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Why a family?

Why a family?. Reflections on context, spirituality, collaboration, and challenges. 1. Situation of poverty. 2. Heart of our Vincentian response: Vincentian Spirituality. 3. Method of our response. 4. Challenges. OUR CONTEXT: POVERTY IN THE WORLD TODAY.

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Why a family?

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  1. Why a family? Reflections on context, spirituality, collaboration, and challenges

  2. 1. Situation of poverty 2. Heart of our Vincentian response: Vincentian Spirituality 3. Method of our response 4. Challenges

  3. OUR CONTEXT: POVERTY IN THE WORLD TODAY March 14, 2005 issue

  4. Jeffrey Sachs Head of Earth Institute – Columbia University (New York) OUR CONTEXT: POVERTY IN THE WORLD TODAY UNITED NATIONS Millennium Development Goals Reduce worldwide poverty into half by 2015

  5. 8+ million people die each year because they are too poor to stay alive OUR CONTEXT: POVERTY IN THE WORLD TODAY

  6. OUR CONTEXT: POVERTY IN THE WORLD TODAY 1.1 billion people live in extreme poverty More than 1/6th of the 6 billion people in the world today AIDS, drought, isolation, civil wars, government corruption, etc.

  7. 2001: East Asia – 200 M + South Asia – 400 M + Africa – 250 M + OUR CONTEXT: POVERTY IN THE WORLD TODAY Africa: nearly half of its population live in extreme poverty – live on less than $1 a day

  8. Suggested means to cut worldwide poverty in half by 2015: OUR CONTEXT: POVERTY IN THE WORLD TODAY More aid to extremely poor countries especially in sub-saharan Africa; debt relief; more trade, and new taxes

  9. Is there anything that the Vincentian Family can do in the face of such extreme need? What would this (these) be? How would it (they) be to those offered by other people? What needs to be done on the short term as well as the long term in order to give an effective, long-lasting response? OUR CONTEXT: POVERTY IN THE WORLD TODAY

  10. 1. What the data imply The kind of response we give depends on how we view poverty. OUR CONTEXT: POVERTY IN THE WORLD TODAY Is it evil? Is it something that will always be with us? Is it economic? Political? Social, cultural, moral, or even spiritual?

  11. 2. Collaboration is the method with which to address poverty today Is it to be presumed or encouraged, nay institutionalized? OUR CONTEXT: POVERTY IN THE WORLD TODAY

  12. VINCENTIAN SPIRITUALITY: THE HEART OF OUR SERVICE TO THE POOR 1. Vincent de Paul always looked at the human person as a whole – as much a spiritual, moral, as a political, social, cultural entity, with aspirations that include also the economic.

  13. VINCENTIAN SPIRITUALITY: THE HEART OF OUR SERVICE TO THE POOR • St. Vincent de Paul – Poverty is not the will of God. • It defaces the dignity of every poor person and the image of God in them. • Gordon Brown - one moral reason for fighting poverty: no child should die if it is avoidable.

  14. VINCENTIAN SPIRITUALITY: THE HEART OF OUR SERVICE TO THE POOR 2. St. Vincent de Paul - Poverty is also a possible event of salvation. • Vincent saw in the poor the very person of Christ. • “In the person of the poor, you serve Jesus Christ. . . You serve Christ in the person of the poor”

  15. VINCENTIAN SPIRITUALITY: THE HEART OF OUR SERVICE TO THE POOR 3. Vincent experienced how the poor brought him to God. The poor, to put it in contemporary terms, evangelized him. • “the net result of my experience on the matter is the judgment I have ever formed, that true religion – true religion, Gentlemen, is to be found among the poor. God enriches them with a lively faith; they believe, they touch, they taste the words of life. . .”

  16. VINCENTIAN SPIRITUALITY: THE HEART OF OUR SERVICE TO THE POOR • We thought we went to help. We ended up receiving more than we have given. • the poor are an integral part of our Family and not merely recipients of our benevolence and charity.

  17. There is need for collaboration all over the world to rally around this project. COLLABORATION: THE ENGINE OF VINCENTIAN MINISTRY

  18. The Vincentian Family tries to unite groups trying to address poverty. But we are not the only one. There are many others, with whom we can collaborate, synchronize, network. COLLABORATION: THE ENGINE OF VINCENTIAN MINISTRY • Individual charities and foundations would not be sufficient.

  19. Collaboration can make a world of difference. COLLABORATION: THE ENGINE OF VINCENTIAN MINISTRY

  20. Networking, synergizing, global cooperation, etc. Vincent, Louise de Marillac, and Ozanam discovered this several centuries ago COLLABORATION: THE ENGINE OF VINCENTIAN MINISTRY

  21. AIC: “Against all forms of poverty, we are to act together.” St. Vincent de Paul: “Today the poor continue to multiply in number, their cry goes up to heaven. God calls us to serve them, but he wants that we do it together.” COLLABORATION: THE ENGINE OF VINCENTIAN MINISTRY

  22. Poverty is a social, political, economic and moral issue. • The only way to fight it and to help the poor is to bring together economists, politicians, and social scientists, religious men and women, etc. COLLABORATION: THE ENGINE OF VINCENTIAN MINISTRY

  23. Vincentian Family • Collaboration on the international level • On the national level, only in some countries. COLLABORATION: THE ENGINE OF VINCENTIAN MINISTRY

  24. CHALLENGES OF TODAY 1. Deepen our Vincentian Spirituality. 2. To make direct contact with the poor. • caring presence, and help and assistance.

  25. CHALLENGES OF TODAY 3. To promote formation of directors 4. To intensify collaboration • Appreciate the need today to coordinate, network, and collaborate with other government, non-government agencies, national and international organizations such as the U.N.

  26. CHALLENGES OF TODAY 5. To involve the young • Vincentian Family focus: being present to the world of the youth • International Meeting of the Vincentian Marian Youth (JMV) – Paris in August 2005

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