Letter of the Master of the Order

Dominican Month for Peace 2023: Amazon

To all members of the Dominican Family

Download the letter
Rome, 1 September 2023

Dear Brothers and Sisters of the Dominican Family,

The year 2023 has witnessed unusual weather conditions around the world. Extreme heat waves, floods and landslides and unusually dry weather conditions have left many families victims of changing weather patterns. In addition, we have the devastating wildfires of which Canada and Maui in Hawaii are the most pronounced. In the São Paulo region of Brazil, for example, it rained more than 600 mm in February, the highest cumulative total ever recorded in the country, causing landslides and flooding in coastal communities. Some countries witnessed unusually strong hurricanes. And the list goes on. The overall effect of these catastrophes is the loss of lives, homes, places of worship, property and sources of livelihood. Behind these disasters are human faces, including members of the Dominican Family.

This year’s month of peace will take into account these climate problems related to the Amazon, but especially the injustices and human rights violations linked to climate injustice perpetuated in particular in the Southeastern Peruvian jungle which is the part of the Amazon entrusted to the Order by the Church through the Vicariate of Puerto Maldonado.

We Dominicans have been uninterruptedly defending the land, life and dignity of the native peoples in this part of the Amazon for 123 years. Looking at this mission from the perspective of the last General Chapter has been the fundamental criterion for organizing this month of Peace. We want to assume the Amazon as a joint mission, to configure our presence with a common horizon. To unite efforts, wills and vocations to respond generously to this mission that the Church has entrusted to us, because it brings together many things that we consider important as Order “involves the care of creation, the struggle for justice and peace, and the preaching of the Gospel to the poor” (Tultenango 141).

Please spread the word about Peace Month within your entity and among your friends through webinars, in-person meetings and prayer sessions, to mark our solidarity with our Dominican Family in the Amazon Region. Use the means at your disposal: schools, parishes, other institutions and friends. We ask you to also remember our brothers and sisters in Myanmar and Ukraine who continue to face situations that threaten their lives and the destruction of their property.

The Dominican family in the Amazon Region has produced materials to help us make the effects known and invites us to live this month of peace based on four challenges proper to this mission that respond to the dream of Pope Francis (cf. Dear Amazonia, 7):

1. The cry of the earth: Ecology
2. The cry of the poor: Human Rights
3. A cultural dream: Education
4. An ecclesial dream: Volunteerism

Reflections on the Advent readings for each week will be available at a later date. You can access them in the language of your choice at: Dominican Month for Peace 2023 – Google Drive. Feel free to adapt them to your context and audience as you see fit.

To ensure the coordination and smooth running of the events:

• If you have produced any material on the Peace Month, please share it with the General Promoter for Justice and Peace, fr Aniedi Okure iustitia@curia.op.org, and the DSI Coordinator, Sr Durstyne Farnan ngo@domlife.org.
• We ask that the Peace of Month Coordinator in your entity inform the General Promoter and the DSIC Coordinator of the activities within your entity.

Transfer information

Donations will be used to finance the PROJECT: “AMAZON UNIVERSITY PROGRAMME”.
Objective: Implementation of a community learning centre and a propaedeutic programme.

Please use the EURO, primarily.

Please remember to indicate in the purpose “AMAZON-MoP”

Currency	Euro €	$ Dollar USA/USD
Beneficiary	Curia Generalizia dell’Ordine dei frati Predicatori	Curia Generalizia dell’Ordine dei frati Predicatori
Fiscal Code	80121590584	80121590584
Bank	BPER Banca	BPER Banca
Bank address	Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 299, 00187 Roma (Italia/Italie/Italy)	Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 299, 00187 Roma (Italia/Italie/Italy)
Account number	0000 0000 1983	0000 880 72419
IBAN	IT05 L 0538 703 222 0000 0000 1983	IT25 K 053 871 2916 0000 8807 2419
BIC — SWIFT	BPMOIT22XXX	BPMOIT22XXX
Reference	“AMAZON-MoP” – Who pays and why	“AMAZON-MoP” – Who pays and why