C21 Resources - Spring/Summer 2022 - Faith in Action Around the World

THE CH U R CH IN THE 21S T CE NT U RY CE NTE R

S PR ING/S UMME R 2022

FAITH IN ACTION Around the World

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FAITH IN ACTION AROUND THE WORLD

The Church in the 21st Century Center is a catalyst and a resource for the renewal of the Catholic Church.

C21 Resources, a compilation of the best analyses and essays on key challenges facing the Church today, is published by the Church in the 21st Century Center at Boston College, in partnership with publications from which the featured articles have been selected. c 21 resources editorial board

Patricia Delaney Karen Kiefer Peter G. Martin Jacqueline Regan O. Ernesto Valiente managing editor

Lynn M. Berardelli

D dear friends :

When I arrived on the Boston College campus back in the fall of 1978, I had no idea that this Jesuit, Catholic university would transform the way I looked at the world and how I would live my faith.

It all began with an encounter with Fr. John Dinneen, S.J., a Jesuit chaplain, who encouraged me to get involved in community service projects through Campus Ministry. I mentioned that my parents had always reminded me that “charity begins at home.” He looked at me with his piercing brown eyes and said, “Karen, the world is your home.”

Those words changed my paradigm, offering me the grace-filled realization that being Catholic is a call to serve others, near and far, with dignity and compassion.

This issue of C21Resources magazine takes a look at faith in action around the world. Special thanks to our colleague Peter Martin for curating and contributing to a collection of articles that will introduce you to global Catholic organizations, leaders, and changemakers and those they serve while offering insights and perspectives on how our Catholic faith continues to inspire lived vocations in an effort to care for our world.

guest editor

Peter G. Martin

May this issue inspire you to share your faith with and for others.

Karen K. Kiefer Director, Church in the 21st Century Center karen.kiefer@bc.edu

the church in

21 st century center Boston College 110 College Road, Heffernan House Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts 02467 bc.edu/c21 • 617-552-6845 the

©2022 Trustees of Boston College

on the cover

Through the BC Connell School of Nursing's oldest standing service trip, students and faculty traveled to one of the poorest communities in Nicaragua to provide primary care and health education to its residents and to learn more about that country's health care, social, and political systems. As the nurses visited the homes of residents and supported the work of Nueva Vida Clinic in Ciudad Sandino, they witnessed the resilience and strength of the people of this community.

2018 Alumnae of BC CSON from left to right: Mattie DeSimone, Mary Ladesic, Caroline Zakrzewski, Izabella Gubala, and Nicolette Pellicane. photo credit:

Boston College Office of University Communications/John Walsh

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Setting the World on Fire

Peter G. Martin

4 Bridge Building across the World Church

Kristin E. Heyer 6

Walking with Refugees

William Bole

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Catholic Works Around the World

10 Don’t Forget About Haiti

Dr. Fonie Pierre 12 A Conversation with Ambassador Ken Hackett, Former President & CEO of Catholic Relief Services

Olivia Colombo 14

A Conversation with Sean Callahan, President & CEO of Catholic Relief Services

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16

A Promise of a New Beginning

Tom Westcott

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A Prayer for Ukraine

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The Boston College Irish Famine Memorial Fund

Peter G. Martin

26 A Culture of Encounter: The Beauty of Otherness

Rev. Stan Chu Ilo

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28 Changing Lives and Futures

Terri R. Miller 30

Catholic Peacebuilding: The Best Story Never Told Gerard F. Powers

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The Community of Sant’Egidio For Prayer, the Poor, and Peace

Fr. Robert P. Imbelli

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Sant’Egidio at Boston College Katie Mahowski Mylroie

35 Works of Mercy

Pope Francis 36 In Memoriam, With Love and Tears: My Memories of Dr. Paul Farmer

Dr. Sriram Shamasunder

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Setting the World on Fire Peter G. Martin

U.S. Embassy to the Holy See in 2003 for a diplomatic assignment as a member of the U.S. Foreign Service, I knew I would be engaging with Holy See officials on the hot issues of the day, such as stability in Iraq, religious freedom in China, and other topics of interest to the Department of State. My marching orders were also to foster cooperation with other foreign diplomats in Rome who were accredited to the Holy See. I had little idea, however, that one of my closest partners in diplomacy would be the Rome-based Community of Sant’Egidio, a Catholic lay organization involved in peacemaking, refugee work, and interfaith dialogue. Indeed, by the time I completed my assignment at the Vatican, I had supported Sant’Egidio in peacemaking negotiations with rebels from Darfur, consulted on the group’s peace and reconciliation work in the Balkans, and served as U.S. representative to the Community’s annual Prayer for Peace, which brings together a diverse group of religious leaders from around the world to promote peace and reconciliation.

Nominated multiple times for the Nobel Peace Prize, the Community of Sant’Egidio has become a powerful force for good in the world despite its small size. Its members are resourceful, indefatigable, and fueled by their Catholic faith and a belief in the power of prayer.

Throughout my diplomatic career, working on issues from nearly every continent, I encountered many such examples of Catholics doing good, far from their own homes, working to help people of all races, cultures, nationalities, and faiths. With this issue of C21 Resources, we offer the reader the stories of some of these organizations and people, motivated by their Catholic faith and unrestrained by borders. The work is often unheralded, but quietly effective and inspirational.

photo credit:

Boston College Campus Ministry - Arrupe International Program

when i arrived at the

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Boston College students on an Arrupe International trip to Puebla, Mexico, in January 2019. Students are seen here working on a neighborhood garden as part of a community sustainability initiative.

inspired the next generation of young Catholic leaders to Observers of international development efforts are venture beyond U.S. borders to do good. You will read aware of the outsized role that the Catholic Church and about two BC alumnae who collaborated with the IFMF its related organizations play in education and healthcare to create a “game-changing program” to help form new around the world. And many Catholics are familiar with leaders in global development. You will also learn about the “heavyweights” of international Catholic relief work, IFMF-sponsored service trips for nurses from BC’s Conlike Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and Jesuit Refugee nell School of Nursing to assist vulnerable populations in Service. However, lesser known organizations and indithe Dominican Republic. viduals affiliated with the Church are also making a difference in the lives of people around the world.

These stories and others remind us that every act of Catholic Relief Services is represented in the pages solidarity with our brothers and sisters around the world begins with an initial “yes” from an individual who dethat follow through the courageous story of a Haitian cides that, whether working for a large organization or CRS doctor fighting to rebuild her earthquake-ravaged acting alone, he or she wants to make a difference in the country, as well as through conversations with the current and former heads of CRS, both of whom boast wider world. Dr. Paul Farmer, remembered in this issue, Boston College (BC) connections. Longtime BC teacher experienced a sudden realization that his vocation was and journalist William Bole describes Jesuit Refugee to serve the poor. His “yes” led him to found Partners Service’s inspiring 40-plus-year record in Health, an impressive organizaof educating and otherwise “walking tion that has saved numerous lives in with” refugees.

Haiti, Rwanda, and elsewhere.

Many Catholics know the Knights This issue also provides evidence of Columbus for their local volunteer that willing, committed individIn 2022, what work and support of those on the uals are strongest when they work happens on one margins of American society. Fewer together. You will read about the are aware that the Knights have been Catholic Peacebuilding Network, side of the globe increasingly active internationally. A which links 23 affiliated organizareverberates strong presence in East Central Europe tions in a quest to build a peaceful has helped them take an active role in everywhere. This and more just world. Another netaiding Ukrainian refugees fleeing the work, Catholic Theological Ethics reality should Russian invasion of their country. in the World Church, draws on a The Knights have also been great variety of voices from around the add a sense champions of Christian communities world to remind us that we do not of urgency to under siege in Iraq. In this issue, perform good works in a vacuum; we highlight McGivney House in they are supported by the framefulfilling our Erbil, where the Knights have given work of our rich Catholic intellecduties around displaced Iraqi Christians a chance to tual and social justice tradition. rebuild their lives after conquests by Now, it is true that there are many the world. the Islamic State fighters. people in need in our own communiI first worked with Monsignor ties. We certainly must maintain our Robert Vitillo of the Diocese of attention to the marginalized among Paterson, NJ, in 2005 when he was Caritas Internationalis’s us. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and repercuskey representative in Geneva working on health issues. At sions from the brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine have that time, the State Department was supporting President reinforced what we already knew: the world is interconGeorge W. Bush’s President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS nected. In 2022, what happens on one side of the globe Relief (PEPFAR). Now Msgr. Vitillo is secretary general reverberates everywhere. This reality should add a sense of another important Catholic organization that we of urgency to fulfilling our duties around the world. As profile, the International Catholic Migration Commission CRS President Sean Callahan tells C21 in these pages, (ICMC), which serves refugees, asylum-seekers, victims we need to continue to care for our local communities, of human trafficking, and others. As an illustration of the but as people of faith, we should not limit our attention variety of the organization’s work, we highlight ICMC’s to our “own backyard.” Callahan urges us to consider efforts to stop child marriage, a devastating trend affecting our place in the world community, “respect the human girls in numerous countries. dignity of all of our brothers and sisters,” and act boldly.

Boston College also has a long history of institutionOr, as St. Ignatius would have it, “Go forth and set the world on fire.” ■ al and individual activism around the world, fired by its Jesuit, Catholic ideals. Established by legendary BC benefactor Thomas Flatley and his family in 2010, BC’s Irish Peter G. Martin, a former U.S. diplomat, is special Famine Memorial Fund (IFMF) has been a bridge from assistant to the president at Boston College. He is “the Heights” across the globe, bringing students from chairman of the steering committee of BC’s Church 57 countries on five continents to study at BC on scholin the 21st Century Center and is the University’s arship, as well as funding development projects in comaccreditation liaison officer, among other roles. munities in Africa and the Americas. The fund has also

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Bridge Building across the World Church Kristin E. Heyer

Recognizing the need to dialogue from and beyond local culture and interconnect within a world Church, Boston College Canisius Professor of Theological Ethics James Keenan, S.J., co-founded Catholic Theological Ethics in the World Church (CTEWC) with Professor Linda Hogan of Trinity College Dublin. Fr. Keenan was later named Boston College Vice Provost for Global Engagement and is now leading efforts to enlarge BC’s international presence and impact. Continuing Fr. Keenan’s work, BC ethicists Professors Kristin Heyer and Andrea Vicini, S.J., currently co-lead CTEWC along with a colleague at Dharmaram College in Bangalore, India, Shaji George Kochuthara, C.M.I.

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Catholic ethicists and to amplify the work of colleagues in the Global South, Catholic Theological Ethics in the World Church is now concluding its 15th year of vital bridge-building initiatives.

Spanning 80 countries, the network fosters cross-cultural, interdisciplinary conversations about critical ethical issues that impact the world Church. It does so by cultivating the exchange of ideas via its online platforms and book series and supporting new as well as isolated scholars in theological ethics. Through its monthly newsletter and its visiting professors program, CTEWC supports colleagues who have been marginalized and expands the traditionally Western born of a desire to connect

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focus of the field of theological ethics. It has helped center and empower the voices of those in the Global South via its African and Asian scholarship programs along with regional and international conferencing (in Padua, Manila, Trento, Nairobi, Berlin, Krakow, Bangalore, Bogotá, and Sarajevo).

As founder James Keenan, S.J., puts it, “Our network is based on the simple assumption that we ethicists need to be better connected. We also realized during our years of work that we had to extend our network to those literally on the margins, to those whose voices have not been heard, and whose insights have not been recognized.” For example, given the noticeable absence of

and cross-cultural dialogue; peace building and ethnic trained women in the fields of fundamental and applied conflict; and resistance and economic struggle. For the theological ethics across the continent of Africa at the first time, at this conference colleagues from the Global start of the millennium, key issues had been given little South were the majority of the participants, and 30 perattention (e.g., the feminization of poverty, the impact of HIV/AIDS on women) and the distinctive perspectives cent represented the field’s rising generation. Three cardiof women overlooked. CTEWC perceived this as an ecnals, Vinko Puljic of Sarajevo, Blase Cupich of Chicago, and Peter Turkson, then head of the Vatican’s Dicastery clesial loss but also a matter of serious concern for Catholic moral theologians worldwide. for Promoting Integral Human DevelThrough its African scholarship opment, took part in the conference program, CTEWC granted scholaras well.

In Sarajevo, the founding coships to eight women who went on to We also realized chairs, Keenan and Linda Hogan, complete their doctorates in Kampastepped down and the “next genla, Kinshasa, Nairobi, Yaoundé, and … that we had Trinity College, Dublin; today they eration” of leaders, Shaji George to extend our Kochuthara, C.M.I., of Dharmaram are at work in universities and semiin Bangalore, and Andrea naries or in leadership positions within network to those College Vicini, S.J., and Kristin Heyer, both their orders. An annual postdoctoral literally on the of Boston College, assumed their program hosted by Boston College’s Jesuit Institute has helped the scholars Following Sarajevo the netmargins, to those roles. to receive mentorship in publishing work has launched eight internationand transitioning into the theological al “Virtual Tables,” convening memwhose voices guild; the program’s graduates have bers on topics ranging from global have not been already begun to transform moral health to nonviolence to the sexual theology on the continent. Moreover, heard, and whose abuse crisis. The tables presently entoday there are more than 24 African over 100 ethicists from more insights have not gage women with doctorates in the field. than 30 countries, yielding forthDuring its audience with Pope been recognized. coming publications and cross-reFrancis in March of 2017, CTEWC’s gional events, not to mention new planning committee emphasized its perspectives and moral support. The method of prioritizing personal ennetwork is launching a multiyear initiative to train ethicists on how to do more public-faccounter and the exchange of ideas in order to foster haring scholarship in the years ahead as well, including an mony in diversity. Members underscored their attempts international seminar to be hosted at Boston College in to serve and empower those on various peripheries of the field by reprinting books in its series at lower costs July 2023. Its monthly online newsletter connects par(the network has since moved to online publishing to ticipants in an ongoing way, keeping voices and perspecfurther expand access) and connecting one another via its tives from each region and from junior scholars on the website and The First, an online monthly newsletter. The collective radar. To that end, its Forum features regional pope was quite supportive of the network’s initiatives, contributors regularly reflecting on urgent moral quessending a letter encouraging its passion for dialogue and tions, whether nationalizing the mines of South Africa accompaniment to open its 2018 international conferor ending corruption in India. Beyond its thriving international book series, the network continues to find ence in Sarajevo. new ways to connect and respond to the emerging signs The 2018 Sarajevo conference was CTEWC’s third global conference, focused on promoting bridge building of the times, most recently sharing resources treating in a world in urgent need. Its program moved from forging COVID-19, Fratelli Tutti, and racism. CTEWC’s virtual academic contributions and relationships alone toward and in-person initiatives continue to bridge build in an more practical responses to pressing social issues. In paroften-siloed academy in light of the gifts and needs of the global Church. ■ ticular, the conference issued a call to action in addressing the climate crisis and its impact on the environment and marginalized populations alike, and the tragic banality Kristin E. Heyer is a professor of theological ethics of contemporary political leadership in many countries. and the director of graduate studies in the Boston The conference underscored the need to address these College Theology Department. She serves as co-chair of challenges in solidarity, so it incorporated opportunities Catholic Theological Ethics in the World Church and for interpersonal encounter, worship, media training, and vice president of the Catholic Theological Society of informal networking alongside academic presentations.

America.

Vibrant Sarajevo—neither developed world nor developphoto credit: https://photodune.net/user/merc67 ing world—offered three relevant contexts: inter-religious

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Jesuit Refugee Service

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William Bole

an education to refugees, both children and adults who are escaping violence and unrest in their homelands, but it is also the single best way to aid them in starting over with hope for a better future. The coronavirus pandemic has made the task all the more challenging, especially in remote stretches like Thailand along the border with Myanmar, where lack of Internet meant that online learning was not an option when schools closed.

it is challenging to provide

Enter the Jesuits.

The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) is finding ways to keep up the learning amid lockdowns—often in places without reliable Internet or even stable electricity. In the remote camps of Thailand, teachers quickly adapted, developing home-based learning kits for students and periodically visiting families to check on progress and provide support. Bringing Jesuit education to forcibly displaced people is one way the Rome-based agency is revitalizing its global mission—in the most troubling times since its establishment 42 years ago.

“I don’t think Fr. Arrupe envisioned us being around four decades later,” says Fr. Thomas H. Smolich, S.J., JRS’s international director. He was speaking of Fr. Pedro Arrupe, S.J., the beloved Jesuit Superior General who was serving in that role when refugees began flooding out of Vietnam on rickety boats and rafts in 1979. The plight of the Vietnamese “boat people” led Fr. Arrupe to call for a worldwide humanitarian response by Jesuits

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and Jesuit organizations. Out of that campaign came, in November 1980, the founding of JRS. Soon after, another crisis materialized—the Ethiopian famine, which triggered another humanitarian push by the Jesuit agency. These were unusual eruptions at the time, and many thought the emergencies would pass (and so would the need for such large-scale campaigns).

“But here we are,” says Fr. Smolich, “still showing the face of Jesus at this time when there are more and more forcibly displaced people.”

Indeed, the United Nations reports that there were 79.5 million forcibly displaced people at the end of 2019.

Their numbers have swelled in the decades since the boat people, largely due to conflicts in places ranging from Syria to South Sudan. And, just as alarming, these people are living through much longer periods of refuge because the conflicts are protracted. Fewer can return to their homes or find opportunities to permanently resettle.

“The major change in the refugee world is that the underlying conflicts which cause the outflow of people are not being resolved and the duration of exile extends (now an average of 17 years),” says Fr. Michael Gallagher, S.J., a member of the Jesuits USA Central and Southern Province and deputy international director of Jesuit Refugee Service. He has served with JRS for nearly two decades.

Father Gallagher began working with refugees in 1991, when the Haitian crisis was at its height, and he helped Haitians in Miami. Then he went to El Paso, Texas, in 1994, where, as a lawyer, he handled asylum

photo credit:

Walking with Refugees

Fr. Michael Gallagher, S.J., with refugee children in Rwanda.

advocate the cause of forcibly displaced people, that they cases. “I loved working with refugees and found them may heal, learn, and determine their own future.” the most interesting and grateful clients I had ever had.

“We provide a way for them to provide for themselves They would even thank me sincerely when we lost the and their families, and that is through education,” case!” he said. “I thought that this was my niche, and the Fr. Gallagher said. “Education toward livelihoods, province agreed.” marketable skills—a path out.” To accomplish this, JRS He went to Oxford for a master’s degree in forced has articulated four basic priorities and goals, including: migration and then was hired by JRS Southern Africa as a policy officer. He went on to become the country RECONCILIATION director in Zambia, then a regional advocacy officer in Diverse teams of JRS workers are teaching children Johannesburg, South Africa. Then he served 10 years and others from disparate backgrounds how to live as the JRS representative to the United Nations in together and respect one another. For instance, in Geneva, Switzerland. regions torn by religious and ethnic violence, Christian “When I started international refugee work, there and Muslim students have sat alongside each other in were resolutions to situations. Now that is not the case,” JRS classrooms. They’ve learned not only the basics but he says. “Humanitarian workers were not targets of also lessons from a peace studies curriculum that teaches abduction and killing as they are now in many parts of about culture, dialogue, and mutual the world. As for the refugees, their understanding. The aim is to foster number is greater than any time since “right relationships,” not only among WWII. They are typically housed in the forcibly displaced but also between the least developed countries in the Inspired by the them and their host communities. world, where they are excluded from full participation in society. It has generous love MENTAL HEALTH AND remained true throughout my time and example of PSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORT working with refugees internationally Violence and chaos, along with years of that as a group they are underfed, Jesus Christ, displacement, can take a psychological undereducated, and unemployed.”

JRS seeks to as well as physical toll. For that reason, In light of this reality, JRS is JRS workers offer an assortment of playing a long game. It does provide accompany, community-based services to improve short-term aid such as food and cash serve, and psychological well-being. when the situation demands—and “All the relief aid in the world the emergency list has lengthened advocate won’t necessarily help a child with to include soap and hand sanitizer the cause her trauma,” says Joan Rosenhauer, during the coronavirus era. At the executive director of Jesuit Refugee same time, the agency has shaped its of forcibly Service/USA, explaining why such outreach with the understanding that displaced support has recently emerged as a the displaced are spending years, even priority. “And if children are struggling decades, uprooted. They need schools, people, that with their mental health, then having counseling, and other help along their they may heal, good scientific facts in their heads is journeys. They need what Jesuits call not going to help them much.” Even “accompaniment.” learn, and in refugee camps there are people at “We walk with them,” says Fr. determine their the margins: those with a physical Smolich, a member of the Jesuits West disability or a mental illness, or those Province. “We educate them. We help own future. who have been victimized. “We are them find their voice, so they can tell serving the people who are the least their own stories. They get what they served,” Fr. Gallagher says. need to move forward. And that’s what Jesuit ministry does. It helps EDUCATION AND LIVELIHOODS people fulfill their hopes and what God intends for JRS is adapting Jesuit education to the world of the them.” He adds, “We listen, because oftentimes there’s displaced. The idea is to nurture hope and help students a lot of trauma.” develop marketable skills (as teachers, healthcare The work is further spelled out in the mission workers, entrepreneurs, and other roles such as coders in statement: “Inspired by the generous love and example the global economy). of Jesus Christ, JRS seeks to accompany, serve, and

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This past summer, JRS schools in Beirut were the first green-lighted by the government to reopen after lockdowns—a tribute to the high esteem for Jesuit education there and elsewhere. During the global health crisis, JRS has pivoted toward a patchwork of options. These include open-air classrooms, lessons broadcast over refugee-camp radio, and multiple channels for online learning. Sometimes instructors hand-deliver course materials to the one-room urban apartments of refugee families and teach with the use of cell phones.

We provide a way for them to provide for themselves and their families, and that is through education ...

Education toward livelihoods, marketable skills— a path out.

William Bole is a writer with a background in both daily journalism and academia. He teaches nonfiction writing at Boston College, where he serves primarily as director of communication at the Carroll School of Management.

This article is printed with the permission of Jesuit Refugee Service.

photo credit:

Jesuit Refugee Service International

ADVOCACY JRS advocates policies, practices, and legislation that offer protection to forcibly displaced persons—inspired notably by Pope Francis’s passion for this cause. “We continue to lift up the importance of rights established under U.S. and international laws, including the rights of asylum seekers,” says Rosenhauer of JRS/USA, referring to U.S. policies in recent years that have severely hindered the asylum process as well as refugee resettlement. “It’s more complicated now, during the pandemic, with borders across the world being closed up. But even in a pandemic, you need to find a way to help people in desperate situations. They shouldn’t be sent back to situations that threaten their lives.”

JRS is now at work in 56 countries, serving over one million refugees who have fled their countries and those forcibly displaced within them. As Fr. Smolich says, they have stories to tell.

There’s Patience Mhlanga, who was 11 years old when her family had to flee Zimbabwe after her father

was reported to authorities because he voted for an opposition political party. They eventually settled in a refugee camp in Zambia, where Mhlanga was able to restart her education in a JRS classroom. After five difficult years, the family was resettled in Bridgeport, Conn. Mhlanga went on to attend Fairfield University, a Jesuit school, and from there pursued a graduate theology degree at Duke University before going back to Zambia as a Peace Corps volunteer. Now she’s getting a master’s in public health at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. “As a Catholic and Jesuit-educated woman, I hope to give back and always remind myself that God has given me a bigger calling in this world,” she wrote. “I hope to use my education to help others flourish.”

“Refugees are signs of hope for me,” Fr. Gallagher says. “For the most part, they remain filled with hope for themselves and their families, sure that God is looking out for them and finding God in situations where I would be severely challenged to do so.” ■

JRS Disaster Preparedness team simulates a disaster in the village of Lawe Sawah, Indonesia, susceptible to earthquakes and floods.

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1.344 Billion

60,069

1847

Catholics Worldwide

Catholic Universities

Catholic Institutes dedicated to social support including childcare, social rehabilitation, and marriage counseling

223,777 Catholic Parishes

20,208

Catholic Hospitals & Clinics

72.7 MILLION

Catholic School Student Enrollment

25,335

Catholic Homes for orphans, elderly, sick, and disabled

140 Million SERVICES provided to people in 115 countries by Catholic Relief Services in 2020

Catholic Works Around the World

1 MILLION PEOPLE received life-changing services in 57 countries through the Jesuit Refugee Service in 2020

38,000 PEOPLE

in 11 camps in Pakistan received medical care, over 20,000 children provided with books and school supplies in Pakistan and Jordan, 51,000 vulnerable people relocated, and 109 experts deployed to UNHCR operations in 31 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East by the work of the International Catholic Migration Commission

Sources: www.bc.edu/c21spring22

$3 million IN AID

for projects to create schools, water systems, and housing in 17 countries, and scholarships for 200 students from 51 nations to study at BC and return to their countries better equipped to make change, all funded by the Irish Famine Memorial Fund

220,000

Catholic Schools Preschool to Secondary

2 Million

Knights of Columbus members in over 15,000 councils (including 374 on college campuses) in more than 13 countries

2.1 Million HOME VISITS by community health workers, 2.8 million outpatient visits, and 2.1 million women's checkups around the world by Partners in Health in 2021

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Don’t Forget About Haiti Dr. Fonie Pierre

The following account of the aftermath of the 2021 earthquake in Haiti illustrates the type of crisis addressed by Catholic Relief Services around the world. For nearly 80 years, the mission of this arm of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has been to assist impoverished and disadvantaged people of all faiths all around the world. CRS works in the spirit of Catholic social teaching to promote the sacredness of human life and the dignity of the human person. Following this piece, we include conversations with both Ambassador Ken Hackett and Sean Callahan, former and current leaders of CRS, who offer perspectives on their careers and on the work performed by the organization globally.

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you can still hear the music from the funerals. Everywhere you turn, it sounds like mourning.

A curtain of grief hangs in the air. Overhead, helicopters shuttle in supplies. Nearby, heavy-duty construction vehicles dig through the rubble.

It has been about a month since a 7.2 earthquake devastated southern Haiti, but for those of us living through its aftermath, it feels like we’ve lived through a thousand years. The earthquake killed more than 2,200 people and injured many more. It also damaged about 130,000 homes. Alarmingly, hundreds of people are still missing.

Life here in Les Cayes is challenging. Gone are many of our municipal buildings, shops, and cultural landmarks, including our cherished cathedral. Some days I close my eyes to the destruction. It’s estimated that about half a million families need support. In certain areas, in the streets ,

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there is significant damage to infrastructure—water systems are damaged and no longer functional, or the water is dirty and not usable.

With everything that’s happened, some people wonder whether Haiti is cursed. It can feel that way.

In recent months, we’ve dealt with drought, hunger, the COVID-19 pandemic, and unprecedented political instability, made worse by persistent gang violence. As you walk the streets, you see the despair on people’s faces. We can only bear so much.

What I remember most during the earthquake is the noise. What started as heavy clanking turned into a loud rumble—like a construction truck was making its way through the neighborhood. But when the shaking began, I cried out to my 11-year-old daughter to get out of the house. Luckily, she heard me and scrambled to safety.

We both did. In the chaos that followed came the hugs.

Reginald Louissaint Jr/AFP via Getty Images photo credit:

The Church of St. Anne was completely destroyed by the earthquake in Chardonnieres, Haiti, on August 18, 2021.

We wrapped ourselves in our neighbors’ arms. We texted loved ones to tell them we had survived.

I’m more than just a survivor of the earthquake. As a doctor and global public health expert, I am also an aid worker for the American charity Catholic Relief Services (CRS). As we’ve surveyed the extensive damage, we’ve found hospitals overcrowded and thousands of people sleeping on the streets—either for fear of aftershocks or because they have nowhere else to go. Temporary settlements have popped up in my neighborhood and many others, including in the city’s soccer stadium.

People have made shelters out of sheets, blankets, tarps, and anything else they can find, using poles or sticks as scaffolding.

Originally from Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, I’ve been living in Les Cayes since 2006. Although it’s considered one of Haiti’s biggest cities, it feels like everyone here is family. We’ve certainly come together in recent days to support each other during this tough time.

In the nights immediately following the earthquake, my neighbors came together to sleep outside and share food.

That first night we shared bread and avocados. The next night it was bread and bananas. Like many children who have lived through trauma, my daughter was initially too stunned to eat. Thankfully, she has slowly come back to life—joining with the neighborhood children to play.

I see hope in the work of my organization, CRS, and others that are on the ground getting supplies to those

When tragedy strikes, we open our hearts to each other. We share our bread. We care for one another’s children. in need. I’m also inspired by the longstanding generosity of the American people, who have shown remarkable solidarity with Haiti in the past. I hope that Americans will continue to show solidarity with us, especially now, after the headlines have faded. Please don’t forget about us.

Americans can help by donating to a relief organization like CRS, or by advocating for congressional support of U.S. humanitarian aid.

To be sure, we won’t know the extent of the earthquake’s damage for some time. Those of us caught up in this catastrophe are taking each day as it comes. Those outside Haiti must understand that we are more than the sum of our disasters. It might not seem like it now, but Haiti is a beautiful country with a courageous and resilient people. We live with dignity, even in the face of adversity. And when tragedy strikes, we open our hearts to each other. We share our bread. We care for one another’s children. Even if all that means is that each one of us survives another day. ■ Dr. Fonie Pierre is a humanitarian and the Catholic Relief Services’ head of office in Les Cayes, Haiti. She earned her medical degree from State University of Haiti, Port-Au-Prince, and the University of Montreal.

This article was published with the permission of Catholic Relief Services.

UPDATE FROM CRS Haiti continues to reel following the devastation from last August’s earthquake described by Dr. Pierre. Ongoing economic and political unrest have jeopardized humanitarian and development activities, leaving an estimated 4.9 million in need of support. In the hardest hit areas, people are still sleeping outside in makeshift camps, exposed to the elements and traumatized by the hundreds of aftershocks that have hit Haiti since. CRS is reaching hundreds of thousands of people with emergency support, including providing shelter, rehabilitation, cash assistance, and improved access to clean water.

CRS’s ongoing support also includes grief and trauma counseling. Long-term needs will include the rebuilding and repairing of homes and the restoration of vital infrastructure.

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Ambassador Ken Hackett

photo credit:

Former President & CEO of Catholic Relief Services Olivia Colombo

Boston College alumnus Ken Hackett ’68 worked for 39 years for Catholic Relief Services (CRS), rising through the ranks to become CRS executive director and then CRS president and CEO from 2003–2011.

A former Peace Corps volunteer in Ghana, Hackett ran CRS relief and development efforts around the world, including CRS’s response to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. In 2013, President Obama named him U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See, a post he held until 2017. Paulist Press will publish Ambassador Hackett’s The Vatican Code: American Diplomacy in the Time of Francis in September 2022.

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Ambassador Hackett, How did your Jesuit Catholic education contribute to your deciding to dedicate your life to international service?

Well, the Jesuits have this phrase, “men and women for others.” In my day, I never heard that phrase, but it was certainly something I witnessed. In fact, I found that the Jesuits were all about others. And they instilled that commitment and passion in so many of their students and followers, urging us to be concerned about others along our journey.

Also, I had an uncle who was a Passionist priest, and he would bring home some of his colleagues when I was young, who told stories about the Philippines and other places around the world. And I think that I was captivated by these role models. I didn’t have international experience as many students do now, but I think it was a mix of my education and life experience that influenced my choices. While I interviewed for jobs in business, having studied in what is now the Carroll School of Management, I also learned about the Peace Corps in college, and ultimately decided to accept an assignment with them. I was posted to Ghana for three years and very much enjoyed it, and found that I indeed had a calling to international humanitarian and development work.

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CNS photo/courtesy Catholic Relief Services

A Conversation with

How did you come to work at Catholic Relief Services?

When I came back from Ghana, I thought I might pursue something with the UN or Care or Catholic Relief Services.

I decided to pursue my international dreams and headed off to New York for some interviews with these organizations. When I got to Catholic Relief Services, I met some very nice people, and they offered me a job on the spot.

They asked if I would like to go back to Africa and I said yes! Thus began a 40-year career.

I was sent to Sierra Leone in West Africa first, which was a real deep learning experience, to support a program of maternal and child health, where there were nurses and mobile teams delivering health services around the country. We had a school feeding program for about half the country and a very large leprosy control program.

The priest managing the program left after six months and put me in charge. It was really enjoyable and also difficult at the same time. Like many places, the people were wonderful and dedicated, even as the situation in the country was challenging. After three years there, I decided to go to graduate school, so I returned to New York and worked as an assistant for seven years in the CRS Africa regional office, handling all of the develop-

In this 1996 black-and-white file photo, Mother Teresa visits Catholic Relief Services headquarters in Baltimore, Md., accompanied by Ken Hackett, then president of CRS.

ment projects that we funded around the continent. In 1978, I became the Africa regional director. That was a challenge, because we had programs in 20 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and I traveled about 60% of my time. Eventually, I asked for an overseas assignment and headed to the Philippines with my family for five years during the tumultuous presidency of Cory Aquino, then back to East Africa during the Somalia crisis in the early 90s and the outbreak of genocide in Rwanda. In 1993, I took over as CEO of Catholic Relief Services and held the position until my retirement. It was a wonderful 40year career with CRS, but it became time for younger and smarter people to take over.

What were some of the most memorable and effective programs or relief efforts during your time at CRS? One particularly memorable and effective effort was the antiretroviral HIV/AIDS program. We won one of the largest grants from the U.S. government to use in 11 countries. We were able to support tens of thousands of families. It was not just lifesaving, it kept families together. And of course, every year there would be a cataclysm of some sort—a tsunami or earthquake— which we would always respond to, supporting the local Church in its efforts to reach out to the community. We were able to garner a lot of resources, which we made available to the local institutions, and restored dignity and life to hundreds of thousands of people.

There was also a whole other side of CRS, which was the long-term development programs, self-empowerment programs for women, agriculture programs, and a broad array of other things. So, my task as the leader was to find the best and smartest people I could, and then let them go and do their work, supporting and encouraging them. Those were the ingredients for success.

How is a faith-based relief organization different from a secular one?

I believe that many relief and human development organizations are wrestling with their identity. For a faithbased organization, it’s important to be true to yourself, and ask questions like: What are your core beliefs? Does your faith and religion support your actions? And then put that in an organizational model that works. Whether you’re Lutheran World Relief, or Church World Service, or government services, you can create the right framework for your situation.

When you became U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See, you must have brought with you many useful relationships.

It’s true, and I found that personal relationships were crucial to doing business at the Vatican. For example, in my first meeting with the Vatican’s foreign minister equivalent, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, I recalled that I had met him in Burundi years earlier, when he had become papal nuncio there on the heels of the assassination of the previous nuncio, Archbishop Michael Courtney. He reminded me that actually we had met years before that, when he was a Holy See diplomat in the Philippines, and I was the country representative for CRS there. That was the continuation of a very productive relationship that included consulting on numerous crises around the world as well as Pope Francis’s trip to the United States in 2015.

Based on your experience at the Vatican, what do you think the Holy See can do to help the situation in Ukraine?

Diplomatically, Pope Francis is in a difficult position.

He has made it clear since the Russian invasion that he has great concern for the Ukrainian people and is horrified by war. At the same time, he wants to be heard by the Russians and the Russian Orthodox Church and potentially influence the outcome and aftermath of this conflict. Cardinal Parolin, the Holy See secretary of state, as well as other Vatican officials, have pointed out the Russians’ culpability more directly.

Looking back at your whole journey, what advice do you have for young people who have a passion for social justice around the world?

I haven’t told you the full story about the original job offer I received from CRS. On my wall over there is my initial rejection letter from them in 1971. They said I wanted too much money because I suggested $6,500 as my salary, but I didn't give up. I knew that the organization had something I wanted. And I knew I had something to give. My advice would be to stay with it, be true to yourself, keep focused on what you want, and choose what is going to make you a better person … remember, a person for others. And lastly, I’d also tell you to say a prayer and then jump in. There is always something important to learn in every endeavor. ■ Olivia Colombo, Boston College senior, interviewed Ambassador Hackett for C21 Resources and for her podcast, To the Heights.

Please listen to the complete recording of the interview at: bc.edu/c21spring22

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A Conversation with

Sean Callahan President & CEO of Catholic Relief Services

Sean Callahan is president and CEO of Catholic Relief Services, the international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. As a 34-year agency veteran, Callahan has held a wide variety of leadership roles overseas and at agency headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland. In addition to overseeing the worldwide operations of CRS, Callahan is the first vice president of Caritas Internationalis, the confederation of 162 Catholic relief, development, and social service organizations operating in over 200 countries and territories. He sat down with a staff member of the C21 Center to discuss his vocation to international relief work and the role of faith in CRS’s global engagement.

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What role did your faith and upbringing in the Church play in your deciding to go into international affairs and work for CRS? For me, faith was really about giving back. I was an altar boy with my two brothers, so our local church always knew it could get Sunday morning altar servers just by calling the Callahans. My Boston College alumni parents had instilled the Ignatian values from BC in us. And my aunt and uncle both were Maryknoll missionaries. Unfortunately, they have both passed away. They would come back to the States and show slideshows at our house until late at night. We’d be learning about Guatemala, the Philippines, and other countries.

After I did my graduate work, the first thing I thought of was, what can I do to give back? I was finishing school, and there was a gentleman in the lobby at the Fletcher School. As I walked by him, he looked up at me and said, “Is it time for you to give something back?” And I thought, this is strange, because I’ve always had that inside me. I said, “Where are you from?” And he said, “Catholic Relief Services, and I’m interviewing people for a one-year internship. How would you like to go overseas?” We talked for a little while and I wound up interviewing with him the next day. Then I went through the hiring process, and my mother has now finally stopped asking me when I’m going to get a real job!

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I’ve always understood that there is a difference with CRS—it believes strongly in working with local populations and not simply going in and dictating what needs to be done for them.

Yes, exactly. That’s what we try to do: listen to the local people, find out what they need, and then move forward.

You know, our feeling is that the protagonists in development work aren’t those of us who are coming in, it’s those who are already there.

Our role is to highlight the importance of those local people on the ground and recognize the work they’re doing.

Their development is in their own hands.

So when you’re in these dire situations, is there a place for your faith? Can you draw on that faith or are these circumstances so fast-moving and stressful that you have no time to step back and consider the big picture?

I really think that faith is an essential component of it. The tagline of CRS is “faith, action, and results,” and faith comes first. But I do think that in the rush to get things done we can get ahead of ourselves. I was once in South Sudan and we were crossing the Nile River. We went through a bunch of different villages and went to schools and water projects, and we were trying to be respectful of each of the communities and hearing how they were going. But we got to our last group and we were two hours late. We told them that we weren’t going to be able to have the same meeting that we had hoped for. We said, “Could you just tell us how the microfinance has been, because we have to get a boat and get across the river before sundown; otherwise we’ll be stuck.”

Then a woman stood up in the middle of the group and said, “Sir, this is no way to start a meeting. We have to invoke the power of God to bless our words and to bless our work.” I thought, wow, she really understands who has brought us together here. Let’s take that time to thank Him, no matter what. So I said, “Would you open with a prayer?” And we did. And I must say, we were in a rush, we were concerned about security, but we realized that it’s not all in our own hands, that it really is in God’s hands. He put her there to let us know that we can learn from the people that we’re serving as well.

photo credit: Ismail Ferdous for Catholic Relief Services

Sean Callahan visits with Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, where CRS supports Church efforts to provide comprehensive humanitarian relief.

What do you say to people who would rather prioritize domestic programs over foreign aid and work like CRS is doing?

It’s perfectly understandable that some people have that reaction. But I think if anything has taught us a lesson during this COVID pandemic, before that the Ebola crisis, and of course the ongoing concerns about climate change, it’s that we’re a very small world and that what happens in one part of the world affects all of us. At home and abroad, when we look at these things, we see that they impact the poorest among us the most. And so I think we should look at our neighbors here in the U.S., but also our neighbors overseas and see that those lives are just as valuable as our lives.

I hope that we all can support the work that goes on in the United States, through Catholic Charities and other organizations. But I think as a Church, we’re bigger than just looking in our own backyard. We really need to look at the world community and how we fit into that. We need to respect the human dignity of all our sisters and brothers.

It strikes me that there’s a close connection between this philosophy and issues of racial justice. Those challenges aren’t limited to inside the borders of the United States, are they?

There’s no question. It’s all about respecting the human dignity of every human being. Through that respect, we want to help everyone to thrive and to contribute. Of course, there are racial issues that we see in the United States that we must address. In other countries, it could be a tribal issue. It could be a religious issue. It could be a language issue. And so we, as an organization, are trying to respect the differences we see among our colleagues, our partners, and all of the participants in our programs. Related to that, more and more of our leadership is diverse in the countries in which we serve. Of our 8,000 employees, probably 7,500 are from the countries in which we serve.

We have all been watching the humanitarian situation in Ukraine with great concern. What are your priorities there at this time [April 2022]?

CRS has benefited from working with Caritas Ukraine for the past eight years. We are working together to support

emergency efforts inside Ukraine by providing access to food, water, shelter, security, and psychosocial care. It is a chaotic and devastating situation, but our Ukrainian colleagues are courageous and their strong faith and our solidarity are helping them through this crisis. We are not only looking at the immediate response but we are looking to the longer term for stabilization of the population and then we are hoping to participate in the reconstruction/rehabilitation of those most affected. We are also working closely with our European partners in Poland, Hungary, Moldova, Romania, and others to assist mainly women, children, and elderly who have been forced to migrate. Our teams on the ground welcome these victims of the violence, and we are working to ensure their safety and security until they can return to their homes.

And all these efforts require resources. I know that our readers are aware of the financial needs of CRS. What else would you tell people they could do to help CRS’s mission?

Obviously the financial contributions are indispensable, but equally as important are two other areas. First are the thoughts and prayers and demonstrating solidarity to people around the world. I would say the other area is for people to become educated citizens and influence their local and national governments. For example, with COVID—the U.S. has been very generous with vaccines, but there are still countries where the vaccination rate is below 10%. And so, to become educated and advocate for what you feel is right, and to help us all promote that human dignity, that’s so important.

Telling one’s elected officials can make a difference?

Yes, I don’t think people realize how important that is. When you advocate like this, you’re not really saying you should give more money to CRS. You’re saying this child should have an education. This mother should have food for her children.

And that’s a bipartisan issue. I think CRS is a special place where our goal is one to be bold in our aspirations, humble in the way we do things, and a force that unites people.

In all of this, are there things that give you hope?

There certainly are. The inspiration, the courage, and the dedication of the people we work with. We really see the Gospel message in action around the world. And it’s not only being done by Catholics, but it’s being done by Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs, and others. And I don’t mean that they’re spreading religion, but they see these needs and they reach out. So, I get inspired by my colleagues. I get inspired by our local partners and the people we work with. They often have very meager resources, but they are so generous in reaching out to people that it’s truly an inspiration that I think many of us can follow. ■

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Tom Westcott

Founded on the principles of charity, unity, and fraternity, the Knights of Columbus was established in 1882 by Father Michael J. McGivney, the 29-year-old assistant pastor of St. Mary's Church in New Haven, Connecticut. Blessed Michael McGivney became the first American parish priest to be beatified in October 2020. Begun as a fraternal lay organization to aid the families of Catholic immigrants who died or were injured in mills and factories, the Knights now bring financial aid and assistance to those on the margins all over the world. Their army of volunteers provides millions of hours of service yearly in support of charitable causes. Since 2014, the organization's Christian Relief Fund has committed more than $19 million to aid persecuted Christians and others in Iraq, Syria, and the surrounding region. The article below describes one of the Knights’ key initiatives in Iraq.

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Christians in northern Iraq, uprooted from their homes by Islamic State (IS) militants five years ago, the opening of McGivney House in Erbil offers a promise of a new beginning. “I’m so happy here,” said Nahrain Samir Shamoun, bustling around her little kitchen in preparation for Christmas last December [2019]. “What I love most is the feeling of finally being settled.”

Just a month earlier, Nahrain and husband Rami Nourir, both 37, were living in cramped conditions with Rami’s extended family—with no savings, precious little income, and no prospect of living independently.

Nahrain’s family had lost almost everything when the Islamic State group seized control of the Nineveh Plains region in 2014. They were forced to flee from their home in Bartella, an Assyrian town where Christians have lived since the second century. In November [2019], Nahrain and Rami were among the first families to move into McGivney House, the 140-unit apartment building constructed by the Chaldean Catholic Archdiocese of Erbil with assistance from the Knights of Columbus.

As the building neared completion last March, [Knights of Columbus] Supreme Knight Carl Anderson made a visit, accompanied by Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil. The Kurdish Regional Government also assisted the project by upgrading the power grid in the Ankawa district to accommodate the facility.

for hundreds of displaced

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McGivney House is now providing 120 high-quality, rent-free apartments to young, impoverished families for a period of five years each. By February [2020], the 20-unit Pope Francis Venerable Care Home on the first floor will welcome 40 elderly residents together with an on-site medical team. The opening of McGivney House is the latest step in the Knights’ support for persecuted Christians in Iraq since 2014, which Archbishop Warda has called “historic work.”

Through its Christian Refugee Relief Fund, which has contributed more than $25 million in humanitarian assistance in the region, the Knights of Columbus has helped the archdiocese address pressing needs, including emergency food distribution, medical care, and education.

Since the defeat of the Islamic State group in the Nineveh Plains region in May 2017, the order has facilitated reconstruction efforts there, including $2 million to help displaced residents return to and rebuild the ancient town of Karamles. “Whenever the Knights saw a need, they responded immediately,” Archbishop Warda said.

“This is really charity with a merciful face.” The opening of McGivney House, the archbishop said, has helped the archdiocese with one of its greatest responsibilities: to give back dignity to the most vulnerable displaced Christians—an almost impossible task back in 2014 when Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, unexpectedly received tens of thousands of people within 24 hours.

Claire Thomas photo credit:

A Promise of a New Beginning

Soleen Sami Ibrahim feeds her baby in her family’s new apartment in McGivney House in Erbil, Iraq.

Soleen and her husband, Bara Dia Ghanaen (left), struggled to find stable housing before moving into the 140-unit apartment building, built with assistance from the Knights of Columbus.

Nahrain will never forget how those nightmarish days affected her family. Thinking the danger was temporary, they crammed into a church minibus and fled to the safety of Iraqi Kurdistan, some 50 miles to the east. Nahrain’s aunt, a nurse, did not manage to escape.

She was tortured and abused, forced to convert to Islam, and compelled to treat wounded militants until her rescue in 2017. “What happened was a tragedy. We had homes, businesses, cars, and good lives in Bartella, and we left everything behind,” Nahrain said. “We thought we were just leaving for a few days. We had no idea we were leaving for so many years.”

After the forced exodus, Christian homes were looted and set ablaze, and livelihoods destroyed. Although Erbil is relatively safe, job opportunities are scarce and rental costs often prohibitive. So, for many families, McGivney House offers a lifeline. The new residents are among the community’s poorest. Though many had successful careers prior to losing everything in 2014, financial circumstances precluded them from traveling to neighboring countries to seek asylum or rebuilding their former homes and lives.

For former Mosul residents Rana George, 39, husband James Albert, 40, and their two young children, McGivney House has offered respite from 16 years of uncertainty and instability. “From 2003, Christians in Mosul started being persecuted, so we moved from place to place and it was a very hard time,” said James, a former security guard at one of Mosul’s churches. “We were living in Mosul when IS came and we fled with everyone else. Since then, for five years, we have lived off charity.” The couple, who are Chaldean Catholics, returned just once, after liberation, and found their former rented home collapsed and the interior stripped of every item, leaving them with almost nothing. With few work options in Erbil, they often went without food to pay rent each month, so moving into a rent-free apartment in McGivney House has alleviated a major source of worry. “It’s early days for us here, but so far, so good,” said Rana. “We are happy, thank God.” Though the one- and two-bedroom apartments in McGivney House are modestly sized, they are finished to an exceptionally high standard and partially furnished.

Families need to buy just a few items, such as sofas, tables, and soft furnishings, to finish off apartments with their own personal touch. “It’s great here, and it feels like we’re living outside Iraq, in Europe, because all the systems and services work,” said Rana Abdul Ahad Younis, 37, who is a basketball coach. She and her husband, Moqdad Abdul Ahad Messehi, 38, a writer, have a 5-year-old daughter. Their apartment is “perfect for now,” said Moqdad, adding with a smile that they might need more space in the future if they are graced with more children. Moqdad fled his hometown of Mosul in 2005, after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of

Iraq ushered in a period of sectarian violence. He tried living in Syria and Turkey but obstacles prompted him to return to Iraq in 2011. He and Rana married in 2013, but since then, they have moved from one shabby rented place to another, suffering from poor basic services and unpredictable landlords. “Finally, daily life has become easier for us,” Rana said.

Besides helping young families make ends meet, projects such as McGivney House have also helped to maintain Iraq’s diminishing Christian community, Archbishop Warda said. About 1,500,000 Christians lived in Iraq before 2003; now that number is estimated to be fewer than 200,000 as thousands of families seek asylum abroad. “Of the 13,000 families we started caring for, 8,000 families have returned to Nineveh and 2,500 have stayed in Erbil,” the archbishop said. “We cannot control people’s decision to leave the country, but we can give them options and it’s proven by the numbers that such support has helped keep Christians in Iraq.”

Five years ago, in this outlying district of Erbil’s Ankawa suburb, the Daughters of Mary Convent had to put chairs outside their little chapel to accommodate the hundreds of displaced people coming for Mass. Today, former wasteland stretches are being transformed into Iraq’s newest Christian district. A stone’s throw from the recently completed Sts. Peter and Paul Church and a Christian school, McGivney House stands at the heart of this new community, helping some of the country’s long-suffering Christians to finally envision a future for themselves in Iraq. ■ Tom Westcott is a British freelance journalist based in the Middle East.

The original article, entitled “Haven of Hope,” was published in full in Columbia magazine, February 2020. The article has been edited by the C21 Center and is reprinted with the permission of the Knights of Columbus.

Boston College is the home of its own Knights of Columbus council, preparing members to become leaders and men of faith after college.

Council 5278 of Boston College is comprised of undergrads, graduate students, and alumni.

After being reactivated in 2017 by Bob Jacques (’18 CSOM), the council has taken part in numerous social and charitable events around campus, including starting its own “Persecuted Christians in the Middle East” fund as part of the Knights of Columbus’s global initiative.

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UKRAINE: Refugees from Ukraine on the border with Poland (checkpoint Grushev - Budomierz) February 27, 2022.

PHOTO CREDIT: Fotoreserg

To learn more about how the organizations profiled in this issue are supporting relief efforts for Ukraine, please visit: bc.edu/c21spring22

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A PRAYER FOR

UKRAINE

Loving God, We pray for the people of Ukraine, for all those suffering or afraid, that you will be close to them and protect them.

We pray for the world that in this moment of crisis, we may reach out in solidarity to our brothers and sisters in need.

May we walk in your ways so that peace and justice become a reality for the people of Ukraine and for all the world.

AMEN.

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The

BOSTON COLLEGE

Irish Famine Memorial Fund

Thomas Flatley at the Boston College President’s Circle Dinner in 1990.

PHOTO CREDIT: Gary Wayne Gilbert

Peter G. Martin

BC’s Irish Famine Memorial Fund (IFMF) has been creating opportunity and changing lives all over the world since its establishment in 2010. The following several pages, adapted from the forthcoming history of the fund, describe the IFMF’s origins and illustrate the impact of several of its grants and scholarships.

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2010, the Irish Famine Memorial Fund, a gift to Boston College from Thomas J. Flatley (1931–2008) and his family, has supported the efforts of Boston College alumni and others to alleviate poverty, disease, famine, and illiteracy around the world. The fund has enabled nearly 200 students from 51 nations and six continents to study at Boston College and return to their home countries better equipped to help address various social, health, and educational problems. In addition, the IFMF has provided more than $3 million for projects to construct schools in impoverished communities, provide clean water and sanitation, and develop transitional housing in 17 countries, including the United States. The fund has also made grants to young alumni from Boston College and other universities, supporting them in their since

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desires to engage the world and put Jesuit, Catholic ideals of “men and women for others” into action.

Thomas Flatley came to the United States from his native Ireland as an 18-year-old with all of $32 to his name. After his own stint in the U.S. Army, he made use of the G.I. Bill to gain his plumber’s, electrician’s, and builder’s licenses. Thus began one of the most impressive real estate development careers in Boston annals. The Flatley Co. eventually accumulated assets of more than $1 billion, and Flatley became a significant figure in Boston’s business community and a legendary, if humble and quiet, philanthropist.

Although he was immersed in business ventures and never pursued higher education himself, Flatley gained an appreciation for Boston College not long after he

The fund has made grants to young alumni from Boston College and other universities, supporting them in their desires to engage the world and put Jesuit, Catholic ideals of “men and women for others” into action. began his ascent in business. He was already familiar with BC by reputation, as the University’s ties to Boston’s Irish-American community were strong. However, what deepened Flatley’s relationship with Boston College more than anything else were the BC alumni in the Boston area who became his business associates and friends over the years.

In 1990, Flatley established an endowed faculty chair in the Boston College Theology Department in honor of his mother, Margaret, an indication of the importance he placed on BC’s spiritual mission. Indeed, conversations about Flatley with his friends and family frequently include references to his strong faith. A daily communicant for much of his life, he always kept his eye on the transcendent. Boston College President Fr. William Leahy, S.J., describes an intensity to Flatley’s devotion. “He used to say that his one goal in life was to get to heaven and take as many people with him as he could,” Fr. Leahy remembers. Cardinal Archbishop of Boston Sean O’Malley, who celebrated Flatley’s funeral Mass, said that the witness of Flatley’s Catholic life—“the centrality of the Eucharist, his spirituality, and the strong family life that he lived and witnessed to—is a legacy that the Archdiocese of Boston will always cherish.”

The value Flatley placed on his native country, opportunity, and the Catholic Church led directly to the establishment of the Irish Famine Memorial Fund in 2009. Longtime BC administrator Jim McIntyre recounted that, as the years went by, he understood that Flatley might want to make a significant, long-term gift consistent with his core beliefs, in addition to all that he had already done for Boston College and other causes. In the 1990s, he had created and led a committee to fund the Boston Irish Famine Memorial, a monument unveiled in 1998 honoring famine victims and immigrants to the United States from Ireland. The memory of the Irish potato famine of the 1840s had loomed large in the Ireland of Flatley’s youth. As described by Cecil Woodham-Smith in her landmark history, The Great Hunger, “in the space of five years, more than a million Irish died of starvation and Irish emigrants by the hundreds of thousands sailed for the United States and Canada.” Those who survived the trans-Atlantic journey arrived with nothing. While they had many challenges ahead of them in the United States, including a virulently anti-Catholic society, they did find opportunity—and they made the most of it.

Thomas Flatley’s son Dan recalls that his father believed that the pain, suffering, and death of the famine was the type of adversity that could have affected the people of any nation. “He saw a little bit of the Irish in people everywhere,” Dan said. “My father wanted to give folks a chance to help themselves and to help their communities.” As he explains, “In the end, he believed that everyone simply deserved an opportunity, just as those Irish emigrants received when they came to the United States, even as so many of their countrymen perished.”

Discussions among Flatley, McIntyre, and Fr. Leahy soon led them to create a fund that would memorialize the victims of the Great Hunger by providing opportunity for individuals from any nation or culture experiencing hardship, especially poverty, hunger, and illiteracy. The Irish Famine Memorial Fund would “remind current and future generations at Boston College of the sacrifices of the millions of Irish who died in the 1840s and 1850s,” as the IFMF’s founding document puts it.

The IFMF’s connections to the Church were central from the beginning. Flatley saw the Church as God’s instrument on earth to help bring human potential to fruition, and he was not afraid to say so. He said he wanted the fund established “in the name of God and his son Jesus Christ” to remind people that the Church was a “great refuge for many Irish immigrants and their descendants …”

From the beginning, the priorities of the IFMF have been: “1) to provide financial assistance to foreign or domestic students enrolled at Boston College who agree to return to their home area or country to use their education to advance their fellow citizens; 2) to provide financial assistance to … undergraduate students to participate in volunteer activities with the poor in foreign countries or in the United States; 3) to provide financial or material support to alumni and other individuals associated with Boston College who are committed to alleviating poverty, disease, famine, and illiteracy in foreign countries or in the United States …; 4) to support other activities or projects which are deemed within the spirit of the Irish Famine Memorial at Boston College …” From the outset, the committee was aware of worthy causes for funding, some of which had been brought to Fr. Leahy’s attention by various colleagues and petitioners. Those numbers have increased significantly as news of the fund spread over the years. ■

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Tom Kubik @tomjohnkubik in 2015, bc alumnae Katie Carey Nivard ’09 and Hannah Ames Beavers ’09 approached the IFMF with a proposal that Carey called a “game-changing program to engage the next generation of leaders from Boston College.” The two had developed a partnership with an impressive school and orphanage in Tanzania, where both women first volunteered as recent BC graduates.

While they were volunteers, the founder of the school, Alice Mathew, was feeding orphaned children in her backyard. Since those early days, she has built what is now a top-ranked school and educational hub serving over 300 children ages 3–15. Her story of resilience and commitment to her community aligned closely with the IFMF philosophy that Carey and Ames had learned about through their time at BC: that people with commitment serving local communities can drive lasting economic and social change. They were inspired to help Mathew succeed, and to help others in the BC community connect to make an impact themselves.

First, they established Glorious, a U.S. nonprofit, to provide direct financial support to Mathew and related causes. Then, they partnered with Mama Hope, an education-focused nonprofit, and with the Irish Famine Memorial Fund to build the Global Advocate Fellowship Program. This immersive nine-month training program was designed to develop the next generation of young leaders, often graduates of Boston College or other Jesuit universities. The advocates first participated in an intensive entrepreneurship course that required participants to raise at least $20,000 for a community-identified, sustainable project in the developing world. They worked

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with local entrepreneurs to understand the project impact and to raise funds to help bring it to fruition. They then traveled to live in the community and to build out the program. Projects ranged from school facilities to farming projects and beyond. Over 2015–2019, IFMF’s grants to Glorious funded the training and deployment of 34 advocates who undertook 40 projects.

Many talented BC alumni have become global advocates. Katie Remy, BC Class of ’11, moved from investment banking to philanthropy. She joined the program and raised funds for the construction of Glorious’s school campus and accompanying school shops. Nicole Sullivan ’13 left her job at GE and subsequently raised $20,123 to fund a solar-powered computer lab in Moshi, Tanzania. Marisa Maneri ’16 obtained $20,500 from donors to help complete construction of a boarding home at St. Timothy’s parish and school, also in Tanzania. The parish was able to take in 50 new boarding students because of the project, creating a revenue stream to fund various parish and school activities. BC alumnus Kevin Burg ’18 was excited to bring the lessons he had learned at Boston College into international service.

At BC, Burg said he and his classmates had learned to “examine justice far beyond our own little bubbles.” He raised $20,862 for the construction of the much-needed United Hearts Nursery School in Bawjiase, Ghana, and spent three months working in the children’s center there. While the Global Advocates program had no official religious affiliation, Burg said he found the program to be Ignatian at its heart. It embodied Jesuit social justice principles on the “global stage,” he said.

photo credit:

Non-Profit Glorious Invests in the Future

Children playing outside one of Glorious‘s partner sites, Glorious Orphans Care, a primary school and orphans‘ center in Tanzania.

Tom Flatley would have liked the Global Advocate business model: $350,000 of grant money from the fund led to over $680,000 raised by the advocates for 40 projects in 17 communities in Ecuador, Guatemala, India, Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. Moreover, the majority of global advocates have pursued careers in service or development work. Marisa Maneri, for example, went on to work for Kickstart International, a nonprofit in Nairobi that designs climate-smart irrigation technology for farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. She is now a leadership giving officer at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. After working in Kisumu, Kenya, Megan Sonier ’16 joined Geneva Global, a philanthropy consulting company. Similarly, after serving as an advocate in Guatemala, Tessa Peoples, also Class of 2016, is now working at the Council for Relationships, a mental health nonprofit. Jackson Pellegrini, former advocate and BC Class of 2018, now works at Accion, a global

Inspiring the Next Generation

BC Connell School of Nursing student making a home visit to a patient during a Dominican Republic Service Immersion trip.

nonprofit committed to creating a financially inclusive world, with a pioneering legacy in microfinance and fintech impact investing. By 2019, the Global Advocate venture had touched an estimated 32,000 people’s lives through its work.

Glorious’s vision was to set in motion a movement toward greater global connectivity, compassion, and justice. Since 2020 and the onset of the pandemic, both Glorious and its local partners have had to adapt and pivot. In one small example, its partner, Suubi, a maternal health center in Uganda, had to become a COVID treatment and care facility servicing a community of over 200,000. As a result, Glorious has shifted its focus to double down on directly supporting partner organizations working on the frontlines of our world’s most challenging issues. While much about the future is uncertain, Glorious and the work of its partners continues. ■

in keeping with the IFMF’s original commitment to supporting BC undergraduates’ volunteerism, the fund has supported several programs that have inspired the next generation to pursue service initiatives. In 2011, colleagues in the Dominican Republic (DR) reached out to the IFMF to discuss the establishment of a program in the DR that would provide healthcare, education, and cultural exchange between BC nursing students and the residents of poor communities in that country. The students would engage in “teaching projects” in response to medical issues identified and requested by the communities. With that template in place, the Connell School of Nursing (CSON) has completed seven group trips over the years that have made significant contributions to the lives of the people of San Pedro de Macoris, La Chachena, and Communidad Experimental, Dominican Republic.

Julia O’Brien, CSON ’20, applied to take part in an immersion trip in January 2020 to combine her passions for service and for nursing.

She did not simply improve her nursing skills but also considered larger healthcare issues. “Our work in the

communities confirmed my desire to work with vulnerable populations,” she told BC administrators recently, adding that, “It also helped us to reflect upon larger questions of equality and healthcare policy generally.”

“It gives me great pleasure to see how this program has grown,” says CSON’s Rosemary F. Byrne, RN, who has developed the immersion trip since its creation. She notes that, by design, the group returns to the same two communities each year. This continuity has helped BC nurses and students build trust and relationships that have increased their effectiveness. Byrne reports that the visitors have seen improvement in the general health of the communities they are serving each year. “There is so much that remains undone,” however, Byrne cautions. With the exception of the most recent hiatus due to COVID19, the IFMF has continued to fund the trip every year. “It is through being ‘men and women for others’ that we are able to practice social justice both here in the United States and in the Dominican Republic,” Byrne concludes. ■

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Leadership and Vision in Uganda the ifmf committee has observed since the fund’s inception that effective leadership is often the key to success in development projects. When asked for an example, committee members all mention Fr. Emmanuel Mwerekande. Fr. Mwerekande guides Our Lady of Fatima parish, which covers some 30 square miles and has more than 60,000 parishioners, 53 sub-churches, and 23 Catholic schools serving children of all religious backgrounds in Mubende, Uganda.

The Boston College community became familiar with Fr. Mwerekande while he was studying for a master’s degree in pastoral ministry in Chestnut Hill from 2004– 06. He shared with his BC colleagues and parishioners at his adopted parish, St. Mark’s Church in Dorchester, the bleak situation at home, where there was no running water or sanitation. As Fr. Mwerekande explained the situation, “In my home village … the water supply is a communal well (more like a pond) that is contaminated.

This well is used by humans and animals alike. The next well, which is also contaminated, is a distance of five miles. In order for any well water to be considered safe, it has to be boiled before consumption. One rain barrel can provide a family of five to ten people with a source of clean drinking water. The barrels hold approximately 200 liters of clean rainwater and can make a difference of life and death.”

Working with the St. Vincent de Paul Society at St. Mark’s, Fr. Mwerekande raised a modest amount of money for rain barrels for the community in Mubende.

They were inexpensive at approximately $80 each, but had an outsized value to community members, especially the elderly, who would otherwise have had to travel on foot to the nearest well, carry their water supply back to their homes, and then engage in the time-consuming

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process of boiling the water. Further generosity from the parishioners of St. Mark’s eventually allowed the purchase of more rain barrels; in all, some 350 families in the area gained access to clean drinking water.

BC administrators were impressed that a relatively small investment in the hands of the right leader had made such a difference in people’s lives. When the Irish Famine Memorial Fund was created a short time later, the committee reached out to Fr. Mwerekande in Uganda to see if there were additional needs in his community. It did not take long for Fr. Mwerekande to come up with his wish list, and a relationship began.

Ongoing support by the IFMF to Our Lady of Fatima parish has led to the installation of more rain barrels as well as water tanks and latrines. Perhaps most significantly, an IFMF grant allowed for the construction of an irrigation system to support a sustainable agriculture program in the community. With his success in these efforts, Fr. Mwerekande was also able to attract new partners such as Engineers without Borders, who recognized the impact of these projects and partnered with the community to help make them a reality.

The results of the IFMF’s investment and Fr. Mwerekande’s vision are most striking in the parish schools.

Access to clean water was a first, pivotal step for education, just as it was for daily life at home. Further, IFMF grants for books and school supplies have been very helpful in raising the level of education in the community. However, the school lunch programs established with IFMF funding have simply transformed the lives of the students. Fr. Mwerekande recounts that, before his development of the parish began, he would go out in the middle of the day and see children, absent from school, wandering around and napping out in public. “Many

were hungry, underweight, and sickly, with neither the energy nor the will to do anything,” he explains. Diseases that prey on the undernourished were rampant. With the grain produced by the sustainable agriculture program, the children are ensured at least one nutritional meal a day.

The lunch program at the parish schools and complementing ongoing water purification projects had great impact. Enrollment boomed as children came to school every day to have a good lunch to eat. Once they were better nourished, the entire atmosphere of the school and community changed. “Now, I see the students energetically engaged in their studies,” Fr. Mwerekande says. Then they are off to run and play after lunch. “The sounds of happy and healthy children are wonderful to hear,” adds Fr. Mwerekande. “It’s as if they’re different children.”

The Ugandan government has also taken notice.

Ugandan officials visited the parish to discuss Fr. Mwerekande’s success and enlisted his help as an advisor on government development projects. “You’re showing us what we should be doing,” one official was overheard saying during a visit. After Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni came to the parish in 2015 to see for himself what was happening, Fr. Mwerekande was promised a boost in government funding for his work.

BC administrators recently connected Fr. Mwerekande to USAID and Catholic Relief Services personnel to stimulate further cooperation. In recognition of Fr. Mwerekande’s “tireless efforts to improve the everyday lives of the people in his homeland,” Boston College awarded him an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree in 2016. ■

a key aspect of the IFMF is its ethic of “giving back.” Committee member Thomas Reardon recalls that “Tom Flatley wanted scholarship recipients to be able to return to their homes, equipped with new skills and credentials, to make a difference in their native countries.” In practice, recipients have been remarkable in “paying forward” their educational and pastoral benefits once back home.

Filipina Sister Ashwena Apao of the Missionary Sisters of St. Columban was already studying theology at Boston College when a colleague suggested to her that her ministry back home would benefit from training in mental health counseling at BC. “This type of training is not readily available in the Philippines,” Sr. Apao said recently, “and we had seen a great need for such expertise at home and in mission territories.” Needing funding to pay for the additional academic training, she approached BC’s Rose Mary Donahue, who brought the case to the IFMF Committee for consideration. The resulting academic study and practicum in a Boston area homeless shelter gave Sr. Apao the skills and experience she desired. She left Boston College for a missionary assignment in Myanmar and assisted the local Church in developing a center for those suffering from drug addiction. Once, the fledgling center had offered mainly spiritual advice and encouragement; now, Sr. Apao was able to add a specialized professional dimension to the work, incorporating her BC training.

“I’m very grateful for the opportunity I was given,” Sr. Apao says. “I just try to make a little difference in the world … and maybe that is growing.” ■

Sr. Ashwena Apao

The sounds of happy and healthy children are wonderful to hear.

It's as if they're different children.

Supporting People in Crisis

photo credit:

Fr. Emmanuel Mwerekande with students in Uganda's Our Lady of Fatima parish receiving books and school supplies through IFMF grants.

Midsalip Subanen Ministry: Sr. Ashwena Apao working among the Indigenous people of the region.

Peter G. Martin is the special assistant to the president of Boston College.

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A Culture of Encounter: The Beauty of Otherness

Hannes Thirion/iStockphoto photo credit:

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at the time of the post-apartheid South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission was when Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who was chairing the commission, collapsed upon hearing the shocking confession of a white police officer. This police officer had killed a Black man, Simphiwe, with rat poison, then burned his body in a bonfire while the officer and his colleagues roasted their lunch.

Many years later while reflecting on this atrocity, Archbishop Tutu said, “I was completely shocked about how low we had descended in our disregard for human life.”

Most of the problems facing the world today are getting more complex because of a collapsing global ethical framework, resulting from the loss of a sense of our common humanity in a common home. For instance, the COP26 climate change conference was unable to reach a collective decision on some measurable targets to meet the existential crisis of climate change. The world has failed in addressing the painful devastation of COVID-19 on the world’s poor because of vaccine politics and global health inequity. Many people are being oppressed and sinking into destitution because of unjust social policies. There are so many people who are considered disposable because of their place of birth, race, religion, socioeconomic status, nationality, sexuality, and gender.

Tutu’s call for ubuntu is what comes to my mind as an African when I read Fratelli Tutti (FT), Pope Francis’s call for global fraternity built on the culture of encounter.

Ubuntu is an African ethics of community affirming that a person is only a person through other persons. Ubuntu begins with a recognition that we are all related through a bond of love and community. Ubuntu is a spirituality of encounter that moves everyone to see our connectivity in the life and future of each other. It is only in encountering each other and in affirming the subjectivity of each other with respect and reverence that we can create the conditions for human and cosmic flourishing.

I see such a striking resonance between Pope Francis’s culture of encounter and African ubuntu that I wish to propose that the culture of encounter is Pope Francis’s ubuntu for global fraternity and solidarity.

The culture of encounter is Pope Francis’s proposal for building relationships as the basis for solidarity among humans and between humans and nature. The emphasis on relationship in Pope Francis’s teachings seems to me an important theological aesthetic for reconceptualizing the intersubjective ethics of recognition and action today.

As an ubuntu model for building the global community, Pope Francis applies the culture of encounter as a way of seeing the other as well as a way of being with the one of the most moving scenes

Rev. Stan Chu Ilo

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In African tradition, the Palaver tree is a symbol of communication and collaboration, and functions as a place for community discussions, problem solving, and social gatherings. It represents appreciation, civility, and peace.

Pope Francis often uses phrases like “gaze upon,” other in the world: “Each of us is fully a person when we “openness of heart,” “spiritual encounter,” “the art of are part of a people” (FT, 182). This is a paradigm shift listening,” “contemplation with wonder,” and the “gaze that invites people to move away from a single narrative of Christ” in inviting people to this culture of encounter of culture and identity (FT, 12) and toward a more exso that they can appreciate the different forms of beauty pansive embrace of the connections between all things— in their lives, in the lives of others, and in the world of humans, God, and nature (FT, 34, 50, 66). The culture nature. The culture of encounter opens up a sense of of encounter is a social ethic that is capable of shattering mystery which moves people to appreciate beauty even in the walls constructed by narrow structures, systems, and the suffering of life. Through encounter with nature and institutional practices that have built social hierarchies our fellow human beings from every part of the world, between peoples, cultures, and religions (FT, 195). The one can grasp a deeper level of truth in the sublimity of culture of encounter inspires a new ethical vision and mobeing and the beauty of all things. mentum that is capable of moving people to transcend Sadly, the modern world often objectifies the other themselves and their enslavement to race, nation, and rather than seeking out encounter. This is because, as Pope other forms of identity in order to enter into the ever-exFrancis bemoans, modern society “seeks to domesticate pansive encounter with otherness and a deeper dialogue the mystery” of God, nature, and people (Gaudete et with the other (FT, 111).

Exsultate, 40). In this kind of culture, there is a loss of In embracing this way of seeing and being-in-thebeauty and an instrumentalization of the other; people are world, people can discover the beauty of otherness, enno longer encountering the other as a tering into a new world and a new gift, but everything is seen through a Gospel in every new moment of entransactional exchange of products, counter. This movement of the heart, as if humanity is simply a collection head, and will motivates people to A person is only of faceless consumers in systems of search for new solutions and appower, and domination. proaches to repairing the world. Peoa person through profit, In Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis uses ple can, for instance, seek new ways the parable of the Good Samaritan to reweave the bonds of love that other persons. as a model of a pragmatic ubuntu have been broken by violence, ideo—African ubuntu solidarity and fraternity, showing logical battles, structural violence, how the culture of encounter can injustice, and destructive economies rehumanize humanity. The Good that often discard the poor and vulSamaritan is presented as one who nerable (FT, 18–20). gave his time to the wounded man.

The culture of encounter is very Each of us is He stopped, he approached and Trinitarian. Just as in the Trinity, with fully a person encountered the fallen traveler, and he the three persons participating in an cared for him. When confronted with intimate social friendship, the culture when we are part a man who was suffering and injured, of encounter calls each of us into this of a people. he saw in this man a family member intimate and reverential encounter “deserving of his time and attention” with the world of nature and with —Pope Francis (FT, 63). This basic decision of the the lives of all of us (FT, 85). This Good Samaritan to encounter the call offers humanity the possibility of brokenness and wounds of this fallen a cosmic dance in which everyone is man is presented by Pope Francis as the only condition participating in everyone’s joys and sorrows. In this way, for rebuilding our wounded world (FT, 67). we become, as Pope Francis said in his inaugural homily, The key to social engagement today is the ability to the guardians of one another and of nature. see clearly the painful reality of those who suffer. This When the pope writes that “everything is, as it were, seeing is a diagnostic moment: a culture of encounter. a caress of God,” he highlights the key to the theological It is a seeing that is always moving from contact with aesthetics of the culture of encounter (Laudato Si, 84). the other, to reflection on what we see, to action on the This is particularly evident in his insistence that people judgment we make. I am convinced that the culture of need to be in touch with concrete reality as the beginning encounter is a good framework for global and local of a deeper encounter with God (Evangelii Gaudium, dialogue on how to think of a better world built on a new 167). We need to meet each other at the deepest level understanding of ethics for promoting and preserving (FT, 216); we need to come into direct contact with the our common life together in our common home. ■ context and history of people; we need to have our boots on the ground where the poor are suffering.

This principle of intersubjectivity begins from Rev. Stan Chu Ilo is a research professor of world within the hearts of all persons as an inner grace and Christianity and African studies at the Center for interior logic of love. From this interior desire arises a World Catholicism and Intercultural Theology, DePaul movement in which the human person seeks connection University, Chicago. with the other in what the African ancestors captured as ubuntu—that is, the wisdom that recognizing the other This article is printed with the permission of makes me human; that in affirming the humanity of the the author. other, I affirm my own humanity.

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Changing Lives and Futures Terri R. Miller

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15 to a man nine years her senior, Mariam’s dreams of marriage took her away from the day-to-day realities of refugee life in northern Jordan.

She saw herself marrying dressed in white, having children, living a fairy tale relationship. She—and her honor—would be protected from the precarity of life as a female child in a family left without a male head of the household after her father’s death.

The International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) knows that Mariam’s case is not an isolated one.

The organization is working in Jordan and other countries to reverse the devastating trend of child marriage among refugee and host communities like Mariam’s.

The UN Agency for Children (UNICEF) says child marriage robs one in five girls worldwide of their childhood, with devastating impacts on their health and integral human development. Child brides are more likely to experience domestic violence and less likely to complete their education or earn an income.

An ICMC report from July 2021 identified extreme poverty and gender inequality as key factors behind child marriage. Both affect the Syrian refugee population in Jordan disproportionately. Approximately 80% of displaced families live in extreme poverty, a situation that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated. Gender discrimination expresses itself in exaggerated male authority figures, harmful negative traditions, and restricted movement and access to schooling and jobs for girls and women.

For many families living in humanitarian crises, child marriage is a survival strategy—a way for parents to ensure their female children are provided for and protected from sexual violence in dangerous situations.

The ICMC report showed that in 2015, one in three Syrian females who registered for marriage in Jordan was under the age of 18, with real rates likely higher, given the number of unregistered marriages.

With its efforts to build better futures for refugee girls like Mariam, ICMC is responding to its mandate to serve and protect uprooted people throughout the world, regardless of faith, race, ethnicity, or nationality.

Founded by Pope Pius XII in 1951, ICMC is tasked with promoting Catholic-inspired responses to the needs engaged at age

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Girls pose on their walk to school in the Zaatari refugee camp near Mafraq, Jordan.

of people on the move. With its worldwide member network of Catholic Bishops’ Conferences, ICMC strives to put Catholic Social Teaching into action to restore dignity to refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced people, victims of human trafficking, and migrants, and to inspire change while meeting the challenges of migration today. Its mission is to show “God’s merciful love to our migrant brothers and sisters,” which, as Pope Francis said, “is the cause of Christ himself.”

Children are among the most vulnerable of uprooted people and have a special priority in ICMC’s work to protect the human rights and dignity of migrants.

For Mariam, dreams quickly collided with a hard reality that chipped away at her rights and dignity.

Getting engaged meant that she had to drop out of school. A lack of understanding with her fiancé led them to break off the engagement, and Mariam found herself socially isolated. She struggled with low self-esteem and anxiety and found it difficult to interact with others in the community.

Fortunately, ICMC staff became aware of Mariam’s situation. She was able to enroll in life-skills courses for girls and young women who are survivors or at risk of child marriage. Offered at ICMC’s Protection Center in Irbid, Jordan, the courses respond to the challenge of child marriage in ways that are felt at both an individual and community level.

ICMC staff empower the at-risk participants to respond positively to threats to their safety and well-being, and develop healthy ways of coping with the stresses of displacement and poverty. They acquire practical—computer, financial, decision-making—skills. They learn about their health and rights. Meeting with their peers on a regular basis opens doors out of social isolation.

Through the courses, ICMC inspires change in the community as well by calling into question negative coping mechanisms and unequal roles and practices related to girls and women.

ICMC takes other actions to counter gender inequality in refugee communities like Mariam’s and those in host countries that are welcoming displaced people. One step is to train community leaders as social change influencers who raise awareness about child marriage and other

photo credit: Paul Jeffrey/ Life on Earth Pictures

ICMC strives to put Catholic Social Teaching into action to restore dignity ... and to inspire change while meeting the challenges of migration today. violence against children. ICMC staff also successfully engage men and boys as allies in identifying harmful attitudes and practices, and envisioning more equal, inclusive communities.

Video and theater also serve to raise awareness about the impact of child marriage. ICMC staff in Malaysia produced a video to counter the practice among Rohingya refugee communities, while ICMC Jordan put on a play telling the story of a Syrian refugee child bride.

After live (pre-pandemic) performances, audiences could discuss possible solutions to the issues their communities are facing. The performances gave girls and women an opportunity to talk about their experiences and play a part in envisioning a different future.

ICMC has been helping refugees build a better future since its founding. One of its most significant actions involved resettling 500,000 Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Laotian refugees from Southeast Asia over two decades to new communities, mostly in the United States. Resettlement continues to the present day as one of ICMC’s largest operations. Through its Resettlement Support Center in Istanbul, Turkey, ICMC partners with the U.S. government and with European Union state governments to give refugees a chance to start anew.

ICMC draws on its on-the-ground experience and that of its member organizations to advocate for action to address factors driving migration and for personcentered migration policies that respect human dignity and rights. ICMC advocacy also promotes the labor rights of refugee and host communities, action that ICMC Jordan found is sorely needed to tackle the poverty that is a core driver of child marriage.

For Mariam, life would be very different without the skills, knowledge, and confidence she gained through ICMC’s activities to prevent child marriage.

Two years after her broken engagement, she is back in school and raising awareness about children’s rights and the need for an education. Her dream now? To become a doctor. ■ Terri R. Miller is a freelance writer and communications consultant for the International Catholic Migration Commission.

This original article is printed with the permission of the International Catholic Migration Commission.

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AFP/Diana Sanchez

The Best Story Never Told Gerard F. Powers The Catholic Peacebuilding Network links Catholic Bishops’ Conferences, Catholic development agencies, universities, and independent peace organizations in an effort to enhance the study and practice of conflict prevention, conflict management, and post-conflict reconciliation in war-torn areas.

I

is the catholic church a peacebuilding church? Is it a church that, in its daily life (not just in its teachings) is engaged in preventing violent conflict, limiting and stopping it when it occurs, and promoting rebuilding, healing, and reconciliation after the violence ends?

In many places, the answer is yes. But much of that peacebuilding work is unknown, unheralded, and underanalyzed.

The Church’s role in the Colombia conflict is a case in point. For too long, Colombia has been a poster child for intractable conflicts. But in the past three decades it has become an exemplar of Catholic peacebuilding. It has been five years since the historic peace accord between the Colombian government and FARC guerrillas ended a five-decade insurgency. During his 2015 visit to Cuba, where the Colombia peace talks were dragging into their fourth year, Pope Francis is credited with contributing to a breakthrough in the talks. Two years later, his historic visit to Colombia gave a boost to implementation of the FARC accord and led to a temporary cease-fire with the ELN, a smaller rebel group not part of the FARC accord.

The pope’s role in the peace processes was only possible because of the fertile peacebuilding ground prepared during decades of work by the Catholic community. The Church has accompanied the victims of violence, negotiated local cease-fires and hostage releases, promoted human rights, mobilized peace movements,

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and held vigils, disarmament days, and peace weeks.

According to Professor John Paul Lederach, a renowned Mennonite peacebuilder who has trained many Catholic leaders, the Church’s “ubiquitous presence,” with relationships at every level and nearly every area of conflict, creates a depth and breadth of access that few religious or secular institutions enjoy. He concludes, “there are few places where the infrastructure and ecclesiology of Church structure so neatly aligns with the multilevel and multifaceted demands of peacebuilding.”

The Colombian bishops were invited to be part of the FARC talks but decided not to take on such a political role, choosing instead to work with the wider civil society in supporting the process. The bishops did, however, play a key role in ensuring that civil society— and, for the first time in a formal peace process, victims— had a voice in the peace negotiations. And a group of bishops now facilitates the peace process between the government and the ELN. Now the Church is playing a major role in helping to implement the accord. Msgr. Héctor Fabio Henao, director of the bishops’ Social Pastorate/Caritas Colombia, was the first head of the National Council for Peace, which includes all major actors in Colombia. He now heads the official effort to establish peace councils in the territories most impacted by the violence. The official truth commission is headed by another priest, Fr. Francisco de Roux, S.J. The official monitor of these and other aspects of the FARC accord is the Barometer Project of Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute, the first academic institution to play such a role. A key factor in the success of this novel effort is that it is done in partnership with the bishops’ Social Pastorate, which houses its Colombia-based staff. This partnership gives the project the credibility and access needed to navigate the complex process of monitoring implementation of the world’s most comprehensive peace accord.

photo credit:

Catholic Peacebuilding:

The Church’s peacebuilding in Colombia is not an anomaly. It is what CPN finds in many places torn by conflict: a church blessed with an amazing array of artisans of peace.

One reason this partnership was possible was that the Catholic Peacebuilding Network (CPN), whose secretariat is at the Kroc Institute, had been working with the bishops in Colombia for many years. Founded in 2004, CPN consists of two dozen university institutes, bishops’ conferences, development agencies, and peace organizations that collaborate to enhance the study and practice of Catholic peacebuilding. Boston College’s Theology Department has been active in CPN since its founding. CPN seeks to deepen engagement among scholars and practitioners in further development of a theology, ethics, and praxis of peacebuilding, and accompanies the Church’s peacebuilding work in Colombia, the Great Lakes Region of Africa, and Mindanao, in the Philippines.

One role CPN plays is convenor. In 2007, for example, more than 50 Catholic peacebuilders—bishops, peacebuilding specialists, and scholars—from two dozen countries met in Bogota for a week to learn about the Church’s work in Colombia and to discuss common peacebuilding challenges. Delegations from Colombia have participated in a half-dozen similar CPN conferences in the United States, in Mindanao, in Burundi, and at the Vatican. CPN’s June 2022 conference will be hosted by the Colombian Bishops’ Conference and Javeriana University.

These convenings of diverse actors help integrate theory and practice, social teaching, and social action.

Church leaders and other peacebuilders benefit from the theoretical and comparative perspective that scholars bring. Scholars enhance their research and teaching by engaging Church leaders and peacebuilding specialists from areas suffering from conflict.

These convenings also enable cross-fertilization across countries (horizontal) and different levels (vertical), so that Catholic peacebuilders and scholars can share wisdom and good practices, and address common challenges. What does it mean, for example, to celebrate the Eucharist in a rural parish in Colombia or the Congo, where violent groups and their victims share a pew at Sunday Mass? Given these kinds of challenges, the Church in Colombia recognizes that the peace accord will fail if it cannot cultivate a culture of reconciliation to replace a culture of violence. That is why, in 2014, the bishops formed a CPN for Colombia, la Red Católica Nacional de Reconciliación (National Catholic Network of Reconciliation). That is an example of the communal acts of reconciliation that Boston College theologian Lisa Cahill says the Church must promote.

And such communal acts must be grounded in the lo-

cal context, as Steve Pope, her BC colleague, emphasizes in his workshops on reconciliation with Church leaders and groups in Colombia, Burundi, Uganda, and El Salvador. In order to assist the Church in Colombia and elsewhere in promoting reconciliation, CPN developed a pastoral planning tool, which has been widely distributed in Colombia and elsewhere. (A similar pastoral planning tool is being developed on the Church’s role in mining, a major issue that will impact the success of the peace process in Colombia.)

Another role CPN plays is strategic advising. In August 2012, just prior to the announcement of new peace talks with FARC, CPN, Catholic Relief Services, the Kroc Institute, and Social Pastorate/Caritas sponsored an intensive strategic planning session for the bishops’ conference. As a result, the bishops established a peace council that enabled them to improve coordination among their many peacebuilding initiatives and enhance their effectiveness in engaging the new peace process.

A final CPN role is to help further develop a theology and ethics of peacebuilding. Like peacebuilding, in general, mining is an issue in need of more theological and ethical reflection. The Colombian government is relying, in part, on mining in the Amazon to deliver a peace dividend. To help the Church address the challenges posed by mining, CPN and Caritas Colombia developed an extensive database, which mapped the extent of mining and the diverse ways the local Church has responded. In a chapter on Colombia in a new CPN book on mining, Sandra Polanía-Reyes and Msgr.

Henao call for pastoral dialogues to promote inclusive engagement, especially by the marginalized, in resolving disputes over mining. They also call for a new paradigm that rejects a utilitarian economics or solely rights-based approach in favor of a theology of creation and an integral approach to mining.

Fortunately, the Church’s peacebuilding in Colombia is not an anomaly. It is what CPN finds in many places torn by conflict: a church blessed with an amazing array of artisans of peace. It is a part of living Catholicism that needs to be better known, understood, and strengthened, so that becoming the peacebuilding Church we are called to be is not the best story never told. ■ Gerard F. Powers is director of Catholic peacebuilding studies and professor of the practice for the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies in the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame. He is also coordinator of the Catholic Peacebuilding Network.

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For Prayer, the Poor, and Peace Fr. Robert P. Imbelli Initially known for its work with the poor and elderly in Rome, the Community of Sant’Egidio is now recognized as an advocate and activist for refugees and migrants worldwide, a force for interreligious and ecumenical dialogue, and an effective peacebuilder in hot spots around the globe. Today, the community boasts 50,000 members in 73 countries, with groups at Boston College (highlighted on page 34) and Notre Dame, and in New York City.

Pope Francis marked the 50th anniversary of the founding of Sant’Egidio in 2018, encouraging the community’s work in the service of humanity. “Today, more than ever, continue audaciously along this path.

Continue to be close to the children of the peripheries through your Schools of Peace which I have visited, continue to be close to the elderly who are often discarded but who, for you, are friends. Continue to open humanitarian corridors for refugees of war and hunger. The poor are your treasure,” the pope declared.

The reflection below, written in 1994 in Commonweal magazine by Boston College Associate Professor Emeritus and frequent C21 supporter and contributor Fr. Robert Imbelli, was the first treatment of Sant’Egidio in a major English-language publication. While the size and number of Sant’Egidio’s communities around the world have grown with the scope of its work, the spirit and mission of the group that Fr. Imbelli describes below have remained a constant.

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a spring evening in rome. People, returning from work, pause in one of the city’s countless piazzas, chatting amiably.

These public spaces seem expressly designed for such conviviality, luring individuals and families into the forum of the res publica. Then at seven, as the bell of the baroque church in this ancient Roman district of Trastevere tolls, they enter the church for vespers, not to leave the world, but to concentrate it at its still point. The Community of Sant’Egidio comes together in prayer. The community takes its name from the old Carmelite convent in that small piazza in Trastevere, where its members have gathered each evening since the early seventies and which still remains the heart of a community now numbering 15,000 members. Half the members live in Rome and come together for prayer, worship, and social service in local groups, large and small, in various zones of the sprawling metropolis. Another 5,000 live in other Italian cities, and the rest in various European countries as well as in Africa and Latin America.

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The community’s origins recall the Gospel’s “mustard seed.” A group of Roman high school students, meeting together in the fateful year 1968, in the midst of ecclesial and social turmoil, pledged to live their lives in the light of the Gospel and the service of the poor. From such inconspicuous seeds has grown a spiritually vibrant community that is now recognized canonically by the Holy See. Impressions abounded during that first vesper service and in subsequent visits and exchanges with community members. I was struck most forcefully by the evangelical spirituality that directs the members’ vision and commitment. One sensed the task of evangelization to be so urgent, the harvest so ripe, that little time could be spared for ecclesiastical polarization and contestation. The profound spiritual renewal, desired and charted by Vatican II, seems here to have brought forth mature fruit.

The community’s service to the poor, for example, takes multiple forms according to local needs. Members visit the

Community of Sant'Egidio photo credit:

The Community of Sant’Egidio

Sant’Egidio President Marco Impagliazzo welcomes one of the first groups of refugees to arrive in Rome through Sant’Egidio’s Humanitarian Corridors program, an initiative to transfer and integrate vulnerable refugees in Europe safely and legally. elderly and shut-ins. They minister to the handicapped and to those afflicted with AIDS. They organize classes for children and staff soup kitchens, including the central one in Trastevere that serves 1,500 dinners a day. The community sponsors advocacy forums in Rome to support the new immigrants from Africa and Eastern Europe. As Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini of Milan wrote: “What impresses about Sant’Egidio is its unique integration of a profound sense of prayer and Scripture with an intelligent commitment to the poor and to difficult issues of social justice.” This ongoing commitment of Sant’Egidio to the poor and to social justice works daily, barely perceptible miracles in the lives of countless people.

But without doubt, the most dramatic of these miracles occurred on October 4, 1992, when, through the patient mediation of members of Sant’Egidio, a historic peace accord was signed between representatives of the government and rebels of Mozambique. Several years of intense negotiations, shepherded by the community, overcame the suspicion and hostility that had wrought untold suffering and death (one million dead, over a million refugees) and opened the way of hope for a more just and peaceful future.

Sant’Egidio’s long presence and service in Mozambique and the relationships of trust it had cultivated with the contending parties lent it credibility to promote this dialogue of peace. During the protracted and often tense negotiations, the community’s representatives often repeated John XXIII’s dictum: “Let us commit ourselves to what unites rather than to what divides us.”

Sustained by what they call the “strength-in-weakness of faith and prayer,” the community’s participation also reflected a realistic (even hard-nosed) incarnational sense of the need for concrete institutional forms to guarantee the peace accord. This continuum of concern, from the regional to the international, from local parish to ecumenical dialogue among the world religions, from fervent liturgical celebration to responsibility in the world, marks the comprehensive vision of Sant’Egidio. Its realization is unimaginable without the inspiration and direction that Vatican II represents for the contemporary Church. But it is equally unimaginable without the community’s whole-hearted response to both the letter and the spirit of the council. The members of Sant’Egidio accept the council’s integral vision: the primacy of God’s Word, the centrality of liturgical prayer, the Church as sacrament of unity, the world as worthy of respect and theater of responsible action. By doing so, this association of the laity has thrown open the doors of the former Carmelite cloister of Sant’Egidio to embrace the world: it has wed contemplation to action; joined the mystical and the political.

The community’s life and mission rest upon the “four pillars” of the Second Vatican Council: the constitutions on

divine revelation, the liturgy, the Church, and the Church in the modern world. The organic and compelling integration of these four dimensions of the Christian life, not some “new breakthrough” or “magic formula,” represents, to my mind, the distinctive grace of Sant’Egidio. Members of the community are married and single, mothers and fathers of families, students, professionals, and workers. Further, the hundreds of small communities scattered through the world take on distinct configurations and respond to the specific needs of their local cultures and regions. Sant’Egidio is a community of communities. In the ecumenical sphere, Sant’Egidio has taken up and extended the initiative of Pope John Paul II in bringing together leaders of the world religions at Assisi in 1986 in a day of prayer for peace. With the pope’s encouragement, in each succeeding year the community has sponsored international ecumenical gatherings for prayer and reflection, with a particularly poignant gathering in Warsaw in 1989 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II. In the “mother church” of the community in Piazza Sant’Egidio, it comes as no surprise to find a chapel of the Blessed Sacrament in which the sacrament of Christ’s Real Presence is reserved for adoration and prayer. But directly across from it stands another chapel. It represents Christ’s Real Presence in the form of graphic icons of the poor, the homeless, the outcast of society. And it bears the stark scriptural reminder: “He had no place.”

The spirituality of the community seeks to realize ever more fully the varied modes of [the Real] Presence. Thus, when members of the community speak of the “soup kitchen” in Trastevere that serves 1,500 hearty meals a day, they use the richly evocative word “mensa”: table. It is also a word used to refer to the altar upon which the Eucharist is celebrated.

Perhaps nothing better testifies to the eucharistic spirituality of Sant’Egidio than this Catholic commitment to realize the body of Christ. ■

What impresses about Sant'Egidio is its unique integration of a profound sense of prayer and Scripture with an intelligent commitment to the poor and to difficult issues of social justice.

Fr. Robert P. Imbelli is a theologian and Roman Catholic priest of the Archdiocese of New York. He is an associate professor emeritus of theology at the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences at Boston College. A Festschrift in honor of Fr. Imbelli, The Center Is Jesus Christ Himself: Essays on Revelation, Salvation, and Evangelization in Honor of Robert P. Imbelli (Andrew Meszaros, ed.), was published by Catholic University Press in 2021.

This article appeared in full in the November 18, 1994, issue of Commonweal magazine under the title “The Community of Sant’Egidio: Vatican II Made Real,” and is reprinted with the permission of Fr. Imbelli.

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Sant’Egidio at Boston College

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Katie Mahowski Mylroie boston community was started by a small group of undergraduates at Boston College in 1999. The group was soon invited to Rome to celebrate Easter with the Community of Sant’Egidio—and the Jesuit Community of Boston College generously donated funds toward the trip. This allowed us to experience firsthand how the community lives out its life of service, friendship, and prayer—and catalyzed the formation of a community that has now continued in Boston for more than 20 years. For much of that time, we held prayer every week in St. Mary’s Chapel as guests of the Jesuit Community. Over the years, BC has hosted many speakers in collaboration with Sant’Egidio—from the president of Sant’Egidio, Marco Impagliazzo, to Archbishop Jaime Gonçalves of Mozambique (a central player in the peace accord Sant’Egidio brokered in Mozambique), to activists against the death penalty.

When we began our service to the poor here in Boston, professors at BC helped suggest where to begin— and so we started visiting elderly residents at a subsidized housing complex in Brighton. Friendships grew there over the years, and helped many residents remain in their homes longer than they might have otherwise. When some residents entered nursing homes, we followed them and began a practice of visiting that continues to this day in multiple nursing homes all over the city. Another

sant ’ egidio ’ s

service that began early in the life of the community in Rome was a School of Peace—an afterschool tutoring and mentoring program that has supported disadvantaged youth and their families. Members of our Sant’Egidio community in Boston have started an English tutoring program for immigrants called “English with Friends.”

During the coronavirus pandemic, our community in Boston has been particularly concerned with the plight of our friends in nursing homes. Building upon our longstanding practice of creating pen pal friendships with inmates on death row, we decided to begin a program called “Notes to Our Elders: Bridging Generations” and ask people all over the country to help break the isolation of those in nursing homes by writing letters.

Over the years, many members of our community have also studied at BC. Some have written dissertations about the peace work of the Community of Sant’Egidio (Laurie Johnston) and the community’s work with the elderly (Sarah Moses). ■ Katie Mahowski Mylroie is a doctoral student of comparative theology at Boston College. She and her family are members of Boston’s Community of Sant’Egidio.

Gathering in February 2022 to celebrate the 54th anniversary of Sant'Egidio‘s founding.

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Works of Mercy Pope Francis

photo credit:

(…) “be merciful, even as your father is merciful” (Lk 6:36). It is a responsibility that challenges the conscience and actions of every Christian. In fact, it is not enough to experience God’s mercy in one’s life; whoever receives it must also become a sign and instrument for others. Mercy, therefore, is not only reserved for particular moments, but it embraces our entire daily existence.

How can we, therefore, be witnesses of mercy? We do not think that it is done with great efforts or superhuman actions. No, it is not so. The Lord shows us a very simple path, made by small actions which, nonetheless, have great value in his eyes. Jesus says that every time we give food to the hungry and drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked and welcome the foreigner, visit the sick or imprisoned, we do the same to him (cf. Mt 25:31-46).

The Church calls these actions (as well as giving alms to the poor, burying the dead, and sheltering the homeless) “corporal works of mercy,” because they assist people with their material necessities.

There are also, however, seven other works of mercy called “spiritual,” which pertain to other equally important needs, especially today, because they touch the person’s soul, and often create the greatest suffering.

Bear wrongs patiently, counsel the doubtful, instruct the ignorant, admonish sinners, console the afflicted, pardon offences, pray to God for the living and the dead. … The Church, after all, faithful to her Lord, nourishes a preferential love for the weakest. Often it is the people closest to us who need our help. We should not go out in search of some unknown business to accomplish.

It is better to begin with the simplest, which the Lord tells us is the most urgent. In a world which, unfortunately, has been damaged by the virus of indifference, the works of mercy are the best antidote. In fact, they educate us to be attentive to the most basic needs of “the least of these my brethren” (Mt 25:40), in whom Jesus is present. Jesus is always present there. Where there is need, there is someone who has need, be it material or spiritual. Jesus is there … The works of mercy reawaken in us the need, and the ability, to make the faith alive and active with charity.

CNS photo/Paul Haring

In his October 12, 2016 General Audience address, Pope Francis discusses the works of mercy and their profound impact on the lives of people served and the faith of the individuals performing them. He reminds us that the “small” and “simple” works are the most profound. What can each of us do “daily” to be part of this “revolution”?

Pope Francis makes the sign of the cross in front of a Marian statue after consecrating the world and, in particular, Ukraine and Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary during a Lenten penance service in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican March 25, 2022.

I am convinced that, through these simple, daily actions, we can achieve a true cultural revolution. If every one of us, every day, does one of these, this will be a revolution in the world! … How many Saints are remembered even today, not for the great works which they accomplished, but for the charity which they knew how to impart! We think of Saint Mother Teresa: we do not remember her because of the many houses she opened in the world, but because she stooped down to every person she found in the middle of the street in order to restore their dignity. How many abandoned children did she embrace in her arms; how many dying people has she accompanied to eternity, holding their hands! …

May the Holy Spirit help us; may the Holy Spirit kindle within us the desire to live this way of life: at least once a day! Let us again learn the corporal and spiritual works of mercy by heart, and ask the Lord to help us put them into practice every day, and in those moments where we see Jesus in a person who is in need. ■ Please read the Pope’s full General Audience address at: bc.edu/c21spring22

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In Memoriam

With Love and Tears:

My Memories of Dr. Paul Farmer Dr. Sriram Shamasunder Dr. Paul Farmer, founder of the global nonprofit medical group, Partners in Health, died suddenly on February 21, 2022. Accolades quickly poured in for his prolific work with the poor, especially in Haiti and Rwanda. As his old friend Fr. John Dear noted in America magazine, Farmer’s work was inspired by his Catholic faith and a conversion experience at the age of 20 in which “he suddenly realized that to be a Christian meant you had to be on the side of the poor and to serve Christ in the poor.” In the article below, Dr. Sriram Shamasunder offers his own recollections of this larger-than-life “man for others.”

the last time i saw Paul

Farmer was less than a week ago.

I had traveled to Rwanda to teach the inaugural medical school class at the University of Global Health Equity in Butaro, a rural village. It is a place Paul Farmer helped dream and blossom into reality, a gorgeous, pristine medical campus arising in a very rural area among the beautiful hills of Rwanda.

I did not expect to see Paul Farmer there. I had last seen him at his 60th birthday right before the pandemic.

That was a star-studded affair in New Orleans. He seemed comfortable among the rich and famous. But there he was in rural Rwanda, teaching, seeing patients, and spending time with Rwandan colleagues. He seemed more at home.

He knew each medical student and gleefully came to the daily morning report—the discussion of clinical cases— with a cup of tea and a bright grin. He said he delayed his travel to Sierra Leone, where his organization Partners in Health has worked for years, because of one patient.

The patient was a young man in his mid-30s who had AIDS, an infection that arises from end-stage AIDS, and a profoundly weakened immune system. The infection had ravaged his body and mind. In a span of two weeks with treatments, the patient had gone from minimally responsive to opening his eyes and nodding. Paul had canceled his travel plans to try to see this patient through.

He believed the patient would get better and wanted to be around to see it.

Dr. Paul Farmer (right) and Dr. Sriram Shamasunder on the Butaro Hospital campus in Rwanda on Feb. 17. Farmer died on Feb. 21.

PHOTO CREDIT: Courtesy of Chandler Villaverde

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A FIRST (INSPIRING) ENCOUNTER I first met Paul when I was 19, as an undergraduate at UC Berkeley over 20 years ago. This was before the monumental, deserved fame that came after Pulitzer Prize author Tracy Kidder profiled him in the book Mountains Beyond Mountains. He spoke in a church. The church wasn’t totally packed but as he spoke you could feel the room lean in. Not because of any scholarly analysis but because he had incredible moral clarity and purpose. He had made a promise to stand with the most destitute in a community in central Haiti, struggling to provide what the Jesuits have called a “preferential option for the poor.” For Paul that meant access to care we would want for our mother or our brothers. We could hear it in his voice and feel it in his presence.

When I finished my residency, like so many physicians in my generation, I attempted to follow his example. I wanted to work in Haiti, where he started his organization Partners in Health in 1987. On a brief phone call, he instead enrolled me to work over the next year in rural Burundi, a place with even fewer physicians. Like so many before me, so early in my career, he made me feel as if I were making the only career decision that made sense—choosing what he called “pragmatic solidarity” alongside the poor. He conveyed with his words the irresistibility of social medicine, where health workers aim to address the root causes of disease in its social and economic context. This work is where necessity, urgency, and joy become bound together.

From time to time during my work in rural Burundi, I would consult him informally on patients to ask his advice. He would reply with a couple lines at most. One time I asked him what to do with a “non-compliant” diabetic patient who was not taking her medicine. He wrote back with a three-paragraph retort. He said the onus remained with the physician to figure out what the barriers were that prevented a patient from receiving care. He wanted me to deeply understand how the health system often conspired against our greatest hopes for the healthy lives our patients sought. He would not allow me to blame a patient, especially someone who lived in poverty. Over the years I have heard versions of this teaching philosophy from Paul over and over.

When student doctors spoke about the need for community education, implying the need to educate patients to come in earlier for care, he reminded us that patients usually try to seek treatment but are handcuffed by user fees they cannot afford and discouraged by facilities with unavailable, underpaid staff and little equipment. When healthcare economists or his students speak of cost-effectiveness, he asks “for whom?” Certainly not the patient whose life hangs in the balance because of an expensive treatment they cannot afford. He routinely distinguished between “price” and “cost.” The price often set by companies or hospitals focused on profit—while the actual

production costs of making a pharmaceutical drug or performing a transplant were much lower, for example.

A HEARTBREAKING WEEK – FIRST FOR PAUL, THEN FOR US During the week I spent in Rwanda, the patient that Paul was following had an unexpected complication and got sicker and sicker. On a WhatsApp thread with many of us taking care of the patient, Paul turned over and over therapies that might be given, interventions that should be done, possible transfers to other facilities that would give this patient a fighting chance of living.

The patient died. Paul was devastated. He was heartbroken. I remember thinking that this is why he is Paul Farmer. After 40 years, losing one patient was like losing the whole world. Many of us felt the urge to console him. I told him I could feel his anguish because he loved the patient in a way that we doctors often don’t allow ourselves to. He replied that he had unabashedly loved that dying man and had told him so every day.

I sent him a Mary Oliver poem I read with my team when we lose a patient back in San Francisco, where I live and work. She wrote: you must be able to do three things: to love what is mortal; to hold it against your bones knowing your own life depends on it; and, when the time comes to let it go, to let it go.

Paul said he had read the poem but not for years. He said it was beautiful and just what he needed and thanked me.

The next morning, he shared that he had been friends with Mary Oliver. Of course, he had. He was somehow similar to the poet. He brought deep sacredness to patient interactions, an awe of what might be possible if those who care about health equity work together, and a bold struggle for a more equitable world rooted in faith in others and in the universe. His life was a kind of embodied poetry of medicine.

I left Rwanda Saturday night. Paul died Monday morning. Even if we must learn to let go of his physical life, we, his students all over the world, will never let go of the example he set for us. ■ Sriram Shamasunder is an associate professor of medicine at the University of California San Francisco and co-founder and faculty director of the HEAL Initiative.

The article is printed with the permission of the author.

To learn more about Dr. Paul Farmer's legacy, visit: bc.edu/c21spring22

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FEATURED RESOURCES

The FAITH FEEDS program is designed for individuals who are hungry to share faith conversations over coffee or a potluck lunch/dinner with old and new friends. Pick a theme, download the articles, and gather in person or online.

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