Pride in our Republic
by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI On September 24 we celebrated the 42nd anniversary of T&T’s gaining Republican status. On the evening of Wednesday, September 19, I attended a gala concert, titled ‘A Cultural Exchange Experience’, by the renowned Chinese traditional orchestra of the China National Opera & Dance Drama Theatre, and the […]
Progress on Parish Ministries for Migrants and Refugees
by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI “The Church is ever mindful that Jesus Christ was himself a refugee, that as a child he had to flee with his parents from his native land in order to escape persecution. In every age, therefore, the Church feels herself called to help refugees.” – St Pope […]
Building blocks for PEACE
PEACE “The world must be educated to love Peace, to build it up and defend it” – Blessed Paul VI On Friday, September 21, the world will observe the International Day of Peace. The theme this year is: The Right to Peace—The Universal Declaration of Human Rights at 70. The UN General Assembly has declared […]
Changing the culture of repellant crimes
by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI Initially, this article was titled: ‘Cleaning the Augean stables’. However, when I reflected on what Hercules had done by rerouting two rivers to wash out the filth that had gathered in the King’s stables over a 30-year period, due to the dung of more than 3,000 cattle […]
Charity and justice
by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI On Wednesday September 5, the world will observe the International Day of Charity. The UN states: “Charity, like the notions of volunteerism and philanthropy, provides real social bonding and contributes to the creation of inclusive and more resilient societies. Charity can alleviate the worst effects of humanitarian […]
Reflections on Independence
by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI “…to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others” (Nelson Mandela) These words came to mind as I walked around the Nelson Mandela Exhibition at Queen Elizabeth Hall, South Bank Centre, […]
Caring for Creation
by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI “The ecological crisis is also a summons to profound interior conversion…Living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience. (n 217, Laudato Si, On Care for our […]
Euthanasia – a crime against life
by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI I am in London at the moment and have been involved in discussions about an official report that has revealed that “the annual number of euthanasia cases across all age groups has multiplied almost fivefold in ten years. The practice was legalised in Belgium in 2003—a year […]
We need the Eucharist to live lives of service
by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI Today’s gospel, John 6:24–35, offers us an opportunity to reflect on what it means to be a disciple of the “true bread”; “the bread of life”. In the gospel Jesus tells us: “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never be hungry; […]
What we can do to stop human trafficking
by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI Tomorrow, July 30, the world will observe World Day against Trafficking in Persons. Around the world, human traffickers continue to exploit people for profit, and to violate their human rights. Pope Francis rightly says that human trafficking is “an open wound on the body of humanity…a crime […]
