Category: columns2018

columns2018

Charity and justice

Post author By Web administrator
Post date September 2, 2018

by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI

On Wednesday September 5, the world will observe the International Day of Charity. The UN states: “Charity, like the notions of volunteerism and philanthropy, provides real social bonding and contributes to the creation of inclusive and more resilient societies. Charity can alleviate the worst effects of humanitarian crises, supplement public services in health care, education, housing and child protection. It assists the advancement of culture, science, sports, and the protection of cultural and natural heritage. It also promotes the rights of the marginalised and underprivileged and spreads the message of humanity in conflict situations.”

Tags charity, justice

columns2018

Reflections on Independence

Post author By Web administrator
Post date August 26, 2018

“…to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others” (Nelson Mandela)

These words came to mind as I walked around the Nelson Mandela Exhibition at Queen Elizabeth Hall, South Bank Centre, London recently (July 18– August 19) with my friend, Margaret-Ann Clarke.

The exhibition marks the centenary of the birth of this iconic freedom-fighter (1918–2013). It focuses on “his life, career, and commitment to equality and justice, as well as on the life and times in which he lived. It provides insight into Mandela’s journey from young freedom fighter to becoming the inspiration for an international movement against South Africa’s violent and oppressive apartheid system, and an emblem of an ongoing struggle to build a more just and equitable world” (South Bank Centre).

Tags Eric Williams, Independence

columns2018

Caring for Creation

Post author By Web administrator
Post date August 19, 2018

“The ecological crisis is also a summons to profound interior conversion…Living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience. (n 217, Laudato Si, On Care for our Common Home).

If we are committed to ecological conversion/healing our wounded creation, we must demonstrate that, as Pope Francis said, the effects of our encounter with Christ become evident in our relationship with the world around us.

Tags environment, Laudato Si

columns2018

Euthanasia – a crime against life

Post author By Web administrator
Post date August 12, 2018

I am in London at the moment and have been involved in discussions about an official report that has revealed that “the annual number of euthanasia cases across all age groups has multiplied almost fivefold in ten years. The practice was legalised in Belgium in 2003—a year after the Netherlands. While the Netherlands does not allow children under 12 to choose death, Belgium’s decision in 2014 to extend its euthanasia laws to all minors provoked outrage in the country and internationally. Many religious groups argued the country’s laws ‘trivialise’ death and went a ‘step too far’.”

Tags euthanasia

columns2018

We need the Eucharist to live lives of service

Post author By Web administrator
Post date August 5, 2018

Today’s gospel, John 6:24–35, offers us an opportunity to reflect on what it means to be a disciple of the “true bread”; “the bread of life”. In the gospel Jesus tells us: “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never be hungry; he who believes in me will never thirst.”

For Catholics Jesus, the bread of life, is literally present—body, blood, soul and divinity—in the Eucharist under the appearances of bread and wine. This is what we refer to as the doctrine of the Real Presence. Our catechism tells us that the Eucharist is “the source and summit of the Christian life” (CCC, 1324).

Tags ecumenism, Eucharist