Implementation Committee Update – July 2022
Are We There Yet?
Sr. Susan Scott, Goal 2 Lead
In a word—almost! Goal 2 work to address and support Catholic social teaching (CST) through advocacy continues with four active working groups.
The Vatican Council has many important messages for members of the church. Catholics look to the end of time while recognizing their duty to address contemporary problems. The expectation of a new earth cannot weaken but rather seek to stimulate concern for cultivating this one (Gaudium et Spes, p. 39).
This pretty much summarizes the work of all four CST working groups. The Year 2 working groups are in the home stretch and will be finished all seven key principles of CST! Keep an eye out for these documents to be released over the following months.
The Year 3 collaboration with government and advocacy working groups are working on their deliverables which will be in the form of workshops. These workshops are being created with parish councils in mind and will be in PowerPoint format with handouts and speaker notes. This will enable any parish council to use the materials and plan presentations in various formats ranging from one-hour sessions to a full-day workshop. The hope is that these workshops will be presented for approval in the early fall, with a release date to be confirmed.
An exciting addition in Year 4 is the new collaboration with faith organizations working group. The members who have volunteered for this are Marissa Mendoza and Lawina Notario (Mississauga, Ontario), Lolita Doucette (Vancouver, British Columbia) and Theresa Murphy (Fort Erie, Ontario). The action plan they create will focus on two strategies: identify specific faith organizations with similar core values and missions and clarify how collaboration will take place. The group will research ecumenical and interfaith organizations with whom the League can partner. Members work with others for a better world. They are mistaken to think they can cast off their earthly responsibilities just because they seek a life to come (Gaudium et Spes, p. 74).
