Tag Archives: G8

by | March 29, 2012 · 9:33 am

Thirsting for Change – a CAFOD 50th Anniversary Pilgrimage

Jim meets his MP

Jim takes part in a CAFOD lobby of parliament

One of the riches of the Catholic Church is its social teaching. This calls us to act in solidarity with our neighbour wherever and whoever s/he is, “Solidarity is first and foremost a sense of responsibility on the part of everyone with regard to everyone” (Pope Benedict XVI, Charity in Truth 38).

For Catholics in England and Wales a remarkable example of such solidarity is CAFOD whose 50th Anniversary is this year. This inspired me to do something to mark the occasion but, more importantly, something that would make a difference to the lives of my sisters and brothers in developing countries.

I believe strongly that our faith calls us to take action to bring about positive change in the world. One way of doing this is by campaigning with CAFOD. My name is Jim Quinn and I have been a campaign volunteer for many years now.

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by | March 27, 2012 · 1:04 pm

Thirst for change: Why I’m taking the pilgrim path

Jim Quinn prepares for his Thirst for change walk

Jim Quinn, from the Birmingham diocese, is planning to walk 155 miles on a personal pilgrimage to raise awareness of CAFOD’s Thirst for change campaign. We caught up with Jim to find out more about his hopes for the walk and what inspired him to action.

Where are walking and when? I’m setting off from St Chad’s Cathedral in Birmingham on 22 April, travelling 155 miles along the Grand Union canal to finish at CAFOD‘s office Romero House on 15 May. On the 15 May, tens of thousands of campaign messages will be delivered to the Prime Minister.

I’ll be travelling through three dioceses: Birmingham, Northampton and Westminster. I will be joined on the last day by my parish priest, Father Eddie Clare, one or more parishioners, Campaign volunteer James Walker and Becky, another walker, who will be coming to the end of her own walk for water along the full length of the Thames! Continue reading →

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by | January 10, 2012 · 2:22 pm

Thirst for Change: A drop in the ocean?

This week I learnt a new fact: ‘water’, and its derivatives, are referenced some 700 times in the Bible . From Genesis to Revelation, creation to liberation, water charts a course through verse and psalm – flowing and meandering throughout Scripture.

The spiritual significance of water gives us much to ponder. Through water, life is both physically and spiritually given, blessed and affirmed.

And yet, few of us think about the life-giving properties of the water that flows out of our taps. We forget that the water gushing out of our hose-pipes, as we tend to our vegetables, is a gift. We don’t find the time to reflect on the 50 litres of water we each flush down our toilets every day in the UK.

A year ago, the importance of taps and toilets rarely crossed my mind. But then I met Esther when I travelled to Zambia with CAFOD last summer. And she changed all that.

Call for clean water and safe sanitation for all >>

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by | March 22, 2010 · 1:09 pm

Climate: Where will the money come from?

Arriving in Manila is quite an experience. Despite the mild improvements in British weather over the past few days, nothing quite prepared me for the intense heat of this huge and sprawling city.

Manila is a mish-mash of Asian, Mediterranean and American culture – gaudy Catholic statuary and paraphernalia are round every corner, as are the copious shopping malls dotted about the city.

But alas, no time for sight-seeing: it’s straight to work. I’m here to participate in a multi-stakeholder dialogue on climate funding. Continue reading →

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by | August 21, 2009 · 3:33 pm

Climate change: Bonn brings new blockages

As we entered the latest round of climate discussions at Bonn, hopes were high that the small step forward from Italy’s G8 last month would translate into real progress.

When leaders of the world’s richest countries met at the G8 and Major Economies Forum (MEF) summits, climate change was a key issue on their agenda.

Although long overdue, both the G8 and MEF declared that global average temperatures should not rise above 2C – an agreement which symbolised a breakthrough after years of frustrating negotiations.

However, although leaders agreed on a “vision” to tackle climate change, there was little indication of how this was to be achieved.

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