Francis Stewart works in our theology team. In this blog he looks at the links between the two new saints whose lives have such prophetic meaning for CAFOD.
By canonising Oscar Romero and Pope Paul VI together, Pope Francis is surely pointing out to us the connections between two humble yet courageous men. So what links these two great advocates of “a Church of the poor and for the poor”?
“Patron saints” of CAFOD’s work
Both men have been inspirational for CAFOD’s mission. This is because of what the teachings of one and the life of the other show us about a true encounter with people who are poor.
Find out more about Romero’s life, with our timeline.
Director of CAFOD, Chris Bain, invites you to the upcoming annual Pope Paul VI Memorial lecture.
We are reaching that time of year when thoughts begin to turn to the start of Advent and the coming of Christmas. At CAFOD our thoughts also turn to our annual Pope Paul VI Memorial lecture. This year I am delighted that Cardinal Peter Turkson will be joining us to deliver the lecture on Friday 4 December. He will speak about the Church’s response to climate change in an address titled Care for Creation: how to protect and sustain our common home.
Cardinal Turkson has been president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace since his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009. He is Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Coast, Ghana, and this year played a key role in communicating Pope Francis’ Encyclical on the environment.
We are especially glad that Cardinal Turkson is joining us this year as the lecture coincides with the Conference of Parties (COP21) in Paris when world leaders will meet to agree legally binding targets to reduce carbon emissions and tackle climate change. If successful, the talks will set governments on a more sustainable pathway for economic growth, protecting the planet and people from climate change.
At CAFOD we see the impact climate change is having across the world. In communities where we work, many are suffering from more frequent and extreme floods, storms, or droughts, pushing the most vulnerable people further into poverty. And farming families are struggling with more unpredictable seasons, meaning crops fail and livestock die because of a lack of food and water. We are called to respond to this.
