Women promoting fraternity, two new UISG initiatives

Press Release

Women promoting fraternity, two new UISG initiatives 

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#YouAreMySister and #SistersEmpoweringWomen are the official hashtags of the two initiatives, born from the resonance of the encyclical Fratelli tutti, to give voice to the commitment of women for a future of fraternity and hope.

Acknowledging each other as sisters and brothers, guardians of each other, promoting women’s empowerment through a shared journey, all of us in the same boat, as the pandemic has made even more evident. In the month of March, traditionally dedicated to women, the UISG – Unione Internazionale Superiore Generali (International Union of Superiors General) – launches two initiatives to reflect together on current issues and to give voice to the many paths of hope set in motion by women religious throughout the world. A new path that draws its inspiration from the encyclical Fratelli tutti of Pope Francis.

Important Dates

It begins on Wednesday, March 24 with a day of online reflection and participation on the theme #YouAreMySister. As part of the new project Sisters Advocating Globally, the campaign “You Are My Sister” wants to give visibility to the commitment of the sisters in the world to accompany and support the most vulnerable and marginalized populations by the current pandemic crisis. An initiative that will have great relevance on social media, through the UISG Voice channels (Twitter and Instagram), which will tell the value and impact of this commitment.

From Friday, March 26, the new initiative, “Sisters Empowering Women: A place at the table in the spirit of Fratelli Tutti”, will begin. This is a cycle of seven meetings, transmitted live via streaming on YouTube (www.youtube.com/UISGRome), which each time will deal with a different theme, on which experts of international importance will confront themselves in order to initiate a dialogue with and among the religious who, in the world, live Fratelli Tutti and open up paths of emancipation and hope through their mission. For the first time, a simultaneous translation service will be available in eight languages: Italian, Spanish, English, French, Portuguese, Polish, German, and Arabic. The next dates of the event: April 27, June 3 and 25, July 8 and 15. 

Roundtable on synodality

The first virtual meeting on March 26, which will develop the theme of synodality, will feature several speakers (from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. CET): Jolanta Kafka, RMI President of UISG; Carmen Ros, NSC Undersecretary Congregation for Consecrated Life (CIVCSVA); Nathalie Becquart, XMCJ Undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops; Gloria Liliana Franco Echeverri, ODN President of the Latin American Confederation of Religious (CLAR). Moderating the meeting will be H.E. Elisabeth Beton Delègue, Ambassador of France to the Holy See.

“The term synodality”, declares Sr. Patricia Murray, executive secretary of the UISG, “for which the study carried out in 2018 by the International Theological Commission called for careful theological reflection, is a sign of something new that is maturing in the ecclesial consciousness since the Magisterium of Vatican II. In the document, synodality is described as a ‘specific modus vivendi et operandi of the Church as People of God, which manifests and realizes in concrete terms its being communion in walking together.’ It is this ability to walk together, as a ‘Church which goes forth’, that allows us to emerge from egocentrism and revitalize communities, opening the way to a ‘new missionary energy that involves the whole people of God’.” 

On social media with #YouAreMySister and #SistersEmpoweringWomen

The commitment of the women religious, who are already reporting on social networks about their support to the communities during the coronavirus pandemic through the hashtag #YouAreMySister, will be joined by the #SistersEmpoweringWomen campaign, which asks users to share, on the same social networks, photos of women who inspire, through their commitment, and promote the values of fraternity and social friendship. Simply post the photo using the official hashtag #SistersEmpoweringWomen and tag the friend or personality motivating the reason for the choice.

Rome, March 22, 2021

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