We must all ‘share our coats’ to help the world’s needy 
The Universe
(June 11, 2006)
As I write this, I am in Ireland participating in the Justice and Fair Trade week at Greystones Parish in County Wicklow.
Here, Fr David Halpin and his team have launched a new initiative to make Greystones a ‘Justice Parish’ and to help troubled youths in Dublin and in several projects in the developing world where children are suffering abuse.
This new trust is called ‘The Two Coats’ project because of the gospel admonition to share one coat with another if we have two. The goal of the parish council and the active parishioners is to inspire the whole parish to become engaged in helping those suffering oppression and exploitation. The heart of the Gospel and mission of Jesus is to save all humanity from suffering and evil and redeem all mankind. Christians everywhere are all called to fulfill that mission. Our faith in Jesus is not to be merely fulfil rites and rituals, but to know and understand the hard realities of those that have little or nothing in the world and make their lives better.
The Justice Parish was launched last May 28 by the Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin. During the launching ceremony, filled with song and a spirit of celebration, he told of his visit to Liberia some years ago where he found a small girl covered in plaster from head to chest. "What happened?” he asked and was told that during the genocide, would-be killers had tried to chop her head off. But she had miraculously survived.
The first in Europe, the Greystones Justice Parish takes on several projects in the developing world. One is the rescue of children jailed in the Philippines. The new Juvenile Justice Bill, passed after intensive lobbying and campaigning and signed a few weeks ago by President Arroyo will release thousands if it is implemented.
It also orders that all children under the age of 15 be sent to a home instead of jail if accused of a crime. We have to work hard to implement that law and see no children are left in jail to be abused. The Justice parish will join us in taking on that vital mission.
The Preda-Akbay youth theatre group was in Greystones as part of their European tour to promote the dignity of Filipinos and develop support to the cause of human rights and develop awareness about the destructive side of mining, and the jailing and trafficking of children.
The impact of our campaign against the sex Mafia in the Philippines and Olongapo City is having a strong impact as abusers are brought to trial and others are challenged. This work has its dangers, threats and harassment. Eight members of the Preda staff are presently harassed by false charges and baseless arrest warrants on a libel case.
None of these false libel charges will slow us down. These are the occupation hazards of human rights workers - sometimes they are accompanied by death threats - but it's all part of our mission, as it was of the mission of Jesus and the apostles. [End]
Fr. Shay Cullen is a Columban missionary: PREDA Centre, Kalaklan, Olongapo City. www.preda.org
