Editorial – Women’s Voice, No. 70
How quickly time flies! I still remember that 13 May 2023 when nearly one thousand WUCWO women, gathered in the Paul VI Audience Hall, listened to our beloved Pope Francis before leaving for Assisi to continue our General Assembly. How many emotions and feelings! It seems like it was only yesterday, but three years have already passed and now we are beginning to prepare, with great enthusiasm, our next Assembly.
So much has happened since then! We have a new Pope, a new Ecclesiastical Assistant who is already contributing to this magazine; a new image, a redesigned website, a School for Synodality that is being consolidated, a WUCWO World Women’s Observatory (WWO) that is growing; in short, so many blessings…
But there are also new problems: peace is under serious threat and violence continues; the effects of climate change have intensified, affecting many; and we are entering a new era, which many call the Fourth Industrial Revolution, in which the indiscriminate use of artificial intelligence brings new challenges highlighted by Pope Leo in Magnifica humanitas.
Time is drawing near for us to meet once again, review and assess the progress made and set new goals. The forthcoming General Assembly will determine WUCWO’s course for the next four years. Together, we will analyse the reality, listen to one another, share experiences, pray and discern to define our new priorities and courses of action, being conscious of the importance and urgency of our mission and of the challenges posed by today’s world and the Church’s orientations. We shall also elect new leaders, that is, the board members who will be responsible for electing the new President General and other leaders, as well as for directing WUCWO’s work over the next four years, in accordance with the Assembly’s guidelines.
Assemblies showcase the strength of our global network of Catholic organisations, made up of women from over 50 countries united by a shared faith and mission. Our women come from diverse cultures and backgrounds, speak different languages and have different life experiences, but are bound together by a firm determination to promote the integral development of women and their participation in all areas of Church and social life.
How exciting! What’s more, holding our Assembly in Spain guarantees a fantastic event. In Spain, we have five wonderful and very active organisations that are already doing everything they can to welcome us with open arms. On behalf of WUCWO, I would like to thank them for their leadership and generosity. I am sure it will be a marvellous and unforgettable Assembly. Furthermore, El Escorial is a place of great significance, closely linked to history, culture and spirituality. It is a place where heritage and faith engage in dialogue, and where beauty and art also evangelise and inspire.
The day before the Assembly, on 5 June, we will hold a Mass in Madrid’s Cathedral, presided over by Cardinal Cobo, and an event to honour Pilar Bellosillo, who was WUCWO’s president from 1961 to 1974, a period which marked a turning point for the presence of women in the Church. WUCWO is already promoting her cause for beatification.
The theme of our forthcoming Assembly, “Women for Peace, Leading in the Care of Life”, is fundamental at this particular time when the world is in such need of that peace which begins in the heart of each one of us, from where it radiates out to our families and communities. Closely linked to this is women’s leadership, which is indispensable for promoting peace and taking care of life. As Sister Linda Pocher tells us here:
“Peace is, above all, an inner journey… which takes shape in our everyday relationships, starting with our families… the place where we learn to live in peace.”
Two extraordinary women, Viviane Nader Sebrini from Lebanon and Edelma T Acosta from Cuba, also speak to us about what it means to be women of peace. Despite living in very difficult circumstances, hundreds of thousands of kilometres apart, they bear witness to how we can be women of peace at a moment when even hope seems, at times, to be fading.
As women leading the care of life, we welcome the new “Mass for the Care of Creation” and continue to break new ground through our WWO, listening to more women and working to prevent violence against them, this time from Indonesia.
Aware of the importance of women assuming their rightful leadership role in a synodal Church, we continue to work to bring synodality to all levels of the Church. This is reflected in the testimony of Evaline Malisa, President of WAWATA in Tanzania, as well as in the new Synodality Kit that we are offering on the WWO website.
I will conclude by echoing the words of Lavinia Rocchi on her return from Indonesia and Tanzania:
“I returned home renewed. Renewed in my conviction that the work of WUCWO matters. Renewed in my gratitude for the women who dedicate their lives to serving others. Renewed in my belief that when women come together with faith, generosity and determination, extraordinary things become possible.”
Thanks to you all!!
