2011

Plant Trees. Defend life!

Year 4 -n.1 Supplement to the San Gabriel ECO. Poste Italiane S.P.A. Printed in April 2011

Editorialnternational Year of Forests

On March 21st last we celebrated

the International Year of Forests,

a theme of singular importance this year

as the year has been specially dedicated

to the protection of our forests. For this

reason we organized a day of prayer in

all our communities, and at our General

House – we celebrated a “Tree Festi-

val”. You can see photos of our Supe-

rior General, Fr. Ottaviano D’Egidio

and some other members of the community plan-

ting a few saplings in the monastery grounds.

We actually planted four young Japanese ma-

ples as a mark of solidarity with the Japanese pe-

ople at their moment of trial. The trees were

planted by the General Superior, by the General

Secretary of Solidarity and Mission, Fr. Jesús Mª

Aristín, the local Superior, and Brother Timóteo

who was soon to depart definitively to his Pro-

vince after serving the local community for 37

years; he will there enjoy a well-merited retire-

ment.

Throughout the world some 300 million people

live in forested lands. 1.6 million make their li-

ving there. The forests are vulnerable for many

reasons and we need to care for them in order to

secure their stability and survival; i.e. we plant,

utilize and protect our forests for the good of all

humanity.

It’s important we realize the fundamental rela-

tionship between water, the forests, we-

tlands and people. One in every six per-

sons in the world lacks access to

potable drinking water. We are now fa-

cing an ever increasing shortage of

water and an increase in nature’s threats

to the availability of this precious re-

source, such as droughts and floods.

Forests are extremely important to the

world’s supply of fresh water. It is cal-

culated that by the year 2025 1.8 billion

people will be living in areas where there’ll be a

chronic dearth of fresh water, and perhaps as

many as 2/3 of the world population will suffer

to some degree from a scarcity of water. Forests

capture and store water and hence exercise a fun-

damental role in assuaging the thirst of millions

of souls who populate the ever-growing megaci-

ties of our planet.

8% of the world’s forests have soil and water

conservation as their primary objective. While

every hectare of forests make a huge contribution

to regulating water cycles, around 330 million

hectares of the world's forests are designated for

soil and water conservation, avalanche control,

sand dune stabilization, desertification control or

coastal protection.

So we should celebrate the notion of forests for

people – and people for the forests, and, clima-

xing it all, forests for life. Pass it round:Plant trees. Defend life!

2

II

3

Planting for others

A person one day saw his neighbour, an elderly man of 86 or so, digging holes in the ground.

- “What are you doing, John?” he asked.

- “Planting some mango trees,” came the hearty reply.

- “So, do you ever expect to eat their fruit?" he asked, a mocking grin on his face.

- “Oh no, at my age I know I’ll never do that,” came back the answer. “All my life I’ve been

eating mangos and not one came from a tree I had planted. I would never have enjoyed those mangos

had not others before me done the same thing I’m doing now; I’m just trying to pay back my fellow

men who planted those trees for me.”

We carry a debt of gratitude toward those who came before us and suffered greatly so as to leave us

what we now enjoy. Each one of us can pay back that debt, in some measure, doing now what they did

in their time, and putting our backs into the effort to make sure there’ll be nothing lacking for future ge-

nerations.

Perhaps we too can respond to the urging of mother earth and plant new trees, because to plant is to

give life...

Added to the International days for Forests and for Water (21st and 22nd March respectively,)the International Commission for Solidarity has designated the following days for this purpose at allour communities throughout the world:

1. 16th October: World Food Day;2. 10th December: Human Rights Day;3. 30th January: Martyrs for the Cause of Non-Violence Day. The 1st January we celebrate toge-ther with the whole Church the World Day for Peace. As this is a day in which we are taken-up withother activities, we’ve decided to dedicate the whole of the month of January as the Month for Peaceand we shall conclude it with the anniversary of the death of Gandhi as we pray for the blessing ofPeacemakers.

International Solidarity Days

International Commission for Solidarity

4

frican Passionists enter into the

dynamics of Justice, Peace and

Integrity of Creation (JPIC).

This is a subject which, in today’s world,

involves all strata of society. It may appear

as something new but it isn’t. In the Old

Testament this is a theme touched upon a

number of times in the Wisdom and Pro-

phetic books of the Old Testament. For too

long it was thought that to talk about JPIC

was to enter into a political discussion.

The Church is now recovering what is at

the very heart of Christian doctrine as re-

vealed by our Saviour and was always re-

garded as the chasse gardée (exclusive

domain) of politics. Some parts of the

world have been attempting to recover

these Gospel values by centering Christian

life on a teaching which involves, pasto-

rally speaking, an unprecedented effort.

Our Lord never ceased to proclaim these

values in his teaching.

To speak of Justice and peace is tantamount

to denouncing injustice, to be a bearer of

peace. To speak of justice and peace means

entering into the very kernel of the Gospel

message, the Good News proclaimed to us

by Jesus. How many times did he not de-

nounce injustice and the violation of peo-

ples’ rights. His greeting to the Apostles

after his Resurrection involved a wish for

peace. This teaching permeates his Gospel.

It is not my intention to carry out a syste-

matic and historical analysis of the reco-

very of this Christian teaching and its

insertion into the life of the Church – and

of our Passionist world – but rather to en-

courage our brethren to delve ever deeper

into the theme so that we can centre our

pastoral work within this field, especially

in developing countries. As we integrate

these values into our ministry we will be-

come more closely involved in the realities

of the people. Likewise, the Gospel mes-

sage we strive to proclaim will be effecti-

vely updated and lived in the measure in

which we devote our efforts in this am-

bience. This is also a way in which we will

feel ourselves challenged and close to our

brothers and sisters who have to live in si-

JPIC workshop in Kenya

JPIC in Africa

AA

5

Missionaries in the D. R.

CongoEducation and Formation.

Like every other juridical entity of the Passio-

nist African Configuration, Christ the Saviour

Vice Province (SALV) is striving by every

means possible to become autonomous in both

personnel and finances. True, the road looks aw-

fully long at this point, but at the very least the-

re’s good will and a sense of commitment.

Formation of our young religious is always a

priority issue throughout the Congregation and

is doubly so at this time of restructuring in

which we are busily engaged. Given that For-

mation costs seem to be ever more unsustainable

for the Vice Province, the Superiors of the same

have thought about renting-out some of our pro-

perty and applying the income derived from this

to cover part of our Formation costs. This pro-

ject has as yet found no financial assistance from

any organization we have approached, and this

for a number of good reasons. However, our Se-

cretariat for Solidarity and Missions has finally

decided to assume responsibility for financing

the project in order to secure our nascent Pas-

sionist life among the young. Let’s hope this will

all be for the good!

The Congo Passionists are not only interested

in the formation of our students: they are also

concerned about the education of young Con-

golese students in secondary and technical scho-

ols. We have a project for a secondary technical

school at our St. Annuarite parish in Lovo. In

this case we also lack any positive result. The

aid organizations require a load of information

we have been unable to supply them with in our

plans for the project. To have any hope of ob-

taining financial assistance one needs to comply

with all the requirements demanded by an orga-

nization. The least one can say is that this gives

us all an added incentive to work harder and bet-

ter in the future.

Fr. Vital Otshudialokoka Onasaka

tuations of wretched injustice and vio-

lence.

Our 2006 General Chapter emphatically re-

minded us of the importance of this theme

related to our Passionist charism. Living

these values of Justice, Peace and Integrity

of Creation will throw new light on how

we should live that charism. In this line,

the General Secretariat for Solidarity and

Mission is engaged in updating recommen-

dation (or proposal) # 5 of the 45th Gene-

ral Chapter, so as to animate the juridical

entities of our Congregation.

Let’s look at Africa. In June last year,

2010, Fathers Jesús Mari Aristín and Vital

travelled to Kenya and Tanzania where

they led two workshop encounters on For-

mation for the members of St. Charles

Lwanga and St. Gemma Vicariates of

Kenya and Tanzania respectively. (See the

photo taken on the shores of Lake Victo-

ria.) Everyone took an active part. The

workshops were open to all members of the

Passionist extended Family, men and

women religious and lay people. One can

only hope that the experience of those days

will continue to enrich and inform their va-

rious ministries.

This year, 2011, the Secretariat for Solida-

rity and Mission will be going in May to

the Democratic Republic of the Congo with

the same motives and objectives of their

visits to Kenya and Tanzania. We know

that in those dioceses where we are wor-

king, courses on these themes are being or-

ganized and we

would encourage

our men over there

to take a special

interest in this.

Recently, in Kins-

hasa, the capital of

the Congo, a mee-

ting was organized

by the churches in

Africa, which

sought to reflect

on a better pasto-

ral effort based

around these the-

mes of Justice and

Peace.Fr. Vital Otshudialokoka

article’s author

6

ur normal contacts with various organi-

zations are carried out via the Internet

as well as by occasional personal visits

to institutions located outside of Rome. I have

travelled twice to Germany, to both Munich and

Aquisgran. I visited Missio-Munich and Missio

Aquisgran, as well as Misereor. In France I am

in contact with "Les Frères d'Espérance" and in

Italy I’m in contact with the Italian Episcopal

Conference (CET), Propaganda Fide, the Italian

Caritas, the Sisters of St. Peter Claver, the Work

for the promotion of Literacy throughout the

World, the Pontifical Mission Works and Cari-

tas Romana. In Spain I’m in contact with

“Manos Unidas” (Hands Together) and Summa

Humanitate, and then there’s “Little Way” in

England. And added to all the above a goodly

number of other organizations.

One thing we’re realizing through all these

contacts is that the need is ever greater. One can

add to this the constant lament over the world

crisis we’re all living in. With the exception of

certain organizations, the majority regret their

shortage of funds hampering their capacity to

attend to the many requests they receive for

help. As a result of this they are becoming ever

more demanding even as they’re curtailing the

number of projects they’re willing to finance.

Some of the projects sent us are missing one

or more documents and others have been

drawn-up in a way at variance with the official

form. We normally reject these projects. We pay

special attention to those requests which have

been carefully formulated in such a way as to

draw quick interest from the entities we for-

ward them to.

It’s not that easy to find backing for projects

of a pastoral or religious nature; those institu-

tions which do support these are few and very

demanding. It’s easier to obtain results for pro-

jects related to forms of social assistance, but

it’s important that they be presented correctly

and with all the ne-

cessary documentation, with as many details as

possible. This is very much the case with Spa-

nish organizations. In point of fact, not a single

project we have presented to these last has ever

been successful. In Italy on the other hand the-

re’s always been a favourable reply to projects

properly presented as mentioned above.

The whole matter is much more difficult not

to say impossible when the need has to do with

transport. Even after they inform us that we

have to cough-up half the cost of a new vehicle

and we have consented to do so, the project is

still often turned down.

To date we can confidently say that our efforts

regarding the projects has been going ahead at

a good rhythm. We must still learn to do every-

thing right and in accordance with what the or-

ganizations we approach demand. Every

negative response is an invitation to continue to

improve our work. One thing however is cer-

tain, and that is that if those who promote pro-

jects go out of their way to do things as required

by the various organizations, our work becomes

that much easier and the results are often that

much more satisfactory. We all need to knuckle

down and do things right!

Once a project is financed we need to carry

out what we set out to do in the project and

write a good final report showing how the funds

have been spent. We cannot change a project

once started. We must avoid simply rejoicing at

having been funded and then forget all about

sending-in the proper reports. This affects our

credibility and will bear on our future work in

this field. We need to be extremely careful we

don’t shut the door on the generosity of donors.

Fr. Vital Otshudialokoka Onasaka

OO

My experience and contacts with organizations

7

bjective: dig 5 wells in 5 villages of

the district of Muheza in the region of

Tanga (Tanzania). The small villages

have a total of 13,671 inhabitants and are the

following: Sona Kibaoni, Pangamlima, Zeneti,

Maguzoni and Songa Batini. Most of the in-

habitants do not have access to potable water.

The well that they use for domestic purposes

is contaminated, and, therefore, has become

the principal cause of disease. The photo

shows the actual overall picture: without ac-

cess to potable water, a man of the village of

Maguzoni collects contaminated water from a

pond.

OO

The urgent necessity for water that Africa needs is quite stupefying.

To give a drink to the thirsty is the Gospel, pure and simple. Everyone has a right to bread and

water. Our missionaries in Veyula (like in Tanzania) have dug a well that remains open 24 hours a

day to freely give water to the entire population which can wait hours for their turn (see the photos).

For this, we have given priority to the digging of wells and this is one of the most challenging. The

Italian Episcopal Conference has subsidized this project with 70,000 Euros. May God bless them!

Five wells for Tanga – Tanzania

8

Some projects carried out in the course of the last year

uring the year 2010 we carried out 29

projects in the fields of education, he-

althcare, infrastructure, the promotion

of women, the rights of children, human rights,

etc. Some of these projects are still underway.

The projects have been carried out mainly

in:

• Africa: Kenya, Tanzania and D. R. Congo.

• Asia: India, Indonesia and the Philippines.

• Europa: Bulgaria, Ukraine.

• Latin America: With particular interest we

have focused on Haiti, to help earthquake vic-

tims.

The total amount of aid has been of

508,675.62 €The Passionist Solidarity and Mission Of-

fice, which includes the old Secretariat for

Missions, has made every effort to assist our

missionaries carry out their various evangeli-

zing and development projects, as well as to

help sustain the Passionist charitable and so-

cial activities around the world, offering them

also courses on consultation and formation.

Father Vital Otshudialokoka presents the pro-

jects to the various organizations, institutions

and NGOs, always looking for subsidies.

The majority of projects have come from the

African continent where, undoubtedly, the

need is greatest, be it regarding persons

(women and children) or fundamental needs

(food, water, healthcare and education).

DD Country Project

HAITI Earthquake

TANZANIAConstruction of five wells in theMuheza District - Tanga Region

KENYAWater well drilling and wheat far-ming project

KENYARestore the pastoral center ofSotik

ANGOLAEmpowerment of women for mu-tual aid and training

KENYAA Toyota Hilux for the center Gol-gotha

Dem. Rep. of CONGOConstruction of 10 stores (for trai-ning)

UKRAINERestoration House Community

TANZANIAPurchase of 16 solar panels parishclinic of Mlowa

PHILIPPINES Land Tenure

9

Some projects carried out in the course of the last year

Project Grant Agency

Earthquake 300.000 $The entire PassionistCongregation

Construction of five wells in theMuheza District - Tanga Region 70.000 €

Italian Episcopal Confe-rence (C. E. I.)

Water well drilling and wheat far-ming project 31.000 € C. E. I.

Restore the pastoral center ofSotik 16.867 € C. E. I.

Empowerment of women for mu-tual aid and training 15.000 € C. E. I.

A Toyota Hilux for the center Gol-gotha 15.000 €

VULN Vice-Province(Germany)

Construction of 10 stores (for trai-ning) 15.000 €

Passionist Solidarity andMission Office

Restoration House Community13.000 €

Passionist Solidarity andMission Office

Purchase of 16 solar panels parishclinic of Mlowa 12.000 € C.E.I.

Land Tenure 5.000 €Passionist Solidarity andMission Office

10

Kenya’s Passionists are committed to many so-

cial activities and are those who in recent times

have submitted the most projects. These in-

clude: advancement of widows, care of or-

phans, improvements to agriculture, growth of

animal husbandry, search for potable water…

I would like to emphasize three: the leper hos-

pital and medical dispensary of Kadem, the or-

phans of Tonga and Kadem and the Molo

bakery.

The most amazing is undoubtedly the leper

hospital, operated by our female missionaries

who, like father Damiano in Molokai, give

their lives for those lepers for whom it is im-

possible to receive medical cures. The missio-

naries, with infinite patience, clean their

wounds and give them all the cures necessary

for their disease.

The Molo bakery helps improve the nutrition

of the population. Father Raphael Manguiti,

Superior in Kenya, shows us the mill for grin-

ding the corn.

Evangelization and human development go

hand in hand.

As Pope Paul 6th reminded us in his “Populo-

rum progressio” we must always keep human

life bonded together with spiritual life and with

pastoral development and care. Missionaries

always come up against this problem. A mis-

sionary’s work is not merely to build chapels or

churches to celebrate Mass but also to be atten-

tive to the needs of the population and to search

for solutions that meet urgent needs that emerge

from the social standpoint. Today’s priestly mi-

nistry also includes this reality.

Kenya: vitality in cooperation

AIDS continues to spread in Africa and one of

its most evident consequences is the increase

in the number of orphans, caused by the deaths

of their parents due to AIDS. Our missionaries

operate two orphanages but in a situation of

great economic difficulty especially for the

cost of food.

We have been submitted with a project for de-

veloping animal husbandry in order to have

meat for the children and income to make the

center self-supporting. We hope we can find a

sponsor for this initiative and to help give food

to these orphans. Another big problem is the

lack of water, especially during the dry seasons

of the year.

The leper hospital and medical dis-pensary of Kadem (Kenya).

11

“Action in favor of justice and participation

in transforming the world are a fundamen-

tal dimension of the proclamation of the

Gospel” (Bishops’ Sinodo, “Justice in the

world”, 1971).This is why our missionaries lis-

ten to the outcry from their peoples and “com-

mit to promote social justice wherever they

act” (Consecrated Life, 82). Evangelization by

our missionaries is accompanied by human ad-

vancement (Evangelii nuntiandi, 31). This ad-

vancement has been developed by NGOs, by

organized volunteer associations and by the

Offices for Solidarity. Here is a short list of a

few solidarity initiatives for human advance-

ment:

1. The ADECO (friendship, growth and coo-

peration) NGO has been in existence in

Spain for twenty years, handling the pro-

jects submitted by our missionaries, espe-

cially regarding Latin America. In recent

years ADECO offices have been founded in

Mexico, Peru…

2. Recently the SSPass (Passionist Social Ser-

vice) NGO has been created in Honduras.

3. At the same time Italian passionists have

their own ONLUS for projects in Africa

(The village of joy, The Mothers of or-

phans, Passionist Solidarity, The African

museum…).

4. Rosto solidario has been doing excellent

work in Portugal, helping our missionaries

in Angola and Mozambique.

5. In Bulgaria: The Friendship Table…

Volunteering

The NGOs mentioned above and the Offices

for Solidarity also organize groups of volunte-

ers:

- Through ADECO in Mexico, Peru and Cen-

tral America.

- U.S. passionists have their passionist volun-

teers and help in Jamaica, Haiti and Honduras.

- Australian passionists are sending volunteers

to Vietnam.

- For many years Italian passionists have been

doing an extraordinary job in Kenya and Tan-

zania.

- The Portuguese help Angola and Mozambi-

que. They form a large group of laymen from

the Passionist Family which, with altruism and

disinterest, sacrifice time from their lives to

share it with the poorest of the poor in many

corners of the world.

Offices for Solidarity in Africa

We believe that sensitivity towards justice and

human advancement is growing in Africa.

Proof of this are the three new GPIC Offices

that opened last year in Kenya, Tanzania and

the Republic of Congo.

• The Democratic Republic of Congo recently

opened a GPIC Office which we hope will

give abundant results for the welfare and de-

velopment of villages.

• In Kenya father Peter Ochieng has been ap-

pointed as director of the Office and is now

taking a class at the University of Nairobi in

order to be able to better carry

out his activities.

• The Office in Tanzania is ca-

lled PASSOD (Passionist Soli-

darity and Social

Development Office).

Offices for Solidarity

The words on the pos-ter say, in Swahili:PASSOD acts to:

1. Protect the environment. 2. Give instructions and medicine for health. 3. Help diverse groups. 4. Water.5. Sexual equality. 6. Education. 7. AIDS. 8. Farming and animal husbandry. 9. Local growth.

12

I’m Rey Carvyn Onday, CP from JPIC Philip-

pines. This is my 2nd year of priestly ministry

in the Catholic Mission to the Indigenous Pe-

oples and I was appointed by our provincial as

JPIC in-charge on December 4th, 2009.

Background Issue:

Philippines is one of the very rich countries in

terms of minerals. It is also one of the five

countries known as mining destinations of the

world. It has the biggest nickel, copper and

gold deposit in Southeast Asia and Western Pa-

cific Region. The worst thing is: it already has

857 abandoned open- pit mining sites. No fe-

asibility study. No tax report from the govern-

ment. And mining companies pulled out of the

country as if nothing happened at all. No reha-

bilitation happened. Environmental destruction

is common.Our actions

As Passionist JPIC – we have been conduc-ting IEC (Information and Education Cam-

paign) on Mining and Climate Change in the

affected communities in our Mission Territo-

ries.

w Collaborating, networking and for-ming alliances with the SCAN ( Soc-

sargen Climate Action Now, compo-

sing environmental lawyers and

NGOs) and MADICO, a tri- diocese

fighting against open-pit mining.

w Facilitating the signature campaign ofthe IPs against mining.

As Church – Mass Mobilization, Researchesand Press Releases.

w Explored alternatives to mining suchas Sustainable Agriculture and other

possible livelihood programs.

w Promote AMB (Alternative MiningConstitutionality of Mining Act R.A

7942 of 1995. Bill) or Mineral Gover-

nance Bill.

Our limitations

• Mining issue is such a big issue for local

campaign. We are trying to conect with

other people abroad.

• Resources – limited money and personnel.

MAY THE DANGEROUS DEATH

OF CHRIST ON THE CROSS INSPIRE US

AS WE CONTINUE TO FIGHT FOR THE

ENVIRONMENT AS WELL AS THE RIGHT

OF THE IPS.

You can visit the website:www.dadbulol.com

The Bridge of Life – Daraja mar ngima

It has happened on more than one occasion toFr. Claudio Moscatelli, as to many other mis-sionaries, to have to wait on the edge of a smalltorrent or of a river while waiting for the forceof the water to decrease before being able toproceed to the opposite bank. The strong rainsthat occurred a few hours hitherto create dan-gerous flooding, which causes several peopleto lose their lives while attempting to wadeacross the river.For this purpose, the bridge at Macalder(Kenya) on the river Kuja, 64 metres long and3.8 metres wide, in reinforced concrete, per-mits pedestrians as well as vehicles to reachthe other side.Objectives of the construction of the bridge:

1. Save lives. During the rains, the river hasalready claimed victims, and it is for this rea-

El Puente de la vida

Rey Carvyn Ondap

son that it is called, “Bridge of Life” – “Darajamar ngima”.2. The bridge permitted the unification of 2mission territories of Macalder. Most of theschools and stores are found on one of the 2banks of the river.3. To boost the development of the territory,from the time when it was a depressed area.

13

P

SSIONISTS

INTERNATIONAL

Kevin Dance

assionists International, performing itsmission of being “the voice of those whohave no voice”, has submitted a declara-

tion to the Secretary General of the United Na-tions on behalf of the indigenous populations andmissionaries who work to defend their rights. Si-lent labors that have been going on for decadesand are often misunderstood. Passionists Interna-tional has asked the United Nations to recognizethe Rights of indigenous populations and to re-cognize and respect the work done by missiona-ries. Here are a few excerpts from this marvelousdeclaration:1. Certain recent reports emphasize that it isnot enough to reduce poverty to a question ofwhether or not there is money… 3. ... The cumulative effect of the financial,food, energy and climate change crises has impai-red the ability of the most vulnerable members ofour society to be freed from the trap of poverty.This is especially important for indigenous popu-lations who represent a very high number of per-sons who live in “extreme poverty” withinsufficient access to social services, health careand education. 4. ... Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (seeSG/SM/12848 HR/5013) has underlined alarmingstatistics taken from the report on the situation ofindigenous populations in the world. These cons-titute 5% of the world population and a third ofthe poorest people on the planet. In many coun-tries the life expectancy for an indigenous is 20years less than that of a non-indigenous child.Violence, brutality and discrimination are dailyfacts of life for many of the 370 million indige-nous peoples living in more than 70 countries.5. The members of Passionists Internatio-

nal, who work in many countries with indige-

nous populations, inform us of a clear incre-

ase in discriminatory and violent acts against

our indigenous brothers and sisters.

6. Indigenous populations have generallybeen anchored to their lands for thousands ofyears. These lands have a wealth of biodiversity,natural resources, water and minerals. These po-pulations, whether or not they have experiencedand taken care of these lands and resources, ra-rely prosper and enjoy the fruits they could give.7. One of the lessons learned from thespeed of the effort to achieve the MillenniumDevelopment Goals and implement national de-velopment plans is that the dominating develop-ment model often damages indigenous persons,families and communities.8. The indigenous population is trappedbetween the tension created by demands for gre-ater production, as a consequence of bilateralagreements for free trade, and their right to freeself-determination. The following are a few ofthe aspects that worsen the situation: • Hoarding of great areas of indigenous land

to produce bio-fuels, menacing biodiversity• Infringement of their traditional rights as

owners of the land• Granting of mining permits that damage

their health, well-being and prosperitySome members of Passionists International

who support these populations in their strug-

gles have received death threats and have

been menaced with jail or expulsion from the

country”...

The entire declaration can be read by going tothe:http://www.passionistsinternational.org/noticia-s.html web site.

PP

14

Fr. Mario Bartolini “acquitted”After months of waiting for the sentence to

be handed down, Fr. Mario was acquitted on

December 20, 2010 from all the charges and

among these, that of “rebellion”. His acquittal

presupposes a knowledge of the work of evan-

gelization of the Church which accompanies

the indigenous “in the strengthening of their

identity and organization, in the protection of

their territory, in a bilingual intercultural edu-

cation and in defense of their rights” as it is

written in the final document of Aparecida.

Fr. Mario lived some difficult years, before

which, faithful to his Passionist vocation to fo-

llow the Crucified One, he never drew back.

His entire life has been in the service of the

Gospel and of the people. By means of these

pages, we want Fr. Mario to feel sustained by

those who know that the poor are the visible

face of God on earth. “Blessed are those who

are persecuted for the sake of justice, the king-

dom of Heaven is theirs” (Mt 5, 10).

It is dangerous

to side with the poorAnother witness of generosity and of offering is Fr. Rey

Carvyn Ondap, a Filipino Passionist who is working

on the island of Mindanao in the province of Cotabato.

He is organizing formation courses for the farmers and

is organizing the communities to defend themselves

against the multinational Sagittarus Mines Incorporated

(belonging to SMI Xstrata) which is contaminating the

entire area and, as usual, is only looking to its own be-

nefit without thinking of the evil effects which this can

have on the people of Cotabato.

Frs. Mario Bartolini and Rey Ondap are heirs to the

faithful tradition of the martyrs which is typical of every

Christian, and they are living this reality fully. Both

have the following in common: they are in poor regions

and our missionaries cannot remain silent; they de-

nounce the injustice, place themselves on the side of the

poor and this costs them persecution, false judgments,

calumnies…

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of

justice, the kingdom of Heaven is theirs” (Mt 5, 10).

15

n experience which left a lasting impres-sion upon me during my trip to Tanzaniawas a visit to the “Village of Joy.” This is

a village situated on the outskirts of Dar es Sa-laam, the country’s main city, where more than ahundred boys under 13 or 14 years of age are pro-vided with a home and care.

The founder, Passionist Father Fulgenzio Cor-tesi’s heart was deeply moved when he saw somany orphan children, many of whose mother’shad died of AIDS. Some fifteen years ago he wasinspired to make a village for them where theyare now taken in from a very tender age and areprovided with schooling, food, clothing, medicalattention, etc., together with an over-abundanceof love. They live in houses of 8, 10 or 12 chil-dren in each of which they are cared for by anadult couple whom they know as Mummy andDaddy and where they constitute a real familyunit. One senses there an ambience of cheerful-ness, joy and peace. I was impressed by theexample set by Emanuele and Mara, volunteersfrom Italy who work there, and I asked them towrite me a few lines regarding their experience,and this is what they wrote:

“We are Emanuele and Mara and we decided wewanted to devote a year as volunteers at the “Village ofJoy.” We had already been there on four other occasionsfor a month each time, but now we felt we wanted a moreradical experience. What had kept us coming back wasour love of those 104 boys taken-in by Father Ful-genzio, as if they were his own sons. Year after year wesaw them growing-up, as likewise did the village struc-tures, ever more numerous and necessary. As we follo-wed Fr. Fulgenzio’s project in which we haveunhesitatingly believed, we have tried to give the best ofourselves in order to contribute to the dignity of thoseyoung people through education, food, health care and,above all else, our love.In concrete ways we take care of relations with Italy andthe work of the volunteers, doing our best to overcomethose unforeseen problems which occur from day to day,something quite common here in Tanzania. There are nolack of difficulties and doubts regarding both their futureand ours, but we firmly believe that this is the right road.For ourselves we can ask for nothing better: their smilesare worth ever so much more than the security of ourlives in Italy. So with this conviction that our year herethis time will be the first of many more that will follow...‘Asante Sana baba Fulgenzio!”(These last words translate from Swahili: “Thank

you Father Fulgenzio!”)

In spite of his 74 years, Fr. Fulgenzio is still in fine

mettle, but I am worried about the future, what

will come to pass after he leaves the scene. May

God take care of him for many years.

Volunteer Service in Tanzania

Miguel y Mara con el Secretario de la Solidaridady Misión Pasionista, al pie de un baobab

AA

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