How Oscar Romero is relevant in parish life today

May 20, 2015

 Father Rob Esdaile is the Parish Priest of Our Lady of Lourdes in Surrey. He visited El Salvador in 1999 and shares his reflections on what Blessed Oscar Romero can teach us today.

Father Rob's reflections about Romero
Father Rob visited Oscar Romero’s El Salvador in 1999

I had the privilege of going to El Salvador early in 1999 in the company of Father John Medcalf, a fellow diocesan priest (who had himself worked in both El Salvador and Nicaragua). John had been invited to observe the presidential elections and thought it would do me good to go along.

Even 19 years after the murder of El Monseñor and 7 years after the end of El Salvador’s Civil War, the wounds caused by the violence he denounced lay just below the surface.  My visit was punctuated by encounters with the bereaved, with witnesses to atrocity, and with places stained still with memories of blood.

But I also visited the hospital chapel where Romero died saying Mass and the little bungalow next door where he lived in utter simplicity.  And I prayed at his tomb in the Cathedral of San Salvador, where it became apparent that already the people understood that he was their saint – San Romero.

Find prayers and reflections to give thanks for Blessed Oscar Romero’s life

As I reflect on the story of the Archbishop 35 years after his Martyrdom in my comfortable, wealthy, beautiful, non-violent suburban London parish, three things strike me.

Continue reading “How Oscar Romero is relevant in parish life today”

Oscar Romero: A man of hope

May 20, 2015

Kate Eastmond is currently on the CAFOD Step into the Gap programme. She is based with Just Youth in Salford and recently visited CAFOD partners in Nicaragua. Since returning she has been to a local school to talk to children about Oscar Romero.

Kate in Nicaragua
Kate in Nicaragua

As 23 May approaches with the beatification of Oscar Romero, I can’t help but reflect on one of my favourite quotes by him: “If they kill me, I shall rise again in the Salvadorian people.” This quote stays with me as I know that this is indeed true.

Find our Archbishop Oscar Romero resources

Back in late January of this year, I visited Nicaragua to meet CAFOD partners working there and what struck me is the fact that this remarkable man has had an impact on so many in the whole of Central America and across the world. He lived his life through words and deeds and dedicated everything to the cause of the poor and worked tirelessly to make sure that their voices were heard.

Read Kate’s blog from Nicaragua 

Spreading the good news

To mark this upcoming celebration, I went into my local chaplaincy school to spread the good news about Archbishop Oscar Romero. The children were asked to design their own Romero Crosses to celebrate Romero’s life. Continue reading “Oscar Romero: A man of hope”

Oscar Romero: El Salvador is coming together in prayer

May 18, 2015

Fidel visiting a Connect2 parish in Twickenham and sharing news of Puentecitos
Fidel speaking at a Connect2 parish in Twickenham

Fidel and Julia are farmers in Puentecitos, El Salvador. They are part of the CAFOD Connect2 programme which enables parishes to develop a relationship of solidarity with a community in a country where CAFOD works.  In 2013 they visited Connect2:El Salvador parishes in England and Wales.  Here they share how people in Puentecitos are preparing for the beatification of Mons. Romero on 23 May.

Find out more about Connect2:El Salvador

Our family and our community Puentecitos are happy and joyous at the news that our bishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero Galdámez is soon to be beatified by the Pope and the Church.  Our families here in Puentecitos and in our parish are coming together in prayer.  Every day we say this beautiful prayer:

Oh, Jesus, eternal shepherd, you made Oscar Romero, Servant of God, a living example of faith and charity and you  granted him the grace to die at the foot of the altar in a supreme act of love for you.

Grant us, if it is your will, the grace of beatification, help us to follow his example of love for your church, your word and the Eucharist, and may we love you in the poor and needy. We ask this through the intercession of Our Lady, Queen of Peace.

Grant me please the favour I ask you, through the intercession of our Servant of God.

Amen

Continue reading “Oscar Romero: El Salvador is coming together in prayer”

Young climate bloggers: Hal, Leah and Emer talk about the election and the upcoming climate change lobby

May 16, 2015

Our amazing young climate bloggers were busy during April, raising awareness of our climate change campaign and also raising funds for our Lent and Nepal appeals. Before the General Election, they took action themselves and encouraged all of us to do so by talking to our parliamentary candidates. As Hal from All Saints said before the election:

Hal, young climate blogger from All Saints
Hal, young climate blogger from All Saints

“Now that a General Election is coming up it’s the best time to ask your local candidates what they are going to do about climate change if they become MPs, so don’t miss out on this chance. You might think climate change is not as big an issue as the economy or immigration in this election but CAFOD are campaigning about it for a reason which is that it’s the single biggest threat to reducing poverty. We are a global family so we should make it our duty to help those in need or affected by climate change.”

Leah and Emer from St Erconwalds decided to do just that, and they contacted their local MPs. Here’s what they had to say:

“Emer and I have decided to write letters to all of our local MPs about climate change. This isn’t hard

Leah and Emer learning about how to blog
Leah and Emer on blogging residential

to do, because on the CAFOD website they have a page which can show you all of your local MPs and send an email (which is prewritten for you) to them when you enter your postcode and first line of your address. You could easily send it as an email, but we chose to write letters as we felt it was a more prominent way of getting our message across.”

Be inspired by what some of the other young climate bloggers have been up to.

Continue reading “Young climate bloggers: Hal, Leah and Emer talk about the election and the upcoming climate change lobby”

Hands On Kitui: Full steam ahead

May 15, 2015

As we move into the second half of our two-year plan, progress continues at great pace. It’s full steam ahead for all aspects of the project – terracing, dam-building, zai pits and tree planting are going on all across Kitui.

One extremely important development is that people are taking their new skills and applying them to their own gardens and farms. This will help improve the land even further, and provide yet more food and income for the people.

Thank you so much for your continued support, it means the world to us, and please keep Kitui in your prayers.

Progress and project highlights this month

Did you know?

Kenya is home to many herbivorous animals including zebra, giraffe and a variety of antelopes – so it’s essential we build fences to protect the trees while they are young and fragile.

 

Great Generation: Olivia talks about Nepal and the interfaith lobby of parliament

May 13, 2015

Hi! I’m Olivia, and I’m one of the CAFOD Young Leaders at St Joseph’s. I’ve been invited to be a guest editor for the blog this month, and want to share some news about CAFOD’s work in Nepal, and also the interfaith lobby of parliament that I was involved with as part of the One Climate One World campaign.

Watch this film to find out how CAFOD partners are responding to the Nepal earthquake.

A tent in Nepal
This man has been sleeping in a tent since his house was destroyed by the earthquake in Gorkha.
Credit: AFP PHOTO/ Matthieu Alexandre / Caritas Internationalis 

You will probably have seen the terrible news already, that a second major earthquake hit Nepal yesterday, just over two weeks after the first earthquake claimed more than 8,000 lives. I can’t even imagine how frightened everyone must be, desperately trying to contact their families to make sure they’re safe, staying outside in case more buildings collapse.

CAFOD partners are already there, on the ground finding out about what damage has been caused, and working our where the immediate need is. Continue reading “Great Generation: Olivia talks about Nepal and the interfaith lobby of parliament”

Nepal Earthquake: A first-hand account

May 8, 2015

Lilian Chan, who works for our partner Caritas Australia, reports from Nepal.

The earthquake struck without any warning. One minute I was filming an interview with a villager. The next, I was running to an open field as the ground shook violently and debris from houses flew overhead. It was a truly terrifying situation. As I watched the clouds of dust rising above collapsed houses, I knew that Caritas’ presence in this community would be more important than ever.

Collapsed buildings in Kathmandu
Collapsed buildings in Kathmandu

Surveying the damage

After the ground settled, I walked around the village to survey the damage. Having lived through smaller earthquakes before, most people knew to take refuge in the open fields. I saw one young girl, probably no older than four, sitting with her family, her eyes wide with fright. People her age have never experienced anything like this.

Please donate to our Nepal Earthquake Appeal

It has been more than 80 years since Nepal has seen an earthquake cause this kind of devastation. Reaching a magnitude of 7.8, the earthquake has killed thousands of people and the United Nations say that more than eight million people have been affected – more than a quarter of Nepal’s total population. Many homes, schools and hospitals have been destroyed, and water and sanitation services have been cut off in remote areas.

As I travelled back into Kathmandu, the scene was heartbreaking. Buildings I had only seen for the first time days earlier were reduced to heaps of debris. People were evacuating their homes, with nowhere to take shelter. And we saw patients evacuated from the hospital. With nowhere to go, they had to be treated on the ground, out in the streets.

£35 provides tents to shelter 15 families

I have never experienced an earthquake before. The initial tremor is terrifying. But the continued threat of destructive aftershocks causes further damage and trauma to people who are already vulnerable. A few days on from the earthquake, fearful of the aftershocks, many people in Kathmandu were still sleeping out on the street or in open public spaces. Continue reading “Nepal Earthquake: A first-hand account”

Ask an election question: challenging my candidates on poverty

April 27, 2015

Ask an election question at hustingsSusan works in CAFOD’s Education team. This blog was written just before the 2015 UK general election.

I have a confession to make. Despite years of working for CAFOD and writing to my MP about social justice, I had never attended a hustings meeting of election candidates in my constituency until this month.

Email your candidates  during the 2017 general election campaign with a question on poverty and climate change.

My parish, the Church of the Transfiguration in Kensal Rise, decided to host a hustings for the first time this year. The parish is on the border of two particularly interesting constituencies.

Hampstead and Kilburn is the most marginal seat in the country. Glenda Jackson won in 2010 with a majority of only 42. She is standing down this year, as is Sarah Teather, who has been my constituency MP. She had a slightly higher majority, but this is still the 51st marginal seat. So there’s a lot to play for!

We had a great turn-out, from the candidates – almost all of whom came – and the audience, there were a mix of parishioners and other local community members.  Continue reading “Ask an election question: challenging my candidates on poverty”

Syria crisis: healthcare for refugees

April 24, 2015

By Tabitha Ross, CAFOD freelancer in Lebanon

In Syria, it’s traditionally a source of great pride to be the mother of sons, and Ghossoun was rightly proud of her five boys. Brought up on a farm in the Homs region of Syria, each one grew up and went into the army when he left home – a stable and respectable career at the time. Ghossoun and her husband were left at home with their youngest, their only girl.

Ghossoun, Syrian refugee in Lebanon - CAFOD and Caritas
Ghossoun

Then Syria descended into war.

Ghossoun’s sons were targeted

“We didn’t want to participate in the war. We were neither with the government nor against it. But unfortunately we were not allowed that option,” said Ghossoun.

Because they were in the army, her sons were targeted as government supporters, although Ghossoun says their choice of career was not a political statement. The threats got worse, and one terrible day, Ghossoun’s husband was murdered as he worked on the farm.

Fearing for her children’s lives, Ghossoun fled to Lebanon with her family.

Donate to CAFOD’s Syria Crisis appeal

This made her sons military deserters, and now they are in trouble with both the Syrian government and its opponents. “We told the authorities that their father was killed and their lives were threatened, but of course they didn’t believe us,” she said.

They have also been pursued to Lebanon by the group that killed her husband, and have had to move around several times. Now they live in hiding, only leaving the house when absolutely necessary. Continue reading “Syria crisis: healthcare for refugees”

CAFOD campaigner? Don’t be shy, reply

April 24, 2015

clifton heartsSarah works in CAFOD’s Campaigns Team.

Every month, we email CAFOD campaigners – maybe you’re one of them – to share news, feed back on progress and offer new ways in which we need your help.

What do you do when that CAFOD email lands in your inbox? Do you set to and take action? Do you skim through? Do you forward to your friends? Do you delete straightaway? Or do you click reply?

In recent weeks, as our climate change campaign gathers pace, we’ve been receiving lots of replies and emails from you. Some sharing stories of your campaign events, some asking questions, some telling us how we should or shouldn’t communicate.

Fill in our 2 minute campaign survey and tell us what you think 

The big questions

Every one of these emails makes me stop and think. They reconnect me with what we are doing and why. They remind me that, without the support of countless parishes and individuals across England and Wales, our campaigns would make little difference.  Continue reading “CAFOD campaigner? Don’t be shy, reply”