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Augustinian NGO Status Promotes Justice

Similar to many other Catholic religious and lay groups, the Order of St. Augustine has taken on an association as a Non-Governmental Organization (N.G.O.) with the United Nations. This relationship grants our Order a special official presence a the U.N.

The Holy See maintains Permanent Observer status at the U.N. in order to speak out on issues involving human rights, justice, religious freedom, peace and development, and attempts to promote respectfully and without fear, Gospel principles as found in the social teaching of the Catholic Church.

As experience has shown, many global policies are formulated in the public forum that the U.N. provides.

The result of some of those policies greatly influences the need for much of the charitable work that the Order is involved in throughout the world.

Wisdom dictates that the Augustinians must become more involved in the formulation of those policies, to foster structural change--a matter of justice--and thereby substantially reduce the need for exercising charity.

As Augustine said in his commentary on the First Letter of John, You give bread to a hungry person; but it would be better were no one hungry, and you could give it to no one. You clothe a naked person. Would that all were clothed and this necessity did not exist! (8,8)

Augustinians have two main goals in doing this:

• To bear witness at the U.N.--and thus to the world--to the Christian values that St. Augustine held dear

• To enrich the members of the Order with international, worldwide perspectives so necessary today for Church and Order renewal and for effective ministry in the modern world.

The Augustinian Order's U.N. Team works to promote these goals. This international team currently includes

• Jack Deegan, O.S.A. (United States)

• Jesús Guzmán, O.S.A. (Mexico)

• Hilary Tagliferro, O.S.A. (Malta)

We hope Augustinian ministries throughout the world will stand committed to the wider understanding of human rights promoted by the U.N. and by the Church--an understanding that embraces the right to life, to food, to water, to health care, to shelter, to security in old age or retirement, to information, to participation in government.

Yes, through our Order's U.N. presence, we Augustinians hope to work with many other Catholic organizations at the U.N., religious and lay, to encourage within the Church a truly global view of our human family.

In turn, we can then help enliven the world through our prayer and ministries, empowered by Jesus and inspired by the thinking of St. Augustine.

Additional Resources

      » Learn about the Partners in Peace and Development Course
             A two-week course on Church - U.N. collaboration

       » What is an N.G.O.? (Opens new window)
             Questions and Answers about U. N. Non-Governmental Organizations

       » Focal Points for N.G.O.s (Opens new window)
             U. N. Programs through which N.G.O.s can promote Gospel values found in Catholic social teaching

Contact the Augustinian NGO

For more information about the Augustinian N.G.O., contact:

      Rev. Jack Deegan, O.S.A.
      Rev. Hilary Tagliaferro, O.S.A.
      Augustinian N.G.O.
      2345 University Ave.
      Bronx, NY 10468
      Telephone 718-933-4914
      E-mail the Augustinian N.G.O.