May 27, 2022
Cecilia Iorio, CAFOD’s Brazil Country Representative, warmly invites you to the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester to hear first-hand from indigenous leader and activist Mauricio Ye’kuana, who together with his people fights to protect the Brazilian Amazon rainforest from illegal invaders for us all. The event is taking place on 11 June from 2pm.
Continue reading “Listen to a voice from the rainforest”June 12, 2020
At Corpus Christi, Catherine Gorman from CAFOD’s Theology team reflects on how our faith commits us to one another as part of the body of Christ.
Continue reading “Corpus Christi: The body of Christ”May 22, 2020
Friday 22 May is International Day for Biological Diversity. From his garden in London, CAFOD’s Ben Payne considers the wonders of our natural environment and the struggles of indigenous peoples around the world to protect our common home.
Continue reading “Finding happiness through biodiversity”October 22, 2019
Kezia Lavan from CAFOD’s Brazil team tells us about her latest trip to the Brazilian Amazon where she met with local communities who are learning to farm sustainably, preserve the forest and stand up for their rights.
Continue reading “Building a common home in the Brazilian Amazon”October 15, 2019
Mauricio López is the Executive Secretary of REPAM – a Catholic Church network CAFOD supports that promotes the rights and dignity of the people in the Amazon. As the Amazon Synod takes place, Mauricio tells us about the threats indigenous communities in the Amazon face and the important role they play in protecting our planet.
Continue reading “Standing alongside indigenous communities”June 7, 2019
On reading the gospel for Pentecost Sunday, Kathleen from our Theology team reflected on the word “advocate” and what it means to her today.
Based on the gospel for Pentecost Sunday, 9 June – John 14:14-16, 23b-26
“The Father will give you another Advocate to be with you forever.”
Jesus told his disciples they would never be alone. The Holy Spirit, the Advocate, would always be with them.
Sign up to receive our weekly reflections to your inbox.
For fans of TV courtroom dramas, the word “advocate” may well evoke visions of efficient-looking and aggressive-sounding be-wigged barristers. But what it brings to my own mind is the many times I hear the word “advocacy” being used, here in the CAFOD office in London.
Continue reading “Pentecost reflection: The Holy Spirit, our Advocate”December 10, 2018
Today is International Human Rights Day. Esther Gillingham, CAFOD’S Brazil Programme Officer explains how CAFOD’s partner, Justice on the Railway Tracks is empowering human rights defenders and changing lives in Brazil.
CAFOD are very proud to share the news that our Brazilian partner, Justice on the Railway Tracks was presented with the first ever Human Rights and Business Foundation Award presented at the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights in Geneva on 27th November 2018.
They received the award for their work defending poor communities from the impacts of human rights and environmental abuses by mining companies in the Amazonian state of Maranhao in north-eastern Brazil.
This work included a 13-year long legal struggle which resulted in the landmark resettlement of the Piquia de Baixo community who have been adversely affected by a huge steel plant built right next to their community in the 1980s.
Support our human rights work in Brazil
Continue reading “Celebrating Human Rights Defenders in Brazil”
September 29, 2017
Our Connect2 Brazil narrator Neti has worked tirelessly for 10 years to help the occupants of Maua to demand their right to decent housing. Now she needs your help.
Hello CAFOD friends. I am Neti. I visited some of you in the past. I would like to ask you to pray for all of us here in the Mauá Community. We are going through some really tough times; our rights are being violated. We in the Mauá community, have spent 10 years living in this building which we have cleaned, looked after and made a home for 237 families. For years, we have been negotiating for the acquisition of this building for social housing for an affordable rent. Now we are at risk of eviction. We have not been offered an alternative. We will have to leave our homes and live in the street. I am counting on you and your prayers.”
Continue reading “Support the Mauá community in their fight against eviction”
August 7, 2017
Tony Sheen is CAFOD’s Community Participation Coordinator for Westminster Diocese. Here he looks back on a memorable visit to São Paulo’s favelas in Brazil. He explains how seeing the Church ‘in action’ defending the human rights of those in need continues to inspire him.
A couple of years ago I was lucky enough to visit São Paulo and meet some of the people supported by CAFOD’s partners. Early one morning I travelled with Heluiza and Osmar from our partner APOIO, to visit a shanty town to the east of the city called Electropaulo Favela, where over 1200 families live in abject poverty.
5 human rights violations CAFOD partners are working on
August 10, 2016
Maristely is the narrator of one of our Connect2: Brazil partners. She is currently a student in her final year at university, but alongside her studies she continues to participate in activities to defend the rights of people living in favelas and poor informal settlements with our partner, Movement for the Defence of Favelas (MDF) in São Paulo. Here Maristely talks about the 2016 Olympics taking place in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil this summer.
“On the sporting front, there is anxiety in making sure the Olympic Games take place. But the way these Games will happen is depressing.
Since the World Cup and the Olympic Games were first announced in Brazil these kinds of mega sporting events were seen as opportunities for improvements in basic infrastructure of the country, but in the preparation process, there has been little space for civil society participation and technical experts who know about urban development were not involved in the discussions.
Find out about Connect2: Brazil and how your parish can get involved
As the deadline approaches, there is a need for an accelerated release of funds to ensure that the games take place and that the infrastructure is ready. This leads to works that are not ready in time and rushed through quickly, resulting in the removal of poor urban inhabitants from good locations.
Continue reading ““For the poor people of Rio, ticket prices for the Olympics are too high””
