Sowing gestures of compassion and love
By Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ & Director, CREDI Last August, as Vatican News reported, “Pope Francis said that prayers and little gestures silently sow the seed of God’s love in the field of the world, making all things new. These gestures are capable of making the world more beautiful, of illuminating it with a ray […]
Cleanse my heart, O Lord
By Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ & Director, CREDI “Open your heart to Jesus’ mercy! Say: ‘Jesus… Come, cleanse. Cleanse with Your mercy, with Your tender words, cleanse with Your caresses’. If we open our heart to Jesus’ mercy, in order to cleanse our heart, our soul, Jesus will trust Himself to us.” (Pope Francis). I […]
Social Justice Commission calls for end to Ukraine war
The Catholic Commission for Social Justice (CCSJ) is calling for an end to the war in Ukraine and for peaceful solutions to be found to address the conflict. Leela Ramdeen, Chair of CCSJ, in a release Monday, February 28 says: “We stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Ukraine who are victims of this […]
Are we listening to Him?
By Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ & Director, CREDI “… the first duty of the Christian is to listen to the Word of God, to listen to Jesus, because he speaks to us and he saves us by his word. And by this word he makes our faith even stronger and more robust. Listen to Jesus!” […]
Synod and social justice
By Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ & Director, CREDI “Do you live what you believe?” —Pope Paul VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi, 1975) The diocesan phase of the global synodal process, officially entitled ‘Toward a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission’ began on Sunday, October 17, 2021. The first phase runs from October 2021 – April 2022 in dioceses […]
Lent: a time for renewing faith, hope and love
By Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ & Director, CREDI “Lent is a time for deeper dialogue with God through prayer, for renewed gratitude for God’s mercy and for increased compassion for people whose lives are under attack.” Pope Francis. Pope Francis’ Lenten message this year, is entitled: “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem” (Mt 20:18). […]
Addressing the root causes of crime
By Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ & Director, CREDI “They are not cockroaches. They are not monsters. They are of us. Raised for better or worse by this society which continues to enable them. Hypocrisy will not save us. We must find the courage to create change”—Verna St Rose Greaves, social worker, social activist. Let’s join […]
Give not in your name, give in the name of God
social justice – rcsocialjustice.org As we journey through the Synod together, the CCSJ recommends that each member of our Church adopts an approach of listening, not only to those of our own faith, but also adherents of other religions in T&T, including Hinduism. According to the 2018 Trinidad and Tobago International Religious Freedom report, 18.2 […]
Let’s find a humane way to address the migrant situation – CCSJ on infant’s deat
The Catholic Commission for Social Justice (CCSJ) and the Archdiocese’s Ministry for Migrants and Refugees (AMMR) extend deepest condolences to the family and all those affected by tragic death of a young Venezuelan infant and the injury of his mother, on Saturday, February 5 when the Coast Guard of Trinidad and Tobago intercepted their boat. […]
Fraternal solidarity with the sick
By Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ & Director, CREDI The theme of Pope Francis’ message for the 29th World Day of the Sick on February 11 is: You have but one teacher and you are all brothers (Mt 23:8). It is “drawn from the Gospel passage in which Jesus criticises the hypocrisy of those who […]
