Main menu:
newsletter > 2003
Sacrifice of Fire
The 25th J. & P. Conference for England and Wales was held at the Hayes Centre, Swanwick from the 16th to the 18th July 2003. Talking with some of the delegates, I learned how they do appreciate the presence and the tremendous support they are given by the witness of our life completely devoted to the mission. For example those from ARUNDEL & BRIGHTON said that they were very grateful to our provincial Fr. Martin Devenish for his availability to give them challenging and inspiring talks. Others belonging to the WESTMINSTER diocese asked me why Fr. Lorenzo was not there at the conference, since he seems very assiduous and a great asset at the usual gathering of their commission. Ladies were in the majority and some coming from the parish of St. Ann’s in the East End of London, where our scholastics go for ministry, were looking out for the odd Comboni. The group from LEEDS said that our community is ever so kind to them when they ask to use the house for their meetings. I hope that you will keep a record of the addresses that I am sending you, together with those of catholic charities present in your catchment’s area. These people are very open to the issues linking up to world emergencies and can be very useful when called upon also, for bettering our work of missionary animation brushing up the big issues that we care about.
Going around Glasgow to such places as the Refugee Council and Immigration Advisory Services Offices, (you may find the addresses related to your places useful) I was able to collect quite an amount of information and mailed it to Rome. At the present, the Glasgow City Council in partnership with Amnesty International and the Scottish Refugee Council is hosting at the Gallery of Modern Art an exhibition called SANCTUARY, with over 30 artists represented. The aim of this exhibition and of the associated workshop and events is to use the power of contemporary art to address issues relating to human rights, forced migration, displacement, torture, oppression, identity and concept of ‘home’.
The growing community of asylum seekers and refugees in Glasgow have been invited to take part in visual art workshops alongside people of local origin to develop better mutual understanding.Visiting parishes too I came across the meeting points for Asylum seekers: - St. Mungo’s drop-in centre: I was there with two scholastics, Daniel and Frezghi. We met with Margaret a young Ugandan lady who arrived with a four-month old baby after her husband was killed. There were other mothers from faraway places: Iraq, Sierra Leon, and Sri Lanka… a Kurdish lady spoke to me in Italian, she had been 4 years in Palermo. Of course young children were playing all over the place. - St. Maria Goretti social drop-in centre: Mary Jean is a Rwandan Catholic lady with a teenage daughter, who has promised to speak to her friends, some Muslin, some Church of Scotland, to build up a relationship. She is surprised that there is only one priest in the parishes and no sign of convents. In her words: "many of the people I meet daily leave without any relation to God".
I attended the last J.&P. 'Link Person' meeting held in Glasgow on June 13th. We chose a new co-ordinator: Fr. Eamonn O'Brien SCC handed over the job of co-ordinator of the group to Sr. Ellen Munn FMDM. Ellen requested that in order to get to know each other more quickly that each Link person should write a bit about himself e.g. congregation, ministries past and present. It would be useful to see where we each have particular experience knowledge and expertise in relation to justice and peace mission/ministry. A Core group was set up among those from the Link persons who had better qualifications.
Tim Duffy, the Acting National Secretary told us that the post of National Secretary for J. & P. in Scotland is still vacant; a few applied and were not qualified. Now the Bishops have increased the salary significantly, already more applications have arrived and it is hoped a suitable candidate will be found.