CAFOD supporter Patrick Rooney, 64 on why he is getting involved with the IF rally on Saturday 8 June in London’s Hyde Park.
CAFOD supporter Patrick Rooney
I can trace my interest in justice back to my childhood when my mother used to take me with her to the children’s home where she worked. I was very concerned about the children there and in my own way tried to help them. I saw disability and how it affected lives.
Filed under CAFOD, Campaigning
Pat, a Primary Advisor from Liverpool Archdiocese, Margaret, a retired Primary Advisor from Shrewsbury (now working in Faith development and doing some writing for CAFOD’s schools team) and our own Bridget Fenwick from the schools team are in El Salvador to experience CAFOD’s work and Romero’s legacy in that country.
This is the second of Bridget’s blogs:
Day one – After a busy and interesting morning, concluding with lunch with the British Ambassador (!), we set off to the hospital where Archbishop Oscar Romero lived and was assassinated. This proved to be a salutary and emotional experience. We were fortunate that our colleague, Clare Dixon, had arranged for Jose to meet us there. Jose is a catechist in his home parish and also works for CAFOD’s partner, Tutela Legal, which, amongst its work, records and defends the human rights abuses of the civil war.
He was accompanied by his friend and fellow parishioner, Chito, both of whom had known Archbishop Romero, or ‘Monsenor’, as they fondly call him. Jose told us how Archbishop Romero gave him his First Communion and how his mother pushed him forward to shake the Archbishop’s hand! He added that it was the best day of his life meeting Romero. Chito told a story of how the Archbishop came to his parish and they had put on a huge spread for after the celebration. However, Romero refused to go into the room to eat as he wanted to stay with ‘his people’.
Romero’s simple bedroom
We went first to the room where Romero had lived – a simple bedroom with a small desk in the corner, where he worked and wrote and prepared his sermons, and a small bathroom, complete with his shaving gear! Previous to this, Monsenor had lived in a tiny room behind the altar in the Chapel. The Sisters were not happy that their Archbishop should live in such a place, and so gave him this room as a birthday present! It was hardly luxury…Indeed, it is an example of a man who, the higher he rose in the hierarchy of the Church, the more humble he became, showing how deeply he understood and lived the ideal of servant-leadership which he saw in Jesus. We also saw the vestments which he was wearing when he was gunned down.
We then walked up to the hospital chapel where Archbishop Romero was celebrating the Eucharist when he met his death. Jose and Chito sang us a song about Romero as prophet, and spoke to us in detail about the
Romero’s desk
day of the assassination. The day before, while celebrating Mass in the cathedral, Romero had appealed directly to the members of the military to stop the killing, telling them that they were killing their own brothers and sisters, and reminding them that they were not obliged to follow an order that contravened God’s law. Many believe that in saying this, Romero signed his own death warrant. As he lifted up the chalice of wine, soon to become the blood of Christ, shed for the world, a car drew up outside the chapel. From where he stood at the altar, Romero could see the glint of guns and must have realised that his hour had come. Shots rang out and Romero fell behind the altar, where he had been preparing to offer the sacrifice of the Mass, shedding his blood, laying down his life for his friends. This took place beneath the cross of the Master he had served so faithfully.
On this altar Monsenor Oscar A Romero offered his life to God for his people
Romero had said that if he was killed, he would rise again in the Salvadoran people. Although we have only been here for one day, we can see that this is indeed true. Like the grain of wheat dying and falling into the soil, the death of ‘St Romero of the Americas’ continues to yield a rich harvest. And today, we were privileged to stand on truly holy ground.
Filed under CAFOD, El Salvador
Joe Howell (centre) with the other CAFOD volunteers at Greenbelt
Joe Howell shares his experience of campaigning with CAFOD at Greenbelt Festival 2011. Read on for details on how you can volunteer at Greenbelt this year…
As a liberal Christian arts, faith and justice festival, Greenbelt is perhaps not something I would have come across on my own. That said I am incredibly glad that I did and, having spent four days campaigning with a group of CAFOD volunteers, I was blown away by the incredible atmosphere at the 2011 festival.
Being a geography student at university, climate change is an issue I have studied and am passionate about as it is already affecting communities in the developing world.
Filed under CAFOD, Campaigning
In the Spring 2012 edition of Side by Side magazine, we asked the question:
“Despite our efforts to eradicate poverty, millions of people are still fighting against injustice. Where can we find hope for change?”
Dr Ann-Marie Mealey: “Any effort to create a more just society involves tremendous commitment and dedication and it almost always involves the passage through the wilderness and the dark night. This can often cause us to feel disheartened. But, paradoxically, it can also bring us closer to God. The pain brought about through the struggle for justice can prompt us to seek hope in the Gospel.
It is often in moments of trial and weakness that we are drawn closer to God. We are more open to the spirit of revelation and often more inclined to want to seek life in community, in family, and in right relationship. A sincere commitment to social justice involves the risk that we will lose everything. But losing everything is a central motif in our Christian story. We know that in dying there is also the possibility of rising. Our Christian heritage reminds us that for every dark night of the soul, there will be the dawn of a new light of resurrection, of holy power and of renewed energy that surpasses all of our expectations. God has the power to shape and re-shape us in such a way that our darkness can become light; our fear can be replaced by hope; and our powerlessness can be transformed into the unexpected holy power that is needed to develop virtues of strength, courage, perseverance and hope. These virtues are central to the struggle for social justice.”
Linda Jones: ” ‘For in you, Lord, I put my hope, you Lord my God, will give answer’ (Psalm 38).
Every time we pick up a copy of this magazine we could be tempted to despair at the sheer scale of the poverty we are trying to overcome. CAFOD has been going for 50 years, and it is right to celebrate – we are happy at how much has been achieved. But we all know that there is still much more to be done.
I find that if I focus too much on numbers I can’t see the faces of those who inspire me – faces of people who are full of energy and hope. These are supporters I have met in parishes in England and Wales, who believe in the possibility of change and give huge amounts of time and energy to campaign and raise funds for CAFOD. I have had the priviledge to meet CAFOD partners – from Nicaragua, Kenya, Ethiopia, Cambodia and many other countries, who never give up on their vision of a more just world.
Where does this hope come from? Hope is a gift from God, and it is rooted in prayer. We pray, putting our trust and our hope in God, so that we might love enough to let go of our own need for comfort and security, and place the needs of others first. In this way, change first becomes possible and finally becomes reality.”
Have your say: Where do you find hope for change? Add your comments and thoughts below.
Filed under CAFOD
In the Spring 2011 edition of Side by Side, Halima Mohammad from Kwai, Nigeria asked a question. Read the responses and have your say here.
Our new SbS Question is now live. Let us know what you think here >>
Halima Mohammad, Kwai, Nigeria
“Water shortages in our village create suffering, but the government is blind to our problems. We elected people to serve us, but they don’t even provide basic services. How can we make officials take responsibility for our needs?”
Our panel said…
“It’s the government’s responsibility to provide water to the people. In reality, election promises are often broken. Leaders should ask people what they need. Instead, they sit in big houses making plans without consultation. Continue reading
Latest posts
All text and pictures (c) CAFOD unless otherwise indicated
