“They will be the advocates, the supporters and the defenders of the weak and the little ones against all who oppress them”
Ver. Fr. Libermann (R. 1849; N.D.X, 517)
Since the Second Vatican Council, our Congregation has been committed to integrating Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) into its missionary program. The General Chapters that followed the Second Vatican Council deliberately chose JPIC as a missionary priority.
A review of our recent General Chapters can help us understand this commitment:
4. We saw justice and peace as a constitutive part of evangelization.
We thank God that identification with the people we serve is nothing new in the Congregation. The stories we heard at Itaici show that this sharing the lot of people, in good times and bad, is still the ideal of Spiritans throughout the world.
14. Our work with ethnic minorities, with the marginalised in the great cities, with the youth that an uncaring society leaves to its own devices; none of this is new for those who follow Poullart des Places and Francis Libermann. It is seen rather as a basic obligation and is engraved in our Rule of Life…
So our mission cannot be reduced to the transmission of a doctrine, of a law, a ritual, of structures. It is above all a commitment, in the name of Jesus Christ, to the total liberation of all people from all those things that enslave them. The Gospel is not just a message; it is a project of love aimed at transforming the world, to struggle for justice and peace.
0.4.1 Our mission to God’s poor
The Spirit leads us to be at the service of all people, especially the poor, the excluded and the marginalised, to support them, to live and work with them, to bring about a realisation of the Kingdom of God in works of justice, peace and reconciliation.
2.11-24. From the beginning, our mission has favoured the poor. In the course of our history, the accent has been placed on different areas. Today, we reaffirm our commitment to the poor, singling out three particular fields (which often overlap): First evangelisation, Education, Justice and Peace.
3. Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation
3.1. All Spiritans are asked to recognise the call to mission in today’s ‘Areopagus’ (Acts 17: 22-31), and the importance of answering the new calls, challenges and possibilities being offered. Special attention is drawn to tasks such as peace building, conflict resolution, reconciliation, dialogue, lobbying and advocacy in favour of the poor and marginalised, work for liberation of the oppressed and for the integrity of creation.
2. Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation
14. JPIC is an essential part of the circumscription’s strategic plan and is part of the formation programme from postulancy to ongoing formation.
16. In the parishes entrusted to us and in the works animated by Spiritans, JPIC groups will be formed with appropriate accompaniment. These groups will pay particular attention to educating and sensitising people regarding:
17. Special attention will be paid to the following situations and issues
In this way, our Congregation strives to remain faithful to its founding charism and to pass on the legacy of Poullart des Places and Francisco Libermann from one generation to the next.
Br. Mariano Espinoza, CSSp
Coordinator
Spiritan JPIC
