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SAFCAM Communique #68 - English
11/09/2021
SAFCAM Communique #68 11/09/2021
Dear Subscribers
20 years ago – ‘nine/eleven’
We probably all remember the moment we first heard the news or saw footage of the planes crashing into the Twin Towers. Sadly, the world is no safer and the spectre of terrorism and rumours of war still abound.
And our scary Coronavirus continues to spread in waves of varying intensity all over the planet despite draconian sanitary restrictions and medical measures, but there is plenty more to be concerned about…
What would you list as the top 5 or 10 worst evils in the world right now?
We constantly are bombarded with news from the following list – climate change, overpopulation, racism, corruption, poverty, Covid pandemic, GBV, HIV, human trafficking, drug trafficking, arms deals, involuntary migration, over-rapid population growth, militant islam and terrorism, rape and child abuse,…
I remember discussions we held as students in the 1980s, and at the time we were preoccupied with the Nuclear weapons proliferation, the Iron Curtain and Communism, Dictatorships in Latin America, Apartheid in South Africa, the Famine (in Ethiopia), Poverty, etc.
Today I think I would list -
1) materialism and the loss of the sense of the spiritual and the divine - the source of all creation.
2) the growth of individualism and the loss of solidarity and the breakdown of Ubuntu.
3) the disrespect of the value of human life from womb to tomb.
4) the deconstruction of the natural family based of the loving union of one man and one woman through the promotion of the transgender ideology, which undermines the foundation of human society and instead promotes confusion in young people in their fundamental identity as male and female. Added to this is the corruption and devaluing of the meaning of the sacred gift of sex.
5) the obscene accumulation of wealth by a tiny minority among the elites and resulting disparity in quality of life for the masses of destitute populations.
I believe these are the causes of the majority of evils ravaging humanity. These are the sins of the world Christ strives to redeem us from. These are the sources of the ills corrupting the civilization of love we long for. They will not be fixed by political powers, international summits, ethical legislation and the implementation of SDGs and similar objectives. To end corruption, injustice, crime, war, poverty, prejudice, hunger, hate,… we need the revolution of the beatitudes, the values of the Gospel, the power of prayer, the grace of God. Those are the vaccines needed for our sick world.
At the same time let us rejoice that the world is a better place than 40 or 20 years ago – the means of communication, medical advances, gender sensitivity, advocacy for greater impartiality, the immediate access to information through internet, etc are clear signs that life on earth has improved! And may we never cease to be motivated by HOPE!
GC24 of the FMAs
Our FMA sisters are beginning their 24th General Chapter with an opening retreat today. Many participants have had to undergo a hotel quarantine for the past 2 weeks. The 172 participants in the Chapter, coming from all over the world have been welcomed in compliance with all the anti-Covid-19 measures and in a spirit of prudence. They will be witnesses to the charismatic journey of the 11,535 FMA who are committed to the educational, communicative and evangelizing mission throughout the world.
The Chapter will officially take place from 17th September to 24th October, developing the theme: "'Do whatever He tells you' (Jn 2,5) - Communities that generate life in the heart of contemporaneity".
As of 31 December 2020, the FMA are present in 97 countries:
- in Africa, 628 in 26 countries; in America, 3,366 in 23 countries; in Asia, 2,886 in 22 countries;
- in Europe, 4,597 in 22 countries; in Oceania, 58 in 4 countries.
It will be possible to follow the GC XXIV online:
- on the website of the FMA Institute; on Facebook; in the shared space to download the materials;
- On Flickr to see all the photos; and important moments will be live-streamed: on Friday 17 September 2021 at 07:00 (UTC + 2) - the Eucharistic Celebration presided by the RM Fr Angel Artime, followed by the Official Opening ceremony at 9:30 am. Let us join our sisters in additional prayer over the next 6 weeks.
The 52nd International Eucharistic Congress has been held in Budapest this week.
Tomorrow, Sunday 12th, thousands of Christians from all over the world, hundreds of bishops and dozens of cardinals will meet in Budapest (Hungary) to celebrate the closing mass with the Pope. Though none of our TV or radio stations are giving it any airing, a simple search on google or YouTube gets you articles and footage – recorded and live – of the events of the week. May this congress bear much fruit in the growth of devotion to the great gift of the eucharist.
On Tuesday 14 September at 16.00 the pope will be welcomed to by the Salesian community at Luník IX, in Slovakia, where the SDBs have a large project for the education and evangelization of the Roma people.
All the best for the coming feasts this week.
God bless - Camiel and François
