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Government and the Common Good

2/6/2021

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February Blog
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I acknowledge and thank the Lkwungen People, (of the place to smoke herring)
also known as the Songhees and Esquimalt First Nations, for allowing me to live, pray, work, and play on their lands
[on the southern coast of Vancouver Island].
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Daniel P. Horan, OFM, Duns Scotus Chair of Spirituality,
Catholic Theological Union, Chicago, Il, USA:
The church teaches that purpose of government is the common good. Period.
[The COMMON GOOD is a principle of Catholic Social Doctrine.
See:  https://www.devp.org/en/cst
This explains why Franciscan Voice Canada as a voice for Justice, Peace & Integrity of Creation is so concerned with politics. Structural injustice is sin because injustice is sin.
That is why we must be involved in politics and raise our voice.]
Do Our Governments work for the Common Good?
[i.e. the Catholic Social Teaching Principle!]
Some do; some not so much. Two examples follow
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Here’s one who actually talks about it, Ursula von der Leyen, President, European Commission: excerpts from her message to Davos World Economic Forum 2021: “And to those who prefer the business case. Here it is: More than half of global GDP is dependent on high-functioning biodiversity and ecosystems – and it is from food to tourism, you just name it. And in the latest World Economic Forum Global Risk Report - the top five global risks are all related to the environment. …
The European Union and others helped with money – large sums were invested – to build research capacities and production facilities early. Europe invested billions to help develop the world‘s first COVID-19 vaccines. To create a truly global common good. And now, the companies must deliver. They must honour their obligations. This is why we will set up a vaccine export transparency mechanism. Europe is determined to contribute to this global common good. But it also means business.”
 
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/01/ursula-von-der-leyen-european-commission-davos-agenda/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unl2SBxH9oo (video of her speech 33 mins)
​
Then there’s this closer to home: Can we Trust Alberta’s Energy Regulator to Safeguard Coal Mines? The Kenney government says yes, but the agency has a messy track record. “A series of Alberta court rulings on the Ernst lawsuit said the regulator was legally immune from lawsuits and that the agency had “no duty of care” to Albertans or the environment.” Remind me who makes the law and for whom and how do we change it?     Read more... 
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The 2021 Share Lent campaign will feature seven weekly webinars drawing on themes from Fratelli Tutti and D&P’s Mission & Values; Humanitarian Aid; Community Development; Youth Engagement; Fundraising; Advocacy and Holy Week. Info is not yet posted on the website but soon will be, so CHECK HERE

 
Another great website for Lent
Check out the Global Catholic Climate Movement’s Laudato si’ Lent website 

The resources and events are recommended.They include an on line retreat, events and resources (including Caritas Canada/ D&P’s 2016
Solidarity Way of the Cross: Create a Climate of Change)
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Lent 2021: A Journey of Hope
Reflect, Repent & Renew.| Together
Laudato Si’ :
“As a spiritual work of mercy, care for our common home calls for a “grateful contemplation of God’s world”(Laudato Si’, 214) which “allows us to discover in each thing a teaching which God wishes to hand on to us” (ibid., 85).”
“85. The Canadian bishops rightly pointed out [*] that no creature is excluded from this manifestation of God: “From panoramic vistas to the tiniest living form, nature is a constant source of wonder and awe. It is also a continuing revelation of the divine”.[55] 
[*] [55] Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, Social Affairs Commission, Pastoral Letter You Love All that Exists… All Things are Yours, God, Lover of Life (4 October 2003), 1.”
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“42. … In order to achieve their task directed to the Christian animation of the temporal order, in the sense of serving persons and society, the lay faithful are never to relinquish their participation in "public life", that is, in the many different economic, social, legislative, administrative and cultural areas, which are intended to promote organically and institutionally the common good.”
​                                                                                  - Christ's Faithful People (Christifideles Laici) 
​
Did you know?
Four Pipeline Realities for Alberta’s Rumpelstiltskin. Jason Kenney rants and raves over Keystone XL’s cancellation. But let’s look at the facts.
by  Andrew Nikiforuk 24 Jan 2021 | TheTyee.ca

“Rystad Energy also talks about the industry’s dirty laundry: carbon dioxide emissions.
It calculates that the carbon intensity of the U.S. shale industry’s CO2 emissions is about around 12 kilograms per barrel of oil equivalent. In contrast, the oilsands is calculated “at a staggering 73 kilograms” per barrel of oil equivalent. Conventional onshore producers such as Saudi Arabia have a footprint of 19 kilograms per barrel of oil equivalent.” - the tyee
               Makes you think?   So what?   Here’s what:
                                            Trudeau promised a Just Transition Act.     
                      We’re pushing him to deliver. No more empty promises!
It was disappointing to see Prime Minister Trudeau and his cabinet mourning the cancelation of the Keystone XL pipeline. Instead of wasting their breath on a doomed pipeline, they should take action to support workers and communities. That’s why we’re taking action to call on Prime Minister Trudeau to deliver the Just Transition Act he promised in 2019. 
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​and  Sign the petition today. 

          Thank you, President Biden for cancelling KXL, a step in the right direction!

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    Even necessary within the Catholic church! Three examples:
1.  “Like many pioneering black sisters in white orders, Ebo endured unconscionable discrimination from her white counterparts and superiors.”   Read more
2. Priests who are biological fathers of children:  Read more
3. “ …be aware that sexual abuse of nuns exists, and that when — as long as victims don't speak out, perpetrators will just go on.”   Read more

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“It’s shocking how many women are beaten, insulted, and raped,”  - says the Holy Father in The Pope Video for February
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Climate change disasters in B.C. likely to increase if industrial logging continues unchecked: report     - Learn more at CBC News
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Beginning 2 March 2021, the Office for Evangelization and Catechesis (English Sector) of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) will offer a four-part webinar series entitled, 
Nurturing Friendship, the Directory for Catechesis in Dialogue with the Encyclical Letter Fratelli Tutti,
and invites individuals who are responsible for evangelization and catechesis including, clergy, consecrated persons, laity involved in ministry, directors and coordinators of evangelization and catechesis, and Catholic educators to participate.
 
Webinars will take place on Tuesday afternoons on 2, 9, 16 and 23 March and are 90 minutes in length. Registration is free of charge, however interested participants are invited to sign up before Monday, 22 February 2021. When registering directly within the Zoom meeting platform, participants can indicate their preference for one, two, three or all four of the sessions. For more information about the series, contact Margaret Shea-Lawrence by email at m.shea-lawrence@cccb.ca.
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​LET’S END ON A HOPEFUL NOTE!
Against Climate Gloom and Doom
When given a chance, life finds a way.
Here are some reasons to keep hoping - and fighting.
As the environmental problems facing our world compound, despair may feel like a rational response. In her new book ‘Hope Matters: Why Changing the Way We Think Is Critical to Solving the Environmental Crisis,’ environmental scholar Elin Kelsey makes an evidence-based argument for choosing hope over despair. Kelsey holds up examples of how ecosystems — including along our coasts and in our ocean — have managed to rebound from damage when given the chance, illustrating nature’s impressive resilience. By sharing these case studies, Kelsey offers reasons to reject apathy and to mobilize. Only if we believe there’s an opportunity to make a real positive impact will we find the motivation to fight for the protection and restoration of ecosystems we depend on. In this condensed excerpt, Kelsey shares a few hope-filled success stories specific to coastal ecosystems.
              Read more:  The Tyee   and    Royal Roads

Peace & joy, Andrew, ofs
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Hope is Bold: A Culture of Care

1/9/2021

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January Blog
POPE FRANCIS:  Angelus, Sunday 3 Jan 2021:
​“We do not know what 2021 will bring, but what each of us and all of us together can do, is to commit to taking care of each other and of creation, our common home.”
 JUST A THOUGHT: RIGHTEOUS ANGER 
“according to St. Thomas Aquinas, [anger] is passion that moves the will to justice. All too often, injustice flourishes in our society precisely because we’re not angry enough.”   
     (Fr Bryan Massingale, professor of theological ethics at Fordham University, NY City)                  Read More...
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Bishop Mark J. Seitz kneels at Memorial Park in El Paso, Tex. 
CNS photo/Fernie Ceniceros, courtesy Diocese of El Paso
Read More....
"Hope is Bold" Pope Francis 
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Fratelli tutti: “55. I invite everyone to renewed hope, for hope “speaks to us of something deeply rooted in every human heart, … of a thirst, an aspiration, a longing for a life of fulfillment, a desire to achieve great things, things that fill our heart and lift our spirit to lofty realities like truth, goodness and beauty, justice and love… Hope is bold; it can look beyond personal convenience, the petty securities and compensations which limit our horizon, and it can open us up to grand ideals that make life more beautiful and worthwhile”.[52] Let us continue, then, to advance along the paths of hope.”
From Cries to Dreams
Whenever I feel sad and hopeless and sense that JPIC is not taken seriously enough by my fellow humans including some Franciscans, I end up sooner or later with these thoughts from Understanding JPIC:
“Perseverance
7.6.a.  Sometimes working for JPIC can be difficult and seemingly hopeless because of indifference or even hostility. We must never lose heart or hope: "I would like to make an appeal to those in possession of greater resources, to public authorities and to all people of good will who are working for social justice: never tire of working for a more just world, marked by greater solidarity!” (Pope Francis, 25 July 2013)

9.6. Though JPIC is sometimes difficult we must always remember to persevere: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Gal 6:9).

9.7. A last word from Francis: “Let us begin, brothers, to serve the Lord God, for up until now we have done little or nothing!” (1 Cel 103).”
Culture of Care
Pope’s World Day of Peace message: no peace without a "culture of care" - Vatican News

In his message for the 54th World Day of Peace marked on 1 January, Pope Francis offers the Church’s social doctrine as a "compass" to foster a culture of care for peace in the world. Pope Francis appeals to the international community and every individual to foster a “culture of care” by advancing on the “path of fraternity, justice and peace between individuals, communities, peoples and nations.”
   
“There can be no peace without a culture of care,” the Pope stresses in his message for the 54th World Day of Peace, held on 1 January 2021. The Holy Father traces the evolution of the Church’s Culture of Care from the first book of the Bible to Jesus, through the early Church down to our times.

After the creation of the world, God entrusts it to Adam to “till it and keep it”. Cain’s response to God – “Am I my brother’s keeper?” – after killing his brother, Abel, is a reminder that all of us are keepers of one another. God’s protection of Cain, despite his crime, confirms the inviolable dignity of the person created in God’s image and likeness.

The “beating heart of the Church’s social doctrine [Pope Francis says,] can serve as a “grammar’ of care: commitment to promoting the dignity of each human person, solidarity with the poor and vulnerable, the pursuit of the common good and concern for the protection of creation.”
How Can We Play Our Part? 
We need leadership!
We can do individual acts of kindness and care for creation but we are called to go out into “the city.” As entities in the OFS and Franciscan Family how can we expand our role to be in the forefront as our Rule calls us?
If that means to lead, how do we do it? Has our National Fraternity taken a lead?
Given that OFS Rule invites us to be in the forefront [i.e. to lead] in promoting justice [15]; cultivate peace [17] and move to the Franciscan concept of universal kinship [18]; and given that many, especially youth world wide, recognise that we face climate change as an urgent and possibly greatest threat to human existence, I ask: does the National Council accept the desirability of the formation of a bilingual Canadian Franciscan Family JPIC organisation to promote Evangelii Gaudium (2013), Laudato si’ (2015), Fratelli tutti (2020) and Catholic Social Doctrine as it evolves.

How do we implement Journeying Towards Care for Our Common Home (2020)? in which the Dicastery for Promotion of Integral Human Development called us all, families, dioceses, schools and religious orders, to participate in a new program and a public commitment for various institutions to begin a 7-year journey to total sustainability in the spirit of Laudato Si’. Surely that calls for a response from National?
 
To cheer from the sidelines and drag our feet is not an option and risks irrelevancy while we are concerned only with internal matters, important though they be. From the time of the Second Vatican Council especially, and under the guidance of subsequent popes, the Catholic Church has been reflecting on the meaning of the work of justice, peace and care of creation as it relates to evangelization.  Under Pope Francis, this New Evangelization calls for a new impetus from Journeying Towards Care for Our Common Home. It's time to become informed and involved in this work, which seeks the happiness and freedom of every individual.
                     
                    From Gospel to life:  “Make justice your sacrifice, and trust in the Lord.” Ps 4:6
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Learn more about Laudato Si' from Development and Peace.
Inspiring stories of hope
First, the Bosnian Muslim who saved the Sarajevo Jewish Hagaddah from the Nazis in 1942:
         ...Learn more
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​Another beacon of hope: Bishop “Tatic” Don Samuel Ruiz Garcia (1924-2011)
  24 January 2021 is the 10th anniversary of his death.

Don Samuel built the church in Southern Mexico long before Pope Francis spoke of the peripheries.  I met Tatic and he was, and still is, an inspiration to me in promoting Fair Trade coffee and in the struggle for justice and human rights.
During his 40 years as bishop of San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, he transformed the diocese into Latin America’s first real “autochthonous church,” true to the principles of the Second Vatican Council and the Second General Conference of the Latin American and Caribbean Bishops at Medellín, Colombia, in 1968, two events in contemporary church history that influenced him deeply. He preached “evangelization by the poor,” instructed his priests to study local indigenous languages and trained hundreds of catechists and deacons.

In his practice, being an autochthonous church meant incorporating indigenous traditions in the church and welcoming the participation of indigenous people in a region whose inhabitants had never been treated as equals by European colonizers and their descendants. Bishop Ruiz ordained hundreds of indigenous deacons and translated the Bible into Tzeltal, one of the many local Mayan dialects.

Beyond church reform, Bishop Ruiz became one of Chiapas’s and Mexico’s principal advocates of social justice and equality, championing indigenous rights and the struggle against poverty and racism. He founded the Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Bartolomé de las Casas (Fray Bartolomé de las Casas Human Rights Centre), known as Frayba in 1989. Frayba has had a lasting influence on me because they asked me to visit Acteal 18 months after the massacre of Las Abejas, a pacificist group by paramilitaries. That visit was life changing for me.
         Read more: 23 Years of Impunity for Perpetrators of Acteal Massacre

Landowners and the rich elites of Chiapas accused Tatic of Communist sympathies and confronted him, sometimes violently but he was only implementing the preferential option for the poor, a Catholic Social Doctrine principle at the heart of liberation theology.

He was also often at odds with members of the Mexican church hierarchy, who acted as defenders of the political and cultural status quo, and with the Vatican, which did not approve of his ordinations of indigenous deacons. In 1993, he was asked to step down. After he wrote a pastoral letter defending his reforms and his pastoral approach, Mexican bishops rallied behind him, and he stayed on for another six years. The Vatican banned the ordination of indigenous deacons soon after his resignation. But in death, Bishop Ruiz found a powerful ally in Pope Francis, who not only overturned the ban, but in 2016 prayed at Bishop Ruiz’s tomb and celebrated Mass in San Cristóbal with thousands.

When Tatic went to the highlands to visit indigenous communities who grew coffee on small plots he did not stay with the non-indigenous big estate (finca) landowners as his predecessors had, but with the local indigenous peoples. When he did visit the finca owners and was offered coffee he would tell them that their “coffee was paid for with blood” because of the injustice in landownership and treatment of indigenous peoples.
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Download this chart here.

                  Peace & joy, Andrew, ofs
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Saint Francis Continues to Inspire Pope Francis

12/5/2020

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December's Blog
Fratelli tutti – Saint Francis and Pope Francis
From Gospel to life: A way of life – not “away” from life
See, Judge, Act and Advocate i.e. talk, write or phone!
The titles of Pope Francis’ exhortation and encyclicals Evangelli gaudium, Laudato si’ and Fratelli tutti are all based on the words and inspiration of St Francis of Assisi.

 Here is a new Vatican website: www.fratellitutti.va
A short extract from the website:  “To create an open world with an open heart, it is necessary to engage in politics, and a better kind of politics (Ch. 5) is essential. Politics for the common and universal good. Politics that is “popular” because it is for and with the people. It is politics with social charity that seeks human dignity. The politics of men and women who practice political love by integrating the economy with the social and cultural fabric into a consistent and life-giving human project.” (emphasis added)
 
Following are some thoughts from Pope Francis who meets author Austen Ivereigh with whom he collaborated in the book, "Let Us Dream: The Path to A Better Future" published 1 Dec 2020 by Simon & Schuster, NY:

“Solidarity is not the sharing of crumbs from the table, but to make space at the table for everyone”
He takes the “see-judge-act” method of social action — what he calls “contemplate-discern-propose” — and uses it to describe the current state of affairs, to look at attitudes behind many issues and to call for a new way of doing things.

“We need economies that give to all access to the fruits of creation, to the basic needs of life: to land, lodging, and labour.” And, he said, “we need a politics that can integrate and dialogue with the poor, the excluded and the vulnerable, that gives people a say in the decisions that impact their lives.”
Abortion, anti-immigrant sentiments, racism, lack of care of the elderly and the embracing of an economic system that focuses on profit at all costs are all signs of the “erosion of the value of life,” he said.

“Without a vision for society rooted in the dignity of all people,” he said, “the logic of the unfettered market ends up turning life from a gift into a product.”

Pope Francis said in the book that he believes “it is time to explore concepts like the universal basic income (UBI)”.


“Food and Farming - Agricultural Sustainability” 
In the Holy Father’s second TED talk (see the TED Talk in the November issue of the Common Good), he focused on three courses of action to address the world’s growing environmental problems and economic inequalities, illustrating how all people of goodwill, of any faith or no faith but good intention, can work together, to protect the Earth and promote the dignity of everyone.

The three courses: (1). education in the care of our common home; (2). focus on water and nutrition (including farming)  & (3). transition from fossil fuels to clean energy.
Franciscan Voice Canada sees itself as part of (1) the educational process and has frequently featured the various organisations which promote (3) an end to fossil fuel use especially through Fridays for Future. In terms of (2) it has promoted Development and Peace (Caritas Canada’s) articles on water, food sovereignty, small farmers and sustainable agriculture. 
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FVC wishes to bring to your attention renowned Indian scholar, environmental activist, food sovereignty advocate, and anti-globalization author Vandana Shiva’s interview for the Economy of Francesco.

Here are some excerpts which remind us why we must collaborate with people of good intentions as Pope Francis reminded us in Fratelli tutti:
​
 “When I read Laudato si’ I felt I was reading our ancient Vedic texts, especially the Atharvaveda on our duty to have reverence for the Earth and all her beings. … The Economy of Francesco has become an ethical and ecological imperative for the survival and well being of the planet and people. … At their core, all faiths teach us to take care of creation, of each other. No faith says destroy the earth, let your neighbour starve. The stories of creation might be different, but the duty to creation is common. Faiths focus on duties and unite us in our common humanity. …Today, the biotech companies working with the tech billionaires want to create digital agriculture and farming without farmers. They want to replace real food and the bread of life with patented lab food. Poverty, hunger and chronic diseases are a consequence of the greed of corporations who push poisons and chemicals to grow food and process it. … I wrote a book on the Green Revolution, which created new markets for the fertilizer industry, destroyed the soil, the water, and contributed to climate change. It left the farmers trapped in debt. Then GMOs were introduced with the same argument. They left a trail of debt and suicides, and even though they were sold as a miracle pest control technology, they failed to control pests. Hundreds of farmers died because of pesticide poisoning… Technology means tools. Tools need to be assessed and chosen with responsibility. Tools are a means to improve human wellbeing while working according to the laws of ecology. The big technology barons are trying to elevate the tools through which they make super profits by mining our data and patenting everything - our seeds, our food, our data -as a new religion. Tools and technologies are being made the higher ends, and humanity and the earth are being reduced to means. ”
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2014 D&P campaign
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Report:
Only small farmers and agroecology can feed the world
Industrial agricultural methods can no longer feed the world, due to the impacts of overlapping environmental and ecological crises linked to land, water and resource availability. A new report by an international panel of agriculture experts echoes the conclusion of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food from 2014. The future of food is “agroecology”, the traditional way of farming using methods that are less resource oriented, and which work in harmony with society. Small farmers feed 70 percent of the world population. That percentage should go up in the interest of long-term sustainability. - Optimistdaily.com
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​Ending long-term drinking water advisories
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As of February 2020, 61 Indigenous reserves were under long-term drinking water advisories, half of which remain unresolved after more than a decade. These water advisories warn people to either boil water before use, not to consume it, or avoid it altogether because of toxicity levels.  
'This is not the country you believe it is,' Neskantaga First Nation chief says amid water crisis
 

These will make you think: 
Canadian billionaires add $53 billion to their wealth pile during the pandemic - Financial Post
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And this from:
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Email 29 Nov 2020 from Tzeporah Berman, International Programs Director, Stand.earth.


But over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Canadian government has also given over $14 billion of your tax dollars to the fossil fuel industry – that’s 10 times the average of other G20 countries.

See Canada Energy Policy Tracker 
In spite of this:
Amazon deforestation surges to 12-year high under Bolsonaro - The Guardian
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​We have these!
Dutch government ordered to cut carbon emissions in landmark ruling
- The Guardian 

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Climate change:
Temperature analysis shows UN goals 'within reach' - BBC.com
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  • ​European states ordered to respond to youth activists' climate lawsuit. - The Guardian
  • ​Climate case clears major hurdle as European court recognises “importance & urgency” - ​ Global Legal Action Network
  • Six young people from Portugal are taking 33 countries to the European Court of Human Rights for failing to act to avert climate catastrophe       - youth4climatejustice.org/
We wish you a Merry Christmas
& A Happy New Year!
Peace, all good & joy!
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Thanks to St Lawrence Capuchin Seminary

​And this English Canadian would sing, or better, say:
 “God rest you merry Franciscans:
We want a figgy pudding:
we won’t go until we get one,
so bring it out now!”
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SEE, JUDGE, ACT (SEE, LEARN, PRAY, ACT): DISCERN THE TRUTH

11/9/2020

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Are we in danger of becoming blasé? In his recent TED Countdown talk (13 mins), Pope Francis asked all of us to take "concrete and pressing actions" to stop the climate crisis. 
Did you Sign the Catholic Petition for just action on COVID and the Climate Emergency?  Please do and show the Pope and the world that you care!                    Sign the petition is here  

Fratelli Tutti - Pope Francis
Let us also consider the Pope’s latest encyclical Fratelli Tutti. Here is a very informative discussion: 

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                                                You can watch/listen to it here
 
However, you may not have the time (56 mins) to listen to the discussion or read Fratelli tutti: On Fraternity and Social Friendship which is 276 pages long.

So permit your JPIC and Laudato Si’ Animator to do his job and give you a 3 page summary including a few points that caught his attention!
  1. Fratelli tutti was published 4 Oct 2020, the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi.
  2. Both Laudato si’ (LS) and Fratelli tutti (FT) start with words of St Francis.
  3. Chapter 1 describes the sad state of the world. Although depressing, there is hope. "Difficulties that seem overwhelming," the Pope writes, "are opportunities for growth, not excuses for a glum resignation that can lead only to acquiescence." (78) Difficulties cited: the manipulation and deformation of concepts such as democracy, freedom, justice; the loss of the meaning of the social community and history; selfishness and indifference toward the common good; the prevalence of a market logic based on profit and the culture of waste; unemployment, racism, poverty; the disparity of rights and its aberrations such as slavery, trafficking, women subjugated and then forced to abort, organ trafficking (10-24). Global problems call for global actions, emphasizes the Pope, also sounding the alarm against a “culture of walls” that favours the proliferation of organized crime, fuelled by fear and loneliness (27-28).
  4. Chapter 2, a meditation on the parable of the good Samaritan, could make good material for fraternity and parish discussion groups. We all, in fact, are co-responsible in creating a society that is able to include, integrate and lift up those who have fallen or are suffering (77). Love builds bridges and “we were made for love” (88). We must recognize Christ in the face of every excluded person (85).
  5. Chapters 3 and 4 present the Pope's fundamental vision. “The spiritual stature of a person’s life is measured by love, which always “takes first place” and leads us to seek better for the life of the other, far from all selfishness (92-93). The sense of solidarity and of fraternity begin within the family, which are to be safeguarded and respected in their “primary and vital mission of education” (114).
  6. This love must extend beyond family, tribe and nation to strangers, migrants and all people into a social friendship where the worth of every person is acknowledged. Chapter 3&4 are foundational to the Pope’s approach to humanity and its problems.
  7. Chapter 5 presents the Pope's political philosophy, Chapter 6 is on the importance of social and cultural values, and Chapter 7 deals with reconciliation and peace building. If only politicians and world leaders would read these chapters, which stress that we should see everyone as our brother and sister and treat them with kindness and respect.
  8. Finally, Chapter 8 speaks of the role of religion in building fraternity. This chapter will be especially useful for ecumenical and inter-religious dialogues.
 
So now to some points.
  1. The phrase fratelli tutti is taken from St. Francis of Assisi’s “sixth admonition” to the friars, all of whom were men. In Italian, fratelli means brothers or brothers and sisters since, in many Romance languages, including Spanish spoken in the Pope’s native Argentina, the masculine form of nouns is traditionally used when referring to males and females collectively. The Pope acknowledges this: “1. “FRATELLI TUTTI”.[1] With these words, Saint Francis of Assisi addressed his brothers and sisters and proposed to them a way of life marked by the flavour of the Gospel.”
  2. Dan Horan, OFM says: The reason that St. Francis preferred the title "brother" was simple: He truly meant that he saw himself as inherently related to all women, men, and even nonhuman creatures as part of God's one family of creation. To talk about fraternity as a disposition or value is to talk about how you view and relate to other people, including strangers and those who may be very different from you. It is about recognizing intrinsic familial ties with all people and creatures.” [i.e. universal kinship with creation as OFS Rule 18 puts it].
  3. Dan Horan goes on to say that these three themes are the bases of FT: Fraternity; Crossing borders, building bridges; & Peacemaking and reconciliation.
  4. FT is a sibling of LS and continues the thread of Common Home, Common Family, and integral human development encapsulated in the phrase: “cry of the earth, cry of the poor.” Not much is actually new; rather it is a restating of accepted Catholic Social Teaching and Pope Francis’ thought in some detail and sharply focused. It is more an assertion of values, not a prescription of solutions.
  5. It also continues the idea of reaching out, going outside to the streets to evangelise as espoused in Evangelii Gaudium (Joy of the Gospel, 2013). It draws on the parable of the Good Samaritan and its solidarity with neighbours without borders (3-8 & ) and universal (catholic!) friendship.
  6. It calls for a new politics; from fragmentation to unity; from nationalism to international and multi-nationalism i.e. unity in diversity globally and locally.
  7. It talks about the causes of migration being examples of unfairness in the present world system and again reminds us that politics can be one of the highest forms of charity; but nationalistic populism is not a good example. With their lives “at stake” (37), fleeing from war, persecution, natural catastrophes, unscrupulous trafficking, ripped from their communities of origin, migrants are to be welcomed, protected, supported and integrated. Unnecessary migration needs to be avoided, Pope Francis affirms, by creating concrete opportunities to live with dignity in the countries of origin.
  8. The theme of the fifth chapter is A better kind of politics, which represents one of the most valuable forms of charity because it is placed at the service of the common good (180) and recognizes the importance of people, understood as an open category, available for discussion and dialogue (160). This is the populism indicated by Francis, which counters that populism which ignores the legitimacy of the notion of people, by attracting consensuses in order to exploit them for its own service and fomenting selfishness in order to increase its own popularity (159). But a better politics is also one that protects work, an “essential dimension of social life”. 
  9. FT does not decry capitalism or business, as such, merely the excess of these when ruled only by the market and greed as opposed to sharing. The undue influence of finance and the free market needs to be curbed. The Pope writes that the free market cannot resolve every problem, and specifically condemns trickle-down economics as “this dogma of neo-liberal faith.” A politics centred on human dignity and not subjected to finance because “the marketplace, by itself, cannot resolve every problem” is needed.
  10. The Pope also calls us to consider “an ethics of international relations” (126), because every country also belongs to foreigners and the goods of the territory cannot be denied to those who are in need and come from another place. Thus, the natural right to private property will be secondary to the principal of the universal destination of created goods (120).
  11.  The Pope has decried plundering rather than sharing. In Catholic Social Teaching sharing follows the principle of: the universal destination of goods (120) and profit and private property are subject to a social mortgage.
  12. We must move from destruction to caring for our common home and family. Specifically it is almost impossible to wage a “just war” because of the excessively destructive nature of modern weapons. We must divest from fossil fuels and military weapons and re-invest in sustainable economic activity especially production of food. The total elimination of nuclear arms is “a moral and humanitarian imperative”. With the money invested in weapons, the Pope suggests instead the establishment of a global fund for the elimination of hunger (255-262).
  13. The death penalty: it is inadmissible and must be abolished worldwide. (263-269)
  14. The Pope warns of the dangers of a social media that has, “now given free rein to ideologies. Things that until a few years ago could not be said by anyone without risking the loss of universal respect can now be said with impunity, and in the crudest of terms, even by some political figures.”
  15. Pope Francis was inspired by Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew’s passionate pleas to care for creation in writing LS and for FT the Pope recalls St. Francis' famous encounter with Sultan Malek al-Kamil at Damietta, Egypt, in 1219 and cites Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tayeb and their joint declaration in Abu Dhabi, Feb 2019. That first-of-a-kind document embraced ‘brotherhood’ among different religions, but called especially for religious freedom, condemning religious persecution and radicalized religion.
  16. South African Anglican Bishop Desmond Tutu, was also an inspiration for his encyclical (286). Tutu is the main proponent of Ubuntu, an African humanist philosophy based on a culture of sharing, openness, mutual dependence, dialogue and interpersonal encounter. In Ubuntu, human existence reaches fulfilment as part of whole, society thrives on a common humanity, and forgiveness and reconciliation are prerequisites for preserving social harmony.
  17. Because kindness "entails esteem and respect for others, once kindness becomes a culture within society it transforms lifestyles, relationships and the ways ideas are discussed and compared," he writes.  "Kindness facilitates the quest for consensus; it opens new paths where hostility and conflict would burn all bridges."
  18. This should lead to a "culture of encounter," he says, where people "should be passionate about meeting others, seeking points of contact, building bridges, planning a project that includes everyone."
  19. The Pope underlines that peace is connected to truth, justice and mercy; it is “proactive” and aims at forming a society based on service to others and on the pursuit of reconciliation and mutual development (227-229).
  20. Pope Francis concludes his Encyclical, remembering Martin Luther King, Desmond Tutu, Mahatma Gandhi and above all Blessed Charles de Foucauld, a model for everyone of what it means to identify with the least in order to become “the universal brother” (286-287). The final words of the Encyclical come from two prayers, namely one “to the Creator” and the “Ecumenical Christian Prayer,” praying that the heart of mankind may harbour “a spirit of fraternity.”
  
             Peace & joy, Andrew, ofs

        On-Going Formation:
        See the ​November Living Fraternity on-going formation issue which focuses on Fratelli Tutti

        Further reading:
        https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-10/fratelli-tutti-pope-fraternity-social-friendship-short-summary.html
        Dan Horan, OFM: https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/faith-seeking-understanding/relationship-leads-us-peace-three-          key-franciscan-themes

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We have a vaccine! - October's Blog

9/5/2020

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The Three “S” Vaccine: Solidarity, Sharing & Service.
 
Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, SDB, Archbishop of Yangon, Myanmar
on the Feast of St Francis of Assisi 2020 said:
“Let the Christian Community, spurred by its faith, go out with the
three S vaccine: Solidarity,  Sharing & Service.
Together we can work miracles, walk on the water of human fellowship.  
​Let not our hearts be disturbed. God is in charge.”
We must do better
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​
The Season of Creation Matters!
What can we do? Two examples:
We can See, Learn, Pray, Act!
Here is something that the friars at Mt St Francis in Cochrane, Alberta have done: Biofuel Eco-Boiler technology utilizes the biofuel created by their waste stream and Eco-Growth Organic Reactor (EGORTM) to produce hot water or steam for building or processes. Biofuel has a high combustion and BTU value that safely and efficiently heats water replacing fossil fuel requirements.

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Another example: The Butterflyway Project 

A citizen-led movement growing highways of habitat for bees and butterflies across Canada.
Butterflyway Rangers in Victoria, B.C., planted more than 10 pollinator gardens in the city, at private residences, public parks, schools and hospitals.

The Victoria Rangers built a bicycle-propelled flower buggy as a mobile pollinator classroom. This garnered much interest from young and old alike, inspiring many to plant their own pollinator gardens!
The Victoria Rangers also employed art and creativity, building giant butterfly puppets and a butterflyway float to help teach people what they can do to support pollinators. They joined the Oak Bay Tea Party Parade and won second prize!

Pollinator education and habitat restoration continues in Victoria, as one of our Rangers was awarded a municipal grant to build pollinator gardens throughout the Fernwood area and to run pollinator education programs for local elementary students.
 
 
We can emulate St Francis of Assisi in his - 
     Canticle of the Creatures by taking action by raising our voices 

We can realise that every day for Secular Franciscans should be a Season of Creation! Our OFS Rule 18 tells us to “strive to move from the temptation of exploiting creation to the Franciscan concept of universal kinship.” And as Dawn Nothwehr, OSF reminded us: St Bonaventure told us we should be “advocates for other creatures, giving them a voice before God and the world.” 

Pope Francis’ leadership on the climate emergency and on the coronavirus has been unmatched.  But he can’t do it alone.  It’s time for the global Catholic community to rally behind his message. 
Sign the Catholic Petition for just action on COVID and the Climate Emergency.  Show the Pope and the world that you care!                        Sign the Catholic Petition
      
​
Why does this matter?
In the coronavirus response, governments have invested twice as much money in fossil fuels as they have in renewables. That means the public are propping up record-breaking payments to fossil fuel CEOs and stockholders while they continue to drive dangerous climate change, rather than their tax money being invested in a just and clean energy economy that will support everyday workers and our children for the long term.

As governments make investments in a coronavirus recovery, we earnestly pray that they will stand with David, and not with Goliath. As the Pope said in his message on the eve of the Season of Creation: “No to plundering, yes to sharing.” As Canadian Cardinal Czerny, SJ wrote: “… why not switch to something better? Why reinvest in fossil fuels, monoculture farming and rainforest destruction when we know they worsen our environmental crisis?” 
​
Feedback:
​1 October 2020 webinar:
The three presenters had 20-25 mins each.
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Angélica Gonzalez-Apple, Program Manager North America,
Global Catholic Climate Movement Los Angeles, California:
“I have had nothing but tremendous feedback from our viewers how much they loved each one of your individual presentations.  Here is the link to the recording of Just Transition North America webinar.”

From Agnes Richard, Coordinator of GCCM-Canada:
“You did a fantastic job on the GCCM Season of Creation webinar. The chat box was full of kudos for your presentation!” Andrew’s presentation in 1 Oct webinar was the same as in GCCM-Canada’s 16 Sept webinar but that included Sr. María de los Ángeles Marco Teja, UJ as the other speaker (on mining).      Here is the link to the webinar recording. 
​
​All Living Things Matter!
This honours the Cree holistic value that everything in life is sacred.
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Orange Shirt Day, 30 Sept, grew from Phyllis Webstad sharing her story in 2013 of having her shiny orange shirt taken from her at the age of six when she arrived at St. Joseph Mission Residential School, William’s Lake, BC.
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Victoria, BC Orange Shirt Day T-shirt designed by
Coast Salish Tsawout artist Bear Horne, 2016. 
Xe xe Smun eem (shat shat smun am)
"Sacred Children" in the Cowichan or Quw utsun language.
The official language of the Quw utsun peoples is Hul Qumi unum.
Horne’s design features a bear to help us follow the right path, an eagle to help us have a vision of a bright future, a hummingbird to keep our mind, body and spirit healthy, and a flower to feed the connection of all these elements.    
Huy ch qu (hi’ch ka –“Thank you”), Bear!
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Recovering Together national collection, Oct. 11
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the closure of churches to the general public, the Share Lent national collection was postponed earlier this year. It has now been replaced by the Recovering Together national collection. 

                Donate to Development and Peace today by making a DIRECT donation.        
                                                       Thank you for your generosity.
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Download this newest encyclical here
More on this next month! So rich!
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Pope Francis on Season of Creation 2020:                                        Respect for the Planet’s Resources

9/5/2020

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Andrew’s new logo designed by Nina Hirlaender
In the context of the Season of Creation, which is celebrated from September 1
[World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation] to October 4 [Feast of St Francis of Assisi] (in which people can participate by using the hashtag #SeasonOfCreation), and in the 5th anniversary year of Laudato si’, the Holy Father expresses his concern for the “ecological debt” that is created when natural resources are exploited. He calls for them to be “shared in a just and respectful manner.”

We frequently hear about
integral human development.
What does this mean?
As Catholics we need to know!
How is it linked to the
Season of Creation?
 
“Everything is connected. Concern for the environment thus needs to be joined to a sincere love for our fellow human beings and an unwavering commitment to resolving the problems of society.” (LS, 91)
 
 ‘The values of Season of Creation go back to the roots of the Christian faith’

Season of Creation 2020 – ‘Jubilee for the Earth’

See a joint statement by Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco and Rev. Christian Krieger

​“We invite you to celebrate the Season of Creation this year under the heading of Jubilee for the Earth. The concept of Jubilee is rooted in the Bible and underlines that there must exist a just and sustainable balance between social, economic and ecological realities. The lesson from the biblical concept of jubilee points us towards the need to restore balance in the very systems of life, affirming the need for equality, justice and sustainability and confirming the need for a prophetic voice in defence of our common home.”

“A prophetic voice” i.e.: speak boldly for integral human development:

“Development cannot be limited to mere economic growth alone. In order to be authentic, it must be complete: integral, that is, it has to promote the good of every person and of the whole person.”  - Pope St Paul VI, 1967, Populorum Progressio, n 14
 
“Integral Human Development is the holistic development of the human person, covering all aspects of life: social, economic, political, cultural, personal and spiritual.”
           See the Caritas development approach.

 What does it look like?
  • A life with dignity – where people are able to access basic services, are included in social, political and economic life. This empowers people with confidence to make changes in their own lives
  • Just and peaceful relationships – by addressing power, equity and conflict issues, people can feel safe within their family and community, and actively engage in community activities
  • Sustained economic wellbeing and resilience – where people have access to resources necessary for life for themselves and their family
  • Influence and independence – by improving the ability to access information and resources, people should be able to influence attitudes and decisions that affect their lives
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calls for renewed action in a new document introduced 16 May 2020:

Journeying Towards Care for Our        Common Home 

on how to implement the action required by Laudato Si'. Although not completely translated into English yet, we have enough of an overview to start thinking and planning action. Catholic communities around the world are invited to join A GRASSROOTS MOVEMENT to gradually work toward “total sustainability” in the coming decade; including carbon neutrality, simpler lifestyles and divestment from fossil fuels.
We think it is time for our bishops to step up and vigorously lead in this renewed action and FVC sent the CCCB a letter to this effect (and so did GCCM-Canada). We think we need to nudge our bishops to nudge our pastors and we have prepared a suggested letter for fraternities or individuals to send to their bishop and pastor. Here it is (feel free to amend it as you see fit):
​
To:  local Archbishop, Bishop …….                                                   Date: …
Cc: local Pastor
Your Excellency/ Father,

Journeying Towards Care for Our Common  Home
I/We would like to quote the Alberta Bishops who in 1998 wrote in Celebrate Life: Care for Creation: “As Church leaders and members: How is the call to biblical stewardship communicated in the preaching, sacramental celebration, educational programs and management decisions of our parishes and church organizations?”
 
Today many people feel and some have said that the Church, with some notable exceptions, has not adequately promoted Laudato si’.  That is obviously what is behind the recent publication 16 May 2020 of Journeying Towards Care for Our Common  Home by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, calling for renewed action. Catholic communities around the world are invited to join a grassroots movement to gradually work toward “total sustainability” in the coming decade; including carbon neutrality, simpler lifestyles and divestment from fossil fuels. The document asks dioceses, parishes, families and schools to get involved. At present it is in the planning stage but why wait? Please start planning now and invite all to offer to participate in a grassroots movement.
 
Some of us ask why do we so infrequently hear of the Church’s Social Doctrine and Laudato si’ in homilies? Greta Thunberg, who has been encouraged by Pope Francis in starting the school climate strikes (Fridays for Future), said to US Democratic Senators 17 Sep 2019: "I know you are trying, but just not hard enough. Sorry.” Does that apply to you and our diocesan pastors?  Did you promote the Season of Creation 2020 in diocesan social media? Do you ask our pastors to be aware and promote social justice and climate issues? After all, they are part of integral human development.
 
We ask and expect you to lead vigorously. Have any bishops actually walked the walk with Fridays for Future school strikes for climate? Pretty easy in a virtual world affected by covid! Think how that would be seen as a real leadership example by youth! Has your diocese divested from fossil fuels? If not, why not? What are you waiting for?
 
Why is Integrity of Creation not named as part of the Justice and Peace Commission of the CCCB?  Why has the CCCB been so slow and weak in promoting The Season of Creation and Laudato si’ Week ?  Both are now annual events supported by the Pope. A pastoral letter would be a good start. Here is an example.
                                                                  
I/we write to ask you to strongly promote these matters so essential to our faith with more vigour and to publically invite all to get involved in building a grass roots movement.
We ask for strong endorsement of the Laudato si’ Revolution and Global Catholic Climate Movement. Please make sure all your pastors are on board and advise them of these websites: Laudato Si' Revolution, Laudato Si.org and Global Catholic Climate Movement Canada.
 
With great respect and gratitude for your ministry, I/We close with this from Laudato Si’:
“Let ours be a time remembered for the awakening of a new reverence for life, the firm resolve to achieve sustainability, the quickening of the struggle for justice and peace, and the joyful celebration of life.” (LS, 207).

Wishing you peace & joy,
 
Signatures ….
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Homeless Jesus

8/8/2020

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                                                                                                                        by Andrew Conradi, ofs (from various sources)

                NOTE:  This is an extra blog about the "Homeless Jesus". See my August blog below this one.
 
Vatican City, 23 March 2016 – A natural-size bronze sculpture of Jesus, represented as a homeless person resting on a bench, entirely wrapped in a lightweight cover with only his feet uncovered and bearing the signs of the nails of crucifixion, was located for the duration of Holy Week in the Sant'Egidio Courtyard in the Vatican, at the entrance to the offices of the Apostolic Almoner.
The work inspired by Mathew 25:34-46 was by the Canadian artist Timothy P. Schmalz, who had the idea of representing Christ in this original way after seeing a homeless man sleeping on a bench in the open air during the Christmas period. From Gospel to life in art!
 
A smaller copy was presented to Pope Francis during a general audience in St. Peter's Square in November 2013. The artist recounts that the Holy Father, upon seeing the work, touched its knees and feet and prayed.
The statue, donated to the Apostolic Almoner by the sculptor, is cast in bronze from the original. The first cast was located in Regis College, in the Jesuit Faculty of Toronto, Ontario, Canada after two other churches decline to accept it.
 
Its popularity is growing and there are about 100 other copies of "Homeless Jesus," with several now in Canada. One is outside Holy Rosary Cathedral, Vancouver, BC, and others abroad in Australia, Cuba, India, Ireland, Spain, the USA, and UK while another statue by Schmalz, "Whatsoever you do", is located at the main entrance of the "Santo Spirito" Hospital, Rome.
 
The castes are all the same. The only difference is in the photography i.e. the angle, distance and lighting which affect the clarity and some do not show the feet nail holes very well because they are in shade.
 
Schmalz intended for the bronze sculpture to be provocative, admitting, "That's essentially what the sculpture is there to do. It's meant to challenge people.”
The sculpture suggests that Christ is with the most marginalized in our society. The Christ figure is shrouded in a blanket with His face covered with the only indication that the figure is Jesus being the visible wounds on the feet. The life-size version of the work provides enough room for someone to sit on the bench. Pope Francis: “We cannot tolerate or turn a blind eye to racism and exclusion in any form and yet claim to defend the sacredness of every human life.”  (3 June 2020, General Audience)

The one now at the top of my blog shown below is outside the Papal Charities Building, Vatican City.
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The one below that was previously at the top of my blog is by Kelly Wilkinson (The Indianapolis Star, 2015) is in Indianapolis, 
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IN, Roberts Park United Methodist Church as part of the church’s efforts to raise awareness about homelessness in that city. The church staff, which provides free meals to the homeless every Sunday afternoon, defend the work as a provocative and public way to ignite a much-needed debate; but some find it insulting, demeaning, creepy even sacrilegious. One even called the police thinking it was a real person. It reminds us that anybody, at any given time, given certain circumstances, can experience homelessness. “Ninety per cent of the people, whether they be agnostic, atheist, or Christian, love the sculpture. However, residents are often seen sitting on the bench alongside the statue, resting their hands on Jesus and praying.
​
They love the message. It points to the idea that all of human life is sacred and this is ... one of the great gifts that Christianity brought Western civilization and the world,” Schmalz has said.
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The morning of 17 August 2017, Holy Rosary Cathedral's Rev. Stanley Galvon found a homeless man sleeping beneath a statue of Jesus doing the same. STANLEY GALVON            ....Learn more

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FVC and the Common Good Blog - August 2020

8/2/2020

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​                                                                                          by Andrew Conradi, ofs, JPIC & Laudato Si’ Animator
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Pope Francis invites us to join the annual Season of Creation 1 Sept - 4 Oct
(See 1 min video produced in partnership with the Global Catholic Climate Movement)
What could we do to celebrate this Season of Creation?
See the Season of Creation website for ideas 
It is particularly rich for Catholics (mass, prayers etc.) that can be accessed here. 
​On the first website one of the listed partners logos is shown here:

How inspiring it would be to see OFS Canada’s logo as a partner! Perhaps our National Fraternity could consider joining?
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The Season is part of a wider movement to renew action called for by Laudato si’.
"Time has grown short"​​
You may remember in the June Common Good we highlighted that the Vatican through the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development calls for renewed action in a new document introduced 16 May 2020: Journeying Towards Care for Our Common  Home (Journeying).  It quotes "Time has grown short" (1 Cor 7:29) on the urgency in how to implement the action required by  Laudato Si’  (LS). Although not translated into English yet, enough is known about it to start thinking and planning action. (See a brief summary of the document here) 

Catholic communities around the world are invited to join a grassroots movement to gradually work toward “total sustainability” in the coming decade; including carbon neutrality, simpler lifestyles and the divestment campaign from fossil fuels.
Decade of Laudato Si' Action
The Coming Decade of Laudato Si' Action will feature a multi-year "Laudato Si' Action Platform " with its Seven Goals and in June we asked you to check out the OFM’s Laudato Si' Revolution website for initiatives and resources.

GCCM Canada has asked Andrew to present on the Laudato Si' Action Platform and Seven Goals as part of their webinar A Just Transition on 19 September. 
​
The Editors of FVC and GCCM-Canada separately in quite different letters wrote to the CCCB Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace, 13 July asking them for strong leadership in this renewed action to respond to the cry of the earth and cry of the poor. 
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Action
​As a Season of Creation action we suggest that you ask your diocese, parish and group e.g. D&P, CWL, Knights etc. to become aware of Journeying Towards Care for Our Common Home.  Promote it and consider what they could do in volunteering to help organise a grassroots movement to advocate and work for justice, peace and care for creation.  "Time has grown short" (1 Cor 7:29) is an urgent call echoing through the scripture quote that opens these new Catholic Church operational guidelines for implementing Laudato Si’:
 
  • Ask your Diocesan, Parish, CWL, Knights etc. newsletters, facebook pages and other social media to promote this renewed call to action
  • Write letters, articles etc. to Catholic newspapers about what you are doing
  • Ask people to take/sign the Laudato si’ pledge
  • One parish, Holy Cross, Victoria, BC made magnetic fridge stickers of the pledge
  • Ask that all coffee, tea and sugar served be certified fair trade and organic
  • Ask for compostable paper plates and no single use plastic
  • Use tap water instead of bottled water where possible​​

​Eco-Parish Guide for Catholic Parishes
This free Eco-Parish Guide is a great resource for your parish to bring Laudato Si’ to life.
Developed in cooperation with GCCM’s partners around the globe, the guide is directed at Catholic parishes globally to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) by addressing actions in relation to parish operations, the congregation, and the broader community. Inspired by Catholic Social Teaching, the Eco-Parish guide offers an active response to Pope Francis’ call for climate change action in his encyclical, Laudato Si’.
This free comprehensive guide explains how parishes can make a difference by:
  • forming green teams
  • reducing parish emissions
  • engaging parishioners on low carbon lifestyle choices
  • advocating for climate justice
  • caring for those harmed by climate change
 
                  If you want an example from Canada click here for one from Ottawa-Cornwall:
                                     Care for God’s Creation – A Guide for Parishes
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Inequality

A reminder on why we advocate in response to the cry of the poor: “Global ‘catastrophe’ looms as Covid-19 fuels inequality”.

Read the Guardian's, "Global ‘catastrophe’ looms as Covid-19 fuels inequality"
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 Water
The posting of an OFS USA article in FVC on water reminds me that general Franciscan articles no matter how good only go so far. I prefer to go from the general straight to the particular and concrete action tailored for Canadians in line with Laudato si’ 179 i.e. political when necessary. With that in mind I bring you: “What we know (and don’t know) about Nestlé’s departure from Canada”.
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Peace & joy, Andrew, ofs  - 31 July 2020
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St Juniper Serra, ofm - protestors acting without the facts

6/24/2020

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​Good day dear sisters and brothers;
​
Some of you know, even remember, that our Little Portion Fraternity arose from the ashes of a fraternity named Brother Juniper. He was canonized by Pope Francis as San Junipero Serra in Spanish. This was opposed by many indigenous who felt he had not done enough to protect them from abuse by Spanish colonists. That is why some of his statues have been pulled down in California recently in the widening of the Black Lives Matter movement.
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A bronze statue of Saint Junipero Serra by sculptor Arthur Putnam stands on the grounds of the Presidio Hill in San Diego. (CNS photo/Nancy Wiechec)
It is painful to me and maybe to you and I want to share the statement of the California Bishops. 

They wrote it is necessary to [and let me quote a few lines]:
​
"discern carefully the entire contribution that the historical figure in question made to American life, especially in advancing the rights of marginalized peoples. In calling for the removal of images of Saint Junipero Serra from public display in California, and in tearing down his statue in San Francisco and in Los Angeles, protesters have failed that test. … St. Serra made heroic sacrifices to protect the indigenous people of California from their Spanish conquerors, especially the soldiers.  Even with his infirmed leg which caused him such pain, he walked all the way to Mexico City to obtain special faculties of governance from the Viceroy of Spain in order to discipline the military who were abusing the Indians.  And then he walked back to California. ...The historical truth is that Serra repeatedly pressed the Spanish authorities for better treatment of the Native American communities.  Serra was not simply a man of his times. In working with Native Americans, he was a man ahead of his times who made great sacrifices to defend and serve the indigenous population and work against an oppression that extends far beyond the mission era. And if that is not enough to legitimate a public statue in the state that he did so much to create, then virtually every historical figure from our nation's past will have to be removed for their failings measured in the light of today's standards.”

As a Brit this puts me in mind of Sir Winston Churchill whose statues have been vandalized in some places. He was at times an undoubted racist but he also led the Brits and allies tenaciously against the biggest racists of his time - Hitler's Nazis.

Peace and joy, Andrew, ofs
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The Coming Decade of Laudato Si' Action

6/6/2020

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The Dicastery invites Catholic communities across the world to join a grassroots movement to gradually work toward "total sustainability" in the coming decade, a path that would include carbon neutrality, simpler lifestyles and divestment from fossil fuels.
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​                      From the OFM JPIC Office - a reminder of what Franciscan JPIC is about:
                                    Get Ready for Laudato Si’ Revolution

Pope Francis, building upon the teachings of St. John Paul II and his call to ecological conversion, calls us to respond to “the urgent need for a bold cultural revolution.” (Contact, January-March 2020) [quoting Laudato Si’, n 114]

“OUR FOUR PILLARS
  • To promote the JPIC values intrinsic to the Franciscan charism among our Franciscan brothers and sisters throughout the world
  • To foster the lived spirituality of St. Francis through solidarity with the marginalized, and with all of Creation
  • To live out and intensify the ecological conversion expressed in Laudato Si’
  • To assist and cooperate with local and national JPIC coordinators, and with different social movements.”
 
We OFS JPIC and Global Catholic Climate Movement Laudato Si’ animators try to do this and hope you will read what we pass on to you, our secular sisters and brothers! We are all called in our local fraternities to be collaborative, creative, and courageous in Living out Laudato Si’ in most impactful actions. If we are not part of the solution are we part of the problem?                           
​ 
Check out the Laudato Si' Revolution website:
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​See, judge, act! ​
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If indifferent to awareness and advocacy, are we complicit? 
Is silence consent?
Is silence violence?
Is prayer enough?
The Church continues its response
to the cry of the earth and cry of the poor.
It will ramp up action 2020-2030 on Laudato Si’
to nurture creation and
combat the world climate emergency and economy to create a mass movement of Catholics.
The Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, during the 2020 Laudato Si’ Week, encouraged many thousands of people to learn and prepare for a better tomorrow.  Sunday 24 May at noon local time, a wave of prayer enveloped the whole world from many in the global Catholic family. I did not see any publicity for it from the Canadian bishops. Perhaps because of covid19 my parish priest had not heard of it until I asked him on 20 May to include it in his online Sunday mass 24 May.
It is never too late to pray: we know that truly, as Laudato Si’ reminded us:
“Everything is connected. Concern for the environment thus needs to be joined to a sincere love for our fellow human beings and an unwavering commitment to resolving the problems of society.” (§91)
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Click here to view and download Sunday’s prayer card.
Building on Pope Francis' 2015 social encyclical, "Laudato Si', on Care for Our Common Home", now Catholic communities across the world are invited to join a grassroots movement to gradually work toward "total sustainability" in the coming decade; including carbon neutrality, simpler lifestyles and divestment from fossil fuels. The initiative was revealed 16 May 2020 by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development as part of a fifth "special anniversary year" of Laudato Si’.  The news came on the first day of Laudato Si' Week, a Vatican-sponsored event running through 24 May, the encyclical anniversary date. The week kicked off a full calendar of events for not just the week but until 24 May 2021 (the year) and longer, until 2030 (the decade).

A multi-year "Laudato Si' Action Platform" in gradual stages will invite Catholic dioceses, religious orders, schools and other institutions to publicly commit to a seven-year journey toward ecological conversion and "total sustainability." The action platform is framed across seven "Laudato Si' Goals" grounded in the encyclical's concept of integral ecology and which reflect the gamut of Catholic social teaching. It will begin in early 2021 by inviting initial participants and be officially launched in May 2022. The hope is by starting small, the movement will eventually reach a "critical mass" with more and more corners of the church taking part over time.
 
At this stage, the platform remains an invitation, to families, dioceses, schools, universities, hospitals, businesses, farms, and religious orders committing to complete the goals in seven years. The Dicastery said it hopes the number of participants in each group would double with each successive year. The rollout would continue through 2030. "In this way, we hope to arrive at a 'critical mass' needed for radical societal transformation invoked by Pope Francis in Laudato Si'," the Dicastery document states.
The Laudato Si' Action Platform and its related goals resemble the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.

As the Laudato Si’ 5th Anniversary Year gets underway and as part of it, Msgr. Bruno-Marie Duffé, Secretary of the Dicastery for Integral Human Development, has just published a letter inviting Catholics around the world to participate in the annual Season of Creation (1 Sep- 4 Oct 2020), which will feature a series of webinars. The Economy of Francesco meeting of young economists, originally set for March, and re-scheduled for November has again had to be postponed.  The Vatican also expects to hold its third roundtable at the World Economic Forum, in Davos, Switzerland. It is also exploring a gathering of religious leaders in spring 2021 and World Water Day will be marked on 22 March. I suspect Catholics will be encouraged to celebrate Earth Day 22 April again. Towards the conclusion of the Anniversary Year, Father Joshtrom Kureethadam, the Coordinator of the Sector on Ecology and Creation of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, said there will be an international conference, a musical event and conferring of “Laudato Si” awards.  
Another project is the Laudato Tree Initiative, an Africa-based project to plant 1 million trees supported by the Irish Government in the continent's Sahel region. It is similar to the Birthday Tree Planting Campaign by the Franciscan Youth from Catholic University of East Africa:      Read more here. 
 
Much of this info can be accessed in greater detail here. The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) did put out a useful guide to Laudato Si’ in 2017 which you can read here.

I hope the Canadian bishops will strongly publicise the efforts by the Dicastery on Laudato Si’ Week (next year!); this Anniversary Year & the coming Decade and the annual Season of Creation. The Bishops must lead. Unfortunately the CCCB was remiss in doing so in a strong and timely fashion regarding the Season of Creation and Laudato Si’ Week during the last couple of years. Their support was too little too late; barely more than a last minute mention. It was been left to those such as Development and Peace, the Global Catholic Climate Movement (and its Canadian branch) and Franciscan Voice Canada and its monthly newsletter the Common Good, among others. Parishes need time to plan and get people involved. For the Season of Creation they need to start in May or June because of summer slowdown and Season’s start on 1 September every year now.
 
Perhaps we should request the CCCB’s Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace to really take this matter seriously and act as strong, timely leaders! We can find the Commission’s members here to ask them ourselves.
 
My Archbishop is a member and he will be hearing from me! We could definitively encourage our families, dioceses, schools, etc. to volunteer to get involved and start putting bugs in our clergy’s ears; stir them up to ask their bishops! In Laudato Si’ (n 179) we are reminded to raise our voice and Pope Francis did encourage Greta Thunberg and her Fridays for Future protests when introduced by Tomás Insua, Executive Director of the Global Catholic Climate Movement.

Education and advocacy (talk, write, petition etc.) are the keys. Prep catechists can be made aware of such short (4 min) Development & Peace videos as "Laudato Si' Animation Clip for Children". Youth and adults wondering how we got into this situation could watch natural historian Sir David Attenborough, "How to Save Our Planet" (April 2019 video of 8 min 27 secs).
For more on what to do (i.e. protect, restore and fund solutions) all would do well to watch environmental activists Greta Thunberg and George Monbiot in this Sept 2019 short film (3 min 40 secs) highlighting the need to protect, restore and use nature to tackle the climate crisis. Living ecosystems like forests, mangroves, swamps and seabeds can pull enormous quantities of carbon from the air and store them safely, but natural climate solutions currently receive only 2% of the funding spent on cutting emissions. 
WHAT IS YOUR WORLD VIEW? Time to Think a New Thought! ... [and raise our voices as Laudato Si’ exhorts us! Check out §179] 
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In “A Catholic World View”, Bishop Gary Gordon of Victoria, BC says that simplified this comes down to the fact that God created everything out of love; and our challenge is how do we act in answer to two deep questions: does what we do contribute to the common good of people and well being of the earth? Talking to Catholic educators [which would include OFS formators!] he says our faith is a “profound invitation to imbue all of our curriculum” [which would include OFS initial and continuing formation] with awareness of the well being & good of creation and to be “authentic witnesses to it.” (4 min 55 secs video, 25 Apr 2020)
TAKING UP THE CHALLENGES OF POPE FRANCIS’ ENCYCLICAL LAUDATO SI’…
Some think that capitalism has failed e.g. Boff: “Capitalism is only good for the rich; for the rest it is hell and for nature, a war”
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There is another way: The isms and big business must not make us; we must and can make capitalism, socialism & business serve man and creation. We must all play our part. See the video, THINK A NEW THOUGHT (4 min 48 secs).The script is actually underneath the video and I can send it to you if you ask me. Sadly the narrator is anonymous; but did I detect a slight South African accent?
 
As OFS we go from gospel to life: "Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their right and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless." (Isaiah 10:1-2) and support our Bishops: "The world needs the courage, hope, faith, and perseverance of Christ’s followers." Pope Francis, 17 May 2016

As always I attempt to bring you news from Canadians and so here’s something from (Canadian) Cardinal Michael Czerny SJ, Under-Secretary of the Migrants and Refugees Section of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development Co-creators of a better world. In an interview with Avvenire to mark 2020’s Laudato si’ week (16-24 May), Cardinal Michael Czerny SJ urges us to let the encyclical shape the way we think about the coronavirus crisis and find solutions to the fault lines it is highlighting. ‘Before being a “socio-environmental issue”, creation is a fundamental article of faith’, so how can a Christian view and love of the world, our common home, inspire change? Go to: Thinking the Faith.  ​

We cannot go on as before:
​we must change!   ​
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                                                                        ...Read more.   
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Also see the Jane Goodall story from the Guardian: 
Jane Goodall: humanity is finished if it fails to adapt after Covid-19.
 
And Now to Really Stir Things Up (for some)!                                          
What do you think about the heated controversy over BLACK LIVES MATTER vs ALL LIVES MATTER? Why is one racist but not the other? Does one disrespect or downplay the other? Or discount inequality and suffering? If our world view is really Catholic, i.e. universal, which one is fundamental to Catholic Social Doctrine? Just askin(g)!

Where I live (BC) despite First Nations people making up two per cent of the population, they accounted for 15 per cent of police stops. And while Black people make up just one per cent of the population in the province, they accounted for five per cent of police stops. So what about First Nations, Mayans, Palestinians, Uighurs & Tibetans, to name just a few, whose people have suffered?
JUSTICE FOR ALL! EVERYBODY MATTERS!

Peace & joy, Andrew, ofs
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    Homeless Jesus - Jesuits.ca

    Andrew Conradi, ofs

    ​What makes me tick is Catholic Social Teaching, now encapsulated in Laudato Si’ and Fratelli Tutti. My view is that while the OFS Rule & Constitutions call us to courageous action in JPIC it seems to me our infrastructure, while saying the right things, is not always acting with the required urgency and forcefulness. It seems at times to be more self-sustaining and self-perpetuating and about the status quo. This risks being seen as irrelevant in the eyes of some, especially youth.

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    ​In encouraging us to be aware and act with urgency and forcefulness I can be seen to be a bit of a joyful nuisance. Forgive me for not apologising. “Jesus himself warns us that the path he proposes goes against the flow, even making us challenge society by the way we live and, as a result, becoming a nuisance.”
    (Pope Francis, 2018, Gaudete et exultate – Rejoice & be glad, n 90)
    After all, Our Seraphic Father Francis was a rebel (check out the 2018 book Francesco il ribelle by Enzo Fortunato, OFM Conv)
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    ​(Poster from Canadian Jesuits)
    BTW I am a Brit immigrant, ex Canadian high school geography and history teacher and Cold War armoured reconnaissance soldier. Other accomplishments include OFM JPIC Animators course 2014, Pontifical University Antonianum, Rome; JPIC Animator; Provocateur (Challenger); Enfant Terrible and sometimes definitely a deliberate NUISANCE! I am open to correction, chastisement, and/or teaching by email!
     apconradi@telus.net

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