New partnership will create bonds of solidarity with Butuan Diocese
Bidding farewell is something I really don’t relish. I do not like moving when it means leaving families and acquaintances behind. Endings are just no fun.
So it was with a certain heaviness of heart that I undertook, immediately after Thanksgiving, my final visitation trip as a member of the Catholic Relief Services board of directors.
My term on the board ends at the end of this month, and it has truly been six unforgettable years. I have seen the faith of our American Catholics effectively at work assisting the poorest of the poor through the world. As I have said previously, you can be proud of your Catholic Relief Services personnel who are serving so generously around the world.
When I arrived in Manila, Philippines, however, my melancholy began to lift as I realized that there was new life connected with my final Catholic Relief Services trip. Through our Global Solidarity Partnership program, we are establishing a new relationship with another local church — the Diocese of Butuan in the Philippines.
Through this partnership a new way of caring for our sisters and brothers in our global family is born.
As I write this I am preparing to fly from Manila to Butuan, accompanied by Doug Ryan, head of the Catholic Relief Services operation in the Philippines. I am looking forward, after arriving in Butuan, to meeting the delegation that has just arrived from the Archdiocese of Anchorage.
The members of the Alaska delegation left the state in early December, generously leaving their homes to travel here, convinced that much good can come of this new partnership.
Together we will begin the process of creating bonds of solidarity with the people of Butuan.
During the past few days I have made various visits on behalf of Catholic Relief Services. I met with the organization’s staff based in Manila and learned of the generous work they are doing to assist the poor.
I visited with Cardinal Jaime Sin, the recently-retired Archbishop of Manila; Gaudencio Rosales, the new archbishop of Manila; Archbishop Fernando Capalla, the new president of the Philippines bishops’ conference; and the papal nuncio, Antonio Franco.
I also spent some time sharing notes with St. Paul Sister Rosanne Mallilin, executive secretary of the Philippines bishops’ office for social action and justice and peace.
Listening to these religious leaders share their positive view of what U.S. Catholics are doing for the poor in the Philippines, I was struck by the thought that there is a connection between the liturgical season we are celebrating, Advent, and the Catholic Relief Services Global Solidarity Partnership.
The Scripture readings we have been hearing speak of a time when the poor are cared for, justice is established and harmony in creation is realized. These elements, as Jesus pointed out, are indications that the kingdom of God is in our midst.
Indeed, it is care for the poor, justice and harmony that we seek to achieve through our partnership with the Diocese of Butuan. I pray that our efforts will succeed and that the realization of our goals will help people realize that the reign of God truly has begun.
God is fulfilling His promises and making all things new through His son Jesus Christ. This is happening through the efforts of faithful Catholics, one step at a time, person to person.
May this reality bring hope to a half-starved world.