Press Release
“Caring: the mission of women religious.” On July 8, a new webinar at UISG
Thursday, July 8 at 2 p.m. (CET) will be the fourth webinar in the series “Sisters Empowering Women” sponsored by UISG. The main presentations are by Prof. Samira Youssef Habil Sidarous, Sr Maryanne Loughry, RSM; Sr Véronique Margron, OP and Sr Niluka Pereira, RGS.
“I am because we are,” states the African Ubuntu ethic. “I am alone” does not exist. I exist because there are other people beside me. This expression recalls what is at the heart of caring for others, if we are to live the Gospel and the Christian mission to the fullest. This is a concept that has always been important for the religious at the International Union of Superiors General (UISG), who are dedicating the fourth “Sisters Empowering Women” event, scheduled for Thursday, July 8, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. (CET), to the theme of “caring”.
The event, entitled “Taking care: the mission of religious women,” will be streamed live free on Zoom () and on UISG’s YouTube channel. The speakers are as follows: biblical scholar Samira Youssef Habil Sidarous; Sr. Maryanne Loughry, RSM, Psychologist and Research Professor; and Sr. Véronique Margron, OP, Theologian and President of the Conference of Religious Men and Women of France.
After the presentations there will be time for discussion with the speakers. The session will conclude with the testimony of Sr Niluka Perera, coordinator of the project “Catholic Care for Children” of UISG. She will highlight the valuable work of congregations in Zambia, Uganda, and Kenya who are at the forefront of an initiative to ensure that every child has the right to grow up in a loving family.
“The mission of this project,” emphasizes Sr. Niluka Pereira, “is above all to help religious institutes with a charism of care to read the signs of the times and provide the best possible care for children and vulnerable people, particularly by reducing reliance on institutional care and encouraging family and community-based care for children.
According to Sr. Patricia Murray the Executive Secretary of UISG a thread that has tied all the sessions of Sisters Empowering Women, is found in the Encyclical Fratelli Tutti. She says that here “Pope Francis places the parable of the Good Samaritan as an ‘illuminating icon’ of care. The place of women religious is there, too: on the side of the road, beside those who suffer, who are wounded; as women capable of opening up to hope, of being balm to alleviate anguish and suffering. The experiences gathered in these recent years teach us that our presence is never in vain, that many paths of life begin to open up and manage to flourish, sometimes even without our knowledge.”
Rome, 6 July 2021
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