On the 10th March 2016 the Regional Vice President for Europe, Araceli Cavero, was received by the President of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, Cardinal Emmo. D. Ricardo Blaquez. The meeting was arranged to inform him of her election and to discuss WUCWO’s work and projects, and the celebration of the General Assembly and the resolutions adopted in Fatima. It was a very pleasant meeting. He was grateful for the information and shared some suggestions for how to improve the work. A considerable amount of time had passed since the election but due to various circumstances it had not been possible to arrange a meeting earlier.

From the WUCWO Spain team, comprised of 4 organizations: Acción Católica General, Manos Unidas, Asociación de Propagandistas, and Adoración Nocturna Femenina, in line with Pope Francis' proposal to build a synodal path and promote the formation of the laity, a training day titled "​Resilient Stories from the Old Testament with Women's Names" was organized last month. We are sharing the material from this meeting to delve into the lives of some prominent women from the Old Testament and their characteristics.

Our Social Responsibility committee has ben working on updating our Raising Awareness of Domestic Abuse booklet. It was finally launched at our October Board meeting to respond to the reporting of rising numbers of domestic violence during the corona virus lockdown. Information is posted on our website https://www.nbcw.co.uk where digital copies may be downloaded.

On October 26th of this year, we were invited by the Spanish Episcopal Conference and the Episcopal Commission of the Secular Apostolate to present WUCWO at the Days of the Delegates of the Secular Apostolate.

From 22nd to 26th July 2019, the Summer School "Building the Future on Peace", organised byItalian Catholic Action and other entities, will be held in Assisi, Italy.

“Catholic Action assumes the entire mission of the church in generous belonging to the diocesan Church from the Parish. The mission is not one of many tasks in Catholic Action, but it is the one task (...)
It is necessary for Catholic Action to be present in the political, business and professional world, but not in order to believe that we are perfect and formed Christians, but in order to serve better. It is essential that Catholic Action be in the prisons, even with those condemned to life imprisonment, because every prisoner needs a horizon, not a fence, or a wall... CA can give horizons... of reinsertion... It is necessary that CA be in hospitals, in the street, in the villages, in the factories. If this is not the case, it will be an exclusive institution that does not say anything to anyone, not even to the Church itself.”
(Pope Francis at the II International Congress of Catholic Action, 27 April 2017)

Discovering a little piece of Africa and getting to know our Senegalese friends, who are particularly welcoming, was a great adventure for me:
a colourful Africa, with cheerful women singing and dancing, and festive Masses that surprise and astonish us Europeans.

Incorporated into the busy General Assembly timetable was a visit to Gorée Island. The island lies 3km off the coast of Dakar, Senegal, West Africa.
The ‘House of Slaves’ and its ‘Door of No Return’ is a museum and memorial to the Atlantic slave trade on Gorée Island and is said to memorialise the final exit point of the slaves from Africa.

The WUCWO General Assembly was a discovery for us, for it was our first attendance.
The exchange groups allowed us to get to know the realities of women from other continents, which are, in some cases, totally different from our own.

See
You may be wondering what WUCWO is: World Union of Catholic Women's Organisations. More than 100 organisations from 66 countries on 5 continents are represented in this global network. From Spain we were 11 people from ACG, ANFE and Manos Unidas. In addition, we traveled with Teresa Compte, who participated as speaker.