Pax Christi International, with its members and partners, listens to the cry of the communities and calls on the international community to firmly respond to the widespread human rights violations caused by extractive companies in the Americas. We wish to draw particular attention to the violations of communities’ right to water, as extractive industries—including logging, agribusiness, hydroelectric dams, mining, and oil and natural gas extraction—use and contaminate large quantities of their waters.

The Sisters of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame de Montréal will gather virtually in General Chapter this summer, from July 26 to August 14, 2021. The meeting, which was initially set to be held at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, will take place by videoconferencing. The delegates will discuss the major orientations of the Congregation for the next five years as well as elect a new Leadership Team.

The discovery of the unmarked graves at former Canadian residential schools is a stark reminder of the most vulnerable and enslaved in our nations. We listen through the winds of time to the cries of hidden children, women, and men. Our breath is labored as we begin to understand the harms inflicted on the innocent. The discovery of these remains is heart-breaking and shameful. As human beings and as members of a religious congregation that served at two of these schools, we weep.