Justice Magazine - The Catholic Social Justice Quarterly - Spring 2013

THE CATHOLIC SOCIAL JUSTICE QUARTERLY March-May 2013 www.justicemagazine.org @justicemagazine

JUSTICE magazine

Francis: Church for the poor Non-violent resistance Mali: A young mum’s story Caring for the elderly Rebuilding Haiti

BRITAIN, 2013.

Why changes to the welfare system will hurt mothers

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THE CATHOLIC SOCIAL JUSTICE QUARTERLY

JUSTICE magazine

Contents March-May 2013

Justice Magazine is a non-profit making quarterly publication that reports on and aims to further interest in the Catholic Church’s social teaching.

We would love to hear from you with your feedback, ideas for future editions or your own contributed articles.

Please get in touch via our website or by sending an email to editor@justicemagzine.org.

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47 MALI: A new way to deliver aid Individual printed copies of the magazine are also available from www.magcloud.com. We believe this is a sustainable, environmentally-friendly way for people to access print.

Justice Magazine does not charge for the magazine in print, the amount payable goes directly to the printers for production and postage.

Free advertising space has been given to Catholic charities and agencies. If you can, please make a donation to help them continue their excellent work in the UK and overseas.

Editor Lee Siggs

4 6 12 16 20 24 26 28 26 32 35 36 40 44 47 50

NEWS: March round-up HAITI: Rebuilding a nation SEAFARERS: Ministering to the crew UNITED STATES: Civil disobedience and discipleship UNITED KINGDOM: Unjust and unwise UNITED KINGDOM: Targeting savings, but hurting the vulnerable COMMENT: Rethinking development policy VATICAN CITY: Church for the poor, Pope for the world COMMENT: What should Francis do?

VATICAN CITY: A faithful servant COMMENT: A green legacy MALAWI AND ZIMBABWE: The hunger period IRELAND: Working to change lives UNITED KINGDOM: The Passage of Life MALI: A young mum’s story FINAL THOUGHT

Editorial advisers Jonathan Houdmont Nana Anto-Awuakye For regular news updates from Justice Magazine, remember to visit www.justicemagazine.org

Help spread the word by retweeting @justicemagazine

Acknowledgments The editor wishes to thank all the agencies and individuals who have submitted articles and photos.

The next issue of Justice Magazine will be published in early summer. Please write to editor@justicemagazine.org with ideas for future articles or to suggest improvements.

JUSTICE MAGAZINE 3

News MARCH 2013

Religious leaders attack nuclear weapons The International Campaign for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons met in Oslo recently after dangerous nuclear escalation and recent tests carried out by North Korea.

The meeting of ICAN included many religious leaders, more than 500 representatives of civil society and representatives of 132 governments.

They examined the “disastrous consequences of nuclear weapons.”

Diplomats, scientists and activists pointed out that the present race for nuclear energy, for civil and military purposes, “has devastating effects on people’s health and the environment.”

The conference saw the participation of the leaders of the “World Council of Churches” who called on the world governments “to act responsibly.”

Nigeria’s Cardinal John Onaiyekan, Archbishop of Abuja, said that “in a civil world nuclear weapons have no place”.

Japanese Bishop Laurence Yutaka Minabe, born to parents who survived Hiroshima, told of his experience and how his father died of cancer because of radiation.

Church opposes Nicaragua gold mining Clergy in Nicaragua have opposed gold mining in the Matagalpa region.

The Diocese of Matagalpa, headed by Bishop Rolando Alvarez Lagos, is opposed to the proposed opening of gold mines in the area.

Fr Pablo Espinoza, a parish priest in Rancho Grande, where mining companies want to extract gold, read a statement which expressed alarm on the opening of mines in the

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area “that threaten the ecological balance and the future of generations to come”.

It stressed “the need to preserve the earth as a common home and protect the people, whose opinion is ignored, even when they urged the government to deny authorization of mining works in Rancho Grande and the rest of the diocese”.

El Salvador gang truce praised A truce between gangs in El Salvador has been defined as “positive” after it saved the saved the lives of around 2,000 people.

But Security Minister David Munguia Payes said that despite the positive results of this first agreement, 2,110 people had been killed in the country since March 2012.

The “truce” began on March 9, 2012. In 2011, there were 4,371 murders; in 2012, with the truce there were 2,376 murders, a reduction of 1,995.

The minister said the truce was “the only thing that produces results in combating violence in the country”.

The truce is an initiative of Mgr Fabio Colindres and a former member of the Farabundo Marti Front for National Liberation (FMLN) Raul Mijango, in agreement with the government, which has denied having negotiated with the gangs.

More than 100 Christian homes burned in Pakistan A crowd of around 3,000 Muslims attacked and set fire to around 100 homes belonging to members of the Christian community on March 9.

The incident happened in the district of Badami Bagh in Lahore after an alleged case of blasphemy. The crowd also

threw stones and injured several police officers.

Local Christians said the accusation of blasphemy was completely false. The father of the man accused of blasphemy denied the allegation and said his son “deeply respects” the prophet.

Bishop Sebastian Shaw OFM, Apostolic Administrator in Lahore, said: “We condemn acts of violence of this kind and we call on the government to ensure the safety of citizens, and especially of religious minorities.

“There are people who want to take the law in their own hands and who believe they are above the law. It is a very

sad incident that disrupts our city. Innocent people are not safe in their home. We express all our support and solidarity to the affected families. With Caritas we are working to provide shelter and accommodation. In this country there is need to work hard for peace and harmony. “ Memorial Mass in Rome for Hugo Chavez The Archbishop of Caracas, Cardinal Jorge Urosa Savino, celebrated a Memorial Mass in Rome for the president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, who died on March 5.

During his homily the cardinal

PHOTO: ¡Que comunismo!

A memorial Mass was celebrated for Hugo Chavez in Rome urged all citizens of his country to remain “united and in peace” after the death of the Bolivarian leader.

The Mass, considered by the cardinal as an “act of reconciliation”, was celebrated in the Church of Santa Maria ai Monti. It was attended by many Venezuelans and Latin Americans to “pray for the repose of the president”, who died in the military hospital in Caracas after a long illness.

The cardinal also recalled that “in difficult and peaceful times, several bishops were close to Chavez.”

The Venezuelan leader often had difficult relations with the Catholic Church, but in recent

years had become closer to his Catholic faith.

At the end of the Mass, Cardinal Urosa Savino remarked: “We must look ahead and seek peace and understanding. The progress of a country cannot be obtained with an attitude of permanent confrontation: we all look ahead for the good of the country.”

Boko Haram an issue for the whole of Africa An archbishop in Nigeria has said Islamist group Boko Haram is now divided into several groups following the murder of hostages by a group called Ansaru.

Archbishop Ignatius Ayau Kaigama of Jos spoke after the deaths of seven foreign citizens in the area after they were kidnapped last February.

Archbishop Kaigama said Ansaru specialised in the kidnapping and killing of foreign citizens, whereas “another group instead appealed for a ceasefire in exchange for amnesty for its members”.

He added: “The question is now more complex than before. Boko Haram as a unified and organized body no longer exists and the multiplication of the groups that appeal to Boko Haram code is complicating the problem because these groups seem to obey a different logic and principals “ According to various sources Nigerians claiming to belong to Boko Haram were found among jihadist groups operating in the north of Mali.

“This does not surprise me,” said Archbishop Kaigama.

“Boko Haram in fact is no longer a local matter, but it is an issue that affects many African countries and beyond.

Let us remember that in Cameroon some French citizens recently were kidnapped that were then transferred to Nigeria. These criminal groups are spreading in several areas adjacent to Nigeria.”

Disarmament campaign success in Mexico Around 4,000 weapons have been collected in a disarmament campaign in Mexico.

The “For your family, voluntary disarmament” campaign started on December 24. It sees weapons exchanged for money or food and other goods. The Catholic Church has actively participated in the campaign by offering places for the exchange of weapons. Among the arms collected are 2,799 guns, 863 rifles, 281 grenades, a bomb, a charger and two rockets.

Funds have been used to purchase 531 bicycles, 195 tablets, seven laptops and 92 appliances, as well as cash payments to be used in exchange for the weapons

held by the population.

Manchester United boss backs agency’s campaign Sir Alex Ferguson is supporting the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund’s Lent appeal to combat global poverty by urging supporters to put their spare change in its WEE BOX. The Manchester United manager is backing SCIAF’s WEE BOX, BIG CHANGE campaign which raises money to help people affected by war, hunger, poverty, disease and natural disasters in some of the poorest countries in the world.

In 2012 the WEE BOX campaign raised more than £830,000 for the charity’s life-saving work in countries including South Sudan, DR Congo, Malawi, Ethiopia, Burundi and Haiti.

“I’ve been all over the world in my career and one thing I’ve realised is that we have to look after those less fortunate than ourselves, wherever they may live,” Sir Alex said.

“I’m supporting SCIAF’s WEE BOX, BIG CHANGE campaign because they believe our neighbours don’t just live across the street. Please save up your spare change in your WEE BOX, it’ll make a real difference to people who need your support.” SCIAF director Patricia Chalé said: “We’re incredibly fortunate to have Sir Alex rally support so we can raise as much money as possible for our life-saving work with poor communities in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Many thousands of Scots are already busy filling their SCIAF WEE BOXES in the runin to Easter with money saved from giving up treats such as chocolate and beer during Lent. I’ve no doubt that Sir Alex’s public support will encourage many more people to find out about the campaign, get their own SCIAF WEE BOX, and make a donation.”

Sources: Fides/SCIAF

JUSTICE MAGAZINE 5

Feature Haiti

It is three years since a devastating earthquake hit Haiti.

Pascale Palmer has visited the country to find out how people are surviving today.

Life in Haiti: Rebuilding a devastated nation Three years ago on January 12 a catastrophic earthquake shook the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, devastating Haiti.

Within minutes thousands of poorly-made homes and buildings collapsed. Nearly a quarter of a million children, women and men died. At least one million people were made homeless. Amongst the dead was the Archbishop of Portau-Prince, most of the leadership of the UN programme, and nearly a third of the country’s civil servants.

In the aftermath of the earthquake, aid agencies from around the world mobilised, while the US government deployed large numbers of troops to support food distribution and security.

Trying to haul machinery, building materials, toilets or water through a country whose roads had been destroyed or needed to be cleared of rubble, was a huge undertaking.

Three years on, all the rubble in the capital Port-au-Prince has been cleared from the streets, and the worst-hit buildings demolished. The majority of people have been moved from camps into transitional or permanent homes, and the capital is busy with life and activity. Some of the public parks, previously used as camps, have 6 JUSTICE MAGAZINE

now been cleaned and tended, and returned to former glory.

To suggest times have been hard for Haitians since 2010 is an insult to what people have had to suffer.

On top of the massive quake, the country has had to deal with a deadly cholera outbreak that has killed more than 7,000 people.

And with both Hurricanes Isaac and Sandy hitting Haiti hard damaging crops and increasing food insecurity - the country could be facing a devastating food crisis very soon.

Jeremie Aline, 39, is a banana farmer from Marigot, a town outside Port-au-Prince. His home and land were hit by Hurricane Sandy earlier this year.

“During the hurricane, the river burst its banks and ran through the banana field,” he said. “The water was higher than the house.

It was flooded for three days and the river brought houses with it.

The water went right over the roofs. I lost 350 banana trees. Now I have no money to buy compost to ensure the trees that are left can grow well.

“I have six children. My wife and I are worried about the future. I’m very afraid because the area is so vulnerable to natural disasters and the community is becoming more volatile because we keep asking for

help from the government but nothing comes.”

In the local market near Jeremie’s home, Etienne Joseph sells fruits and vegetables. She has seven children and told how the storms affected her.

She said: “I used to have a garden where I grew things for market, but it was crushed in the storms. I now have to buy fruit and

PHOTO: Nikola Ivanovski/ CAFOD

Schoolchildren undergo disaster training

vegetables in the market and then I sell them on. It’s not possible to live on the money I earn. I used to be able to sell everything for a lot more money. Now I have no money and no real work.

“My future is dependent on being able to sell produce, but there are no bananas any more due to the storms and there are no mangoes. The future is going to be

hard.”

But Haiti’s troubles didn’t start with the earthquake three years ago. It has for a long time, perhaps since independence, struggled politically, economically, and socially. In 2010 it was, and remains today, the poorest nation in the western hemisphere.

Before the earthquake hit, more than 70 per cent of the Haitian

‘‘

I used to be able to sell everything for a lot more money.

Now I have no money and no real work.

JUSTICE MAGAZINE 7

Feature Haiti

PHOTO: Nikola Ivanovski/CAFOD

People attempt to scrape a living

population lived on less than £1.50 a day, 86 per cent lived in slum conditions, 30 per cent had access to tap water and 50 per cent had access to latrines. Eighty per cent of schools were private, automatically excluding a large portion of the population.

The state was not providing basic essential services such as education and health. Waste had been piling up on the streets, unemployment was endemic, and Port-au-Prince itself had a large number of homeless people and massive over-crowding.

So when the earthquake came, problems that were already wellestablished in Haiti were exacerbated a thousand-fold. And with nearly 250,000 dead – including leading figures in the Haitian government, UN, civil servants and NGO staff – and the loss of many medical centres and schools, the real scale of this catas8 JUSTICE MAGAZINE

trophe and the challenges to reconstruction and recovery become clearer.

In 2010, the Catholic community of England and Wales responded to CAFOD’s earthquake appeal with massive generosity. From the word go, the aid agency included Haitian expertise and knowledge in its response to the disaster, ensuring people who know the situation best were and continue to be at the heart of programmes and planning. CAFOD’s work with Caritas Haiti has helped to replace offices and equipment that were destroyed in the earthquake, and train staff to lead the recovery process.

Since the earthquake, CAFOD has continued to provide major support in the water and sanitation sector, building latrines to accompany new homes as people move out of camps, rebuilding cholera units in hospitals, and

teaching children in schools about the importance of good sanitation.

In Port-au-Prince, CAFOD has recently launched a project using puppets and animated films to help children learn how to protect themselves from cholera and other illnesses. It is hoped this project will be rolled out to more schools with the support of the Haitian government.

In other areas of the capital, CAFOD conducts earthquake evacuation simulations in schools to ensure children know what to do and how to stay safe in the event of another earthquake.

Last month, in the run-down area of Carrefour, at Archimede Beauvoir School, 14-year-old Pierre-Manise Andre took part in CAFOD’s evacuation drill. When the earthquake hit three years ago Pierre-Manise was trapped under the rubble of her home – with her baby sister Linouze in her arms –

PHOTO: Nikola Ivanovski/CAFOD

Despite the poverty, there is hope for the future

PHOTO: Nikola Ivanovski/CAFOD

PHOTO: Nikola Ivanovski/CAFOD

Pierre-Manise André, 14, a pupil at Archimede Beauvoir School where the earthquake evacuation simulation was held.

Banana farmer Jeremie Aline, 39, next to his ruined crops shows the height the water came to when Hurricane Sandy hit.

JUSTICE MAGAZINE 9

Feature Haiti

PHOTO: CAFOD

Children outside their school

‘‘

We had no food and no water for those two days. Eventually I could hear people clearing away the rubble bit by bit.

for two full days and nights.

She said: “We had no food and no water for those two days. Eventually I could hear people clearing away the rubble bit by bit. I held onto Linouze and she cried and cried in my arms. The thing that kept me going was that there were little air holes for us to breathe and through those I could hear people moving rubble.

“When they finally lifted the last 10 JUSTICE MAGAZINE

piece of rubble to free me, I was taken to hospital and I hadn’t broken anything – it was a miracle.

God saved me and he saved my sister.

“I am scared that there will be another earthquake, but the evacuation practice at the school means I will know what to do and I will be saved next time.”

Three years on, CAFOD is still working hard to support recovery in Haiti and to prepare people better for natural disasters. The permanent houses CAFOD continues to build for Haitian families are earthquake-resistant and through partners the aid agency has been up-skilling local building engineers so they have the knowhow to build solid homes.

Casimir Jean Harrison, 90, from

Duval area, outside Port-auPrince, is waiting for his CAFOD house to be completed. At present he lives in a tin shack next to the construction site.

“My previous house, before the earthquake, was made out of rocks,” he said. “This building is more solid and it won’t blow over or fall down.

“When I move in I will have two bedrooms, a bathroom, a sitting room and a dining room. I have a lot of friends and they can come over and we can all sit together in my new home and talk and be happy. I am so happy with the new house, so excited. It is like a miracle.”

Pascale Palmer works for CAFOD

PHOTO: CAFOD

Farmer Jeremie Aline with his family

JUSTICE MAGAZINE 11

Feature Cruise ship chaplaincy

Fancy going on a cruise? A nice thought perhaps if you’re going to be a guest. But if you are one of the crew members away from their loved ones, life can be tough, as Greg Watts reports

Ministering to the crew “Rather than work itself, I reckon that the hardest part of life at sea is being away from home, family and friends. Solitude could be enormous and perhaps it is the toughest bit, said Fr Colin Sammut.

Thirty-one-year-old Fr Colin, who serves in the parish of St Francis of Assisi in Qawra in the north-east coast of Malta, recently became an Apostleship of the Sea cruise chaplain. In some ways, this was a case of his life going full circle, because before he joined the Franciscans he was a merchant seaman.

“Growing up on the island of Malta, the sea always fascinated me; whether it was the sea breeze that beckoned me towards it like a breathe of new life during the hot summers, or in winter when the air is filled with revitalizing sea spray scattered by rough seas and roaring waves,” he said.

This fascination with the sea led him after finishing high school to enroll on a three-year course at the Maritime Institute to become a second officer. After completing his studies he joined a 40,000-ton container ship “We operated across Europe, North Africa, Asia and North America. The route was circular 12 JUSTICE MAGAZINE

and took us about two and half months to complete. Hong Kong was our main port of call from which we commenced and concluded every voyage,” he said.

Seafarers, he added, soon learn that going to sea is a dangerous occupation. “Working on a ship required from us special attention and vigilance. If a task is not properly done on a ship, or duty not appropriately fulfilled, it could cost the life of someone else, compromise the safety of the ship, or damage the cargo.”

One morning in the South Pacific Ocean, about 200 miles off the coast of Hawaii, following a typhoon, his ship received a mayday distress signal from another vessel. Three of its crew had been swept overboard by high waves.

“Since we were in the vicinity of the accident, it was also our duty to help in the search and rescue operation coordinated from inshore authorities. The alarm for the lookout sounded all over our ship and in no time all the seamen were at their posts.

“Together with other vessels we searched and searched but all in vain. Hours passed and there was no sign of these poor souls. After considerable time, the coordinator gave the order to abort the opera-

tion. That day had a profound effect on me, I felt so helpless.”

Most seafarers now are from countries such as India and the Philippines. They know about the dangers of the sea, they endure the cramped conditions and low pay and they accept, like Fr Colin had to, that they will often be away for months at a time.

Fr Colin said his time at sea was an important stage in his spiritual journey. “The first time the thought of priesthood crossed my mind was some weeks before I had to sign on the ship. At the time, it petrified me, I couldn’t believe it; actually I couldn’t believe that my mind could ever think such a thought.

“I would say that, sailing from

PHOTO: APOSTLESHIP OIF THE SEA

Seafarers’ faith is vital for them being able to cope with being away from family and friends

port to port during that year was actually me sailing towards the real call God had made many years before. Perhaps, the attraction I always felt for the sea was a veiled pull towards God.” That pull towards God led him to join the Franciscans. Following studies in Rome, he made his solemn vows in 2010 and was ordained a priest the following year.

While in Rome, several friars suggested he think about ministering to seafarers, but he put this idea to the back of his mind, he explained. “During these years, studies kept me busy for most of the time and it was only recently that a member of the Apostolate of the Sea in London approached me

and invited me to become a cruise chaplain.

“I liked the idea and was overjoyed that after so many years I would have the opportunity to get in touch once again with the maritime world. I spoke to my superiors about this ministry and

‘‘

I would say that, sailing from port to port during that year was actually me sailing towards the real call God had made many years before

they accepted my request and granted me permission to start this ministry and once more sail again.”

The primary purpose of cruise chaplains is not to minister to the passengers but to minister to the crew. It’s often the case that the Catholics among them will not have had an opportunity to attend Mass or confession for weeks or maybe months.

Apostleship of the Sea provides not only chaplains to cruise ships but also chaplains to many of the world’s major ports, who are supported by volunteer ship visitors.

The chaplaincy teams don’t just provide spiritual support. They also offer practical help, which might mean anything from providJUSTICE MAGAZINE 13

ARTWORK: BORIS RASIN

Feature Cruise ship chaplaincy

PHOTO: APOSTLESHIP OIF THE SEA

Gathering for Mass creates a real sense of community

ing sim cards and arranging transport to local shops to visiting injured or ill seafarers in hospital and contacting their families back home.

They are also sometimes asked to help resolve disputes over seafarers’ pay and conditions. This was one of the key issues discussed at Apostleship of the Sea’s annual congress, which was held in Rome in November and attended by more than 400 delegates from 70 countries.

Fr Colin said he would like to eventually get involved in ministering to the seafarers who arrive in Malta. Valletta and Marsaxlokk are the main ports, although a number of other ports occasionally host ships on international voyages, usually passenger vessels. He believes his experience of being at sea would enable him to under14 JUSTICE MAGAZINE

stand the difficulties and problems some seafarers have.

The dangers of the sea, that he discovered first hand when his ship received that mayday call off the coast of Hawaii, were something that St Paul also knew about.

He ended up shipwrecked off the coast of Malta.

“When one brings to mind the scenario of a shipwreck, it is almost inevitable to think of distress, struggle, high waves, rough seas, uneasiness and the imminent danger of death. In this sense, shipwreck survivors are often admired for their bravery or envied for their luck. St Paul, doesn’t qualify in either of these positions, because he was neither brave nor lucky. He was only certain that he would survive,” said Fr Colin.

“I believe, just as the Acts of the

Apostles recounts, that it was faith that kept St Paul’s boat afloat. Of course, faith alone doesn’t make a good seaman, but it will definitely give him something more, since it broadens the horizon of hope and strengthens the heart.

“Although St Paul was charismatic, strong in character and determined, he still turned to God and prayed. The man of God always seeks divine advice before acting no matter how great capabilities and countless possibilities he might have.”

Greg Watts is a freelance journalist and author

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JUSTICE MAGAZINE 15

Feature United States

Fr John Dear talks about how the path of non-violence he follows has lead to him serving time in jail for his actions against warplanes.

Civil disobedience and discipleship In 1993, Philip Berrigan, two friends and I walked on to the Seymour Johnson Air Force Base near Goldsboro, North Carolina, through thousands of soldiers, to one of the 75 F15e nuclear-capable fighter bombers on alert to bomb Bosnia. We each hammered on it.

We were trying to fulfill Isaiah’s commandment to “beat swords into plowshares.” We were each arrested, charged with two felony convictions, and faced 20 years in prison. I did about nine months in jail and a year-and-a-half under house arrest. To this day, I’m still carefully monitored by the US government, can’t vote, can’t visit prisoners, and can’t travel to several countries.

Altogether, I’ve been arrested some 75 times in acts of civil disobedience against war, injustice and nuclear weapons.

A few years after I was released from jail, while running an innercity community centre for disenfranchised women and children in Richmond, Virginia, I was confronted by a charismatic, young priest whom I greatly admired.

“Are you crazy?” he asked. “Tell me really: Why did you do it?”

I could have explained how in the history of the United States, every major movement from the abolitionists to the suffragists to the labour movement, the civil rights movement and the antiVietnam war movement, had its breakthrough when good people 16 JUSTICE MAGAZINE

broke bad laws and accepted the consequences.

I could have spoken about Dr Martin Luther King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” where he urges us to obey just laws and disobey unjust laws.

I could have pointed to international law and the Nuremberg Principles, as I have in many courtrooms before many judges, and explained that it is our duty to resist governments and break laws when they legalise mass murder or preparations for mass murder - as the US government does it with its illegal nuclear arsenal.

But I said simply: “I am trying to follow Jesus. Jesus was non-violent and practiced civil disobedience and was eventually arrested, jailed and executed. I’m supposed to be his follower, and in this world of total violence, injustice, poverty, war and nuclear weapons, it seems inevitable that I, too, must engage in non-violent civil disobedience.

Most of the saints and martyrs were arrested and jailed – up to Dr King, Dorothy Day, Archbishop Tutu, and the Berrigans. They probably won’t kill us, but they sure will arrest and jail us if we work for justice and peace and resist war and empire, but the main thing is - I want to keep following Jesus all the way to the cross.”

My friend looked at me in stunned astonishment. His mouth hung open. He was speechless.

Eventually, he just whispered “OK” and walked away.

Civil disobedience, in a world of total violence, war, poverty and nuclear weapons, is a way for me to follow the non-violent, civilly disobedient Jesus. I agree with Gandhi, that great practitioner of civil disobedience, that Jesus practiced perfect non-violence, was the greatest non-violent resister in history, and engaged in regular civil disobedience.

Twenty years ago, I published a book called The Sacrament of Civil Disobedience in which I tried to look thoroughly at its theory, practice and theology. I examined civil disobedience in the Hebrew and Christian scriptures, in US history, in the lives of our great teachers such as Gandhi, King, Day and the Berrigans, and in its details – how to prepare for civil disobedience, what to expect from arrest, trial and jail, and so forth. I also shared many of my own trouble-making experiences - from my first arrest at the Pentagon in 1984, to arrests at military bases around the country. But as I reviewed the history, theory and practice of civil disobedience, I remember I kept coming back to Jesus and the question of our discipleship.

For years, my friends and I asked each other: What does it mean to take up the cross and follow Jesus?

We came to the conclusion that the cross is non-violent resistance to the culture of war and empire; it

PHOTO: UNITED NATIONS PHOTO

The statue at the UN in New York Let Us Beat Swords Into Ploughshares by Soviet sculptor Evgeny Vuchetich

was the natural public consequence from the state for our non-violent civil disobedience to war and empire.

I came to the conclusion that Jesus engaged in civil disobedience every single day of his public life, that nearly everything he did was illegal, that his mere non-violent presence was a threat to empire. I

‘‘

For years, my friends and I asked each other: What does it mean to take up the cross and follow Jesus?

used to joke that Jesus was “a one man crime wave,” walking through the Roman empire.

Actually, he was even more threatening – he was a movement organiser, building a community and a movement among poor people to non-violently resist the empire and the unjust religious system that backed it in the name JUSTICE MAGAZINE 17

PHOTO: UNITED STATES AIR FORCE

Feature United States

The 75 F15e nuclear-capable fighter bomber was the target for the peace activists

of God. As I studied the Gospels, I discovered nearly a dozen types of civil disobedience that Jesus practiced – such as his prophetic proclamation of the coming of God’s reign in general, and his reading from the book of Isaiah in the Nazareth synagogue in particular, as subversive truth-telling which threatened the empire; touching and healing lepers, which they thought would threaten everyone’s health; dining and associating with “public sinners,” outcasts and the marginalised; repeatedly breaking Sabbath laws; violating the cleanliness laws and eating codes; visiting “enemy” territories and associating with the enemy (such as the Samaritans) 18 JUSTICE MAGAZINE

and with violent revolutionaries (the Zealots); engaging in symbolic action and political street theatre (riding into Jerusalem on a donkey and fulfilling Zechariah 9:9, about the coming of a king of peace who will end war forever); and urging people not to pay their taxes (one of the “capital crimes” for which he was “capitally punished.”)

Certainly the climax of his public work – even his life - was his nonviolent civil disobedience in the Temple, where he turned over the tables of the money changers and prevented people from engaging in the profitable big business of organised religion.

The Synoptic Gospels tell the

same basic story line: Jesus marched from Galilee to Jerusalem on a campaign of nonviolence like Gandhi going to the sea or Dr King marching from Selma; entered the Temple where the religious authorities worked in conjunction with the empire and forced the faithful to pay a hefty sum to visit God; and engaged in non-violent direct action. He did not hit anyone, hurt anyone, kill anyone, or drop any bombs - but he was not passive. He was active, provocative, dangerous, illegal, and civilly disobedient, a disturber of the peace, a troublemaker, a non-violent revolutionary who broke the unjust laws and mores of an unjust society.

This is the person we claim to follow!

The Gospel of John, written many years later, puts Jesus’ civil disobedience in the Temple right up to the beginning of the story ( just after the wedding at Cana).

There, it says he made a whip of cords and drove everyone out.

That is the only place in the entire Bible where this particular, obscure Greek word is mentioned; it was a specific type of rope used to lead the thousands of sheep, cattle and animals up into the enormous Temple structure. He took that rope and led the animals back out of the Temple. Fifteen hundred years later, El Greco painted Jesus with a twenty foot

whip hurting people; that is not at all how I read the text. If anything, Jesus saved the lives of the animals as well! But the real point of placing the story at the beginning of the Gospel is its allusion to resurrection: “Destroy this temple,” Jesus says pointing to himself, “and I will raise it up in the three days.”

So the Synoptics make it clear that Jesus’ final civil disobedience in the Temple led to his arrest a few days later, his jailing, trial and brutal execution. This is a great challenge to anyone who seriously wants to follow this Jesus. Are we willing to give our lives to resist empire, injustice, and the oppression of the poor? How seriously do we want to follow him?

But, it turns out, there was one more final act of civil disobedience left to come: The Resurrection.

The Resurrection is the greatest act of civil disobedience in all of human history.

As Daniel Berrigan once said, just as the crucifixion of Jesus was perfectly legal, so the resurrection of Jesus was totally illegal.

Matthew’s Gospel emphasises this point: The Roman authorities placed guards at his tomb with the imperial seal saying, in Dan Berrigan’s words, “We’ve killed you and we put you in the tomb and now you’re dead! So stay there!” But Jesus rises from the dead, breaks the imperial seal, and indeed, breaks the law which says “Once you’re dead, you’re dead.” His Resurrection is the perfect non-violent revolution and changes everything.

To this day, the illegally risen

‘‘

For the Christian, working for peace and justice, and thus resisting war and injustice, means sooner or later sharing in the non-violence and civil disobedience of Jesus.

Jesus remains at large, out and about, forming his underground movement of non-violence, organizing for the abolition of war, poverty, empire and nuclear weapons, and the coming of God’s reign of non-violence. Wherever people are resisting injustice and giving their lives for justice and peace, he’s there.

I’ve written much about my own experience of civil disobedience, including my prison journal, Peace Behind Bars. I’m fundamentally interested in practising the nonviolence of Jesus, proclaiming his reign and practice of non-violence, and trying every non-violent means possible to help end war, poverty and nuclear weapons.

That means, writing, speaking, lobbying, preaching, organising, marching, praying, fasting – and occasionally crossing the line.

From me, this is all part of modern-day, post-modern discipleship.

For the Christian, working for peace and justice, and thus resisting war and injustice, means sooner or later sharing in the nonviolence and civil disobedience of Jesus.

I remember what my friend Sr. Joan Chittister wrote to me while I was in jail: “I suppose you are showing us that the only way peace and justice and social change happen is through our participation in the Paschal Mystery of Jesus.”

Amen, Sister.

That’s a hard teaching, but a helpful reminder. If we want to follow the non-violent Jesus, then we’ll want to make the journey from baptism to community, to understanding the Sermon on the Mount, to serving those in need, to working for justice and practicing non-violence, and eventually, sooner or later, in such a world of war, empire and nuclear weapons, to crossing the line, engaging in non-violent civil disobedience and risking the cross and the resurrection. I can think of no greater blessing.

Fr John Dear is a Jesuit priest from the United States. Visit johndear.org JUSTICE MAGAZINE 19

Feature Welfare in the UK

As The Coalition Government’s changes to welfare reform will have a damaging disproportionate effect on women, writes Liam Allmark

Unjust and unwise The Welfare Reform Act, which was passed into law last year after more than 200 hours of parliamentary debate, represents the biggest shake-up of Britain’s social security system since the Second World War. It is the centrepiece of the Government’s strategy to cut benefit payments by more than £20 billion and contains a range of changes that will dramatically weaken the safety net for the poorest people in the UK. Despite the rhetoric often heard in Parliament and in the press, these measures will not fall only upon a small group of ‘scroungers’ and ‘freeloaders’; rather they are set to leave hundreds of thousands of ill, disabled, low paid and unemployed people struggling to meet the very basic costs of living.

Everyone in need of financial help to feed their children, pay their rent or heat their homes will feel the impact; however in many cases the nature of the new system means that women will be disproportionately affected.

One of the biggest changes, and potentially one of the most damaging, is the way that payments will be made. From April, the Government will begin rolling out Universal Credit, a single sum that combines all major in-work and out-of-work benefits.

There is a very clear advantage to this, not least that it will be far simpler to administer and will mean less form-filling for all 20 JUSTICE MAGAZINE

involved. The worrying downside is that unlike current benefits, Universal Credit will be paid on a monthly basis rather than weekly or fortnightly, and the entirety of any household’s benefit allowance will be paid to a single account.

At present, people living with their partner receive individual entitlements, such as Jobseeker’s Allowance or Income Support, into their own accounts. Other household benefits can be shared out, so one person may receive the weekly Child Tax Credits whilst the other receives the fortnightly Housing Benefit.

However, once Universal Credit is introduced all of these payments will be transferred to just one place.

The pitfalls of this change are obvious, not least when children

‘‘

The dangers are particularly pronounced for the one million UK women who suffer domestic abuse each year

are involved. Child-related benefits are most effective when they are paid directly to the main careprovider, which is still the mother in 85 per cent of families. The majority of mothers in receipt of such benefits also value small and regular payments, so it seems counter-productive that in many situations under the new system, weekly payments will be removed from the mother and allocated as a monthly payment to the father.

Joint accounts remain an option, but in practice family circumstances mean that they do not always guarantee free and equal access to funds.

The dangers are particularly pronounced for the one million UK women who suffer domestic abuse each year. Having their own source of income can be a vital lifeline, but this will be cut if they rely on their partner for access to household benefits, or if they cannot access them without their partner knowing.

Provision has been made for flexibility in extreme cases, but this will be the exception rather than the rule and given the scale of unreported abuse it is unlikely to help the most vulnerable people.

Of course domestic abuse goes both ways, but in the majority of cases particularly relating to financial matters, it is women on the receiving end.

Furthermore, women are far less likely to have other sources of income that they can fall back on.

PHOTO: CARITAS SOCIAL ACTION NETWORK

Balancing finances is already a difficult enough task for many mothers JUSTICE MAGAZINE 21

Feature Welfare in the UK

Another problem inherent in the new system is the imposition of sanctions against those who violate benefit conditions. At the moment if a husband and wife both receive Jobseeker’s Allowance, and one of them is sanctioned for failing to attend an interview or apply for a job, the other’s benefit will rightly remain untouched. Under Universal Credit however, the combination of both partners’ entitlement into one single payment means there is no distinction where the sanction falls.

Unsurprisingly, there were strong warnings about combined monthly payments from the outset. A study commissioned by the Department for Work and Pensions concluded: “For non-working partners, access to their own income is likely to both encourage relationship stability as well as provide a buffer against poverty if one partner loses their job”; whilst the Women’s Budget Group stated: “we are concerned about the implications for gender equality of collapsing most current benefits and tax credits into a single monthly payment, and paying it to one partner.”

Yet the warnings were ignored, and as a result many women will lose any control of family finances when Universal Credit is implemented this year.

At the same time, almost 50,000

‘‘

Childcare support is coming under-pressure as well, with a new cap and changes to benefit calculations meaning that many families will lose up to 25 per cent of their current entitlement

22 JUSTICE MAGAZINE

mothers face a simultaneous reduction in support for their children as a result of the Household Benefit Cap, an unprecedented measure that was fiercely criticised by both the Catholic Church and the Church of England as it passed through Parliament.

Because the benefit cap is a fixed amount, and not altered according to family size, those with more children will effectively lose a portion of their Child Benefit and Child Tax Credits. This comes on top of other recent restrictions, including a three-year-freeze on increases to Child Benefit which has left the current rate worth less than seven per cent of the weekly income required for raising a child.

Iain Duncan-Smith, the architect of these changes, has already suggested taking things even further by limiting benefits to the first two children in any family and completely withdrawing all payments from the third child onwards.

Childcare support is coming under-pressure as well, with a new cap and changes to benefit calculations meaning that many families will lose up to 25 per cent of their current entitlement.

This comes in spite of the fact that childcare costs in the UK are rising much faster than inflation and according to the OECD are now amongst the highest in the developed world. Strikingly, a recent survey by Netmums and Save the Children found that for more than half of unemployed mothers, the cost of childcare is the main thing preventing them from taking a job; such drastic cuts to support will therefore keep many more women out of work, to the detriment of our entire society.

Beyond this unprecedented financial pressure on mothers, many young women will be hit disproportionately hard by changes to Housing Benefit. One particularly significant change has been the extension of the Shared Accommodation Rate which means that anybody up to 35 years old is no

longer entitled to support for renting a one-bedroom flat, but is instead expected to take a single room in a shared house.

For many people this may not be a problem and could actually be a positive experience; but for others it can be deeply unpleasant or even dangerous.

In a number of cases, women are having to take rooms in mixed-sex houses with large groups of men they do not know. York University has undertaken a study of the policy change and heard from several people including a young lady who recounted her terrible experience: “One night in the room across from mine were some boys, and they had a party and started banging on my door, and basically trying to get into my room. So I had to stand behind my door, for nearly three hours I had someone trying to kick my door off. I had to get a chest of drawers and put it behind the door. I phoned the police in the end to come round, and they ended coming up and taking me out of the house.”

This may seem an extreme situation, but reports of crime and anti-social behaviour in shared housing are appallingly common.

Even without any overt threat, the experience of living with numerous strangers of different genders and ages can be intimidating, particularly for people who may have experienced violence or domestic abuse in the past.

One of the most concerning aspects of the new rule is that even a woman who is pregnant at the time of requiring accommodation will still be expected to enter a shared house and will not receive a higher rate of Housing Benefit until after her child is born.

More broadly, thousands of families will see their housing security undermined by the combined impact of changes to the system, with the families of single mothers projected to make up more than half of those affected. This will be particularly pronounced in London where rent will become unaffordable for a quarter of all

PHOTO: CARITAS SOCIAL ACTION NETWORK

The DWP says women will be more affected than men by the changes

two-child families receiving benefits, and half of all three-child families. Like the new payment structures and child-related benefit restrictions, cuts to Housing Benefit will by no means uniquely affect women; however, hundreds of thousands will be hit and in many cases will be taking the weight of the overall impact.

Alongside benefit cuts, drastic restrictions to legal aid pose equally significant threats. These have left vast numbers of people not only facing harsh restrictions to their income, but also with no assistance to challenge decisions that may unjustly limit their eligibility.

Legal aid cuts are also affecting domestic abuse victims who often require support to escape violent or controlling relationships. Under pressure from many groups, including the Catholic Church, Government ministers maintained

the provision of some assistance in these situations, yet many victims will still be left without the help that they require.

One case recently raised in the House of Lords came from St Antony’s Centre in Manchester, concerning a woman who having suffered at the hands of her abusive husband, left her job in his firm, and fled to live with her parents. It was only through legal aid that she was able to challenge him for her share of their house, which he had by then moved another woman into. Today she would not receive legal aid, as even after the victories secured by churches and domestic violence organisations, she would still not meet the strict new eligibility criteria.

Together these changes highlight just a fraction of the pressure that people are being placed under as a result of the Government’s welfare agenda, with women dispropor-

tionately affected by many of the most hard-hitting measures.

This trend is not set to change anytime soon; the Department for Work and Pension’s own impact assessment for its latest round of benefit restrictions notes that “women are more likely to be affected than men” with single mothers feeling particular impact.

Tragically, whilst the changes come at a considerable human cost they are unlikely to even make significant financial savings as increased levels of poverty will ultimately become long-term burdens on the taxpayer.

Cutting people’s support this far is not only unjust, but incredibly unwise.

Liam Allmark works for Caritas Social Action Network JUSTICE MAGAZINE 23

Feature Welfare in the UK

Changes to the welfare system may be aimed at saving taxpayers’ money, but in reality they are causing harm and heartache for disabled people, as Bernadette Meaden reports

Targeting savings, but hurting the vulnerable In Britain today, many sick and disabled people live in fear. Cuts to the welfare budget, the enormous upheaval of the Welfare Reform Act, and media coverage which often portrays benefit claimants as ‘scroungers’ or ‘shirkers’, has been described as a ‘war on welfare’.

The sheer scale and speed of change has left people reeling.

The Department of Work and Pensions itself describes its welfare reform as ‘The biggest change to the welfare system for over 60 years’.

Of all the sectors of society affected, sick and disabled people are the hardest hit. In past decades, many, who are housebound or even bedbound, may have suffered in relative silence. In the age of social media, they can put up a resistance.

Via Twitter, Skype and email, victims of this ‘war on welfare’ and other concerned individuals, have made contact and got organised.

They include people like Wayne Blackburn.

“I was born with Spastic Diplegia and have had several operations during my childhood and later, and have developed Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) and Spondylosis over the last couple of years,” Wayne said. “I’ve worked on and off throughout my adult life until my condition deteriorated significantly three years ago and has worsened ever since. I detest the ‘scrounger’ rhetoric being pushed by this and previous Governments and long for the day that the use of ‘welfare’ is once again replaced by ‘social security’ 24 JUSTICE MAGAZINE

as it should be. I hope we can restore some sanity and compassion to the system.”

Wayne and other ‘WOWzers’ have established the WOW petition on the Government’s e-petition website, aiming to get 100,000 signatures.

It calls for, a ‘Cumulative Impact Assessment of all cuts and changes affecting sick & disabled people, their families and carers, and a free vote on repeal of the Welfare Reform Act’.

Launched last December, the petition currently has just over 23,000 signatures.

There are numerous ways in which disabled people’s lives are being impacted. Many disabled people work, but those who can’t have in the past received Incapacity Benefit (IB). This has now been replaced by Employment Support Allowance (ESA) and claimants must undergo a Work Capability Assessment (WCA), conducted by French IT company Atos. They

have caused great anguish.

It is widely acknowledged that the WCA is not fit for purpose, and the Royal College of GPs has called for it to be scrapped. It is a computer-based tick box exercise, which takes no account of the complexity or fluctuating nature of many medical conditions. Official figures show that 40 per cent of appeals against a decision not to award Employment and Support Allowance are upheld.

The figure rises to a staggering 70 per cent if the claimant is accompanied by someone like a Citizen’s Advice worker.

Last year the National Audit Office judged that the contract awarded to Atos to conduct the WCA was poor value for the taxpayer. According to Tom Greatrex MP, “the taxpayer is effectively paying for this service twice - once through the £112m a year Atos receives from the DWP, and then again through the £60m a year spent on appeals and clearing up the mess that results from Atos assessments.”

Yet the financial shortcomings of the WCA are as nothing compared to the toll it is taking in human misery. Richard Hawkes, chief executive of Scope, said: “It is the Government that has designed this deeply flawed assessment and until it makes fundamental changes to the design of this test, it will continue to have a devastating effect on disabled people’s lives.”

Numerous friends and families have blamed the stress of the WCA

process for deterioration in the health of their loved ones, sometimes leading to premature death.

Suicides have also been attributed to it. Last December Ian Lavery MP tweeted: “Very busy day ending in great sadness, reading a 54-year-old man's suicide note blaming the #wca and zero score. Couldn't face another year.”

I can personally testify to the anguish caused by the WCA, having seen what has happened to my friend Yvonne.

Born with a heart and lung condition, Yvonne had a double lung transplant 20 years ago. She worked until her doctors told her to stop. She is now experiencing all the problems of organ rejection, is very weak and has a lot of unpleasant symptoms to deal with on a daily basis.

Her condition is deteriorating and she knows she probably won’t live for more than a couple of years. The anti-rejection medication has caused various problems, including breast cancer, for which she had surgery and radiotherapy.

Her condition is such that on her frequent visits to the transplant clinic at Harefield in Middlesex she gets hospital transport from North Wales.

Last spring Yvonne was summoned to a Work Capability Assessment. She approached it, as she approaches everything, with a positive attitude and faith in the person who would be carrying out the assessment.

What actually happened shocked her. She found the whole experience humiliating and distressing. The physical tests exacerbated the pain of a collapsed lung which she had sustained a short time before.

Yvonne was informed that she had been placed in the Work Related Activity Group, which means she is required to attend interviews at Jobcentre Plus, to prepare her for a return to work.

This was patently ridiculous, but it took her a while to summon up the energy and the courage to

appeal this absurd decision. Eventually with the help of her GP and consultants she put the evidence together and submitted her appeal. She has still not had a decision, leaving her in a constant state of anxiety. She is now worried about paying her rent, and fears the end of her life may be blighted by hardship. All she wants is the minimum support to enable her to live her last years without fear of poverty, but her peace of mind has been taken away.

Another aspect of welfare reform that has a disproportionate impact on sick and disabled people is the ‘Under-Occupancy rule’ or bedroom tax as it has become known.

This applies to tenants of social housing who receive Housing Benefit. If they are deemed to have a spare bedroom they will lose 14 per cent of their benefit. For many on a tight budget this will leave them unable to pay their rent.

They will face increased financial hardship, or be forced to move house. The Department for Work and Pensions estimates that 420,000 of the 660,000 households affected will include a disabled person.

But when is a bedroom a ‘spare’ room? The new rules are rigid, making no allowances for the circumstances of disabled people’s lives. For instance, a couple is allowed only one bedroom, even if one of them has an illness or disability which makes it impractical for them to sleep in the same room. Similarly for disabled children, they must share a room with a sibling, even if they require care in the night and medical equipment in their room.

Recently a blind woman made a heartbreaking call to Radio Five explaining how her tiny box bedroom would make her eligible for the benefit cut, forcing her to move out. There were no single bedroom properties available nearby, so the years she had spent after being blinded, learning to get around her local area with her

guide dog would all have been wasted. She would be forced to move to a strange area, where her blindness would become a far greater handicap.

Many disabled people, some in work, some not, have relied on Disability Living Allowance to cover the extra costs they incur. It helps them get around and do many things that able-bodied people take for granted.

This benefit is to be abolished, and replaced with Personal Independence Payments.

Last December Esther McVey MP, the Minister for Disabled People, announced that an initial 560,000 claimants will be reassessed by October 2015, and 330,000 of these are expected to either lose their benefit altogether or have their payments reduced. Even Paralympians fear that these changes will make their lives harder, and Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson has said she fears we will be turning the clock back 30 years, to a time when disabled people were isolated and ghettoised.

On top of all this comes the one per cent cap on benefit uprating, which is a real terms cut. The move has been condemned by Caritas who stated: “The Catholic Church and its social action charities recognise the threat that this poses to the fundamental wellbeing of disabled, unemployed and low paid people, as well as their families who are already buckling under the weight of recent changes to the welfare system.”

Add the swingeing cuts to local authority budgets which are decimating services for disabled people, and it is clear to see that they are being hit from every angle. The organisers of the WOW petition would greatly appreciate any support. It can be signed at http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/pet itions/43154. To learn more about it, and the people behind it, visit www.wowpetition.com Bernadette Meaden blogs for Ekklesia www.ekklesia.co.uk/blog/1251 JUSTICE MAGAZINE 25

Comment Development

Should we view development policy solely as a means of economic recovery or rather from the perspectives of sustainability and viability, asks Cayetana Carrion

Rethinking development policy

26 JUSTICE MAGAZINE

Campaigners want the fight to end poverty on the mainstream agenda

PHOTO: Howard Lake

The vitality of the emerging economies is starting to redefine the balance of decision-making powers at international level.

The crises in finance, food and the environment have brought into question the viability of the dominant economic model based on growth and pinned to agro-industrial and mining development; a major predator of Earth’s natural resources and generator of profit to the detriment of justice, equality and respect for human rights.

It raises huge economic, social and environmental challenges and demands a complete remake of - or, at the very least, some soul-searching into - our current economic system.

This is the context for the drawing up of the Alliance for Sustainable Development: Promoting Investments of Social and Environmental Quality established between the European Union (EU) and the Community of Latin America and Caribbean Countries (CELAC) during the top-level biregional summit held January 2013 in Santiago de Chile in Chile.

The aim of this agreement was to renew and deepen the strategic partnership between the two regions with regard to promoting “investments of social and environmental quality”.

In order to eradicate poverty and promote equality, particularly gender equality, it is vital to encourage “sustained and inclusive economic growth” of the countries in the region, all the while “protecting the environment and promoting social equity and inclusion”, thanks to productive investment that respects all three dimensions of sustainable development.

The green economy is one of the most important tools available for achieving sustainable development and poverty eradication; the Latin

American Investment Facility (LAIF) mechanism is its strategy which will enable the encouragement of the investment so much needed by the beneficiary governments and public institutions in Latin America.

Even though CIDSE (the international alliance of Catholic development agencies) has welcomed the emphasis placed on the importance of including these social and environmental dimensions in investment promotion - and is delighted that the Declaration has mentioned that some countries and regions have recognised the rights of nature - we still have concerns about the central role awarded to the private sector in development through the progress of the green economy.

In fact, according to CIDSE, the concept of the green economy is fraught with problems. Not only does it fail to address the structural causes linked to our development model based on growth, consumption and measuring GNP, but it also fails to incorporate the dimensions of social equity, instead considering the environment as a source of investment potential.

The recent trade agreements ratified between Peru, Colombia and Central America and the EU are good examples

of the predominance of economic interests over human and environmental rights between countries and regions which are inherently imbalanced at the economic level.

But supporting sustainable development and poverty eradication requires us not only to incorporate the three pillars of sustainable development and to respect the human rights of the citizens and communities most affected, but also calls into question the economic models that rely on growth measured in terms of GNP. Instead, we should give priority to locally sustainable approaches and technologies with the goal of obtaining substantial social benefits for all citizens.

Pursuing this argument even further, it would be a good idea to call into question the concept of development aimed at economic recovery which is not viable from the ecological point of view; we should propose social and economic alternatives that would be based on the concept of viability.

Finally, CIDSE welcomes with satisfaction the setting up of a bi-regional dialogue on the issues relating to gender equality which will be entrusted to a high level organisation created for the purpose. Social justice can only be accomplished if equality between men and women is fully established.

After all, its basic tenet is respect for human dignity.

Cayetana Carrion is Programme Cooperation Officer at CIDSE

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JUSTICE MAGAZINE 27

Feature Pope Francis

We have a Pope. Lee Siggs looks at the reaction to the election of Pope Francis, his choice of name and how he is a man who understands the needs of the poor and the developing world.

A Church for the poor, A Pope for the world The signs are already good. After the election of the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, to the papacy less than a week ago, knowledge of his work in the Argentinean capital and his life of simplicity has already endeared him to many.

Small gestures on the balcony of St Peter’s – his request for the faithful to pray for him before he prayed for them, his choice of plain white vestments – also sent out a simple but powerful message about the type of man Pope Francis is.

His two simple words in Italian – buena sera, or good evening – seemed to cut the tension both for those in St Peter’s Square and the millions of Catholics and nonCatholics watching around the world.

There was an immediate warmth and humility projected by the man who succeeds Benedict XVI. The choice of name, of course, could only help.

News outlets reported the day after his election how he had insisted on traveling in a mini-bus with his brother cardinals to the Sistine Chapel, rather than in the official papal limousine. On Thursday he returned to the Church-run hotel he had stayed in on arriving 28 JUSTICE MAGAZINE

‘‘

When things were getting a little ‘dangerous’, he comforted me. And then, when the votes reached the two-thirds, there was the usual applause because the Pope had been elected.

He hugged me and said: ‘Do not forget the poor.’

in Rome to collect his belongings and pay the bill.

Despite the rising stress levels this may have caused the Vatican security services, it has nonetheless sent out a clear signal.

Francis himself was more explicit about the direction his papacy will take when he met with journalists in the Paul VI Audience Hall on Friday morning.

Greeting more than 6,000 journalists and those working in the media as well as for the Holy See, who were accredited to cover the papal conclave, he said: “Some people didn’t know why the Bishop of Rome wanted to call himself ‘Francis’,” the new pope

said. “Some thought of Francis Xavier, Francis de Sales, even Francis of Assisi. I will tell you the story. At the election I had the archbishop emeritus of Sao Paulo next to me. He is also prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Clergy, Cardinal Claudio Hummes: a dear, dear friend.

“When things were getting a little ‘dangerous’, he comforted me.

And then, when the votes reached the two-thirds, there was the usual applause because the Pope had been elected. He hugged me and said: ‘Do not forget the poor.’ And that word stuck here [tapping his forehead]; the poor, the poor.

“Then, immediately in relation to the poor I thought of Francis of Assisi. Then I thought of war, while the voting continued, until all the votes [were counted]. And so the name came to my heart: Francis of Assisi.

“For me he is the man of poverty, the man of peace, the man who love and safeguards Creation. In this moment when our relationship with Creation is not so good right? -he is the man who gives us this spirit of peace, the poor man.

Oh, how I wish for a Church that is poor and for the poor.”

Clergy and agencies working with the poorest and most margin-

PHOTO: Mazur/www.catholicchurch.org.uk

Pope Francis meets the world’s media at the Paul VI Audience Hall on March 15

alised groups in the world have been quick to laud the new leader of the Catholic Church.

An Argentinean bishop working in South Africa - Bishop José Luis Gerardo Ponce de Leon - believes “the Church needs Pope Francis’ simple gestures”.

“I met the then Cardinal Bergoglio two years ago when I was in Buenos Aires on holiday,” Bishop Ponce de Leon said. “I sent an email asking to meet him, since I was born in Buenos Aires, writing to him with great simplicity: “Jorge since you are the arch-

bishop of the place and I am a missionary bishop born in your archdiocese I would like to meet you.”

And he immediately answered: “I am very busy but we will find the time.”

We were in his office for half an hour with great simplicity and great sharing. I remember when he greeted me in told me: ‘I heartily thank you for wanting to come and see me’.

“As Pope Francis asked the people in the square to pray for him, even in his email response he

wrote: ‘I beg you to pray for me’.

You can see that it is a constant feature of his charisma.

“The choice of the name Francis seems an indication of the desire of his heart. In Argentina he is known as a very simple man, who personally cooks and invited even his barber for lunch. The fact that he asked for the prayers of the faithful for him and went before them to welcome their prayer, I think are signs of what we need as a church.”

Bishop Felix Machado of Vasai, India, said that both Christians JUSTICE MAGAZINE 29

Feature Pope Francis

and Hindus welcomed the new pontiff as a “man of dialogue and charity”.

“All the people of India, Hindus and Christians, welcome Pope Francis with joy,” said Bishop Machado. “The first to call and congratulate me was a well-known Hindu religious leader who said: we also prayed for the new Pope, we are happy with you, he is also our Pope.”

“This is really a good omen for us,” he said, noting “the enthusiasm of the Indian people, of all religions, for the Catholic Church”.

Bishop Machado said the Church in India was appreciated for its work along two tracks: dialogue towards cultures and religions and charity towards the poor.

“Pope Francis will encourage dialogue with other religions, a dialogue in the right way and will give a great example of charity, of attention to the poor.

“We thank God that he sent us a new pastor, who gives us the nearness of God to his people.”

In Jakarta, hopes were said to be high for a renewed dialogue between Christianity and Islam following Francis’ election.

Archbishop Johannes Maria Pujasumarta, Archbishop of Semarang and Secretary of the Episcopal Conference of Indonesia, said: “We appreciated his very simple and moving words; he asked the people to pray together

‘‘

This is a time of great joy for Catholics around the world demonstrating that we are a universal church, one that is understanding of the fact that most of the Church lives outside Europe and North America

30 JUSTICE MAGAZINE

for him and with him, he entrusted his ministry to the Virgin Mary. It was a wonderful moment for the universal Church.”

The archbishop added: “The Pope took the name of Francis of Assisi. The choice means many things; to be all about Christ, renew the Church, the sensitivity to reach out to the poor, but also dialogue with Islam. This latter aspect is very important to us, the Church in a country with a Muslim majority. We hope that the new Pope will especially promote dialogue with Islam.

“We are very happy. We prayed a lot before the election and during the conclave: the Lord listened to our prayers.”

Catholic development agencies across the globe also reflected on the new pontiff ’s choice of name.

Pirmin Spiegel, chief executive of German agency MISEREOR, said that as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Francis was familiar with “the challenges and problems of our time. This is marked in many places of the world of extreme social inequality”.

It is widely anticipated that the faithful will feel closer to the new pontiff. Brazilian liberation theologian Leonardo Boff, recognised as wanting a reconstruction of the Church, tweeted after the election: “Francis is more than just a name, it’s programme. St Francis is one of the most powerful leaders of the Christian world. It stands for love for the poor, to nature, to the simple life.”

Mexican priest Fr José Sánchez said the new pope “knows the reality of the Third World”.

“In his first gestures, he presented himself as a very simple, modest universal pastor, the first to ask the people to bless themselves,” Fr Sanchez said. “Thus he represents the people in the middle, not the Church hierarchy.”

Spanish development agency Manos Unidas expressed joy at his election and urged the Pope to advocate for the poor and respect for human rights. While Neville Kyrke-Smith, the leader of Aid to

the Church in Need (UK), believes Francis’ election highlighted regions where the religion had grown and reflected Catholicism’s worldwide presence.

Commenting on the name chosen by the new pope, Mr Kyrke-Smith described Franciscan ideals of fraternity and service.

“With the election of a Holy Father from Latin America, the Catholic Church publicly recognises the universality of the Church and, in particular, areas of growth in the Church outside Europe,” he added.

“The new Holy Father has pledged himself, in the footsteps of St Francis, to follow the path of brotherhood, love and faith in service of each other and the whole world.”

In Scotland, SCIAF director Patricia Chalé said everyone at the agency was delighted by the election of Cardinal Bergoglio.

“He is known as a true advocate for the poor and for inspiring others in undertaking works of charity,” she said. “We look forward to his leadership and continued inspiration as we work to build a more just world for all.”

The sentiment was echoed by CAFOD’s Chris Bain who described having a pope from Latin America as a “momentous decision”.

“This is a time of great joy for Catholics around the world demonstrating that we are a universal church, one that is understanding of the fact that most of the Church lives outside Europe and North America.

“This choice of pope puts service to the poor and tackling injustice at the forefront of the Church’s mission in the world. Pope Francis brings with him great hope.”

Lee Siggs is a Catholic journalist Sources: VIS/Fides/ACN/SCIAF

Comment Pope Francis

What if the new pontiff wanted your advice on the issues the Church should be addressing as a priority asks Tony Magliano

It’s Pope Francis, for you

PHOTO:: Mazur/www.catholicchurch.org.uk

Imagine getting a call from Pope Francis explaining that he would like your advice concerning the most important issues facing the Catholic Church and the world.

If he asked you: “What kind of pope does the church and world need at this moment in history?”

What would you say to him?

Well, if our new Holy Father asked me that question, I would first of all suggest that he deeply reflect on the challenge given to him by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the cardinals.

In his homily during the Mass before the election of a new pope, Cardinal Sodano said in light of Christ’s teachings to love and serve the church and all of humanity, “the last popes have been builders of so many good initiatives for people and for the international community, tirelessly promoting justice and peace.”

He then added this challenge: “Let us pray that the future pope may continue this unceasing work on the world level.”

My sentiments exactly. Throughout much of the world, where ongoing war has become the norm, and where even nuclear war is not only thinkable but a real possibility – consider North Korea’s recent threats to strike the United States and South Korea with nuclear weapons, and US counter threats – having a pope who is deeply committed to “tirelessly promoting justice and peace” is an absolute necessity.

In addition to the inhumanity of war, Pope Francis faces a whole host of serious threats to human life and dignity. In response to the cata-

New postcards at the Vatican

strophic assaults and cold-hearted indifference experienced by countless persons who are unborn, poor, hungry, homeless, jobless, medically uninsured, undocumented, and on death row, our new pope needs to ceaselessly and courageously stand up and proclaim “No!” to all of this cruel injustice. And I would ask him to urge all the clergy to do the same with their preaching and example.

Also, I would request that the Holy Father mandate that all seminarians be given a much expanded exposure to Catholic Social Teach-

ing. And that they be required to spend one year of their formation ministering to, and being ministered by, the poor in economically underdeveloped nations, as well as in their own country. This immersion experience would go a long way in deepening the sensitivity of clergy and laity alike to the many injustices suffered by the poor.

Additionally, I would urge Pope Francis to take to heart, further develop, and strongly attempt to infuse into the everyday life of the Catholic Church the prophetic social justice and peace teachings of his recent predecessors. Here would be an excellent place to start: Following the 1991 Gulf War, Blessed Pope John Paul II declared: “No, never again, war, which destroys the lives of innocent people, teaches how to kill, throws into upheaval even the lives of those who do the killing and leaves behind a trail of resentment and hatred, thus making it all the more difficult to find a just solution to the very problems which provoked the war.”

Here Blessed John Paul contributed to the development of recent papal teaching that is steadily shifting the Catholic Church away from the just-war theory towards non-violent solutions based on justice and love.

I would urge Pope Francis to take the final remaining step here, and declare that war is never just, and is always to be condemned as a curse upon humanity.

Tony Magliano is an internationally syndicated social justice and peace columnist. See his column at www.justicemagazine.org

JUSTICE MAGAZINE 31

Feature Papal resignation

Pope Benedict’s resignation in February sent shockwaves across the world. Lord Alton says we should be grateful for what the now Pope Emeritus brought to the Church during his papacy and should allow him to enjoy a restful retirement

A faithful servant In considering the momentous recent events, it’s hard not to think of the canticle of Simeon – the Nunc Dimittis - “Lord, now you let your servant go in peace”.

Referring directly to the sheer strains and demands of office, to the fast moving nature of our modern society, and to his increasing physical inability to cope with these pressures, Pope Benedict, like Simeon, asked to be allowed to depart in peace.

It may be 600 years since Gregory XII, in very different circumstances, resigned his office, but he did it for the good of the Church – knowing it was the only way to end the Great Western Schism in which two popes had been elected.

His resignation was possible because of the decree of his predecessor, Celestine V, 200 years earlier in 1294, which allowed for resignation. Celestine felt called back to a life of prayer as a monk.

In our own times we have seen the requirement of bishops to tender their resignation at the age of 75 and the ending of the voting rights of cardinals once they reach the age of 80. So there is both precedent and an irresistible logic 32 JUSTICE MAGAZINE

in what Pope Benedict has done.

The demands of the Papacy – intellectual, spiritual and physical – are phenomenal, and there will be very few who will not understand and respect Pope Benedict’s view that at 85 it is time to pass the burden of that responsibility to others. His ministry has been characterised by humility and selflessness and this decision is of a piece with those characteristics.

In passing on the tiller of the Barque of Peter, Benedict is freeing himself to spend his remaining years preparing for the journey which all of us must ultimately make – both Pope and people; and, in doing so, he is reminding us all that one day we will have to do the same.

In our own frenetic lives we often forget that no-one was ever heard to utter on his death beds the words “I wish I had spent more time in the office.”

The Pope’s decision will remind us to leave space and time to consider our own mortality but it may also prove to be one of his greatest gifts to those who follow him – removing from them the expectation of remaining in office until death. There will, however, always

remain anxiety lest a Pope who resigns allows himself to become a point of dissent against whoever follows him.

This would have a damaging effect on the teaching authority and unity of the Church. Pope Benedict, a brilliant theologian and admired intellectual, will have weighed this issue carefully – and it was no doubt one of the ques-

Photo: Mazur/catholicchurch.org.uk

Benedict during his last week as pontiff

tions to which he alluded when he said he had searched his conscience and prayed deeply before reaching his decision.

So how will his papacy be judged and what might we expect for the future?

The Chief Rabbi, Jonathan Sacks, was right to describe Benedict as “compassionate” “thoughtful” and “gentle”, carrying

“an aura of grace and wisdom.”

On meeting Benedict it is hard not to be struck by his humility and shyness – which is perhaps why he disarmed so many of the angry atheists who harangued him during his visit to the UK in 2010.

His call in Westminster Hall, the scene of the trials of Thomas More, Edmund Campion and many other Catholics, for Christians to speak

out for “the legitimate role of religion in the public square” was a powerful appeal to the secularised West not to forget who we are, not to lose our identity.

A friend of mine who is being received into the Church on Palm Sunday told me that it was Benedict’s courageous witness that led him to first read the 1992 Catechism of the Catholic Church, JUSTICE MAGAZINE 33

Feature Papal resignation

Photo: Mazur/catholicchurch.org.uk

Benedict in St Peter’s Square during his last papal audience

which Benedict had done so much to prepare, and then to read his books on theology and the trilogy of the life of Jesus, and his encyclicals, such as Deus Caritas Est. Benedict’s belief in faith and reason led my friend to the Church and his writings will be Benedict’s greatest bequest.

In choosing his successor, the cardinals will have wanted to weigh up the challenges now facing the Church – which range from disciplinary issues, arising out of clerical abuse, to how the Church better uses its resources for its central responsibility to proclaim the Gospel.

Pope Benedict is right that we live in a rapidly changing world and his successor will need to know how to handle that world.

His successor will want to tell the old truths in new ways and display pastoral sensitivity about the chal34 JUSTICE MAGAZINE

lenges which face everyone of us in our daily lives. He will need the compassion of Jesus and the wisdom of Solomon; the patience of Mary, the courage of Michael and the communication gifts of Paul.

He may also need to face the dangers which have cost many Popes their lives.

One of the great contributions of Pope Benedict has been his call for religious freedom and respect but that came at a price.

He risked threats to his life in travelling to Lebanon where he called for religious tolerance. At Regensberg, in 2006, he abjured the use of violence to promote religious objectives. The Regensberg lecture sparked controversy but he had dared to say what many thought and good came from it with significant encounters between Muslim and Catholic scholars and the creation of the

Catholic-Muslim forum to promote dialogue. Dr Mustafa Ceric, former Grand Mufti of Bosnia, has said he hoped Benedict’s successor would build on that “spirit of friendly Muslim-Catholic dialogue”. With Christians being murdered from West Africa to Syria, this will be an urgent and far from easy task.

One of the ancient titles of the Pope is “Pontifex” – the builder of the bridge; but in addition to building bridges he must also be “Claviger” – the bearer of the keys given by Jesus to Peter, as He entrusted him to uphold and interpret His teachings. And above all Peter’s successor is called to be the “servant of the servants of God”.

Pope Emeritus, a faithful servant has departed both with gratitude and in peace.

Lord Alton is a Catholic peer

Comment Papal resignation

Tony Magliano assesses Pope Benedict’s contribution to Catholic Social Teaching

A green legacy Photo: Mazur/catholicchurch.org.uk

Being pope is a tough job. If he’s liberal the conservatives will criticise him. If he’s conservative the liberals will be critical of him. And if he takes the middle ground, he’ll catch it from both sides.

But one area of Benedict’s papacy I especially hope both conservatives and liberals will agree on, and really take to heart, is the valuable contribution he made to the Church’s social doctrine.

Let’s take a look at some of his most notable and challenging contributions here. First off, more than any other pope he has taught and encouraged us to cherish and protect the environment. In fact, he has earned the unique distinction of being called “The Green Pope.”

In his 2010 World Day of Peace message titled “If You Want to Cultivate Peace, Protect Creation,” he boldly wrote: “Can we remain indifferent before the problems associated with such realities as climate change, desertification, the deterioration and loss of productivity in vast agricultural areas, the pollution of rivers and aquifers, the loss of biodiversity, the increase of natural catastrophes and the deforestation of equatorial and tropical regions?” Greenpeace couldn’t have said it any better.

In this year’s World Day of Peace message titled “Blessed are the Peacemakers,” the former head of the Catholic Church wrote: “It is alarming to see hotbeds of tension and conflict caused by growing instances of inequality between rich and poor, by the prevalence of a selfish and individualistic mindset which also finds expression in an unregulated financial capitalism.”

Here Benedict is firmly standing on the principle of Catholic Social Teaching which insists that the goods of the

Pilgrims pray for Benedict at St Peter’s on the night his papacy ended

earth are meant to be shared by all – not selfishly hoarded by the wealthy few. Benedict’s clear condemnation of an “unregulated financial capitalism,” should awaken the consciences of all those who selfishly promote the so-called free market, which overwhelmingly favors wealthy individuals and corporations at the expense of the poor and working class.

During the 2006 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, Pope Benedict boldly declared, “”In the name of God, I appeal to all those responsible for this spiral of violence, so that they immediately put down their arms on all sides.”

In light of all of the death and destruction, Benedict added: “These facts demonstrate clearly that you cannot re-establish justice, create a new order and build authentic peace when you resort to instruments of violence.”

Here Benedict further developed the Catholic Church’s growing condemnation of war – favoring non-violent solutions. In his compelling social justice and peace encyclical Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth), Benedict wrote: “Love – caritas – is an extraor-

dinary force which leads people to opt for courageous and generous engagement in the field of justice and peace. Charity is at the heart of the church’s social doctrine.”

Charity “is the principle not only of micro-relationships (with friends, with family members or within small groups) but also of macro-relationships (social, economic and political ones).”

Imagine how wonderful all of our relationships would be if we would allow love to govern them? Imagine how wonderful our world would be if we allowed love to govern our social, economic and political arenas? Let’s make it happen.

Thank you, Pope Benedict XVI, for strengthening the social doctrine of the Catholic Church, and for being a holy father to us. May God fill your remaining time on earth with peace and joy.

Tony Magliano is an internationally syndicated social justice and peace columnist.

Read his column at justicemagazine.org

JUSTICE MAGAZINE 35

Feature Feeding the world

Farmers are trying to get to grips with a constantly changing climate

Mark Lister reports on the work being done to end hunger in Malawi and Zimbabwe and reflects on how the new IF… campaign can change lives.

The hunger period Hunger is devastating in its impact and complex in its causes and solutions.

In the UK, the recently launched ‘Enough Food for Everyone IF…’ campaign is highlighting the ongoing global scandal of hunger and what can be done to combat it. But what is being done in countries around the world, where one in eight people go to bed hungry every night?

As the Enough Food for Everyone IF… campaign was launched 36 JUSTICE MAGAZINE

in London, I was in Malawi visiting our teams of development workers and the local partner organisations they work with. I also travelled to Zimbabwe and was able to see for myself the amazing commitment shown by all those involved in Progressio’s work in two countries where most people live on less than $2 a day and know what it is to feel hungry.

One of my first stops in Malawi was Kabudulah, a rural village on the outskirts of Lilongwe, Malawi’s

sprawling capital of around one million people.

The young people I met are actively taking responsibility for the sustainable future of their livelihoods and their local environment. They included about 130 young people from the village (roughly half girls and half boys), plus the eight young adult volunteers with Progressio ICS (Progressio’s International Citizen Service programme) – four Malawians and four Brits.

Photo: PROGRESSIO

“My wish is to take the skills I have learnt across to my family’s small farm plot so we can get more produce for the whole family in future,” said one young farmer.

The approach is ‘empowerment’ in action: The community identifying its own priorities, drawing up its own action plan and then implementing it. Progressio supMalawian local the ports organisation Arise and Shine International (ASI) in sharing knowledge and skills with the communities as the projects evolve.

“We are working with the local young villagers to show them how to diversify beyond the staple crop, maize, by growing a new higher value crop, paprika (peppers), in an organically sustainable way,” explained Patrick, who works for

Malawian ASI. The crops are grown on 16 mini-plots with varying levels of fertiliser and manure – a scientific test bed so the young farmers can learn which combination maximises crop yields. “Not only can the learning spread round the village but also be taken to other communities too,” said Patrick.

The young volunteer team is also developing other activities in response to priorities identified by the local young farmers; these include HIV and AIDS prevention, Early Childhood Development, and family planning to address key health issues.

Effective local communication methods include drama, poetry, and dance, whereby the local young people become ‘trainers’, themselves taking the message to others in the village. The young people take the knowledge back to their families.

The ‘TA’ in the village name Kabudulah TA stands for Traditional Authority and, importantly, the youth programme has the backing of the local TA elders including the TA Chief who kindly donated the land and some of the seeds for the young farmers’ training plot. He has also donated more land for building a youth resource centre to consolidate the learning and act as a hub for information and training on sustainable farming and livelihoods, income generating practices, HIV and AIDS, Early Childhood Development and family planning too.

The obstacles and challenges are huge but these young people and their elder TA Chief were full of smiles when talking about their hopes for the future.

Travelling east, towards Lake Malawi, I arrived in Kasache village to meet a group of farmers who were receiving training and support to bridge the gap between harvests which leaves many of the villagers without food for months at a time.

“The hunger period for our families is often October to January in the rainy season. We have no more

‘‘

My wish is to take the skills I have learnt across to my family’s small farm plot so we can get more produce for the whole family in future

food from the last harvest and cannot afford to buy enough food at the market,” explained a farmer in Salima district near Lake Malawi.

Standing in his fields with the Kasache village group, I can see that hunger takes its toll without mercy.

But there’s been another kind of Mercy at work too – Mercy Chimpokosera, a Progressio development worker, who has been supporting the Malawian NGO Environment Africa in helping Kasache, and many surrounding villages, to get through the ‘hunger period’.

Mercy and Environment Africa have provided local small-holder farmers with training on improving yields, diversifying crops and extending harvest times.

The results are paying dividends, according to the farmers I met during my visit.

“We chose the local sweet potato and cassava,” said Michael, one of the local farmers; “we chose it as a source of income and food. There is a local market for sweet potato especially in Ramadan. Cassava too is ready nine months after planting in the hunger period.”

The new approach comes from increasing or introducing crop variety and diversification away from maize, the villagers’ staple crop. The properties of the types of cassava and sweet potatoes now being introduced – of late planting, slow growing and drought resistance – are a real advantage for the villagers.

What is more, sweet potato vines can be stored and provide the JUSTICE MAGAZINE 37

Campaign Feeding the world

Photo: PROGRESSIO

Progressio’s Mark Lister visited Malawi and Zimbabwe

seeds for next season’s harvest – a free self-regenerating crop for farmers who sometimes cannot afford seeds.

The innovations and improvements kept on coming from Mercy and the Environment Africa team training the group of local people in generating tree seedlings to combat deforestation.

Despite the risks of hunger creeping back in because of such people rains, unpredictable insisted on sharing a large tasty cassava with us. I was shown how you strip the outer skin off with your teeth and it peels back almost like a bark so you can bite into the creamy parsnip-coloured flesh 38 JUSTICE MAGAZINE

inside. The taste is refreshing like a slightly spongy sweet raw carrot; but it doesn’t just taste nice, as cassava is also very nutritious.

As I left the village, still munch-

‘‘

Despite the risks of hunger creeping back in because of such unpredictable rains, people insisted on sharing a large tasty cassava with us

ing on my last bit of cassava, one thing was clear; this was yet another amazing example of the determined and generous communities who welcomed me everywhere I went in Malawi and Zimbabwe.

From the young farmers in Kabudula, to those with a lifetime of experience in Kasache, the people I met were all open to new ideas and working alongside Progressio development workers to achieve their aim of making sure they could put food on the table for their families all year round.

Mark Lister is Progressio’s Chief Executive

Communities develop the skills necessary to keep the water flowing to gardens

Photo: PROGRESSIO

Broken boreholes. Rivers of sand.

Women spending hours every day walking long distances to collect water. Ask anybody in the district of Lupane, Zimbabwe, what their biggest day-to-day challenge is and ‘lack of water’ is their instant response.

The night before my visit it had been announced that water rationing would increase from three to four days a week. This would have serious consequences in rural dry and dusty Lupane.

Passing one broken borehole after another on the road to Lupane, it would have been easy to conclude that the situation is hopeless. But before long Cliff Maunze, a Progressio development worker with partner organisation Environment Africa, introduced me to one of several community gardens.

A group consisting of 17 women and five men run the garden with everyone playing their part. Some women pump water, others carry it the short distance from the pump to their crops. The garden produces enough food to feed the households of those in the group as well as ensuring a nutritious diet.

Talking to local people busy gardening, I learnt that this borehole provides enough water for the garden but not enough for everyone’s basic needs. Other sources of water require a much longer walk. Pumping water is hard work and the women struggle in this physically demanding act.

As we drove away from the site, Cliff chuckled: “Now this is real development”. Individuals and communities who are given an idea, trained in the basic skills and supported with the initial inputs are truly empowered as they take ownership of the garden. Communities themselves dig the foundations, rehabilitate broken boreholes, plant the seeds and tend the crops.

Cliff explained that this not only provides a long term, sustainable solution to food insecurity but also gives people their dignity and independence by proving to the

Women work tirelessly on the pump that provides water for their crops

participants what they can do with their environment, if the natural resources are managed responsibly.

Another garden we visited that had been established in 2012 was already thriving, with the help of 33 women including 12 widows and two households headed by children.

As we drove along dusty roads, Cliff pointed out and waved to people working in other community gardens and tending to beehives – including Mr and Mrs Sibanda who have trebled their yields by using conservation farming techniques and have been able to purchase solar

panels with the profits.

These are stories of striking and significant change. At the community gardens that I visited I saw empowerment in its most tangible form. Communities, and particularly the women within them, are overcoming challenges of water scarcity for themselves, and as a result are producing nutritious food for their families.

Lis Martin is Progressio’s environment policy officer JUSTICE MAGAZINE 39

Feature Trocaire anniversary

Forty years ago the people of Ireland responded to devastating floods in Bangladesh. Trocaire was born shortly after.

Trying to change lives When floods and famine threatened the lives of thousands in Bangladesh, parishes all over Ireland responded by donating £250,000 to deliver life-saving aid.

The year was 1972 and that collection inspired the Catholic Church in Ireland to establish its own agency to support some of the poorest communities in the world.

So it was that forty years ago, Trócaire was born.

Trócaire would bring about longterm development rooted in justice, through a combination of direct support overseas and campaigning at home. Its mandate stated: “Abroad it will give whatever help lies within its resources to the areas of greatest need among the developing countries.

At home, it will try to make us all more aware of the needs of those countries and of our duties towards them. These duties are no longer a matter of charity but of simple justice.”

Trócaire works with some of the most vulnerable people in the developing world. The organisation believes in dignity, fairness, potential and hope. It believes in empowering people so that they can determine a better future for themselves. Poverty is about more 40 JUSTICE MAGAZINE

much more than a low income.

When poor people are asked to define it for themselves, poverty is described as voicelessness, powerlessness and exclusion from decision making.

This year’s 40th anniversary Lenten Campaign highlights how rural communities in India are

working together to successfully petition their government to provide for their human rights to food, education, water, healthcare and basic infrastructure.

The 2013 Trócaire box features Ambika Paraja, nine, from Jhilligoan community in Odisha, east India and highlights how

PHOTO: Jeannie O'Brien/TROCAIRE

Trocaire works with people to help them advocate for their rights

communities there are helped through Irish donations.

Trócaire works with communities in Odisha, which is one of the poorest states in India. Incredibly, 47 per cent of Odisha’s 41 million people live on less than 28 cents a day. With the help of Trócaire, Ambika’s community is asking its

government to share in India’s new-found wealth and through this, address inequality.

Trócaire, working through local community organisations, has helped Jhilligoan’s people to advocate for their rights and work with the local government to improve their village. The community now

has clean water, a road, a basic school, a local health worker and is farming more successfully. Their future, particularly their children’s future, is now much more secure.

The families of Jhilligoan have acquired the skills to demand their rights and are more in control of their own destiny.

JUSTICE MAGAZINE 41

Feature Trocaire anniversary

PHOTO: Jeannie O'Brien/TROCAIRE

Ambika Paraja, nine, with her father Hari Paraja and mother Dharma in Jhilligoan, Odisha, India.

Overcoming poverty is about so much more than practical support; it’s about justice and people realising their rights, as it has been since Trócaire’s beginning.

Forty years after its foundation, Trócaire’s commitment to supporting the poorest people in building a more secure future, while campaigning for a more just world, remains central to its work.

From helping small farmers in Honduras cope with the impact of climate change, to providing emergency shelter to people affected by conflict in Myanmar, Trócaire channels support from people in Ireland to help those who need it most.

Trócaire’s history is owned by people, parishes and clergy in Ireland, who for 40 years have devoted unyielding solidarity to people in need.

It is also owned by the brave local organisations that Trócaire supports to work every day to better their own communities. Most importantly, it is owned by the people who benefit across the world and who place their hope for a better future in their joined humanity with Irish people.

42 JUSTICE MAGAZINE

Strive for change in Lent Real power lies within. Within communities, within individuals, within you.

This Lent you can campaign with courageous people from the poorest parts of the world who are taking a stand and sacrificing their own safety for the justice and rights we take for granted.

Working for a just world is the mission of Trócaire.

We work with some of the most excluded and vulnerable communities in the world, helping them to gain skills and demand basic rights, within communities, within individuals, within you.

This Lent you can campaign with courageous people from the poorest parts of the world who are taking a stand and sacrificing their own safety for the justice and rights we take for granted.

Working for a just world is the mission of Trócaire.

We work with some of the most excluded and vulnerable communities in the world, helping them to gain skills and demand basic rights such as water, education and sani-

tation. Trócaire also works to protect and promote the work of human rights defenders, who face threats and intimidation by just for speaking out.

You can use your voice this Lent to support brave community leaders, human rights defenders and ordinary citizens who face persecution around the world. Just do it!

Real power lies within all of us.

Through your voice you can help to power up a community, by speaking out on global injustices and acting in solidarity with vulnerable communities overseas.

1. Sign up to Trócaire’s Lent campaign to support courageous individuals, communities and Trócaire partners who face daily restrictions and intimidation because of the work they do trocaire.org/powerup 2. Follow us online on Facebook (Facebook.com/trocaireireland) and Twitter (twitter.com/trocaire) to hear how your support changes lives.

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Ambika Paraja, 9 years old, Odisha, eastern India.

PLEASE GIVE WHATEVER YOU CAN THIS LENT. 1850 408 408 (ROI) 0800 912 1200 (NI) www.trocaire.org Charity Registration No. ROI: CHY 5883 NI: XR10431

JUSTICE MAGAZINE 43

Feature Caring

Paul Donovan reflects on how our care system seems to have become just another casualty of the market

The passage of life “I’m a patient, get me out of here,” was the plea often uttered by my mother during a three month stay in hospital. It was her second long stay in hospital during the past 12 months. This time she went in with a chest infection and mobility problems. At times, we wondered if she’d ever come out.

During the period in hospital she got the norro virus a couple of times and other infections. Then in the New Year when she was due to come home, there was another infection linked to a gall bladder problem. This was eventually resolved, though the gall bladder issue remains a potential dormant problem. Some more rehabilitation took place to little effect. In February, Mum came out with a bit of a chest infection and no mobility.

It has been a steady progression downhill over recent years. It is difficult to believe that just 18 months ago she was reasonably self sufficient, able to get up and down the stairs and look after herself.

How things have changed. Retiring in the early 1980s, for many years everything seemed to go along nicely for Mum and Dad. He had his bowls and bridge, she read

Marie Donovan 44 JUSTICE MAGAZINE

‘‘

One of the big loves of her life has been reading, so the loss of sight remains particularly acute.

books. Each week, they went out with my aunt on trips around the Sussex countryside.

Mum worked hard all of her life, serving as a school teacher in Kensington Primary School in East Ham, East London. She was at home for most of the 1960s bringing up my brother Andrew and myself. She returned to school in the early 1970s, my Dad being a head at a nearby school also in Newham. They met at Kensington school in the 1950s.

Some of Mum’s happiest days were in the summers of the 1960s and 70s when we used to spend the school holidays in Sussex, on the beaches at Hastings and Camber Sands. Cool glasses of wine during those long hot summers.

The whole family enjoyed those days.

In 1983, Mum and Dad retired to the cottage in Sussex, before moving down the coast. They had 20 good years of retirement before things started to go downhill.

Dad died in 2008, after a number of years suffering with dementia. My aunt died around the same time. Dad spent the last two-and-a-half years of his life in homes, getting specialist care.

Prior to going into the home though Mum had been the sole carer for Dad. These were difficult times for an 80-year-old, trying to ensure the safety of the man who

had been such a steadfast partner for the preceding 50 years. This period took its toll on Mum, it was during this time that her eyesight started to decline – not helped by the local hospital diagnosing glycoma and doing nothing about it.

Mum’s health experience though has almost been the opposite of Dad; mentally she is bright as a button, but physically it is as though everything is shutting down. For the rest of the family it is difficult to know what is the worst situation to be in, mental of physical deterioration. The physical problems cause Mum incredible frustration, at times leading her to question why she is being punished in such a way.

A half empty rather than half full glass person, she does not celebrate her truly remarkable memory. A passionate historian, at the age of 88, she can still recall dates, places, battles and people from past centuries.

Instead, the physical demise has tended to dominate. She has lost most of her sight and hearing in recent years. One of the big loves of her life has been reading, so the loss of sight remains particularly acute. Her legs are shot through with arthritis which makes movement ever more difficult. She suffers from incontinence which is another annoyance for a proud lady.

As Mum has physically deteriorated so her ability to do the most basic tasks has reduced. When a little while ago she could put herself to bed, make a cup of tea and some food, now she is reduced to being hoisted from her chair going to and from the toilet – not a great quality of life. The need for sup-

port will increase as time goes by, moving to a time when she will need 24 hour care either at home or in a home.

The physical world seems to get smaller, closing in on her. So where 18 months ago, she was upstairs in her own bedroom, using the shower with a little help.

Now, her bedroom has transferred downstairs. She walked with a stick, then a frame and now hoisting. All of these changes have meant buying in ever more care.

The travails with the care services for Mum have been different to those for Dad. He was in the homes. The battle there was to ensure he was being treated properly, not drugged or exploited.

For Mum it has been about bringing care into the home. This began three years ago, with a carer coming in each morning to get her up. She helped Mum wash, fixed breakfast, did the washing and helped set up the day.

Mum established a good relationship with the carer. All went well for a couple of years. However, as Mum’s physical condition deteriorated, so more care was needed. When she came out after her first stay earlier this year the care visits were increased, so that a carer came in during the afternoon

and at night to help her get to bed.

As the care requirement expanded so the care company seemed to provide ever less competent staff. I spoke to one new carer about what she did before.

The answer; two weeks previously, she had been working as a PA. The training was to go out with one of the experienced carers a couple of times and then she was off on her own. Care requirements of course vary, from on the one hand getting the shopping for an elderly person to the whole personal care requirements of washing, feeding etc. The qualifications of many of the carers out there are lacking, the regulation, virtually non-existent.

A product of the market the job is done by people forced to take the minimum wage jobs that fit in with other family requirements like child care.

The whole experience has taught me that commerce and care simply cannot mix. It is almost possible to see the pound signs materialising in the care company manager’s eyes when the magic words selffunding are uttered in relation to a potential client.

The latest care company provide eight carers a day, coming in four times in pairs to see to Mum’s needs.

I have spent more and more time looking after Mum. The role of carer for a parent is no small task.

The responsibility means you virtually end up living two lives, your own and that of carer. Your own life tends to become more and more subsumed by the caring role.

Care cover has to be constantly planned out.

Around one million people in this country have given up careers in order to care for relatives. I haven’t reached that point yet, presently managing to keep all the different balls in the air.

Caring child is a strange place to be, as you almost come to share the same space of the person you are looking after. For Mum it just looks like a tunnel of life becoming worse and worse, more illnesses, more hospital stays and eventually the end.

For me, it is the recognition that Mum is right, she won’t suddenly get her mobility or eyesight back.

Things will get worse, yet you don’t ever want the end to come, to reach that point where the person who brought you into the world is no longer there.

Physically broken or not, she will always be my Mum and I will always love her for being just who she is.

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Feature Mali

Helen Blakesley in Mali on a very modern way to deliver aid

Djélika Haïdara with her family in Bamako

Mali: A young mum’s story Mali, a country nestled in the middle of West Africa, is a nation divided in two. Rebel groups have been occupying the north, an area the size of Texas, aided by the instability of the country's government in Bamako.

Fighting in the north has intensified since the arrival of French troops in January this year.

Reports of atrocities against northerners abound: killings, maimings, rapes and the recruitment of child soldiers.

As a result, more than 200,000 people have fled to neighbouring countries. Another 200,000 have moved south—many to Bamako, the nation's capital.

These are some of the people American development agency Catholic Relief Services is helping

with support from partners Trócaire and Irish Aid. What is interesting is the way that help is happening on the ground.

Djélika Haïdara fled her home in Timbuktu, Mali, while still pregnant with her now six-month-old son, Ousmane. They now live in Bamako, where CRS is helping them with their rent.

Djélika pushes a braid off her face and hitches onto her hip. She leans down to look into the metal pot simmering on the woodstoked stove set on the kitchen floor.

Cooking has been her main occupation since they left Timbuktu, in northern Mali – since they fled in fear for their lives.

The day the rebels came, Djélika

was sitting in a classroom with the other students, as she always did, listening carefully to the teacher. It was her favourite lesson: physics and chemistry.

Then the gunshots started, startling the teenagers seated at their desks in neat rows. The rebels weren't far away. Their stray bullets found innocent targets in the small school building. Some students fainted, others hid, others

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The rebels weren't far away. Their stray bullets found innocent targets in the small school building JUSTICE MAGAZINE 47

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Djélika Haïdara with her family in Bamako

were hit – and a number died.

Pregnant Djélika, a newlywed bride carrying her first son, knew she had to get out. She slipped out of the classroom, skirted the building and ran to the back wall.

She managed to pull herself up

and over and kept on running.

When Djélika's mother-in-law heard what had happened, she knew they couldn't take any chances. Through her tears, she pleaded with her son, Djélika's husband, Mohamed, to take the

PHOTO: Helen Blakesley/CRS

Djélika with the CRS debit card

family away to safety. Take them anywhere but here.

The next day, a crowd gathered outside a neighbour's house. As she walked past, Djélika heard shouts and asked a woman what was going on. "They're cutting his hand off because they say he's stolen."

It was time.

The family packed what they could into bags and paid for passage in cars that would speed along the desert roads. It took nearly all of their savings. Three days later, they arrived in Bamako.

Djélika is now getting back on her feet with help from CRS. She looks down into baby Ousmane's face. Here they are, sharing rented rooms with 20 other members of the family. One bathroom serves all of them.

Things are expensive in the capital. The last time she walked to the market, a sack of rice had reached $80. It used to be $40.

The family is finding relief, though. CRS is providing money to cover the rent. Sometimes, enough

remains to go toward some rice or millet to eat. Luxuries, such as the colourful bracelets Djélika likes, will have to wait.

The way CRS gives that money helps Djélika feel a little less like she's sitting there with her hand outstretched. The family receives a prepaid debit card – worth close to $16 per person per month – so they can choose which cash machine to use, when to withdraw their cash and how much to take out each time. There’s no standing in line.

The short-term situation in Mali remains at critical level. French troops, together with the Mali army and soldiers from other African nations, are still in a combat role in the north of the country, although the BBC reported that French president Francois Hollande envisages a French withdrawal would commence next month.

France’s defence minister JeanYves Le Dria said that the army was “dealing with resolute and heavily-armed terrorists, who are

engaging in significant fighting”.

French troops have recovered huge stockpiles of weapons including AK47s, grenade launchers and pick-ups.

Around 100 militants are said to have been killed in the fighting in Mali while France has lost four troops and Chad even more.

The detail is lost on little Ousmane, who reaches up a tiny hand to pat his mother's cheek. Djélika misses her studies and her old life, but at least the family is together.

At least she has her child in her arms.

When all this is over, she'll go back. When peace settles in Mali, she'll carry on studying. In her mind's eye she sees the future.

She sees herself, a midwife, bringing more babies into the world. She just hopes it will be a peaceful one.

Helen Blakesley works for Catholic Relief Services Additional reporting

by Lee Siggs JUSTICE MAGAZINE 49

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PHOTO: Alan Whelan/Trocaire

Irish aid agency Trocaire is working to help people in Guatemala rebuild after the earthquake which struck in November. Its epicentre was San Marcos. Forty-one people were killed and 4,500 families, more than 20,000 people, were left homeless after their homes were either destroyed or badly damaged. Trócaire partner El Pastor is currently building 11 new houses and repairing 13. Jose Enrique Méndez Pérez, 5, is pictured playing as his home is rebuilt.