Brother Rodrigo Peret, OFM, board of trustees member and longtime friend of Franciscans Network, arrived from Brazil on March 21 to begin a 10-day visit to Cincinnati. The highlight of his time with us was a panel presentation that FN organized with the support of the Brueggeman Center for Dialogue at Xavier University. The presentation, held on Wednesday evening, March 25, was very well attended. Three speakers addressed the struggle for environmental justice and human rights in Brazil.

 

The first speaker, Sister Joan Krimm, SND de N, told the inspiring story of her lifelong friend Dorothy Stang, a sister of Notre Dame de Namur from Dayton, Ohio, who moved to Brazil 40 years ago to help the poor build independent futures for their families.  She was shot to death February 12, 2005, in the Amazon rainforest by assailants who were hired by the logging industry. They wanted to stop her activities on behalf of the poor and the environment. However, Sister Dorothy's legacy of activism lives on through the people who knew her and through the telling of her story. Sister Joan showed a powerful video clip of Sr. Dorothy sharing the convictions underlying her work for justice. For more information about the life and work of Sr. Dorothy, please visit www.sndohio.org/dotstang.

 

Brother Rodigo then shared his analysis of the unequal conditions in Brazil and throughout the world. He accompanied his reflection with images of Brazil and its people. Rodrigo spoke of the need for a new spirituality for the planet built upon an emerging consciousness of the relationship between humanity and nature. The entire text of his inspiring presentation can be found on the Brazil page of this site.

 

The final speaker was attorney Francis J. Niehaus, who related how a group of lawyers in Cincinnati has responded to the needs in Brazil by covering the educational expenses of law students there. As a condition of receiving this aid, the future lawyers promise to advocate for human rights upon their graduation. A time for questions and answers followed the presentations.

 

In addition to taking part in the panel, Brother Rodrigo spent two days with Shirley Bihr's religion students at St. John the Baptist School in Harrison, Ohio. These students have an ongoing cultural exchange with the students in two landless camps in Brazil. The students and Brother Rodrigo participated in a hunger banquet as a means of better understanding the inequalities of our world. Brother Rodrigo also spoke at St. Monica-St. George Church, Bellarmine Chapel, and met with the group of lawyers who are supporting law students in Brazil. Franciscans Network is very grateful to Brother Rodrigo for taking a week from his ministry in Brazil to educate and inspire us.

 

Louis Vitale is a Franciscan priest and former provincial of the California Franciscan Friars. He co-founded the Nevada Desert Experience, a movement to end nuclear testing, and Pace e Bene, an organization that promotes nonviolence by working with individuals, organizations, and movements to strengthen their efforts to end war, protect human rights, and challenge injustice. Fr. Louie serves as Action Advocate for Pace e Bene as well as pastor of a Catholic church in a low-income neighborhood in San Francisco. He recently served five months in prison for opposing torture.

Fr. Louie has been touring North America, speaking about nonviolence. Franciscans Network was privileged to co-sponsor of Fr. Louis Vitale’s talk at St. Monica-St. George Parish Hall on May 4, 2009. The audience numbered almost ninety persons, the largest attendance for this type of gathering so far on his speaking tour. He was also impressed with the warmth, responsiveness, and generosity of those who came out to listen to his message.

Franciscans Network is grateful to Fr. Louie for his inspiring and challenging witness. We pray for him, and for Pace e Bene, that God will continue to bless their efforts to help our society meet today’s most profound spiritual task: to build a more just and peaceful world.  

The Cincinnati Islamic Center presented Franciscan Network's advancement coordinator, Bill Lonneman, with an award for his work promoting Muslim Christian dialogue at the mosque's 12th annual Pre-Ramadan Dinner on August 16, 2008. Bill's interfaith work is part of our Franciscans Network ministry. We are grateful for the Muslim community's recognition of our efforts to foster greater understanding between our two faiths.  

 

In the accompanying photo, Bill and Ilyas Nashid, who has served the Cincinnati Islamic Center as Imam for the past 13 years, pose with the Center's 2008 Award for Inclusion.