Friendship, love, witness, and work - these will be the watchwords during the tenure of Br Rudolph Boneo, the new president of the Society of St Vincent de Paul.

Boneo was officially inaugurated by Archbishop Edward Gilbert during the organisation’s Annual General Meeting, held last Sunday at Presentation College, San Fernando.

In his maiden address, Boneo gave the assurance that he would strive to keep the Society’s good name through “truthfulness and integrity”.

He stressed the importance of first developing friendship: “We must always be friends. All of us are children of God and no sociological manifestations, be it class or culture should deny us the friendship so necessary to carry out this work.”

Boneo, who is a Senior labour relations officer at the Ministry of Labour and Small and Micro Enterprise Development, said the work of the Society can not be classified as social work but God’s work.

“There is always work to do and we must continue to do it not because we have a social conscience, not because there is glamour in social work. We do it because it is God’s work and by performing not social work but works of charity we are bringing about the Kingdom of God.”

The former vice president for the North East Particular Council said the Vincentian vocation “is not a past time activity…It is not the thing you do to get out of the house.”

Outgoing SVP President Anthony Wong Doo, Archbishop Gilbert and new president Rudolph Boneo

Archbishop Gilbert displays a copy of his pastoral letter at the SVP meeting

Administrative secretary, Yvette Woodruffe, and Archbishop Gilbert

He said their mandate is to go out among the poor, “see them as they are, and witness to them.” He then challenged fellow Vincentians to “Bring to them not only food and clothes…but also bring to them the witness of Christ’s love.”

Boneo said the membership is critical to the success of the Society and he will meet the membership for their ideas. He added that his focus would be on the strengthening of all nine Particular Councils (regional bodies).

Giving his final address as president, Br Anthony Wong Doo, who served two terms beginning in 2001, said the Archbishop’s Pastoral Letter on Solidarity in the Archdiocese calls on individual Catholics and Church organisations to make the Church more visible to the nation.

He said the SVP has had its feet on the ground for the past 150 years and because of its network strength, must therefore “engage this discussion with urgency….it is in our Vincentian gene as defenders of the faith so to do.”

He thanked all levels of the Society for their support and the opportunity to serve. In welcoming his successor, Wong Doo urged Vincentians to “give him your unstinting support”.

Wong Doo also thanked the Archbishop for his “pastoral leadership” and his wife, Gemma, for her “forbearance, understanding and encouragement”. 

Archbishop Gilbert began his address saying many people would be dead today if not for the SVP and he believed it was time the Church and the SVP ask Government for resources to do the work they (the Government) are unable to do.

Noting that the 2005-2006 financial report was not positive, he congratulated the Society for the turn-around recorded for 2006-2007, as presented earlier by Finance Committee chairman, Kenneth Augier.

The Archbishop said during a papal visit to South America earlier this year, Pope Benedict XVI told bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean that many have been baptised into the Catholic Church but not evangelised or educated, and left on their own.

The Archbishop described this as a “serious indictment” and it needs to be looked at in the Archdiocese. We need to “find ways to formulate an ongoing growth factor…” he said, adding that those who are not evangelised are vulnerable to other influences.

He congratulated the Society as it continues celebrating its 150th anniversary, describing the anniversary Mass in June as “a picture to the nation of your commitment, pride and quality of service.”

Archbishop Gilbert and new spiritual director, San Fernando assistant parish priest Fr David Khan, concelebrated Mass. The Vistabella choir led the singing.

In his homily, Fr Khan said society today lacks a sense of respect, explaining that people no longer see each other as brothers and sisters. “The day we see each other as brother and sister, a new day will dawn.”

After Mass, 28 staff members received token of appreciation based on their years of service. Two members of the Secretariat staff received ovations, Sumintra Deokali for 24 years, and administrative secretary, Yvette Woodruffe, for 32 years. - RS

Following are highlights of the National Council Report, delivered by honorary national secretary, Clive Belgrave, at the SVP's annual general meeting last Sunday:

• SVP International President General José Ramón Díaz-Torremocha is being encouraged to visit the region.
• The new Home for the Aged in San Fernando has been completed but the substantial debt incurred needs to be cleared.
• The Finbar Ryan Geriatric Home has admitted government-sponsored residents. The Audrey Mollineau Home in Barataria has been earmarked to begin admitting similar residents.
• Work on the new home for the Cyril Ross Nursery is yet to begin as the Society awaits approval from the North/Central Regional Authority to create an access road to the site. Meanwhile, promised support from the Ministry of Social Development and the National AIDS Coordinating Committee is yet to materialise.
• SVP’s facilities on Duncan Street, which once housed rehabilitated male inmates of St Ann’s Hospital, are to be demolished
• The future of the Centre for Socially Displaced Persons remains up in the air until Government reveals its plans.

Awardees
32 years - Yvette Woodruffe
24 years  - Sumintra Deokali
20 years - Myra Lewis
 19 years - Norma Daniel
 17 years - Jeanette Barthol, Judy Nimblet Headley, Angela Pounder Howe
 16 years – Selwyn Coutain, Mervyn Gilkes, Lloyd James, George Morrison
15 years – Michael Brizan, Albert Hudson, Dale Quow, Patricia Rennie
 13 years – Raquel Burke, Sharon Phillip Cole, Jacqueline John
12 years – Noreen Charles, Yolande Veronica Sanchez, Roger Watson
11 years – Josephine Best, Beatrice Hunte, Theresa Jack, Silvy Sonnylal
10 years – Jean Agard, Sylvester Cedeno, Pamela Ramchandar