...Mercy International Centre was alive with the energy of the Eucharistic Congress with pilgrims and Congress volunteers who stayed overnight at Baggot Street. Twenty four resided at Baggot Street for either a partial week or the full week.

During the daytime hours, this energy was supplemented by the people who came to spend time in prayer in Catherine’s chapel and at her grave and take a tour of the house. Over 150 people from Australia, Canada, England, Germany, Haiti, Ireland, Italy, Peru, Switzerland, and the United States availed themselves of the opportunity to spend time in Catherine’s house...

Messages to Mary Kay Dobrovolny rsm - Assistant Director Heritage & Spirituality

At the special ceremony to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit held at Rio Centro on 15 June, former secretary general of Rio 1992 Maurice Strong delivered an honest and cautionary note to governments, delegates, observers and major group members about the Rio+20 outcome current state: “We call this a celebration but frankly there is not a lot to celebrate. … This is not just a conference about environmental sustainability,” he admonished. “It is really a conference about the future of our civilization. ... I really fear that we are further now from the necessary course of action than we were twenty years ago.”

Consistent with this grave/somber assessment, Sisters Áine O’Connor and Mary Bilderback report from Rio that current negotiations on the Zero Draft of the Outcome Document continue to lack ambition and vision. Even worse, the negotiations fail to set the stage for any historical and urgent outcome to ensure equitable, sustainable development for all and for the future sustainability of our planet.

A full report, including video clips, is linked to this item.

Messages to :
Aine O'Connor rsm - Mercy Global Action Coordinator at the UN
Mary Bilderback rsm

For an earlier update on the first days of the Peoples Assembly (14 June), click here.
Further updates will be posted on the website as they come to hand. Please keep visiting the mercyworld.org website over the next few days

 Editor: Church and civil society leaders are calling on world leaders attending the Rio summit to “put in place structural changes to enable equally women and men to reach their full potential and truly flourish". Read the statement here. Faith Economy and Ecology Network from the U.S to which Mercies belong can be accessed here
Additional resources for prayer during the Rio+20 conference and beyond can be drawn from the following sources: European Christian Environmental Network (ECEN) a church network promoting co-operation in caring for creation, the Australian Season of Creation website and the Catholic Social Teaching UK website.

Editor: In Issue 465 of Mercy E-News (6 June) MGA explained how they will examine the successful strategy employed by Mercy Investment Services to place pressure on companies to implement policies that will eliminate any engagement with human trafficking in their supply chains...in order to determine its strengths and to assess whether it can be applied in other countries where Mercy operates, beginning with Ireland. This week we learn of further developments.

In light of their unique position to spot signs of trafficking, undeniably it is of supreme importance that those employed in the hospitality sector, both management and staff, are aware of what to look out for and of how to proceed if they feel that their place of business is being utilised for this criminal activity...

It is our intention at Mercy International Association to promote the widespread adoption of the ECPAT Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism as well as to root out the toleration of trafficking in the hospitality sector at large...

We intend to begin the campaign by making a guest letter, which requests hotel managers to consider signing up to the ECPAT Code, available on the Irish Mercy Congregations website and on Mercy International Association website and encouraging members of the Congregation and their contacts to deliver these letters to the hotels they visit. In particular, when organising meetings or large gatherings...

Messages to: Siobhan Margolis - MGA Intern

Editor: Resources on Trafficking: Network for PeaceThrough Dialogue kit; review of " Trafficked" the play (pdf)
 

"If and when Catherine is canonised there is no knowing how many lives will be influenced for the good by the story of the Dublin woman who put her life and all she had on the line for Jesus Christ. Canonisation means that Catherine’s life and the Charism entrusted to her, and which she lived so faithfully, will be shared by the Universal Church in a way that cannot happen otherwise."  Brenda Dolphin rsm - Postulator. Read complete article here.

Prayers through the intercession of Venerable Catherine are requested for the intentions of all those on the MIA Prayer list: and in particular, those whose names are newly added: Dan & Nonnie Penney.

Messages to:
Anne Hannon rsm - Vice postulator Europe and Africa
Sheila Carney rsm - Vice postulator Americas
Mary Duffy rsm - Vice postulator Australia, New Zealand, Philippines

The Venerable Catherine McAuley Stand in the Exhibition Hall of the Eucharistic Congress attracted a thousand visitors with connections to the Sisters of Mercy and was a meeting point for Sisters of Mercy who were in attendance at the Congress.

On the final day of the Congress Sisters of Mercy and a Mercy Associate shared their reflections on what the experience of the Congress meant for them personally, the Church in Ireland and the Cause of Catherine McAuley, in a video (00:9:10) posted on The Congregation's website and linked to this item.

Messages to: The Canonisation Committee c/- Ailish o'Brien rsm - Communications Co-ordinator

Editor: Editor: Video coverage (3'15") of the Closing of the Eucharistic Congress "Statio Orbis" has been archived on the RTE website and will be able to be accessed at this link until July 8.The Statio Orbis was divided into two parts: first, a series of musical performances, testimonies, and presentations (00:00:00 - 1:11:12) and, secondly, the celebration of Mass, presided over by papal legate Cardinal Marc Ouellet (1:11:13 - 3:15:00). The Opening Ceremony (00:00:00 - 1:19: 22) and Mass (1:19:22 - 3:00:04) can be accessed here until 1 July.

Videos of talks at the Congress can be individually accessed here

The House of Mercy is a grassroots homeless shelter and advocacy center open 24/7 that provides food, clothing, shelter and assistance to some of the poorest people in Rochester, in upstate New York. The centre was founded in 1985 by Grace Miller rsm.

The mission of the House of Mercy was highlighted in a report in the Rochester Homepage.Net last week with the memorial service held for four homeless men whose deaths occurred in a two week period

"We care for our homeless. We knew the men, we loved them and we do miss them," said Grace Miller rsm.

Messages to: Grace Miller rsm - House of Mercy c/- Pat Kenny rsm - Institute Communications

Editor: Mercy and Justice shall Meet, Story Four "Ways to Come Home" explores the work of some Mercy agencies in sheltering and supporting the homeless.

On Sunday 20th May at the Fitzroy Campus of Australian Catholic University in Melbourne, Young Mercy Links (YML) hosted an evening to explore the issue of human trafficking. Human trafficking was explored in terms of the sexual exploitation and prostitution of young girls and women. Joanna and Ellie, members of YML, introduced the evening with facts that show how wide spread human trafficking is in our global economy...

Guest speaker for the evening was Angela Reed rsm who spoke powerfully of her research work with trafficked girls and young women in Cebu, Philippines.

A full report of the event can be accessed here.

Messages to: Val Mooney - Co-ordinator YML c/- Sally Bradley rsm Institute Leadership Team

Editor: The Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy ministered in British Columbia until October 2005. In a fascinating article in The Tyee newspaper, we learn of how observation of their practice led a college professor to the subject of her academic study.

'...For the past five years, [Karen Cooper] has been poring over scientific literature on the relationship between nutrition and mental health and conducting her own original field research in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.

Cooper is trying to quantify what most working and living in the neighbourhood already know: food, or lack thereof, has a big impact on people's moods and behaviour...

Cooper's foray into this type of research was accidental. The subject of her PhD was originally "nothing to do with nutrition or food," she says, but rather, empathy. Her focus was on the Sisters of Mercy... who did outreach on the Downtown Eastside.

As she became familiar with the Sisters' work, she realized that food was a major part of their outreach. It wasn't just the food, she adds, it was also the respect that people received there -- but it was her first inkling that food was a research topic worthy of a closer look...'

Source: The Tyee

Messages to: Karen Cooper - Professor, Corpus Christi College, Vancouver, British Columbia

On Saturday, 26 May 2012, the eve of Pentecost, in Monte Sant’ Angelo Chapel, North Sydney, a very special ceremony took place. My Perpetual Profession as a Sister of Mercy, North Sydney, was celebrated in the presence of Fr Maurice McNamara,  Jennifer Ryan rsm, Congregational Leader of the Sisters of Mercy, North Sydney, and the many Sisters who were able to be present. It was a celebration that has been life giving and it brought much peace and joy to all our Sisters. May the freedom of our hearts that was experienced in God’s loving presence that day, continue to free our hearts and the hearts of others.

Messages to: Lyndall Hagan rsm c/- Loreto Conroy rsm
 

A student in Year 12 at Catherine McAuley Westmead NSW has been chosen to represent Australia in Europe’s largest science conference, The Euroscience Open Forum (ESOF), to take place in Dublin, Ireland from 11-15 July this year.

Christie-Rae Crosthwaite will join more than 5,000 delegates from 50 countries including five Nobel Laureates and 500 high profile speakers from around the world at the conference. The conference will showcase the latest advances in science and technology and promote a dialogue on the role of science and technology in society and public policy.

Messages to: Jacqui Hamilton - School Development Officer

In February 2012 Berneice Loch rsm, Leader of the Institute of Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea (ISMAPNG), wrote to relevant Politicians & UN Ambassadors regarding the critical need for an ethical framework to be included in the Zero Draft of the Outcome Document for Rio+20 and acknowledged that despite the efforts to achieve sustainability we still seek a just, equitable, sustainable and peaceful future for all. She received positive responses from some politicians.

The following message was delivered to every Sister in the Institute.

In light of the Rio + 20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development which will significantly impact how the world responds with equity and justice to future sustainability on an ever more crowded planet, sisters have been invited to pray & reflect on the prayer from MIA and called to further reflection & action:

• How do I continue to nurture a deeper understanding of my relationship with others, our world and our universe?
• How do I promote equity and justice to future sustainability in my local community and beyond?
• What personal response will I make to this issue?

Messages to: Carmel Heagerty rsm -  Institute Justice Co-ordinator
 

"How might we understand this moment in time as the Leadership Conference of Women Religious meets with the bishops who lead the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith? Where can we find common ground that honors the doctrine of our church while inviting dialogue?.."

In an article published in the New York Times, Pat McDermott rsm, President of the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, addresses this question.

Messages to Pat McDermott rsm

The theme of the Associate days was “Catherine and the Eucharist”. We chose this theme because of the 50th Eucharistic Congress taking place this June in Ireland.

7 venues were organised: Blackbrook St. Helen’s; St. Catherine’s Edinburgh; Convent of Mercy Bermondsey; St. Cuthberts North Shields; Immaculate Conception Church Hall Clevedon; St. Mary’s Convent Birmingham; St. John’s Wood London

The day began with Morning Prayer and was followed by a speaker leading a reflection on the topic.The afternoon was a workshop on the topics: How was Catherine in Communion with Christ and others? How are we in Communion with Christ and with others?

Details of the days, including the leaflet prepared for Morning Prayer - Catherine McAuley and the Eucharist - are linked to this item.

Messages to: Mercy Associates c/- Cathy Edge rsm - Institute Web & IT Coordinator

Editor: Mercy Associates (England, Scotland, Wales) is this week's featured Mercy website

Mercy Medical Center (Mercy) and MercyCare Community Physicians (MercyCare) are running a Facebook campaign to help raise money for HACAP's Freedom from Hunger food drive. Mercy and MercyCare will each donate $1 to the Freedom from Hunger food drive for each "Like" either organization receives on their respective Facebook pages, through July 4.

Freedom from Hunger, now in its 10th year, benefits the HACAP Food Reservoir, which serves 98 organizations throughout Eastern Iowa. The HACAP Food Reservoir is a member of Feeding America, the nation's leading hunger-relief charity, and distributes approximately 1.4 million pounds of food each year. Just one dollar enables HACAP to buy 8.3 pounds of food for local families

To participate, visit one of Mercy's two Facebook pages or one of MercyCare’s nine clinic Facebook pages and click the "Like" button at the top of the page. Participants can "Like" multiple pages, which will increase the total amount the organizations donate to Freedom from Hunger.

A list of specific URLs is linked to this item.

Messages to: Mercy Medical Center
 

1824: Catherine leased property on the corner of Baggot St and Herbert St, Dublin
1854: Foundation to Nenagh from Birr - M Anastasia Beckett
1888: Foundation to Borrisokand from Birr - M de Pazzi Fitzgerald
1911: Foundation to Rosslare from Wexford - M Agnes Maguire

Sister Camille D’Arienzo narrates Stories of Forgiveness, a book she has written about people whose experiences have caused them to consider the possibilities of extending or accepting forgiveness.

Mercy Associates are groups of lay people who work with the Sisters of Mercy in the spirit of their foundress, Catherine McAuley.

Follow these steps to whitelist email addresses and domains in Gmail:

Step 1: In Gmail, click the “Create a Filter” link which is placed just next to the search box.

Step 2: In the From: field, enter the email addresses, domain names or even actual names of people who you would like to whitelist. You can separate multiple entries using OR (in Caps) or with the bar (|) sign.

Step 3: Once your filter is ready, click Next and select “Never Send it to Spam.”