St Francis of Assisi, PEI prepares for their May meeting

Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation
From the St. Francis of Assisi JPIC Committee
(Mike, Marion, Maureen, Charlie & Garry) May, 2017
 
The Month of May: A Time to Pause and Honour the Centrality of Women
As an Engine of Change
 
May is the month of Mary and the second Sunday of the month is Mother’s Day.  
Women are major makers of change in our homes and in our communities.  United Nations statistics show that maintaining families and caring for family members lies primarily on the shoulders of the world’s women, and most of the responsibilities for the home are borne by women.
While women have a key role in sustaining the present generation and forming the next, they have a special role in reconciling, rehabilitating and rebuilding, bringing

• order out of chaos,
• community out of division,
• peace out of conflict.

Poverty and underdevelopment affect a disproportionate share of women because of

• poor education (18% of adult women are able to read and write in Afghanistan, compared to 45% of males),
• lack of nutrition,
• sexual and gender-based violence, (70% of women experience violence in their lifetime; in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, an estimated 49 women are raped per hour),
• denial of economic opportunities.

During the JPIC Moment at our fraternity meeting of May 7, we will continue the theme of the Development & Peace Share Lent 2017 campaign, Women at the Heart of Change, by opening our hearts to the sufferings, injustices and obstacles faced every single day by millions of women and girls all over the world. 
 
(Excerpts taken from the Development & Peace Share Lent 2017 campaign materials.)
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