September 2024
Cardinal Pierre - Defend migrant workers - Jesuit supported YCW - Martyrs in Guatemala
Welcome!
Dear Friends,
This is the first edition of a new Cardijn Associates newsletter produced in partnership with the Australian Cardijn Institute.
Each month we hope to bring you a selection of news items, reading, reflection and action resources relevant to Cardijn and the work of the Cardijn-inspired lay apostolic movements both here in the USA and around the world.
Those lay apostolic movements are in the midst of preparing an important conference on Lay Mission and Vocation to be held in Rome from 9-13 October 2024, during the Second Assembly of the Synod on Synodality.
It will also coincide with the 60th anniversary of the Vatican II document, Lumen Gentium, with its pathbreaking Chapter 4 on The Laity.
So, we are pleased to announce that Vatican Nuncio to the USA, Cardinal Christophe Pierre, himself a protégé of the Specialised Catholic Action movements in France, will join us in an online conversation for the opening of the conference.
Next, we have a report on Pope Francis' visit to Asia and the Pacific during which he strongly defended the rights of migrant workers.
We've learned of the 75th anniversary of the Christian Family Movement, also a Cardijn-inspired movement, while the Cardijn Community is developing strongly on the African continent.
Washington writer, Dawn Eden Goldstein, is currently working on the story of a New Orleans Jesuit, Fr Louis J. Twomey, also a strong supporter of the YCW in the US.
Pat Branson presents a Gospel Reflection while Richard Pütz, nephew of the pioneering Holy Cross priest, Fr Louis Pütz, shares a Cardijn Reflection.
Mario Trinidad, formerly a YCW chaplain in the Philippines, now living in Australia, has just launched a new book based on his experienced with Belgian missionaries in Guatemala during the 1970s. .
I conclude this edition with the story of English YCW pioneer, Patrick Keegan, who in 1964 became the first layperson to address the Second Vatican Council.
Thanks finally to Nancy, Teresa, Rudy and Fr Ty from Cardijn Associates USA for making this new edition possible!
Stefan Gigacz
Editor
PS And here's a heads up for our forthcoming webinar on Synodality with Nate Tinner-Williams, co-founder and editor of the Black Catholic Messenger, on Friday September 27, 2024. Please block the date and keep an eye on your inbox for more details!
Nate Tinner-Williams, editor, Black Catholic Messenger
Defend migrant workers: Pope Francis
Visiting Singapore on the last leg of his journey to Asia and the Pacific, Pope Francis emphasised the need to protect the dignity of migrant workers.
"I hope that special attention will be paid to the poor and the elderly – whose labours have laid the foundations for the Singapore we see today – as well as to protecting the dignity of migrant workers.
“These workers contribute a great deal to society and should be guaranteed a fair wage,” the pope emphasised.
SEE JUDGE ACT ENQUIRY
Defend migrant workers: Pope Francis
In conversation with Cardinal Christophe Pierre, nuncio to the USA
Rudy Dehaney and Joe Mourad from the US Cardijn Associates together with Stefan Gigacz from the Australian Cardijn Institute met with Holy See Nuncio to the USA, Cardinal Christophe Pierre, on September 3 2024.
Cardinal Pierre shared his own personal story of involvement with the Jeunesse Indépendante Chrétienne (JIC), a Specialised Catholic Action movement for young people from a business background, and the International Movement for the Apostolate of Independent Milieu (MIAMSI).
He also agreed to join the opening session of the Lay Mission and Vocation Conference for an online conversation on October 9 at 1pm US Eastern time.
REGISTER NOW
Wednesday 9 October 2024, 7pm Rome time
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZckcuCrrj4pGtEEyA1xpecN7RxRKnvjcecX
Cardijn Community takes shape in Africa
Cardijn Community leaders from several African countries met via Zoom on Sunday 25 August to discuss developments on the African continent.
“Let us promote Cardinal Cardin’s spirit and methology,” CCI leader, Lazare Kabran, announced following the meeting. “A new movement is born in the paradigm of Catholic action movements: Cardijn Community International Africa.
READ MORE
Cardijn Community International Africa takes shape (Cardijn.info)
-US Christian Family Movement celebrates 75 years
For 75 years, Catholic families in the Archdiocese of Chicago have been gathering to build the bonds of friendship and community, to deepen their faith and to make the world a better place as part of the Christian Family Movement, Chicago Catholic reports.
The movement celebrated its anniversary 3-4 August at the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary with the theme of “Make Friends, Make Disciples, Make a Difference.”
Coming to Mundelein was a nod to the movements roots, said retired Auxiliary Bishop George Rassas. The movement grew out of the Catholic action movement promoted by Monsignor Reynold Hillenbrand, then rector of Mundelein.
READ MORE
Christian Family Movement celebrates 75 years (Cardijn.info)
Washington DC writer tells story of Jesuit who supported YCW
Dawn Eden Goldstein, a Washington DC based author is working on a biography of New Orleans Jesuit, Fr Louis J. Twomey, a Southerner raised under segregation who overcame his own racial prejudice to become Martin Luther King Jr.’s first Catholic ally and help bring his fellow Jesuits to embrace the cause of civil rights.
Fr Twomey was also a great supporter of the US YCW, particular when Cardijn Associate, Nancy Conrad, worked in New Orleans to build the YCW there. He founded and directed the Center for Industrial Relations at Loyola University of the South. The Center was a hub for Catholic labor leaders and leaders of the Catholic Interracial Council.
READ MORE
Dawn Eden Goldstein, Master, Si, Buckley, No: The Jesuit who took on National Review's "Compartmentalized Catholics" (The Vital Center)
A Priest in Good Trouble, Martin Luther King's Jesuit Ally (Kickstarter)
Gospel: Deliver us from evil!
The prayer that Jesus taught his disciples (Matthew 6:9-13), is often referred to as the Lord’s Prayer. In his prayer, Jesus reveals his primary value, which is the Will of God (“your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven”), writes Pat Branson. Everything he valued was subordinated to this value.
All who choose to do God’s Will inevitably find themselves in conflict with those who seek to impose their own will on others. The Gospels show Jesus confronting the Jewish leaders about their self-serving behaviour. Threatened by his appeal to the people, they sought to have him killed.
DO THE GOSPEL ENQUIRY
Deliver us from evil! (Cardijn Reflections)
Reflection: Recover, repair, re-imagine
A recent Richard Rohr daily meditation shares the inspiration of Jennifer Bailey, writes Richard Pütz.
https://cac.org/daily-meditations/recover-repair-reimagine/
Now, Think patterns. When we recognize patterns, we understand our path in this life. Where are we going, and why are we moving in that direction?
READ MORE
Richard Pütz, To Recover is to Reimagine (Cardijn Reflections)
PHOTO
Book: Missionaries and Resistance in Guatemala
A former YCW chaplain in the Philippines and member of the Belgian Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary now living in Adelaide, Australia, Mario Trinidad has published a new book based on his service in Guatemala during the 1970s.
Entitled “Missionaries and Resistance in Guatemala” tells the story of an armed conflict that lasted 36 years from 1960 to 1996, claiming the lives of over 200,000 people.
YCW leaders were also among those killed, according to the late Belgian priest, François Houtart.
Missionaries and resistance in Guatemala
History: Patrick Keegan, lay pioneer
On 13 October 1964, Patrick Keegan, pioneer of the YCW in England and with the International YCW, as well as co-founder of the World Movement of Christian Workers (WMCW) became the first lay person to address the Second Vatican Council.
Indeed, it was the first time that a layperson had addressed an Ecumenical Council since the Fifth Century.
READ MORE
Stefan Gigacz, Patrick Keegan, lay pioneer (Cardijn Research)
Editorial Note: The purpose of the Cardijn Associates Newsletter is to share information and promote discussion. Citing or linking to articles does not imply any endorsement by ACI of the authors' views.
Cardijn Associates USA
Contact
Email: cardijnassociates@gmail.com