2nd Course for Catholic NGO workers, September 20 - 25, 2021
A training course for best carrying out that “frontier” action in the social sphere, to which the Church is called, will be held at the Urbaniana
This training course is to learn how to best carry out that “frontier” action in the social sphere, to which the Church is called. This is the aim of the 2nd Course for Catholic NGO workers, organized by the Pontifical Urbaniana University in collaboration with several Dicasteries of the Holy See. This is the second edition, organized both with physical presence as well as virtually, and this year in English in addition to Italian. About thirty people who work for civil society organizations and Catholic associations will participate.
Among the lecturers, there will also be the Undersecretaries of our Dicastery, Ms. Linda Ghisoni and Ms. Gabriella Gambino, who will respectively speak on the commitment of the laity in the life of the Church and on issues related to marriage, family and bioethics.
«The social doctrine of the Church offers the framework of ecclesial principles that can help provide a better service to humanity» [1], to then put it into practice through projects in the field. The course aims at highlighting a brief overview of the main international issues where the Holy See is present and which represent a challenge for the Church. In addition to personal knowledge and in-depth study, the interventions made and workshops overseen by representatives of the Dicasteries of the Roman Curia and professors from some Roman Catholic and Pontifical universities will highlight a number of themes based on the principles of the Social Doctrine of the Church (service of the Holy See through the Dicasteries of the Roman Curia, Catholic education, ecology at the service of integral human development, "border" issues between family and bioethics, issues on migrants, refugees and trafficking, fundraising techniques and principles and elements of communication) as well as the ecclesial sense and mission that guides a Catholic-inspired NGO along the synodal journey of the Church.
The initiative aims at strengthening the preparation and ecclesial identity of Catholic NGOs, which are necessary in order to be active participants in the social sphere and to be able to make decisions, where they can give a voice to those who do not have one. At the same time, the intention is to present the service that the Church and the Roman Curia render to the world, promoting, above all, peace and solidarity among nations: a service, perhaps misunderstood and, at many times, misrepresented.
Today it is not easy to transform these principles into projects and initiatives that put the human person at the center of everything rather than interest or profit. The professional action of a Catholic NGO, based on its own Christian and ecclesial witness, can have an added value and a transparency in its action, which makes its message credible.
[1] Pope Francis, Address of His Holiness Pope Francis to participants in the forum of catholic-inspired non-governmental organization (7 December 2019).