Catholic Students Put Faith Into Action:

Tuesday, May 29th, 2001

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Bradley Angel Greenaction

(415) 248-5010

Over 90 Moreau Catholic High School Students and Priests Marched and Held Prayer Service Calling For End To Toxic Pollution From Medical Waste Incinerators in East Oakland

Oakland, CA -- Putting faith into action, roughly 90 high school students from Moreau Catholic High School in Hayward, were joined by priests, parents, teachers, and community activists, as they marched on Integrated Environmental Systems (I.E.S.), a medical waste incinerator in East Oakland. "It is our social responsibility to create a cleaner community," said Paul Barrera 14, of Moreau Catholic High.

The march began at Fruitvale BART station at noon, and was led by students carrying posters with theological slogans and large banners reading "I.E.S.: Love your neighbor" and "Dioxin is a toxin in the Body of Christ." Chanting and singing, students made their way up International Boulevard to I.E.S., where they held a prayer service to express solidarity with the thousands of young people in dozens of schools located within just a few miles of the incinerator and to encourage I.E.S. to shift to non-polluting technologies.

Moreau Catholic students lend a religious voice to the growing chorus of community, health, labor and environmental justice groups calling for safer, non-incineration methods of handling waste at I.E.S., the only commercial waste incinerator in the state of California. The incinerators emit dioxin, mercury and other highly toxic pollutants into the air. I.E.S. also has a poor track record of hundreds of violations.

For these Catholic students, the prayer service was a chance to put their faith into action. Groups of ninth graders offered prayers for healing in the form of dance, rap, and art. Tenth grade moral theology students enacted a skit depicting the impact of dioxin on human health and the environment and the restoration of respect and justice to one of Oakland's most disadvantaged neighborhoods. Ninth grader Megan Smith said simply, "We want what God wants, which is a healthy, happy community."