A Thought on Arms Trade

ISSUE 87 JUNE 2017 WWW.MIENDONGBAC.ORG Ý LỰC CỦA THÁNG THEME OF THE MONTH Pray that national leaders may firmly commit themselves to ending the arms trade, which victimizes so many innocent people. Xin cho những người lãnh đạo kiên vững trong cam kết chấm dứt việc buôn vũ khí gây ra cho rất nhiều người dân vô tội trở thành nạn nhân. Đức Thánh Cha Phanxicô Đức Giáo Hoàng Giáo Hội Công Giáo Ý CẦU NGUYỆN - PRAYER INTENTIONS Please send prayers to tntt.mdb@gmail.com TIN TOÀN MIỀN - REGIONAL NEWS - SM HL HT Cấp 1 ĐAMAS 19 June 1-4, 2017 Holy Cross Camp, 108 Cape St. Goshen MA 01032 - SM HL TT SAMARITANÔ 61 June 2-4, 2017 Holy Cross Camp, 108 Cape St. Goshen MA 01032 - Đại Hội Miền HỪNG ĐÔNG 8 June 30 July 2, 2017 Pachaug State Forest, 219 Ekonk Hill Rd., Voluntown CT 06384 - Họp Mặt Trợ Tá, GIUSE IV September 9, 2017 Bridgeport CT - 2017 Annual Họp Hội Đồng Miền October 13-14, 2017 Guesthouse @ St. Scholastica Priory 271 N Main St, Petersham, MA CHIA SẺ HUYNH TRƯỞNG YOUTH LEADER REFLECTION A Thought on Arms Trade and PEACE by Tr. Đăng Trương, Thư Ký MĐB và Pbó Quản Trị Đoàn Têrêsa, Lowell MA Before I reflect on how we as Catholics should approach and respond to the current arms trade in the United States of America as well as the world, let s first understand what is the current status of arms trade/gun control and what is the current teaching of the Church. It is crucial for us to realize that the history of mankind is tied to the manifestation of warfare in which humans first fought against natural forces to establish their existence and then from one tribe to another, with one nation conquering the other to expand their territories. In addition, great wars have occurred in the U.S. and across continents to stand against injustice and to fight for basic human rights: Freedom, Liberty and Equality. However, regardless of how just one war might be, the late U.S. president JFK once said, Mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind. In every war, the price one has to pay is always millions of lives taken away despite winning or losing. World War I (1914-1918) took nearly 16 million lives of combatants and civilians. World War II (1939-1945) directly involved more than 100 million lives in over 30 countries, and resulted in the lost of at least 11 million lives to the Holocaust and 50-80 million fatalities to the destruction of the first atomic bombs in Japan. Unfortunately, there are still many wars happening throughout the world, including terrorism which is a form of war against humanity. As wars spread throughout the world, arms trading also established and increased. Weapons were developed and traded as essential tools to serve and determine the outcome of wars. Later in history, arms trading has become a source of revenue in many countries in which weapons were distributed to developing countries and independent organizations as applicable. According to the latest figures available from the Congressional Research Service, the U.S. was credited with more than half the value of all global arms transfer agreements in 2014. The world's second largest supplier is Russia, credited with merely 14 percent.

TIN TOÀN QUỐC - NATIONAL NEWS - Ngày mừng Khẩu Hiẹ u Ru ớc Lê National Day of Adoration June 17, 2017 HOAN HÔ - SHOUT OUT Hoan hô quý Trưởng sau đây được vào hàng ngũ Huynh Trưởng cấp 3 Lãnh Đạo: - Giuse Tru o ng Vu Mạnh Đa ng - Giuse Đoa n Thanh So n - Maria Le Thi Hoa i Phu o ng - Maria Nguyê n Misa - Maria Trâ n Thi Thu Tuyền - Phe ro Trâ n Hồng Tuyê n - Anna Phạm Trinh - Phe ro Trâ n Elvis - Maria Le Thanh Mai - Maria Tạ Maria - Maria Phạm My Lẹ - Gioan Baotixita Nguyê n Henry - Đo minico Trạch Trâ n Nguyê n Huy Tha nh Chúc mừng Tr. Dymphna Phạm Vivi thuộc đoàn Thánh Bernadette được vào hàng ngũ Huynh Trưởng cấp 1, và Tr. Anrê Lê Linh thuộc đoàn Chúa Hài Đồng được vào hàng ngũ Huynh Trưởng cấp 2 ngành Ấu! Nguyện xin Thiên Chúa dìu dắt và chúc lành cho quý HT trên con đường phục vụ!! Peace Prayer of St. Francis Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen. Washington's leadership in this field has never truly been challenged. The U.S. share has fluctuated between one-third and one-half of the global market for the past two decades, peaking at an almost monopolistic 70 percent of all weapons sold in 2011 (globalissues.org). 2 Scale of the global arms trade: Between 700,000 and 900,000 small arms are produced annually. [Source: Small Arms Survey] The annual authorized trade in small arms and light weapons exceeds US$8.5 billion. More than 1,000 companies from nearly 100 countries produce small arms and light weapons. [Source: Small Arms Survey] Military expenditure in the Middle East has grown from $US99 to $US173 billion in 2014, a rise of 75% [Source: SIPRI figures in constant 2011 prices/exchange rates] Globally, armed violence kills around 508,000 people every year, most in non-conflict settings. In a modern context, the Catechism of the Catholic Church acknowledges the right to use lethal force in selfdefense, including on behalf of others, when the use of this force is moderate i.e., when it is not practical to use less force (CCC 2264-2265). An initial point of reference is found in the Gospel of Luke, where our Lord indicates the legitimacy of the right to self-defense, telling the disciples, Let him who has no sword sell his mantle and buy one (Luke 22:36). However, in His address to the United Nations in 1999, Saint Pope John Paul II once defined that Weapons cannot be considered as any other good exchanged on the global, regional or national market. Their possession, production and trade have deep ethical and social implications and they must be regulated by paying due attention to specific principles of the moral and legal order. Therefore, the adoption of instruments and legally binding measures on trade control of conventional weapons on the global, regional and national level is essential and urgent (Message for the World Day of Peace, 1999, No. 11). In his World Day of Peace message in 2006, Pope Benedict XVI asked, "How can there ever be a future of peace when investments are still made in production of arms and in research developing new ones?" More recently Pope Francis declared, This is serious. Some powerful people make their living with the production of arms and sell them to one country for them to use against another country...it s the industry of death, the greed that harms us all, the desire to have more money. He continued, A war can be justified, so to speak, with many, many reasons, but when all the world is as it is today, at war piecemeal though that war may be a little here, a little there and everywhere, there is no justification. And God weeps. Jesus weeps. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called Sons of God (Matthew 5:9). It is our responsibilities to promote a culture of PEACE through our understanding, actions, and prayers. May Mary Mother of God, Our Lady of Peace, pray for us and the world to have deep understanding of each other s differences. May St. Frances help us to become an equipment of God s hand to create peace.

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HÌNH ẢNH ĐÓ ĐÂY PICTURES HERE AND THERE Chúc mừng Tr. ViVi thuộc Đoàn Thánh Bernadette được vào hàng ngũ Huynh Trưởng cấp 1! 5 Hoan hô quý Trưởng được vào hàng ngũ Huynh Trưởng cấp 3 Lãnh Đạo!