This year, the Ecclesial Day of the Poor is celebrated on November 13. The prayer-reflection
(English, French, Spanish) prepared by Cordi-Marian Missionaries (MCM) of the Claretian Family, moves our hearts and hands to be in solidarity with the poor. The songs given in this are prayerful and impelling us to share. We shall pray, we shall be and we shall collaborate, to eliminate poverty.
Cette année, la Journée ecclésiale des pauvres est célébrée le 13 novembre. La prière-réflexion (anglais, français, espagnol) préparée par les Missionnaires Cordimarianas (MCM) de la Famille Clarétaine, fait bouger nos cœurs et nos mains pour être solidaires avec les pauvres. Les chants qui y sont donnés nous poussent à la prière et nous incitent à partager. Nous prierons, nous serons et nous collaborerons, pour éliminer la pauvreté.
Este año, la Jornada Eclesial de los Pobres se celebra el 13 de noviembre. La oración-reflexión
(inglés, francés, español) preparada por los Misioneras Cordi-Marianas (MCM) de la Familia Claretiana, mueve nuestros corazones y manos para ser solidarios con los pobres. Los cantos que en él se dan son orantes y nos impulsan a compartir. Rezaremos, estaremos y colaboraremos, para eliminar la pobreza.”
Cordial greetings of peace, joy and universal goodwill to you in the person of Jesus. November 14, is the fifth Ecclesial Day of The Poor. The theme is “You always have the poor with you” (Mk 14: 7). It means that though were surrounded by the poor and marginalized people, we should not ignore them but we should respond creatively to do good. On behalf of the Claretian Family, RMI sisters have prepared the prayer reflection which is attached in English, French and Spanish. We are called to extend our hands in prayer and love.
Des salutations cordiales de paix, de joie et de bonne volonté universelle vous sont adressées en la personne de Jésus. Le 14 novembre, c’est la cinquième Journée ecclésiale des pauvres. Le thème en est “Tu as toujours les pauvres avec toi” (Mc 14, 7). Cela signifie que, bien que nous soyons entourés de pauvres et de marginaux, nous ne devons pas les ignorer mais nous devons répondre de manière créative pour faire le bien. Au nom de la Famille Clarétaine, les sœurs RMI ont préparé la prière de réflexion qui est jointe en anglais, français et espagnol. Nous sommes appelés à tendre nos mains dans la prière et l’amour.
Un cordial saludo de paz, alegría y buena voluntad universal para vosotros en la persona de Jesús. El 14 de noviembre es la quinta Jornada Eclesial de los Pobres. El tema es “Siempre tenéis a los pobres con vosotros” (Mc 14, 7). Significa que, aunque estemos rodeados de pobres y marginados, no debemos ignorarlos, sino responder con creatividad para hacer el bien. En nombre de la Familia Claretiana, las hermanas RMI han preparado la reflexión de oración que se adjunta en inglés, francés y español. Estamos llamados a extender nuestras manos en oración y amor.
“Let’s study well the reality, the numbers, the causes, the structural reasons,… but equally let’s dialogue with the people, the concrete situations, the local and global answers that, as people, community, neighbourhood or NGO we can offer to those who are by our side or to those who are entrusted to us.”
This was the invitation of Artur Teixeira CMF, the General Prefect of Apostolate and President of the Fondazione PROCLADE Internazionale-onlus at the Webinar organized to commemorate the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.
Artur Teixeira CMF
Cesar Augusto Espinoza CMF
This year, on October 17, the Solidarity and Mission Team of the Congregation joined this commemoration by organizing a webinar, with the theme, “THE FIGHT AGAINST POVERTY IN THE FRAGILE AND HUMANITARIAN CONTEXT OF COVID-19”
The commemoration of the International Day against Poverty originated 32 years ago on October17, 1987 in Paris where more than 100,000 people gathered under the inspiration of Joseph Wresinku, a French priest, son of a Spanish mother and Polish father, to honor the victims of extreme poverty, violence and hunger. They proclaimed that poverty is a violation of human rights and affirmed the need to come together to ensure that these rights are respected. Twenty-seven years ago, on 22 December 1992, the General Assembly of the United Nations declared October 17 as the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.
Father Artur Teixeira cmf presented the meaning of the realization of this webinar, welcomed the participants and invited them to continue the evangelizing action as a contribution to the Eradication of Poverty.
This event was moderated by Cesar Augusto Espinoza CMF, from Guatemala and the Central American Province. He is the JPIC secretary of the Province and part of the Coordinating Team of the Solidarity and Mission of MICLA (SOMI MICLA).
George Kannanthanam CMF from the Bangalore Province, India, who is a well-known social worker and founder of many humanitarian programs addressed the gathering on “Reasons for Focusing on Poverty Eradication and the ways to do it”. He put forward ten proposals, stating that the congregation must take on the alleviation of poverty with greater radicality, having as its horizon the Sustainable Development Goals of Agenda 2030, which must be incorporated into our congregational agenda.
George further stated: “The problem is not that we do not have enough. The problem is that we do not share enough. There are more food and resources available in the world today than ever before. We do not need a food revolution. We just need a better distribution of food. A new civilization of sharing.”
George Kannanthanam CMF
Robert Omondi CMF
A second speaker in this webinar was Robert Omondi CMFwho belongs to the St. Charles Lwanga Independent Delegation of East Africa. He is currently the coordinator of SOMI ACLA (Africa), a passionate justice-seeker and peacebuilder. Robert intervened by presenting “The eradication of poverty as an action of enforceability of rights and construction of social justice”.
Robert posed some questions for the Congregation: How do we reconcile and upgrade the prevalent good ‘Samaritan approach’ to poverty with the prophetic call to engage the deep-rootedstructural and systemic poverty in our missions? In our congregational setup, how do we frame /package all these efforts to make them an integral part of our formation, contemplation, planning, implementation and evaluation processes of our apostolates? With regard to the eradication of poverty, he invited the Congregation to rethink the mapping and the Claretian presence from the perspective of Poverty and the Incorporation of the human rights-based approach in the ecclesiastical framework of the evangelizing action and made few proposals towards achieving it.
Pachi González-Vallarino, a Lay Claretian from Seville, southern Spain, who is a collaborator in PROCLADE BETICA and coordinator of the international volunteer program with the NGO “Entre Culturas Fe y Alegría”, also participated as a panellist. She presented the ideas around the Eradication of Poverty from her own volunteering experiences in refugee camps in Sahara, at Bateyes, the Dominican Republic where Haitian communities live and in Ecuador. cooperation projects and the search for donors. She mentioned that a phrase that she heard in a Claretian retreat inspired her to choose volunteering is, “We are a people on the move building tomorrow.”
Pachi González-Vallarino
Diana Gutierrez
The last speaker of this Webinar was Diana Gutiérrez, Director of the Global Business for Gender Equality Program of the United Nations Development Program – UNDP, with a decade of experience in the United Nations, including the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Colombia as a Project Manager for Inclusive Economic Development. She focused her address on the theme, fighting poverty in this fragile and humanitarian context of COVID-19. She narrated how the COVID-19 has affected not only the health situation but also made a great impact on social and economic life. Sighting the UNDP, ILO sources she brought to the attention of all that there will be close to 70 to 100 million people fall into poverty and close 400 million jobs lost before the end of 2020. She presented a 7-point pathway to recovery as choices for the post-COVID future.
Francisco San Martin CMF (Panchi)
Cecile de Caunes
Reegan Soosai CMF
This event was supported by the simultaneous translation into English, Spanish and French by Francisco San Martín CMF (Panchi) – (Argentina, Province of San José del Sur) Reegan Soosai CMF (Canada, Province of USA-Canada) and Cecile de Caunes (From France, works in Colombia)
This webinar was organized by General SOMI with a team made up of Stéphane Uyungu CMF (Independent Delegation of Congo) Gabriel Ponce Carpintero CMF (Spain, Province of Fatima) Satheesh Saverimuthu CMF (Sri Lanka – Independent Delegation of St. Joseph Vaz).
More than one hundred Claretians and Claretian associates from 32 countries participated in this event, some of them connected as a community, including the formation houses. The 3rd Assembly of SOMI- MICLA incorporated this webinar in the agenda of their assembly and many participants of the Assembly were present at the webinar.
