UK delegates from CWL, UCM and NBCW
“Blessed are the creators of peace, those who build roads that unite rather than walls that divide, those who bless the world with the healing power of their presence.....”
Prayer by the Catholic Women of South Korea
“The faithful dedication of women at the grassroots level is a gift of women to the Church.”
WUCWO’s new President General Karen Hurley
MEMBERS of the Catholic Women’s League of England and Wales, which celebrates its centenary this year, have just returned from an eight day conference organised by the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organisations (WUCWO) held in Arlington, Virginia. USA.
Under the banner Peacemakers United in Faith and Action they were part of an international gathering which takes place every five years and to which more than 100 women’s organisations contribute, including the Union of Catholic Mothers and the UK’s National Board of Catholic Women.
Forty-one nations including Japan, China, Ghana, Fiji and Cameroon were represented at the event which began with a Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception in Washington, where the delegates and observers heard a message of greeting read out from Pope Benedict in which he described women and children as “the first victims of every war”.
A series of workshops and study days held by women’s organisations around the world in advance of the meeting set the agenda for the conference which was addressed by four key note speakers who are experts in the areas of globalisation, the environment, the media and the social doctrine of the Church.
“It was a very intense eight days,” said CWL spokesman Barbara Stitt. “We met for breakfast at 7.30am every day and usually went on talking until the early hours.”
But the opportunity to meet other women from all over the world, and share their life experiences, was a very worthwhile one, said Barbara.
“I attended the last conference in Rome and it was wonderful to be able to renew old friendships and to share our faith together. The days started with Mass and morning prayers, with the liturgies being chosen by a different country each time, and it was uplifting and inspiring to see new ways of worship. The Africans in particular are so lively, and so full of song and commitment.”
When it came to their turn the UK contingent, who had formed themselves into a choir to sing some of their favourite hymns, were surprised and delighted to see how far some of those hymns had travelled as the other attendees joined in.
The resolutions passed at the end of the conference will form the agenda for WUCWO’s work over the next five years, and copies will be presented to the Vatican, the UN, UNESCO, the EU and the Food and Agriculture Organisation.
“I have great confidence in WUCWO, having seen how strong the Catholic faith is around the world: the women I met were so committed to spreading it, so devoted to seeing that their children were educated in it - despite the enormous difficulties some of them faced in their lives - that it gave me great hope.
“It also made me feel very humble - we in the UK have things very easy.”
This is the centenary year of the Catholic Women’s League and the aims of its founder, Margaret Fletcher, who started the organisation during the Edwardian era are as relevant today as they were 100 years ago.”
“that ordinary Catholic women should immerse themselves in the mystery of God and then go out and contribute to the sanctity of the world like leaven.”
And it should be true of all WUCWO’s members everywhere, the new President General, Karen Hurley, told the Arlington Assembly.
“Our endeavours must witness to our faith and give glory to God: our mandate is to be peacemakers, to encourage others to join our mission and to sow seeds of love throughout the world.”
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