On Mission Sunday, October 22nd 2017, the Diocese of Moncton celebrated in a special way the Golden Jubilee of Development and Peace.
It was indeed in 1967 that «Development and Peace» (www.devp.org) was established by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops in response to Pope Paul VI's encyclical letter Populorum Progressio which stated: ‘‘Development is the new word for peace."
The mission of Development and Peace: With the help of parish collections, individual donations and government grants, this organization support partners in the Global South who promote alternatives to unfair social, political and economic structures. It also helps the Canadian population to be more aware of the causes of poverty and become involved in actions for change. For over fifty years, Development and Peace has thus supported 15,200 local initiatives in fields such as agriculture, education, community action as well as the consolidation of peace and human rights advocacy in 70 countries. Its 13,000 members are committed to aiding the poor in their struggle for justice in the global South.
To celebrate this jubilee, Archbishop Valéry Vienneau, surrounded by ten concelebrants, presided over the Sunday Eucharist, at 2:00 p.m., in the Church of Christ the King where all the parishioners of the diocese had been invited. The international choir of Moncton University provided for this celebration a much appreciated multilingual animation that was both prayerful and festive.
We were then invited to a small reception in the basement of the church, where we shared a light lunch and enjoyed precious moments of friendly conversation with old acquaintances and others, more recent. The president of the Diocesan Committee for Development and Peace gave us an overview of the activities in progress. He then proceeded to the presentation of certificates of recognition to seventeen persons, two of whom were Daughters of Jesus, who participated in the activities of Development and Peace in the diocese for several years.
In our concern for human development according to the Gospel principles (R.L. 10), we continue to be interested and to participate in the activities of this organization according to our possibilities.
Sr. Geraldine Parent and Sr. Rita Poirier, Moncton, Province of Canada
