Editorial by Sydney Duval
The Church is rich in moments of transforming spontaneity, of radical conversion, that continue to touch us as compelling moments of inspiration. The 37th Franciscan Convention at La Verna is a time to draw closer to St Francis of Assisi and his encounter with the leper to his impulsive act of compassion for the outcast that shines for all humanity and calls us to join the Franciscan family, sons and daughters, as companions on a journey of the spirit to renew our solidarity with the poor and their suffering.
At the heart of the Franciscan charism, based on prayerful apostleship as imitators of Christ, is their concern for Christian caritas, for creation and the environment, for nonviolence and peace, for forgiveness and reconciliation, for that ecumenical dialogue that Pope Benedict and Anglican Archbishop Rowan Williams demonstrated so movingly in their presence at Westminster Cathedral and Westminster Abbey.
Franciscan mission and service are to be found in urban and rural South Africa: In spiritual renewal and healing, in works of mercy, in education, hospices, clinics, informal settlements, pastoral care and humanitarian outreach. Through the Damietta Peace Initiative the Capuchins are committed to putting ideals into practice to serve the African continent.
The Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference reminds us of the quality of Franciscan solidarity through its own option for the poor, its impassioned Pastoral Letters to the faithful, and its Pastoral Plan calling us to be a community serving humanity. Connecting us to past and present is the parable of the Good Samaritan which has profound significance for our own country as we try to respond to the urgent signs of our times.
Many signs are unmistakable. Images of immense wealth and privilege coexist side by side with images of poverty, hunger, brokenness, squalor, abuse and neglect. Disease in the form of HIV/Aides and TB is a complicating reality. Corruption, nepotism, incompetence and lack of delivery in education, health and security add more layers of misery. For the wretched there seems always to be yet more that is wretched. So much of it is incomprehensible.
As the various streams forming the Franciscan river move through their convention, may they also carry us back to the Umbrian countryside where St Francis helped the leper, to Rome where he exchanged his clothing with a tattered mendicant, and to La Verna where he received the stigmata. What St Francis did centuries ago has become a universally admired example of heroic and loving service to the poor.
In our own way, we can also do things, in deed and word, private and public, in supporting the many Catholic organisations involved in grassroots initiatives, that together become transforming actions that uplift our society. Fr Bernard Huss CMM, educator and apostle of development gave us a signpost to follow: Better fields, better homes, better hearts.
Church worker, and director on
the board of The Southern Cross.
- Fr Pat Naughton SDB: Tribute to a Builder of Faith and Skills - March 23, 2022
- Tribute to Mgr Paul Nadal - January 27, 2021
- A History of Catholic Press - January 19, 2021
