Doing the Right Thing

Over a month ago, we posted that the Haitian Ministry of Education had delayed the September 3 school opening to October 3.  October 3rd has come and gone.  Schools remain closed. Speaking to the United Nations Security Council yesterday, October 17, the Haitian Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean Victor Généus opened his remarks by stating, …

Who’s Gonna Do It?

In the ‘Gethsemane’ scene in the 2003 rock opera !Hero that considers “What if Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania?” Hero – played by Michael Tait – sings a powerful anthem that asks the question, “Who’s gonna do it, if I don’t step to it?”  It is a formidable and intensely personal question. In my …

Rights of the Child

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted and opened for signature and ratification in November 1989 by the UN General Assembly.  It was officially ‘entered into force’ almost a year later in September 1990, over three decades ago.  Article 42 states that governments must actively work to make sure children …

Sustainable Development

Together, we can save the world from itself.  I am willing to join you in assuming this responsibility because I have concluded that no government, no organization, and no religious tradition has the leadership and capacity to save the world from itself.  The closest it gets is the Roman Catholic Church under the leadership of …

International Day of Peace

This Wednesday, September 21, 2011 is the International Day of Peace.  First celebrated in September 1982, the United Nations declared September 21st as the official International Day of Peace in 2002.  Sadly, I would wager that most of us are not even aware of this event. Peace means more than the absence of war.  Peace …