Shalom I UN-NGO Newsletter April 2025

By Sister Beatriz Martínez-García, SSND, UN-NGO Representative and Tim Dewane, Shalom International Network Coordinator

The Holy Jubilee Year of 2025 holds the potential to be a special year of hope and opportunity for us, the church, and society – despite the many challenges of the day. We commemorate 30+ years of Shalom Network Animation and UN-NGO office engagement. We celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the publication of Laudato Si’ and the ongoing motivation it provides us to live more simply, responsibly, and sustainably. 

In 2025, we commemorate several milestone events that have had tremendous influence on our planet and all who inhabit it. It was 30 years ago that the landmark World Summit for Social Development (which featured the adoption of the Copenhagen Declaration) and the Fourth World Conference on Women (which featured the adoption of the groundbreaking Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action) were held – both of which were attended by Sr. Ethel Howley, our first UN-NGO Representative. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted 10 years ago, as was the Paris Climate Agreement, a historic and legally binding international treaty on climate change.

One of the most noteworthy anniversaries we observe this year is the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. When the United Nations was established 80 years ago, humanity hoped for a peaceful world. Despite many encouraging advancements in such areas as security, peace, respect for human rights, social development, social inclusion, the empowerment of women and girls, and protection of the environment, much work remains in our journey toward a more just and equitable world.

The Call of the 25th General Chapter highlights our commitment to be credible witnesses of universal communion. May the confluence of these anniversaries and celebrations, within the context of the Jubilee Year, inspire us to reflect this commitment as pilgrims of hope and agents for systemic change, collaborating with each other and others for the dignity of life and the protection of all God’s creation.
 

By Sister Paola Baliñio, SSND, Latin America Shalom Branch Representative

As we celebrate 10 years of the beautiful and challenging encyclical Laudato Si’, let us share with you a small sample of the way we experience Laudato Si’ within the diverse realities of Latin America and the Caribbean.  In Laudato Si’, we find parallels with You Are Sent and concrete ways of being a synodal Church. Pope Francis provides us with clear explanations of integral ecology, the interconnection of everything in universal communion, and easily understood objectives. He invites us to be more aware of our Common Home and embraces with his teaching all our ministries: formal and informal education, social, pastoral, handicapped, health, promotion of women, etc. One concrete example, among the many we have in our branch, is Colegio San José, in Argentina, which has incorporated the Laudato Si’ Platform and the Season of Creation as the axis for their educational project.

They work all year round, taking as references the theme, logo, and message offered by the Pope on the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. From kindergarten to primary level, all areas of study are touched by this project. On October 4, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, a fair is held on the school street. There, in a stand made with recycled materials, each class presents its work to the whole community and, at the end, the students, together with parents and local artists, offer a small concert. It's a real party!  

This year we held a contest: each family had to create a logo by reusing and recycling materials. More than 400 entries were submitted, and the prize was applause, family awareness...and ice cream! This is just one small example of how Laudato Si’ invigorates Latin America and the Caribbean, being a sign of hope in our pilgrimage.

By Lisa Cathelyn, Central Pacific Province, Shalom Director

On a frigid February morning, I boarded a plane from Wisconsin to the buzz of New York City to attend the 63rd Session of the United Nations Commission for Social Development (CSocD). I met Sr. Beatriz, the SSND UN-NGO Rep, on the first floor of a sponsored ministry in Queens, NY – greeted with a warm abrazo (hug) and an assurance that, whether at morning prayer or shared dinner, I would be most welcome in this SSND community.

The official sessions were held in the primary UN Headquarters room, virtually and off premises. All explored the priority theme of “strengthening solidarity, social inclusion and social cohesion.” One of my favorite sessions was a side event hosted at the Baha’i International community entitled “Strengthening Solidarity: Social Cohesion as a Driver of Development.”

Panelists shared both grassroots stories, including from the Netherlands and Canary Islands, of grassroots-based programs that improved neighborhoods and lessened the epidemic of loneliness. The speaker noted that living in proximity to one another is not the same as knowing one another, and that as a society we must jointly shape a vision as we consider what sort of neighborhood we want. I considered how the emphasis on consensus-building and value of oneness of humanity in these NGO-sponsored projects – in collaboration with government and the private sector – is deeply resonant with us, called to be educators in all we say and do.

My time at the CSocD alongside Sr. Beatriz taught me that as part of the Shalom network – whether sister, partner in mission, associate, or friend – we are called to work toward oneness in our international community (You Are Sent, Prologue).

By Tim Dewane, Shalom International Network Coordinator

It was in the Jubilee Year of 2000, that Blessed Antonina Kratochwil and the other SSNDs martyred during World War II were declared Patronesses of Shalom.  While most of us know about Blessed Antonina, few know about the other SSND WWII martyrs who serve as our Patronesses of Shalom.  But thanks to support from SSND Archive staff, this March, we were able to name and recognize more than 25 SSNDs martyred during WW II. 

Going forward, we plan to annually recognize these women of faith whose lives and sacrifice symbolize for us both the atrocity of war and the violence and abuse of women as weapons of war – something that is sadly still very much an issue today. They are our Shalom intercessors who motivate and inspire us to promote justice, peace, and integrity of creation, as pilgrims of hope and agents for systemic change. Patronesses of Shalom, pray for us.