The Catholic Commission for Social Justice (CCSJ) held its third AGM on Saturday, February 18, at Our Lady of Fatima RC Church Hall, Curepe. Archbishop Gilbert attended the meeting and commended members of the Commission for the work they had done over the past three years and for their continued commitment to promoting justice in Trinidad and Tobago and in the wider world.

He remarked that if one considers the reports of the three AGMs together, these reports highlight the substantial amount of work that the Commission has done since it was established after Synod in 2003. The AGM report for 2006 is available on CCSJ's website (www.rcsocialjusticett.org).

The Archbishop joined members of the Commission in bidding farewell to Leela Ramdeen, Chair of CCSJ, who leaves CCSJ on March 1. Ms Ramdeen states in the AGM Report:

“I believe that having established a strong foundation for the Commisison, I can now hand over to someone else within the Archdiocese to take the lead in this important area of the Archdiocese's work...

Andre de Vignes, vice chair, thanking Leela for her service over three years.

If we read the signs of the times we will see that there is an urgent need for personal witness to make visible the presence of Catholics in society.

CCSJ provides an opportunity for good men and women to witness to the truth. We can do so by speaking out on the many moral and ethical issues which T&T faces... The social mission of the Church must involve each of us...

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank His Grace for his leadership and for the opportunity to serve the Church in Trinidad and Tobago over the past three years. I thank also all those who continue to commit themselves to this important work...

Social justice is not an addendum. It is an integral part of who we are as Catholics...If we do not live our faith in our homes, in our workplaces, in our communities then we cannot be part of the solution to the many challenges that we face...At the centre of our work is prayer.

We pray incessantly that the Holy Spirit will guide us in our work; give us the courage and strength to remain faithful to the teachings of our Church; and to stand firm in our efforts to achieve our goals.

“It is my sincere hope that my successor and the Commission will be supported in the important task of promoting God's reign of justice, peace, love, truth and freedom in T&T...It has truly been an honour to be able to work with so many talented individuals...As I take up new challenges in my life, I remain rooted in my faith. I ask for your prayers. May God bless you all.”

At the meeting, His Grace also discussed his plans regarding Ms Ramdeen's successor and on Tuesday, February 21, he appointed Fr Michael Moses to the position of Chair of CCSJ.

Excerpts from the report of CCSJ Chair, Leela Ramdeen, delivered at last weekend's AGM of the Catholic Commission for Social Justice.

Structure of Commission

As we stated in our last report, CCSJ is just one of many organisations in our Archdiocese. There is still a need for the Archdiocese to develop a framework that would facilitate communication/closer collaboration between the various groups that operate within the Archdiocese.

This will help us to optimise the use of the Archdiocese's financial, human and material resources. It is hoped that in due course the Archdiocesan Administrative Council, established by His Grace, Archbishop Edward J Gilbert, will develop such a framework.

The work of the Commission is growing. Members of the Commission believe that CCSJ should be restructured to reflect this and to ensure that responsibility is distributed to appropriate individuals to reduce the workload of CCSJ's Chair.

Members are of the view that in order to release the Chair to focus mainly on policy issues relating to the Commission, it is necessary for a Secretariat to be established with an adequate number of staff e.g. Administrative Assistant, Researcher/Consultant with background in theology, and Secretary.

This is critical to provide the necessary support for the successor to the current Chair and to promote the development of the Commission's work ….. If the Church is serious about social justice work in TT and wish individuals to present themselves to serve their Church, then it is essential that a proper structure is established to support such persons.

…. it is clear that a variety of knowledge, skills and abilities are required to support the Commission if it is to continue to be effective and efficient.

During CCSJ's meeting in January 2006, His Grace invited members to submit to him their proposals for a new structure. At the end of the meeting members who wished to join the group that undertook to develop the new structure, submitted their names to the Chair.

A group of five members met and agreed on a proposed new structure which was submitted to His Grace on Tuesday, February 7. It is hoped that this will receive support.

Local and global justice issues

“CCSJ continues to adopt a multi-faceted approach to achieve our goals as no one strategy will work. And while we focus on local issues, we are also aware of the many injustices that take place around the world. We seek to draw attention to these and to suggest strategies for change e.g. in our articles, at seminars etc.

Members of CCSJ must continue to raise their voices together with millions of others e.g. through international projects such as “Making Poverty History”.

Since our future is at stake, we must continue to raise our concerns about global warming, ecology justice, racism, pro-life issues, debt relief, global trade justice, human trafficking, conflict and wars in various parts of the world, justice for displaced persons, immigrants and asylum seekers, workers' rights and so on.

The social mission of the Church must involve each of us. Each of us must play our part to address the fundamental issues of our times - not only in Trinidad and Tobago, but worldwide.

We must use the resources of our faith and every opportunity to shape a society/world in which right relationships exist – not only with each other, but also with all of creation.

As Pope John Paul II said: ‘It is indispensable that everyone involves himself or herself on behalf of justice, in respect for human rights, and in recognition of the duties that are implied.'

The process of developing in the faithful a spirituality of justice takes time and we must never give up hope that this can be achieved. The challenge is to remain focused on our goals and to encourage the faithful to stand as models of social justice and to see themselves as change agents.

Our watchwords will continue to be love, respect, cohesion, justice, peace, freedom, truth, and solidarity. At the centre of all our work is prayer.

We pray incessantly that the Holy Spirit will guide us in our work; give us the courage and strength to remain faithful to the teachings of our Church; and to stand firm in our efforts to achieve our goals.”