Realising the Potential of the Catholic Church in Swaziland: Strengthening Justice and Peace

Transcription

1 CCJP PRIEST TRAINING WORKSHOP REPORT THE GEORGE HOTEL, MANZINI 30 th AUGUST 2016 Realising the Potential of the Catholic Church in Swaziland: Strengthening Justice and Peace Compiled by Diocese of Manzini CCJP secretariat, August 2016

2 Contents 1. INTRODUCTION TRAINING WORKSHOP ORGANIZATION Dates, duration, venue Attendance WORKSHOP PROCEEDINGS Registration Introductions Keynote address: His lordship Bishop Jose Louis Geraldo Ponce de Leon Presentations Discussions: based on the presentations Parish registration Closing Remarks CONCLUSION DIOCESE OF MANZINI DIRECTORY WORKSHOP GALLERY Page 2

3 Map of Swaziland showing location of the 15 Parishes of the Diocese of Manzini/Swaziland Page 3

4 1. INTRODUCTION The Diocese of Manzini, Swaziland is currently implementing a three year project titled Realising the Potential of the Catholic Church in Swaziland: Strengthening Justice and Peace. The project is funded through Misereor and CAFOD is providing institutional capacity and technical support to the Diocese of Manzini. The program seeks to address these three main objectives: (1) Local Church structures have increased capacity on justice and peace and have created spaces for community participation in all 15 parishes of the Catholic Diocese of Manzini, (2) Citizens in target communities are actively participating in decision making processes at local and national level as a result of improved awareness and access to information, (3) Improved accountability and observance of justice and peace issues in 15 parishes of the Catholic Diocese of Manzini through civic engagement with local duty-bearers. The training of priests addresses objective one as illustrated above. A total of 26 priests attended the training held at the Tums George hotel in Manzini. His lordship the Bishop of the Diocese of Manzini Jose Louis Geraldo Ponce de Leon delivered a keynote address and welcoming remarks. 2. TRAINING WORKSHOP ORGANIZATION 2.1 Dates, duration, venue The workshop was held on Tuesday, August 30, 2016 at the George hotel, Manzini Swaziland, scheduled to begin at 9:00am. 2.2 Attendance A total of 26 priests were in attendance. Parishes represented are listed below. 1. Our Lady of the Assumption 2. Florence 3. Malkerns 4. St Josephs 5. Holy Rosary 6. Regina Mundi 7. Good Shepherd 8. St Constantine 9. Salesians 10. St Peregrines 11. Christ the king 12. Sacred heart 13. St Mary s 14. Mater Dolorosa No apologies were sent although St Philips Parish was not represented. Page 4

5 3. WORKSHOP PROCEEDINGS 3.1 Registration All priests were given the opportunity to fill the attendance register that was circulated by the CCJP secretariat. Priests indicated their first and last names, contacts (telephone and ). Registration continued even when the meeting was in progress for those who arrived late. 3.2 Introductions The Programme Officer, Mr Musa Dlamini facilitated the session, he introduced himself to the priests before requesting the lordship Bishop Jose Louis Geraldo Ponce de Leon to deliver his keynote address. 3.3 Keynote address: His lordship Bishop Jose Louis Geraldo Ponce de Leon Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Workshop for priests George Hotel 30 August Grateful I would like to thank God for this opportunity to somehow re-launch our JPIC Diocesan Office. Let us be grateful to our partners, particularly CAFOD, who will be supporting us financially. Let us make sure we all keep them in our prayers. We should never take this for granted. 2. JPIC I would like to point out two biblical texts that could be our reference today and in the future. 2.1 Luke 16: the parable of the rich man and Lazarus JPIC is about having a heart for the Lazarus of our country and world. I have come across a book called Lazarus at table. It is a very good image of what JPIC is. There are tables Lazarus is not allowed to join. Lazarus takes different names : It could be our youth unable to pay for the school fees, university fees; unable to find jobs or dream of a different future. Page 5

6 It could also be that we have become the rich man. Our lives are secured by the Church. Lazarus is at our door and we do not see him; It could be the situation of abuse (child abuse, gender abuse, gender inequality, abuse of power) We, on the other side, are men and priests. Abuse is not something we usually suffer; It could be those who like Lazarus lie silent: they have no voice in our country, in the running of their own lives or those who would like to have a voice and they are not allowed to; It could be the unequal distribution of wealth where Lazarus is being denied any food or has to be happy with the charity offered by some generous hearts; It could be expressed in the reality of corruption where those who have still want to have more and deny those who do not have their basic needs and rights; It could be the silent voice of creation crying because of our abuse. Laudato Si will be the reference text at the next IMBISA meeting in Lesotho. It is important we make sure that the cry of creation is very much present in what we do. JPIC is not just about becoming aware of these realities and having a heart for them. It is also about coming to understand why these realities have become part of our daily life. As I shared in the past, we need to understand why in such a beautiful country like ours we have so many Lazarus. 2.2 Matthew 23:3 Do what they tell you but not what they do... JPIC is not something we preach to others. It is the way of life we choose because we believe it is Jesus' way. We, as his disciples and apostles, make it ours. This means, for example, that: We do not expect from others accountability and transparency in the use of money or other resources unless we ourselves are ready to be accountable and transparent with what has been entrusted to us; As we challenge others on the use of power, we also examine ourselves and the way we use it. The way we relate to other priests, to religious, to the lay people in our parishes; I personally believe it also challenges us regarding the venues we choose for our workshops. We need to wonder if it makes sense to use venus Lazarus would only dream of visiting... Another text that could enlighten this is Jeremiah 34. The practical examples used by Jeremiah in God's name to share his cry on the lack of care of the shepherds could help us to examine the way we live and serve God's people. Page 6

7 3. Saints For some time now I have been thinking that, together with biblical texts and documents of the Church, there is another resource we should explore in our journey in order to understand better what we are talking about: the life of saints. Saints are people who lived what they believed and preached. People like Oscar Romero, Dorothy Day and the same John the Baptist (we celebrated yesterday) are some of the possible names. + José Luis IMC Bishop of Manzini 3.4 Presentations The CCJP Project - Musa Dlamini (PO) The Programme Officers presentation looked at the CCJP project, analyzing the sociopolitical situation in Swaziland. Injustice, inequality and poverty being perpetuated by the state remain mainly unchallenged. It is for that reason that CCJP has deliberately elected to undertake Realising the Potential of the Catholic Church in Swaziland: Strengthening Justice and Peace project. He further presented the project goals and expected outcomes as well as how implementation will be done. a) Expected outcomes Local Church structures have increased capacity on justice and peace and have created spaces for community participation in all 15 parishes of the Catholic Diocese of Manzini Citizens in target communities are actively participating in decision making processes at local and national level as a result of improved awareness and access to information Improved accountability and observance of justice and peace issues in 15 parishes of the Catholic Diocese of Manzini through civic engagement with local duty-bearers Page 7

8 b) Activities On each of the expected outcomes the PO stated that there are several activities to be undertaken. This training workshop is one activity that feds directly into outcome 1. c) CCJP logo Presentation The PO presented the CCJP logo to the priests. The logo was discussed at length and it was unanimously agreed that it was proper and represents Justice and Peace and the Church General background on Justice and Peace Mr. Kabelo Selema Mr. Selema briefly presented how justice and peace was established in the late 1960 s. He went on to explain Justice and Peace s mandate in relation to catholic social teachings, paying a particular attention to SACBC. These include: Helping the Church Community to be aware of the causes of injustices and bringing transformation thereof; Working for a more just society that upholds basic human rights (the poor, women, children and marginalised); Promoting action for justice and peace through the social teaching of the Church; Promoting awareness of the integrity of creation and environmental justice; Address injustices within the Church. The presenter further drew the attention of the priests into the four basic principles of the Catholic Church s entire social doctrine. Such is characterized by: The Dignity of the Human Person The Common Good Subsidiarity Solidarity Page 8

9 Mr Kabelo concluded by concentrating on justice and peace key focus areas, these being: Good Governance and Social Cohesion culture of democracy, respect for human rights, the rule of law, race relations, xenophobia and corruption. Gender Justice: gender-based violence, discrimination. Economic Justice poverty, unemployment, inequality. Land Justice land claims, land use. Environmental Justice climate change, food security, energy sources, pollution The role of the church in responding to Justice and Peace Mr. kabelo Selema The main role of the church is to transform society. According to the presenter such transformation comes about if the church is actively involved in the following: Helping the church community to be aware of the suffering, injustice, divisions and violence in the territories served by the Conference and to be committed to transforming society. Acknowledgement of social challenges upon communities and society at large; Responding to the challenges by: Encouraging Citizens Participation removing Fear Tolerance, patience Dialogue Good Governance Raising awareness among people about the causes of suffering and poverty and helping them recognize the social implications of faith for all areas of human life as well for the environment. What are the Root Causes? Using the Pastoral Cycle/Circle Method of Justice and Peace A Test of Faith Hoping for the unseen good to happen in my life Learning from the Scriptures and personal Testimonies Dealing with doubts (Doubt your doubts, But Not God) Removing contradictions between Faith and Life The Kingdom of God is of Love, Justice and Peace Respect for Human Dignity Having a special concern within the Church for preaching and promoting action for justice and peace in support of the poor, disadvantaged and oppressed and to act as an advisory body on justice issues. Page 9

10 3.5 Discussions: based on the presentations After each of the presentations, the priests were given the opportunity to make contributions in the form of questions, comments and suggestions for actions, a summary of which are presented below: a) The land question is quite complicated in Swaziland since the King owns all land listed under SNL thus any initiative to address Land issues is seen as challenging the kings authority. b) There is a general notion advanced by the state that churches should disengage from socio-political issues and scrupulously adhere to biblical\religious teachings. It was then agreed that local traditional authority are vital stakeholders and need to be treated as such. c) There was a view that most leaders usually hijack projects meant to benefit communities for their personal gains. Strategies to curb such should be developed. d) Priests were encouraged to pay courtesy visits to local traditional authorities (chiefs and princes) Bishop Zwane s Memorial lecture Priests were given a chance to deliberate and decide on what posture the Bishop Zwane s commemoration should take. The following points came up: a) The activity should not only target Catholics but also non-catholics since Bishop Zwane selflessly saved the whole nation. b) There was a strong view that his family should be involved in the preparation for this activity. c) NEC member, suggested that all materials (speeches and newspaper articles) about the Bishop be collected and published for the benefit of the public. Anyone with memories of Zwane was invited to share with CCJP secretariat. 3.6 Parish registration The PO then issued forms to be filled by all who were present which were designed to collect data about each Parish so that a database is developed for easy coordination of the Justice and peace groups during project implementation and beyond. 3.7 Parish visits The PO together with the priests agreed on dates in which each Parish will be visited. Name of Parish Date Sacred Heart 04/09/2016 St Peregrines 11/09/2016 Page 10

11 Cathedral 18/09/2016 St Constantine 25/09/2016 Florence 02/10/2016 St Philips Not represented 3.8 Closing Remarks The Chaplain, Fr. Mabuza thanked all priests for their participation during the discussions. He further asked all priests to rally behind CCJP secretariat during project implementation. 4. CONCLUSION Almost all the invited Parishes were able to send representatives and it suffices to say that the workshop went ahead as planned and successfully so. The presentations made helped priests to gain deep understanding of Justice and peace in relation to the catholic social teachings as well as what is it that is expected of them. Page 11

12 DIOCESE OF MANZINI DIRECTORY Florence Name of Parish Name of Parish priest Region Phone Fr. Rocco Marra Fr. Joseph Mafola Fr.Dumisani Mazibuko Manzini Manzini Our Lady of Assumption Fr.Sandile Mswane Manzini (Cathedral ) St John Bosco Malkerns Fr. Sean Murphy Manzini St Josephs Fr. Francis Motsa Manzini Holy Rosary Fr. Theodomir Manzini Sibomana Regina Mundi Fr. Rodney Khuluse Hhohho Good Shepard Fr. Mandlenkhosi Makama Fr. Thulani Mabuza Lubombo St Constantine Fr. Jabulani Dlamini Lubombo Salesians Fr. Bonginkosi Nhleko Manzini St Peregrines Fr. Wiseman Nkomo Hhohho Our lady of sorrows Fr. Giorgio Massa Shiselweni St Mary s Christ the king Fr. Francis Huwn Fr. Shibu Augustine Fr. Ncamiso Vilakati Fr. Francis Onyango Fr. Pius Magagula Hhhohho Shiselweni Mater Dolorosa Fr. Jochonia Mahazule Hhhohho Page 12

13 WORKSHOP GALLERY Left - Bishop Bishop Jose Louis Geraldo Ponce de Leon Leading opening prayer Group photo after the training workshop. J&P Programme Officer Musa Dlamini assisting FR. Ncamiso Vilakati Priests listening attentively Mr Kabelo Selema from SACBC delivering his presentation Mr Kabelo Selema SACBC delivering his presentation Page 13

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