Protecting the dignity of work
By Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ & Director, CREDI The Dignity of Work is the theme for the 2019 Justice, Peace and Community Week, October 19–26. See the calendar of events and prayer supplement in next week’s Catholic News. In T&T, many have lost their jobs or are underemployed. Many graduates and young people are unable to […]
Children – the unseen victims of the death penalty
By Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ & Director, CREDI On Thursday, October 10 the 17th World Day Against the Death Penalty will be dedicated to children whose parents have been sentenced to death or executed. The theme this year is: Children: unseen victims of the death penalty. The World Coalition against the Death Penalty states that “Today, […]
Living our baptismal call to mission
By Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ & Director, CREDI “The Church is on mission in the world. Faith in Jesus Christ enables us to see all things in their proper perspective, as we view the world with God’s own eyes and heart…This missionary mandate touches us personally …every baptized man and woman is a mission…to the […]
Our responsibilities as citizens of this Republic
By Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ & Director, CREDI On September 24 we celebrate the 43rd anniversary of Trinidad & Tobago becoming a Republic. We gained independence on August 31, 1962 and Republican status on August 1, 1976. The event was celebrated as a public holiday September 24 because this is the date when the first […]
Celebrating diversity
by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI “God does not reveal himself in the abstract, but by using languages, imagery and expressions that are bound to different cultures…The phenomenon of culture is, in its various aspects, an essential datum of human experience.” –Pope Benedict XVI, 2010. Cultural diversity plays an important role in human […]
Humility – from ‘I’ to ‘We’
by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI “…everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the man who humbles himself will be exalted.” The quotation above is taken from the gospel reading for this weekend (Luke 14:1; 7–14). All the readings of the day focus on the virtue of “humility” e.g. Sirach 3:18 tells […]
How much do we love our liberty?
by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI On Saturday, August 31, we will celebrate 57 years of independence. Firstly, let us give thanks to God for leading us out of the bondage of colonialism. Give thanks also to those intrepid men and women who sacrificed and fought for our independence, our political emancipation, and […]
At the forefront of humanitarianism
by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI World Humanitarian Day, to be observed tomorrow, Monday, August 19, is “directed towards honouring humanitarian efforts worldwide and propagating the idea of supporting people in crisis.” This year’s campaign is on women humanitarians and their undying contribution in making the world a better place. Women humanitarians hold […]
Our youth matter
by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI On August 12, the world will celebrate International Youth Day. It is worth noting aspects of the UN’s statement: “There are currently 1.8 billion young people between the ages of 10 and 24 in the world. This is the largest youth population ever. But 1 in 10 […]
Love and marriage
by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI “A marriage is a moving process, a living thing, and if it stops being fed with these existential nutrients (love, communication, respect and trust), it will finally expire.” —Tim Lott. My deceased father would have been 94 on July 22. My mother is also deceased. Their mixed […]
