Dear CCI Friends,

Christmas and New Year greetings to all as we gather with our families and closest friends!

Let us also spare a special thought and prayer for those who are separated from their loved one. I am thinking in particular of former Thailand YCW fulltimer and labor activist, Somyot Pruksakasemsuk, who is now in prison while on trial over lese majeste charges. We also remember his family who have now been separated from their husband and father for eight months.

At this time we also think of former IYCW chaplain, Fr RV Mathias, who passed away just a few weeks ago. In fact, at the request of some former YCWs in India, we have now launched a memorial website www.rvmathias.com to commemorate his life and work. We hope to make the development of this site a participative project and so we will be pleased to receive your testimonies and photos for posting on the site.

We also learned recently of the death of former Brazil and American YCW chaplain, Fr Agostino Pretto, who played an important role in the movement during the 1970s.

This year also saw the death of another former YCW chaplain and liberation theologian, Belgian-born Fr Jose Comblin, who spend most of his priestly working in Brazil.

Another CCI friend to pass on this year was Thai Bishop Bunluen Mansap, who died in January aged 81.

We remember and give thanks for their sacrifices on behalf of the poor and workers around the world.

2011 has also been an important year for the development of the Cardijn Community with the 3rd CCI General Assembly in July which also marked the 10th anniversary of our foundation in 2001.

CCI India also held its General Assembly in Chennai in August where it was decided to develop a campaign on internal migration.

Meanwhile, the Cardijn Community Australia focused on the history of the Cardijn movements in Australia at its November conference.

New initiatives have also begun in the Philippines, Sri Lanka and elsewhere.

2012 is also shaping up to be an important year for CCI with the launch of our three project to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Vatican II.

We thank you for being with us this year and invite you once again to join us in our mission to promote the spirituality and methodology of Joseph Cardijn.

Stefan Gigacz

President/Convenor CCI on behalf of the CCI International Team

Thai human rights activist and worker Somyot Prueksakasemsuk has faced a provincial court in Phetchabun, Thailand, for the hearing of the second prosecution witness, a former employee of his magazine, Voice of Taksin, in his trial on charges of lese majeste.

Benja Homwan, currently a company employee, testified in court that she had been a member of the administrative staff for the magazine since the executive editor was Prasaeng Mongkhonsiri who was later replaced by Somyot. She was responsible for membership subscriptions and the distribution of the magazine to almost 1,000 members.

She also had to check emails, and save and print articles which were sent to Somyot for him to read, but she did not know whether Somyot ever edited those articles. She saw that a sender named ‘Jitr Pollachan’ sent articles, which were the grounds for this prosecution against Somyot, and heard her colleagues saying that it was a pen name of Jakraphob Penkair.

Jakraphob, a politician allied with Thaksin Shinawatra, was charged with lèse majesté for his speech on Thailand’s patronage system at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand in August 2007, and he fled the country after the red shirt demonstrations were dispersed by the Abhisit Vejjajiva government in April 2009.

‘Jitr Pollachan’ is a mix of the names of two legendary Thai Marxist revolutionaries: Jitr Bhumisak and Assanee Pollachan.

The prosecution witness, in answer to defence questions, said that she did not know whether Jakraphob was really ‘Jitr Pollachan’, and she had never seen him visiting the office. She saw several articles by Jitr Pollachan published in the magazine, but did not know whether they had been published after Prasaeng was the executive editor.

She said that Somyot had contributed to the magazine using his real name.

The first hearing in Somyot’s case was held in Sa Kaew province in eastern Thailand on 21 Nov. He was brought to Phetchabun on 28 Nov. He will be transferred further north to Nakhon Sawan and then down to Songkhla in the south for the next prosecution witness hearings on 16 Jan and 13 Feb 2012, respectively.

Earlier, eight international human rights NGOs have launched an appeal to Thailand's Yingluck Shinawatra government calling for charges against Somyot Pruksakasemsuk to be dropped and for the nation's harsh lese majeste laws to be repealed.

The Asian Forum on Human Rights and Development, Clean Clothes Campaign, Front Line Defenders, International Federation for Human Rights, Lawyers' Rights Watch – Canada, Protection International, Southeast Asia Press Alliance, and World Organisation against Torture launched the appeal last month.

Somyot is a former fulltime worker for the Thailand YCW.

SOURCE

Second hearing of Somyot’s case in Phetchabun (Pratachai)

Joint Appeal by eight international human rights NGOs on the case of Somyot Prueksakasemsuk (Prachatai)

Bandung District Court judges have reinstated sacked PT Micro Workers and ordered that their salaries be paid.

"We warmly welcome the decision of the Industrial Court judges (PHI) Bandung District Court, after a panel of judges chaired by Mahmoud MH and Judge DR.Syahrul member Eko Wahyudi (adho) and Haris Manalu (adhoc) won the PT Micro Garment Workers and employers require or PT Micro Garment owners to fulfill the rights of workers," said Ikin Rahmat on Facebook.

After a trial that lasted one hour and 45 minutes, the judges ruled that the laid off workers should be re-hired and their salaries paid from May 2011 to November 2011 as well as allowances.

"Hundreds of workers, mostly women shouting slogans, could not stop crying over the decision of the judges to win the workers who deliberately stay in the Court of Industrial Relations District Court in Jalan Soekarno Hatta Bandung Bandung," reported Ikin Rahmat.

"Even though most of the workers are escorted by students and other labor activists immediately perform prostration of gratitude on page PHI Bandung office," he said.

SOURCE

Buruh Micro Garment Ancam Bakar PHI Bandung (Inilah Jabar)

SOURCE

YCW Metro Manila Action Monograph 2010 (Joeygevangelista)

"Our Lady said, 'Do whatever he tells you.' So in our life we must always try to live according to the teachings of Christ. Only in this way will we improve our mission as Christian workers in this society”, said Fr Sixtus Kurukulasuriya marking the 129th anniversary of the birth of Cardinal Joseph Cardijn.

Also present at the function were Fr Ernest Porutota whom together with Fr. Kurukulasuriya have contributed to the growth of the YWC, and Fr Reid Shelton Fernando, YCW chaplain for the diocese of Colombo.

The YCW was founded in Sri Lanka in the late 1940s. The young members of this movement then created its "adult" counterpart, the Christian Workers Movement (CWM) in 1953. In the late '60s, the Cwm has grown at an international level.

"The mission of Cardinal Cardijn - said Fr Porutota in his homily - it is very important. With his method, he wanted to raise the real quality of life, following in the footsteps of Jesus. "

Vivian Silva is one of the senior members of the CWM: "Our faith has no value unless we put it into practice in everyday life. We should not forget that every time we practice the Word of Jesus, we make it alive and present in our society. "

Fr Reid Shelton Fernando told AsiaNews that "the mission of Cardinal Cardijn helped me in my priesthood and my pastoral activities. I want the members of the CWM to be fully involved in workers issues and to support their struggles. It is important that they have full knowledge of the Social Doctrine of the Church. "

The Bishops' Conference of Sri Lanka considers the inter-group and not national. Currently it has between 300 and 400 members in four dioceses. Nationally, there are about 50 groups, 23 in the Archdiocese of Colombo.

SOURCE

Colombo commemorates Card. Cardijn, promoter of mission in the world of work (Asia News)

Ex-YCW leader, Sarasvathy Muthu, who was arrested recently under Malaysia's harsh internal security laws, has taken out this year's Yayori Award for her work with marginalised people.

The Yayori Award honours women who work at the grassroots level with socially marginalised people to create 21st century free from war and discrimination against women. Established in 2005, it recognises those who best emulate the passion and courage of the late Yayori Matsui, a pioneer woman journalist and women's right activist in Japan.

This year's winner is Saraswathy Muthu (Saras). She was chosen for her tireless work at raising public awareness of the plight of marginalised communities - and in particular, women - in Malaysia.

The award ceremony will take place in Tokyo on 3rd December 2011.

More info on Yayori Award,please visit the site: http://www.wfphr.org/yayori/English/top.html



SOURCE

Malaysian woman activist wins international human rights award (Malaysiakini/YouTube)

The 'Cardijn in Australia' conference held in Melbourne from 4-6 November honoured cooperative pioneer Ted Long and other significant figures of the Australian Cardijn movements.

In a moving address, co-operative champion and historian Dr Race Mathews compared the role of YCW Cooperative co-founder Ted Long with that of Joseph Cardijn, founder of the YCW, and that of Jose-Maria Arizmendiarrietta, founder of the Mondragon cooperatives in Spain.

It was a fitting tribute to Long, who died in 2009 in relative anonymity despite the enormous role that he played alongside Frank McCann and other pioneers of the lay apostolate both in the development of the Young Christian Workers and of the cooperative movement in Australia.

Dr Mathews highlighted not only the role of Ted Long but also that of Cardijn, whose work had directly inspired the work of Father Arizmendi in the Basque region of Spain. I had known for some that Father Arizmendi had been a YCW chaplain in the town of Mondragon but Dr Mathews spelled out the direct linkage between Cardijn and Arizmendi.

Having myself earlier lamented that Donald Rumsfeld deserved the title of patron saint of Cardijn movement history for his famous quote about "unknown unknowns", I rejoiced to hear Dr Mathews shedding light on the contributions of Long and Cardijn.

And yet so much still remains to be done to adequately record the historical role of those movements in Australia.

Indeed, I still regret that we failed to make a video recording of Ted Long himself or of the late Father Cyril Hally, who had attended the founding meeting of the Cardijn Community in Australia in July 2008 before going to his eternal reward.

And there are so many others who have magnificent stories to tell of what the early Australian Cardijn movements achieved and it is urgent to record them.

Although I had long been aware that Cardijn was full of praise for the local YCW movements during his visits to Australia in 1958 and 1966, I had always tended to discount this as playing up to his hosts. It was only much later when I went to work for the International YCW during the 1980s that it slowly dawned on me that no other city in the world ever had a YCW on the scale of the movement in Melbourne in the 1950s and 60s.

No wonder then that Cardijn told his Australian hosts in 1958 that  "your YCW has developed as I dreamt a YCW should develop."

And yet by the time that I was invited to join the YCW at the end of 1974 most of that movement had simply disappeared.

Many reasons have been proffered to explain what happened - sociological changes, post-Vatican II turmoil, "the 1970s", etc.

Whatever the causes, the dramatic decline of the Cardijn movements also somehow threw a veil over the achievements the previous thirty years - and even over the smaller scale achievements of the movements during the last thirty years.

So it was highly refreshing to hear so many conference speakers testifying to the impact of the movements in their own lives, as was the fact that at least half of the conference participants looked to be under 30.

In a remarkable keynote address which will hopefully be available on the web shortly, Darwin Bishop Eugene Hurley told a particularly powerful story of a YCW leader from the Port Pirie diocese, Margie Lee, who became a quadriplegic as a result of a car accident and who consciously and cheerfully sought to discover and to live out her own vocation as a handicapped person assisting others to deal with their own traumas.

Amazingly, the oldest participant at the conference, Des O'Connell, turned out to be possibly the last surviving member of the fabled Campion Society as well as a member of the equally storied Maryknoll intentional community established to the east of Melbourne during the 1950s.

In fact, it was largely through the Campion Society leader Kevin T. Kelly that the Cardijn movements were first introduced into Australia.

The Cardijn in Australia conference opened or re-opened many windows on the achievements of the Cardijn-inspired movements. Ultimately, however, the purpose was to build for the future.

Appropriately, the conference ended with a workshop on developing enquiries - the key to the Cardijn method of action and formation - as well as with a number of exciting proposals for the development of study groups and even hopefully a Cardijn Institute.

There's life yet in the Cardijn movements, dare I say the best is yet to come.

Stefan Gigacz

SOURCE

CathBlog - Melbourne was YCW capital of the world (CathNews)

PHOTOS

PHOTOS

http://www.flickr.com/photos/69880589@N03/

CCI-India is to launch a three month enquiry campaign focusing on internal migration following its general assembly and study session in Chennai last week.

The General Assembly also elected a new national team with Xavier Anthony as president, Glynis Joseph as secretary and Monica Mascarenhas as treasurer.

CCI Secretary General MJ Ruben, who also participated in the meeting, has filed the brief report below:

11th Nov.: The event started with an immersion session inaugurated by Fr. Thomas Joseph, 92 years, a worker chaplain and YCW/CWM Chaplain since 1950.The website of CCI-India was also launched. You can visit www.cardijncommunity.in

The immersion session was conducted by Fr. Maschio, Animator of CCI groups in Kanniyakumari and Tuticorin dioceses.

M. J. Ruben made a presentation on 'What is CCI'.

Ms Glynis Joseph, Coordinator of the host chapter welcomed and Lazar, Treasurer proposed a vote of thanks. The inaugural session was followed by a welcome dinner.

12th Nov.: The Study on 'Corruption - in and around us' brought out new insights and revelations about our own lives, attitudes, mentalities, perceptions and about what is happening in the community. Many proposals came out in terms of acting against this menace.

13th: GA - Business session with chapter reports, National report, financial report, etc. It was amazing to discover that Rupess 260,000 was the income in just 18 months. All this money came from the CCI members and through their efforts from the friends of CCI. Everyone felt that it is possible to develop the movement without having to depend on external sources. This is one of the aspects of the 'spirituality of CCI' and we need to develop this 'culture'.

PLAN FOR THE NEXT 2 YEARS

1. Internal Migration: Inquiry Campaign to be launched on the 'Living and working conditions of internal migrant workers' at the all India level which will go on for 3 months. The National CCI will plan further based on the findings.

2. Vatican II @ 50: A 3 year project commemorating the 50th anniversary of Vatican II will be launched in 2012.

3. Other issues for Study/Campaign: Unemployment, Corruption, Work and Worker, Climate Justice, Peace Building

4. Training for youth on 'Social Media and Social Networking'

Plans for extension were made besides proposals for fund raising.

STATUTES:

The GA adopted the Statutes and Internal Regulations which will be the guiding point for the CCI India in future.

It was also decided to have a legal status for CCI by registering it under the 'Societies Act'.

NEW TEAM:

National President: Xavier Anthony (Bangalore)
National Secretary: Ms Glynis Joseph (Chennai)
National Treasurer: Ms Monica Mascarenhas (Pune)
Team Members:
Clifford Bastian: Nagpur
Jomon Cherussery: Kerala
Joseph Arokiasamy: Pune
Paul Arputham: Bangalore
National Chaplain: Fr. Servatius (Kanniyakumari)
Collaborators: Fr. Maschio (Tuticorin); Dominic Mendonca (Pune)
Volunteer Team: Joseph Anthony (Bangalore); George Heston (Chennai); James Sylvester (Hyderabad)
Ex-officio Members: V. Susairaj and M. J. Ruben

Visit Photo Gallery here:

https://picasaweb.google.com/103324114816508872702/CCIIndiaGA2011

CCI-India has launched a prayer campaign seeking a miracle cure for Liby Mendonca, a former YCW from Pune.

LIBERATA MENDONCA (Liby), who is married to Dominic Mendonca, Collaborator to CCI-India, has been unconscious and on life support for over a month. Her brain was damaged due to high blood pressure and the doctors have given up hope.

Only a miracle can save her, doctors say.

The prayer campaign proposed during the CCI India General Assembly at the Diocesan Pastoral Centre, Chennai, India on the 129th birth anniversary of Cardijn (November 13, 2011) commenced at 12 noon on the 14th November.

CCI India hopes that a miracle will also provide evidence to push forward the process for the canonisation of Cardijn.

Details of the prayer campaign can be found below.

Prayer to Cardijn for the healing of Ms Liberata Mendonca

Dear Friends,

Ms Liberata Mendonca, known as ‘Liby’ is a former YCW of Pune in India and is married to Dominic Mendonca, former YCW and now Collaborator to the CCI-India. They have a daughter Michelle who is married with a daughter. They all live in Pune. On the 13th October 2011, Liby and Dominic went to their homeopathic doctor for a check up and soon after she felt bad and collapsed. She was rushed to hospital immediately and was admitted to the ICU. By that time her blood pressure had shot to the maximum and her brain was affected. Brain surgery was suggested but she was too weak to undergo the risky surgery. Fluids were drained from her head.

From 13th October onwards, she has remained ‘unconscious’ and on ‘oxygen’ support. She opens her eye sometimes but gives no sign of recognition. She is still critically ill. Doctors have given up hope and say there is no scope for recovery. They suggest that she be taken home and kept in the surrounding she is familiar with. There is only a very small probability that in the course of time she may recognise the surrounding, people around her, etc.

In short, Liby is in a 'vegetative' state with ‘oxygen’ supported life. Only a miracle can save her. We need that miracle right now. If we believe, we will see the miracle happen.

CCI in its evolution has experienced a number of miracles through Cardijn’s intercession. We would like you and all your friends and contacts to pray to Cardijn to intercede on behalf of Liby for her total healing. We are sure our good Lord will grant a new lease of life toLiby through Cardijn’s intercession.

Kindly say the prayer attached daily till Liby recovers. Ask your family and friends to pray for Liby. Pass ton his request to as many friends as possible so that we can soon witness the miracle of Liby walking home fully recovered. We can also prove to the world that Cardijn is a blessed saint who deserves due recognition.



For those who are yet to know Cardijn, his brief profile is also given.

In Solidarity,

Ms Glynis Joseph

National Secretary



Note: This Prayer Campaign to Cardijn began at 12 noon on Monday, the 14th November 2011 at the Diocesan Pastoral Centre, Santhome, Chennai, India.

Former International YCW chaplain Fr RV Mathias died at 2.30a.m. in Trichy, India, following a massive heart attack.

"We are shocked and saddened to hear of Fr Mathias' passing," CCI President Stefan Gigacz said in a statement.

"During his term as IYCW international chaplain, he worked tirelessly to maintain the unityof the movement. For this, we will be forever grateful."

Fr Mathias was born in Edangani, Tamil Nadu on November 11, 1938.

He entered the seminary in 1953 andstudied at St Paul's Seminary, India, from 1958-60. From 1960-64 he was a guest at the Pontifical Urban College in Rome followed by catechetical and liturgical studies at the Catholic Institute of Paris from 1964-66.

He was ordained as a priest in Rome on 21 December 1963.

Among the many positions he held, Fr Mathias was parish priest, diocesan, national and international chaplain of the YCW as well as chaplain of the diocesan youth and workers  for the diocese of Trichy.

He was also Director of the Diocesan Pastoral Center, Executive Secretary of the CBCI Commission for Labor (Delhi), Vicar general of the diocese of Trichy.

In 2002 he was appointed as Executive Secretary of the CBCI Commission for the laity.

He taught at Karumathur Jesuit Theological College near Madurai, India until recently.

After taking sabbatical leave, he was named  >spiritual father at St Paul's Seminary, Tiruchirapalli in April 2011.

Fr Mathias also collaborated actively with the Centre Lebret-IRFED network.

The funeral will take place at 10 a.m. Friday at St. Paul's Seminary, Trichy.

Read more at the CCI India website: Fr RV Mathias is no more

Fifteen-year-old Catholic Regional College St Albans student Teresa Ho was killed on Monday at Ginifer station in Melbourne's north-west when she strayed into the path of a full-tilt V-Line train.

Now, I know the Ginifer railway station very well having worked for two years at Holy Eucharist parish which is located just a few hundred metres away.

Passing several times daily through the same flimsy pedestrian boom gate where Teresa died, I witnessed many instances in which people would race across in a bid to catch the train that had just gone through.

I still shudder to recall one young Sudanese boy who leaped across totally oblivious to the possibility of another train coming from the opposite direction. Unlike Teresa, the boy fortunately stayed safe on that occasion.

But I was so upset that I started asking among local community leaders to see what could be done about the crossing which has been rated as the fifth most dangerous in Melbourne. The inevitable response was a resigned kind of look that simply said yes, we have been complaining about it for years.

So I decided to write a letter. But to whom? The local MP? Connex (the previous operator)? Metlink Melbourne? And so it didn't take long for inertia to set in and I never did do it before I finished work in the parish in 2008.

I don't delude myself that it would have made any difference. After all, many locals have indeed been trying for decades to get action on both the Ginifer and St Albans crossings.

Thirty years ago, Tom Rigg, a now retired former station master, even came up with a plan to finance construction by developing the St Albans station into a commercial centre. To no avail.

Even though Ginifer station was somewhat ironically named after a well-regarded state Labor MP Jack Ginifer, many locals claim that the former Labor state government ignored their demands because it was one of the party's safest seats.

Nor has the current Liberal government shown the least interest in the problem, evidently preferring to favour its own seats.

What to do in the face of such naked political indifference?

I thought hard about that as I looked at a photo of Teresa's mum Tien Nguyen and her distressed school mates praying at the site of the terrible accident.

And it reminded of another incident in the late 1960s when a young YCW leader was killed in a car accident in Melbourne's suburbs, possibly at another level crossing.

I never knew the name of the guy but I do know the impact that his death had on his fellow YCW leaders who brought up the issue in one of their local meetings and decided that they had to act.

It was the start of a YCW Road Safety Campaign in the early 1970s that contributed significantly to the introduction of compulsory seat belts and the 0.05 alcohol limit in Victoria.

Could we launch a similar campaign today? Well, to quote a famous Catholic activist, Cesar Chavez, yes, we can! (Did anyone think Obama invented the line?)

True, the Melbourne YCW, which during the 1960s was the largest YCW movement that ever existed in any city in the world, was able to make it happen because it was organised and structured to do so.

Sadly, the sociological foundations of that YCW evaporated soon after sending the movement into a decline that lasted many years. Happily, the movement did not disappear and indeed the Melbourne YCW has just celebrated its 70^th anniversary with a promising resurgence.

Moreover, the method that made it successful – Cardijn's famous See Judge Act method – has now passed into official Catholic social teaching. This year in fact also marks the 50^th anniversary of Pope John XXIII's encyclical Mater et Magistra, which formally recognised the method (Para 236).

What's more the baby boomers who made the Melbourne YCW successful in the 1960s are mostly still around, albeit somewhat greyer. A few even still go to Mass on Sundays!

So what's to stop some of those well trained boomers from getting together with a few of their peers to begin to address the issues that afflict local communities today? Actually, some have already started to do so, e.g. a Cardijn Community team led by Kevin Vaughan is now tackling the issue of single fathers.

Moreover, what's to stop many other parishes and schools from taking the initiative to bring together new groups of young people to act on the issues that concern them?

The required tools are easily accessible. Each Friday, CathNews Perspectives publishes the Sunday Gospel that could be the basis of a weekly Gospel enquiry. Many easy guides to the See Judge Act are available on the web.

Seeing the flowers that mark the spot where Teresa Ho died, I was also reminded that Pope Pius XI once named St Theresa of Lisieux as the patron of the YCW.

Let every parish plant the seeds for many more flowers to grow. Yes, we can. We owe it to Teresa and her family.

- Stefan Gigacz

SOURCE

CathBlog - More flowers for Teresa (CathNews)

A CCI India Study Session at Tuticorin Tamil India highlighted the ecological problems facing local communities including a major nuclear power project in the region.

Nine  members of the Tuticorin CCI group took part together with Fr Servatius, Xavier Anthony, MJ Ruben and Glynis Joseph.

"Members split into 2 groups to discuss the 'Inquiry' on 'My Community," Ruben reports. "After the presentation of the group reports, the plenary discussed the common realities and the causes for the situation."

"The recent people's movement against the 'Nuclear Power Project' was analysed in depth," he continued.

"Fr Servatius who was also involved in the struggle explained as to why the people have intensified their agitation now after 10 years of the starting of construction of the plant. Though initially people agitated, it is only after the experiences of tsnami particularly in Japan and through the advancement of information technology, the people are more informed. The fisherfolk and the people around fear a grave threat to their livelihood if the plan is commissioned.

"Another major threat to the people of Tuticorin is the ecological threat due to Sterlite Industries," Ruben added. "In the recent years, people experience unbearable heat and no rain at all in Tuticorin even if the surrounding towns and villages get rain. It was felt that a people's movement should be initiated to struggle against this environmental degradatin due to this chemical industries."

Bishop Yvon Ambroise spoke about his experiences in the YCS and YCW as an animator. He said most of the innovative measures he is initiating in the diocese is because of the formation he received from the movement. He gives more importance to participation of the laity in all affairs of the diocese.

Bishop Ambroise  is part of the delegation representing the people's movement agaist the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project. The delegation comprising the state ministers and government officials and people's representatives met Indian Prime Minister on 7 October to press to decommission the plant.

Though Bishop Ambroise had to meet the Tamil Nadu Government on the morning of 6 October, he took time to be with the group for more than an hour.

Sociologist Prof. X. D. Selvaraj, who is also part of the people's movement spent a few minutes extending his greetings especially to the National CCI leaders.

During the evaluation, the participants felt happy about the training and decided that the CCI group will meet regularly. They will also send their representatives to the CCI India General Assembly next month, Ruben reported.

MORE PHOTOS

https://picasaweb.google.com/103324114816508872702/CCITuticorinTrgOct5#

Cardijn Community Australia founder, Kevin Vaughan, is raising awareness of of the importance of fatherhood and supporting men separated from their children.

Kevin says the fact that so many children in our community are raised without their dad is a tragedy not only for the children, but also for their fathers, since, “there is a natural love between a father and his children”, Kairos magazine reports.

Three years ago Kevin started a Cardijn group in his parish at St Anne's, Seaford in Melbourne's south.

The group became interested in tackling the issue of fatherless families when parish priest Fr John Madden alerted members to the fact that 42 children from single-parent families within the parish were getting breakfast only three times a week.

The group attempted several initiatives, including setting up a scheme whereby men could become male role models for fatherless children in the parish.

Kevin says: “We came to the conclusion that the best male role model for a child is the child’s father.”

The group then began to focus on why separation happens and ways to support those who want to remain part of their children’s lives or reconnect
with estranged children.

Kevin also started working with Fr Peter Carrucan at St Augustine’s Church in the city centre of Melbourne where he has started a drop-in centre fro separated dads.

“One guy told me he hadn’t seen his children for 11 years," Fr Peter said. "Then, out of nowhere comes a letter from his daughter, who was 10 when he last saw her, inviting him to her 21st birthday so he is delighted. I think some men listen to the wrong voices. They put off contacting their children.

"Maybe it is fear that they might be rejected.”

FULL STORY

Supporting separated dads (Kairos, August 2011)
fr Carrucan (left) and Kevin Vaughan with a picture of Cardinal Cardijn. Kevin belongs to a Cardijn group in his parish
of St Anne's, Seaford.

CCI has launched a new website for its Vatican 2 +50  program to mark the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council and to study the contribution of Cardijn to the Council.

Focusing on the theme "Social Commitment of the Church," the three year campaign will launch in October 2015 and will conclude in 2015. It follows on from the successful Vatican 2 +40 program sponsored by CCI in 2002.

The three year programme will focus on increased lay participation in the Church, encouraging social actions and a clear cut policy on social commitment of the Church.

Various events, conferences and campaigns spread over in different countries around the world will be organised during the 3 year period to study the ground reality, evaluate the decisions of Vatican II and to call for the attention of the Church.

Read more details at: www.vatican2plus50.com

Thailand's lèse majeste laws have been "used as a repressive tool to deprive the right to freedom of expression," writes imprisoned labour activist Somyot Pruksakasemsuk.

"In addition, those charged with violating the law are mostly denied bails, an act of which is in breach of international human rights standards. As a political prisoner, the incarceration deprives me of all my rights and liberties."

Here is Somyot's latest letter written from the Bangkok Remand Prison.

Bangkok Remand Prison
33 Ngamwongwan Rd., Lay Yao
Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900
Email : b_remand@hotmail.com
From : Somyot Pruksakasemsuk

20 August 2011

To whom it may concern,
I have been detained at the Bangkok Remand Prison since April 30, 2011 for violating Section 112 of the Penal Code.

I wish to express my gratitude to those concerned both internationally as well as domestically regarding their demand upon the Thai government to release political prisoners.

For more than twenty years, I have been involved in the struggle of Thai workers to ensure that they live with dignity and are free from poverty.

Some aspects that I have helped to bring to them have been the right to 90 days maternity leave, the right to work in a safe working environment (1996), social security act (1990). I have also helped with labour issues including employment compensation as well as unemployment benefit (2003).

The above mentioned achievements have been a result of the Thai labour movement. It is in my experience that these rights emerge only from a democratic process forth by elections. Military government in the past have always violated workers rights and freedoms.

One instance of this is that during the coup of 23 February 1991, the labour leader, Thanong Pho-aan was abducted and made disappeared.

State enterprise trade unions were abolished and banned, as well as the collective bargaining agreement of the private sector deteriorated.

During the coup of 19 September 2006, the military government amended the labour protection law to legitimize contract labour employment and freeze minimum wages.

After the 2006 coup, I began to participate in the pro-democracy movement against movement behind the coup d’état and military junta.

I wanted to publish a magazine that strongly criticized the coup. People rallied to form the United Front of Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), or red shirt movement, which organized demonstrations and rallies, until the Aphisit government used military force to suppress them in May 2010, 91 individuals lost their lives. During this period my magazine was also shut down, and I was arrested and detained at military camp though I have not committed an offence for 21 days.

Upon my release, I founded the ‘Red Power’ magazine that strongly criticized the government and its policies. One of the key issues was the government promising to increase minimum wage to 250 Baht but not being able deliver the promise.

Red Power also seeks to investigate incidents behind and the causes of the death of the 91 deaths and other causalities. Nevertheless, its printing house was shut down in October 2010. To continue the printing of Red Power, we had to move our base to Cambodia.

After the 19 September 2006 coup, a number of activists, journalists and red shirt sympathizers were rounded up and put in jail invoking the lèse majesté law.

Foreign journalists were not allowed to exercise their right to freedom of expression and investigative journalism. Individuals detained pending the trials were subject to torture and denied bails depriving their right to self-defence.

Three labour activists were accused on violating lèse majesté law. Mr. Giles Ungpakorn and his wife were forced to live in exile in the UK; Junya Yimprasert, director of Thai Labour Campaign is unable to return to Thailand; Somyot Pruksakasemsuk, former director of Centre for Labour Information Service and Training, is currently being detained without bail under lèse majesté.

The majority of the Thai population are indoctrinated to believe in “democracy with the King as Head of State” and any individual expressing different views or deemed a threat to the institution are treated as enemies of the state.

Red Power is the only platform to enable individuals to express their thoughts and belief among like minded individuals. It was because of this that I was arrested and remanded under lèse majesté.

The law has been used as a repressive tool to deprive the right to freedom of expression. In addition, those charged with violating the law are mostly denied bails, an act of which is in breach of international human rights standards.

As a political prisoner, the incarceration deprives me of all my rights and liberties. I find my life being wretched to merely “a domesticated animal in a cage”. The physical and mental traumas hurt me gravely. Many fellow political prisoners like me have unnecessarily lost their family life and career.

I have been informed by visitors that human rights activists and unionists worldwide have demanded the Royal Thai Government release all political prisoners. Your movement means much to Thai people. It reflects how international community strives to achieve the common goal of forging a peaceful society in which everyone is genuinely entitled to the right to equality, freedom and democracy.

I fervently believe in the collective power and solidarity of all labour unions and justice concerned people. Your struggle to demand the release of all political prisoners in Thailand is an initial step toward democratization.

In solidarity,

Somyot Pruksakasemsuk

Dear Friends, Already a month has passed since our General Assembly and 10th Anniversary in Bangkok.

I hope that we can build on the legacy that Ruben left us in his role as convenor and also the team before him, particularly Rungrote whom you met in Bangkok and "Jim" Rungtip Imrunguang who was a key member of our first CCI or CLC team as it was then. It is really a pity that she was unable to join us as she was in Laos for another conference during our event.

Now I guess we are all trying to see best how we can work to implement the plans that we made in Bangkok.

One of the things that we decided was to launch a newsletter and so I have compiled this bulletin to share with you some of what has been happening.

Developments in CCI

Even before he returned to Zambia, Clement Katongo was making plans to launch an event in Africa, i.e. Zambia to mark the 50th anniversary of Vatican II. If everything goes to plan, this would be held in late 2012. We look forward to hearing of more plans.

From Sri Lanka, Fr Reid has already held a meeting on 13 August to launch a Sri Lankan chapter of CCI with about 8 people present and plans for regular monthly meetings.

From Australia, Kevin has been in contact with Cardinal Tom Williams, retired archbishop of Wellington, New Zealand, who gave a speech to 300 former YCW and YCS members from NZ at a 1996 event. Hopefully, we will soon be in contact with some of those people.

From India, we have heard that the National Team met last week. Paul and Rebecca Sinappan are in fact on their way to India today for a personal visit and will meet with Ruben and other CCI leaders there.

From the Philippines, Juanito has informed us of plans to establish a Treasurer's Team to manage the finances. The Manila CCI group has also fixed a meeting for 11 September.

So already lots of things are starting to happen!

CCI Websites

Meanwhile, I have been working here in Kuala Lumpur, mostly on developing the CCI websites.

News

www.cardijn.info: This is our news website, publishing news item relating not only to CCI but to all the Cardijn movements and dealing also with lay apostolate, worker issues, etc. I have updated much of the background information and started to reorganise the site to fit in better with our needs.

www.cardijn.fr: This is our newsite in French which is similar to www.cardijn.info

Community

www.cardijncommunity.org: This website focuses on our own CCI organisation, activities etc. I have already posted up an initial online draft report of our General Assembly. There is still material to be added - and above all photos - please let me know if you have photos that we can add. Also, please let me know of any other suggestions that you have for content.

Campaigns

www.vatican2plus50.com: This also is a brand new website on which I have started as a resource centre for our 50th anniversary of Vatican II project. As you can see, there are already quite a number of resources available there. Please send in suggestions for more development.

www.newpentecost.com: This is our existing website for our annual New Pentecost activities which have been held each year since 2005 in various countries - sometimes big, sometimes small. This was a follow up to our original Vatican 2 + 40 program in 2002 to mark the 40th anniversary of Vatican II.

Resources

www.josephcardijn.com: This is our website for publishing documents by and concerning the life of Joseph Cardijn.

www.josephcardijn.fr hosts the Cardijn documents in the original French.

https://sites.google.com/a/cardijn.info/cardijn-resources/: This is the Cardijn Resources website for other Cardijn related resources. This will be revamped shortly, I hope.

As you will also see the websites are all linked to each other thru the top menu bar on each site.

Feedback

Already the sites are attracting over 1000 visits per month and hopefully this will grow as people discover the range of resources that are available.

Only this week I had a message from Dr Bernard D'Sami, CCI member from India, and also professor of history at Loyola College, Chennai: "You have really opened the floodgates of Cardijn's resources. These are the primary sources to study and understand Cardijn and his times and work. Somehow it should reach at least some academics who are connected in someway or other with Cardijn's movement, So that some serious research could be undertaken by some serious social science researchers. More and more young men and women should be exposed to these treasures. I will certainly make use of these resources to involve some to undertake research based on the original documents and materials relating to the life and work of the Cardijn. Great work done! Congratulations."

This is a really great encouragement and I hope we can keep going.

World Youth Day

You would have also noticed that Sunday was World Youth Day in Spain with Pope Benedict. And I was able to publish online the Marguerite Fievez and Jacques Meert biography of Cardijn as a kind of contribution for World Youth Day:

http://www.josephcardijn.com/latest-news/readcardijnsbiographyonline-1

It is also interesting to note that the next World Youth Day will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2013 - only two years away. Some of you will know that Cardijn had a tremendous influence in Brazil through the YCW, YCS, University YCS, and other Catholic Action movements. Wouldn't it be great if we could find a way to make sure that Cardijn is on the agenda for World Youth Day Brazil?

Lots of work to do!

Anyway, there's lots of work to do! But let's start simply!

All the best
Stefan Gigacz
CCI President/Convenor
Foundation Day of the International YCW

Over forty participants from eleven countries met in Bangkok, Thailand from 23-25 July 2011 for the CCI 3rd General Assembly.

The event began with a public forum on Sustainable Development for Peace with former IYCS/IMCS and ICMICA chaplain, Father Antoine Sondag as keynote speaker.

Bishop Pibul Visitnondachai of Nakhon Sawan, president of the Catholic Office for Emergency Relief and Refugees (COERR) and National Catholic Commission for Migration (NCCM) celebrated Mass with partcipants on Saturday 23 July to mark the 10th anniversary of the foundation of CCI and the 44th anniversary of the death of Cardijn on 24 July 1967.

The General Assembly then began with a study session on "My community, my country" followed by a session analysing current world realities.

This was followed by a series of life testimonies from various participants including Paul Sinappan from Malaysia and Geethani Peries from Sri Lanka, who is currently president of the International YCW.

New team elected

The General Assembly concluded with the election of a new team including Stefan Gigacz as President/Convenor, Manasa Janaki and Patrick Vishal Fernandes sharing the role of secretary, Juanito Penequito as treasurer, Fr Reid Shelton Fernando and V. Susairaj as collaborators.

Clement Katongo will act as extension officer for Africa while Kevin Vaughan will play the same role for the Pacific.

Plan of Action

The Assembly also adopted an action plan focusing on several key elements:

a) Celebrating the 50th anniversary of Vatican II

b) Marking the centenary of the first YCW group founded by Cardijn at Laeken, Belgiun in 1912.

c) Publishing and translating the writings of Joseph Cardijn

d) Developing training resources on See - Judge - Act, Review of Life, etc.

The Assembly also witnessed the launch of the publication, Review of Life... a way of life, Training Module on See - Judge - Act Method, produced by CCI India on behalf of Cardijn Media.

Incoming president Stefan Gigacz closed the Assembly thanking outgoing convenor Mr MJ Ruben for his outstanding work and commitment over the past five years. He also thanked Mr Rungrote Tangsurakit and Ms Rungtip Imrungruang from the original CCI foundation team in 2001.

Read more at: http://www.cardijncommunity.org/general-assembly-2011

Parents and relatives of a Sri Lanka priest and a layman who disappeared five years ago amid fighting between security forces and the Tamil Tigers have urged the government to seek justice for the clergyman.

The call came during a Mass last weekend for Father Thiruchchelvan Nihal Jim Brown and Wenceslaus Vimalathas, both of whom have been missing since August 20, 2006, ucanews.com reports.

The two men were last seen on a motorbike at a checkpoint in Allaipiddy, an area that at the time was tightly controlled by security forces.

Nearly three decades of civil war ended in 2009 when government forces defeated the Tamil Tigers. An estimated 100,000 lives were lost during the conflict, including six priests and several church workers.

Ruki Fernando, a representative of the Law and Society Trust and a CCI member, remembered Fr. Jim as a young priest who selflessly devoted himself to the needs of his parishioners.

Fr. Jim had taken up a new post as parish priest at St. Philip Neri Church in Allaipiddy, about 300 kilometers north of Colombo, only 10 days before his disappearance, he told ucanews.com

The priest had offered refuge to local residents during a night of heavy shelling on August 12, 2006. More than 20 people were killed that night and many more sustained injuries though Fr. Jim escaped unharmed.

“Will we ever know what happened to him and thousands of others who have disappeared? And will those responsible ever be identified and brought to justice?” he asked?

“Could we even have reconciliation within the Catholic Church? What does reconciliation mean to the families and friends of Fr. Jim and Vimalathas and countless other families of disappeared people?”

SOURCE

Laymen seek justice for missing priest (ucanews.com)

Today is World Youth Day 2011. Over one million young people from around the world are gathered on the outskirts of Madrid, Spain to celebrate the event with Pope Benedict XV.

It's a great day also to launch the online publication of the Marguerite Fievez and Jacques Meert biography of Joseph Cardijn.

First published in French in 1969, the English translation by the late Fr Edward Mitchinson came off the presses in 1974. The biography has thus been effectively out of print for the last 30 years or so.

In recent years, it has become possible occasionally to find a second hand copy at an online bookshop.

However, now we are proud to again make available this important biography to the whole English speaking world.

With Fernand Tonnet and Paul Garcet, Jacques Meert was one of the famous "founder trio" of the YCW. He worked with Cardijn from the age of 18.

Marguerite Fievez became a YCW leader in the 1930s, and from 1945 was effectively the first secretary-general of the IYCW, a post she held until 1957 when the first official International Council was held in Rome.

From 1957, she became Cardijn's personal assistant until his death in 1967 after which she devoted the next 20 years of her life to compiling his personal archives which are now held in the Royal Archives of Belgium. From then on until her death in 2000, she worked on the archiving of the records of the JOC in Belgium as well as those of the IYCW.

Thus this biography of Cardijn is the personal record of two people who worked side by side with Cardijn from 1919 until his passing in 1967.

Moreover, it is also a scientifically written history since Marguerite and Jacques chose to work with the historian Professor Roger Aubert  from the Catholic University of Louvain in compiling their history.

As the authors say in the introduction, it is only the "first biography" of Cardijn and much more remains to be rewritten.

Nevertheless, it is also an irreplaceable almost eye-witness account of his life.

Read it here.

The Malaysian activists known as the Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) 6 were released on Friday evening at 5.30pm Kuala Lumpur time, CCI sources say.

The release came shortly after Dr Michael Jeyakumar had announced that he was beginning a hunger strike.

Ex-YCW Sarasvathy Muthu was among those released.

The six PSM members - Choo Chon Kai, Sarat Babu, M Sarasvathy, M Sukumaran, A Letchumanan and Sungai Siput parliamentarian Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj - were initially detained on suspicion of planning to wage war against the King, reports Malaysiakini.

Former Malaysian YCW leader Ms Sarasvathy Muthu is one of six activists who have been detained under Malaysia's harsh internal security laws.

Sarasvathy and five other leaders of the Socialist Party of Malaysia are being held under the Emergency (Public Order and Crime Prevention) Ordinance on the grounds that they were the "main movers" of the pro-democracy rally on July 9, 2011, organized by Bersih (Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections).

They had initially been criminally charged with "preparing to wage war against the king," evidently based on their possession of T-shirts with portraits of dead or long retired Communist Party leaders. After they were released on July 2 on bail, they were immediately re-arrested under the Emergency Ordinance, Human Rights Watch says in a statement calling for their release.

Known as the PSM 6 r the EO6 those arrested are: Michaeal Jeyakumar Devaraj, PSM member of parliament for Sungai Siput; Sukumaran Munisamy, PSM Central Committee member; Letchumanan Aseer Patham, PSM Sungai Siput branch secretary; Choo Chon Kai, PSM international coordinator; Sarasvathy Muthu, PSM national deputy chairwoman; and Sarat Babu Raman, PSM youth chairman.



"The Malaysian government has replaced its bogus criminal charges with the hammer of preventive detention to lock away political opposition leaders," said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "The PSM 6 should be immediately released whether or not they organized the peaceful July 9 rally."

Lawyers for the detainees told Human Rights Watch that the "PSM 6" have been held in solitary confinement, subjected to continual and intense interrogations, and blindfolded both in detention and during transport to meet with legal counsel. Habeas corpus hearings, to determine the lawfulness of their detention, are scheduled for July 22 in Kuala Lumpur High Court, yet it is unclear whether the police will permit any of the detainees to attend.

The police and the Attorney General's Chambers are expected to argue that detention under the Emergency Ordinance is both justifiable and lawful. Malaysia's Emergency Ordinance permits the police, on their own initiative, to hold anyone they deem a threat to public order for 60 days. The home minister may extend detention for two more years, renewable indefinitely in two-year increments.

Twenty-one other PSM party members were released on bail on July 4 after being charged under the Societies Act with acting on behalf of an unlawful organization and under the Internal Security Act with being in possession of subversive documents. Available information indicates that the 21 are being prosecuted for engaging in their rights to freedom of expression, association, and assembly, Human Rights Watch said. Their release on RM8000 (US$2,670) bail appears grossly excessive in light of their alleged crimes.

Parti Sosialis Malaysia is a legally registered political party and currently has one member in the national assembly. When it began its campaign on June 24, its agenda included promoting participation in Bersih's July 9 march and educating Malaysians about issues the ruling government coalition were not addressing, such as combating government corruption, calling attention to growing income gaps, and raising concerns about increased ethnic tensions and deteriorating democratic institutions in the country.

Human Rights Watch has repeatedly called on the Malaysian government to end the use of all preventive detention legislation, including the Emergency (Public Order and Prevention of Crime) Ordinance, the Internal Security Act, the Dangerous Drugs (Special Preventive Measures) Act 1985, and the Restricted Residency Act 1933.

"It's high time that Malaysia's leaders recognize that democratic governance means engaging with the political opposition rather than throwing them in jail," Robertson said.

Sarasvathy Muthuhas joined the YCW during the 1980s where she organized textile and food industry workers in Jelapang and Tasek factory level and also the state level to form a union body involved in picketing and strike.

From that time, she has travelled to various parts of SEA to represent Malaysia at conferences. Saras is actively involved in women’s groups networks such as AWAM and WDC in discussing the challenges of the female working community.

As a full time activist in Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM), Saras contended in the 2008 elections for DUN Jelapang. Even though she lost, she served the constituency with a big heart, Malaysia Today says.

VIDEO

Thai prosecutors have formally charged labor activist Somyot Pruksakasemsuk with lese majeste after a magazine he edited carried two articles that allegedly insulted the nation's king.

Somyot, who is a former Thailand YCW fulltimer, was charged after he had been already imprisoned for 84 days, the maximum number of days that a prisoner can be held without charge under Thai law, the Bangkok Post reports.

Somyot told the paper that the incoming government to be led by Yingluck Shinawatra  seemed content  to work under existing draconian legal and social settings.

“We all hope that  civil liberty will be cherished and will prosper,  as it must be the highest priority of  society along with reconciliation.

"To reconcile does not mean just between Thaksin and the elite, but also mutual understanding and tolerance between various groups in society.

"Reconciliation must reach-out to the victims and the damaged parties and must include humane and adequate remedial procedures for those injured and affected by last year's crackdown,” Somyot said.

In a statement, Cardijn Community International president Stefan Gigacz called for Somyot's release and for the dropping of charges.

"Whether of not we agree with Somyot's political options, it is time for Thailand to heal the divisions of recent years.

"Somyot has worked tirelessly for the benefit of Thai workers for many years. It is deeply regrettable that he should now face many years in jail for his commitment," Mr Gigacz said.

Less than a week to go to our 10th anniversary conference to be held from 23-25 July in Bangkok, Thailand.

We are pleased to say that we have 48 participants enrolled and we expect it to be a very significant event for the development of the CCI network.

Keynote speaker will be Father Antoine Sondag, former international chaplain of the IYCS and of Pax Romana-ICMICA.

We are also happy to say that IYCW international president Ms Geethani Peries will also join us.

More details will follow over the next few days.

Stefan Gigacz, CCI Secretary

Outgoing Secretary-General Edouard Koutsava with new team members Nimali Fernando and Devett O'Brien (Photo: Lama Tanjar)

Meeting in New Delhi for its 14th World Council, the  IYCS has elected Australian Devett O’Brien as its new general secretary.

“I thank the IYCS members for electing me to the post,” O'Brien told ucanews.com, adding that he hoped to work with other members to spread peace in the world.

Nimali Fernando from Sri Lanka was also elected as the new program coordinator for the movement.

In addition, Kabore Gerard, Loucille Alcala, Teresa Mourad, Msgr. Robert Vitillo, Fr Mike Deeb, Manoj Mathew were elected to the IYCS Advisory Board.

Outgoing lay member Loucille Alcala and Edouard Koutsava thanked the movements and individuals for their support during the last four years.

LINK

IYCS World Council website

Jean Sangnier, a French World War II resistance hero and son of Sillon founder, Marc Sangnier, has died at the age of 99.

He was buried Wednesday after a funeral at the St Thomas Aquinas Church in Paris’s 7th District.

During World War II, Sangnier together with Emilien Amaury and others founded the so-called Groupe de Lille (or Groupe de Rue de Lille), one of the first organised resistance groups against the German occupation. One of the first tasks of the group was to work with another war hero, later executed by the Germans, Honoré d’Estienne d’Orves, who had been given the mission by General de Gaulle to set up the first radio links between occupied France and the free French forces in London.

Jean Sangnier also printed a range of clandestine resistance publications, including Défense de la France, Résistance, the Catholic paper Témoignage chrétien, as well as the communist paper L’Humanité. He also published the speeches of General de Gaulle.

All this from a covert printery located literally metres from the Abwehr, the headquarters of German military intelligence in France.

After surviving the war, Jean Sangnier went on to co-found the daily newspaper Ouest-France and became director of a well-known magazine, Marie-France.

And in 1990, he launched the Institut Marc Sangnier, named for his father, who had founded the Catholic lay movement, Le Sillon, or The Furrow.

St Francis behind the plough in the logo of the Sillon (Furrow) movement

Little known today, even in France, the Sillon, which existed from 1894 until 1910, was later described by the future Cardinal Joseph Cardijn as the “greatest lay initiative since the (French) Revolution”.

And the future Pope John XXIII, who as a young priest had heard Marc Sangnier speak in Rome in 1904, would also write that Sangnier senior’s “personality and his political and social activities are the most vivid memories of my sacerdotal youth”.

Marc Sangnier’s Sillon movement only existed from around 1894 when it began as a student group known as the Crypt at the Stanislas College in Paris, until 1910, when a letter from Pope Pius X to the French demanded that Sangnier and his confreres resign from the leadership of the Sillon and hand control to the diocesan bishops. Sangnier and colleagues did indeed resign but the result was the almost instantaneous collapse of the movement.

Nevertheless, the heritage of the Sillon lived on in many other movements. Cardijn’s see-judge-act methodology, which became the mainstay of later movements such as the Young Christian Workers and Young Christian Students and the MIJARC, was largely borrowed from the Sillon’s own “method of democratic education”.

In fact, the Sillon was the prototype for these later movements which emerged under the papacy of Pope Pius XI. Nor was it an accident that it was Pope John XXIII whose encyclical Mater et Magistra formally adopted the see-judge-act method as a part of Catholic social teaching and practice.

Marc Sangnier never got the credit for the role that the Sillon had played in the emergence of the later movements, although Cardijn certainly recognized it.

“It is the privilege and the reward of the sower of the ideal of life to be unable to limit the field that he seeds or to constrain the range of his fertile gesture. The winds of the air and the birds of the sky carry off this seed and deposit it sometimes far away, in a field where God’s makes it fruitful and multiplies it,” Cardijn told Marc Sangnier in 1921 in an explicit (but unpublished) acknowledgment of his influence.

In any event, Jean Sangnier was very pleased when I published an article in 1997 detailing the role that the Sillon had played in the emergence of the YCW and other lay movements, including the American Catholic Worker.

As with his father, Jean Sangnier’s achievements have often remained in the shadows. All the more reason to offer this small tribute to a man who was in effect the last living link to the Sillon.

- Stefan Gigacz

SOURCE

Last link to the Sillon disappears at 99 (Give us this day)

Former Thailand YCW fulltimer and labor leader Somyot Pruksakasemsuk is now working as the librarian of Bangkok Remand Prison following his arrest on charges of lese majeste.

He is just one of a number of activists who find themselves in prison for their democratic activities in the run up to the Thai elections in July, his supporters say.

They believe that the charges have been used to prevent opposition groups in Thailand from participating fairly.  For a good summary of recent campaigns click here or search the Asian Correspondent site.

The Thai National Human Rights Committee, and Amnesty International have taken up Somyot’s case, and many friends and colleagues have sent letters to the Thai prime minister requesting his release, The Librarian of Bangkok Prison website reports.

He is now asking people to donate publications or creative products for the prison library.

This could be a book or piece of written work, some art or photography or anything that you think would offer some distraction for the people of Bangkok remand prison.

Please send something to Somyot by email to thelibrarianofbangkokprison@yahoo.co.uk, his friends ask.

Alternatively, you may write to the following postal address:

The Librarian, Somyot Pruksakasemsuk, Bangkok Remand Prison, 33 Ngamvongvan Road, Ladyao, Jatujak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand.

CCI also requests its members and friends to show their support for Somyot and to work for his release.

Laid off workers at the PT Micro Garment factory in Bandung, Indonesia are continuing to protest without success.

"Until today (June 22, 2011) there has been no real action from the authorities both at regional or national level to protect the workers who have been laid off unilaterally by employer PT. Micro Garment, Bandung, Indonesia," writes Ludovicus Mardiyono, from the International Network for Indonesia YCW.

"Actions continues by 186 workers who have been laid off. Today (June 22, 2011) until June 24, 2011 workers will came abuzz to the office of the Minister of labor and Transmigration, in Jakarta. They will stay in the office of the Minister to urge the Minister to intervene and resolve these mass layoffs case.

"To finance all this actions, the laid off worker has pawned their jewelry and motor bikes. In addition, this action is also supported by trade unions in Jakarta, Bekasi and Yogyakarta, which collects funds by busking on the market and city buses.

"Demands of the workers is that they be reinstated in accordance with the rules of wage employment Act. Their plan to dwell in labor minister office for 3 days and held talks with Minister of Manpower and Transmigration, Mr Muhaimin Iskandar.

"If possible (cost enough) they will come abuzz to the office of president and parliament which are not far from the Minister office.

"Call for support is expected from all sides both politically and financially. We thanks to all those who submitted their shouts to the government in Indonesia and to employer of PT. Micro Garment, also to the donors who have been providing financial support for our action," he said.

Action will continue until the demand for reinstatement of the workers is met, Mardiyono concluded.