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Gospel Saints Papal Teaching Congregation Pontifical Mission Societies Urban University Mission texts Animation Statistics From the Holy See Testimonies Martyrology Jubilee 2000 Church life Missionaries Religious institutes Movements & Associations Catholic universities Culture History Art Cinema / Photo Radio & tv Music Poetry Health Technology Geography News 360° Dossier In-depth study Interviews Stories Book review Children’s corner		"That in the vast shanty towns of the world, missionaries may help to alleviate the sufferings of the people caused by injustice and foster the full development of the person". Comment on the missionary intention chosen by the Holy Father for August 2002 by Prof. Andrea Riccardi, founder of S. Egidio Community Rome (Fides Service) - There is a part of our world which feels abandoned. How could they not feel like this when they lack even a roof over their heads, as in all the many shanty towns of the world? How could they not feel abandoned when they see no future for their children? The questions must be endless: think of all the anxieties of the countless men and women living in shanty towns all over the earth. Underlying this tragic situation is a profound sense of abandonment. This feeling is justified by many motives: for example decisions taken by world leaders which assign little or no space or resources to these people, excluding them from development and basic living rights such as decent housing. What is needed is a new awareness among the men and women of the rich North towards their brothers and sisters of the South, especially those living in the world's vast shanty towns. The Church, despite all her weaknesses, is a great bond between the people of the North and the South all immersed in the communion of saints and solidarity among believers. Missionaries, sons and daughters of the Church, are present in the South with the laity, religious and clergy of the local Churches. They form a precious and unbreakable bond which manifests Church communion. It is a bond made of the life of men and women who have chosen to take sides with those who may appear to have little to give in exchange. It is a bond which unites the Christians of the North with the Christians of the South and with all people of goodwill. Missionaries are also present in the shanty towns of the world's great cities, as the Holy Father's missionary intention for this month of August recalls. They are there among the poor who have abandoned their farm lands and homes seeking a better life in the city, waiting for a few crumbs of the city's development, its wealth. But almost nothing reaches the shanty town dwellers from the heart of the city. Often these people remind us of poor Lazarus in the Gospel parable, who was anxious to eat what fell from the table of the rich man. Lazarus sat among dogs which licked his wounds. Like Lazarus too many of the world's people live in shanty towns in sub-human conditions. I am convinced that we must accompany the work of missionaries in shanty towns with our prayer and our solidarity. In fact we often see pictures of missionaries living in these areas. Today in this world which has become a global village, most people choose not to see, not to hear. But we are convinced that this cannot be true of those who call themselves disciples of Jesus. We cannot say that we do not see and we do not hear. Our prayer then must be a cry to the Lord from a heart which opens to see the poverty and the evil in the world. Our prayer will be our solidarity with missionaries who strive to alleviate the suffering of all those who live in subhuman conditions in shanty towns all over the world. Andrea Riccardi. Andrea Riccardi was born in Rome 1950, teaches Contemporary History at the Third University in Rome. He is also a scholar in Church history. In 1968 he started the S. Egidio Community to help the homeless on the streets of Rome. The community, which later extended its activity to various other areas, such as the promotion inter-religious dialogue and peace, today has 40,000 members in more than sixty countries on four continents. (Fides Service 16/7/2002

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