International Peace Council Trustee and IEP21 adviser, theologian Paul Knitter in Chiapas, with Mayan community leader.

Chiapas, Mexico

Project Ocosingo is an initiative undertaken by the Interreligious Engagement Project (IEP21) in partnership with the International Interreligious Peace Council and other organizations to engage local communities, congregations, and groups in support of humanitarian and human rights work in the Ocosingo region of the state of Chiapas, Mexico.

The project will initially involve three primary partner organizations, the Interreligious Engagement Project (IEP21), Common Ground in Deerfield, Ilinois, and CincinnatiÕs Brueggeman Center for Interreligious Dialogue. Each will, in its own way, serve as a hub for a network of religious communities, congregations, groups, etc. committed to modest but potentially long-term support of the humanitarian and human rights work of Fr. Gonzalo Ituarte and others in Chiapas, principally in the Ocosingo region.

Each participating group will be asked to commit to one year of support of the humanitarian and human rights work of Fr. Ituarte and his colleagues in Ocosingo (proposed level of support from $100 to $500 per year). Each participating group will determine its own level of commitment and support. Participating groups will receive monthly updates on the work in Ocosingo. In 2005, IEP21 will organize events, featuring Fr. Ituarte and colleagues, for participating organizations in Chicago and Cincinnati. The Team will endeavor to bring Fr. Ituarte (and colleagues) to Chicago and Cincinnati to attend both events.

For more information or to learn how you, your group, or your congregation can become directly involved in support of the humanitarian, social justice, and community building work in Chiapas, contact Jim Kenney at the link below.

Father Gonzalo Ituarte