Pope Francis has told a gathering of Catholics involved in community organizing that “we must build a future from below.”
The Pope was speaking to a conference of Catholics from inner-city parishes, called to reflect on his new book Let Us Dream. He said that “the poverty and exclusion” which has intensified during the pandemic makes their work “all the more urgent and necessary.”
Pope Francis also spoke of the “inclusive populism” of community organizing as the “true response” to the rise of divisive populisms. What was needed, he said, was “not more individualism but a politics of fraternity, rooted in the life of the people.”
The Pope sent a “special greeting” to the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), “which celebrates its 50th year helping the poorest communities in the United States to live with greater dignity, promoting their participation in decisions that affect them.”
Speaking via video to the conference, entitled ‘A Politics Rooted in the People’, he went on to add, “Now, more than ever, we must build a future from below, alongside the people in their struggle for dignity. May your conference help to light up the way there.”
The online event welcomed delegates from around the world, but especially from faith and community organizations in the UK, Germany, Italy, and the US – including some from the Pope’s own Diocese of Rome.
Organized by the Centre for Theology & Community in east London, CCHD, and six other Catholic institutions in the UK, US, and EU, the conference heard from grassroots Christians – including care workers, teaching assistants, and cleaners – alongside academics, community organizers, and clergy. The keynote address was given by Austen Ivereigh – the Pope’s collaborator on Let Us Dream. His address included an interview with Patricia Gualinga, of the Pueblo Kichwa de Sarayaku, an indigenous community in the Ecuadorian Amazon.
The Pope’s teaching on politics, economics, and social life has received huge attention across the world. In light of the devastating impacts of the Covid-19 Pandemic, delegates were challenged to think through the way faith groups, businesses, governments, community institutions, and all people of good will can work together towards the common good as the Pandemic comes to an end.
Ralph McCloud, the Director of CCHD, said, “For over 50 years CCHD has supported initiatives that empower families, immigrants, new mothers, the elderly, and those in need, as well as enable individuals to become active participants in their communities. As we look ahead to the next five decades of our work, and in the aftermath of a devastating pandemic, this gathering is an important step towards cultivating universal solidarity and social friendship.”
Canon Angus Ritchie – Director of the Centre for Theology & Community said: “This has been a conference with a difference, placing the voices of grassroots leaders at the heart of the conversation. As Pope Francis said, they have shown themselves to be the decisive actors in the pandemic – and we need to build a new politics together that recognizes that.”
