I miss all of you…..

pauletteosf1 Comment

Dear friends of Project Peace or Nonviolent Tiffin and Pax Christi,

It’s been such a strange summer hasn’t it? As Governor Como puts it “we’re on the other side of the curve” at least in New York. I don’t think we can say that about the whole United States, but if we all continue working our part to “turn the page” on COVID-19, we’ll eventually be ok. I love his “fact” substantiation on the situation each day.

Soon we will all be concentrating on this continuing situation and on the election coming up in November. My encouragement is “let’s do the groundwork” in trying to reflect on the needs of the Common Good all across the board in terms of the “seamless garment of life” with trying to do all we can to promote dignity and making it easier for all people everywhere of all economic levels and strata of society to truly be their best person.

THank you……..please respond and try to spread this website will you? It’s one way all peace groups can promote peacemaking and report….anyone can make posts. https://wordpress.com/block-editor/post/projectpeacetiffin.com

Blessings to all.

sr. Paulette

News about the Coronavirus from Bethlehem

pauletteosf1 Comment

1) Regarding Coronavirus, it has become officially a pandemic and the
failure of many governments to take it seriously will have catastrophic
consequences in those areas (like Italy and the US). Some governments are
using the pandemic as an excuse to increase repression and discrimination
instead of using it to bring peace with justice. The genocidal sanctions on
Iran for example has been tightened causing needless deaths of many. And
even though Israeli cases are far more than Palestinian cases, restrictions
and blockade tightened in our ghettos/bantustans (our own apartheid regime)
and settlers are free to travel anywhere. Bethlehem is blockaded only for
its Palestinian residents not for the illegal Israeli colonial settlers
living here. Iran released tens of thousands of prisoners to protect them;
Israel brought in a sick doctor and cut services and stopped family visits
to the thousands of Palestinian political prisoners. The catastrophic
economic situation around the world impacts the most vulnerable
communities. Poverty will skyrocket and the billionaires will stay
billionaires! “Israel” with all its money and resources (fleeced from us
and others) is focused on being anti-Palestinian instead of working to
better the lives of all its citizens including Palestinians. Greece and
Turkey play football with Syrian refugees and the genocide in Yemen is
ongoing and I shudder to think what would happen as the virus spreads in
such devasted countries like Syria, Yemen, and Libya.

2) The climate change catastrophic situation is not dealt with and the
political structures look like will not be changed. Because of cheating and
rigging to prevent Bernie Sanders from getting the democratic nomination
(driven mostly by Zionists), the choice in November will be to vote for one
xenophobic puppet and another (Trump vs Biden) or sit it out. Trump will
win (the power of incumbency and more money from Zionist billionaires) and
we will be run for four more years by a fumbling megalomaniac. In either
case the US will continue to topple governments that serve their people and
install puppets similar to the one they put in charge of Brazil who will
finish off the Amazon rainforest.

Good news:

1) In many locations, people quickly responded aggressively to the virus
and seem to have contained the situation including at the source of the
virus (Wuhan province in China) where new cases continue to decline.
Medical personnel around the world have been nothing less than heroes.
Among Palestinians we were pleasantly surprised by how serious it was taken
and every one of the 31 cases reported in the past few days has known
source and well controlled with hundreds observing the self-quarantine
(only two people did not and they are now forced to do so and maybe
penalized!). So many people are helping other people. Other good news on
this front is the scientific development of simplified cheap tests and
quick progress on anti-viral cures.

2) Young people around the world are aware like never before. Part of it is
they understand increasingly how the system is rigged, that 99.9% of
politicians lie to them, and that their future cannot be left to
politicians. They take things into their own hands, mobilize, help fellow
human beings and are increasingly realizing that their future is at stake.
Extinction Rebellion is the fastest growing movement on our planet.

Now there are things that we cannot predict where they go yet. Will
decision makers do the right thing and learning from the past realize that
“business as usual” cannot go on and that they need to think of the
collective human interest? Will we learn that the horrors of World War I
and WWII were indeed repeated including actions of ethnic cleansing and
slow genocide even by some people claiming to be heirs to the victims of
similar atrocities? Will some countries use Israeli made drones to oppress
people & shut down borders to refugees or will they really work for peace
and justice instead of supporting repressive regimes like “Saudi Arabia”
and “Israel” who cause these problems? Will those who attended the large
AIPAC conference including congress people realize there is so much more
hard from that besides getting Coronavirus (four were infected and
mingling)? Will politicians put their personal financial and political
interests ahead of our (and their’s) children future? Will the world
(including our Arab countries and Palestine) remain run by mediocre people
focusing on their own narrow self-interest? Will Israeli society and global
Zionists continue to drift farther to the rights (racism, fascism etc)?

We did not learn from our history. As WWII was ending and Germany and Japan
were already defeated, the US fired the first two shots of the next war
with the Soviet Union (that is the Hiroshima and Nagazaki terror bombing).
Then we had Korea, Vietnam, Palestine and many many more atrocities against
peole to serve colonial and imperial powers. In the past they got away with
it. Today, this is existential to all humanity and as was said by a
prophetic voice: we either live together as fellow human beings or we
perish together as fools. When I said this to an audience in a recent talk
in Europe, they asked about probabilities: I said 20% and 80% but the
probability of 20% to survive as a species is getting smaller – the window
of opportunity is closing. We must all reach deeper in our hearts and minds
(and soul if you believe) and summon our best to fight. It is the epic
struggle for our existence.

Seeing Christ in Each Other

pauletteosf1 Comment

ST. FRANCIS CONVENT TO HOST DOROTHY DAY PRESENTATION ON SEPTEMBER 19 Robert Russo to address the Catholic Worker founder’s pacifist stance

Dorothy Day scholar Robert Russo will speak on September 19, 7:00 – 8:15 pm, at St. Francis Convent Chapel, 200 St. Francis Ave., Tiffin. The event is sponsored by Tiffin Area Pax Christi and Project Peace.

Russo’s talk, entitled Seeing Christ in Each Other, will examine the underlying causes and consequences of Dorothy Day’s pacifist stance. Day was a journalist and social activist who was best known for her efforts with the Catholic Worker Movement. She founded the Catholic Worker in New York City in 1933 to serve the poor during the depths of the depression. She is currently a candidate for sainthood.

Russo, a Perrysburg resident, has a Master’s Degree in Systematic Theology from Lourdes University. Over the past ten years, he has lectured, written, and conducted extensive research concerning Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker movement. He is the author of The Thrills of 1924: Dorothy Day Encounters the “Underworld Denizens” of New Orleans.

According to Russo, “pacifism in Day’s case must not be considered only in the light of death occurring from an unjust war, but also through the death of the human spirit arising from injustice, brutality, crass materialism, and poverty.”

A free will offering will be taken. Pre-registration is not required. For more information, call 419-447-0435, Ext. 136.     Peace Crane poster[6930]

Headin’ back to Palestine June 3

pauletteosf1 Comment

Dear friends,

I’m rather slow in making this appeal for any help you’d like to forward to Project Peace for our trip once again to palestine from June 3-13, 2019.  The situation is not getting any better so there is EVERY reason to keep advocating for the Palestinians whose HOPE forward is getting shakier.  Still Project Peace shall not give up…We will continue to take delegations and help people SEE the situation as it is with the settlements, e.g. occupying more and more of the traditional lands of the Palestinians.

This year we will have the special occasion to meet with Tamimi the young Palestinian who braved the situation with an Israeli soldier–pushing him when he was trying to take her brother away.  She served  months in prison for her brave stance.  Now she has wisdom to share and we’re hoping we can absorb some of that bravery in her.

We shall of course visit many friends–who continue no matter WHAT IS HAPPENING to speak their minds, to build infrastructures of resistance like schools for the girls, etc.

Won’t you join us in spirit?  If you are able, donations made to Project Peace would be very much appreciated.  The address is:  sr. Paulette, 200 St. Francis AVe. Tiffin, OH 44883

Blessings in every way to you.  If you want to communicate with me while I’m in Palestine, I’d be happy to do so.

lovingly,

sr. Paulette