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RENATE Members will be present at the 6th Meeting of the EU Civil Society Platform. This meeting takes place in Brussels 20-21 October 2015. More news on this will be coming soon.
Sixth Meeting of the EU Civil Society Platform in Brussels
RENATE Members will be present at the 6th Meeting of the EU Civil Society Platform. This meeting takes place in Brussels 20-21 October 2015. More news on this will be coming soon.
The Holy Father’s Universal Prayer Intention for October is “that Human Trafficking, the modern form of slavery, may be eradicated”. With Pope Francis’ intention to guide us, the RENATE campaign of activities and events to mark the 18th of October, is presented in the following overview: 18th October 2015_stories and actions from RENATE Network
You will see from the wide variety of activities throughout the RENATE Network that there are actions to suit every capacity. Join us in our endeavours to stop Human Trafficking.
Each and every effort, will make a big difference to those in need.
Anne Kelleher, RENATE Communications Person
On the 19th of December, 2011, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 66/170, declaring the 11th of October as the International Day of the Girl Child.
The day promotes girls’ human rights and helps raise awareness about all issues concerning gender inequality worldwide.
“In 2015, girls in the first decade of their lives are more likely to enrol in primary school, receive key vaccinations and are less likely to suffer from health and nutrition problems than were previous generations” (www.un.org)
While acknowledging the progress that has been made by the global community in improving the lives of girls in the first decade of their lives, much more work needs to be done to support girls to safely navigate their way through adolescence, ensuring they access quality education, access full information and services related to puberty and reproductive health and acquire abilities to protect themselves from gender-based violence.
Through informing and empowering adolescent girls and young women, RENATE believes it is possible to reduce the numbers who fall victim to human trafficking and exploitation.
Further information at:
www.un.org/en/events/girlchild
www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/girl-child
www.unicef.org/gender/gender_66021.html
www.dayofthegirlsummit.org
Written by Anne Kelleher, RENATE Communications Person
RENATE welcomes all website visitors to read the fifth edition of its newsletter. Your feedback will be very much appreciated. Thank you.
Full text available here: RENATE Newsletter No.5_October 2015
The Vatican will host its second Youth Symposium at Casina Pio on November 7th and 8th next, where youth working to support the victims of Human Trafficking and working in the areas of awareness raising and prevention, will meet to collaborate and share best practice.
We send our very best wishes to RENATE member, Sr. Stanka Oršolić, who will be representing RENATE at the Symposium. Her Human Trafficking awareness article was published in July 2015 edition of Croatian Journal New Presence: Review for Intellectual and Spiritual Questions.
In her article, Sr. Stanka provides a comprehensive overview of numerous and varied activities undertaken by the listed organisations attending the Youth Symposium at the Vatican last November. Comprising examples of preventative measures, support to victims and educational awareness-raising activities, the article is a testimony to the work and commitment of countless people who work against Human Trafficking in responding to the call ‘’Who is my mother and who are my brothers?’’ (Matthew 12:46-50).
First Youth Symposium in the Vatican_November 2014_by Sr. Stanka Oršolić
New Presence – Review for Intellectual and Spiritual Questions_magazine cover
Prvi simpozij mladih u borbi protiv prostitucije i trgovanja ljudima – najvećeg nasilja nad ljudskim bićima_by Sr. Stanka Oršolić
Anne Kelleher, RENATE Communications Person
From the 14th to the 17th of September, 2015, the Vatican held an International Symposium on the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Street People.
Attendees sourced biblical foundation documents and Church Social Teaching in relation to street women and children. A plan of action emerged at the end of the Symposium as guidelines for the Church.
Panels of speakers from every continent, shared their experiences of working at ‘grass roots’ with migrants, street women and street children and their families.
Pope Francis met with the attendees, enforcing the message of human rights and dignity for all and encouraging them in their work.
Sr. Imelda Poole, IBVM, shares a comprehensive report with us, which you can find here The International Symposium on Pastoral Care of Migrants and Street People_by Imelda Poole IBVM_September 2015
Sr. Gabriella Bottani, CMS, shares her speech about Woman’s Dignity and Talitha Kum here Womans Dignity and Talitha Kum_speech of Gabriella Bottani CMS_September 2015
Plan of Action_International Symposium on the Pastoral Care of the Road – the document is the final one achieved, as a plan of action for the Church, resulting from the work at the Symposium at the Vatican on street women and children.
E-Bulletin from RENATE_2015.09.01 compiled by RENATE Communications Person.
Andante Summer School, 12 – 16 August, 2015
“WHY BIOETHICS? – BIOETHICAL ISSUES FACING PEOPLE TODAY”
I attended the Andante Summer School in August as a RENATE member. It was a great privilege to be there at the Don Bosco house in Vienna, Austria where the event took place in a picturesque part of Vienna close to the famous Wienerwald (the Vienna Woods). The theme: “Why bioethics? – Bioethical issues facing people today.”
Andante (The European Alliance of Catholic women`s organisations) proposed this topic at the request of several members from different countries in Europe who face Bioethical issues related to their work or to their personal life.
We were 54 people in total, from different European countries, with diverse backgrounds and different ways of answering or dealing with difficult questions and decisions regarding Bioethics.
As an Alliance of Catholic Women, Andante meetings had its focus on the Christian aspects of the discussions, underpinned all the while by consideration for the dignity of the human person, which cannot be reduced to the outward appearance of the body, but is a holistic complex of body and soul.
Dr. Sigrid Sterckx from Belgium, gave an introduction to ethics on the first day. She is Professor of Ethics and Political and Social Philosophy at the Department of Philosophy and Moral sciences at Ghent University. In her introduction, her central point was the question: What should I do? We were given explanations on several approaches to normative ethics like: utilitarism, deontology and virtue ethics, with particular attention to the (in)/compatibilities between them, illustrated with several examples. All of which challenged the way we react in critical situations.
After this amazing way of putting us in front of the reality some people live in daily life, we discussed the ethical aspects of various medical end-of-life practices such as pain and symptom alleviation, continuous sedation at the end of life, physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia and the differences and similarities between them.
Dr. Myriam Wijlens from the Netherlands, Professor of Canon Law and Ecumenism at the Erfurt University in Germany spoke on Ethics and Canon Law. She payed particular attention to the issue of abortion and the question of when the penalty of an automatic excommunication on Canon Law is indeed occurred, or if it ever occurred.
She said, “Development in the area of medicine requires not only ethical reflections but also leads to questions that touch on actions and reactions within the realm of pastoral ministry. It is not uncommon that a tension arises between the doctrine and the teaching on the one side and pastoral care with regard to an individual specific person on the other side.”
Dr. Regula Ott, Professor of Ethics at University of Zurich, Switzerland, gave a talk on Ethical Issues for prospective parents.
In her presentation she addressed aspects related to biomedical ethics for parents, explained closely the terms of artificial insemination, prenatal diagnosis that employs a variety of techniques to determine the health and condition of an unborn fetus, about Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) which is a reproductive technology that can be used for diagnosis of a genetic disease in early embryos prior to implantation and pregnancy. In addition, this technology can be utilised in the field of assisted reproduction for aneuploidy screening and diagnosis of unbalanced inheritance of chromosome abnormalities, such as translocations or inversions, all these from the perspective of biomedical ethics.
Dr. Sigrid Müller, Germany, talked about the relationship between Ethics, Culture and Faith/Spirituality, emphasising the pluralism and the decreasing influence the Churches or religions face in Europe today. She is Dean at the Catholic Theological Faculty of Vienna. World views are increasingly dominated by paradigms used in the field of technology, technique and neutral sciences, in a context where arguments traditionally offered by the churches are often no longer accepted, she said.
All meetings started with a prayer and the song Laudato Si, prayer of Saint Francis. The entire meeting was underpinned by the influence of the Pope Francis’ Encyclical letter Laudato Si’ – care for our common home.
I am very grateful for such an enriching experience both from the speakers and from participants.
I would like to finish with part of the second prayer at the end of the Encyclical, where we, Christians, ask for inspiration to take up the commitment to creation set before us by the Gospel of Jesus.
O Lord, seize us with your power and light,
help us to protect all life,
to prepare for a better future,
for the coming of your Kingdom
of justice, peace, love and beauty.
Praise be to you!
Amen
Sr. Adina Balan, CJ – Bucharest
Andante Summer School Summary 2015_English
Sign up for the 30th July, 2015 Thunderclap and join the coordinated social mass media message that will be issued on the UN World Day against Trafficking in Persons.
‘I give hope’ campaign was launched by the UN in 2014, to raise awareness about human trafficking and invite people worldwide, to show solidarity with the victims of this crime.
The campaign is repeated again this year. We are each called by Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary General to “act as one in the name of justice and dignity for all” (WDTIP) and to “cultivate warm ties that strengthen our common humanity and promote the well-being of the human family” (IDF). You can show your solidarity with the victims of human trafficking by logging on to www.unodc.org/endht and downloading the series of leaflets, logos and campaign images, which are helpful to awareness-raising.
Additionally, you can visit www.endHT.org to read and share more about how NGOs across the world are working to help survivors of trafficking.
Spread the word and invite friends to join the Thunder, through support with Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.
Adapted and compiled by Anne Kelleher, RENATE Communications Person