MONTREAL, June 14, 2022 – Development and Peace ― Caritas Canada is pleased to announce that its Orientation Assembly is being held in person from June 16 to 19, 2022 in Halifax, N.S.
The Orientation Assembly is a collaborative forum for reflection on our organization’s direction and programmatic themes for the next five years. The theme for the upcoming assembly, Create Hope, is inspired by the message of Pope Francis to the Fourth World Meeting of Popular Movements in October 2021.
The 150 participants expected at the assembly include Development and Peace members from dioceses from every province and territory across Canada; the national council and national members; youth representatives; staff; Catholic bishops; Church leaders; and representatives from international partner organizations and sister groups including the Catholic Women’s League, KAIROS and Caritas Internationalis.
Development and Peace’s president Brenda Arakaza said, “The entire Development and Peace community is coming together to reflect, to ‘read the signs of the times’ and to chart our course for the future. I am honoured that so many people―from the Vatican, from countries of the Global South and from every corner of Canada―will be shaping and sharing our journey. The collective wisdom of the Orientation Assembly will ensure that our organization remains a strong, vibrant and effective builder of a world of justice and peace.”
Danny Gillis, chair of the Orientation Assembly planning committee, said of the preparatory consultations, “While there are many issues Development and Peace needs to address, one thing is certain: this movement is passionate about ensuring the centrality of the voice of the poor.”
Andrea Grace Dsouza, a young adult delegate from Manitoba, revealed, “I got involved in D&P because I saw it as an opportunity to learn about Catholic Social Teaching and my responsibilities toward caring for our common home.”
A partner reflected during a sharing circle, “Listening becomes a way of life that leads us to a culture, the way we make decisions, to transform our minds, our communities, to listen to the poor, to the people.”
Highlights of the Orientation Assembly include the following presentations:
- From Vatican II’s Signs of the Times to the Synodality of the 2020s, the keynote address by His Eminence Michael Cardinal Czerny, SJ, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development
- Reflections of an Indigenous Elder and Catholic by the Hon. Graydon Nicholas, CM, ONB, of the Tobique First Nation, former Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick
- The Triple Nexus: aid, development and peace building by Aloysius John, secretary general, Caritas Internationalis, Rome
- Living the Church of the poor by Sr. Jean Bellini, of the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT), Brazil
- Let them come to me – inclusivity and grace in a Catholic movement by Dr. Lance Dixon, justice, equity, diversity and inclusion consultant
- Together for climate justice by Dr. Isaac Asume Osuoka, director, Social Development Integrated Centre (Social Action), Nigeria
- Youth engagement as an engine for change by Ramy Chan, coordinator, extractive industry and climate change unit, Youth Resource Development Program, Cambodia
Cardinal Czerny’s keynote address and select other presentations will be streamed live. The Orientation Assembly will also be covered on Development and Peace’s Twitter (@DevPeace), Facebook and Instagram feeds (@devpeace). Another press release will be issued after the assembly.
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About Development and Peace
Development and Peace — Caritas Canada is the official international development organization of the Catholic Church in Canada. It works in partnership with local organizations in over 30 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin American and the Middle East to create greater justice in the world and to act in solidarity with the most vulnerable people.
For more information, contact:
Minaz Kerawala
Communications and Public Relations Advisor
Development and Peace ― Caritas Canada
514 257-8710 ext. 328 | mkerawala@devp.org
