The Catholic Social Ministry Gathering (CSMG), organized for more than 30 years by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), will have its 2022 edition between January 29 and February 1, exclusively online. It is the premier annual event organized by the Department of Justice, Peace, and Human Development, in collaboration with 10 other USCCB departments and 20 national Catholic organizations.
Justice at the margins
The theme of CSMG 2022 is “Justice at the Margins,” taking as a reference the social ministry of Pope Francis, centered on a Church on the go, which does not wait for people to arrive on their own, but goes to the peripheries to meet the most needy, to bring them the dignity of the children of God in an integral way, that is, from all human realities.
The program includes a wide variety of events, such as workshops, webinars, conferences, where the current social reality in which the United States and the world find themselves, their crises, shortcomings, and injustices, will be presented, and the vision of a profound response based on the Social Doctrine of the Church will be shared. This will include moments of dialogue and community discernment.
The work of the Justice, Peace, and Human Development office is coordinated with the committees on International Justice and Peace, on Domestic Justice and Human Development, and the Subcommittee of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, among others.
Talks and program
The opening session will be given by Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Texas, a city bordering Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. He will speak on “justice at the margins” from his perspective as a border bishop who pastorally accompanies migrants who have recently arrived in the United States and in the work of justice. He will be joined by Dr. Shannen Dee Williams of the University of Dayton, who will speak on the history of racism and the call for justice.
Bishop Bruce Lewandowski, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, Lia Salinas, director of Hispanic Ministry for the aforementioned archdiocese, and Marilyn Santos, assistant director of the USCCB Secretariat for Evangelization and Catechesis, will present on “Communion, Participation, and Mission: Living Synodality in Hispanic Ministry,” motivating to “identify and accompany those on the peripheries in our communities, and provide them the best practices and resources to listen to and accompany the most vulnerable in our society and bring about social change on the issues of racism, immigration, and poverty.”
The program of the Catholic Social Ministry Gathering is varied and aims to make Catholics more aware that being a Christian implies a radical commitment to social justice, a fundamental pillar of Jesus’ message, expressed in the Gospel and replicated in numerous documents of Pope Francis, including Evangelii Gaudium, Laudato Si, Querida Amazonia, Gaudete et Exsultate and Fratelli Tutti.
The information and registration page for the meeting can be accessed HERE:
