Even More from Rome: "Witnesses of Charity . . . "

Monday, April 28

• After a bit of reflection and evaluation, we went to the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, where we spoke with the president, Cardinal Renato Martino. We were reminded of the importance of the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, published in 2004. Cardinal Martino was instrumental in the final publication of the Compendium and is also very interested in the cause for beatification of Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan, previous president of the Pontifical Council, who died in 2002. Click here for more information on the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and here for more information on Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan.
• We also visited Caritas Internationalis (CI) and had an extensive presentation by the Lesley-Anne Knight, Secretary General, and members of her staff. As a confederation of 162 Catholic relief, development, and service organizations, CI works for the poor and oppressed in over 200 countries and territories in the world. Firmly grounded in Catholic social teaching, the CI approach focuses on the dignity of the human person as its members work to fight poverty, exclusion, intolerance, and discrimination. Part of our presentation included information on CI's international work against human trafficking and on the coordination of its disaster preparedness efforts. From June 3-9, 2007, CI held its 18th General Assembly entitled, "Witnesses of Charity, Builders of Peace," which included keynote speeches by Cardinal Martino and Wangari Maathai. To get a sense of the flavor of CI's agenda and of its strategic framework for the next four years, see the Secretary General's Address at the General Assembly.
• As our meetings come to a close this week, we are speaking more about not only what we will take home to our provinces, but also what the Sisters of Christian Charity, as a Congregation, can do for justice, peace, and the integrity of creation. Stay tuned . . .