I am the parish Priest in Twillingate, Newfoundland and I am hoping that you might be able to provide me with some guidance and assistance. As you may be aware the Manolis L is a paper freighter that sunk near Change Islands in January 1985. In the last few months there has been growing concern about the oil leaking from the ship. The Coast Guard are taking measures but nothing seems to be working for long. There is great concern in my area about this issue and our Ministerial decided this week to work with those actively lobbying to have the oil removed from the ship. This seems to be the only viable long-term solution. In a public meeting held last week in Twillingate they spoke of the importance of getting behind this call quickly as we need Parliament to approve the funding ASAP. They do have a fund set aside for such clean-ups and we need to pressure the government and particularly the minster of environment to act quickly. Our fear is that if the funding is not approved soon the oil will not be able to be removed this year. This is a very serious matter.
We do have a petition and letters and postcards available and I have attached them for your use. I am wondering if there is any way to get the national church on board on this issue, to help in lobbying and in the distribution of materials. Bishop David Torraville gave me support to send materials throughout our diocese but I think we will need more pressure. I believe that this is a very important matter and directly tied to our baptismal call to safeguard the integrity of God's creation and to the Marks of Mission.
We believe that if this ship breaks apart and some of the 600 tonnes of oil is spilled there will be dire and far reaching environmental consequences. Thank you for any help and support you may be able to provide.
The Rev'd. Dr. Joanne Mercer Anglican Parish of Twillingate
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