monday to Friday from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. A key element to the success of this program is the teacher who has to be someone who treats those in the class with courtesy and respect. Also, we would need to find a person in or near the other village who might take on the task.

We feel the project is off to a good start as the initiative to begin came from the women of the village and the invitation to extend also came from residents of another village.

This article originally appeared in the May 2013  Columban Mission Magazine.

We are all truly partners in Columban mission and, for many of us, we have spent a lifetime devoted to prayer and giving to ensure that the good work of building God’s Kingdom here on earth is alive and well in Columban mission.  There is no need for that lifetime of support to end with our passing.  Instead, we can secure our own legacy of support to the missions with a planned gift.  In turn, we can realize some monetary or tax benefits immediately, in the present.  We can also protect our families from increased liability and taxation upon our passing.

There are so many ways to make the planned gift today, and assuredly there is one for every set of circumstances.  One of the simplest ways is to ensure that you have a last will and testament drafted and filed.  A gift specifying the Columban Fathers the “remainder” of your estate after your family and friends are taken care of is a simple and effective way of continuing your legacy to Columban mission.  Any predetermined, specified amount articulated in the will is also a way of continuing that legacy.

If a will is already executed and existing, a simple legal device known as a codicil, which is a shortly worded paragraph, can be easily added to the will, executed, signed, and witnessed in order to make it legal.

Bequests to the Columban Fathers are not subjected to estate or inheritance taxes.  Furthermore, the value of the bequest is deductible from the donor’s taxable estate, thereby lowering estate taxes. And there is currently no limit on this deduction!

There are other ways to make a planned gift to the Columban Fathers outside of a last will and testament.  We will explore these ways in more depth in future conversations, but they include gifts of stock, naming the Columban Fathers as a beneficiary in life insurance policies, charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts, unitrusts, and annuity trusts.  All of these different ways address distinct financial situations and needs.  They all provided different tax relief and protections under the law and apply to specific situations.  For more information about each of these methods, please contact Fr. Michael Dodd or Chris Hochstetler toll free at (877) 299-1920.  You can also reach Fr. Dodd or Chris at plannedgiving@columban.org or chochstetler@columban.org.  We will share more about these different ways in upcoming conversations in this newsletter.

Remember that the information contained within this e-mail and our continuing conversations are not intended to be legal advice.  You should always consult your attorney or your financial planner for the latest information on the tax benefits and methods for making a planned gift to the Columban Fathers.

The working group on charitable tax issues is led by Representative Reichert (R-WA) and Representative Lewis (D-GA).  This group is charged with considering such topics as the charitable IRA rollover incentive, charitable deductions, unrelated business income of 501(c)(3)’s and much more.

It remains to be seen what will happen with charitable deductions for donations, including those made as planned gifts, but for now most of those deductions and tax protections remain as they were in 2011 and 2012.  All of the recommendations and comments made to the working groups from the report can be viewed at the House Ways and Means Committee website at http://waysandmeans.house.gov/taxreform/workinggroups.htm.

Additionally, many states are considering restoring the value of incentives offered to those who make charitable gifts.  Many of those incentives were removed or reduced at the state level in 2011 as part of limitations stipulated on how much upper-income taxpayers could claim for itemized deductions.  We will continue to monitor these changes and direct your attention to them in the future.  For more information about your specific state, please visit your state’s government website.

The usual crowded service

Fontana California started out as a collection of orange groves and chicken and goat farms. With famous Route 66 running through it, it really started to grow during World War II when the first steel mill west of the Mississippi River was built here. It is now developing fast, with 200,000 people, 70% Hispanic, 7% Asian and 1% Native American. There are also many Anglos and African-Americans. Our parish of St. Mary’s reflects those numbers very well. The steel mill is now gone, turned into Fontana Speedway, on the NASCAR circuit. There are many trucking/freight companies that operate out of here now, too.

The parish was founded in 1939 and used a 125 seat church until 1999 when the site was moved to its present location at the foot of the small Fontana Mountains. A metal warehouse was purchased and erected to seat 1,100 parishioners. The original house on the land became the parish house and office. Fourteen years later, we still have no other buildings even though we have over 3,500 families. So all of our catechism classes (we have 500 children in First Communion class and 120 for Confirmation), our RCIA, and our many ministries all vie for space in the four open rooms at the back of church, the parish office, garage and even the kitchen.

Youth Enjoying Services

The church is open every day from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. with an almost constant stream of visitors to our cozy Blessed Sacrament chapel. It has three kneelers and two chairs, all well worn. And the fresh flowers that keep appearing on the altar there and in front of our saints, especially Our Lady of Guadalupe, mean it always smells good in that corner.

Columbans have been here since 2001 when Fathers Bob Clark and Bernie Toal came. Then Fr. Gerry O’Shaughnessy came from Peru to take over and was joined by Fathers Brendan O’Sullivan and John Waunarny. I came last January. We see it very much as a part of Columban mission in the United States. It is lower middle class, with many, many Spanish speaking migrants, lots of migrants from the Philippines, and a good mix of lots of interesting people from all over including Christian refugees from recent violence in Egypt.

Our parishioners are very active in the life of the church and have learned to be very independent, to get things done that need to be done. For example, we have 90 catechists, all volunteers. Until recently, all maintenance was done voluntarily. In fact, much of the maintenance is still done voluntarily. Marriage groups, youth groups, prayer groups, altar servers, ushers, lectors, Eucharistic ministers (some in English, some in Spanish) all finance themselves independently through fund raisers all during the year. The parish budget is around $300,000 a year.

Our Pan de Vida (Bread of Life) ministry is alive. We give out over 200 boxes of food to families in need every two weeks. On one visit, our volunteers found a family of four, three of them young teenagers, with their mother living in a camper-type trailer, no bedrooms, or any rooms, only a little sink and bathroom and floor to sleep on. The father, from Central America, simply disappeared on his journey back through Mexico. It is probable that he ran into foul play. Their roof leaked, and the fl oor was sagging. Our Knights of Columbus did some repairs, but the family needed more of a house. So the Saturday before Thanksgiving we held our fi rst ever Walk-a-Thon to raise funds to get them into a better place. Over 125 parishioners, many of our youth, came out with sponsors. We hiked over one of our little mountains to the next parish and back, about seven miles, and raised over $7,000. With the proceeds, we purchased a 40ft. house trailer and equipped it with some furniture. Since Christmas that family now has a living room and a bedroom.

Even though the present allpurpose building is as cozy as folks can make it, we really need a church proper. Then we can turn our existing building into eight or ten much needed rooms for classes and meetings and a social hall with kitchen. Right now all of our cooking and eating is done outside under canvas awnings. We just purchased two acres of land beside the church to build our new church. Unfortunately, that used up just about all of our savings, and now we are starting over. The diocese has come up with a very simple steel frame church design that is earthquake resistant and economical to maintain. We’re hoping to use it for our new 1,200 seat church! We’re pretty sure that once it has been built, our fi ve weekend Masses will not be nearly enough. They’re already standing in the aisles at some of them. The new church and modifi cations will “only” cost about $3.5 million, very reasonable by today’s standards.

This article originally appeared in the May 2013  Columban Mission Magazine.

Fr. Chuck Lintz

“Go out to the highways and invite all you meet to the wedding.” (Mt 22:9) Christianity has always seen itself as an inclusive religion – inviting ALL peoples to the Wedding Banquet of God. Jesus reached out to all. He sent His Church to ALL peoples, even to the ends of the Earth. All are called to Salvation; all are called to God’s Heavenly Banquet.

So we went out from our home countries to invite all others to God’s feast of Eternal Life in Jesus Christ. But there is an aspect of this invitation that we Church people sometimes forget. What we forget is that we are not only “hosts” at the Banquet, but also “guests” ourselves. It is God’s Banquet – we invite alright, but we are also invited to this feast.

In 2008 the U.S. Columban Regional Assembly challenged us Columbans to deepen this aspect of Jesus’ mission. We called it “a spirituality of table fellowship.” It meant opening ourselves more to the gifts and talents of others. For years overseas since Vatican II, Dialogue and Partnership had been part and parcel of the way we were doing mission – listening to the local people and growing ourselves from their faith as well as sharing our faith with them. It was “table fellowship” where we not only proclaimed the Good News, but heard the Good News from others at the table. In other words, we were all “hosts and guests” at the table of the Lord.

So the 2008 Regional Assembly challenged us Columbans to greater “table fellowship,” to move from an individualist way of doing mission to a more collaborative one.

We had talks and input based on Scripture and our experience as to why this was a better way to do mission. And we decided to change some of our regional structures. We hired a COO (Chief Operating Officer) in 2009 and with him reorganized the St. Columbans, Nebraska, office for greater feedback and participation. We started a Senior Managers Group to advise on policy and operations; and we restructured our Mission Houses in El Paso, Texas/Juárez, Mexico, Los Angeles, California, St. Columbans, Nebraska, and Bristol, Rhode Island, to work better together. Combining the expertise and the mission faith of each individual has resulted in a richer Banquet for all.

It has been difficult at times, as changes are always difficult, but with patience and continued effort our “spirituality of table fellowship” has taken root in our U.S. Region and has produced, and is producing, a richer Banquet of the Good News for all of us. Such is the bounty of our Saving God!

This article originally appeared in the May 2013  Columban Mission Magazine.

On February 4^th, 2013 the Philippines government awarded the Xstrata-SMI mining company an environmental compliance certificate. The certification virtually gave Xstrata- SMI consent to build the hotly-contested Tampakan Mine in South Cotabato. The $5.9 billion project will be, upon completion, the largest mining complex in the country’s history. According to Xstrata’s website, the mine will operate for 17 years and will have a production rate of approximately 375,000 tons of copper and 360,000 ounces of gold.

Tent of Picket in Guinabot - between 20 - 30 people stay there at night. It is cold but they value their land.

The mine is already highly controversial. Many indigenous community members and others who oppose the Tampakan Mine, including an Italian missionary priest, have been murdered over the past decade and their crimes have gone unsolved. There is clear evidence that the military, police, and paramilitary security forces are responsible for these murders.  Most recently, a February 21^st hearing disclosed that SMI-Xstrata has men on their payroll who are paramilitaries armed by, and under the nominal command of, the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

In the same hearing, the military reported that Col. Dan Balandra, a former military official, is employed by SMI. Relatives of Daguil Capion, an indigenous leader from the B’laan tribe who opposed the mine, testified that Balandra earlier tried to convince Capion to surrender. They hold Balandra accountable for leading the Army contingent to Mr. Capion’s house resulting in the massacre of his family only 200 meters from where he was chopping wood.

These actions that implicate both the official armed actors in the Philippines as well as the paramilitaries, also implicate Xstrata. Ironically, according to Oxfam America, Xstrata has some of the best social responsibility policies around free prior and informed consent. FPIC is an internationally recognized protocol to ensure that investments are done with community consent and approval. Clearly in the case of the Tampakan Mine, Xstrata is not meeting their own company policies.

Columbans Respond

Mass at the picket in Guinabot October 30, last Saturday of the month. With group from the parishes of Tabina, Pitogo, in Midsalip and Guinabot. Some of the people from Pitogo left their homes at 3 am to walk to the town and get a truck to go to Midsalip and be there at 9 am.

Columbans have accompanied the communities in Mindanao for decades in their efforts to protect their livelihoods and way of life from mining companies who seek to take their land through land grabs to exploit the copper, gold, or other valuable minerals. Of note, both Father Sean McDonagh and Father Frank Nally, who served in the Philippines for many years, have been powerful advocates for these communities and the whole of creation. Father McDonagh, an internationally recognized eco-theologian, helped write the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines’ seminole statement in 1988, “What is Happening to Our Beautiful Land,” which celebrated its 25^th anniversary this year. The statement speaks directly of the harm to creation: “Mine tailings are dumped into fertile seas like Calancan Bay in Santa Cruz, Marinduque where they destroy forever the habitat of the fish. Chemicals are poisoning our lands and rivers. They kill vital organisms and in time they will poison us.”

Father Nally has led high-level delegations to the Philippines. He also  writes reports with other international and Filipino partners on the human rights and environmental concerns related to the mine.

Here in Washington, D.C., the CCAO and other members of the Ecumenical Advocacy Network on the Philippines met with both the Philippines Embassy and the State Department in 2012 and continue to raise concerns about the extra-judicial killings in the mining region of Mindanao. Father Nally and other Columbans have made similar efforts in the U.K. to get the U.K. government to change their current policy that supports Xstrata’s harmful activities in the Philippines.

Columbans and the CCAO are not only accompanying communities in the Philippines, but also in Peru who are trying to protect human rights and their environment. Almost one year ago in May 2012, the community of Espinar, near Cuzco, organized a demonstration to call attention to the pollution from the Xstrata copper mine. Police interceded and two people were killed and a number of people were detained and held, in some cases illegally at the site of mining operations.

Threats to Creation in the Philippines

In addition to the human rights issues in the Philippines, the ecology in Mindanao is also under threat. Wildlife habitats, such as the Malalag Bay will face irreparable damage from land excavation to access the minerals. Additionally, Xstrata stated in their own Environmental and Social Impacts Analysis that if the tailings dam breaks, toxic rocks and water will spread leading to a large loss of life and environmental destruction.

Bishop Dinualdo Gutierrez is helping to spearhead the resistance effort against the mine construction. Pointing to the fact that the government will make millions of dollars in profit from the mines, the Bishop questions whether any positive outcome will arise from the creation of this mine. Bishop Gutierrez said “If this government will receive millions, how about the destruction? You cannot replace (the environment)” [1]

As Christians, we are called, as part of Creation, to defend Creation from the threat of wholesale devastation (Genesis 2:15).  In his Easter 2013 address, Pope Francis called on us to be guardians of creation. He also deplored a world divided by greed looking for easy gain, including in extractive industries.

What YOU can do

The CCAO as part of the Ecumenical Advocacy Network on the Philippines, is walking in solidarity with Creation and the communities. We invite you to lift up your voice and ask Xstrata and the Philippines government to back away from the Tampakan mine project.  Click here for the letters

http://www.cbcpnews.com/cbcpnews/?p=14189

Indigenous communities oppose the mining operation because it will displace the community and destroy the local ecology in the Malalag Bay. In the last two years, more than 28 indigenous community members and anti-mining activists have been murdered and their deaths have gone unsolved. Already there are well-documented cases that military or paramilitary leaders are responsible.

tampakan mine blog ambassador letter

tampakan mine xstrata letter