It was a great experience to attend the two-day conference at the Holy See on 3 and 4 April 2017 to mark the 50th anniversary of Pope Paul VI’s encyclical Populorum Progressio (See also Pope Francis' speech to the audience of the conference). Several speakers’
testimonies were particularly impressive and helped us reflect on how our faith
should be connected with our ministries on justice and services while other
experts’ speeches also gave valuable insights on how to integrate our faith,
individuals and societies.
The most touching of all was to hear how Fr. Bernard Kinvi,
director of the John Paul II Hospital of Bangui in Central African Republic,
calmly recounted how he saved hundreds of besieged Muslims. He risked his own
life and faced numerous death threats to shelter the people and negotiate with
the militias. His calmness showed the huge contrast of the content of his
sharing on one of the most horrific conflict zones in the world.
Fr. Kinvi’s calmness actually shows the kind of humility and
wisdom we need to handle such difficult and dangerous situations. He also shows
us how we need to take actions to help others but not merely saying prayers
when we encounter situations that seems to be so difficult that almost everyone
would think there is nothing we could do to change the situation with limited
human capacity.
Another speaker Brother Varghese Theckanath, director of
Montfort Social Institute and secretary of Gabrielite Secretariat for Justice
and Peace – Asia Pacific Region, from Hyderabad, India, shared his experience
on serving the most vulnerable persons, including children’s rights, women
rights and interreligious dialogues and cooperation in India. Due to the
complicated historical, cultural and religious structures in the Indian
societies, he needs to think of various approaches to handle all these
difficult issues. Brother Theckanath chooses to engage with the people to
enhance mutual understanding of traditions and customs while discussing with
them on concepts of gender equality and protection of children’s rights.
I was also impressed by the presentation by Fr. Andrés
Fernándex Pinón, national coordinator of the Penitentiary Pastoral Care of
Columbia – Fundación Caminos de Libertad, from Bogotá, Columbia. He has spent
nearly four decades focussing on prison ministry. Jesus was a prisoner of
conscience. Extending our care and love to those in prison can help the
prisoners and ourselves rejuvenate our lives. He pointed out the need to
monitor and improve prison conditions for human dignity.
At the end of the conference, when Cardinal Peter Turkson,
prefect of the newly established Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human
Development, told the participants that how the four organizations at the Roman
Curia – Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Pontifical Council for the Pastoral
Care for Migrants and Itinerant People, Pontifical Council for the Pastoral
Assistance to Health Care Workers and Pontifical Council for Cor Unum – were integrated to become the
new dicastery last year, he described the integration as a “conglomerate” and
the major work of the four original pontifical councils will remain as the
integral part of the work of the new dicastery.
We have yet to see how the new dicastery will continue the
important work of the original four pontifical councils. The name of the new dicastery
though gives a significant direction on how the Church will continue its work
on justice and peace and services. Serving the people, especially the most
vulnerable people, in the spirit of solidarity and charity and upholding
justice and achieving peace should be the integral development of human beings.
That’s what I grasped from the speeches and sharing from the conference.
Without any of the work of these aspects, we cannot say that we are working
towards integral human development.
