Centre International Cardijn

April 2026

Stefan Gigacz — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 02:22:21 GMT

Friends

Welcome to our April edition in which we hear Pope Leo’s strong condemnation of imperialism.

We share a story from the Philippines YCW of their work with young women while the International YCS is launching an ecological project in Tanzania.

The Quebec JOC film Voir Juger Agir is continuing to attract attention in Canada.

We look ahead at what Pope Leo’s forthcoming encyclical on artificial intelligence might say.

We note that the YCS will also be celebrating its centenary in 2028 while Stefan Gigacz reminds us of the least read document from the Second Vatican Council, the Decree on Lay Apostolate, the one to which Cardijn contributed most directly.

We remember Fr Henri Caffarel, the French JOC chaplain, who has been declared Venerable.

And we share a new website of Cardijn Resources plus this week’s Gospel Reflection.

The Centre Cardijn International Team

Cross disrupts ‘imperialist occupation of world’: Pope Leo

The Cross disrupts “imperialist occupation of the world from within,” Pope Leo said in a pointed comment during his homily for the Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday 2 April 2026.

“The violence that until now has been the law is unmasked,” he added. “The poor, imprisoned, rejected Messiah descends into the darkness of death, yet in so doing he brings a new creation to light.”

Cross disrupts ‘imperialist occupation of world’: Pope Leo

Women Rise Together in Community Empowerment Activity On 29 March, 2026, a group of young women and young mothers gathered in Barangay 6, Mercedes, Camarines Norte, Philippines, for a meaningful Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality activity organized by the Philippine Young Christian Workers (PYCW).

The event brought together 25 participants with a shared goal of strengthening awareness, dignity, and unity among women in the community.

Through open discussions, participants shared real-life challenges they face—such as financial struggles due to insufficient family income, difficulties in raising children, and experiences of bullying that affect confidence and self-worth. These realities highlighted the need for stronger support systems and equal opportunities for women.

United Women, Empowered Futures: Advancing Gender Equality in the Community (IYCW Aspac)

IYCS partners with SJS EOA Farm Kilimanjaro Tanzania

The International Young Catholic Students IYCS has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with St Joseph Sustainable SJS Ecological Organic Agriculture EOA Farm Kilimanjaro Tanzania to promote ecological awareness and sustainable development among young people.

The agreement was represented by Roshan Melwyn Lobo Secretary General of IYCS and Fr Alwyn D Souza Director of SJS EOA Farm.

Inspired by Laudato Si, this partnership encourages young people to embrace care for creation by engaging in sustainable agriculture and agripreneurship while building a better future

SOURCE

IYCS-JECI (Facebook)

Changer les choses avec la méthode voir-juger-agir

What will Pope Leo’s expected encyclical say?

Commentators are expecting Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, probably on artificial intelligence, in the coming weeks, perhaps on 15 May, the anniversary of his predecessor Leo XIII’s landmark 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum.

But how will he address the issue, asks Sally Scholz at Church Life Journal. “And what sort of message will he give to the world?”

“Since the mid-twentieth century, social encyclicals have employed a framing mechanism that often functions as a mantra among Catholics seeking to put CST into action: See, Judge, Act,” Scholz observes.

What will Pope Leo’s expected encyclical say? (See Judge Act)

YCS-JEC Centenary 1928-2028

On Thursday 17 May 1928, which was Ascension Day that year, leaders of the emerging Jeunesse Estudiantine Catholique (JEC) met to adopt their draft statutes. The same month, the Belgian bishops appointed Fr André Mignolet as national chaplain.

From 3-5 September that year, the new JEC held its first national study day at Bellevue College in the city of Dinant. At the same time, the Belgian bishops formally recognised the JEC and mandated it as an official Catholic Action movement.

The following year in 1929, a parallel movement for girls was launched called the Jeunesse Estudiantine Catholique Féminine or JECF – the Girls YCS.

YCS-JEC History (Joseph Cardijn Digital Library)

Apostolicam Actuositatem: Vatican II’s least read document

The final reports from the various Synodal Study Groups have now started to appear. So perhaps it’s time to look again at various issues that have been raised.

Thus, reading the final report of the Study Group on “To hear the cry of the poor and the earth,” I was struck – and heartened – to see the number of references – 92, in fact – to the need for “formation,” a theme that has recurred throughout the whole process of the Synod on Synodality as well as during the Australian Plenary Council.

Apostolicam Actuositatem: Vatican II’s least read document (Synodal Reflections)

Henri Caffarel’s new spirituality of marriage

Pope Leo has approved a decree declaring venerable Henri Caffarel, a French YCW chaplain, who later founded the Teams of Our Lady movement, writes Stefan Gigacz.

During an audience with Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, on 23 March 2026, Pope Leo authorised the promulgation of a decree recognising “the heroic virtues of the Servant of God Henri Caffarel, diocesan priest, founder of the ‘Equipes Notre Dame’ (Teams of Our Lady) and the ‘Fraternité Notre-Dame de la Résurrection’ (Our Lady of the Resurrection Fraternity),” Vatican News reports.

He also began his priestly ministry as a YCW chaplain.

Venerable Henri Caffarel, YCW chaplain and founder of the Teams of Our Lady (Cardijn Research)

YCW chaplain Henri Caffarel declared venerable

Website: Cardijn study guide

Cardijn Resources is a newly revamped website presenting several key Cardijn resources for leaders animators of YCW-inspired groups.

But if there’s one document above all to read, it’s surely his famous 1935 Three Truths article, which concisely summarises the whole Cardijn methodology under the headings of Truths of Faith, Experience and Pastoral Method.

The site also includes study guides for those who wish to go deeper.

Cardijn Resources

Gospel: Life to the Full

The references to shepherds and sheep in this week’s Sunday text is a continuation of a long used metaphor among the people of Israel that they are God’s flock and, most famously expressed in Psalm 23, that God is their shepherd. It was also common, in the Hebrew scriptures, for those exercising leadership in the community to be referred to as shepherds.

The burden of the shepherd’s responsibility is immense as the very life of the sheep is in their hands. The vitriol expressed towards the ‘false’ shepherds (thieves, brigands, strangers) is probably a carry-over from the conflict of the previous chapter where the Pharisees sought to undermine the miracle (sign) of the man whose sight had been restored.

This conflict is an important backdrop to this text as is contrasts the liberating, life giving action of Jesus with the restrictive, oppressive interjection of the Pharisees. Jesus’ has come so that humanity might live ‘life to the full’, an image presented in the metaphor of the sheep finding certain pasture and restated in the famous final verse of this text. ‘I have come so that they may have life and have it to the full.’ (John 10:10).

Gospel Enquiry: Life to the Full (Cardijn Reflections)

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March 2026

Stefan Gigacz — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 06:59:07 GMT

Friends

This month we begin with Pope Leo’s appeal for a ceasefire in the Middle East and his condemnation of aerial bombing.

We have a story on the work of former Slovak YCW leader Marta Košíková plus another story on Fr Joseph Wresinski, the former French JOC leader who founded ATD Quart Monde.

We share the news that French JOC chaplain Henri Caffarel, who later founded the Equipes de Notre Dame (Teams of Our Lady), has been declared venerable by Pope Leo, who has also called a special meeting to discuss families in October.

We have a story on the new film documentary on the history of the Quebec JOC as well as a Gospel reflection on the life of St Oscar Romero.

Finally, we are pleased to announce that our Lenten Compassion fundraising appeal for Baby Eliana has been successful. We will keep you posted on the progress of her treatment.

The Centre International Cardijn Team

Ban aerial bombing: Pope Leo

“Airplanes should always be carriers of peace, never of war!” Pope Leo has said. “No one should be afraid that threats of death and destruction might come from the sky.”

Pope Leo recalled the aerial bombardments of the World Wars and other conflicts, which still continue today.

“After the tragic experiences of the twentieth century, aerial bombings should have been banned forever!” he said. “Instead, they still exist, and technological development, positive in itself, is being placed at the service of war. This is not progress; it is regression!”

Pope Leo XIV: Planes should bring peace, not war and destruction (Vatican News)

Pope Leo appeals for peace

Marta Košíková carries on legacy of Fr Anton Srholec

The Resota resocialization community was founded in 1991 by Salesian and Roman Catholic priest Anton Srholec (†86). A man who went through communist prisons and uranium mines to decide to serve the most vulnerable after the revolution. Ten years after his death, his legacy is still alive in a house on the outskirts of Bratislava.

He called his community a “strange order” with a smile . It was made up of men tested by life. He loved them. And they loved him. For many years he kept a chronicle about them. And when they died, he added an entry to it, which remained perhaps the only memory of the men whose existence no one else missed.

Today, the facility is run by Srholc’s niece, former Slovak YCW leader, Marta Bariak Košíková.

Bol som v pekle! Toto je nebo s anjelmi, hovorí zlomený muž o Srholcovom útulku Resoty (I was in hell! This is heaven with angels, says broken man about Srholc’s shelter Resota) (Plus7DNI)

L’histoire de la JOC au Québec

Ils s’appellent Ghislaine Patry, Yvon Lemay, Marie-Claire Nadeau... Ils avaient 15, 17, parfois 18 ans lorsqu’ils ont franchi les portes d’un sous-sol d’église pour rejoindre la Jeunesse ouvrière catholique (JOC). Ce qu’ils y ont trouvé n’était pas seulement un lieu de rassemblement, mais une école de vie, de conscience et d’action.

Le documentaire Voir – Juger – Agir : L’histoire de la JOC au Québec, réalisé par Annie Deniel et produit par André Vanasse de la coopérative Funambules Médias, redonne voix à cette génération de jeunes travailleurs et travailleuses qui ont contribué, dans l’ombre, à transformer le Québec.

Voir, juger, agir : L’histoire de la JOC au Québec (L’Aut’journal)

Era of change affects families: Pope Leo

“Our era is marked by rapid changes which make it necessary, even more than ten years ago, to give particular pastoral attention to families,” Pope Leo observed, announcing a meeting of presidents the world’s bishops conferences to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation, Amoris Laetitia.

“There are, in fact, places and circumstances in which the Church “can become the salt of the earth” only through the lay faithful and, in particular, through families,” he added. “For this reason, the Church’s commitment in this area must be renewed and deepened, so that those whom the Lord calls to marriage and family life can, in Christ, fully live out their conjugal love, and that young people may feel attracted, within the Church, to the beauty of the vocation to marriage.”

Pope Leo’s own parents were active members of the Christian Family Movement in Chicago.

Tenth anniversary of Amoris Laetitia (Vatican)

Christian Family Movement

Families will shape the Church’s future

Pope Leo XIV’s framing for October 2026 is striking. He notes that in many places, “the Church can become the salt of the earth only through the lay faithful and, in particular, through families,” writes Richard Pütz That is not a throw-away line. It is an acknowledgment that institutional structures and clergy alone cannot reach where families live. The future of the Church’s mission depends on forming laypeople who know how to carry it out.

Amoris Laetitia called for new forms of “missionary creativity.” It urged the Church to move beyond simply repeating doctrine and to actively strengthen marital love “under the impulse of grace.” Cardijn’s See–Judge–Act offers a tested, grassroots method for doing that. CFM provides over eighty years of practical experience using this method with real couples in real circumstances.

If the summit is to be more than bishops talking about families, it needs families talking to bishops. That means the work starts locally, now.

ACT NOW

Kitchen Tables and Cathedrals: How Ordinary Families Could Shape the Church’s Future at the 2026 Bishops Summit (Cardijn Reflections)

Venerable Henri Caffarel, YCW chaplain and Teams of Our Lady founder

Pope Leo has approved a decree declaring venerable Henri Caffarel, a French YCW chaplain, who later founded the Teams of Our Lady movement.

Venerable Henri Caffarel, YCW chaplain and founder of the Teams of Our Lady (Cardijn Research)

Joseph Wresinski, ancien jociste et fondateur d’ATD Quart Monde

L’enfance de Joseph Wresinski, fondateur d’ATD Quart Monde, se déroule dans le quartier de la Doutre, à Angers, dans des conditions très précaires. Sa famille d’origine polonaise et espagnole vit dans une grande pauvreté.

Très tôt confronté aux difficultés matérielles et aux humiliations liées à la misère, Joseph Wresinski restera marqué toute sa vie par cette expérience.

Sa vocation sacerdotale se révèle progressivement au contact de l’Église. Enfant, il fréquente les sœurs du Bon Pasteur à Angers et commence à servir la messe dans leur chapelle. Plus tard, sa rencontre avec la Jeunesse ouvrière chrétienne (JOC) confirme son désir de devenir prêtre.

Joseph Wresinski, un prêtre angevin qui fit de la lutte contre la misère un combat spirituel (RCF)

Cardijn: Re-imagining the movement

Sometimes you hear people say: “The YCW is outdated, it’s had its day.” Others go further and say: “The YCW has gone bankrupt,” wrote Cardijn in 1950.

It’s only when you constantly rethink the movement, its purpose, its raison d’être, that you see it must continually surpass itself, must always renew itself in order to remain the YCW, the movement that responds to the needs, problems, and difficulties of young workers today.

We must rethink the very essence of the movement, its essential reason for being. And this is what I ask you to do: to simply, openly, and frankly rethink some essential, fundamental aspects of the movement.

The YCW, a movement that constantly needs to be re-imagined (Joseph Cardijn Digital Library)

Gospel: Our responsibility to see clearly

In the Gospel of March 24, Jesus is speaking to people who are questioning him, pushing back on him, not sure they believe him, writes Fr Chris Malano. And he says to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man… then you will realize…” He is speaking to the very people in front of him: people who are listening, but not recognizing who he is. The truth is already there: that no authority can require what is against God’s law, and that conscience does not disappear when orders are given. But the people listening to him do not recognize it.

And that is not only about them. It is about us, too.

On March 23, 1980, in a homily at the Cathedral in San Salvador, the day before he was killed, Archbishop Oscar Romero spoke to soldiers in his country. He said:

“ No soldier is obliged to obey an order counter to the law of God. No one has to comply with an immoral law. It is time now that you recover your conscience and obey its dictates rather than the command of sin.”¹

The responsibility to see clearly: Memorial of Saint Oscar Romero (Bridging our worlds)

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February 2026

Stefan Gigacz — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 08:51:11 GMT

Friends,

As Lent begins we commence this issue with an urgent call for compassion and solidarity to assist Eliana Kira, the daughter of former Philippines YCW national president, Jho Letada, and her husband, Marwin. Eliana needs hole in the heart surgery that is becoming urgent. This is the first time we’ve launched an appeal like this and we look forward to your generous support.

In Brussels, the International YCW has issued a statement warning against the rise of the right.

From Peru, we have a note recalling how, as a bishop in Peru, Robert Prevost now Pope Leo worked to reconcile and integrate the lay (Cardijn-inspired) movements into the work of his diocese. Meanwhile, in Colombia, the grave of the revolutionary priest, Camilo Torres has finally been identified.

In Rome, Cardinal Kevin Farrell from the Dicastery for Laity has called for “whole of life” formation. We present a new website that compiles Cardijn’s own autobiographical notes. And finally, Paul Lentern shares a Lenten Gospel reflection.

The Centre International Cardijn Team

Resisting the rise of the far right

The International Young Christian Workers (IYCW) stands alarmed by the global rise of far-right ideologies. These movements threaten democracy, attack the rights of marginalized communities, and undermine decades of hard-won social progress.

In response, the IYCW reaffirms its commitment to solidarity, justice, and internationalism. We call on governments and institutions to protect social rights, defend vulnerable groups, regulate digital platforms, and uphold democratic space for social movements. At the same time, we commit ourselves to grassroots organizing, political education, international advocacy, and building alliances to resist this threat.

Far-right ideologies do not go away on their own. They must be confronted—through collective awareness, organized resistance, and the unwavering belief that a just and equal world is possible.

Resisting the Rise of the Far Right: A Perspective from the International Young Christian Workers’ Movement (IYCW)

Let’s open our hearts for Eliana Kira

Here is a really tough situation that we’ve learnt about recently, namely the medical problems facing Eliana Kira, the tiny daughter of Jho Letada, a former full time worker and national president of the Philippines YCW, and her husband, Marwin, also a YCW leader.

In short, Eliana has a hole in the heart and needs an urgent operation as the hole is already enlarging. Aged eleven months, she weighs only 4.8kg, which places her below the 3% mark for babies her age, another major concern.

The cost for surgery comes to up to €15,000, which is completely beyond the family’s means.

As Lent begins, we are asking for your support for Eliana and her family. Please give generously.

DONATION LINKS

EUR: https://events.humanitix.com/baby-eliana-kira-eur

USD: https://events.humanitix.com/baby-eliana-kira-usd

MORE DETAILS

Ecoutez la réalisatrice du documentaire Voir Juger Agir

Annie Desrochers, qui anime l’émission Le 15-18 sur Radio Canada, parle avec Annie Deniel, la réalisatrice du film sur la JOC du Québec, Voir Juger Agir.

ECOUTEZ

Le film Voir – Juger – Agir : L’histoire de la JOC au Québec : Annie Deniel (Radio Canada)

Body of Camilo Torres identified

The identification of the remains of guerrilla priest Camilo Torres Restrepo , sixty years after his death, closes one of the most symbolic mysteries of the Colombian conflict and opens a new chapter in the country's historical memory. The discovery, confirmed by the Search Unit for Missing Persons (UBPD) and a team of forensic anthropologists, puts an end to decades of contradictory accounts and institutional silence regarding the whereabouts of the priest who embodied the union between Christian faith and revolution.

Hallado el cuerpo del cura guerrillero Camilo Torres, icono de la izquierda colombiana (Religion Digital)

As bishop, Pope Leo reconciled lay movements with his diocese

As bishop of Chiclayo in Peru, Robert Prevost, the future Pope Leo XIII, reconciled the diocese with lay movements, which had become estranged under previous bishops, writes Justin McLellan.

Several lay-led organisations had emerged outside formal church structures, carrying out education, youth formation, family support and nutrition programs in poor neighborhoods across the region, while remaining outside of the diocese and parish structures.

However, in his first year as bishop, Prevost accepted an invitation to meet with lay movements active in Chiclayo. Following that initial contact, the Chiclayo Diocese recognised several lay-led organizations under Prevost’s direction, signing agreements to facilitate their collaboration.

Leo reconciled lay movements & his Peruvian diocese

Whole of life formation needed: Cardinal Farrell

Opening the third plenary assembly of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, Cardinal Kevin Farrell emphasised the need for “basic formation” in the Christian life among lay people. The assembly took place at the Jesuit General Curia in Rome from 4-6 February 2026.

Noting what he characterised as “the alarming increase in the number of people who do not know Jesus Christ at all,” Cardinal Farrell called for a “formation of the heart”, which involves the whole life: at the origin of Christian life there is an encounter with the person of Jesus Christ, who first changes the heart, then our mindset, and eventually transforms daily conduct and all of life.

Whole of life formation needed: Cardinal Farrell (Vatican News)

Cardijn’s life: In his own words

Strictly speaking, YCW founder Joseph Cardijn never wrote an autobiography. At least not in the form of a complete book. Nevertheless, he often told the story of his life in various talks and speeches around the world.

Towards the end of his life, he also wrote a series of notes and gave several interviews describing various incidents in his life and the development of his work, which are compiled in this new website.

VISIT THE WEBSITE

Joseph Cardijn – My life (Joseph Cardijn Digital Library)

Gospel: Jesus tempted in the wildnerness

With the commemoration of Ash Wednesday a few days ago, the liturgy now moves to the first of the Sundays of Lent, leading to Holy Week and the Easter Triduum, writes Paul Lentern. The Gospel for the first Sunday of Lent (22 February) shares the account of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness.

The fast of forty days and forty nights is an echo of the forty years that the people of Israel wandered in the wilderness after the Exodus from slavery in Egypt, prior to entering the promised land. An echo highlighting the author’s theme of Jesus as the new Moses.

The forty days of the text is also a foreshadowing, for Christians, of the six weeks of Lent where fasting, abstinence and almsgiving are central themes.

Jesus tempted in the wilderness (Cardijn Reflections)

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Lenten campaign: Baby Eliana Kira

Stefan Gigacz — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 09:32:18 GMT

Friends,

Here is a really tough situation that we’ve learnt about recently, namely the medical problems facing Eliana Kira, the 11 month old daughter of Jho Letada, a former full time worker and national president of the Philippines YCW, and her husband, Marwin, also a YCW leader.

In short, Eliana has a hole in the heart and other related ailments and needs an urgent operation as the hole is already enlarging. Aged eleven months, she weighs only 4.8kg, which places her below the 3% mark for babies her age, evidently another major concern.

The cost for heart in hole surgery in Filipino pesos is around 800,000 to one million pesos which is roughly between $19,500 and $25000 in AUD.

This is completely beyond the family’s means.

A group of former YCWs, including former international leaders Evelyn Victorino Lumiwan and Baltazar “Boy” Pascual are assisting the family and working on local fundraising. See their letter of support below.

But the financial cost of an operation like this is also way beyond their local fundraising capacity.

This is why we’re asking you to help as generously and as quickly as you can.

We all know it shouldn’t be like this and in Australia it wouldn’t be.

But right now we have no time to waste.

Let’s make this happen for Lent.

Others are also starting to get organised in Europe and elsewhere.

DONATION LINKS – PLEASE GIVE GENEROUSLY

EURO

https://events.humanitix.com/baby-eliana-kira-eur

or if you are in Europe, make a bank transfer directly to the International Cardijn Association with reference Eliana:

Name: Association Internationale Cardijn

IBAN: BE92777596156723

Swift: GKCCBEBB

USD

https://events.humanitix.com/baby-eliana-kira-usd

AUD

https://www.trybooking.com/au/donate/eliana

Statement of Support for Eliana Ayucocho’s Fundraising Campaign

Jhoan Letada Ayucocho is a young mother, parent, and a strong militant Leader of the Philippine Young Christian Workers. She was the former YCW President and had served and helped the young workers organize them for their just and equal rights. We feel what they felt when their 10-month-old baby, so young and already fighting a battle no baby should ever face. Eliana has Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) — specifically a Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD).

With broken but hopeful hearts, we support this campaign to raise funds for their daughter, Baby Eliana Kira Letada Ayucocho. We are currently supporting Elliana, but not enough. If we could help them save their baby, any amount, big or small, will be a great help for the baby’s open-heart surgery in Manila. We also humbly ask for your prayers and support by sharing their daughter’s story and her plight. Thank you, and God bless Eliana!

AdultYCW PHILIPPINES

Evelyn Victorino Lumiwan

Liberato Lumiwan

Baltazar Pascual Jr.

Vilma Tohay Paghubasan

Marcelino Ambalneg

Ricardo Carpeso

Luningning Halili

Martha Jurado

Cora Demate

Alladin Diega

Rico Pascua

Carmen Pascua

Nita Torres

Maria Elsa Getigan

Rev Fr. Guido Everaert

Virgie Villanueva

Rebecca Sayson

Message from Jho Letada

January 2026

Stefan Gigacz — Sat, 24 Jan 2026 07:29:20 GMT

Friends,

Welcome to our first newsletter for 2026.

We begin with the disturbing story of US intervention in Venezuela and share the response of the Venezuelan YCW.

In this context, it’s significant that Pope Leo has declared 2026 to be the Year of St Francis, the peacemaker. Pope Leo has also announced an important series of weekly talks on the teaching of Vatican II, where Cardijn and his colleagues played such an important role.

Stefan Gigacz reminds us of the 50th anniversary of the martyrdom of Argentinian jocist chaplain Blessed Enrique Angelelli in 1976, the 140th anniversary of the birht of Cardijn’s early collaborator Victoire Cappe (above) and the 75th anniversary of the First World Congress on Lay Apostolate in 1951, where Cardijn played such a vital role.

We share a reflection on the ongoing relevance of liberation theologian and YCS chaplain, Fr Gustavo Gutierrez and a reflection by former IYCW leader, Ezequiel Ávila Curiel, reminds us of the struggles that Cardijn also faced.

And we have the trailer for the forthcoming documentary on the history of the YCW in Quebec.

The Centre International Cardijn Team

IYCW condemns US intervention in Venezuela

The International Young Christian Workers (IYCW) has released a statement strongly condemning “the military aggression, foreign intervention, and the reported kidnapping of the Head of the state of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, carried out by the government of the United States of America on 3 January 2026.”

“These actions constitute a grave violation of international law and of the fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter, including respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, political independence, and the right of peoples to self-determination,” the statement says.

“As a global movement of young workers inspired by Christian values and committed to justice, peace, and human dignity, IYCW categorically rejects militarism, imperialism, political abductions, and foreign intervention that harm civilian populations or violate the right of peoples to self-determination.

“We affirm that conflicts between nations must be resolved through peaceful means—dialogue, diplomacy, and respect for international law.”

IYCW Statement Condemning Military Aggression of United States of America and Expressing Solidarity with Venezuelan people (IYCW)

Leo proclaims Year of Francis

Pope Leo XIV has proclaimed a special Jubilee Year coinciding with the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi.

The Apostolic Penitentiary, a Vatican tribunal that deals with matters of conscience, issued a decree published by the Franciscan Friars Jan. 10, declaring a yearlong celebration in honor of the Poverello, or the Little Poor One.

According to the decree, Pope Leo has established that from Jan. 10, following the closing of the church’s Jubilee Year, until Jan. 10, 2027, a special Year of St. Francis may be proclaimed, in which every Christian, “following the example of the Saint of Assisi, may himself become a model of holiness of life and a constant witness of peace.”

Pope sets Jubilee to mark 800th year since St. Francis’ death; saint’s body to be displayed (OSV News)

Pope Leo begins catechesis on Vatican II

Pope Leo has launched a new series of weekly catecheses “dedicated to the Second Vatican Council and to reflecting on its documents.”

“The work of the Council Fathers paved the way for a new ecclesial season, placing at its center the mystery of salvation and the unity between God and his people,” he nonted. “At the same time, it opened the Church to seek dialogue with the people of good will for a more just and fraternal world.

“We see that the documents have lost none of their relevance and are pertinent to the demands and challenges of today. Closely studying the Council documents will help us to be attentive interpreters of the signs of the times, and to proclaim the Gospel to all.

“As we make our journey of rediscovering the teachings of the Second Vatican Council, let us welcome the past with its rich tradition; let us consider the present with its joys and sorrows; and let’s look towards the future with an urgent appeal for greater justice, love and peace.”

General Audience, 7 January 2026 (Vatican)

General Audience, 14 January 2026 (Vatican)

2026 anniversaries

Once again, I’m beginning the new year with a short overview of anniversaries connected with Cardijn and the various jocist-inspired movements, writes Stefan Gigacz. In particular, we remember the martyred Blessed Enrique Angelelli and his companions, who died fifty years ago this year in 1976.

Also important is the 75th anniversary of the First World Congress on Lay Apostolate held in Rome in October 1951 with Cardijn as one of the keynote speakers.

Sadly, we note that this year will mark the fortieth anniversary of the division at international level of the YCW in 1986.

2026 anniversaries (Cardijn Research)

What would Gustavo Gutierrez tell us today?

When Dominican Fr. Gustavo Gutiérrez, the late beloved “father” of Latin American liberation theology, wrote in We Drink From Our Own Wells that “poverty means death,” he was not writing metaphorically. His lifework powerfully conveyed that any spirituality must be communal, contextual and connected to the material conditions of the people one is in community with.

In the same text, Gutiérrez further clarifies his understanding of poverty:

It means death due to hunger and sickness, or to the repressive methods used by those who see their privileged positions being endangered by any effort to liberate the oppressed. It means physical death, to which is added cultural death, inasmuch as those in power seek to do away with everything that gives unity and strength to the dispossessed of the world.

Gutiérrez clearly communicates the Gospel call for the church to care for the poor, and compels us to all join in these efforts. But I must read Gutiérrez with a different lens than those experiencing poverty in Peru, his original audience. Rather, it is essential for myself — and all of us living in the Global North — to understand his theology within our context.

Take off your headphones: What would Gustavo Gutiérrez tell us today? (National Catholic Reporter)

Voir-juger-agir: L’histoire de la JOC au Québec

The official trailer for the film “Voir-juger-agir: L’histoire de la JOC au Québec.”

To be released in cinemas across Quebec on 3 April 2026.

Cien años de la Juventud Obrera Cristiana

Former IYCW leader, Ezequiel Ávila Curiel, shares his reflections for the centenary of the YCW.

“You will need to be strong lay people” he begins, quoting Cardijn. “You must seek alliances to continue your mission in the working-class environment of young people and adults. It will be necessary to maintain the struggle to preserve in the Church what we have painstakingly built and organized, which has allowed thousands of YCW activists throughout the world to become skilled leaders in unions, political parties, development associations, and especially in the renewal of our Church. I know well that this will be a difficult battle, but you must carry it out in my place. Only you, the laity, can win it. I will be with you from above… Pray for me.”

This was Cardijn’s will Ezequiel writes. So, what is being celebrated on the centenary of the YCW?

The warnings weren’t fabricated; the cardinal knew what he was getting into. Cardijn had experienced firsthand the stark differences in social conditions of existence: the difference between the social conditions of his comrades, the primary school children who attended the same school with him, and then between his own as a priest and those of his comrades in the working world.

Cardijn: Re-imagining the movement

The title of this lesson is relevant to the whole Study Week, to each lesson, discussion and every exercise, as well as to all publications and all activities of the YCW, said Cardijn in 1947. All these aspects must assist us to constantly “re-imagine” the movement, to rethink it for each of ourselves and all together.

This is indeed a fundamental, essential, and fundamental attitude for every person, every priest, and especially for every leader of the movement. Even more than everyone else, the priest must constantly rethink his life, his ideal, and his apostolate. Without such reflection or meditation, which compels us to return to the sources, to synthesise, to review the goal and the means, there is no way to develop one’s personality and perfect one’s priestly apostolate.

It is the only way to constantly renew ourselves, to constantly surpass ourselves, to prevent ageing, routine, deviation, and their fatal consequence, namely discouragement if not scepticism.

Joseph Cardijn, The YCW, a movement that always needs be re-imagined! (Joseph Cardijn Digital Library)

News Briefs and Social Media

Togo and Benin YCS celebrate 70th anniversaries

Blessed Rutilio Grande anniversary 22 January

Belgian YCW World War II peace prayer card

@auscardinst Belgian Girls YCW (JOC) Peace postcard 1940s. #peace #paix #YCW #JOC #catholic

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December 2025

Stefan Gigacz — Mon, 22 Dec 2025 08:23:03 GMT

Friends

Welcome to our Christmas edition!

This issue we begin sadly with the news of the death of our friend and former IYCW president, Juanito Penequito, who died in the Philippines after a short illness.

We share news from the JOC in Venezuela of their action with dependent workers.

Pope Leo warns on workplace accidents.

We remember the Argentine Cardijn apostle, Enrique Ernesto Shaw, who is to be beatified soon.

The International YCS is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its Asian secretariat . We we also highlight the 60th anniversary of the Vatican II document, Gaudium et Spes, and of the Pact of the Catacombs.

Pax Romana ICMICA has a new leadership team with Catalan writer Carles Torner as president.

Plus more news in our social media updates.

The Centre International Team

Remembering Juanito Penequito

Former International YCW president, Juanito Penequito, died in Manila, Philippines on 15 December 2025 after a short illness.

“He lived his life completely devoted to what he believed in, as part of his commitment to building a new society,” wrote Felix Ollarves, who succeeded Juanito as IYCW president.

Juanito and his late wife Wenilou Pradel (above) both played a huge role in the Philippines YCW and the International YCW for many years.

We remember their commitment to the movement and to young workers. And we express our condolences to their son, Vincent, and all other family members and friends.

Remembering Juanito Penequito

Pope Leo warns on workplace accidents

Addressing a gathering of the Professional Register of the Association of Labour Consultants, Pope Leo warned that there are still too many workplace accidents.

In his talk, he highlighted three particularly important: the protection of human dignity, mediation, and the promotion of safety.

Too many workplace accidents: Pope Leo

JOC Venezuela organises dependent workers

In 2023-2024, JOC Venezuela conducted a national survey that revealed young people in dependent employment were unaware of their rights.

Several of the JOC Guayana activists are dependent workers (cleaners, vendors, teachers, apprentices) and they decided to initiate training workshops on labor rights in order to acquire the tools to defend those rights and take organized action with other young people.

They mapped out their relationships to identify which of their friends were dependent workers so they could invite them to participate in this process.

JOC Guayana: Action Against Precarious Work to Make Young People Aware of Their Labor Rights (JOCI)

Argentine Cardijn apostle to be beatified

Pope Leo XIV has authorised the promulgation of a decree for the beatification of Argentine Cardijn apostle and entrepreneur, Enrique Ernesto Shaw.

Visiting Chicago in 1945, Shaw met with US YCW chaplain, Msgr. Reynold Hillenbrand, who convinced him that he would never be “just another worker,” but could make a difference as a businessman, OSV News reports.

Under Hillenbrand’s guidance, Shaw left the Navy and entered the business world, convinced that economic life was not separate from the Gospel, but one of its most demanding arenas.

That connection has drawn the attention of Pope Leo XIV, himself from Chicago. In a message to Argentina’s XXXI Industrial Conference, the pope wrote that Shaw’s life demonstrates it is “possible to be both a businessman and a saint, that economic efficiency and fidelity to the Gospel are not mutually exclusive, and that charity can penetrate even industrial and financial structures.”

He married Cecilia Bunge, with whom he had nine children; he joined Catholic Action and the Christian Family Movement, promoting various other associations related to the world of work and publishing conferences, articles and essays. In 1961, he was appointed president of Hombres de Acción Católica. He died of cancer on 27 August 1961.

With Enrique Shaw on path to sainthood, Vatican confirms you can be a holy businessman (OSV News)

Argentine Cardijn apostle to be beatified

Enrique Ernesto Shaw (Joseph Cardijn Digital Library)

IYCS Asia marks 50 years

The International Young Catholic Students (IYCS) marked fifty years of Asian coordination with a week-long exchange in Bengaluru, bringing together chaplains, animators, alumni, and student leaders from seven countries, writes CM Paul in Matters India.

The YCS movement traces its roots to the aftermath of the Second World War. Founded in 1946, the International YCS set itself the mission of forming students committed to building peace through justice, freedom, and respect for human dignity. Using the “see–judge–act” methodology, generations of young Catholics have been encouraged to critically engage with social realities, discern them in the light of faith, and take transformative action.

IYCS Asia marks 50 years

Pax Romana ICMICA elects new leadership

Pax Romana ICMICA, an international lay movement of Catholic academics and professionals, has elected Catalan poet and human rights activist, Dr Carles Torner, (above photo) as its new president.

The election took place at the movement’s quadrennial General Assembly in Lisbon, Portugal on 15-16 November 2025.

“This is a very special moment for Pax Romana in which we are engaged in a practical exercise of synodality that defines our way of being a Church,” Dr Torner commented while presenting his candidacy.

“I am convinced that Pax Romana’s international dimension is essential for the life of our federations,” he continued. “We are resisting a world that is suffering under a variety of authoritarian powers that aim to undermine this conception of the world,” he noted.

Pax Romana professionals elect new team

Pact of the Catacombs 1965-2025

A small group of pilgrims from the Dorothy Day Guild in the USA commemorated the 60th anniversary of the Pact of the Catacombs at the Domitilla Catacombs near Rome on Saturday 29 November 2025.

Participants include two of Dorothy Day’s granddaughters, Kate Hennessy and Martha Hennessy. Dorothy Day Guild chair, Professor Kevin Ahern and vice-chair Deirdre Connell also joined the special prayer service.

During the event, Stefan Gigacz represented the Centre International Cardijn and the Australian Cardijn Institute at the event, explaining the history of the Pact which originated with Helder Camara’s proposal for two masses for the poor and for workers and that participating bishops take a vow inspired by Cardijn’s own personal consecration of his life to young workers and the working class.

Pact of the Catacombs Memorial III

Social media

Jacques Delors 100 years

Jacques Delors was a French YCW leader, who later became the president of the European Commission. He often credited the role of the YCW in his formation.

Young People for Development see-judge-act in Myanmar

JEC Burkina Faso celebrate independence

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Remembering Juanito Penequito

Stefan Gigacz — Mon, 22 Dec 2025 07:53:30 GMT

We are sad to report the death of former International YCW president, Juanito Penequito, who died in Manila, Philippines after a short illness on 15 December 2025.

Juanito Penequito and his late wife Wenilou Pradel played a huge role in the Philippines YCW and the International YCW for many years.

We remember their commitment to the movement and to young workers. And we express our condolences to their son, Vincent, and all other family members and friends.

“I first met Juanito at the IYCW World Council in Madrid in 1983,” wrote Felix Ollarves, who succeeded Juanito as IYCW president in 1987.

“His name and his personality were very appealing; his commitment was beyond question and inspiring.

“We chose him as our most visible leader, marking the beginning of a new era for the International YCW after a very turbulent period.

“We shared four years of teamwork, during which he always gave his utmost effort and remained cheerful even in the most difficult moments, which were unprecedented.

“He lived his life completely devoted to what he believed in, as part of his commitment to building a new society. That was my perception, perhaps a fleeting one, of a life of activism that intertwined with my own.

“I remember when, symbolically, he passed on his commitment to me, when I succeeded him in the leadership role at the Brazil World Council in 1987. He pretended to transfer a burden; he didn’t speak Spanish. And yes, he entrusted me with a responsibility he was already taking on, to move on to others, and that’s how it always is when we make commitments; in a way, we take on a burden and carry it personally when it’s an integral part of who we are.

“That commitment and commitment is lifelong. And that’s how I feel Juanito lived it; he inspired us forever. A hug in eternity, Comrade.”

Original Spanish

Conocí a Juanito en 1983, durante el Consejo Mundial de la JOCI, en Madrid. Su nombre ya era muy simpático y, su personalidad, por su puesto; su compromiso incuestionable y motivador.
Lo elegimos como nuestro referente más visible, en lo que significaba el comienzo de una nueva etapa en la JOCI, después de un periodo tan turbulento. Compartimos cuatro años de Trabajo en equipo, donde siempre estuvo presente su esfuerzo al máximo, su jovialidad aún en los momentos más difíciles, que lo fueron, como nunca antes, los vivió como toda una vida que se entregaba integralmente a lo que creía, como parte de su compromiso por la construcción de una nueva sociedad. Así fue mi percepción, quizá muy efímera de una vida militante, que interactuó con la mía.
Recuerdo cuando, simbólicamente, me entregó su compromiso, cuando lo sucedi en la responsabilidad, en el consejo de Brasil (1987), simuló traspasar una carga, no hablaba español. Y, sí, me entregó una responsabilidad que asumía, para pasar a otras, y así es siempre que asumimos compromisos, de alguna manera tomamos una carga y la llevamos siempre de manera personal cuando es parte integral de lo que somos; esa militancia y compromiso es para toda la vida.
Y así siento que Juanito la vivió, nos inspiró por siempre. Un abrazo en la eternidad Compañero
Félix Ollarves.

Special edition: YCW and YCS martyrs beatified

Stefan Gigacz — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 06:54:29 GMT

Friends

This is a special issue of our newsletter to remember the French YCW and YCS martyrs of World War II who were beatified at Notre Dame Cathedral on Saturday 13 December 2025.

In a twist of fate, Saturday was also the 50th anniversary to the day of the death of Argentinian YCW and worker leader, José Serapio “Pepe” Palacio, who was killed on 13 December 1975 as part of Operation Condor, which targeted worker and community leaders in South America.

In this special issue, we also remember other martyrs of our movements, including YCW lay co-founders, Fernand Tonnet and Paul Garcet, as well as Blessed Sara Salkahazi, executed for her role in saving Jewish refugees in Hungary during World War II.

Let us remember them all.

The Centre International Cardijn Team

Beatification ceremony from Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris

Homily by Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich

Papal legate Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg presided over the beatification ceremony and delivered the homily. Recalling the heroic sacrifices of the French martyrs, Cardinal Hollerich said “faith is never private; it must find expression in the concrete service of our sisters and brothers”.

“Let me make an appeal to the young people of France,” he continued. “You who call yourselves young Catholics, you are devoted to the adoration of Our Lord, and that is as it should be: may this love of Christ impel you to become missionary apostles.

“And all of you young people, perhaps not attending church, from France and Europe, you who no longer see meaning in your lives, you are searching for an identity that gives you purpose, look to Christ, Prince of Peace, Prince of love and not of hate, learn from him as your elder brothers, martyrs, beatified today, learn from him to commit yourselves to the good of your brothers and sisters! Your life can be so beautiful, and you will see this beauty in your life by following Christ.”

Cardinal Hollerich’s homily (English)

Homélie du Cardinal Hollerich (Français)

The list of YCW and YCS martyrs

Here is a list of YCW and YCS leaders, chaplains and seminarians beatified on Saturday with links to their biographies.

YCW leaders

Jean Lépicier (1921-1945), died at Buchenwald;

Bernard Lemaire (1920-1944), died of typhus at Buchenwald;

Maurice Grandet (1920-1944), died of typhus at Buchenwald;

René Ponsin (1923-1945), died at Buchenwald;

Claude-Colbert Lebeau (1922-1945), died at Zöschen;

Jean Chavet (1922-1945), died of typhus at Mauthausen;

André Parsy (1922-1944), interned at Zöschen, died at Trebitz;

André Vallée (1919-1945), died at Flossenbürg;

Henri Marrannes (1923-1945), died in Zwickau;

Louis Pourtois (1919-1945), died in Mauthausen; Camille Millet (1922-1945), died in Flossenbürg;

Marcel Carrier (1922-1945), died in Neustadt during the “death march”;

Alfredo Dall’Oglio (1921-1944), Italian naturalised French, died in Wuhlheide;

Marcel Touquet (1914-1945), died in Ravensbrück;

Lucien Croci (1919-1945), died in Barth;

Jean Mestre (1924-1944), died shortly after his arrest;

Jean Perriolat (1920-1945), died in Mauthausen;

René Rouzé (1922-1945), died in Dora-Mittelbau;

Henri Euzenat (1920-1945), who died at Dachau;

Eugène Lemoine (1920-1945) (also a Scout), died at Zöschen;

Bernard Morizot (1924-1945) (also a Scout), interned at Buchenwald and shot.

YCS leaders

Jean Préhu (1920-1945), YCS lay leader (and Scout), died at Dachau.

So too did YCS leader, Jean Chavet, who was also a YCW leader (see above)

Priests

René Giraudet (1907-1945), interned at Bergen-Belsen, sick with typhus, died in Paris;

Victor Dillard (1897-1945), who died at the Dachau concentration camp;

Louis Doumain (1920-1944), died at the Zöschen concentration camp;

Pierre de Porcaro (1904-1945), who died at the Dachau concentration camp.

Jocist seminarians

Roger Vallée (1920-1944), who died at Mauthausen;

Jean Tinturier (1921-1945), who died at Mauthausen.

Martyrs of the YCW and YCS (Joseph Cardijn Digital Library)

Pepe and Amalia Palacio

Born on 25 October 1923, José Serapio “Pepe” Palacio co-founded the YCW in the Argentinian Diocese of Corboda together with (Blessed) Enrique Angelelli.

During the 1950s, Pepe was a member of the International YCW’s embryonic Executive Committee. Later, he became a trade union leader and a leader of the Christian Worker Movement.

In April 1975, he was appointed as the first lay collaborator of the IYCW. His first assignment was to take part in an IYCW Workers Meeting in Bogota, Colombia in September-October 1975.

Shortly after his return he was abducted from outside his office, becoming one of the many “desaparecidos” of that time. Twenty five years later, research by his son, José Luis, found that he was killed on 13 December 1975 as part of the Pinochet-led CIA-backed Operation Condor to eliminate labour and community leaders and activists in South America.

Let us also remember the living martyrdom of Pepe’s wife, Amalia, who was left alone to struggle and raise their three sons.

Pepe and Amalia Palacio (Joseph Cardijn Digital Library)

Enrique Angelelli (Joseph Cardijn Digital Library)

JOC Argentina remembers Pepe Palacio

Blessed Sara Salkahazi

Blessed Sara Salkahazi was a Slovak-born Hungarian nun, who helped launch the Girls YCW movement in Hungary during the 1930s.

During the war, she and her colleagues hid many Jewish refugees trying to avoid capture and deportation by Nazi forces.

On 27 December 1944, she was executed for this work.

Sara Salkahazi (Joseph Cardijn Digital Library)

Fernand Tonnet and Paul Garcet

Fernand Tonnet and Paul Garcet were two of the lay co-founders of the Belgian YCW. They both died in Nazi concentration camps in early 1945.

In 1965, there were moves in Belgium to launch their canonisation processes. Cardijn himself spoke in support of this. However, no further progress has been made.

Fernand Tonnet (Joseph Cardijn Digital Library)

Paul Garcet (Joseph Cardijn Digital Library)

Blessed Miguel Pro

Miguel Pro was a Jesuit student who participated in the founding Belgian JOC National Congress in April 1925 before returning to Mexico where he was executed on trumped up charges two years later.

Miguel Pro (Joseph Cardijn Digital Library)

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Homily of Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich

Stefan Gigacz — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 03:49:51 GMT

This is the homily of Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, himself a former chaplain of the JEC and the JOC, at the beatification of the JOC martyrs, JEC members and scouts at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Saturday, 13 December, 2025.

Dear colleagues,
Dear sisters,
Dear brothers,

The first half of the 20th century will go down in European history as the dark century of terrible carnage. To the soldiers of the two world wars were added the victims of the Nazi dictatorship. But within this darkness, there were points of light, and even now we can identify names and faces with some of these points of light. They had an immense love for God, for Christ. This love compelled them to serve their brothers who had been sent to Germany for forced labour. Indeed, there can be no love of God without love of neighbour.

A few weeks before the conclusion of our Jubilee Year, and on this eightieth anniversary of the end of the Second World War, as we prepare to celebrate Christmas, our Pope Leo XIV offers us the joy of celebrating the “birth into Heaven” of these fifty Martyrs of the Catholic Apostolate in Germany, who volunteered to assist their fellow workers requisitioned by the State.

These young Catholics—priests, religious, seminarians, Catholic Action activists, scouts—all responded to the call of Cardinal Suhard and Father Jean Rodhain. Most of them were between twenty and thirty-five years old, and understood, along with so many other anonymous apostles, the spiritual and moral distress of one million five hundred thousand young French workers deported to Germany, now without religious guidance, since German priests were forbidden to minister to them.

Claude-Colbert Lebeau

Without the slightest hesitation, Claude-Colbert Lebeau, a JOC leader, declared: “I did not come to work for Nazi Germany, but I came to bring my brothers and sisters the help of faith in Jesus Christ.” They were truly “Martyrs of the Apostolate.” Their lives and their work in service to their brothers and sisters were an ordeal crowned by the sacrifice of martyrdom, as the Book of Wisdom reminds us: “The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God. Like gold in the crucible, he has tested them; like a perfect offering, he accepts them.”

The Second Vatican Council teaches us this: “Martyrdom, in which the disciple is made like his master […] and made like him in the shedding of his blood, is regarded by the Church as an eminent grace and the supreme proof of charity. Although this is given only to a small number, all must nevertheless be ready to confess Christ before men and to follow him on the way of the cross, through the persecutions which never fail to befall the Church” (LG. 42).

By contemplating the testimony of love of these young men from some thirty dioceses, several institutes of consecrated life, Catholic Action, and scouting, by getting to know them, sharing their enthusiasm but also their fears, their bursts of generosity, and their sufferings, we realize how deeply they have lived these words of Saint Paul in their Letter to the Romans “We boast in the hope of sharing in the glory of God. Hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts.”

Pièrre de Porcaro

Father Pierre de Porcaro, a priest of the Diocese of Versailles, wrote to a seminarian: “I must become a saint. It is the only way to ensure a fruitful ministry later on. It is the only way to save souls. And since this is my desire, my only passion, I must become a saint.” Later, when his bishop invited him to join the young men conscripted for the STO (Service du Travail Obligatoire – Compulsory Work Service), he replied: “Yes, my God, I accept with all possible generosity, everything, including dying for it, dying in a foreign land, far from everything, far from everyone.”

All of them, without exception, made their lives, their work, their imprisonment, and their martyrdom a service—and what a service it was! They followed Jesus as true disciples, placing their steps in the footsteps of their Master. This call of Jesus, echoed in the Gospel of Saint John: “If anyone wants to serve me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him,” they fulfilled in the sacrifice of their lives, in a generous offering. Thus, Father Antoine Charmet, a priest of the diocese of Lyon, now Saint-Étienne, wrote in his will: “I abandon myself to the will of God, asking Him to remain faithful to it as a priest.”

In the midst of the maelstrom of war and the inhuman atrocities of which we are now all too familiar, these Martyrs and all those who shared their ideals, their generosity, and their fate, demonstrated to their brothers and sisters the unwavering presence of God’s love and mercy. In this way, they succeeded in creating, within the hell of the camps, islands of paradise where love managed to restore courage, heal wounds of the heart, shake off indifference, and transmit serenity and peace. This was borne witness to the young scout Joël Anglès d’Auriac, beheaded at the age of twenty-two on 6 December, 1944, after having confessed, received communion, and prayed the rosary, when he declared to the prison chaplain: “I am completely at peace… for I am going to Jesus Christ.”

Our Martyrs carry a message that can never grow old: “Love will never pass away!” Young Jean Mestre gave up requesting exemption from the STO and announced it to his mother thus: “I love you with all my heart, but I love Jesus Christ even more than you, and I feel that he is calling me to be his witness to my comrades who are going to experience difficult times. Forgive me if I cause you pain.”

The celebration of this beatification, by placing these Blessed Ones before us, reminds us of the demands of our baptism: our faith in Christ is first and foremost, and essentially, a communion of love with his Person. In this sense, baptism commits us to nourish our lives and our many activities with this faith, this communion with Christ. The Jesuit Victor Dillard, the eldest of the Martyrs, an intellectual and apostle to young people, understood this well. He wrote at the time of his arrest: “I had long expected this arrest; it is natural. It happened to me on Good Shepherd Sunday, when it is said that the Good Shepherd must lay down his life for his sheep. It was perfectly timed. I would like this to make you understand how seriously our religion must be taken and how much it must be nurtured and lived ».

But to live it is to go all the way, as Raymond Cayré, a priest of the diocese of Albi, consumed by zeal, who died in Buchenwald, testifies: “There are souls here who need as much and even more than elsewhere the help of Heaven. The prospect of staying until the end does not frighten me and is familiar to me.”

This beatification invites us to look at the present and prepare for the future. In the aftermath of the Second World War, many Christians dedicated their lives to establishing peace and reconciliation, as evidenced by Robert Schuman, Alcide De Gasperi, Konrad Adenauer, and so many others, whose lives were devoted to serving the common good. For eighty years, we have been living through the longest period of peace that Western Europe has experienced in its long history, and yet we are not immune to war or violence.

Whatever our vocation, our profession, our responsibility, we are committed, as disciples of Christ, to the service of our brothers, wherever in His Providence, God has placed us.

Robert Schuman could write: “Christianity taught the equality of nature of all men, children of the same God, redeemed by the same Christ, without distinction of race, colour, class or profession. It established the dignity of work and the obligation for all to submit to it. It recognized the primacy of inner values which alone ennoble man. The universal law of love and charity made every man our neighbour, and social relations in the Christian world have since been based on it.”
We are living through, we have lived through, a reconciliation of peoples. It is a task that is never finished and that every generation must continue. And we are doing it together: you, French people, who can be proud of your martyrs, and peoples like the Luxembourgers, the Belgians, the Dutch, the Swiss, and the Germans, who are no longer enemies, but who work with us for the common good.

And that is why I am pleased that German bishops are also present today. Together we can build a Europe that does not exclude, does not persecute, and stands for peace and justice.

(That is why I am delighted by the presence of German bishops today. Together, we can build an inclusive Europe that persecutes no one and defends peace and justice.)

The Nazis, for their part, despised religious freedom. Forced to respect it in Germany, they revealed their true colors in the occupied territories. The love of our martyrs for Christ and for the people they rescued made them martyrs for religious freedom.

Perhaps this point will be an important witness for us regarding the future of the Church in Europe. Faith is never private; it must find expression in the concrete service of our sisters and brothers. But let me make an appeal to the young people of France. You who call yourselves young Catholics, you are devoted to the adoration of Our Lord, and that is as it should be: may this love of Christ impel you to become missionary apostles.

And all of you young people, perhaps not attending church, from France and Europe, you who no longer see meaning in your lives, you are searching for an identity that gives you purpose, look to Christ, Prince of Peace, Prince of love and not of hate, learn from Him as your elder brothers, martyrs, beatified today, learn from Him to commit yourselves to the good of your brothers and sisters! Your life can be so beautiful, and you will see this beauty in your life by following Christ.

Following the example of our Martyrs, let us strive to be faithful disciples of Christ, Prince of Peace, and let us ask those we celebrate today to obtain for us the grace to live our faith. Pope Francis always said that conversion begins in the head and passes into the heart, but that is not enough; it must also pass into the hands and feet. Let us ask for the grace to live our faith, and thus to work in service to his Kingdom. Amen!

Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich

SOURCE

Homily of Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich (Diocese of Paris)

Homélie du Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich

Stefan Gigacz — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 03:46:04 GMT

Voici la homélie du Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, lui-même ancien aumônier de la JEC et de la JOC, à la béatification des martyres jocistes, jécistes et scouts à la cathédrale de Notre Dame de Paris samedi le 13 décembre 2025.

Chers confrères,
Chères sœurs,
Chers frères,

La première moitié du XXe siècle entrera dans l’histoire de l’Europe comme le siècle obscur des terribles carnages. Aux victimes des deux guerres mondiales, les soldats, s’ajoutent les victimes de la dictature nazie. Mais dans cette obscurité se trouvent des points de lumière, et dès à présent nous pouvons identifier des noms et des visages à quelques-uns de ces points de lumière. Ils avaient un amour immense pour Dieu, pour le Christ. Cet amour les poussa à servir leurs frères partis pour le travail forcé en Allemagne. Oui, il ne peut y avoir d’amour de Dieu sans l’amour du prochain.

Quelques semaines avant la conclusion de notre année jubilaire, et en ce quatre-vingtième anniversaire de la fin de la Deuxième Guerre mondiale, tandis que nous nous préparons à célébrer Noël, notre Pape Léon XIV nous offre la joie de célébrer la « naissance au Ciel » de ces cinquante Martyrs de l’Apostolat Catholique en Allemagne, qui se sont portés volontaires afin d’assister leurs frères ouvriers réquisitionnés par l’État.

Ces jeunes catholiques, prêtres, religieux, séminaristes, militants d’Action catholique, scouts, ont tous répondu à l’appel du Cardinal Suhard et de l’abbé Jean Rodhain. Ils avaient pour la plupart entre vingt et trente-cinq ans, et comprirent, avec tant d’autres apôtres anonymes, la détresse spirituelle, la détresse morale d’un million cinq-cent-mille jeunes ouvriers français déportés en Allemagne, désormais sans repère religieux, puisque les prêtres allemands avaient l’interdiction d’exercer leur ministère en leur faveur.

Claude-Colbert Lebeau

Sans la moindre hésitation, Claude-Colbert Lebeau, responsable JOC, affirmait : « Je ne suis pas venu travailler pour l’Allemagne nazie, mais je suis venu apporter à mes frères le secours de la foi en Jésus-Christ ». Ils furent vraiment des « Martyrs de l’Apostolat ». Leur vie et leur activité au service de leurs frères furent une épreuve couronnée par le sacrifice du martyre, ainsi que nous le rappelait le Livre de la Sagesse : « Les âmes des justes sont dans la main de Dieu. Comme l’or au creuset, il les a éprouvés ; comme une offrande parfaite, il les accueille ».

Le Concile Vatican II nous l’enseigne : « Le martyre dans lequel le disciple est assimilé à son maître […] et rendu semblable à lui dans l’effusion de son sang, est considéré par l’Église comme une grâce éminente et la preuve suprême de la charité. Que si cela n’est donné qu’à un petit nombre, tous cependant doivent être prêts à confesser le Christ devant les hommes et à le suivre sur le chemin de la croix, à travers les persécutions qui ne manquent jamais à l’Église » (LG. 42).

En contemplant le témoignage d’amour de ces jeunes hommes provenant d’une trentaine de diocèses, de plusieurs instituts de vie consacrée, de l’Action catholique et du scoutisme, en apprenant à les connaître, à partager leur enthousiasme mais aussi leurs craintes, leurs élans de générosité et leurs souffrances, nous mesurons combien ils ont vécu ces mots de saint Paul dans sa Lettre aux Romains : « Nous mettons notre fierté dans l’espérance d’avoir part à la gloire de Dieu. L’espérance ne déçoit pas, puisque l’amour de Dieu a été répandu dans nos cœurs ».

Pierre de Porcaro

L’abbé Pierre de Porcaro, prêtre du diocèse de Versailles, écrivait encore à un séminariste : « Il faut que je devienne un saint. C’est le seul moyen de m’assurer plus tard un ministère fécond. C’est le seul moyen de sauver les âmes. Et puisque tel est mon désir, ma seule passion, il faut que je devienne un saint ». Invité, plus tard, par son évêque à rejoindre les jeunes réquisitionnés du STO, il répondit : « Oui, mon Dieu, j’accepte avec toute la générosité possible, tout, y compris d’en mourir, de mourir sur une terre étrangère, loin de tout, loin de tous ».

Tous, sans exception, ont fait de leur vie, de leur activité, de leur emprisonnement et de leur martyre un service, et quel service ! Ils ont suivi Jésus, en authentiques disciples, mettant leurs pas dans les pas de leur Maître. Cet appel de Jésus dont l’Évangile de saint Jean nous apporte l’écho : « Si quelqu’un veut me servir, qu’il me suive ; et là où moi je suis, là aussi sera mon serviteur. Si quelqu’un me sert, mon Père l’honorera », ils l’ont réalisé dans le sacrifice de leur vie, dans une offrande généreuse. Ainsi, l’abbé Antoine Charmet, prêtre du diocèse de Lyon, aujourd’hui Saint-Étienne, notait dans son testament : « Je m’abandonne à la volonté de Dieu en lui demandant d’y demeurer fidèle en prêtre ».

Au milieu du tourbillon de la guerre et des atrocités inhumaines dont nous avons aujourd’hui une connaissance certaine, ces Martyrs et tous ceux qui ont partagé leur idéal, leur générosité et leur destin, ont manifesté auprès de leurs frères la présence indéfectible de l’amour et de la miséricorde de Dieu. Ils ont ainsi réussi à créer, dans l’enfer des camps, des ilots de paradis, où l’amour parvenait à redonner courage, à panser les plaies du coeur, à secouer l’indifférence, à transmettre sérénité et paix. En témoignait le jeune scout Joël Anglès d’Auriac, décapité à 22 ans, le 6 décembre 1944, après s’être confessé, avoir communié, prié le rosaire, lorsqu’il déclara à l’aumônier de la prison : « Je suis tout tranquille… car je vais à Jésus-Christ ».

Nos Martyrs sont porteurs d’un message qui ne peut vieillir : « L’amour ne passera jamais ! » Le jeune Jean Mestre renonça à demander l’exemption du STO et l’annonça ainsi à sa mère : « Je t’aime de tout mon cœur, mais j’aime Jésus Christ encore plus que toi, et je sens qu’il m’appelle pour être son témoin auprès de mes camarades qui vont vivre des moments difficiles. Pardonne-moi si je te fais de la peine ».

La célébration de cette béatification, en plaçant devant nous ces Bienheureux, vient nous rappeler l’exigence de notre baptême : notre foi au Christ est avant tout et est essentiellement communion d’amour à sa Personne. En ce sens, le baptême nous engage à nourrir notre existence et nos multiples activités de cette foi, communion au Christ. Le Jésuite Victor Dillard, le plus âgé des Martyrs, intellectuel, apôtre des jeunes, l’avait bien compris. Il écrivait au moment de son arrestation : « Je m’attendais depuis longtemps à cette arrestation, elle est naturelle. Elle m’est arrivée le dimanche du Bon Pasteur, où il est dit que le Bon Pasteur doit donner sa vie pour ses brebis. Cela tombait à pic. Je voudrais bien que cela vous fasse comprendre combien notre religion doit être prise au sérieux et combien il faut la vivre ».

Or, la vivre, c’est aller jusqu’au bout, ainsi qu’en témoigne Raymond Cayré, prêtre du diocèse d’Albi, dévoré de zèle, mort à Buchenwald : « Il y a des âmes ici qui ont besoin autant et même plus qu’ailleurs du secours d’En-Haut. La perspective de rester jusqu’au bout ne m’effraie pas et m’est familière ».

Cette béatification nous invite à regarder le présent et à préparer l’avenir. Au lendemain la Deuxième Guerre mondiale, de nombreux chrétiens ont consacré leur vie à l’établissement de la paix, à la réconciliation, comme en témoignent Robert Schuman, Alcide De Gasperi, Konrad Adenauer, et tant d’autres, dont la vie a été vouée au service du bien commun. Nous vivons depuis quatre-vingts ans la période de paix la plus longue que l’Europe occidentale ait vécu dans sa longue histoire, et pourtant nous ne sommes à l’abri ni de la guerre, ni de la violence.

Quelles que soient notre vocation, notre profession, notre responsabilité, nous sommes engagés, disciples du Christ, au service de nos frères, là où dans sa Providence, Dieu nous a placés.

Robert Schuman pouvait écrire : « Le christianisme a enseigné l’égalité de nature de tous les hommes, fils d’un même Dieu, rachetés par le même Christ, sans distinction de race, couleur, classe ou profession. Il a fait reconnaître la dignité du travail et l’obligation pour tous de s’y soumettre. Il a reconnu le primat des valeurs intérieures qui, seules, ennoblissent l’homme. La loi universelle de l’amour et de la charité a fait de chaque homme notre prochain, et sur elle reposent depuis lors les rapports sociaux dans le monde chrétien ».
Nous vivons, nous avons vécu, une réconciliation des peuples. C’est un travail qui n’est jamais terminé et que toute génération doit continuer. Et nous le faisons ensemble : vous, Français, qui pouvez être fiers de vos martyrs, les peuples comme les Luxembourgeois, les Belges, les Néerlandais, les Suisses, les Allemands, qui dorénavant ne sont plus des ennemis, mais qui travaillent avec nous pour le bien commun.

Und deshalb freue ich mich, dass auch deutsche Bischöfe heute präsent sind. Zusammen können wir ein Europa aufbauen, das nicht ausschließt, nicht verfolgt, das einsteht für Frieden und Gerechtigkeit.

(C’est pourquoi je me réjouis de la présence aujourd’hui d’évêques allemands. Ensemble, nous pouvons bâtir une Europe inclusive, qui ne persécute personne et qui défend la paix et la justice.)

Les nazis, eux, méprisaient la liberté religieuse. Contraints à la respecter en Allemagne, ils montraient leur vraie identité dans les territoires occupés. L’amour de nos martyrs pour le Christ et pour les hommes qu’ils ont secourus a fait d’eux des martyrs pour la liberté religieuse.

Peut-être que ce point sera pour nous un témoignage important pour l’avenir de l’Eglise en Europe. La foi n’est jamais privée, elle doit trouver une expression dans le service concret de nos sœurs et de nos frères. Mais laissez-moi faire un appel aux jeunes de France. Vous qui vous appelez jeunes cathos, vous êtes des dévots de l’adoration de Notre Seigneur, et c’est bien ainsi : que cet amour du Christ vous pousse à devenir des apôtres missionnaires.

Et vous tous, les jeunes, qui peut-être n’allez pas à l’église, de France et d’Europe, vous qui ne voyez plus de sens dans votre vie, vous êtes à la recherche d’une identité qui vous fasse vivre, regardez le Christ, Prince de la paix, Prince de l’amour et non de la haine, apprenez de Lui comme vos frères ainés martyrs, béatifiés aujourd’hui, apprenez de Lui à vous engager pour le bien de vos frères et sœurs ! Votre vie peut être tellement belle, et vous verrez cette beauté de votre vie en suivant le Christ.

À la suite de nos Martyrs, ayons à cœur d’être de fidèles disciples du Christ, Prince de la Paix, et demandons à ceux que nous célébrons aujourd’hui, de nous obtenir la grâce de vivre notre foi. Le pape François disait toujours que la conversion part de la tête et passe au cœur, mais ce n’est pas assez, elle doit passer aux mains et aux pieds. Demandons la grâce de vivre notre foi, et ainsi de travailler au service de son Royaume. Amen !

Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich

SOURCE

Homélie du cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich (Diocèse de Paris)

IYCS Asia marks 50 years

Stefan Gigacz — Thu, 11 Dec 2025 03:36:00 GMT

In Asia, the movement took root in the 1970s, when student leaders and chaplains began coordinating across national boundaries to respond to the continent’s diverse challenges—poverty, political upheaval, and inter-religious tensions. Over the decades, YCS Asia became a platform for dialogue and solidarity, nurturing young leaders who bridged cultures and faith traditions. The 2025 exchange in Bengaluru thus celebrated not only fifty years of coordination but also the enduring legacy of a movement that has shaped generations of Asian youth into agents of peace and justice.

Hosted at St John’s Medical College Hospital in collaboration with St Joseph’s University, the gathering drew more than 40 participants from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, and India.

The program opened on November 28 with an inaugural Mass celebrated by Auxiliary Bishop Arokiaraj Satish Kumar of Bangalore. Over the following days, participants reflected on pressing realities facing young people in Asia—ranging from student well-being and storytelling as critical thinking to spirituality of action and inter-faith dialogue. The intersection of technology and faith emerged as a recurring theme, with discussions on artificial intelligence, media, and the challenges of student life in a digitizing world.

At St Joseph’s University, Dr Chandra Mohan IAS, Principal Secretary for School Education in Tamil Nadu, delivered the keynote address, situating students within the influence of artificial intelligence and the role of education today.

Liturgical celebrations punctuated the week, with thanksgiving Masses led by Bishop Prakash Sagili of Khammam and Bishop Jay Rao Polimera of Eluru. The exchange culminated on December 2 with a gratitude ceremony and the announcement of plans to launch the IYCS Global Training Academy in Asia.

Ambassador Nirupama Menon Rao, former Foreign Secretary of India, added a diplomatic perspective with her reflection on peace building, underscoring the role of dialogue in fostering understanding.

Looking ahead, the gathering set the stage for reimagining IYCS coordination in Asia, with plans for the 2026 Asian Study Session and Council, as well as chaplains’ training in Sri Lanka.

50 years of IYCS Asia: Youth, chaplains and alumni gather in Bengaluru (Matters India)

November 2025

Stefan Gigacz — Sat, 22 Nov 2025 08:35:25 GMT

Friends,

Welcome to the November edition of our newsletter!

The COP30 conference is taking place in Belem, Brazil this month. We feature Pope Leo’s message to the Churches of the Global South meeting there. Plus we share a post from IYCW Aspac on climate action by the Philippines YCW.

We also share the very sad news from the International YCW of the death of our friend and colleague, José Calayatud, who died earlier this month in Malaga, Spain. All of us who knew and worked with José send our condolences to his family and friends.

The Pax Romana ICMICA movement has just elected a new international council at its General Asssembly in Lisbon.

This month is also a time of more significant anniversaries, including the Pact of the Catacombs inspired by Cardijn’s vow to devote his life to the working class. It’s also the 60th anniversary of the Vatican II document, Apostolicam Actuositatem, to which Cardijn and the YCW leadership of that time contributed greatly.

We have a video (in French) of an interview with the “last worker priest” from the Belgian Diocese of Liège.

And we share another of Cardijn’s classic articles, namely “The YCW and the parish”,” published in 1925. This is available in English and the original French on the Joseph Cardijn Digital Library website.

Thanks for your support.

The Centre International Cardijn Team

Pope’s message to COP30: Creation crying out in floods, storms, heat

“Creation is crying out in floods, droughts, storms and relentless heat,” Pope Leo said in a video message to churches of the Global South gathered at Belem, Brazil for the COP30 climate talks.

“I greet the particular Churches of the Global South gathered at the Amazonian Museum of Belém, joining the prophetic voice of my brother Cardinals who have taken part in COP 30, telling the world with words and gestures that the Amazon region remains a living symbol of creation with an urgent need for care,” Pope Leo began.

Creation crying out in floods, storms, heat

Protecting people, protecting the planet

The Young Christian Workers of the Philippines (YCW-Phil) continues to raise the voice of young workers for justice and dignity. On its latest initiative, YCW-Phil organized a forum on “Social Protection Responsive to Climate Change,” bringing together 25 participants from different base groups across the country.

The activity was part of a synergy program between YCW Philippines, the Alliance of Health Workers (AHW), and IYCW-ASPAC, with support from the World Solidarity Movement (WSM). The forum became a space to connect two urgent struggles — the fight for social protection and the fight for climate justice — highlighting that a just society is also a livable planet for all.

Protecting People, Protecting the Planet: Workers Pushes for Social Protection Responsive to Climate (IYCW Aspac)

Pax Romana professionals elect new team

Pax Romana ICMICA, an international lay movement of Catholic academics and professionals, elected Catalan poet and human rights activist, Dr Carles Torner, as its new president, and Italian lawyer, Gabriella Serra, as secretary-general (photo above). Vice-president for Asia and the Pacific is Korean human rights specialist, Anselmo Lee.

The election took place at the movement’s quadrennial General Assembly in Lisbon, Portugal on 15-16 November 2025.

Pax Romana professionals elect new team

Pax Romana ICMICA-MIIC

60th anniversary of the Pact of the Catacombs

This year we will again celebrate a special commemorative ceremony at the Domitilla Catacombs on Saturday 29 November 2025 to mark the 60th anniversary of the Pact of the Catacombs.

For more information, please contact Stefan Gigacz: aci@australiancardijninstitute.org

MORE DETAILS

60th Anniversary Celebration

Remembering Jose Calayatud

Dear José, just a few weeks ago, you were at the IYCW office, with many stories to share as always, … a true living archive of our movement. After five hours of training for the team and the new secretary general, the shy and sincere smile remained on your face! We were tired but you seemed full of energy and motivation!

“Well, I’m retired... if you need me, I’m here to support you,” you said.

Indeed, retirement and the cancer you had been fighting so bravely over the last years did not prevent you from continuing to assist us. Nor did they prevent you from devoting yourself to your passion, photography. You were so excited to show us some of your beautiful pictures.

You have been a vital part of the IYCW, helping us understand one another across our different languages and cultures. For almost 40 years, you devoted yourself to interpretation and communication, building friendships with countless leaders and comrades around the world.

Goodbye José, our friend, our colleague, our comrade! (International YCW)

Restarting the clock on the role of lay people & lay movements

Writing to Cardinal Marc Ouellet in 2016, Pope Francis recalled “the famous phrase: ‘the hour of the laity has arrived’.”

This was a sentiment often expressed in the immediate aftermath of the Second Vatican Council, the first ecumenical council to dedicate a chapter of a document, Lumen Gentium, to the laity in 1964, and a year later the first to devote a whole decree to the apostolate of the laity, namely Apostolicam Actuositatem in 1965.

Since then, however, as Pope Francis lamented, “it seems the clock has stopped” on that hoped for hour of the laity. So much so that the 60^th anniversary of Apostolicam Actuositatem, which falls this month – 18 November 2025 – is passing almost unremarked.

Stefan Gigacz, Restarting the clock on the role of lay people & lay movements (Cardijn Research)

The last worker priest from Liège

This is a video interview in French with Fr André Antoine, the last worker priest from the Diocese of Liège in Belgium. His father was a leader of the Walloon JOC. Watch Part 2 on YouTube.

Reading: Cardijn on the YCW in the parish

One hundred years ago in August 1925, Cardijn published one of his most seminal articles entitled “The YCW in the parish.”

In this remarkable article, he presents his vision of the parish as a centre of formation for social and community action.

Joseph Cardijn, The YCW and the parish (Joseph Cardijn Digital Library)

News briefs and social media

YCS France hold formation session in Metz

Companies have a responsibility for protecting human rights: KAB Germany

Commemorating the YCW centenary & the 90th anniversary of YCW Portugal

Join the Centre International Cardijn

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https://centreinternationalcardijn.org/join/

October 2025

Stefan Gigacz — Mon, 27 Oct 2025 08:36:41 GMT

Friends,

We begin our October newsletter with a remarkable speech by Pope Leo to the meeting of popular movements in Rome last week.

We feature the pope’s new apostolic exhortation, Dilexi Te, which continues the commitment of Pope Francis and the Latin American Church to building a Church of the Poor.

We share a call from the Philippines YCW for solidarity with workers at the Sakamoto factory in the Philippines (photo above).

On a historical level, Felix Ollarves recalls an inspiring talk by the late François Houtart on the YCW and its method. We also post links to the new online editions of Cardijn’s original 1925 Manuel de la JOC as well as the “definitive” 1930 edition.

Plus, we have a video of a talk on French JOC martyr Marcel Callo by the postulator of his cause for canonisation, Thomas Gueydier.

Lazare Kabran reports on the first General Assembly of the Cardijn Community in Ivory Coast.

Richard Pütz reminds us of the Revolution Jesus proposed with his Sermon on the Mount.

And finally our social media posts, including a meeting of the German Christian Worker movement with the future Pope Leo in Peru in 2016, a statement by KAB chair Sarah Prenger on solidarity with migrants and YCS Senegal action on peace.

The Centre International Cardijn Team

Popular movements meet in Rome

The Fifth World Meeting of Popular Movements took place in Rome from October 21-24. Addressing the meeting, Pope Leo noted that “today, exclusion is the new face of social injustice.”

“The gap between a ‘small minority’—1% of the population—and the vast majority has widened considerably. This exclusion is a ‘novelty’ that Pope Francis has denounced as a ‘throwaway culture,’ vehemently stating: ‘The excluded are not “exploited,” but waste, “leftovers.”’

“Once again, we are faced with an ethical vacuum into which evil easily insinuates itself,” Pope Leo warned. “This is why popular movements, as well as people of good will, Christians, believers and governments, are urgently called to fill this void, establishing processes of justice and solidarity that spread throughout society.”

Discurso del Papa León XIV a los participantes en el Encuentro Mundial de Movimientos Populares (Vatican)

Popular movements combat exclusion: Leo

Encuentro Mundial Movimientos Populares -Tierra Techo Trabajo (Facebook)

Introducing Dilexi Te

With great anticipation, on October 9 Pope Leo XIV released the first major teaching document of his papacy, the apostolic exhortation Dilexi Te, writes Matthew Shadle at Window Light. The document focuses on love for the poor or, to use a term introduced more recently, the “preferential option for the poor” (#90).

The document adopts the same “see-judge-act” structure used by Pope Francis in several of his documents, beginning with a survey of the challenge to be addressed, continuing with an outline of relevant scriptural and theological themes, and ending with an exhortation to action.

Pope Leo, Dilexi Te (Vatican)

A (Synodal) Church which is Poor and for the Poor (Window Light)

Love for the Poor and the Church’s Great Tradition (Window Light)

Urgent appeal: Solidarity with Sakamoto workers

Philippines YCW began contact-building with the workers of Sakamoto International Packaging Corporation in 2024 and formally started organizing efforts in early 2025, IYCW Asia-Pacific reports.

For years, these workers have been the backbone of the company—faithfully dedicating five to fourteen years of their lives to keep production running. Yet despite their long service, sacrifices, and unwavering commitment, they continue to be denied their basic right to security of tenure.

Instead of being recognized as regular employees, they are unjustly classified as “agency workers,” stripping them of dignity, stability, and the benefits they rightfully deserve.

When the workers filed a Petition for Certification of Election (PCE) at the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to form their union, the company denied responsibility by claiming there was “no employer-employee relationship.” This is a blatant denial of the workers’ contribution and a clear violation of their rights.

After the PCE was denied, the company began a pattern of harassment and intimidation against workers, especially those suspected of being union leaders and members.

Urgent appeal: Solidarity support for Sakamoto workers union (IYCW Asia-Pacific)

The YCW and its method

During the Continental Meeting of the JOC America (JOCA), which took place in El Quisco – Chile, from 24 June to 4 July this year, I made a short presentation on the YCW method of the JOC during the formation section of the meeting, writes Felix Ollarves.

Among the significant references was a presentation by François Houtart for the IYCW World Council in Germany in 2016.

I regard the presentation as of great value for the needs of the various movements of the Cardijn family, which are working for a more just and solidary society.

We hope it will be of use to all.

François Houtart and the YCW method

Cardijn Community Ivory Coast official launch

The Cardijn Community International in Ivory Coast held its inaugural General Assembly in Abidjan on Sunday 12 October 2025.

The theme chosen for the assembly was “The role of committed Catholic lay people in the consolidation and promotion of a synodal Church.”

“Synodality means ‘walking together,” noted Dr Innocent Gamsore, who delivered the opening address. “It expresses the identity of the Church as the People of God on mission, listening to the Holy Spirit.”

The assembly adopted three priority areas of work: governance, training, and monitoring and evaluation.

CCI Ivory Coast inaugural assembly (Cardijn.info)

Video: Blessed Marcel Callo

In this video, Thomas Gueydier, postulator for the canonisation cause of French YCW martyr, Marcel Callo, speaks about his life and work.

Centenary: The 1925 YCW Manual

This month marks the centenary of the first edition of the YCW Manual (Manuel de la JOC), originally drafted by Cardijn and published in October 1925.

This manual together with the “definitive” 1930 second edition kindled the flame for the YCW’s rapid expansion around the world. Indeed, amazingly, the YCW already existed in fifty countries by the time World War II broke out in September 1939.

The Joseph Cardijn Digital Library has now published new online editions of these two classic YCW Manuals in the original French. But you can simply right click in Chrome browser to read the manuals in English or another language.

READ THE MANUALS

Manuel de la JOC 1925

Manuel de la JOC 1930

Reflection: The Revolution Jesus preached

Let’s start with a question that has haunted contemplatives and activists for two thousand years, writes Richard Pütz:

What if we actually lived the Sermon on the Mount? Not just studied it. Admired it from a safe distance. Or turned it into comforting spiritual quotes for social media.

But lived it — in our workplaces, neighborhoods, political choices, and daily encounters with power and poverty, with courage and determination.

The Revolution Jesus Preached: Living the Sermon on the Mount Today (Cardijn Reflections)

News briefs and social media

African YCS leaders mobilise for peace

German Christian Workers combat repatriation of immigrants and refugees

Join the Centre International Cardijn

Membership form here:

https://centreinternationalcardijn.org/join/

François Houtart and the YCW method

Stefan Gigacz — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 03:40:00 GMT

Among the significant references was a presentation by François Houtart for the IYCW World Council in Germany in 2016.

I regard the presentation as of great value for the needs of the various movements of the Cardijn family, which are working for a more just and solidary society.

We hope it will be of use to all.

Felix Ollarves.

Original Spanish text

Durante el Encuentro Continental de la JOC de América (JOCA), realizado en El Quisco – Chile, desde el 24 de junio al 4 de julio del presente año, se me pidió realizar una intervención sobre el método de la JOC, en una parte del encuentro dedicada a la formación.

Entre las referencias señaladas en ese momento, esta una presentación realizada por François Houtart en el año 2016, con motivo de la celebración del Consejo Mundial de la JOCI en Alemania.

Reproducimos este aporte de François Houtart, el cual consideramos muy valioso, para los desafíos que se le presentan actualmente a los diversos movimientos de la llamada familia Cardijn, como también a todos los Movimientos Sociales, que buscan construir una sociedad más justa y solidaria. Esperamos sea de gran utilidad para todos y todas.

Félix Ollarves

READ THE DOCUMENTS

François Houtart, La JOC et sa méthode – Témoignage – Conseil international de la JOCI – 2016 (Joseph Cardijn Digital Library)

François Houtart, The YCW and its method – Testimony at IYCW World Council 2016 (Joseph Cardijn Digital Library)

François Houtart, La JOC y su método – Testimonio – Consejo Mundial de la JOCI 2016 (Joseph Cardijn Digital Library)

François Houtart (Joseph Cardijn Digital Library)

August 2025

Mon, 25 Aug 2025 13:32:17 GMT

International solidarity

Dear Friends,

Welcome to our August newsletter!

We begin this month with a report on a significant meeting in Washington DC on Church-labor issues chaired by former International YCW chaplain, Bishop Reginaldo Andrietta, who also worked in Baltimore MD to extend the movement in the US.

Writing on behalf of Pope Leo, Cardinal Pietro Parolin warns that humanity is at a crossroads with AI.

The International YCW recalls a famous pilgrimage to Rome in 1957 (photo above) that marked the foundation of the movement. Meanwhile the Australian Cardijn Institute’s September webinar will focus on the French JOC martyr, Marcel Callo.

American National Catholic Reporter writer, Michael Sean Winters, asks whether it's time for a revival of "Catholic Action," or as Cardijn may have preferred to express it, a revival of the lay apostolate of lay people.

Brazil’s Fraternity Campaign is celebrating the 60th anniversary of its see judge act community organising program.

Australian Fr Bruce Duncan CSsR continues his analysis of Pope Francis' legacy on economic issues. Speaking of economics, we have the video of our webinar with Dallas Catholic Social Teaching specialist, John Médaille, looking at the threat of economic collapse and the potential for a Catholic-inspired response.

As usual, Pat Branson and Richard Pütz have their own Cardijn-inspired reflections.

Thanks for being with us!

The Centre International Cardijn Team

Historic meeting strengthens cooperation between labour and Church

A historic meeting advanced the cooperation agenda between organized labour groups and ecclesial networks on dignified work and care for our common home at the Third Synodal Meeting Fratelli Tutti: North-South Socio-Environmental Dialogue at the headquarters of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in Washington, DC on July 28 and 29.

The meeting was led by former International YCW chaplain and YCW extension in Baltimore, MD, Bishop of Jales (Brazil) Reginaldo Andrietta representing the South, Bishop of Brownsville (United States) Daniel Flores representing the North, and Nuncio Juan Antonio Cruz, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the Organization of American States.

The meeting served to "exchange diverse perspectives among different social actors in the world of organized labor," according to Peruvian Ana Facho Ortiz of the Young Christian Workers of America.

Synodal meeting in US strengthens cooperation between labor groups and Church (Vatican News)

Humanity at crossroads with AI: Vatican

“Humanity is at a crossroads, facing the immense potential generated by the digital revolution driven by Artificial Intelligence,” Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin wrote in a message to the United Nations Summit on AI.

“The impact of this revolution is far-reaching, transforming areas such as education, work, art, healthcare, governance, the military, and communication. This epochal transformation requires responsibility and discernment to ensure that AI is developed and utilized for the common good, building bridges of dialogue and fostering fraternity, and ensuring it serves the interests of humanity as a whole.

“While AI can simulate aspects of human reasoning and perform specific tasks with incredible speed and efficiency, it cannot replicate moral discernment or the ability to form genuine relationships. Therefore, the development of such technological advancements must go hand in hand with respect for human and social values, the capacity to judge with a clear conscience, and growth in human responsibility.”

Message on behalf of Pope Leo for AI for Good Summit (Vatican)

Prospective: Reviving Catholic Action?

In 2015, American priest, Fr Bruce Nieli issued "a call to retrieve and renew Catholic Action in our time and examine some of the theoretical issues that could help achieve a revival," writes Michael Sean Winters in a three-part series in the US National Catholic Reporter.

"As Nieli notes, the movement started in the late 19th century to combat rampant anti-clericalism, but in the 20th century, it took on a different trajectory. Catholic Action became the effort of Catholic laity, working with the hierarchy and local clergy, to bring Catholic social teaching into the public square. It involved everything from community organizing along the lines of the Back of the Yards Council in Chicago to the Legion of Mary to Cursillo and to the Young Trade Unionists.

"Catholic Action, as Nieli wrote, laid some of the groundwork for the emphasis on the role of the laity that emerged at the 1962-65 Second Vatican Council, but there has been "a subsequent lull" since then.

"This is counterintuitive. If the council called for increased lay participation, why did Catholic Action not grow?

Looking for better ways to evangelize than posting on social media (National Catholic Reporter)

To revive the Catholic Action movement, don't leave dogma at the door (National Catholic Reporter)

Where to start in reviving Catholic Action (National Catholic Reporter)

Retrospective: The legacy of Pope Francis Part II: Signs of hope

In an address to the president of the UN General Assembly and finance ministers of various nations on 27 May 2019, Pope Francis again warned that the world was heading “towards disaster” from greenhouse gases, writes Fr. Bruce Duncan CSsR in the second instalment of his reflection on the legacy of the late pontiff.

He blamed “the idolatry of money, along with the corruption of vested interests. We still reckon as profit what threatens our very survival”. On 9 June, he again lamented the slow progress to achieve the SDGs. A few days later, on 14 June, he appealed to executives from leading energy companies to help avert “a climate emergency”, and said carbon pricing was “essential”.

The legacy of Pope Francis in an unjust world: Part 2 (Cardijn Reflections)

Brazil’s Fraternity Campaign: 60 years of see judge act

This new article by João Akio Ribeiro Yamaguchi charts the historical evolution of Brazil’s Fraternity Campaign (1961–2025) through qualitative content analysis of official texts, posters, and hymns, supplemented by census data and synodal documents.

It argues that the campaign’s enduring see-judge-act framework has allowed the Brazilian Catholic Church to recalibrate its public engagement across three major inflexions: social charity under dictatorship, rights-based citizenship after redemocratisation, and integral ecology in the Francis pontificate.

Brazil’s Fraternity Campaign (See Judge Act)

Rome 1957: A large international gathering

The year 1957 was when I discovered the YCW in school at the age of 14, writes Marlyse Thommen. Jeanine, a friend who was already an activist in a grassroots group, asked me to help her fill out an enquiry that the movement was conducting nationwide on wages and money. It was my first invitation to observe and form an opinion: SEE, JUDGE...

Shortly afterwards, she told me that the movement was organizing a large international gathering that year with delegates from every country: it was ROME 57!

To help fund the delegates' trip, we had to come up with activities that would raise money: for example, collecting aluminum bottle caps, gathering them so we could sell them in bulk instead of throwing them away. It never would have covered a train ticket to Rome, but we collected and collected... and proudly made our small contribution.

Rome 1957: A large international gathering

Webinar: Blessed Marcel Callo, YCW martyr

Thomas Gueydier, postulator for the cause for canonisation of French YCW martyr Blessed Marcel Callo and author of a new book on the subject, will address a webinar organised by the Australian Cardijn Institute at 11am CET on Tuesday 9 September 2025.

As well as being the centenary of the foundation of the YCW, this year also marks the 80th anniversary of Marcel’s death as well as being the 80th anniversary of YCW lay co-founders, Fernand Tonnet and Paul Garcet.

Webinar details

Tuesday 9 September 2025

7pm Australian Eastern Time, 11am Central European (Paris-Brussels) Time.

Register here

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/XsGGBXJASrSk3KKcZCphSA

Gospel: About mercy and forgiveness

Did Fr Joseph Cardijn develop the See, Judge, Act method for use by individuals? asks Pat Branson. In a 1951 article Cardijn wrote,, he emphasised “the necessity of setting the apostolic life of laypeople in a communal frame-work, illumined by a communal vision.”

The “communal frame-work” to which he refers is characterised by “aspirations and testimonies of Christian charity, poverty, detachment, purity—in short, a fully Christian life according to the Gospels”. The See, Judge, Act method was Cardijn’s way of forming and maintaining the “communal frame-work.” Further in his article, he makes the point that Christian formation is not an individual thing. We need others in order to be saved.

By far the largest group in the Church is made up of laypeople. Cardijn asserted that “laypeople form themselves amongst themselves through brotherly contact with one another and an interaction which permits all individual qualities and responsibilities to be brought into play.”

So, what does this mean for users of this and other Gospel Enquiries?

About mercy and forgiveness (Cardijn Reflections)

Reflection: Are you part of praxis wing?

Praxis is all about action, writes Richard Pütz. When we look at the method called See-Judge-Act, we may have many members of the JOC movements who specialize in See/Observe and/or Judging/Discerning. But, there is a wing of the JOC movements that I will call the "Praxis Wing," those who are on the ground making things happen, organizing, and leading boots on the ground to bring about change, to bring about the kingdom of heaven here and now. The "Praxis Wing" picks up the last leg of the race and carries the Baton to bring about ACTION.

The alarming surge of Christian Nationalism in North America is an urgent issue that demands our immediate attention. Just as Fascism was a pressing concern during the time of Joseph Cardijn, we now face the rise of Christian Nationalism, which stands in stark contrast to the true essence of Christianity.

This is our moment to step up, speak out, and take action. We must educate our communities about the true biblical principles that Christian Nationalism does not represent. Our collective action can make a significant difference.

Are You Part of the Praxis Wing? - Part I (Cardijn Reflections)

Collaboration in the Public for the Public - Part II (Cardijn Reflections)

PHOTO

Jim Forest / Flickr / CC BY NC ND

News briefs and social media

https://us02web.zoom.us/.../register/DibJyLjSSp6iXmW9biz3Iw

Read the declaration: https://www.icmica-miic.org/2025/08/international-francophone-symposium-on-christian-leadership-declaration-of-icmica-africa/

Editorial Note: The purpose of the Centre International Cardijn Newsletter is to share information and promote discussion. Citing or linking to articles does not imply any endorsement by the CIC of the authors' views

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July 2025

Fri, 18 Jul 2025 07:00:32 GMT

Dear Friends,

Welcome to the July edition of our newsletter, which now comes to you via our new email service on Substack.

We begin with Pope Leo’s inauguration of the Mass for the Care of Creation and we note the call of bishops from the Global South for climate justice.

IYCW president, Basma Mikhael, shares her perspective on the issues facing young workers today in a special YCW Centenary interview with the Belgian Revue Démocratie magazine.

We remember with affection our friend, Jorge Luis Silva Morales, a Chilean JOC leader who was also a leader of the JOC America and a member of the IYCW International Team.

Australian Fr Bruce Duncan reflects on the legacy of Pope Francis in the fight against economic injustice while American Catholic Social Teaching specialist Bill Murphy recalls Cardijn’s “incarnational faith.”

German Bishop Heiner Wilmer SCJ highlights the ongoing relevance of the work of the YCW while French Sr Nathalie Becquart xmcj explains the Vatican’s new guidelines for the development of a synodal Church.

We also remember the sacrifice of French YCS leader Jean Préhu, another movement leader martyred during World War II while Richard Pütz and Pat Branson share their usual, insightful reflections.

The Centre International Team

Leo launches Care of Creation Mass

“On this beautiful day, I would begin by asking everyone, including myself, to take stock of what we are celebrating here amid the beauty of what might be called a ‘cathedral’ of nature, with so many plants and elements of creation that have brought us together to celebrate the Eucharist, which means to give thanks to the Lord,” Pope Leo said in his homily on Wednesday 9 July.

“This may well be the first celebration to use the new prayers of the Mass for the Care of Creation, which is the fruit of the work of several Dicasteries of the Holy See,” he continued.

“At the beginning of Mass, we prayed for conversion, our own conversion. I would like to add that we should pray for the conversion of the many people, inside and outside the Church, who do not yet recognize the urgent need to care for our common home.

The many natural disasters we see occurring almost daily in our world, in so many places and countries, are also in part a result of the excesses of human beings and our lifestyles. We need to ask whether we ourselves are undergoing that conversion. How much we need it!

Pope Leo XIV, Holy Mass for the Care of Creation (Vatican)

Defending a dignified life for young people

“Today's young people face multiple and growing precariousness,” IYCW president Basma Mikhail notes in an interview (in French) with the Belgian magazine, Revue Démocratie.

“This manifests itself in economic insecurity—unstable employment, unemployment, informal or underpaid work—as well as limited access to housing, education, and quality healthcare.

“Many (young workers) work in the ‘gig economy’—a ‘gig economy’ in which jobs are flexible and precarious—as delivery drivers, drivers, or digital freelancers. They are often considered “independent,” but lack any real social protection: no stable contract, no health insurance, and no pension.

“These young people sometimes work in very difficult conditions: long hours, unpredictable pay, algorithmic pressure, isolation, and the inability to assert their rights,” Basma warns.

Defending a dignified life for young people

«Nous défendons un travail décent et une vie digne pour les jeunes» (Revue Démocratie) (Français)

Global South bishops call for climate justice

The regional bishops’ conferences and councils from Asia, Africa, and Central and South America, in coordination with the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, have joined forces to appeal for climate justice and an ecological conversion across the world, Vatican News reports.

In light of the United Nations’ climate change conference COP30, which will take place in Belém, Brazil, from 10-21 November, 2025, these bodies have published a joint document titled “A call for climate justice and the common home: ecological conversion, transformation and resistance to false solutions.”

Global South bishops call for climate justice

Remembering Jorge Silva Morales

Together with the Chilean JOC, we are sad to record the death of Jorge Luis Silva Morales (second from right in photo), a former leader of the Chilean JOC, a member of the JOC America team and the IYCW International Team.

We express our condolences and solidarity with Elenita, his wife, and their children.

Remembering Jorge Silva Morales

The legacy of Pope Francis

Pope Francis endeavoured not just to evaluate the burning global issues; he strove to mobilise decisive action to transform our world to improve living standards and well-being for everyone, writes Fr Bruce Duncan CSsR. He spoke as a voice from the Third World, challenging the conscience of the richer countries.

Francis was propelled onto the global stage in 2013 to revitalise the Catholic Church and to renew its mission to bring the good news of God’s solidarity with everyone, especially the poor and distressed.

He insisted that the Church must engage more closely with the great issues of our time, joining others in earnest conversation about our human future on this fragile planet, and developing networks of collaboration not just with other Christians, but also with followers of other world religions or philosophical traditions, and indeed with all people of good will.

The legacy of Pope Francis in an unjust world: Part I (Cardijn Reflections)

YCW empowers young workers: German bishop

Cardijn “would be shocked by the working conditions that many people around the world still face every day,” wrote Bishop Heiner Wilmer SCJ Bishop of Hildesheim, President of the Commission for Social and Societal Issues (VI) of the German Bishops’ Conference and Bishop Delegate to the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) in a message to the International YCW for the centenary of the movement.

“The YCW has a proven tool for identifying situations of abuse, recognizing them as such, and then empowering people to take responsibility. The formula for this method, which is also found in the social doctrine of the Catholic Church, is ‘see – judge – act.’

“If we commit ourselves to others in the footsteps of Christ, this is at least as necessary today as it was when the YCW was founded in 1925,” he emphasised.

YCW empowers young workers: German bishop (Cardijn.info)

Joseph Cardijn's incarnational faith

As the Second Vatican Council and many other sources affirm, a living faith—that is, one informed by charity—labours to be salt and light (Mt 5:13-16) in the world, to inform the world with the spirit of the Gospel (Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity), and to bear the fruit of charity for the life of the world (Decree on Priestly Training), writes American Catholic Social Doctrine specialist, Bill Murphy.

Authentic Catholicism is an incarnational faith, one that continues to make present in the world the saving love of God in Christ. In my opinion, the failure to do so explains to a significant extent the loss of faith in the contemporary world, and the desperate situation in the world.

Joseph Cardinal Cardijn (1882-1967) (Better Politics)

Document: Synodality is Vatican II in a nutshell

The Synod General Secretariat in Rome has published a new document offering guidance for the next stage of the synodal journey.

Pathways for the Implementation Phase of the Synod aims to foster dialogue between local Churches and the General Secretariat, and to promote the exchange of synodal experiences among the Churches, Vatican News reports.

"Synodality is the Second Vatican Council in a nutshell," said Synod under-secretary, Sr Nathalie Becquart xmcj, quoting Australian theologian Ormond Rush.

Synodality is Vatican II in a nutshell

Jean Préhu, French YCS leader and martyr

Jean Préhu, born on March 27, 1920, in Laval, France, was a devoted Scout and an active member of the Jeunesse Étudiante Chrétienne (Young Christian Students – JEC). From an early age, he was formed in a spirit of faith, solidarity, and service. These values would later shape his courageous resistance to the Nazi regime, ultimately leading to his martyrdom.

Jean Préhu died on April 27, 1945, during the strafing of the infamous “death train” headed to Dachau. In 1983, he was officially recognized as a déporté résistant (resistance deportee) by the French government.

In 2024, the Vatican formally included Jean Préhu among the group of 50 French Catholic martyrs whose beatification cause is underway, recognizing them as victims of hatred of the faith (odium fidei). Préhu’s unwavering commitment to faith and justice remains a profound witness for today’s world.

Jean Préhu: A Scout, Young Christian Student, and Martyr on the Path to Beatification (International YCS)

Reflection: Have you read Rerum Novarum?

Pope Leo XIII's Rerum Novarum (1891), a deep examination of economic and social issues, still resonates with the complexities of today's world, writes Richard Pütz. Its main ideas on economic fairness, workers' rights, and government roles remain just as important now as they were in the past, grounding us in a strong historical tradition.

Human dignity takes precedence over profit or ideological extremes in Rerum Novarum, which addresses contemporary issues like wage disparities, job security, and the moral dilemmas associated with capitalism. Novarum Rerum Overview emphasizes that the emphasis on fair wages and the dignity of labor directly relates to current debates over workers' rights, income inequality, and living wages.

Rerum Novarum's unwavering support for collective bargaining and trade union formation is a beacon of hope for labor movements worldwide.

More than a century later, have you read Pope Leo XIII's Rerum Novarum? (Cardijn Reflections)

Gospel: Proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand

In The Young Worker Faces Life, which was about the mystery of vocation, writes Pat Branson, Cardijn commented on the apostolic mission of the working class:

The working class will rise again, because it has apostles who, with and by Christ, by their sufferings and prayers, and even by their death on the Cross, merit with Christ this resurrection of working-class youth and of the working class of the world.

Let us pray that we never forget the power of witness to the faith we are called to embrace and to live and that we remember their commitment to Christ, especially when our faith is challenged by the forces of evil in the world.

Pat Branson, As you go, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand (Cardijn Reflections)

News briefs and social media

Congratulations, Sarah!

World War II martyrs of the YCW and YCS

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Defending a dignified life for young people

Thu, 17 Jul 2025 06:26:48 GMT

In an interview with France Huart from the Belgian magazine, Revue Démocratie, International YCW president Basma Mikhail explains the challenges facing young workers today.

What are the forms of precariousness affecting young people today?

Today’s young people face multiple and growing precariousness. This manifests itself in economic insecurity—unstable employment, unemployment, informal or underpaid work—as well as limited access to housing, education, and quality healthcare.

Young workers are particularly exposed to extreme forms of precariousness. Many of them work in the “gig economy”—a “gig economy” in which jobs are flexible and precarious—as delivery drivers, drivers, or digital freelancers. They are often considered “independent,” but lack any real social protection: no stable contract, no health insurance, and no pension. These young people sometimes work in very difficult conditions: long hours, unpredictable pay, algorithmic pressure, isolation, and the inability to assert their rights. They must constantly be “available” to earn a minimum income, while assuming the risks associated with their work.

This precariousness has a profound psychological impact. Permanent instability leads to increased stress, anxiety, and depression, and this unfortunately translates into a rising suicide rate among young people in many countries. The climate crisis further exacerbates this insecurity. Environmental degradation and political inaction in the face of this emergency are fueling a sense of helplessness and despair among young people about the future.

Furthermore, the rise of far-right ideologies and authoritarian policies is fueling a deep disillusionment with the system. Many young people are losing trust in institutions, which they perceive as distant from their realities and aspirations. In response, some are taking refuge in social media, creating a virtual bubble that can reinforce isolation and withdrawal.

How does the JOC adapt its work to these new forms of precariousness?

The JOC acts by offering these young workers a space where they can express their experiences, analyse their situation, and collectively construct responses, as recommended by the “See, Judge, Act” method ¹ . We also work to create safe, offline spaces where young people can express themselves freely and organize collectively. In terms of mental health, we offer psychological support and resilience tools. Finally, in order to combat isolation and misinformation, we carry out extensive media education and critical thinking work.

Is the “See, Judge, Act” method still valid in the face of current challenges?

I sincerely believe so. If we aim for systemic change in society, this method is essential. It can be adapted in different ways to match the current characteristics of young people, without losing its essence. It allows young people to understand their realities, take action, and create lasting transformation in their lives and the world around them.

The method begins with SEEING: we analyze our situation from all angles. We examine the causes and consequences of our struggles through social, political, economic, and cultural analysis. This allows us to have a deeper and more complete understanding of our reality. Then, we move on to JUDGING: here, we reflect on how we feel about the situation, how to improve it and strive for our ideal, and how our values and principles guide us in this analysis. Finally, we ACT. This is the crucial part where we reflect on what actions we can take, individually and collectively, to transform our living conditions.

It’s not just about understanding the problem, but also about taking responsibility for transforming our conditions. Through this method, individuals move from passive actors to agents of change in society.

How do you integrate the climate issue into your struggles?

Within the IYCW, climate and ecology are central to our work. The impact of environmental change is already changing the world of work, and as workers, we understand that the ecological crisis directly impacts our lives, our livelihoods, and threatens our future. It is the most vulnerable communities—precarious workers, migrants, etc.—who are often the most affected by environmental degradation.

For the IYCW, ecology is not only an environmental issue, but also a social justice issue. We link climate change to issues of inequality, exploitation, and workers’ rights.

The IYCW is actively involved in raising awareness and taking action on this issue around the world. For example, in the JOCA (YCW of the Americas) movements of Chile and Peru, the issue of climate justice is central to their work. At the regional level in Asia-Pacific, climate justice is one of their main campaigns. In 2024, a regional seminar was held, bringing together national movements from across Asia, during which issues of climate justice and social protection were addressed in depth.

Moreover, in many movements, even if specific actions do not directly focus on climate issues, a strong emphasis is placed on education and training on these environmental issues. The IYCW is committed to ensuring that its members are not only aware of these issues, but also actively involved in promoting climate justice and advocating for policies that protect both the environment and workers’ rights.

As part of our centenary celebration on May 2, we are organizing a public forum that addresses the theme of action and collaboration for a just transition for social and climate justice. This event involves the MOC, ACV, and other partners, who are bringing their perspectives and contributions to this important exchange.

Women’s rights are also at the heart of your work. Can you tell us more?

Yes, young women are one of the most vulnerable groups in today’s society. In many countries, they continue to experience violence and discrimination. This dehumanization is deeply rooted in social structures and, unfortunately, in the way some women perceive themselves. This internalized oppression is one of the most difficult challenges to address.

At the IYCW, we are committed to raising awareness about these issues and ensuring that they are addressed at the national and international levels. We have a Gender Commission at the international level, which plays a key role in organizing webinars and creating educational tools to raise awareness among our members about these gender-specific issues.

Furthermore, the IYCW has developed basic gender tools, which are used in the training of our members to help them understand gender equality, combat violence, and promote a more equitable society. This ensures that the issue of gender equality is not just a rhetorical discussion, but is a cross-cutting issue in our work at all levels of the movement.

You have developed a protocol for protecting women at all levels of your organization. Can you explain it to us?

Of course. This work is being led by a dedicated commission, including members from Latin America. The goal is to create an international framework that reflects our values of equality, dignity, and security for all women involved in our movement.

Although the protocol is defined at the international level, it is designed to be adapted by each national movement, according to its local reality and laws. We believe it is essential that national movements take ownership of this tool to make it truly effective and applicable in their context.

This protocol aims to establish clear standards and concrete mechanisms to prevent gender-based violence, support victims, and promote a safe and respectful environment. It will also include awareness-raising and training components around gender-based violence and discrimination.

We hope that this protocol serves not only our own movement but also inspires other youth and workers’ organizations. It reflects our commitment to profound structural change and our conviction that social transformation begins with consistency between our values and internal practices.

In 2025, for the centenary of the IYCW, you have chosen to launch a campaign focusing on precarious work and social injustice. Why these themes?

We chose these themes because we understood that precarious work is a kind of “umbrella” that encompasses many of the realities experienced by young people today. But precarity is not limited to work: it also affects education, housing, health, mental well-being, and more.

That is why we are not only demanding decent work, but a dignified life for young people. It is essential that young workers feel valued, regardless of their job. Respect, dignity, and recognition must be at the heart of the professional experience. Work should not be a source of anxiety or fear, but rather a source of stability, identity, and pride.

To develop this campaign, we will organize a series of webinars in October and November 2025 that will address precarious work across different global realities. At the same time, we are working to update our existing analyses of precarious work in each continent. This will allow us to adapt our demands to the current reality and develop our strategy based on the concrete experience of young workers. We will also pay special attention to workers in the platform economy, as their struggles are closely linked to the general discussions planned for the International Labour Conference (ILC).

We believe it is essential to provide concrete testimonies and clear proposals so that our final declaration reflects lived realities and urgent needs. Our demands will focus on access to stable and fair employment, social protection, workers’ rights, mental health, and the recognition of all forms of work, including informal work and work carried out on digital platforms.

Through this campaign, we aim to raise awareness, mobilize young people, and influence policies, both internationally and by encouraging national movements to take ownership of these struggles locally.

How does the centenary help us better understand the historical impact of the JOCI on the lives of young people and on society?

The centenary is not simply a celebration; it is a living process that allows us to reflect, reconnect, and look to the future. It is an opportunity to measure the historical impact of the IYCW, not only as an organization, but as a movement that has transformed lives and influenced entire societies.

As soon as the centenary opened on 12 April, we began publishing testimonies from young and former members, as well as from our partners and networks. These stories—shared on our social media—provide a concrete illustration of how the IYCW has empowered young people, promoted social change, and fought against injustice, across generations and continents.

As part of the centenary, we invite national movements to organize exchanges between young and former members to strengthen the connection between our history and our present. These intergenerational gatherings build a bridge between generations—a way to learn from the past while preparing for current and future struggles.

This allows us to strengthen our movement and renew our commitment through shared memory and collective action. This dialogue is not symbolic—it is strategic. It allows us to deepen our analysis and action based on concrete stories. This centenary helps us remember who we are, recognize our collective strength, and renew our commitment to a dignified life for all. It also shows us that the IYCW is a force of resistance in the face of threats to people and the planet.

SOURCE IN ORIGINAL FRENCH

«Nous défendons un travail décent et une vie digne pour les jeunes» (Revue Démocratie)

Global South bishops call for climate justice

Mon, 14 Jul 2025 12:14:57 GMT

The document reiterates the Church’s commitment to climate justice and calls nations and governments to action, inspired by the Pontiff’s call to promote an integral ecology, and in line with Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’, which this year celebrates its 10th anniversary.

A Call for Climate Justice and the Common Home: Ecological Conversion, Transformation and Resistance to False Solutions (Vatican News)

African bishop slams ‘outdated, biased’ global finance system (Crux Now)

Matthew Shadle, The Bishops’ Conferences of the Global South Issue Message on Climate Justice (Window Light)

Remembering Jorge Silva Morales

Stefan Gigacz — Mon, 14 Jul 2025 08:02:04 GMT

We are sad to record the death of Jorge Luis Silva Morales, a former leader of the Chilean JOC, a member of the JOC America team and the IYCW International Team.

We express our condolences and solidarity with Elenita, his wife, and their children.

IYCW International Team Meeting, Quito, Ecuador, 1993

IYCW International Team meeting, Leuven, Belgium, 1990 (L to R: Stefan Gigacz, Ruben Joseph, S. Samydorai, Felix Ollarves, Jorge Silva and Fr Hugh O’Sullivan)

French jocist martyrs to be beatified

Sat, 21 Jun 2025 08:54:57 GMT

The Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints has recognised the martyrdom of more than twenty French jocist lay leaders as well as chaplains and seminarians linked to the YCW.

Pope Leo XIV approved the decree, which also recognised the martyrdom of many more French lay leaders and priests from other movements including the Scouts, and the Young Christian Students (YCS).

Eugène Lemoine

Roger and André Vallée

Lay YCW leaders on the Vatican list were:

Jean Lépicier (1921-1945), died at Buchenwald;

Bernard Lemaire (1920-1944), died of typhus at Buchenwald;

Maurice Grandet (1920-1944), died of typhus at Buchenwald;

René Ponsin (1923-1945), died at Buchenwald; Claude-Colbert Lebeau (1922-1945), died at Zöschen;

Jean Chavet (1922-1945), died of typhus at Mauthausen;

André Parsy (1922-1944), interned at Zöschen, died at Trebitz;

André Vallée (1919-1945), died at Flossenbürg;

Henri Marrannes (1923-1945), died in Zwickau;

Louis Pourtois (1919-1945), died in Mauthausen; Camille Millet (1922-1945), died in Flossenbürg;

Marcel Carrier (1922-1945), died in Neustadt during the “death march”;

Alfredo Dall’Oglio (1921-1944), Italian naturalized French, died in Wuhlheide; Marcel Touquet (1914-1945), died in Ravensbrück;

Lucien Croci (1919-1945), died in Barth;

Jean Mestre (1924-1944), died shortly after his arrest;

Jean Perriolat (1920-1945), died in Mauthausen;

René Rouzé (1922-1945), died in Dora-Mittelbau;

Henri Euzenat (1920-1945), who died at Dachau;

Eugène Lemoine (1920-1945) (also a Scout), died at Zöschen;

Bernard Morizot (1924-1945) (also a Scout), interned at Buchenwald and shot.

Jean Préhu

YCS lay leaders:

Jean Préhu (1920-1945), who was also a Scout, died at Dachau;

Jean Chavet (1922-1945), died of typhus at Mauthausen.

Priests linked to the YCW were:

René Giraudet (1907-1945), interned at Bergen-Belsen, sick with typhus, died in Paris;

Victor Dillard (1897-1945), who died at the Dachau concentration camp:

Louis Doumain (1920-1944), died at the Zöschen concentration camp;

And the jocist seminarians were:

Roger Vallée (1920-1944), who died at Mauthausen;

Jean Tinturier (1921-1945), who died at Mauthausen.

In addition to the French jocist martyrs, many Belgian JOC and KAJ leaders and chaplains also lost their lives during World War II, including lay co-founders, Fernand Tonnet and Paul Garcet.

Memorial card for Fernand Tonnet and Paul Garcet

In Hungary, Blessed Sara Salkahazi, who was a chaplain to the Girls YCW movement, was killed for her role in saving the lives of many Jewish children.

Blessed Sara Salkahazi

SOURCE

Le nom des 50 Français tués par le régime nazi bientôt béatifiés (Aleteia)

Qui sont ces 50 Français reconnus martyrs par Léon XIV (Aleteia)

Pope recognizes martyrdom of 50 Frenchmen killed by Nazis (Detroit Catholic/Catholic News Service)

Victor Dillard (Joseph Cardijn Digital Library)

Roger Vallée (Joseph Cardijn Digital Library)

André Vallée (Joseph Cardijn Digital Library)

Eugène Lemoine (Joseph Cardijn Digital Library)

René Giraudet (Joseph Cardijn Digital Library)

Sara Salkahazi (Vatican)

Jean Tinturier (Mémoire et espoirs de la Résistance)

Louis Doumain (Mémoire et espoirs de la Résistance)

Jean Préhu (Mémoire et espoirs de la Résistance)

Bernard Lemaire (Mémoire et espoirs de la Résistance)