text:
Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sierra
Primer Ministro de Sierra (es)
Premier ministre sierrien (fr)
首相黃金王國 (zh)
Thủ tướng Chính phủ của Sierra (vn)
시에라 총리 (kr)
Jongri no Shiera (tn)
シエラ内閣総理大臣 (ja)
Premierminister von Sierra (de)
Seal of the Prime Minister
Flag of the Prime Minister
Maggie Chan
Executive Branch of the K.S. Government
Executive Office of the Prime Minister
Prime Minister (informal)
His/Her Excellency (formal)
Head of government
the Privy Council
Reports to
Getty House
Porciúncula, GC, Kingdom of Sierra
Appointer
HRM Elizabeth II
At Her Royal Majesty's pleasure
Frederick Bachelor, Sr.
Deputy Prime Minister
pm.gc.ks
The Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sierra (informally abbreviated to PM) is the head of Her Royal Majesty's Government in the Kingdom of Sierra. The Prime Minister is the highest minister of state, the leader of the Cabinet, the Supreme Field Marshal of the Sierran Crown Armed Forces, a ranking member of the Privy Council, and the chairperson of the Executive Council. As head of government, it is the Prime Minister's responsibility to advise the Queen on exercising her royal prerogative and executive powers as prescribed by the Constitution. The office is constitutionally defined, although its modern functions and powers have been established through long-established convention. The Prime Minister also has the responsibility of administering the Executive Office of the Prime Minister, which is the central organization that oversees numerous federal and statutory agencies and boards. As an official possessing fused powers, the premiership has become Sierra's most powerful and influential institution vis-à-vis the Monarchy, Parliament, and the Supreme Court by de facto.
Although there are no explicit requirements or restrictions on who can become prime minister, by convention, historically, all prime ministers have come from either houses of Parliament, though especially from the House of Commons, as long as there was a majority government in the House. In almost all cases beginning in the 20th century, the Prime Minister has always exclusively been the leader of the majority party or the largest party in a coalition in the House of Commons. As the primer inter pares, the Prime Minister is a sitting, voting member in the House of Commons, who may introduce bills and conduct other parliamentary motions in the same manner as their peers. Since the 2012 Prime Ministerial Electoral Selection Method Act, whenever there is a hung parliament (i.e., there is no majority government), the people directly elect the Prime Minister from one of the parties in Parliament, irrespective of existing coalitions. By convention, all prime ministers must be appointed by the Queen, who honors the vote held in Parliament or by the people. Similarly, the Queen can dismiss the Prime Minister at Her Royal Majesty's pleasure, though only when a motion of no confidence passes or when there is a loss of supply.
Since the office's creation in 1858, there have been a total of 32 prime ministers. The current incumbent Prime Minister of Sierra is the Democratic-Republican's Maggie Chan, who replaced outgoing Social Democrats Susan Kwon, following the 2022 federal election that took place on November 24, 2022.
1 Role, powers, and duties
2 Qualifications and selection
2.1 Inauguration and oath
2.2 Term
3 Vacancy and succession
4 Style, compensation, salary, and benefits
5 List of prime ministers
5.1 Timeline
6 Current ministry
7 Post-prime ministry
Role, powers, and duties[edit | edit source]
Politics and government of the
Constitution of Sierra
Constitution of the Deseret
Constitution of Hawaii
The Occidental Palace
Royal prerogative
Privy council
Lord Superintendent
The Getty House
HE Maggie Chan (DR)
HA Kenneth O'Conner (R)
Current ministry
Federal agencies†
Statutory agencies
†Applies only to Sierra
Sierran Parliament
Sierran Senate
Party leaders
Majority Leader
Senate Opposition Leader
Commissioned senator (CS)
Leader of the Opposition
Her Royal Majesty's Loyal Opposition
Member of Parliament (MP)
Resident Commissioner (RC)
Parliamentary districts
Preston Brantly
National Bureau of Court Administration
Inferior courts
Peerage
Republicanism
Monarchism
Ameroskepticism
American unionism
Sierran Intelligence Community
Sierran Crown Armed Forces
view • talk • edit
The role of the prime minister is to fulfill all of the inclusive powers and duties of the monarch on their behalf. As an ex officio member of the Privy Council, the prime minister is also responsible for advising the monarch on what course of action to take when exercising the exclusive rights which are: the royal prerogative, the royal assent, and the issuance of edicts. In almost all cases, if at any time the monarch performs these exclusive rights, it is after through the consultation with the prime minister. For this reason, the advice of prime minister is regarded as practically full-binding and therefore functions as the most powerful position in Sierra. The prime minister is able to exercise great political power and execute many actions through the monarch while simultaneously holding legislative power in Parliament as the President of the Senate.
Within Parliament, the prime minister is a member of Parliament within the House of Commons. The Prime Minister is also entitled to the seat of President of the Senate, who is in charge with facilitating legislative discussion, monitoring debates, censuring officials, and answering questions to members of both the Senate and House during the Prime Minister's Questions sessions. The prime minister is entitled to one vote in the Senate as any other senator although if there is a tie, his/her vote counts as the tie-breaker. In an addition, in order to strengthen their party and to minimize the chances of a divided government, the Prime Minister is responsible for the appointment of 13 commissioned senators-at-large (leveraged senators), usually done at the start of their term. The Prime Minister may choose to appoint whomever as long as the individual satisfies the constitutionally established qualifications of members in the Senate. Conversely, the prime minister may remove any commissioned senator at their own discretion. The terms of the at-large commissioned senators are bound to the Prime Ministers and may therefore automatically lose their seats if the Prime Minister leaves office unless the succeeding prime minister sustains them.
During times of war, the prime minister assumes the role as the Supreme Field Marshal who is charged with coordinating, organizing, and leading all military operations and movements related to the conflict. Declaring and making peace is an exclusive right reserved for the monarch as a prerogative and as such, the prime minister must first consult and confirm with the monarch of his/her opinion and then receive support by Parliament. In both times of war and peace, the prime minister always has access to Sierra's nuclear codes and may activate them if deemed absolutely necessary.
The prime minister may grant pardons, reprieves, or clemency so long as the person has not been tried and sentenced for treason. The prime minister also has the power to ban specific foreign individuals from entering Sierra if deemed to pose a threat to Sierra. Other judiciary powers the prime minister enjoys include executive privilege and the confidentiality privilege, two mechanisms which allow the prime minister to withhold sensitive information from the public, the civil government, and the monarch during a legal case (which would legally protect him/her from being tried under perjury) and override most subpoena requests. Theoretically, the prime minister has automatic clearance to nearly all classified information from Sierra's military and intelligence agencies but may still be denied access to certain information. This arises by the fact that the prime minister is directly electable and therefore, anyone could easily bypass Sierra's rigorous clearance checks by simply getting voted into office. Another issue is that the prime minister's term of office is also tied to elections and should the prime minister be voted out, he/she would retain any particularly sensitive state information as a civilian.
Qualifications and selection[edit | edit source]
The prime minister and all other members of the Cabinet must be appointed by the Queen. In practice and by convention, the Queen appoints the Prime Minister based on the individual who is the most likely to receive the support, or confidence, of the majority of the members of the House of Commons. Generally speaking, this is understood to be the leader of the majority party in Parliament, the leader of the largest party in a coalition government, or the leader directly chosen by the general electorate in a hung parliament situation. Selection of other ministers of state is determined by the party or coalition, and must be reviewed and approved by the Senate prior to assuming office. By convention, the Senate always approves these ministers unless extraordinarily compromising circumstances arise during a Senate hearing over a particular individual.
Although there is no legal requirement for the prime minister to be a member of Parliament, it is generally expected that the prime minister hold a seat in the House of Commons in order to fully carry out their dual role as executive and legislator. To date, no prime minister has been elected who was not previously a member of Parliament, and no prime minister has held onto the office longer than three months after they lost their seat in their own constituency. Based on House protocol, prime ministers who have not previously held office may be urged to seek election over an available seat promptly. Hypothetically, a fellow party member presiding over a "safe constituency" would yield their seat for a by-election to enable the prime minister to win and serve in Parliament. Currently, there are few eligibility qualifications for a member to hold office in the House of Commons and they call for the candidate to be:
A citizen of any of the four constituent states of the Kingdom of Sierra (Bajaría, the Deseret, Hawaii, or Sierra), or any of its territories, or its crown dependencies
An individual who has reached the age of 25 or older;
A citizen who has physically lived in any place under Sierran jurisdiction, whether sovereign or extraterritorial, (including overseas military bases, embassies, etc.) for 10 consecutive years or a total of 14 years with the last 7 years being consecutive as a resident;
A citizen whose domicile is within no further than 50 miles from the boundaries of the constituency they seek to run in for a period of at least 3 months at the time of assuming office;
A citizen for at least 15 years, if naturalized;
A citizen in good upstanding with respect to society, who has not been convicted or served a sentence for a felony within the past 20 years, a serious offense within the past 15 years, a criminal offense within the past 10 years, or a misdemeanor/minor crime within the past 5 years;
And a citizen who has never been convicted of treason, terrorism, or war crime
Inauguration and oath[edit | edit source]
Before a new prime minister can formally assume the office, the prime minister-elect is required to meet the reigning monarch and the outgoing prime minister, usually at the monarch's residence, the Occidental Palace. If the monarch is not present, one of the Great Officers of State may stand in for the monarch. The prime minister-elect and outgoing prime minister must exchange hands before the monarch. The outgoing prime minister must relinquish their "commission" before the monarch, who then presents this renounced commission to the incoming prime minister. Before taking office, the prime minister is constitutionally required to swear in front of the monarch the following statement:
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that as the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sierra and His/Her Royal Majesty's Representative and Civil Servant to the Sierrans, that I will faithfully execute the powers ascribed upon me by the Constitution. I declare that any and all actions I undertake shall be scrutinized to the fullest extent and that I shall only work in the interests of the People and the State. Ten thousand years, glory, glory to the King/Queen!
The prime minister has the optional choice of adding in the following phrase at the end of his/her oath: So help me God (or Providence). If a monarch was officially declared dead by the state coroner within seven days of the prime minister's inauguration, the oath's end is modified to say, "...Ten thousand years, the King/Queen is dead, glory, glory to the King/Queen...".
The oath in its entirety is administered by the Chief Justice and it has been traditionally dictated that the prime minister's left hand be placed on a Holy Bible (interchangeable with any other religious texts such as the Quran or a secular text such as the Constitution). As soon as the prime minister has completed his/her oath, the prime minister is officially inaugurated into the office with all its powers, responsibilities, and benefits. Following the inauguration, the Getty House bids farewell to the departing prime minister and prepares for the arrival of the new prime minister. At the desk of the prime minister, a manila folder containing a personal letter from the leaving prime minister, sensitive state information, and a debriefing document awaits the prime minister. There, the prime minister also finalizes all his/her credentials in order to fulfill the task of prime minister.
Traditionally, about two weeks after a general election, the prime minister holds an inaugural address, regardless if they were newly appointed or have continued to serve as the incumbent, before the country at the front steps of Parliament Building, detailing their plan for the government and their goals as the leader of the government.
Term[edit | edit source]
The term of office for the prime minister has no fixed length or time limit. The prime minister serves at Her Royal Majesty's pleasure, and remains in office as long as they are able to maintain the confidence of the majority of members in the House of Commons, if they resign, if they are dismissed, or if they die. The only other method of the prime minister's removal from office is impeachment, which is a stronger form of dismissal that entails formal prosecution by Parliament against alleged crimes committed by the prime minister during their tenure.
The lifespan of Parliament has been limited to a maximum of five years after the last general election, although in practice, the time between the formation and dissolution of Parliament is often much shorter than this. Whenever Parliament requires dissolution, the prime minister must submit a formal writ of election, requesting the Queen to allow an election to take place within a speedily prompt manner. Following parliamentary dissolution, members of Parliament continue to serve in their capacity as members, but are heavily limited in what they can do. The prime minister and all other members of the House must run in the general election in order to maintain a seat in the House. The goal of every incumbent prime minister is to ensure that their party or coalition maintains a plurality or majority in the House, in order to continue as a government. Should the prime minister's party lose enough seats to yield a minority, and a coalition cannot be formed in a timely manner, the leader of the new largest party wins. Should neither be the case, and there is a hung parliament, it is possible for the Queen to hold a special prime ministerial election, whereby one of the party leaders within the new House is to be chosen by the people as the new prime minister.
Vacancy and succession[edit | edit source]
Main article: Kingdom of Sierra prime ministerial line of succession
In the event of a vacancy, the deputy prime minister fulfills the role as acting prime minister for either the remainder of the vacant prime minister's term or until the prime minister is able to competently fulfill his/her duties. A special election may be called forcing a new prime minister to be voted in if Parliament deems it necessary. If the prime minister is removed from office through impeachment, death, or resignation, the deputy prime minister automatically becomes the prime minister. According to the Sierran line of succession, should the deputy prime minister be unable to fulfill the role as prime minister, the responsibility is transferred onto the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The line continues down the offices of the Cabinet according to the numbering of precedence of the ministries with the last in line the Minister of Veteran Affairs.
Style, compensation, salary, and benefits[edit | edit source]
The Getty House, the official residence of the Prime Minister.
Styles of
the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sierra
Reference style
His/Her/Their Excellency
Spoken style
Your Excellency
Posthumous style
The Honorable
Alternative style
Mr./Mrs./Ms. Prime Minister
The prime minister enjoys an annual salary of $500,000, $50,000 personal expense account, $100,000 travel account, and $30,000 for miscellaneous spending. In addition, the prime minister is provided residence at the Getty House Estate and may utilize all its facilities and services at his/her pleasure. State dinners, official visits, and other public functions are funded by the government but all other expenses including food and laundry must be paid out of the prime minister's finances.
The prime minister has unrestricted access to the Occidental Palace, the official residence of the monarch, as well as several government-owned country retreats throughout Sierra. A guest room within the Palace is readily available personally for the prime minister and his/her family whenever visiting the monarch.
The official state car is a modified armored version of the Venger 62 limousine which is used as ground transport for the prime minister. Two heavily modified and custom-fitted Boeing 757 models serve as the official aerial means of transport for the prime minister and the Sierran royal family. The prime minister also has a fleet of 20 Marines-operated helicopters and cruisers at his/her disposal.
The prime minister, his/her family, and personal guests receive continuous protection from the Secret Service and continue receiving protection up to 20 years after exiting office. Under special circumstances, this post-office protection may be extended unto former prime ministers at the discretion of the current prime minister. In the case of a severe national emergency, the prime minister can be brought to any of the undisclosed amount of heavily guarded secret locations throughout Sierra to continue normal government operations.
A personal set of coat of arms and standard may be commissioned by the prime minister during their administration for his/her use, and may receive titles from the peerage system by the Monarch with the expressed approval of the Parliament.
The prime minister is officially styled with the title His/Her Excellency and outranks all titles and offices with the exception of the Sierran Royal Family in the government hierarchy of importance. Under normal circumstances, living former prime ministers are still referred to as His/Her Excellency. Deceased prime ministers are posthumously referred to as The Honorable.
List of prime ministers[edit | edit source]
(Birth–Death)
Electorate served
Elections won
Reigning monarch
Frederick Arthur Bachelor, Sr.
OT OES FCS OM
(1803–1879) Royalist December 16
1865 North End, San Francisco,
1858–1865 (resigned) 1858, 1863 Bachelor, Sr. I & II
Charles I
Richard John Trist
FCS OM
(1822–1884) Royalist September 19
1867 Sacramento, Tahoe,
1858–1876 (retired) 1865 Trist I
Ulysses Alexander Perry
(1828–1874) Democratic-Republican June 5
1872 Bernheim, San Joaquin,
1858–1874 (assassinated) 1867,
1869 (Feb.),
1869 (Aug.)
1870 Perry I–IV
(1822–1884) Royalist June 5
1858–1876 (retired) 1872 Trist II
(1828–1874) Democratic-Republican January 13
1858–1874 (assassinated) 1874 (Jan.) Perry V
"The Doomed Ministry"
Issac Ezekiel Johnson
OT FCS OM
(1817–1887) Democratic-Republican February 14
1874 West Delta, Santa Clara,
1858–1874 (resigned) – Johnson
Maxwell Percival Gibson
(1820–1888) Democratic-Republican December 15
1878 McDouglas, San Joaquin,
1858–1882 (retired) 1874 (Dec.),
1877 Gibson I & II
His Elevated Grace
John Charles Frémont
1st Earl Frémont
FCS OM ORS
(1813–1890) Royalist August 10
1881 Mariposas, Tahoe,
1858–1864 (transferred)
Frémont, Tahoe,
1864–1880 (retired) 1878 Frémont I
Nicholas Daryl Calhoun
(1819–1883) Democratic-Republican June 16
1881 February 9
1882 Buckwheat, Reno,
1866–1883 (died) 1881 Calhoun
OT OES FCS OM ORS PC
(1813–1890) Royalist February 9
1885 Frémont, Tahoe,
1864–1885 (retired) 1882,
1884 Frémont II
Frederick Herbert Arthur Bachelor, Jr.
OT OM PC
1892 Central Plains, Plumas,
1870–1892 (retired) 1887 Bachelor, Jr. I & II
Joseph Matthew Starling
2nd Viscount of Brianwood
OT OES OM PC
1901 Iverson and Darth, Central Valley,
1897 Starling I & II
Louis I
Robert Abraham Landon
OM PC KON
(1867–1936) Democratic-Republican August 29
1909 Ridgecrest, Central Valley
1896–1916 (resigned) 1901,
1904 Landon I–III
Henry Stanley Gage
OM ORS PC
(1859–1940) Royalist October 16
1912 Conception, Kings
1911 Gage I
Gage II
(Roy.–Prog. U.)
(1867–1936) Democratic-Republican March 2
1915 Landon IV & V
Phillip Johan Judd
OM ORS KON
(1865–1947) Democratic-Republican February 8
1919 West Porciúncula, Gold Coast
1897–1933 (retired) 1917 Judd I
Hiram Warren Johnson
OM PC
(1866–1945) Reformed Republican March 2
1921 Presidio, San Francisco
1911–1945 (died) 1919,
1920 (Mar.),
1920 (Sep.) Johnson I–III
(Ref Rep.–KN–Nat. U.)
1897–1933 (retired) 1919
Judd II
(1st National)
(1866–1945) Reformed Republican April 4
1911–1945 (died) 1923 Johnson IV
Earle Henry Coburn
(1866–1945) Royalist May 1
1927 San Gabriel, Gold Coast
1911–1927 (defeated) 1924,
1926 Coburn I & II
Poncio Jésus Suarez de Salinas
OM ORS
(1897–1966) Democratic-Republican July 8
1934 Oroville, Central Valley
1931 Salinas I
(Dem. Rep.–Ref. Rep.)
Salinas II
Christopher Picard Rioux
1939 Green River, Inland Empire
1938 Rioux I
Rioux II/2nd National (All parties)
Rioux III/3rd National (All parties)
OT OES OM ORS PC KON
1944 Salinas III
Salinas IV
Salinas V
Louis III
Charles Walker Lyon
1947 Rancho Margarita, Orange
1935–1960 (retired) – Lyon
Franklin Chu-Yuan Tan
OM ORS KON PC
(1900–1988) Royalist March 3
1955 Lower Bay Area, Santa Clara
1953 Tan I–III
Henry Wesley Thompson Faulkner
1955 October 7
1959 Tenderloin, San Francisco
1937–1962 (died) 1955 Faulkner
Alfred Walter von Schliefen
OT OM ORS KON PC
(1896–1981) Royalist October 7
1965 Las Vegas Valley, Clark
1964 Von Schliefen I
Von Schliefen II
(Roy.-Nat. U.–Con.)
Von Schliefen III
(Roy.–Nat. U.)
(1891–1974) Democratic-Republican March 13
1969 Concordia, San Joaquin
1938–1974 (died) 1965 Warren
Kovrov Stoyanovich
KHK PC EC PBR
(1916–2007) Royalist June 22
1970 Getty, Gold Coast
1963–1970 (impeached) 1969 Stoyanovich
Walter Jin Bao Zhou
OM ORS KON EC PC
(1930–) Royalist March 20
1975 Lee, Santa Clara
1960–1991 (retired) 1972 Zhou I & II
Kirk Libi Siskind
(1927–) Democratic-Republican November 19
1983 Alpine Coast, Shasta
1980 Siskind I & II
Mitchell Edward Ford
(1941–) Democratic-Republican June 25
1986 Balboa, Laguna
1978–2016 (retired) 1983 Ford
Ted Gordon Brundy
KON PC
(1938–) Royalist January 31
1992 Holcomb, Inland Empire
1890 Brundy I
Brundy II
(Roy.–Lib.)
Her Excellency
Melinda Katherine Peters
DON PC
(1945–) Democratic-Republican May 5
2000 West Hook, Kings
1998 Peters I–II
Peters III & IV (Progressive coalition)
Matthew Joshua Braggs
EC PC
(1957–) Royalist August 18
2004 Lee and Ortega, Orange
1991–2004 (resigned) 2000 Braggs
(Conservative coalition)
Diana Hyun Jeong
ORS PC
(1957–) Royalist September 27
2008 Stearns, Orange
1993–2012 (retired) 2004 Jeong
Charles II
Sir Steven Yila Hong
OT OES ORS KON KHK EC PC
2016 West Gabriel, Gold Coast
2013 Hong I
Hong II
(Progressive coalition)
Preston Thomas Bolivar
(1968–) Democratic-Republican August 12
2016 Watts, Gold Coast
1994–2016 (retired) – Bolivar Caretaker
Daniel Noah McComb
KHK PC Esq.
(1959–) Royalist December 16
2017 Central Greater Bernheim, San Joaquin
2004–2017 (resigned) 2016 McComb
Leslie Sarah Liz Steele
DHK PC
2010–2021 (died) – Steele Caretaker
Nemesis Catherine Nyx Heartwell
(1988–) Royalist October 18
2020 Weston, San Joaquin
2010–2020 (resigned) 2017 Heartwell
Heartwell Caretaker
Susan Misun Kwon
(1988–) Social Democrats May 4
2021 Kwon I
Kwon II
Margaret "Maggie" Chan
2022 Incumbent West San Jose, Santa Clara
2017–) 2022 Chan
(Dem. Rep.–Roy–PCU–Lib.)
Timeline[edit | edit source]
Current ministry[edit | edit source]
The incumbent ministry under Maggie Chan has been in government since November 28, 2022.
Post-prime ministry[edit | edit source]
All living former prime ministers are entitled to pensions, offices, and security protection. As of January 2015, the current pension stands at $125,000 a year. In addition, former prime ministers enjoy franking privileges, covered traveling expenses, and nationally sanctioned prime ministerial libraries. Upon leaving office, former prime ministers may lose access to security-clearance locations, government-operated residences including the Getty House or the Occidental Palace, and various other privileges. After stepping down, some prime ministers continued to pursue a prolific career in politics or policymaking. There are no constitutional restrictions that prevent former prime ministers from taking office or even running for prime minister yet again. As such, extensive opportunities and advantages are offered to former prime ministers (who enjoy statutory pensions), even more so than does who have not been.
Prime ministers who have been regarded positively during their tenures generally continue their legacy after leaving office. Almost universally, approval ratings for former prime ministers are higher than they were during their service. Without the responsibilities or scrutiny associated with the prime ministerial profession, former prime ministers have well-established images and credibility, allowing them to enter into any field in society. Prior to the extortion scandal that brought impeachment and then imprisonment upon former prime minister Kovrov Stoyanovich, Stoyanovich had relatively positive ratings. Following his release from prison in 1997, Stoyanovich rebuilt his image by dedicating a life to humanitarian concerns by traveling around the world. His charity work and promotion of global peace allowed former critics to overlook his scandal and praise him for his work. A major, recent exception is Daniel McComb, who resigned in 2017 amid mounting sexual abuse allegations made against him by former staff and associates. McComb, who is under an ongoing investigation by the federal government and Parliament, left office with lower than 11% approval ratings, the lowest in the history of post-ministry ratings for Sierran prime ministers.
When former prime ministers pass away, a state funeral is held in honor and recognition of their service. Their body is laid in state beneath the Rotunda of the Parliament Building for about a week before buried at their's or their family's desired location. Considered a solemn event, the entire procession itself is managed jointly between the Sierran Crown Armed Forces and members of the Parliament, reaffirming national solidarity with the prime ministerial office. The event is considered an obligatory ceremony that the Sierran royal family must attend. The last state funeral held for a prime minister was for former prime minister Leslie Steele (2021) who died of natural causes at the age of 88.
Living prime ministers
Walter Zhou (R)
Kirk Siskind (D)
Mitchell Ford (D)
Ted Brundy (R)
Melinda Peters (D)
Matthew Braggs (R)
Diana Jeong (R)
Preston Bolivar (D)
Daniel McComb (R)
Nemesis Heartwell (R)
Susan Kwon (SD)
Government of the Kingdom of Sierra
Cabinet of the Kingdom of Sierra
Prime Ministers of the Kingdom of Sierra
Frederick Bachelor Sr.
Richard Trist
Ulysses Perry
Issac Johnson
Maxwell Gibson
John C. Frémont
Nicholas Calhoun
Frederick Bachelor Jr.
Robert Landon
Henry Gage
Phillip Judd
Hiram Johnson
Earle Coburn
Poncio Salinas
Christopher Rioux
Charles Lyon
Franklin Tan
Henry Faulkner
Alfred von Schliefen
Walter Zhou
Kirk Siskind
Mitchell Ford
Ted Brundy
Melinda Peters
Matthew Braggs
Diana Jeong
Steven Hong
Preston Bolivar
Daniel McComb
Leslie Steele
Susan Kwon
Heads of government of the Kingdom of Sierra
First Minister of Bajaría
President of the Deseret
Premier of Hawaii
East Leewards
Kamehameha
Pacífico Norte
South Sonora
West Leewards
Area Commissioner
Morganland
New Oneida
Bénieîle
Gilbert and Ellice Islands
Isles of Pines
Saint Andrews, Providence, and the Corn Islands
Sierran Crown Islands
Sierran Antarctic Territory
Sierran Samoa
West Colorado
West New Mexico
Kingdom of Sierra articles
Spanish rule
Alta California
Mexican rule
California Republic
California Gold Rush
1858 Constitutional Convention
Eugene War
War of Contingency
Sierran Civil War
Sierran imperialism
Annexation of Hawaii
Deseret War
Sierran Cultural Revolution
Mesoamerica War
Great War I
Interwar period
1950 Charter
Great War II
Colombia War
The Disturbances
Provinces, states, and areas
by PSA
Largest lakes
Great Salt Lake
Populated places
by population
Eastern Sierra
Overseas Sierra
Southwest Corridor
Styxie
Royal Park Service
Longest rivers
Federal Bar
House of Columbia
Columbia realm
Senate Leader of the Opposition
Commissioned senators
Sierran Royal Air Force
Sierran Royal Army
Sierran Royal Coast Guard
Sierran Royal Cyber Force
Sierran Royal Marines
Sierran Royal Navy
Sierran Royal Space Force
Royal Surveyors Corps
Royal Bureau of Investigation
Royal Intelligence Agency
Postal abbreviations
Sierra Community Colleges
Sierra National University
University of Sierra
Fandom culture
Golden poppy
Royal supporters
Countries of the Kingdom of Sierra
Bajaría
(articles)
First Minister
Council of Fifty
Theodemocracy
Reservation states
National Hawaiian Congress
Federal Sierra
Retrieved from "https://wiki.conworlds.org/w/index.php?title=Prime_Minister_of_the_Kingdom_of_Sierra&oldid=194870"
A-class articles
Ministerial offices in the Kingdom of Sierra
Political history of the Kingdom of Sierra
1858 establishments in Sierra


languagehat.com : LYTDYBR: POLYGLOT CITY.
One of the things I love about New York is the variety of languages you are exposed to in the course of your civic existence. I eavesdrop shamelessly on the conversations of my fellow straphangers, and sometimes when I'm stumped I break the rules of non-interaction and ask the person next to me what language they are speaking (most recent answers: Albanian and Armenian). Today on the N train to Times Square the woman across from me was reading a Korean book, and the woman next to me was reading a Hungarian magazine. On the 2 train from Times Square to Houston St. (I was off to see another Kurosawa movie, this time High and Low, not well known but the equal of the famous samurai movies if you ask me) I heard Spanish and Hebrew in my vicinity. In between, alas, I was the victim of one of the MTA's impromptu stoppages—"Last stop on this train… there is a train experiencing mechanical difficulties at Chambers St. and there is no downtown service at this time…"—but I was able to give directions to Ground Zero to a family of clueless Midwestern tourists, who will now be able to report to their fellow Midwesterners that New Yorkers, contrary to rumor, are helpful and polite. And the train eventually did come and get me to Film Forum in time. So the universe showed its beneficent side despite initial appearances.
As in Stray Dog, it took me some time to be sure that that was Mifune, with his modern haircut.


text:
Gödör György / (gödörházi Gödör György)   (Szentgyörgyvölgy, 1767. június 9. – Vadosfa, 1826. április 10.) evangélikus lelkész.

Élete
Apja (Gödör István) református, anyja Krégár Éva evangélikus vallású volt. Őt magát reformátusnak keresztelték. Gyermekkorának egy részét Nemescsón töltötte, majd 1778-tól a nemesdédi evangélikus iskolában tanult.  1783-tól kezdődően öt évig a pozsonyi egyetem diákja volt. 1788-tól 1791-ig Csabdiban tanított, majd két évig Jénában tanult. Hazatérése után Nemeskéren lelkésszé szentelték. 1793-tól 1796-ig Szakony, azt követően 1810-ig Uraiújfalu, majd Vadosfa lelkésze. Több egyházi tisztséget is betöltött. Prédikáció és gyászbeszédei közül több nyomtatásban is megjelent.

Nyomtatásban megjelent művei
 Gyászos beszéd, melyet... Perlaki Dávid úrnak a nemesdömölki a. c. lévő evang. gyülekezet őrállójának... hamvai felett martius 14. 1802. eszt. a dömölki templomban mondott. Veszprém.
 Halotti elmélkedés, melyet Kisfaludi Kisfaludi Trézsia kisasszonynak lelketlen teste felett június 23. 1802. mondott. Szombathely.
 Tiszteletes tudós Horváth Péter urnak a meszlényi aug. vallástétel szerént való sz. gyülekezet lelki tanítójának... Bachich Anna kiasasszonynyal lett öszve kelésekor jun. 3. 1807. a nemes-kéri templomban mondott beszéd, melyet ezen alkalmatosságra sietve készitett. Sopron.
 Halotti elmélkedés, melyet Nagy Judith asszonynak néh. Vécsei Vécsey István ur kedves hitestársának végső tisztességtételekor Uraj-Ujfaluban márcz. 4. 1812. élő szóval mondott. Győr.
 Vigasztaló beszéd, melyet néh. Alsó-Káldi Káldy Judit k. a.-nak emlékezetére az ő hamvainak eltakarittatásakor 1819. aug. 17. mondott. Sopron, 1820.

Irodalom
  Szinnyei József: Magyar írók élete és munkái
 Hrabovszky György: A Dunántúli Evangy. Aug. Conf. Superintendetia predikátorai Veszprém 1805. 65. p.
 Holbok József: Emlékirat a szakonyi á. h. évangéliomi keresztyén egyházközség 100 éves fennállásának Örömünnepére, Sopron, 1893, 9. p.
  Gödör györgy síremléke Vadosfán

Források

Jegyzetek

Magyar evangélikus lelkészek
1767-ben született személyek
1826-ban elhunyt személyek

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The 2012 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) is a portion of the building code that establishes minimum standards for energy-efficient homes and buildings.
This code encourages the use of blower door and duct blaster equipment to diagnose air leakage problems. Because it guides the construction of new homes, the 2012 IECC training is perfect for RESNET HERS Raters and code officials.
Course Description: 2012 IECC is a comprehensive energy conservation code that establishes minimum regulations for energy-efficient buildings. It uses both prescriptive and performance-related metrics, containing separate provisions for commercial and residential buildings. 2012 IECC is one of the most commonly required standards, often adopted as a single, all-inclusive energy-efficient building code.
Prerequisites: None! Begin learning about IECC code today!
Audience: This course is ideal for HERS Raters, code officials, home builders, architects, engineers, and anyone in search of building code clarification.
Register now online or call us at 877-753-0853 to set up your order.


text:
St. Wistan's Miracle of the Hair
25 February 20 | Posted in Events, Global Catholic, Saints, Supernatural
St. Wistan, also known as Saint Wystan and Saint Wigstan, died in 840 A.D. His grandfather, King Wiglaf, ruled Mercia from 827 to 839. His father, Wigmund, died of dysentery shortly before him. A young Wistan may have been proclaimed king, but more likely he abdicated in favor of King Beorhtwulf (Bright Wolf), who ruled from 840 to 852. Wistan appointed his mother, Aelfaed, as regent. Wistan's godfather, Beorhtric, son of King Beorhtwulf was appointed as her advisor.
Wistan was scalped and slain with a blow to the head because he protested his widowed mother's marriage to his godfather, Beorhtric. In canon law at that time, baptism established a link of spiritual consanguinity between the parents and godparents of the baptized. As a spiritually close relative, Wistan's godfather was forbidden from marrying her.
Aelfaed was the daughter of King Ceolwulf of Mercia who ruled from 821-823, the last of an ancient Mercian royal line descended from Offa, a legendary warrior and ruler. The prestige of marriage to woman descended from the last branch of ancient Mercia was reason for Wistan's murder. His death resulted from a Mercian power struggle between his family and that of his uncle Beorhtwulf and his son, Beorhtric. They may have inherited claims to the Midland kingdom from an earlier Mercian king, Beornwulf (823-825) or Beornred, who was deposed by Offa in 757.
There are various accounts of Wistan's death on June 1, 840. Beorhtric cut off his head while he was standing in prayer. Beorhtric cut off the upper part of his head with is sword, while a companion stabbed him. Beorhtric struck Wistan on the head with the shaft of his dagger while his servant ran him through with a sword. Wistan's companions were killed as well.
Most writers identify this spot with the village of Wistow in Leicestershire, although another candidate is Wistanstow in Shropshire. According to legend, the true site of Wistan's murder was identified by a miraculous shaft of light, and an annual crop of human hair on the anniversary of his death.
Miracles from heaven were not wanting in testimony of his martyrdom; for a column of light shot up to heaven from the spot where the innocent saint was murdered, and remained visible to the inhabitants of that place for 30 days. — Florence of Worcester
In 1077, Walter of Cerisy, the first Norman abbot of Evesham, subjected Wistan's relics to the ordeal by fire. He was skeptical about the authenticity of Anglo-Saxon saints and relics. Since the fire had no effect on Wistan's bones, the abbot decided to return St. Winstan's relics to the shrine. By accident he dropped the saint's head on the ground. It began to sweat and spread a sweet fragrance throughout the church.
The legend of the murder anniversary "crop of human hair" persisted for several hundred years. The miracle was apparently verified by a special commission set up by Archbishop Baldwin of Canterbury in 1187.
St. Wistan's relics disappeared during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under King Henry VIII between 1536-1541.
A detailed article about St. Wistan can be found on Clas Merdin, a good source for Arthurian legends.
Amazonia: New Paths for the Church and for an Integral Ecology
21 June 19 | Posted in Events, Global Catholic, Social Justice, Spirituality, Stewardship, Vatican
On October 15, 2017 Pope Francis announced a special synod on the Pan-Amazonian Region to take place in Rome. It is scheduled for October 6-27, 2019.
The synod arose out of Pope Francis' 2015 encyclical Laudato Si, "Caring for Our Common Home," which called for action on global warming, environmental pollution and pinpointed the Amazon region as a chief area of concern.
The Pan-Amazon region spans over two million square miles within nine countries, including Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Columbia, Venezuela, Suriname, Guyana and French Guyana. It is home to 33 million people, among them 3 million indigenous people representing 400 different tribes. It is the source of one-fifth of the world's fresh water, one-fourth of all oxygen and more than one-third of global forest reserves.
Taking part in the synod will be bishops from the nine countries encompassing Amazonia, presidents of the seven bishops' conferences, and representatives of non-governmental organizations that work in the region. Chief among them will be REPAM, or Red Eclesial PanAmazonica, an ecclesial network of bishops created in 2014 to promote the rights and dignity of people living in the Amazon. It is backed by CELAM, the Latin American Bishops' Conference. Caritas Internationalis is a founding member. REPAM embodies the promise Pope Francis made in the Amazon town of Maldonado, Peru to affirm "a whole-hearted option for the defense of life, the defense of the earth and the defense of cultures."
The 16-page preparatory document for the synod was published on June 8, 2018. It was written by the Vatican's office for the synod with the help of an 18-member council appointed by Pope Francis to oversee the 2019 meeting. The synod council included three cardinals, 13 bishops, one nun and a layman. Most members are from countries in the Amazon region. The document is organized as a Preamble, Section I – Seeing, Section II – Discernment, Section III – Action, and Questionnaires that were widely circulated to provide material for each of the three sections.
The synod's preparatory document makes clear that central issues will focus on environmental protection, the rights of indigenous people, and evangelization. But what is articulated within these issues will ignite change not only in the Amazon, but throughout the Catholic Church.
It is obvious that most pundits from Europe and North America who follow church happenings did not read this document carefully. If they did, they would be shocked. This synod is not about a group of natives in the Amazon rainforest with a few mentions of climate change thrown in. Pope Francis and the Synod Council are attempting to shift Catholic culture and religious practice from the Euro-Centric and clerical sub-culture model to one drawn from values and cultures based in the Southern Hemisphere, with ripples extending to Africa and Asia. Europe's domination of 1,000 years is ending.
The clash of values that dominates so much of the Euro-Centric Catholic Church today will be subsumed into other cultural debates. There, they may find a new voice, fade away or be viewed as irrelevant. How important are religious liberty, same-sex marriage, denying communion to pro-abortion politicians, sex abuse and cover up, women priests, married priesthood, conscience rights, "authentic" Catholic definitions, and "reform of the reform" of Vatican II in Amazonia? Newer issues like racism, rights of indigenous people, migrants and immigration, gender theory, LGBT civil rights, lay involvement, habitat protection, and economic equity should get more traction, but the results will be a mixed bag of blessings for both progressives and conservatives.
Here is what I see emerging from the Amazonia Synod:
A new emphasis on "Integral Ecology" – everything is connected
Evangelization as an accompaniment to where people are physically and spiritually
Older married men ordained as priests to administer the sacraments
Increased role in ministry and governance for women
A cultural and spiritual sift away from a Euro-centric Catholicism
Each of the sections of the preliminary document has markers and flashpoints intimating where Pope Francis and the Church are heading with this Synod.
Identity and Cries of the Pan-Amazonia
"Nonetheless, the wealth of the Amazonian rainforest and rivers is being threatened by expansive economic interests, which assert themselves in various parts of the territory. Such interests lead, among other things, to the intensification of indiscriminate logging in the rainforest, as well as the contamination of rivers, lakes and tributaries (due to the indiscriminate use of agro-toxins, oil spills, legal and illegal mining, and byproducts from the production of narcotics.) Added to this is drug trafficking, which together with the above puts at risk the survival of those peoples who depend on the region's animal and plant resources."
"For the indigenous peoples of the Amazon basin, the good life comes from living in communion with other people, with the world, and with the creatures of their environment, and with the Creator. Their diverse spiritualities and beliefs motivate them to live in communion with the soil, water, trees, animals, and with day and night. Wise elders – called interchangeably "payes, mestres, wayanga or chamanes", among others – promote the harmony of people among themselves and with the cosmos. Indigenous peoples are a living memory of the mission that God has entrusted to us all: the protection of our common home."
2.Toward a Pastoral and Ecological Conversion
"This social – and even cosmic – dimension of the mission of evangelization is particularly relevant in the Amazon region, where the interconnectivity between human life, ecosystems, and spiritual life was, and continues to be, apparent to the vast majority of its inhabitants."
"Integral ecology, then, invites us to an integral conversion. This entails the recognition of our errors, sins, faults, failures and omissions by which we have harmed God's creation and leads to heartfelt repentance. Only when we are aware of how our lifestyles – and the ways we produce, trade, consume, and discard – affect the life of our environment and our societies can we initiate a comprehensive change of direction."
3. New Paths for a Church with an Amazonian Face
"The Church is called to deepen her identity in accordance with the realities of each territory and to grow her spirituality by listening to the wisdom of her peoples. Therefore, the Special Assembly for the Pan-Amazonian Region is invited to find new ways of developing the Amazonian face of the Church and to respond to situations of injustice in the region, such as the neocolonialism of the extractive industries, infrastructure projects that damage its biodiversity, and the imposition of cultural and economic models which are alien to the lives of its people."
"In this sense, Vatican II reminds us that all the People of God share in the priesthood of Christ, although it distinguishes between common priesthood and the ministerial priesthood. This gives way to an urgent need to evaluate and rethink the ministries that today are required to respond to the objectives of "a Church with a native face."
"It is necessary to identify the type of official ministry that can be conferred on women, taking into account the central role which women play today in the Amazonian Church. It is also necessary to foster indigenous and local-born clergy, affirming their own cultural identity and values. Finally, new ways should be considered for the People of God to have better and more frequent access to the Eucharist, the center of Christian life."
The Synod's preparatory document cites a wide swath of church documents, three provide the biggest stamp:
Laudato Si – ("Praise Be to You") The 2nd encyclical of Pope Francis has the subtitle, "On Care for Our Common Home." In it, Pope Francis critiques consumerism and irresponsible development, and laments environmental degradation and global warning. It calls on the peoples of the world to act. The encyclical was published on June 18, 2015.
The Aparecida Document – This document summarized the 2007 meeting of CELAM—the regional Episcopal Conference of Latin America and the Caribbean. The meeting was held in Aparecida, Brazil, and was chaired by Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, the future Pope Francis. In the document, the Latin American bishops expressed what they believed to be keys in keeping Catholicism alive and relevant in Latin American. Those "keys" included a preferential option for the poor and marginalized, and a serious concern for the environment.
Pope Francis' January 19, 2018 Address to the Indigenous People of Amazonia at Maldonado, Peru – During his trip to Chile and Peru, Pope Francis met and addressed thousands of native Amazonians in an indoor stadium at Puerto Maldonado, a city on Peru's Amazon frontier. It is the capital of Madre de Dios, a region plagued by illegal mining and human trafficking. In his remarks, the pope noted that the "native Amazonian peoples have probably never been so threatened on their own lands as they are at present." He spoke about threats from extractive exploitation, environmental contamination and illegal mining. He also addressed the oppression of native people by certain policies and movements under the guise of preserving nature that deprive them of their land, natural resources and livelihoods. Pope Francis promised participants to affirm a "whole-hearted option for the defense of life, the defense of the earth and the defense of cultures."
There are several key players in the development of the Synod Council and preparatory document. Since I don't read Spanish, and there is very little coverage of South America by U.S. journalists, I may have missed a few names but I believe I netted the biggest fish.
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina on December 17, 1936, Jorge Mario Bergoglio became Pope Francis on March 13, 2013, when he was named 266th pope of the Roman Catholic Church. Bergoglio, the first pope from South America, took his papal title after St. Francis of Assisi of Italy. The first Jesuit pope, Bergoglio was ordained in 1969, and from 1973-1979 was the provincial superior for Argentina. Prior to his election as pope, Bergoglio served as archbishop of Buenos Aires from 1998-2013. He was named a cardinal by Pope John Paul II in 2001. In his six years as pope, Francis has championed the world's poor and marginalized people, emphasized mercy over rules, and been actively involved in environmental advocacy and political diplomacy.
"We are not faced with two separate crisis, one environmental and the other social, but rather one complex crisis which is both social and environmental."
Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri
Cardinal Baldisseri has served as general secretary of the Synod of Bishops since September 21, 2013. He introduced and explained in depth the Amazonia synod's preparatory document during the Vatican press conference on June 8, 2018. Hand-picked by Francis to reorganize the Synod of Bishops, Cardinal Baldisseri is a veteran of the Vatican diplomatic corps. He has served as apostolic nuncio to Paraguay, India, Nepal and Brazil (2002-2012). In Brazil, he negotiated an agreement regulating the juridical status of the church.
"Although the theme refers to a specific territory, such as the Pan-Amazon region – and this is why we speak about the "Pan-Amazon Synod" – the reflections that concern it go beyond the regional context, because they regard the whole Church and also the future of the planet. These reflections are intended to bridge to other similar geographical realities such as, for example, the Congo basin, the Central American biological corridor, the tropical forests of Asia in the Pacific, and the Guarani aquifer system. This great ecclesial, civic and ecological project allows us to extend our gaze beyond their respective borders and to redefine pastoral lines, making them suitable for today's times. For these reasons too the Synod will be held in Rome."
Cardinal Claudio Hummes
Pope Frances chose Brazil's Cardinal Claudio Hummes to serve as regulator general of the October synod on Amazonia. The nomination of the 84-year-old retired archbishop of Sao Paulo was announced at the Vatican on May 4, 2019. The regular is responsible for providing a comprehensive outline of the synod's theme at the beginning of the meeting and for summarizing the speeches of synod members before work begins on concrete proposals for the pope. Cardinal Hummes was a former perfect of the Congregation for Clergy and has been a close friend of the pope since Jorge Mario Bergoglio was archbishop of Buenos Aires. Cardinal Hummes currently serves as president of REPAM, or the Red Eclesial Pan-Amazonica (or Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network.) Founded in 2014, REPAM is a network backed by the Latin American Bishops Conference to promote the rights and dignity of people living in the Amazon. Caritas Internationalis is a founding member.
"Back in 2015 the pope started to tell me, "I'm thinking of convening a meeting of all the bishops of Amazonia. As of yet, I don't know what type of meeting or assembly, but I think that it could even be a synod." He said to me, Let us pray about it together, and he began to speak to the bishops, to the episcopal conferences of the Amazonian region, about how to have an assembly, and so in his heart there grew the idea of a synod, and eventually in 2017 he convoked it. We have worked hard for the synod, and we will continue to do so in this very important service for the future. The synod serves to find and trace new paths for the Church."
"We know now there is another step to take: we have to promote an indigenous Church for the indigenous peoples, to help give birth to and nurture the growth of an indigenous Church. The aboriginal communities that hear the Gospel proclamation in one way or another, and that embrace it, which is to say, they welcome Jesus Christ, have to be able to ensure that, through an opportune process, their faith can become incarnate and inculturated in their traditional reality. Then, in the context of their culture, identity, history and spirituality, an indigenous Church can arise with its own pastors and ordained ministers, always united within itself, and in total communion with the universal Catholic Church, but inculturated in indigenous cultures."
Cardinal Ricardo Barreto Jimeno
A Jesuit, and archbishop of Huancayo, Peru since 2004, Cardinal Barreto is vice president of the Peruvian bishops' conference. He is also vice president of REPAM (Red Eclesial Pan-Amazonica). According to Cardinal Barreto, "new paths" will be defined during the synod, directed toward care for creation and evangelization.
Cardinal Barreto has long been a proponent of environmental protection. Back in 2005 he told his brother bishops during a synod that bread and wine offered at the altar were no good if the land they came from was not properly cared for. "I said that if we offer bread from land that's contaminated, we are offering God a contaminated fruit. And the same for wine…I remember that the bishops looked at me as if they were saying, 'What does the Eucharist have to do with ecology?'"
"Too many people think the indigenous in the Amazon are savages with nothing to teach us. ..as one Amazonian indigenous person told me, the savages are the ones who wear suits and ties and have money because they not only exploit natural resources irrationally but also expel (the indigenous people) from their territories and allow those from the outside to attack their culture simply to profit."
General Augusto Heleno Ribeiro Pereira
Augusto Heleno is a Brazilian politician and retired general. He was military commander of the Amazon and chief of the Department of Science and Technology of the Army. He was chosen by Brazil's newly elected president, Jair Bolsonaro, to head the Institutional Security Cabinet, an executive level office of the federal government responsible for assistance to the president on matters of national security and defense policy.
Bolsonaro campaigned on promises to end protections of the Amazon rainforest and limit Brazil's indigenous peoples' rights to designate land in the river's sprawling basin as preserves. In one of his first acts as president, he gave responsibility for indigenous preserves to the Agriculture Ministry, which is seen as heavily influenced by agribusiness interests.
A major Brazilian newspaper, O Estado de S. Paulo, reported on February 10, 2019 that the synod has become a national concern for the Brazilian government. General Augusto Heleno was quoted in the story as saying, in reference to the synod, "We are worried about it and want to neutralize it." The government's strategy for neutralizing the Amazonia synod reportedly includes planting intelligence agents to monitor preparatory meetings and putting diplomatic pressure on the Italian government to intercede with the Vatican to avoid, or at least tone down, criticism of Brazil's Amazon policies.
"There are foreign (non-governmental organizations) and international authorities who want to intervene in our treatment of the Brazilian Amazon…I'm worried that this Synod is going to interfere in our sovereignty. We know what we have to do. We know how to do sustainable development, to stop deforestation."
Mauricio Lopez
Mauricio Lopez is the executive secretary of REPAM. He was the one lay person appointed to the Synod Council by Pope Francis. Lopez grew up in Mexico and was educated in Jesuit schools. He and his wife, who is Ecuadorian, moved to Ecuador over a decade ago. In 2009, he took a trip to the part of the Amazon basin that sits on Ecuador's eastern borders. "I came by bus from the highest mountains with snow," he described, and suddenly I entered this beautiful place, where I saw the biggest river, the entrance into the Amazon, and how the flora and fauna were always changing as we went down, down, down. The temperature changed radically, and I felt, too, a change within me," he said.
"The Amazon reality requires us to be a braver and more prophetic church."
The Amazonia initiative brings back an echo of my own past.
Back in the mid-1970s, as a young woman in Alaska, I fought for large tracts of Alaskan lands to be preserved as wilderness areas–national parks, refuges and monuments. I wanted government agencies to insist on environmental protections for areas that were mined, logged or slated for oil and natural gas extraction. The native peoples of Alaska—Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, Athabascan, Inupiat and Yupik were different, but each group was deeply connected to the land by a deep love for it, cultural heritage and identity. One connection was through the subsistence lifestyle—fishing, trapping, hunting and harvesting on their ancestral lands.
During that time, I never heard a religious person—priest, religious sister, bishop, pastoral associate, anyone—speak up for Alaska natives or for wise natural resources management. At that time, the Catholic church made no connection between Nature and Faith. I missed having my faith strengthen my environmental activism and support for native land rights; and my love for the land and forest strengthen my spirituality and religious conviction.
It now seems like a dream come true; one I have waited almost 40 years to see. Thank you, Pope Francis, and everyone who is making the Amazonia Synod happen. I'll be praying for you and us.
Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in the Amazon
14 January 19 | Posted in Events, Global Catholic, Social Justice, Spirituality
On October 22, 2015 one of my Trinity College classmates, Sr. Kathryn Webster, SND, '74, was invited to give the 10th anniversary lecture for the "Sower's Seed" program. Established by Kathy Snider Dunn '64 and her family, the program highlights alumnae who have incorporated into their lives the traditions of community service and social justice that are central to the Trinity experience and reflect the Catholic tradition that influences Trinity's mission. These graduates are invited to come to campus to share their stories with Trinity students, in the hope that their stories will inspire new generations to consider community service, either as a volunteer or as a career.
Kathryn Webster entered Notre Dame at Ilchester, Maryland in 1976. After her initial formation in 1979 she went to teach sixth graders at the St. Catherine of Genoa school in Brooklyn, New York. In 1984 the congregation sent her to Brazil. She has lived there ever since. Sr. Katy has lived in several different towns in the Amazon Basin. She's now in Anapu, a city in the Brazilian state of Pará. She lives with three other SNDs, working as part of a pastoral team visiting communities, holding meetings, and supporting local people in their struggle for land, security and habitat protection. "My life is a rich and wonderful life," Katy said, "and I am very grateful for the opportunity to live and work among the people of the Transamazon."
The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur began their Amazon mission in 1962 with five sisters "imbued with Gospel values and Vatican II perspectives." Sr. Dorothy Stang arrived a few years later, and became famous both her advocacy and martrydom. She was assassinated in Anapu in 2005. Sr. Dorothy had been outspoken in her efforts on behalf of the poor, small farming families and the environment. "The death of the forest is the end of our life," she said. She had received death threats from loggers and land owners. Hired gunmen shot her six times and left her to die on a dirt road. Mining companies have now moved into the area.
Sr. Katy worked alongside Sr. Dorothy Strang and has continued Sr. Dorothy's ministry. Social and environmental justice advocacy in Brazil is "boots to the ground" hard, gritty, dangerous work. "The struggle," Sr. Katy said, "is for life: of the people, of the land, the forest and the rivers. We are 50 miles from the Belo Monte complex, a hydroelectric dam that is being built after 30 years of protest because it is a natural disaster, and the energy it will product will not benefit the local population and really is not needed."
I didn't know Katy well at school but I am very proud to be her classmate. Our Trinity years helped steer both of us into environmental work and shaped our ethics and spirituality.
Porpoise Burial Mystery
27 February 18 | Posted in Animals, Events, Global Catholic, Spirituality
In September 2017 archaeologists were wrapping up an excavation on the English Channel island of Chapelle Dom Hue when they made an unexpected and mystifying discovery. The excavation revealed a carefully cut grave plot, which the archaeologists reasonably assumed would hold the remains of a deceased human. Instead, they found that the grave contained the bones of a juvenile porpoise.
The grave, carefully cut into the rocky soil on a high point of the island overlooking the sea, was constructed with the same techniques used for human graves.
The discovery was made at the site of a medieval monastic site, which was once occupied by monks searching for solitude. The team believes the bones date to the 13th or 14th century.
Philip de Jersey, a States of Guernsey archaeologist, said: "If they had eaten it or killed it for the blubber, why take the trouble to bury it? It was entirely consistent with a human burial, which is one of the most puzzling aspects," de Jersey added. "The grave cut has been dug very carefully, with vertical sides and a flat base cut into the underlying bedrock. This has taken some considerable care and effort."
He said it was the most unusual find in his 35-year career. "It's very peculiar, I don't know what to make of it. Why go to the trouble of burying a porpoise in what looks like a grave. It's a wonderful surprise."
Perhaps the answer is obvious: a wild porpoise developed a bond with one or more of the monks. Someone may have started to feed it, or found it stranded and helped it back into the sea. Or, the porpoise and the man saw each other at a certain time of day in the same spot and a companionship developed. When it died, or if it was killed, the porpoise was lovingly buried.
See the excavation video.
Bishops Facing Death Threats
18 March 09 | Posted in Global Catholic, Social Justice
They avoid taking buses, make sure friends know their schedules, and rarely go out when it's dark. For the three foreign-born Roman Catholic bishops under death threat in Brazil's northeastern state of Para, speaking out against social ills that plague this often-lawless area at the Amazon River's mouth has come at a price.
Yet they still noisily involve themselves in rights issues here, part of a tradition of Catholic priests who came to Latin America with their views formed by 1970s Liberation Theology that emphasizes justice for the poor and oppressed.
One of the bishops under threat in Para is 69-year-old Austrian-born, Bishop Erwin Krautler. Bishop Krautler has had armed bodyguards around the clock for the past two years in his diocese of Altamira, from where he has denounced illegal logging and other illicit businesses as well as the handling of the Sister Dorothy Strang murder case.
Bishop Krautler remembers the first time he received a death threat. "It was the exact day I completed 25 years as a bishop," he recalled. Later that year, a local paper announced the day his assassination would be expected.
Bishop Krautler says there are several groups unhappy with him and with his colleagues, who are fighting to save the Amazon region from environmental destruction. The bishop has recently spoken out against the construction of a hydroelectric plant along the Xingu River. He has also strongly opposed land-clearing by farmers and loggers in the Amazon forest and is one of the main figures in trying to bring to justice those who killed Dorothy Strang, of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in 2005.
"These people have formed a consortium to murder those who speak out against what they are doing," Bishop Krautler told Catholic News Service. "I believe it was a consortium of landowners who got together to hire someone to murder Sister Dorothy. Sister Dorothy Strang, a native of Ohio and a naturalized Brazilian, was 73 when she was murdered near the town of Anapu. She was known as a fierce defender of the Amazon forest.
The government was surprised by the international repercussions of Sister Dorothy's assassination. Not wanting to worsen its image abroad, the authorities now provide limited police protection for Bishop Krautler and others.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl