The Brothers of Charity are a religious congregation founded by the “Belgian St. Vincent”, Peter Joseph Triest in 1807. With Vincent as their patron their mission is to promote a culture of charity wherever people are wounded in their existential capacities. Their special concern is mental health and they do much work through their NGO Global Action Against Poverty  which is actively involved in specific councils and conferences at UN-level, especially in the field of mental health care

On October 10th 2011, the World Federation for Mental Health organizes World Mental Health Day. Global Action Against Poverty wants to give its full support to this worldwide initiative. The psychiatric centres of the Brothers of Charity in the South are therefore organizing different activities at the occasion of World Mental Health Day and collect signatures for a petition.

List of activities organized by the Brothers of Charity for World Mental Health Day:

Burundi:

Centre Neuro-psychiatrique de Kamenge (CNPK):

• awareness raising commercials on mental health care in local media
• lectures on different topics:
• situation of mental health care in Burundi
• community-based approach towards mental health care
• CNPK as national reference centre
• expertise and scientific/technical approach
• Panel discussion broadcast by RTNB  (Radio Télévision Nationale du Burundi)
• Visit of the Burundian Minister of Public Health

Centre de Soins Mentaux Gitega:

• official opening of the centre
• opening ceremony
• speech by the visitors, the governor, a representative of the mentally ill and the Minister

Indonesia:

Sahabat Kita Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center (Purworejo):

• Mental health Seminar: organized by Sahabat Kita in collaboration with the Indonesian Schizophrenia Care Community and with the support of the Rotary Club of Merapi Jogja and Kanisius Book Publisher Company
• Distribution of 1.000 Mental Health Awareness Posters in different provinces. The poster is intended to give facts regarding Mental Health in Indonesia.
• Hand-over of petitions to policy makers

Ivory Coast:

Maison des Soins Psychiatriques Saint Vincent de Paul

• Guided tour at the psychiatric centre and conference on mental health care in the presence of the Mayor of Yamoussoukro, the Governor of Yamoussoukro District, the Health Minister and the Prefect of the Région des Lacs on World Mental Health Day.
• 11-14 October: awareness raising activity in the streets of Yamoussoukro organised by the staff of the psychiatric centre and with the logistic support of the fire brigade of Yamoussoukro, press interviews and counselling for homeless psychiatric patients.
• 11-14 October: free psychiatric consultations

Report (French) on World Mental Health Day activities organized by the Brothers of Charity in Ivory Coast.

Peru:

Comisión de Salud Mental de Ayacucho (COSMA):

• A round table with the theme “The Great Push: investing in Mental Health in Ayacucho” with the participation of the authorities, the Church, specialists in the field of mental Health Care and COSMA.
• A Hand-over of petitions to the local authority.
• Two days for training sessions with Professionals of Mental Health coming from Lima, for professionals who are working in regional mental health care and also for students from different programs related to mental health.
• Three day open exposition about the BOC and  Mental Health Care and the evolution of the interventions in Mental Health Care.
• Parade with the different public organizations which work in Health Care.
• A social sharing with families and patients.

Pictures on World Mental Health Day activities organized by the Brothers of Charity in Peru.

Philippines:

Holy Face Rehabilitation Centre for Mental Health (Tabaco)

• Motorcade and opening programme on October 3rd
• Residents day with students of Aquinas University and Bicol University on October 10-12th
• Free psychiatric consultation in Libon Albay on October 14th
• Family support group meetings
• Hand-over of petitions to policy makers

More detailed info

Report on World Mental Health Day 2011 in Tabaco.

Sri Lanka :

Saint Benedict Menni Mental Health Rehabilitation Centre (Kalmunai)

• Organized visits to the centre for the students of the Carmel Fatima College on September 30th. Awareness raising seminar, discussions and launch of GAAP petition.
• Family day for relatives of the patients
• Hand-over of petitions to policy makers in the capital Colombo

Report and pictures on awareness raising seminar.

 The Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth (SCLs) today announced a transfer of sponsorship of Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System (SCLHS), a faith-based, not-for-profit, mission-driven health care organization, from the religious community to Leaven Ministries, a new entity (public juridic person) recognized by the Catholic Church. A ritual to mark the transfer of sponsorship and commissioning of the new Members occurred on Sunday, Sept. 25 at the SCL Mother House in Leavenworth, Kan.

Sister Maureen Hall, SCL Community Director, said, “Reading the signs of the times and recognizing the baptismal call of all people to ministry, the time was right to advance to a new level of sponsorship. Formation of the new sponsor, Leaven Ministries, allows us to invite lay leaders into the sponsorship role with us. Most importantly, it will allow us to continue our health ministry into the future consistent with our SCL spirit, mission and values.”

With increasing demands and expectations of the health care environment, the religious community identified and studied the need to make this transition. They chose a model that other religious communities and Catholic health systems have successfully adopted. The change does not affect day-to-day operations or governance of SCLHS hospitals and clinics.

“This change represents the ingenuity and teamwork so often displayed through the work of St. Vincent de Paul, St. Louise de Marillac and, more recently, SCL Foundress Mother Xavier Ross,” said Mike Slubowski, SCLHS president and CEO.

Current leadership of the SCL religious community has appointed the first Members of Leaven Ministries, who include Sister Maureen, Leavenworth, Kan.; Maureen Mahoney, Kansas City, Kan.; Sister Constance Phelps, Leavenworth, Kan.; James Roscoe, Billings, Mont.; and Sister Charlotte White, Kansas City, Kan. The religious community will remain connected through a Sponsors’ Council. As they are available, SCLs will also remain involved on Boards of Directors and on staffs of the hospitals, clinics and system office.

The SCLs and the health system have collaborated in a sponsorship formation program with 11 other religious communities and Catholic health systems. The objective of this program is to provide support for the orientation and development of current and future sponsors for the collaborating organizations.
About the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth (SCLs)
The Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth is a religious community of 276 members founded in 1858. The Sisters serve in ministries including education, social services, pastoral work and health care in the United States, Peru and Southern Sudan. The Sisters’ mission is to “offer every loving service in our power to meet the critical needs of God’s people.“ For more information, visit www.scls.org.

About Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System (SCLHS)
Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System is a faith-based, not-for-profit, mission-driven health care organization that operates 11 hospitals, four clinics and one youth residence in four states–California, Colorado, Kansas and Montana. Based in Lenexa, Kan., the $2.7 billion health network is dedicated to improving the health of the communities and individuals it serves, especially those who are poor or vulnerable. On an annual basis, SCLHS regularly provides more than $200 million in community benefit, including services for the poor, express health screenings, educational programs, community donations and research. SCLHS traces its roots to the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, who opened their first hospital in 1864. In 2011, the Sisters transferred sponsorship of the health system to Leaven Ministries. To learn more, visit www.sclhealthsystem.org.

Source

Fr. Jean Pierre Renouard, C.M. situates “Vincent in the political context of his time ” in this paper from the Third Asian Vincentian Institute (Mother House, Paris, September-December 2006)

“I will try to write to you of simple things at the risk of being simplistic, but I think that for you who have a hard time mastering the history of France, which is rather complex even for us, these notes will help you to understand the political situation during the time of Saint Vincent. The presentation of Fr. lbailez (see pages 49-78) can offer you a more detailed and thus more accurate study guide.

I. The reign of Henry I (1589-1610)

Before his death, Henry III, the last Valois king, who died without any child, reconciled with and recognized Henry of Bourbon, king of Navarre, as his legitimate successor. Henry of Bourbon was a Protestant and took the name of Henry IV and began the Bourbon dynasty.

The new king had to conquer the greater part of the kingdom. Some of the Catholic lords of the realm immediately abandoned him preferring “to die a thousand deaths rather than to tolerate a Huguenot king.” He was equally abandoned by some Calvinists because he had solemnly declared that he wanted to maintain and conserve the Catholic religion and to confide the governance of villages/ towns that he will conquer, to the Catholics.

After four years of fighting, he conquered Paris. It was symbolical for Paris was the capital of the kingdom. After many ups and downs and after the Spaniards made an attempt to overthrow the throne, the opposition army, La Ligue, was disarmed and Henry IV was recognized as the rightful king. Thus, he was able to enter solemnly into Paris.

After these civil disorders, Henry went about healing the wounds of France. He was helped by the Duke of Sully, Minister of Finance. He re-established order in the accounts, paid the debts, bought the surrender of the officers of La Ligue and enriched the public treasuries! He favored agriculture: Labourage et paturage (labor and farming); these are the two breasts that nourish France. They are the “true mines of Peru” (the true source of living). He was less favorable to commerce and industry but he encouraged factories like the silk trades of Lyon and of Nimes, the tapestries of Gobelins, the golden and silver cloths in Paris. The famous goal of the good king Henry was “that all peasants will have chicken served on the table every Sunday.” That is still well-known today.

The Edict of Nantes

The king wanted to settle the religious problems. In less than a year after the signing of the Peace of Vervins on April 13, 1598, he promulgated the Edict of Nantes granting freedom of conscience to the Protestants all over the Kingdom, the freedom to worship anywhere and to have access to all employments. They can hold general assemblies and have hundreds of strongholds as safe places. The most famous of these strongholds was the Rochelle.

The Regency

King Henry IV was assassinated by Ravaillac in 1610. He was greatly mourned by all. His eldest son Louis XIII was not yet nine years old, thus the need for a regency. Marie de Medici, the queen mother, was declared by the Parliament as Regent with “all power and authority.” Since she was of limited intelligence and was not prepared to reign, she chose a favorite, Concini who became a Marquis and governed France. Conde, Guise, and the other noble families plundered the public treasuries and led the battle. They wanted to regain the lost influence they had during the time of the king. The Estates General gathered in vain. Louis XIII was declared of age but left the governance to his mother. She held on to power until 1617.

The opposition of Conde continued until his arrest and Concini reigned as Master. The king was fainthearted. He was influenced by Luynes, his bird trainer who was determined to bring down Concini. Concini was assassinated.

II. Louis XIII and Richelieu

Made a Duke and a Marshal, Luynes became the minister in place of Concini. Since the Queen Mother was set aside from the current affairs, she took up the leadership of the opposition. Louis XIII made peace with his mother but the Protestants launched a new offensive and became powerful once again. Luynes opposed them with arms but died in front of Montauban, a stronghold, on December 1621.

Louis XIII who until then was open and happy became sad, closed, vindictive and mistrustful. He was supported by Richelieu who had regained the confidence of the king. He made of Louis XIII a great king even when the Cardinal himself had more fame than the king.

The Cardinal’s program was the following:

• Minimize the pride of the powerful
• Destroy the Protestants
• Subject everyone to the king
• Restore the name of the king abroad.

The first three points were realized:

A. The fight against the powerful was long and lasted until 1642. Gaston d’ Orleans, heir apparent, was the object of the opposition. Conspiracies and revolts were crushed without pity. On November 10, 1530 the Queen Mother thought she had succeeded in having Richelieu dismissed, but that night the King called for the Cardinal. This became the famous “Day of Dupes!”

In 1632, after the uprising of Langueduc, the Duke of Montmorency, was beheaded in Toulouse. This terrible example was worth ten years of peace for Richelieu. In 1642, Cinq-Mars, an opportunist of twenty-two years, wanted to topple the Cardinal and signed a treaty with Spain. Cinq-Mars was arrested and beheaded with his friend in Lyon. As to the Keeper of the Seal, Marshal de Marillac, he was beheaded in Paris at the Place de la Greve, under the pretext of misappropriation of public funds. In reality it was because he was of the same political party as the Queen Mother. His niece, Louise de Marillac was greatly affected by the event. Grief-stricken, she was consoled by M. Vincent in a manner only he knew how. Cardinal de Retz said of Richelieu, he “has struck men down rather than govern them.”

1. La Rochelle belonged to the Protestant group and its voters elected ardent Calvinists to power in the local government. They opposed the king and defeated his army who lost more than twenty-thousand men and sixty officers. Because of this apparent victory, La Rochelle retained the freedom of worship and all their other franchises/exemptions. In 1622, all fighting seemed to end with the Treaty of Montpellier, but it was only a truce. The king ordered a siege which lasted fifteen months and isolated La Rochelle from the sea with an incredible dike. The city surrendered after a courageous stand on October 29, 1628. It took the Peace of Alais to stop the war of Cevennes by proclaiming an edit de grace (edict of pardon) that declared equality for all before the law and freedom of worship.
2. The Thirty-Year War, named so because of the length of time the war raged, was religious and at the same time political in nature. The Princes fought for their religion and their independence against the House of Austria. The war can be divided into four periods:
• From 1618 to 1623 – the Palatine war
• From 1625 to 1629 – the Danish war
• From 1630 to 1635 – the Swedish war
• From 1635 to 1648 – the French war

Richelieu wanted to declare war against the House of Austria and to conquer the western frontier. He went from victory to victory in the North, in the Rhine, in Italy and in the South. In 1648, five days after the death of the king, the Treaty of Westphalia was signed giving Alsace to France but without Strasbourg. It was because of this war that the misery in France was constant and immense. Saint Vincent de Paul fought against it with all the determination for which he is known.

III. Mazarin

An Italian from a powerful Roman family, officer in the Pope’s army, Mazarin branched out into diplomacy. He was sent as Papal Nuncio to Louis XIII in 1634. Richelieu named him Cardinal and he later succeeded him (Richelieu). He was kind, gentle, simple and welcoming. Above all he was an excellent diplomat, an expert in European politics. But he did not understand anything about internal affairs and was not a statesman.

The problem he encountered was the Fronde (Parlement Fronde or Old Fronde and “Fronde of the Princes” or Young Fronde), a kind of civil war that started against the court during the minority of King Louis XIV.

The first (Parlement Fronde) concerned Paris that surrounded itself with barricades after the arrest of two councilors of the Parlement. Anne of Austria had to flee to Saint Germain. It was an attack in songs, of libels, of words. Conde blockaded Paris and obtained the Concorde of Rueil. But Conde wanted to profit by his victory and involved the Princes. They were at the origin of the Second Fronde. The King killed them with the assistance of Touraine, then later against him at Rethel. In any case, it was the victory of absolutism and Catholicism was in full bloom. And we know in what way because Vincent de Paul had a dominant role in it.

Source: http://somos.vicencianos.org/blog/2011/10/the-political-context-at-the-time-of-saint-vincent/

Author: Fr. Jean Pierre Renouard, C.M.. Third Asian Vincentian Institute (Mother House, Paris, September-December 2006)

If two YouTube videos ever captured the contagious joy of the Daughters of Charity and the Vincentian family, it would be these from the close of the Jubilee year in Peru! Pay attention to their faces. They become more fascinating as the video progresses.

One of these videos from the Daughters of Charity YouTube video channel in Peru presents a Daughter of Charity orchestra of some 30 Daughters of all ages playing native instruments. The second shows the Vincentian family and even features Vincent in a leading role. There is no need to understand Spanish. Just watch the expressions on their faces!

You may be interested in visiting the  website of the Daughters  of Charity Peru and the Congregation of the Mission in Peru.

Terri Butel  had become the first lay Director of Associates of the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth . The Associates are a group of men and women who identify with the mission and spirit and share in the ministries of the religious community.  There are 232 SCL Associates across the United States. Butel became an Associate in 2001 and served two terms on the Associate Advisory Board before assuming her job responsibilities in Leavenworth, Kan., on Aug. 1.

As the first lay and the first full-time director of Associates, she said that she feels very fortunate to have a job that will place her “in the presence of Sisters and Associates among whom there is this incredible spiritual energy.”

The Sisters serve in ministries including education, social services, pastoral work and health care in the United States, Peru and Southern Sudan. For more information, visit www.scls.org.

So how could an iPad (or similar tablet) help a homeless person find permanent housing? The website Poverty Insights offers some suggestions how access to an iPad could be life changing.

For many people who encounter homeless persons on a daily basis, a handheld device that lists where all the services and housing for homeless people are located would really be magical. While designing a plan to address homelessness in a region of Los Angeles County, we encountered numerous law enforcement agency leaders who told us, “We just don’t know where to send homeless people for help.”

An iPad app that provided a list of life-changing housing resources could help the local librarian, nurse, church secretary, police officer and crossing guard when they encounter a homeless person seeking help. Some computer-based websites teeter toward this solution, including 211LA.org, socialserve.comand idealistics.org.

An iPad filled with employment resources could change people lives. We all know housing and employment provides dignity for a person. An appliance that helps you write a resume, peruse job listings, and actually allows you to email letters and resumes to potential employers could transform the definition of employment training.

For many people living on the streets, homelessness means isolation. We all need a community of supporters, whether we are house-less or housed. Homeless advocate, Mark Horvath, created a very special online community for homeless folks via WeAreVisible.com. Wouldn’t it be magical if truly supportive communities could be built on the streets with electronic devices that promote such online communities?

Apple says that the iPad is magical because it is a computer that can be held and touched. This is what those of us on the frontlines of homelessness value. We want to embrace people’s lives so that they feel dignified, so that they have the will to overcome the barriers of the streets.

We want to touch people’s lives with the gift of housing. A home provides security, dignity, protection, community, identity, and love.

A pad, a home is truly magical.

Reflection:

• Have you ever considered technology as a possible tool to help those on the margins access services?
• Have you ever considered recycling an unused computer by donating it to those who work on the front lines of poverty?

Click read more for essential information. “We ( Preparatory Commission of the International Meeting of Vincentian Youth preparing for the XXVI World Youth Day) are writing this letter in order to communicate to you more information with regard to our preparations for the Vincentian Youth Gathering and for World Youth Day which will be celebrated in Madrid (Spain), August 12-21, 2011.”

The Vincentian Youth Gather and World Youth Day are special events that enable us to come together as Church and as the Vincentian Family and to strength our unity and sense of belonging.  Therefore we encourage all the members of our large family to participate with us in both events.  We hope that you will read this circular letter carefully and then confirm as soon as possible your participation in these events by filling out the enclosed forms and sending them back to us by April 1st, 2011.

Letter in Word format

The full text of this letter follows…

October 12, 2010

To the National, Provincial and Local Councils and Groups of the Vincentian Family

Dear Family:

May the grace of the Lord be always with us!

Receive this fraternal greeting from the Preparatory Commission of the International Meeting of Vincentian Youth preparing for the XXVI World Youth Day.  We are writing this letter in order to communicate to you more information with regard to our preparations for the Vincentian Youth Gathering and for World Youth Day which will be celebrated in Madrid (Spain), August 12-21, 2011.

The Vincentian Youth Gather and World Youth Day are special events that enable us to come together as Church and as the Vincentian Family and to strength our unity and sense of belonging.  Therefore we encourage all the members of our large family to participate with us in both events.  We hope that you will read this circular letter carefully and then confirm as soon as possible your participation in these events by filling out the enclosed forms and sending them back to us by April 1st, 2011.

We offer you the following information:

1)    The International Meeting of Vincentian Youth: As has occurred on previous celebrations of World Youth Days, the Director General of the Vincentian Family, Father Gregory G. Gay has convoked an International Meeting of Youth who are members of the different branches of the Vincentian Family.  This meeting will take place before the celebration of World Youth Day, that is, from August 12-15, 2011.

2)    Registration with the General Organization of World Youth Day: We have already carried out a pre-registration survey with the Vincentian Family.  Because of the number of participants that we foresee we are unable to provide lodging to everyone in the same place but will be able to offer lodging to everyone (by language groupings) in places that are centrally located and near to one another.

3)    Lodging: We will be lodging the participants in the school of the Daughters of Charity that are located in Madrid (classrooms and gymnasiums).  Therefore each participant will need to bring a sleeping bag.  Lodging will be very simple and we hope that this will enable you to have a more profound experience of fraternity and solidarity.  There will be no special lodging for priests, religious, adults or religious women who accompany the groups (except for cases of true necessity).  The participants will sleep outdoors on the nights of August 20-21, 2011 (after the celebration of the Vigil) in the area called Cuatro Vientos (Four Winds).

4)    Person Responsible for the group: Every group that registers ought to have a person who will accept responsibility for the group.  All communication and practical matters will be sent to this person through email.  This person will be responsible for the group during the Vincentian Youth Gathering and during the activities for World Youth Day.

5)    Registration Form: We have attached a registration form and we ask that after you have read this carefully you fill this out and return it by email (jum2011fv@gmail.com before April 1st, 2011. When we have received your registration information we will assign you to a sub-group which will formalize your registration.  For logistical reasons it is very important to know as soon as possible the final number of participants and the language that each participant speaks.  Please be sure that the information that is sent to us is correct and accurate.

At this time we hope that your participation will be accompanied with a great spirit of service, availability, solidarity and joy, qualities that characterize us as Vincentians.

Since the activities of the Vincentian Youth Gathering and World Youth Day are planned and organized for young women and men the age of the participants should be between 16-35, but with one exception:  young people between the ages of 16-18 will be admitted in the order in which the registration forms arrive and the number of young people in this age group will be limited to a total of 300 (it is understood that 16 years of age means that the individual has celebrated their 16th birthday before August 1st, 2011).  There is no limit on numbers for youth between the age of 18-35.

Adults older that 35 can accompany the participants as the person responsible for the group (we estimate that there should be one adult for every 10 participants)

For those participants who are minors (16-18) it is necessary that their parents or guardians fill out the permission form that we have attached.

This gathering is open to young women and men who are studying in the schools of the Daughters of Charity and the Congregation of the Mission, as well as young women and men who are parishioners in the parishes that are administered by the Congregation of the Mission (even though these young people might not be directly involved in any branch of the Vincentian Family it is presumed that these individuals have embraced a Vincentian lifestyle).

6)    Finances: On the registration form we have provided all the information with regard to the costs of the Gathering (this cost varies depending on the country of origin).  At the end of this letter we have included a classification of the countries.  All payments should be made in euros and deposited in the following bank account:

Juventudes Marianas Vicencianas

Banco Santander Central Hispano (Madrid, España)

0049-4664-11-2916566058

Swift Code (BIC) BSCHESMM. IBAN: ES21

Indicate the country and the Branch of the Vincentian Family.  For Spain, add the Canonical Province.

Once this transfer has been made we ask to inform us of this activity through email and also provide us bank receipt number, thus making it easier for us to locate your deposit.  Once payment is made (before May 15^th, 2011), the registration forms cannot be changed.

The Preparatory Commission of the Vincentian Youth Gathering has opted for the following ways of registration:

A. Participation in the Vincentian Gathering and World Youth Day: from Friday, August 12^th in the afternoon until Monday August 22^nd in the morning.

B. Participation in the Vincentian Gathering: from Friday, August 12^th in the afternoon until Tuesday, August 16^th in the morning.

C. Participation in World Youth Day: from Monday, August 15^th in afternoon until Monday, August 22^nd in the morning.

D. Participation in World Youth Day (weekend): lodging but no meals, from Friday, August 19^th in the afternoon until Sunday, August 21^st in the afternoon.

The Preparatory Commission recommends Modality A, which includes participation in both events (the International Meeting of Vincentian Youth and World Youth Day).  The cost of registering for these events according to the modalities outlined above is the following (in the table below EJV is the Vincentian Gathering, JMJ is World Youth day).

All the options that include participation in World Youth Day have included in the cost a donation of 10 euros (this cost is included in the above table).  This money represents a donation to the Solidarity Fund which facilitates the participation of young people from countries whose financial situation is most difficult.  This money will be used exclusively for participation in World Youth Day and not for participation in the Vincentian Youth Gathering

Each method of registration includes lodging, food (except Modality D), accident insurance, public transportation during the Vincentian Gathering and World Youth Day, a pilgrims backpack (includes t-shit, map of Madrid, baseball cap, book of celebrations, handkerchief and other complimentary articles), free entrance into the cultural activities of the Youth Festival (concerts, expositions, visit to museums, etc) and priority access to the areas reserved for those registered for the central activities of the Vincentian Youth Gathering and World Youth Day.

7)     Vincentian Youth Festival: As in previous International Youth Gatherings we will offer the opportunity for a Vincentian Youth Festival that is open to all the participants in this gathering.  This provides a wonderful opportunity to make the Vincentian Charism and the different branches of our large Vincentian Family known to young people from different parts of the world.

8)    Visas and Insurance: We will speak more about this matter in the next circular letter.

9)    Blog Information: We want to inform you that on the following blog

http://jmj2011famvin.99k.org you will find all the information that is included in this letter as well as information that was sent in previous letters.  We recommend that you visit this site frequently to insure that you have the correct information.  There also you will find links with information about World Youth Day and everything related to the Vincentian Gathering, e.g. schedules, registration forms, catechesis, circular letters and other interesting information.  The blog is available in Spanish, English, French, and Portuguese.

The Preparatory Commission foresees the publication of five Vincentian catechetical lessons.  We encourage you to work with your groups on the first lesson which is entitled: Prayer. On the blog you will find questions that will enable you to share your reflections with young people throughout the world.

10) Donations: For those branches (or anonymous donors) who wish to collaborate financially with the organization of this Vincentian gather we invite you to make you donations into the account mentioned earlier in this letter.  The Preparatory Commission will designate these donations according to the needs that arise.

11) Practical advice:

• Each country will plan their travel to and from the events at the time that seems most opportune for them.  Expenses for lodging and food while traveling to these events (for example if traveling by bus or train) is the responsibility of the group.
• We advise against traveling to Madrid by car since we are unable to offer you free parking.  It is best to use public transportation such as train, bus, plane.
• Because of the way in which we have adjusted the prices for your participation in the Vincentian Gathering we cannot offer financial assistance to individuals.  However we advise those participants who might have difficulty in paying for your trip to consult with and speak with the individuals responsible for the specific branch of the Vincentian Family to which you belong.

Appendix – Classification of the countries (according to the General Organizing Committee of World Youth Day).

The countries are distributed into three zones:

Countries in Zone A:

Germany, Andorra, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bermuda, Canada, South Korea, Denmark (includes Greenland and Faroe Islands), United Arab Emirates, Spain, United States (includes Guam), Finland, France, Holland, Hong Kong (China), Iceland, Caiman Islands, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Lichtenstein, Luxemburg, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Monaco, Qatar, United Kingdom (includes, Gibraltar, Jersey Islands, Man, Guernsey, Falkland and dependents), San Marino, Singapore, Switzerland, Sweden.

Countries in Zone B:

Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla, Dutch Antilles, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Brazil, Brunei,  Darussalam, Chile, China, Cypress, Croatia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Greece, Guadalupe, Mariana Islands, Mauritius Island, Turks and Caicos Islands, Hungry, Virgin Islands (US), Israel, Kuwait, Macao (China), Malaysia, Malta, Martinique, Mexico, New Caledonia, Puerto Rico, Czech Republic, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Pierre and Miquelon (fr.), Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago.

Countries in Zone C

Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Algiers, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belize, Bierlorrusia, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Botswana Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cape Verde, Cambodía, Cameron, Chad, Colombia, North Korea, Comoros, Congo Republic, Costa Rica, Ivory Coast, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Micronesia Federation, Philippines, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Granada, Guatemala, Guinea-Conakry, Guinea-Bissau, Equitorial Guinea, Guyana, French Guyana (Fr.), Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Cook Islands, Maldives Islands, Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands, Reunion Island, Iraq, Iran, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kirobati,  Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Letonia, Lebanon. Libya, Liberia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Maldives Islands, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mayotte, Moldova, Mongolia, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique,  Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Palestine, French Polynesia, Peru, Republic of Central Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominican Republic, Rumania, Russia, Rwanda, Samoa, Saint Helena and Dependencies (UK), Saint Thomas and Prince Island, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Syria, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, St. Lucia, St. Vincnet and the Grenadines, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Thailand, Tajikistan, Tanzania, East Timor, Togo, Takelau, Tonga, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Ukraine, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Wallis and Futuna Islands, Yemen, Yibuti, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

During the past year, the Vincentian Mission in the Diocese of El Alto, Bolivia, has re-focused its energies on a rural sector of the Bolvian Altiplano. Withdrawing from commitments in the city of El Alto itself, the Vincentian Mission is now centered in two sprawling parishes in the Camacho province at the northern end of the Cordillera Real. San Miguel de Italaque and San Pedro de Mocomoco encompass a broad area of inter-andean valleys and high arid plains. Their 86 communities of mostly Aymaran-speaking peoples are, for the most part, farmers and herders. The two parishes have a similar thrust: to maintain and to grow the faith-life of the communities through sacramental celebration, catchesis, and formation of local lay leaders. Additionally, both parishes provide an array of human and community development services.

Vincentian Fathers Cyrille de la Barre de Nantueil (France), Diego Plá Aranda (Spain) and Aidan R. Rooney (USA, along with their respective lay teams, travel far and wide, by auto and by foot, to serve the people. Cyrille serves alone at this time in Italaque (33 communities) as he awaits the replacement of Peruvian Vincentian Father Aníbal Vera Guerrero, who reurns to his native Peru this month. Diego and Aidan serve the 53 communities of Mocomoco.

Both parishes have regular newsletters — Cyrille writes in French in downloadable PDF format on the French Famvin site, and Aidan maintains a blog with postings in Englsih and sometimes in English and Spanish called Voces Vicentinas.

John Falzon, CEO for the National Council of the St Vincent de Paul Society in Australia presented the Keynote Address entitled “Change will come from below” to the Seventh Pacific and Asian Cooperation (Panasco) Conference. “listen to our sisters and brothers who are downtrodden and poor”. Click the Read More link.

“I am going to reflect with you on the kind of partnership that lies at the heart of the story of the St Vincent de Paul Society. It is based on the simplest of questions and simplest of answers. The question is this: How did God speak to Frederic Ozanam and his young companions?”

“And the answer is one that you already know: God spoke to these relatively privileged young men through the poor. My message is very simple, therefore. Above everything else, we must listen to our sisters and brothers who are downtrodden and poor. We must learn from our sisters and brothers who are downtrodden and poor.”

The Conference in Goa, India, was hosted by the Indian National Council of the St Vincent de Paul Society.

More details of the St Vincent de Paul Society’s Panasco-7 Conference at Goa can be found through the link SSVPGLOBAL .

Change will come from below

Keynote Address to the Seventh Pacific and Asian Cooperation (Panasco) Conference,

Goa, India 14th September, 2010

Dr John Falzon Chief Executive Officer St Vincent de Paul Society National Council of Australia

johnf@svdpnatcl.org.au

Thank you, my dear sisters and brothers, for extending the kind invitation to share some
ideas with you at this wonderful Asia-Pacific gathering.
I have been asked to speak about partnerships for progress.
When we hear this phrase we often think first of partnerships between NGOs, or between
NGOs and government or business.
I am not going to reflect on these partnerships with you today, even though they are useful
as means to an end. There is more than enough talk of this among the powerful of the world
whose voices are heard and usually heeded.
No. Today I am going to reflect with you on the kind of partnership that lies at the heart of
the story of the St Vincent de Paul Society. It is based on the simplest of questions and
simplest of answers.
The question is this: How did God speak to Frederic Ozanam and his young companions?
And the answer is one that you already know: God spoke to these relatively privileged
young men through the poor.
My message is very simple, therefore. Above everything else, we must listen to our sisters
and brothers who are downtrodden and poor. We must learn from our sisters and brothers
who are downtrodden and poor. We must stand on the side of our sisters and brothers who
are downtrodden and poor.
We know that this message is dismissed by the so-called wisdom of the wealthy,
industrialized global north as being too simplistic. There are some who go much further and
condemn this message as being downright dangerous or subversive.
They are partly right. It is very simple but I must voice my certainty to you that far too often
we allow complexity to be our excuse for inaction and so we divest ourselves of our real
social responsibility.
They are right too to say that this message is dangerous. It is dangerous to those of us who
believe it. It is dangerous to those of us who practice it. But most of all it is dangerous to
those who have a vested, unchristian interest in defending a cruel and unjust status quo.
They fear the conscientization of the poor. They fear that the poor will cease to accept their
poverty as a matter of fate. They fear that the poor will begin to question and critically
analyse the structural causes of their marginalisation.
You will remember the magnificent and saintly example of Oscar Romero, Archbishop of San
Salvador. None of us can forget that his own life was radicalised by listening to, and learning
from, the poor. And none of us can forget that he paid the ultimate price for his
revolutionary love of the poor. He was hounded, and eventually killed, by the powers that
saw him as being a dangerous threat to an unjust status quo. I would like to share with you
one of his beautiful prophetic utterances:
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“Even when they call us mad, when they call us subversives and communists and all the
epithets they put on us, we know we only preach the subversive witness of the Beatitudes,
which have turned everything upside down.”
This, my sisters and brothers, is why I referred to our brother Oscar’s love as being
revolutionary. Revolution literally means turning everything upside down. This is precisely
what Christ’s Beatitudes challenge us to do, according to Romero. This is what Ozanam saw.
This is what we too are challenged to see. Far from being a call to violence or hate, the
Beatitudes are a call to love. But this is not a sentimental love or a patronising love. It is a
hard and disturbing love. It is hard and disturbing to hear the Word-made-flesh, the God
who pitched his tent among us, telling us:
Blessed are you who are poor. Woe to you who are rich.
Blessed are you who are hungry. Woe to you who are full.
Blessed are you when people hate you, exclude you, revile you.
Woe to you when all speak well of you.
This is a hard teaching. Over the centuries since these words were uttered we have done
triple somersaults to avoid their simple and direct message, their startling, revolutionary
challenge to turn everything upside down. The poor, the hungry, the excluded; these are the
people of the earth whose choices have been taken away by unjust structures and histories
of oppression. There is only one way forward, according to this teaching, and that is for
those who have the choices to take the side of these sisters and brothers; to listen and learn
from the poor. The key to improving the lives of the world’s destitute people lies in
educating them and listening to them. It is not enough, according to the logic of the
Beatitudes, for the powerful to try to impose solutions.
I will repeat this for I know how hard it is for us to hear it. We are called to engage in a
revolutionary practice of listening, a revolutionary practice of humility, a revolutionary
practice of obedience to the wishes and aspirations of the poor, the hungry, the excluded.
Obedience is an unfashionable word in the prosperous consumer societies of today’s world
where the key value is individualism and the key practice is to do whatever you want.
The word “obedience” comes, of course, from the Latin term for listening. I put it to you
that Frederic and his companions were obedient to God by listening to the excluded.
Humility means sharing the same ground as the people who are broken. Cesar Vallejo, the
Peruvian poet, described this brokenness poignantly:
“There are people so wretched, they don’t even have a body!”
These broken people are the Real Presence of Jesus, the wounded healer, the “liberator
wrapped in shackles” who bids us to come follow him by listening to them.
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This is what we are challenged to do. We are often tempted to think that the most
important partnerships are those we might make with powerful governments or powerful
businesses. These might be necessary from time to time as means to an end but the most
essential, the most non-negotiable, partnership we can engage in is a partnership with the
poor.
This is the most important partnership we can engage in; a partnership, a solidarity with, a
learning from, our marginalized sisters and brothers. I do not mean a patronizing action that
puts the poor in the position of grateful, deserving recipient. I mean a commitment to their
liberation, a joining in companionship on the journey to God’s kingdom of justice and
compassion.
As Arthur Rimbaud, the young Belgian poet who experienced so much poverty and exclusion
in his own life, put it:
“Only with burning patience shall we conquer the splendid city that will give light, justice and
dignity to all.”
This best thing also for prosperous nations to do is to listen to the nations of the developing
world, the majority world, as well as to the people within their own countries who are
condemned to live lives mirroring the conditions of the developing world.
As we speak, rather than being listened to, rather than being loved, the downtrodden in the
prosperous countries of the world are being trodden on even more, whether you look at the
Roma peoples in Europe or the refugees seeking asylum in Australia. We are not witnessing
an outpouring of compassion. We are not witnessing an outpouring of justice. The powerful
are anything but obedient to the poor. Rather, their futures are determined from above. We
witness this especially in regard to the colonised Indigenous Peoples of prosperous
countries. They are told from above what is good for them, how they must improve, without
any thought for their stories of dispossession and pain, or their dreams of justice, or the
power of their courageous love and undaunted hope.
The same, as you know, is true of the unequal power relations between the wealthy
countries and the Majority World.
It is encouraging to see the church often speaking up against these forms of dispossession.
The St Vincent de Paul Society in Australia, along with key bishops, has criticized the
treatment of refugees as well as the paternalistic control over Aboriginal Australians. Two
French bishops in charge of the pastoral care of the people known as Gypsies, Roma or
Travellers, Raymond Centene and Claude Schockert, published a statement at the end of
July this year warning against “the stigmatisation of Travellers who make ideal scapegoats,
when in fact they are the principal victims of the ills of our society.”
Another example of how we have failed to listen is in regard to the natural environment. Far
from being a fashionable, middle class, urban fad, real concern for the planet is a core issue
for the most vulnerable around the globe. If anyone is unsure about this just ask the people
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of Bangladesh or Kiribati! The quest for profits has supplanted the respect for nature that is
so central to the wisdom of the forgotten peoples of the majority world.
The world of today has most things upside down. Together we must work to turn them the
right way up. The richest 2 percent of adults in the world own more than half the world’s
wealth, according to a study released by the Helsinki-based World Institute for Development
Economics Research.
The richest 1 percent of adults own 40 percent of global assets while the richest 10 percent
of adults own 85 percent of the world’s total assets.
In contrast, the assets of half of the world’s adult population account for barely 1 percent of
global wealth.
In addition to this, according to the International Labour Organisation we learn that women
do ? of the world’s work, receive 5% of the world’s income and own 1% of the world’s
assets.
The World Health Organization’s Commission on the Social Determinants of Health two
years ago released its report entitled Closing the Gap in a Generation: Health Equity through
Action on the Social Determinants of Health. According to its findings: “Social injustice is
killing people on a grand scale.”
Sir Michael Marmot, Commission Chair said: “Central to the Commission’s
recommendations is creating the conditions for people to be empowered, to have freedom
to lead flourishing lives. Nowhere is lack of empowerment more obvious than in the plight
of women in many parts of the world. Health suffers as a result.”
Similarly, Bishop Agnelo Gracias of Mumbai has recently echoed for us the prophetic words
of Frantz Fanon:
“What counts today, the question which is looming on the horizon, is a need for a
redistribution of wealth. Humanity must reply to this question, or be shaken to pieces by it.”
Dear sisters and brothers in Christ, we have a massive battle on our hands; a battle against
the causes of social and economic inequality and it is no surprise if we feel like we are
outnumbered and outflanked by the powerful structures that dominate our planet.
The truth is this: our sling is the sling of David as we fight the monstrous Goliath of global
inequality and injustice.
In fighting against inequality and injustice we do not wish to fight anyone. On the contrary,
we yearn to bring liberation to both the oppressed and the oppressor. As Paulo Freire
wrote:
“The oppressor cannot find in their power the strength to liberate either the oppressed or
themselves. Only the power that springs from the weakness of the oppressed will be
sufficiently strong to free both.”
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For us as Vincentians, we are urged by Frederic to consider the following wisdom:
“You must not be content with tiding the poor over the poverty crisis. You must study their
condition and the injustices which brought about such poverty, with the aim of long term
improvement.”
This is why we are urgently required to familiarise ourselves with the reasons for so much
unnecessary suffering and degradation across our world. We are in the world to change the
world.
When we speak about social justice we go to the heart of what the St Vincent de Paul
Society stands for. As we are bidden by the Book of Proverbs (31:8-9):
“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, protect the rights of those who are
helpless. Speak out and pronounce a sentence of justice, defend the cause of the wretched
and the poor.”
We are called, as Vincentians, to feed, clothe, house and assist our brothers and sisters who
are forced onto the margins of society.
We are also called to ask why they are left out and pushed out.
As Frederic said:
“Charity is the oil being poured on the wounded traveller. But it is the role of justice to
prevent the attack.”
So how can we join with the poor in meaningful solidarity and companionship to prevent
the attack?
As Professor Ian Webster, a highly regarded physician who has had a long and generous
relationship with the Society, put it so well at one of our recent Congresses in Australia:
“Poverty… is an oppression from which we should aim to liberate our people.”
The God of the Bible is a God who liberates, a God who takes the side of the poor and
oppressed, a God who joins the poor in their struggle for dignity.
As Jesus proclaimed, when he read from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, in the synagogue in
Nazareth:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the
poor; release for captives, recovery of sight to the blind, liberation for the oppressed.”
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The Rule tells us that: “The Society helps the poor and disadvantaged speak for themselves.
When they cannot, the Society must speak on behalf of those who are ignored.”
My sisters and brothers, do we fulfil this requirement of the Rule? Do we create the space
and provide the resources and support so that marginalised people can speak for
themselves? Failing this, do we even speak up strongly enough on their behalf? Are we a
voice of the voiceless?
Or to put the question another way: are we obedient enough to the poor; do we listen
enough to the poor; do we learn enough from the poor, so as to be able to speak for them
and, more powerfully, create the opportunities for them to speak for themselves?
You are no doubt familiar with the wonderful 17th century story of Don Quixote by the
Spaniard Miguel de Cervantes. Don Quixote seems sometimes to be an accurate caricature
of what we do when we dream like this of a more just and egalitarian world. He is depicted
as a deluded dreamer believing himself to be a knight running around, on Rocinante, his
skinny horse, trying to be chivalrous while everyone laughs at him. You will also remember
from this famous and beautiful story, however, that Don Quixote is not alone. He is, of
course, accompanied by the ever-faithful, and ever-practical, Sancho Panza.
The Indigenous people of Brazil have a wonderful saying that:
“When we dream alone it is only a dream but when we dream together it is the beginning of
reality.”
We need the idealism of a Don Quixote, the dreamer, as well as the pragmatism of a Sancho
Panza. This is the dreaming together, and taking action together, that will be the beginning
of a new reality in partnership with the marginalised and despised of the world. This will
ensure that we truly fight the Goliath of injustice and inequality, even if we only have the
humble sling of David at our disposal.
In the words of Pablo Neruda, the Chilean poet:
“Rise up with me against the organisation of misery.”
I would like to leave you with the powerful words that St Paul wrote, describing Abraham,
who believed, against all odds, in the promise that was made to him.
“Against all hope he believed in hope.”
May we make these words our own. And may we transform them into actions.
I believe that the most important stage in the history of humanity is beginning now. It is not
too late to turn the globalised polarization of wealth and misery into a globalization of
compassion, of social equality, of human solidarity, of holy tenderness.
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Together then let us listen to, and heed, the wisdom of Lilla Watson, an Australian
Aboriginal Activist, who wrote:
“If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your
liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”