2010Fr. Rick

Frechette

Passionist Missionary in Haiti

Editorial

he terrible January 12th Haiti earth-quake, 7.3 on the Richter scale,which struck the poorest country inthe Americas, caused thousands of

deaths and injuries. The island remainedpractically cut-off from the world, and the de-arth of food and lack of potable drinking waterhave combined to create a truly dramatic si-tuation.

Most of the houses were flattened in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas. Many ofthe common dwellings were little more thanshacks with no resistance to even a lesserearthquake.

Nevertheless, despite this nightmarishscene of destroyed homes, bodies strewn inthe streets, wailing and crying and pain, I liketo hold-on to this beautiful image:

1) Because it’s the face of a child situa-ted in the middle which draws one’s attention.It’s his meeting with his mother, almost like aresurrection: the knowledge of still being aliveand loved.

2) Because it’s a reflection of so manybrave people who have risked their lives asthey saved the lives of others.

3) Because it seems to represent the fi-

nest expression of solidarity: to give life, to liveand sacrifice for the benefit of others.

Yesterday it was L’Aquila in Italy, today it’sHaiti, and tomorrow... These were and alwayswill be moments to demonstrate a spirit of pe-rennial and loving solidarity.

In these pages we would like to show proofof our solidarity with the victims and our deepgratitude toward all those who have pitched-in to ameliorate the suffering of our less fortu-nate brothers and sisters.

Lastly, that nagging question so many musthave asked themselves: so where was God?Certainly he wasn’t out on the golf links, norsunning himself on a sandy beach, nor rela-xing as he pruned the rose bushes. God wasin fact right there with the victims, once againdying with them. He has also been with thosefine people who have been giving of their time,their talents and their knowledge to assist theirbrothers and sisters in their hour of need. Su-rely we can see him showing concern and ten-derness, his lips uttering words of consolation,and, why not, in those moments of silence,when saying nothing at all is the best we cansay, and, yes, as his heart beats in unison withthe hearts of all those he so deeply loves.

TT

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he humanitarian, social and solidaritywork our American Passionist, Fr.Rick Frechette, C.P. is undertaking in

Haiti is truly impressive and should beknown by all.The story all began back in 1988 when Fa-thers Wasson and Frechette traveled toHaiti and there were confronted with the dra-matic situation of thousands of children andthe urgent need for an orphanage and ahospital. One of every three children die ofmalnutrition in Haiti. Since then they haveoverseen the construction of various centerswhich dispense medical attention and aplace to live:• The Father Wasson center in Petionville.• The Kenscoff orphanage which cares forsome 450 children, either orphans or aban-doned. • The Saint Damien hospital situated in thesuburbs of Port-au-Prince which attends tomore than 17,000 patients every year. Afterthe earthquake 200 young patients had tobe moved to tents. Rick is the director ofthat hospital. You might like to see:http://saintdamienhospital.wordpress.com.

Rick’s forte, as a missionary and medicaldoctor, has been the construction of schoolsand hospitals, always close to the commonpeople. He doesn’t work all alone as he’ssupported by a foundation called “NuestrosPequeños Hermanos” (Our Little Brothers)(NPH). One can view their lovely website atwww.nph.org

Rick had previously worked in Mexico(1983) and Honduras (1987) and it was thisexperience which impelled him to study Me-dicine. He graduated in 1998. Since then hehas worked full-time in Haiti. At the momenthe is National Director in Haiti of NPH andis a physician for NPHI (Nuestros PequeñosHermanos International.)

They say there was a moment whenchaos and social and political turmoil in Haitiwas so great that they were tempted to pullall their personnel out of the country, but

Rick interposed, “How can we turn our backson the children? What kind of shepherdwould abandon his flock just when the wolvesturn up?”

In the course of an interview he said, “Thepoor have little access to medical attention.Even when they’re lucky enough to get acheck-up at a clinic, the scarcity of medicinesand their high prices make treatment impos-sible for them. Our working conditions, parti-cularly in the poorest areas of Port-au-Prince,are frankly deplorable. We have little water,no electric power and few medicines andsupplies,” says the doctor-priest.

Last October, 2009, Rick was the recipientof the Hollywood Humanitarian award for hisdedication to the struggle against injusticeand in favor of social changes for the impro-vement of humanity, and, especially, for hiswork among the poor children in Haiti.

Thanks to the solidarity among our variousPassionist communities more than one hun-dred thousand Euros have been collectedand sent to Fr. Rick Frechette to help the vic-tims of the earthquake.

Once again Rick has shown us that huma-nitarian aid must involve a work methodalongside the people. Not only have housesand roads to be reconstructed: a social net-work now severely damaged needs to be puttogether again. Let’s hope that internationalaid doesn’t overlook Haiti and that the earth-quake leads to the reconstruction of thewhole country, so that once and for all shemay shake off her secular misery and look to-ward a future endowed with a modicum ofdignity and justice.

Missionary and

doctor in Haiti

TT

Thomas Berryarm, hospitable and with a wry senseof humor, he was considered bysome as a monk, a priest, an ecolo-gist... a scientist. But Thomas Berry

was fundamentally an eco-theologian, a termminted by himself to explain his theories, histhoughts and reflections, which gave rise to amore incisive expression, that of eco-justice.

“The Dream of the Earth,” “The UniverseStory,” “The Human Adventure,” “The GreatWork: our way into the Future,” “Befriending theEarth: A Theology of Reconciliation BetweenHumans and the Earth,” are just some of hiswritings which reveal his love for the cosmosand his insistence that every profession is res-ponsible for the deepest legacy of the universe.He thus manages to generate a structuralthought for the “green,” environmental humanis-tic, religious, spiritual and ecological move-ments which came to see in life somethingmore important than the simple, illusory path ofindustrialization.

He is famous among defenders of the eco-logy and “Eco-spirituality” for proposing that aprofound knowledge of the history and workingsof the evolution of the universe as an inspirationand guide for our own correct functioning as in-dividuals and species, is necessary. He hasbeen looked-upon as a master in the traditionof Teilhard de Chardin.

ohn González is the Executive Director of JPIC in theUnited States and is the moving power behind all thework being undertaken these last years. They have pro-

posed three prime objectives: the promotion of social ministry, thedefense of human rights and the development of educational cour-ses and programs on JPIC and the Social Doctrine of the Church.

John González doesn’t limit his activities to giving talks to pa-rish and university groups in our communities and retreat centers.He also carries on with the hard work of motivating the religiousof our communities to live JPIC as an integral part of our charism.In the photo (3rd from the left) he can be seen at the WashingtonCapitol lobbying in defense of human rights.

One of our outstanding ministries in the States is that carriedout by the Passionist Earth and Spirit Center, a spirituality institute which is inter-religious based onthe conviction that Mother Earth and her peoples are sacred. Its objective is to cultivate a space andpromote a life-ethic which recognizes the Earth as a single, sacred community.

JPIC USA

Berry speaks of an“Ecozoic Society”= Hu-manity and Earth gro-wing in reconcilingharmony. This would bean alternative society towhat we have today.

His principal concernis, undoubtedly, theEarth, and, upon it, all li-ving beings. His eco-the-ological vision sees the inter-independence ofevery mode of being and any other human modeof being, only possible if there is a recognition thateach living being is endowed with rights derivedfrom its own existence.

The “Great Work” for our generation is to trans-form our until now destructive relationship with theEarth... through a more caring and peaceful rela-tionship. We are faced with two choices, saysBerry: either we believe that as human beings weare separate from Nature, or that we are intercon-nected with it. “The universe is a communion ofsubjects, not a collection of objects.”Thomas is a historian of human cultures, a great

author and one of the foremost thinkers of our time.His passing away last June has saddened us

all. May these brief reflections serve as a posthu-mous homage to a great Passionist, marginalizedby some and lauded by many.

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JJ

Maternityin Kisungu

Clinic for babies and

for minor operations or cures

Construction of a new Maternity

Hospital in the Dem. Rep. of the

Congo.

ast year Fr. Jean Marie Mbungu Ma-yala turned-up at my office with a

Project which, from the very beginning,has stood out as the most attractive of all.This was for the construction of a mater-nity hospital in the Democratic Republic ofthe Congo. It seemed better than anyothers… • because it would operate in one of the

most important areas of medicine, na-mely the Defense of Life, as it wouldafford care for pregnant mothers andtheir babies.

• because he was presenting it throughan African NGO, CEMES (Cercle Mé-dical "la Santé",) of which Jean Marieis the President. It’s very importantthat our missionaries learn to operatein more “specialized” ways with tech-nically savvy helpers. Thanks to a generous donation of €

17,300 from our English-speaking St. Jo-seph’s parish in Paris plus a few other do-nations, we’ve been able to help constructthis maternity hospital in KisunguMbemba, a town of 5,000 inhabitants atthe far western end of the country, wherethe rate of infant mortality is as bad as in

many other parts of Africa. They’ve been able to construct:

A reception ward for pregnant mo-thers and...

a Ward for new-born infants. This has made it possible to double the

number of pregnant mothers they can at-tend to, from 50 a month to 100. To thismust be added the improved installationsand a more hygienic environment.

This is just a thumbnail example of thework our missionaries are carrying out, anexample worth imitating in other needyareas where our men are present.

Fr. Jean Marie himself is now busy over-seeing the construction of another mater-nity hospital in Lovo, also in the D. R. ofthe Congo. We know we can count on thecontinued generosity of our benefactors toallow us to extend this pro-life work, so vi-tally necessary and urgent.

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Missionary in D. R.Congo

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he decision to create Passionists Inter-national had its origins in the GeneralChapter in Brazil, 2000. It was ratified in

the following 2006 General Chapter held inRome.

Faced with the reality of globalization, werealized that the lifestyles and decisions takenin other countries affected us. We looked foranother place from which to express the hopeand healing power that is embedded in thevery heart of our Passionist charism.

Living in a globalized and more intercon-nected world, we realized that we can’t affordthe luxury of functioning as isolated individualswith our backs to the world. We saw that in thebig international forums such as the UN inNew York and Geneva and the FAO, decisionsare taken which later affect all of humanity, andthat our participation in these international me-etings was necessary. So we decided to cre-ate our own Passionist International NGO,which would be recognized by the UN andwould allow us to contribute our opinions andto express ourselves when big decisions arebeing made about important problems facingour planet today.

We are everyday more and more aware ofproblems such as climate change, the realityof hunger in the world, discrimination againstwomen, child labor, human trafficking, the mar-ginalization of indigenous peoples, the situa-tion in the Middle East, etc. These difficultproblems weigh on humanity and we shouldn’tbe indifferent to them nor turn our backs on.

And so, uniting our efforts to those of otherNGOs, we are trying to defend human rights

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InTernaTIonaL

Kevin Dance

TTamong all peoples and to be a voice for thevoiceless, by being present in those forumswhere big decisions are taken regarding themain problems of our planet.

This explains our presence at the Forum ofCatholic NGOs convoked for a second time bythe Holy See from 12th to 14th February 2010,with the aim of determining how w e can bestcoordinate our efforts in defense of life and fre-edom.

Solidarity is more necessary now than ever,lest we all sink together. The Church has al-ways been present in the world of solidarity.Our globalized world is asking for new ans-wers and, above all else, new forms of pre-sence. It is vital that we prioritize our activitiesand meaningful presence as Passionists in thefield of solidarity.

We need to contribute our small grain ofhope and commitment and join with otherNGOs that, like ours, are working to makeANOTHER WORLD POSSIBLE. We seek toglobalize solidarity and together with a legionof like-minded people to bring about a morejust and peaceful world.

Some good news!Last August 27th the United Nations Eco-

nomic and Social Council granted our NGOSpecial Consultative Status. This means thatPassionists International can now address me-etings of government representatives withinthe United Nations system, in its own name,either orally or in writing. So kudos to FatherKevin Dance and Sister Mary Ann Strain fortheir hard work and success in this matter.

ur community in Bangalore, India,was the venue for the meeting ofthe International Commission for

Solidarity held from 15th to 16th November2009.

Those attending were Jesús María Aris-tín, the General Secretary for Solidarity andMission, who heads the Commission, JoséRamón Sánchez, the English language re-presentative, the Italian language represen-tative Nando Valsecchi, and George JohnGonzález, who represents the English-spe-aking laity. Francisco Murray from Argentina,now stationed in Vietnam, also attended andwas designated the representative of JPICfor Asia...

We have insisted on the necessity that allthe Provinces, Vice Provinces and Vicariatesappoint a member to animate and promoteJPIC, in order to be able to organize a net-work and carry-out joint activities and cam-

paigns in order to reach every communityand individual religious.

The main objective of this meeting andthe raison d’être for our being there was tobe able to give a number of formation talksto all the Major Superiors of Asia and Aus-tralia, as well as to avail ourselves of the op-portunity to form the Asian Commission ofJPIC. Those designated were: Marsilin SonyKannanaikal (India), Benjamin Telu (PapuaNew Guinea), Francisco Murray (Vietnam)and Francis Nakamura (Japan). Delegatesfrom the Philippines and Indonesia will beappointed later.

We again stressed the need to continuegiving talks and sharing material in our on-going effort to sensitize the brethren.

Finally we decided on holding WorldStudy Days at the level of every community.We decided to press on with this and we in-cluded the World Water Day which is cele-brated yearly on March 22nd.

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JPIC Asia:

International Commission for Solidarity

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P. Mario bartoliniA few weeks ago, in

mid-January, we were in-formed that at long last theRegional Government ofSan Martin (Peru) hasheard the cry of the peoplein Barranquita (Peru) andhas filed a demand againstthe company owned byGrupo Romero (Peruvian multinational business)to stop its work.

Now we all expect the poor farmers will getback the land that the Company had stolen fromthem through deceit and swindle.

Over 40 years he has preached the Gospel tothe peoples in the Amazon Forest in Peru. He hasspent an entire life in the service of the Gospeland the people. Congratulations, Mario, for yourwork and for walking close to the simple ones!

P. Vital otshu-

dialokokaOur Solidarity andMission Departmenthas reason to cele-brate. It has beenenriched with a newworker: Vital Otshu-dialokoka. He’s wellknown by everyoneas over the past sixyears he acted asgeneral consultor.

His contribution will be very relevant: he knowsAfrica inside out and will enrich all of us with hisexperience and his vision of the Congregation.He will be in charge of the whole area of Projectsand will focus especially on securing funding andaid for our missionaries. May God bless him andwalk by his side in this hard task.

You Can SEnD a CHECk To following aDDRESS:

P. Jesús Mª Aristín.Passionist Solidarity and Mission OfficePiazza Santi Giovanni e Paolo, 1300184 Roma. ITALIATeléfono: (39) 06 772711E-mail: cpmissioni@passiochristi.org

TRanSfERiMEnTo banCaRio a:

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