Prayer is not enough - Catholics must be educated, motivated and moved to take action on social issues.

That was the general consensus of the four panelists at last weekend's “The Eucharist and Social Justice” discussion organized by the Catholic Commission for Social Justice (CCSJ). The July 2 event attracted a favourable turnout of some 100 faithful at the Our Lady of Fatima, Curepe, parish hall.

Moderator and CCSJ chair, Leela Ramdeen , led the gathering in one minute of silence, in solidarity with the thousands gathered in Scotland to pressure “G8” country leaders to develop plans to end poverty and reduce debt, especially in Africa .

Archbishop Gilbert spoke first and said Catholics must move beyond piety. The pious may be content to withdraw from life, he said, but “the challenge is to raise consciousness to go beyond that”. Stating that “social justice is an essential element of preaching the gospel,” he outlined some areas where involvement is needed: life and death issues, economic issues, disrespect of the environment, and human needs, namely water and sanitation, housing and medical care.

He said the Church needs to back up more what it preaches. Giving as an example a pregnant teen considering abortion, he said we cannot just tell her not to have an abortion, then promise to remember to pray for her. “She's still frightened, alone - and pregnant.” He said the archdiocese has therefore taken a decision to offer assistance by caring for the teen and her child, until the baby is 18 years old.

This, he explained, will be done through Mary Care Centre and other Church organizations and will require a great deal of resources - but must be done.

Archdiocesan Pastoral Centre director, Fr Henry Charles, traced the biblical roots of solidarity, supporting his comments with examples from both Old and New Testaments. He said the concept of solidarity is linked to the Eucharist as “The Eucharist is meant to bring into being a community of solidarity.”

He said the late Pope John Paul II saw a close link between the Eucharist and social justice. Writing in Dies Domini , he said “the Sunday liturgy becomes a school in social justice".

Fr Jason Gordon, parish priest of Gonzales, began with an excerpt from Earl Lovelace's While Gods Were Falling which raised the question of whether, in the midst of societal ills, God was truly present. Fr Gordon said the excerpt was a reflection of how some Catholics think.

“Many Catholics live faith out of a pagan model which is not the Catholic model. They expect God to do something (about the social ills). But it should be us – his body – that transforms the world.

It's not about us saying the right words and ‘hocus-pocus', all will be well.” “The Eucharist is not an appeal to God to change the world. God is in the business of transforming the world. The primary way he transforms the world, is to transform us. The real transformation begins in our hearts and minds.”

Fr Gordon went on to relate the changes taking place in Gonzales, a community once riddled with gang warfare, through the transformation of residents.

Fr Malcolm Rodrigues speaking at CCSJ seminar.

The final speaker was Jesuit priest Fr Malcolm Rodrigues, parish priest of St Theresa's, Barataria, who said he was heartened by the turnout of young people in the audience. Fr Rodrigues, who is also the CCSJ's spiritual director, said Catholics are called to speak out again injustices.

Recalling the protests over a government budget in his homeland of Guyana in 1991, he said some of his parishioners lent support by creating a six-foot cross, then going to the protest venue singing hymns and praying.

We have to raise the consciousness of people that they can do something, he said. “I invite you to get involved. You may not be clear on what to do, but take the first step, the Holy Spirit does the rest.”

A Question and Answer session - which including a testimony from a participant - was followed by small group discussions on what action an individual and a Church community can take. Brief group reports closed the seminar. - RS