Amazonia – Mauricio López: “A year of gifts in consolidation, continuity and the beginning of processes”.
Implementing a new way to propose and develop pastoral activities through forming networks, developing platforms and creating commissions on specific themes are some of Celam's Centre for Pastoral Action Programmes and Networks achievements during 2022. Mauricio López, director of the unit, speaks of this as he looks back on the work done and the achievements attained.
By Paola Calderón Gómez
The pandemic continued to harm the most vulnerable people, and one of the advances made during the recently concluded year was the holding of face-to-face meetings. Face-to-face meetings facilitated the creation of the needed scenario to focus on the established pastoral vision of the centre. Consequently, processes were consolidated. Some methods were future projections. Other techniques originated from the centre together with other institutions or associations.
"I believe that the Ecclesial Assembly marks a milestone, a before and after that allowed us to open up pastoral processes that did not exist," said Mauricio López, confirming the many fruits it has left for the continental Church.
Broadening our vision, working in networks
Mauricio Lopez highlighted the work of the territorial ecclesial networks. He noted the remarkable growth of the Mesoamerican Ecological Network, which consolidated its processes in accompanying the Ecclesial Network of the Guaraní Aquifer and the Gran Chaco. It helped in discerning, creating, defining and guaranteeing effective coordination. Thanks to the work of the team of the unit, the network has precise searches and challenges.
He also referred to processes engaged by those with essential experiences, such as the Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network (REPAM). In the face of a deeply damaged Amazon, it has been focusing on empowering its beneficiaries in human rights and socio-environmental justice activities that it carries out with complete autonomy.
Commissions and platforms
Another proposal that has generated significant interest in Ceprap this year is the creation of a commission to work with women or women in society and the Church. It is said to be an initiative that has been "producing a lot of life, consolidating the identity, elaborating the theological-pastoral perspectives from which it wants to walk, and that helps raise awareness about the necessary recognition and affirmation of women's role in the Church. And in preparing a face-to-face meeting to be held in a short time."
Similarly, there is a platform for democracy, peace, and human rights. It brings together about 25 institutions engaged in this field and focuses on a year and a half of work.
He thanked the Centre for Communication, Cebitepal, and the Centre for Knowledge Management for the process that has been underway for some months. And they achieved a lot of clarity about objectives and priorities and made perceptible the level of the socio-environmental impact of certain practices that call for pastoral action.
Finally, he spoke about the Clamor Network. When Ceprap was assigned to work with this existing network, its way of accompaniment was to do as Celam did: it reviewed the processes, led the discernment process to rethink perspectives and its mission as a network, defined structures, and planned. But, of course, it is a network with its own identity and process that has dramatically facilitated the achievement of the proposed objectives.
Source: Repam.net
Related Posts:
Marking the 10th anniversary of Laudato si’, Pope Leo XIV sends a videomessage to the Network of Universities for the Care of Our Common Home, and encourages their synodal reflection ahead of COP30.
It is from Latin America and the Caribbean that we present and disseminate this recently published work, the fruit of a two-and-a-half year working group that brought together Universities linked to AUSJAL and Social Centers linked to RCS (Jesuit Social Centers Network), all participants in the Conference of Provinces of Latin America and the Caribbean (CPAL). The work, which involves ten countries and 15 organizations, looks at the relationship between the environment and corruption in our continent innovatively, analyzing our challenges in the light of Integral Ecology.
Fr Roberto Jaramillo SJ, Secretary for Social Justice and Ecology (SJES) of the Society of Jesus in Rome, was in Jakarta recently. His visit provided an opportunity for dialogue with about 40 staff members of Sahabat Insan, the Jesuit centre for migrant workers. Their conversations centred around Laudato sí’s recommendation, paragraph 63: exploring local cultural wealth to develop an ecology capable of addressing the damage done to the Earth.
The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty (FFNPT) is an initiative that strives for an international agreement to phase out fossil fuel while ensuring a just global transition for workers, communities, and countries.
We're sharing here the Report presented by the Environmental Sciences for Social Change (ESSC) led by our dear colleague Pedro Walpole, who has been the leader of Ecojesuit since 2017. We would especially like to thank Pedro and the ESSC Team for the enormous and extraordinary work done in the animation of the GIAN of Integral Ecology during the last seven years; the report is an impressive display of his creativity and, above all, of their passion for the sacred gift of Creation. As Pedro himself expresses in the presentation of the report, we pray that: “may these times and events that we have all shared be a source of great consolation, courage and hope; Jesus walks with us!” We count on your collaboration and participation in GIAN - Integral Ecology.
