When 650 women come to ROME to celebrate their faith in
GOD, it's bound to be interesting. I want to tell you that the
WUCWO General Assembly, which was held in Rome from March 17th to
25th this year, was certainly that! It was also a very moving
spiritual experience for every one there and I would invite you to
think of participating in the next Assembly which will be in
Washington DC in 2005 This year we were a small group of AMASC
delegates but we met many other alumna who were members of their
own country's delegation and formed happy friendships. Our
delegates were Jacqui Ingram from Australia, Fedy Rossi Germani
from Rome and Clare Ryan from Australia and myself, Camille
Farrell, from Australia
The flavour of the Assembly
On the afternoon of 17th of March, the Piazza in front of St.
Peter's Basilica became a scene of colour and excitement as WUCWO
women gathered to meet old friends and to make new ones. Many wore
beautiful national costumes. There was singing, dancing and much
talk among the hundreds of constantly smiling people as cameras
clicked. After a happy and exuberant hour, everyone processed into
St. Peter's for the opening Mass. It was funny to be the object of
the stares of the "tourists' who must have wondered who all these
women were! The Mass was celebrated at the altar of the Chair of
Peter and presided over by Cardinal Stafford of the Pontifical
Council for the Laity. I particularly remember the Offertory
Procession, where about 50 women ---totally unscheduled by the
very serious monseignor in charge---rose from their seats to make
offerings from their homelands. It was a marvellous spontaneous
action and one of the indications of the joy and faith of the
women who had come so far to be at the seat of St Peter
I am confident that each one there was remembering her own
organization knowing that each one sharing in this great occasion
was representing many others, so you were included in our prayers
during that great Mass in St Peter's. A few days later the Pope
made it abundantly clear, in his audience address, that his
blessing reached far beyond those actually present and included
all WUCWO members, their families and friends.
Many days of lectures and workshops followed interspersed by
colourful liturgies organized by the different continents. We had
Mass every day, we all shared meals together and this meant an
exchange of ideas and cultural values and much laughter.
Importantly, for the continuity of work in hand, the new Board
elected Maria Eugenia Diaz de Pfennich to serve a second term as
President-General, and Amelita Go (Philippines) as Vice
President-General. At the closing Mass, each outgoing and incoming
Board Member received a candle lit by the President-General. This
light was shared with all until the whole auditorium glowed with
the symbols of the faith and commitment.
WUCWO owes a great debt of gratitude to all the Italian
host organizations (Azione Cattolica, Centro Italiano Femmenile
and Gruppo Promozione Donna) whose welcome was enthusiastic and
generous. Much of the success of the Assembly was undoubtedly due
to the devotion of many members in Azione Cattolica, who after
many months of preparatory help, continued to work long hours each
day, providing many practical services both seen and unseen. The
Study Days were facilitated by Maria Dutto of Gruppo Promozionr
Donna whose smile and friendliness were delightfully infectious.
To them we say &endash; Thank you and God bless you all.
Free adaptation Gillian Badcock's editorial in Womens Voice
MISSION OF HOPE
Maria Eugenia Diaz de Pfennich,
President General
"Hope is based on Faith and creates solidarity".
The theme of our Assembly was "The Prophetic Mission of
Women". A prophet is one who has received from God an
assignment to communicate a message. The Hebrew expression " nabi"
refers to a person who "announces and proclaims something and
makes something public", but the matter is not of his own thoughts
alone.. A prophet has the task of reminding people about their
vocation to be the "People of God". The World Union of Catholic
Women's Organizations offers the international space to make our
voice heard in the places where the decisions are made at Church
and international levels.
Every institution needs to have prophets if it is not to become
set in its ways or be destroyed from within. During our Assembly
we recalled the spirit that is the source of our ideals, proposed
by WUCWO since its founding. "To work to achieve the union of all
Catholic women throughout the world. To do so let us share serious
and well organized action". Women have the vocation of being the
memory of humanity and of conceiving the future. For centuries
women have kept in their hearts, have accumulated and transmitted
traditions and wisdom to their children, but, above all, they are
the ones who help to have "Faith in Life" It is important that
women continue cultivating the roots that feed all society and
culture so that the voices of Catholic women can be heard by
Church and society. I believe, therefore, that humanity needs
women to contribute and to understand how to love. Women who
gathered in the Assembly were women who were moved by faith,
knowing that the world asks more than ever, that we give a message
of hope, and that we undertake a commitment so that the unjust
temporary structures may change and the world may recognize the
evangelic values.
For all these reasons, I strongly believe in the urgency of a
more dedicated and audacious participation of women, who value
dialogue, who contribute within their communities to help in
reconciliation, with a strong faith to contemplated the future, as
strong women who give a hand to those in need, who can speak with
wisdom, who do not only analyze and question themselves, but who
fully trust in the love of God our Father, women who say as Mary
did" Here I am, my Lord".
EXTRACTS FROM THE POPE'S MESSAGE
In the message he sent to Maria Eugenia Diaz de Pfennich, the
President of WUCWO, the Pope called on women to seek material and
moral support to women in any difficulty particularly victims of
poverty and violence.
"Feminine holiness to which each of you is called is
indispensable to the life of the church. The Second Vatican
Council confirming the teaching of the whole tradition recalled
that in the hierarchy of holiness, it is precisely the "woman':
Mary of Nazareth who is the "figure "of the Church. She preceeds
everyone in the path to holiness.(Mulleieris dignitatem) the Pope
also said 'The Church's presence and action in the new millennium
passes by way of woman's capacity to receive and keep God's word.
In virtue of her specific charism, woman is uniquely gifted in the
task of passing on the Christian message and mystery, in the
family and in the world of work study and leisure.' In spite of
the progress of the 20th century , the Pope never the less stated
that "in today's world there exists a growing awareness of the
need to affirm women's dignity. This is no abstract principle for
it involves a concerted effort at every level to oppose vigorously
all practices that offend women's freedom or femininity eg : so
called sexual tourism., trafficking in young girls, mass
sterilization and in general every form of violence" "The
prevailing culture spreads and imposes models of life which are
contrary to women's nature. There have been serious aberrations,
some arising from individual selfishness and refusal to love,
others from a mentality that stresses individual rights to such an
extent that respect for the rights of others is weakened and
particularly those of defenceless unborn children who in many
cases are deprived of legal protection.
General Information
The Assembly was also the occasion for the presentation of a
very well produced set of brochures covering all aspects of WUCWO
past and present. The four titles are (1) "WUCWO Story" which
gives our history from founding in 1910. (2)'Declarations and
Resolutions"(3) "Representation": which explains how WUCWO brings
the voice of Catholic women to the United Nations and other
international agencies and(4) "Objectives": which is a vital
reference work listing all member organizations, their objectives
and current officers. For this brochure we rely on you to keep us
up to date with any changes in your organization.The new statutes
will be produced as the fifth booklet.Thr first three titles were
prepared by Geneieve de Diesback to whom we are all grateful. She
spent many hours devoted to the work. These booklets can be
obtained from the
WUCWO SECRETARIAT:
18 Rue Notre Dame des Champs
75006 Paris France
Telephone: 33.1.45.44.26.75
or email WUCWOPARIS@wanadoo.fr
I end this report by saying thank you to all of your for giving
me this opportunity to represent you in this gathering of
wonderful women and particularly to Fedy Rossi and Jacqui Ingram
and Clare Ryan for their constant help and support for me at the
Assembly
To all WUCWO member
organizations
Dear friends,
The current situation of the world is a challenge in the life
of each one of us as women of faith, and as members of the World
Union of Catholic Women's Organizations (WUCWO).
Let us ask the Holy Spirit to guide us to understand better
what we can change, both at a personal level and at organization
level, to enable us to work more effectively as corresponsible
people in the construction of a more humane world in which
violence and injustice can be banished, and where we can live in
peace and fraternally among all peoples and nations as the Lord
asks us to.
Cordially yours,
María Eugenia Díaz de Pfennich
President General
____________________________________________________________________________
Aux Organisations membres de
l'UMOFC
Chères amies,
La situation actuelle dans le monde interpelle chacune d'entre
nous dans nos vies en tant que femmes de foi et en tant que
membres de l'Union Mondiale des Organisations Féminines
Catholiques (UMOFC).
Demandons au Saint Esprit de nous aider à mieux
comprendre ce que nous pouvons changer, au niveau individuel et au
niveau de l'association, que nous soyons mieux à même
de collaborer d'une manière plus responsable à
l'édification d'un monde plus humain d'où la
violence et l'injustice seraient bannies, et où il serait
possible de vivre dans la paix et la fraternité entre les
peuples et les nations comme nous le demande le Seigneur.
Avec mes meilleures salutations,
María Eugenia Díaz de Pfennich
Présidente Générale
A todas las organizaciones miembros de
la UMOFC
Queridas amigas,
La situación actual del mundo es un reto para cada
una de nosotras como mujeres de fe, y como miembros de la
Unión Mundial de las Organizaciones Femeninas
Católicas (UMOFC).
Pidamos al Espíritu Santo que nos ilumine para entender
mejor qué debemos cambiar, a nivel personal y como
organización, para que podamos trabajar cada vez más
eficazmente como corresponsables en la construcción de un
mundo más humano donde se destierre la violencia y la
injusticia, y vivamos la paz y la fraternidad entre todos los
pueblos y las naciones como el Señor nos pide.
Cordialmente,
María Eugenia Díaz de Pfennich
Presidenta General
