English
SAFCAM Communique #33
New Year 2021
33 SAFCAM Communique #33 01/01/2021
Dear Subscribers
Happy feast of Our Lady, Mother of God.
Goodbye 2020 (at last) and Hello 2021! Welcome HOPE!
First a recommendation:
Before you sign up for 2021, make sure you read all the terms and conditions (T & Cs) this time!
Strenna 2021 – a must read!
Following the impressive global live transmission of the Rector Major’s presentation of the Strenna 2021, ably interviewed by Don Silvio Roggia (AFW!) and translation simultaneously in 5 languages, we now have the 18 page written commentary available. It has been widely distributed already, and if you still have not got a digital copy, please download it from www.sdb.org .
Taizé meeting
The 43rd annual international Taizé gathering was due to take place in Turin this past week, but due to the pandemic, it was held online. The theme was – “To Hope against all Hope”! Pope Francis addressed participants with the following message:
"Do not be among those who sow despair and arouse constant mistrust; this would neutralize the strength of hope offered to us by the Spirit of the risen Christ. Let yourself be inhabited by this hope, it will give you the courage to follow Christ and to work together with and for the most deprived, in particular those who struggle to face the challenges of the present time”.
Another message worth reading from Pope Francis is his message for this 54th world day of Peace. It is readily available online.
Then we presume you have got the announcement about the Year of the Family – that on top of the Year of St Joseph, a special year of the family will be celebrated from the 19th March 2021-26 June 2023!
Affluenza
Are you feeling frustrated? Listless? Despondent?
If your answer is "yes", it's possible that you have contracted the affluenza virus.
"Affluenza" is the title of psychologist Oliver James' book charting the ills of the modern consumer culture. James defines affluenza as a "contagious, middle-class virus causing depression, anxiety, addiction and ennui." Although he is no promoter of Christianity, Oliver James notes that "wherever I went I found that religion seems to be a powerful vaccine. Yes, much to the consternation of social scientists, on average, regular churchgoers suffer less depression or unhappiness than unbelievers."
A for Abortion in Argentina
The tragedy of the legalizing of abortion during this very octave of Christmas, is only surpassed by the appalling triumphant reporting of it by the MSM (main-stream-media), as if this is a victory for democracy and the rights of women. The MSM keep repeating that Argentina is a majority catholic nation, and so this is a further conquest over a ‘fossilized’ church. Prolife is not a catholic issue, but a human one, and even if one does not believe in God, nor in the magisterium of the church or scripture, on the mere undeniable and medico-biological fact that human life begins with conception, all humanity should find consensus on the need to protect unborn babies and defend their right to life. The culture-of-death will now proceed to conquer the rest of Latin America and then pursue with Africa.
https://youtu.be/2sJFCUqcw6s - by means of this link you can download/watch the Christmas and new year greetings from 20 plus confreres of our region who are currently based in Rome. This was organised by Padre Alphonse our regional. The majority send their “auguri” (compliments of the season) in Italian, but also some in French and Kiswahili and English. It helps one to get to know over 43 minutes some of the up-and-coming lights of the CIVAM region.
Useful websites:
www.InternetSafety101.org and www.Enough.org – two sites which have as their objective to make the internet safer for families and children.
Don’t forget to visit the www.safcam.org website for the latest postings.
God bless and we wish you a super start to 2021, moved by HOPE for the next 365 days!
And by the way, if you have no hope, try escape as soon as possible!
If you have unbounded hope, you should go see a psychiatrist!
If you can't give up hope; if you insist on hoping against hope, and are prepared to suffer,
then persist with all the things you have been doing to make this a better world!
Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability.
It comes through the tireless efforts and hard work and self-sacrifice
of those who are willing to take the risk of fighting for freedom, justice and human dignity.
(Adapted from Alan Paton-South African author of Cry the beloved country)
Again we wish you all the best for 2021 - may it not be any worse than 2020!
Camiel and François
And to end on a laugh: 20/20 vision…
A man goes to the optician for his eye test. The optician asks him what he can see. “I see empty airports, empty sports fields, empty churches, empty schools, empty bars, …”
“That’s perfect”, responds the optician. “You obviously have 2020 vision!”
