#Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development

[minnesotafollower]

Roman Catholic Church Rejects Doctrine of Discovery

In the 15th century, the Roman Catholic Church issued several papal bulls announcing what became known as the doctrine of discovery that authorized various European powers to conquer the lands of non-Christians. In 1452, Pope Nicholas V issued the bull Dum Diversas, which authorized King Alfonzo of Portugal to “subjugate the Saracens and pagans and other unbelievers and enemies of Christ” and…

View On WordPress

#Dicastery for culture & Education #Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development #Doctrine of Discovery #Indigenous Peoples #José Francisco Cali Tzay #Pope Francis #Pope Nicholas V #Portugal #U.N. Special Rapporteur on Rights of Indigenous Peoples

[coochiequeens]

For Catholic officials talking about women this is progressive.

ROME — “The subordination of women to men is the fruit of sin,” a top Vatican cardinal said on Tuesday.

“How much damage we have done, as men, by endorsing a status of superiority,” said Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet, who heads the Vatican’s Congregation for Bishops and the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. “There is no complete image of what is human when only the masculine is considered predominant and the only thing relevant. For centuries, we have suffocated the feminine peculiarity.”

The prelate was addressing the World Observatory for Women, promoted by the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organizations (UMOFC).

The results of the Observatory’s first report looking into women in Latin America and the Caribbean, and how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected them, were presented at the gathering.

Ouellet said he hopes that the Observatory will introduce “in its observing the light of faith. Faith is a method of knowledge that helps perceive the ultimate meeting of reality through the diversity of information. Faith does not substitute nor violate reason, but expands its horizon, making it more sapiential, cordial, and deep down, more empathic.”

The goal of the first survey by the Observatory was “to give visibility to women who seem invisible,” UMOFC President Maria Lia Zervino explained. The report is the product of a qualitative work in three parts, with data, expert commentary, and surveys conducted in 23 countries.

The survey, which was also presented last Saturday to Pope Francis in a private audience, confirmed that the pandemic has worsened the condition of women in terms of gender-based violence, trafficking and forced migration, poverty, access to health, and education, exacerbating the already existing gaps and injustices.

Despite these inequalities, said Monica Santamarina De Robles, treasurer of UMOFC, “women have shown great strength and resilience and have reinvented ways to sustain themselves.”

The proposals for improving women’s lives include: The creation of spaces for accompaniment and help among women, the formation of women’s leadership (including in the pastoral field), a broadening of the representation of women in public spaces, humanizing relationships through intergenerational circles of conversation, and continuing to investigate structural and symbolic violence against women and broadcast the findings.

Sister Alessandra Smerilli, secretary of the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development and head of the Vatican Commission on COVID-19, stressed the importance of the Observatory: “If we cannot observe and measure, we cannot improve reality.”

“If the economy were a woman,” she said, “it would really care about the common good and the care of the human being. The pandemic has put a spotlight on the situation of women with respect to access to food, land, technology, education, agriculture, health. We need to promote training, new laws and new spaces for women’s participation, in a collaboration between church, governments, social movements and NGOs.”

During the first quarter of 2022, the group began work in Africa with training in Nairobi, Kenya, for women to become social correspondents, capable of listening and sensitizing other women in their own communities.

“The feminine is the key to reading the present and the future of our society. The new feminine protagonist must be built and men are called to be an adequate help for the realization of women,” said Ouellet during his introductory remarks.

Quoting Pope Francis, he said that women are the “protagonists of the epochal change” the world is facing. “The word protagonist could not be better chosen. The woman has always been a protagonist in history, however, it has often been made invisible. Many have a mentality installed in their conscience that does not allow them to recognize the dignity of every woman, and instead objectify and exploit them.”

Peruvian Archbishop Miguel Cabrejos, president of the Conference of Latin American Bishops (CELAM) – the sponsor of the study – said that “we feel pain and shame for the situation of women that emerges from the survey.”

“Many women in Latin America are victims of gender-based violence, which along with injustice and inequality has been exacerbated during the pandemic. The damage to physical and mental health has been countless: Xenophobia and racism are on the rise, and the phenomenon of trafficking run by criminal organizations has grown.,” the archbishop said.

In contrast, he said, in the ecclesial world in Latin America, many women have assumed important positions in the pastoral management of parishes and also within CELAM.

Follow Inés San Martín on Twitter: @inesanma

[locustheologicus]

This is a fairly important social statement. This official statement is the product of deep reflections from dialogues with indigenous communities over time and especially most recently by our own Pope Francis. The heart of the message is the following:

In no uncertain terms, the Church’s magisterium upholds the respect due to every human being. The Catholic Church therefore repudiates those concepts that fail to recognize the inherent human rights of indigenous peoples, including what has become known as the legal and political “doctrine of discovery”.

The statement recognizes the deep inconsistencies that these Papal policies had with the central tenants of our faith and the social doctrine that we now call Catholic Social Teaching.

The Church instead upholds the great prophetic work of those like Bartolomeo De Las Casas, Antonio de Montesinos and the Dominican and Jesuit missionaries that countered colonial oppression.

The statement also goes on to highlight one of the first social doctrines that was born during this time, the 1537 Papal Bull by Pope Paul III Sublimis Deus, which said:

notwithstanding whatever may have been or may be said to the contrary, the said Indians and all other people who may later be discovered by Christians, are by no means to be deprived of their liberty or the possession of their property, even though they be outside the faith of Jesus Christ; and that they may and should, freely and legitimately, enjoy their liberty and the possession of their property; nor should they be in any way enslaved; should the contrary happen, it shall be null and have no effect.

At the heart of the Christian faith is an ethic of love that is universal and all-encompassing. This ethic implies with it and expectation for justice, a justice that protects the dignity and rights of all. While our Catholic social doctrine recognizes all that, it also recognizes that we must be attentive to the marginalized and vulnerable communities that can be sidelined by the powers that be. Once upon a time, our Church was a social power that played a conflicted role. While certain missionaries and Church leaders, like Paul III, defended the social doctrine of our faith, other notorios pontiffs, like Alexander VI, and Church leaders allowed the faith to be compromised for social and economic benefits. This is what is being publically repudiated today.

This statement should be an interesting point of reflection for our Catholic communities to hopefully further consider the place of indigenous rights and culture in the midst of our own conflicted historical role. The USCCB and the Canadian Bishops have just recently posted their own joint statement and have even planned an event for this purpose.

The centuries of history at issue are complex, and the term “doctrine of discovery” has taken on various legal and political interpretations that merit further historical study and understanding. The experiences and histories of different countries and different Native and Indigenous peoples are distinct, and deserve further inquiry, although there are also opportunities for meaningful common understandings as well. As a Church, it is important for us to fully understand how our words have been used and misused to justify acts that would be abhorrent to Jesus Christ. We hope for more dialogue among Indigenous and Catholic scholars to promote greater and wider understanding of this difficult history. To that end, the USCCB and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops are exploring how they may support an academic symposium.

The statement does not say much about what we can expect from this symposium but I for one am excited to see where this will lead our local Church.

#discovery #doctrine of discovery #native americans #indigenous

[silvestromedia]

[urbanhermit]

[usnewsrank]

Campaign for a Fossil Fuels Non-proliferation Treaty Gathers Steam

Campaign for a Fossil Fuels Non-proliferation Treaty Gathers Steam

Petrol pump in Rome. Credit: Paul Virgo/IPS By Paul VirgoROME, Nov 3 2022 (USNewsRank) When it comes to moral endorsements, having the Vatican’s backing takes some beating. So the international campaign for a legally binding Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty took a huge step forward in July when Cardinal Michael Czerny, the prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development,…

View On WordPress

[stupendousrebelpuppy]

Covid: Doctors and nurses, 'angels' at the side of the helpless

Covid: Doctors and nurses, ‘angels’ at the side of the helpless

VATICAN The Pandemic and the Magisterium of Francis: a series of videos in collaboration with the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and the Vatican’s Covid-19 Commission re-propose the Pope’s teachings on the global health crisis, reaffirming that one does not come out of the crisis the same, but either better or worse. And “one does not come out alone” but “taking the other by…

View On WordPress

[cathnews]

Pope Francis orders inquiry of Vatican's social justice office

Pope Francis orders inquiry of Vatican’s social justice office

Pope Francis is expected to launch an “apostolic visitation” – or investigation – of the Vatican’s mega-office that deals with social justice issues, La Croix has learned. According to several sources, a three-person team of visitators will be dispatched to the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development in the coming weeks. This will be the fourth Vatican office to be subject of an…

View On WordPress

#Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development #Vatican Social Justice Office

[pope-francis-quotes]

30th March >> (@VaticanNews) #PopeFrancis #Pope Francis urges governments to act for the common good: Covid-19

Pope Francis responds to a letter from the President of the Pan American Committee of Judges for Social Rights and Franciscan Doctrine, addressing the issues of measures adopted by governments to defend their populations against the Covid-19 virus.

By Vatican News

Pope Francis opens his letter, dated March 28 and addressed to Dr. Roberto Andrés Gallardo, President of the Pan American Committee of Judges, by saying that “we are all concerned about the growth of the pandemic”.

Though the virus is spreading rapidly, the Pope says he is encouraged “by the reaction of so many doctors, nurses, volunteers, religious and priests, who put their lives at risk” in order to protect others.

The Pope recognises that some governments have taken “exemplary measures” and have well-defined priorities to defend the population”. Although some of these measures may be considered ‘irritating’ by some, the Pope acknowledges that they are put in place “for the common good”, and that most people “accept them and carry them forward with a positive attitude”.

The governments that are tackling the crisis in this way are showing that “the people” are their priority, says the Pope. This is an important decision because we know that “defending the people” results in “economic disaster”, he adds.

“It would be sad to opt for the contrary”, says the Pope as any other way would result in the death of many, many people.

Pope Francis then refers to a meeting held with the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development in which they reflected on “the now” and “the later”.

Preparing for “the later” is important, says the Pope, and some of the consequences are already noticeable and need to be addressed. One of these, for example, is hunger.

Pope Francis ends his letter by referring to the opinion of economist Mariana Mazzucato in her book “The Value of Everything: Making and Taking in the Global Economy”. Her book explores the need to rethink value, explaining how giving more importance to value rather than price will help make the world a better place. “I think it helps to think about the future” says the Pope.

Finally, the Pope sends his wishes to Dr Gallardo and his family, and, as is his custom, asks that they pray for him, too.

30th March 2020, 15:15

[unofficial-vatican]

Whenever Pope Francis speaks about the economy, it has become commonplace that his critics react by accusing him of being a communist or populist and demand the pontiff focus on “matters of faith.”

Yet according to Argentine Father Augusto Zampini Davies - the director of development and faith at the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development since its creation in 2016 - caring for justice, peace, inclusion, solidarity, healthcare and the environment are all Gospel values.

[chrischarambadiaries]

Updates from the World Council of Churches Global Conference on Xenophobia, Racism & Populist Nationalism in the Context of Global Migration

Updates from the World Council of Churches Global Conference on Xenophobia, Racism & Populist Nationalism in the Context of Global Migration

Religious leaders and civil society representatives of different countries and diverse Christian churches gathered in Rome from 18-20 September at a  global conference to discuss on “Xenophobia, Racism and Populist Nationalism in the Context of Global Migration”

The conference was organised jointly by the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Developmentin…

View On WordPress

#Bishop Brian Farrell #Cardinal Peter Turkson #Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development #Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU) #Racism and Populist Nationalism in the Context of Global Migration #Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit #Reverend Dr Kenneth Mtata #UNHCR #United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees #WCC #World Council of Churches #Xenophobia #Zimbabwe Christian Church (ZCC)

[locustheologicus]

The church is called to come out of herself and to go to the peripheries, not only geographically, but also the existential peripheries: the mystery of sin, of pain, of injustice, of ignorance and indifference to religion, of intellectual currents and of all misery.

With this opening quote from Pope Francis my colleague, Dr. Meghan Clark, shares her work in this American magazine article. As part of the North American Working Group for the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development Dr. Clark was tasked with a research project for the synodal process. The research consisted of going out to the “existential peripheries” in order to capture the voices of marginalized groups and their responses to the synodal questions.

In this article you will see how Dr. Clark, a recognized expert within the Catholic social tradition, incorporates the recent teachings of Pope Francis to set the context for this project. With a certain academic humility (not always found in the hallowed halls of academia) she knew where to look to help find the "existential peripheries" in North America and also to find those who journey with and have come to relate with these communities.

That is perhaps why I chose to enter the field of social ministry, if my research and service was going to be with the people of God who were socially marginalized then I felt that I needed to be present in order to minister to their social needs. With the asylee and refugee communities I have been able to capture many of their stories which, for me, captures the richness of lo cotidiano, the lived context for why this community is here and how they got here. This was the meta-narrative that I used in a recent engagement with a conservative Catholic banker who wanted to know why our Church feels called to welcome drug dealers and rapist. Evidently this person has bought into an opposing political narrative that is not actually based on the encounter with this targetted population. My counter to her narrative was to share the actual stories of those we serve.

I had the privilege to join Dr. Clark with the conversations that we had in Brooklyn and Queens. It was a very humbling experience. This for me is always the case, to receive someone's story is a sacred moment. That is what the culture of encounter is all about. When someone is willing to trust you with their story they are opening themselves to you, the listener. They are allowing themselves to be vulnerable to the other. This is a deeply intimate (and thus sacred) moment. That is moment that an authentic encounter occurs.

The stories that I heard during this process were stories of faith. This is a consistent message that is found with many who research the migrant communities. The theological findings that Latino Theologians like Virgil Elizondo or Roberto Goizueta captured in their respective books, "Galilean Journey" and "Caminamos con Jesus" is once again captured in this research.

Though I met those who felt abandoned by their fellow Christians or excluded by the Catholic Church, I encountered no one who felt abandoned by God. “When you have faith, anything is possible,” noted a young migrant mother from Guatemala. In Ciudad Juarez, I met migrant women from many places who all euphemistically referred to “difficulties” when mentioning the ubiquitous violence experienced on their journey. And yet I heard some version of the same assertion several times: “God hasn’t abandoned us because we are here.”

Their spirituality is an implicit recognition that God is with them in their journey. This is a guiding theological principle for this community. Although they may not have any formal Ignatian training the spiritual belief that one can find God in the encounters of every day life is certainly something that would resonate with the theist of this community. And even those who disown any formal religious/spiritual perspectives often are able to recognize blessings along the way. There is certainly much we can learn from the faith and spirituality that guides this community.

I am thrilled that the synod process was attentive to these voices. It is consistent with the teachings of Pope Francis and his call to promote a culture of encounter. It was an absolute privilege to be invited to assist in this process. Josefa's story and experience with the recycling community is one that I shall not forget.

#Clark #culture of encounter #CCHD #america

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The Vatican dunks on the finance industry and its "amoral culture"

The Vatican has published “‘Oeconomicae et pecuniariae quaestiones’. Considerations for an ethical discernment regarding some aspects of the present economic-financial system” of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, 17.05.2018, a lengthy report on the wickedness of Wall Street, in which the finance industry is condemned in the strongest and most specific terms, accused of creating an "amoral culture" dedicated to the "profit of the strongest" instead of the "authentic good."

The report delves into every type of financial instrument and product and condemns it for its specific evils, from the high APRs assessed on credit card debt ("recognized by human conscience as iniquitous and by the economic system as contrary to its good functioning") to the casino-like market for Credit Default Swaps ("in which persons start to nurture interests for the ruin of other economic entities, and can even resolve themselves to do so").

The Vatican even uses the O-word: "It is also obvious today that the freedom enjoyed by the economic stakeholders...[creates] forms of oligarchy and in the end undermine the very efficiency of the economic system.”

https://boingboing.net/2018/05/21/supply-side-jesus-3.html

[urbanhermit]

[archangea]

Interesting indeed

[stupendousrebelpuppy]

Church in Africa: Demography reigns

Church in Africa: Demography reigns

Brendan Hodge Dec 29, 2021 An adoration chapel in Nairobi, Kenya. Credit: JD Flynn/The Pillar. For the first time in a generation, the Roman Curia is without any African cardinals in top leadership positions, after Pope Francis accepted this month the resignation of Cardinal Peter Turkson from the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. But Africa is growing in importance within…

View On WordPress