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Ridding the world of chemical weapons

by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI
by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI

“I ask the Lord that we Christians, and our brothers and sisters of other religions and every man and woman of good will, cry out forcefully: violence and war are never the way to peace.  May the noise of weapons cease! War is always a defeat for humanity. – Pope Francis.

These words were uttered by Pope Francis who led a Prayer Vigil for Peace in St Peter’s Square on September 7, 2013. Deacon Tom Cornell reported that the Holy Father denounced those who are “captivated by the idols of dominion and power” to destroy God’s creation through war.

Our Church has always been on the side of peace. Indeed, the promotion of peace and disarmament is a key social justice principle grounded on respect for life and the dignity of the human person. As followers of the Prince of Peace, we are all called to be peacemakers.

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Populorum Progressio 50 years on

by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI
by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI

“Development cannot be limited to mere economic growth. In order to be authentic, it must be complete: integral, that is, it has to promote the good of every person and of all humanity” -– Pope Paul VI, 1967.

March 26 marked the 50th Anniversary of Blessed Pope Paul VI’s encyclical Populorum Progressio (On the Development of Peoples) which was published in 1967, less than two years after the end of the Second Vatican Council.

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Living as an Easter people

by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI
by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI

“Let us accept the grace of Christ’s resurrection! Let us be renewed by God’s mercy, let us be loved by Jesus, let us enable the power of His love to transform our lives too; and let us become agents of this mercy, channels through which God can water the earth, protect all creation and make justice and peace flourish.” – Pope Francis, 2013.

Happy Easter! Christ is risen! The joy of Christ’s victory tells us that love has triumphed and has defeated evil, sin and death. The Scriptures have been fulfilled. God’s love for us is so great that He sent His only Son to die so that we may have eternal life through Him. What a gift!

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Practise hospitality this Holy Week

by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI
by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI

“May Palm Sunday be a day of decision for you, the decision to say yes to the Lord and to follow Him all the way, the decision to make His Passover, His death and resurrection, the very focus of your Christian lives… The imitation of Christ’s love extended to each other is all that He asks. May this Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord inspire us to lay our coats at the feet of one another.” (Pope Benedict XVI, 2012)

Today, Palm Sunday, as we commence our journey with our Lord during Holy Week, to His passion, death and resurrection, let us reflect on Pope Benedict’s words above. If Christ is the focus of our Christian lives, we will demonstrate this in our thoughts, words and actions. In his homily, he reminded us: “…in this Holy Week the Lord Jesus will renew the greatest gift we could possibly imagine: He will give us His life, His body and His blood, His love. But we must respond worthily to so great a gift, that is to say, with the gift of ourselves, our time, our prayer, our entering into a profound communion of love with Christ who suffered, died and rose for us.”

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Press Release

Focus on human development, not hanging

MEDIA RELEASE FROM THE GREATER CARIBBEAN FOR LIFE AND THE CATHOLIC COMMISSION FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE 

The Greater Caribbean for Life (GCL) and the Catholic Commission for Social Justice urge TT’s Government to focus on human development and crime prevention rather than expend time and energy in seeking to resume hanging.

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