MIAMSI World Assembly
The interest and stakes of MIAMSI’s presence in the world
An original and concerted presence in
International Forums
On behalf of my Superiors at the Secretariat of
State, I should like to thank Mr Daniel Guéry, MIAMSI President and the members
of the International Bureau for inviting me to take part in your World Assembly.
This gesture may be interpreted as a sign of the mutual trust and collaboration
which have marked MIAMSI’s relations with the Secretariat of State in recent
years. More specially, I must thank him for his availability and support shown
when preparing and holding the Forum of
Catholic NGOs, which took place in November of last year.
MIAMSI’s interest in having a greater presence on
the world stage is in some ways the objective of this round table. My predecessors
have emphasized the international involvement that MIAMSI has acquired through
its presence and activity in certain International Organizations; now I am
going to say a few words on the process of collaboration which was launched
after the Forum I have just mentioned.
1. In November 2007, representatives of the
Holy See and approximately 90 NGOs created from church movements, religious
orders or as fruits of the initiative and commitment of the Catholic laity, met
together for the first time in
This event was the result of a series of circumstances :
on one hand, the process of reflection on the « ICO Conference » which was
developing among member associations and which called into question its identity
and effectiveness in the light of real events ; on the other, the need shown by
some Catholic NGOs, created in the years after Vatican II, to pool their forces
at the international level in order to bear more effective witness to the principles
of the Gospel in serving mankind ; and finally, the growing challenge that
international politics poses for the Church and the world, jeopardizing human dignity
and the unalienable rights of the individual.
2. Some will wonder why the Holy See is involved
in this process. And especially, the Secretariat of
State. As you know, the Holy See is an independent moral body, recognized as an
artificial person in international law, which puts it on the same level as a
State in its relations with other nations. Its mission goes beyond politics and
is not restricted to the physical borders of a State; it seeks to proclaim the
Gospel and serve the cause of peace and justice among peoples. It is from this
point of view that its participation in international activity is justified, as
well as its authority to call for observance of the ethical principles to which
all players in international politics are committed[1].
In the Holy See’s organization chart, the Department
of Relations with States in the Secretariat of State is mainly responsible for relations
with civil Governments, diplomatic relations with other States and with
international legal artificial persons representing the Holy See in International
Organizations; that is why it monitors, as a consultative body, the
international activity that Catholic NGOs undertake pursuant to their consultative
status.
Referring to the spirit of Vatican II which said that « today, effective
action and the need for dialogue mean that initiatives are taken collectively »
(GS,n.90), a Committee was set up to prepare the Forum composed of representatives of Catholic NGOs and the Holy See. This Committee had decided that the Secretariat
of State would convene the Forum, given
its moral ascendancy, free of immediate political interests, able to bring
together a large range of organizations and guarantee a spirit of communion and
collaboration among the participants. That’s how the original idea of the Forum arose.
3. Last May, the extraordinary meeting of the « ICO
Conference» decided to finally put an end to this structure which had existed
for 80 years. This fact, which might appear negative at first sight, must be
taken with a positive view to renewal; if a structure came to an end, the
spirit of the associations which made it up did not, since they decided to focus
their international commitment through the new Forum project. The latter aimed to preserve the original
inspiration of the « Conference » while widening the horizon to new presences
in the international sphere, by means of an overall strategy to serve the common
good, human dignity and world peace. It is in this context that the recent « ICO
Conference» decision should be placed and understood.
4. In response to globalisation, the Forum’s objective
is to develop dynamic communication which fosters interaction and exchanges
among the various Catholic NGOs. We expect each of them, moreover, to state
their clear identity and effective proposals directed towards safeguarding the human
person and its basic dignity. How can this be done? How can we contribute to the amount of « communion » required for
pooling the capabilities specific to each organisation?
Faced with the challenge of prevailing « relativist logic»
which denies « the true foundations of the individual and its dignity »,
what is the positive contribution that Catholic NGOs can make in the field of activity
of international organizations? This is one of the questions which must be
answered by the Catholic NGOs involved in the Forum process and they must do so through dialogue and reflection on
several levels. « I encourage you » said Pope Benedict XVI to the Forum participants, « to oppose
relativism with the great creativity of truth about the natural dignity of man
and the rights which flow from it »² ; for that, I think that we must
promote concrete initiatives imbued with the following elements : a spirit
of communion, responsible freedom and clear Catholic identity.
a) Spirit of communion, of interaction in communion, «which leads us to promote the ethical principles which, by their very nature
and their fundamental role in social life, are not « negotiable ». A spirit of solidarity
leads us to appreciate more the initiatives of others and wish to cooperate
with them. Thanks to this spirit, we shall work, when useful or necessary, in
collaboration with various NGOs and the representatives of the Holy See, while
still respecting their differences in kind, institutional purposes and operating
methods ² from a common viewpoint based on the principles of the Gospel
and the Church’s Social Doctrine.
This communion must be understood in its
deepest dimension, which to my mind goes beyond a horizontal-type « solidarity »
that is shared with the « other ». In « communion » there
is a reciprocity operating between the giver and the recipient in a dimension of
disinterestedness which fosters mutual enrichment ; but this disinterested
nature is deeply nourished by the experience of faith in a vertical dimension which
is one’s relationship with God.
b) responsible
freedom is another element which
should characterize the Forum’s dynamics. A spirit of responsible freedom, the fruit
of our commitment in baptism, which in Catholic NGOs can give rise to a wide
range of views and solutions to problems, all of them legitimate. This freedom exercised
in a free dimension, will ensure that all this is solved in a spirit of respect
and independence.
Civil society is a primordial means of
spreading ideas; within it there are many Christian or Catholic organisations that
must not be ignored since they are transmitting through their work an important
moral message. Very often Catholic NGOs network interactively with
non-religious NGOs before getting to the stage of inter-government debate. It
is true that principal current issues cannot be faced by only one person or organisation.
The multidimensional aspect of certain social challenges clearly requires
better coordination and new, adapted strategies and methodologies; on the other
hand, building one’s own identity and perspective in this type of platform
becomes as difficult as trying to influence the international agenda. These circumstances
mean trying to get a wide consensus, better analysis and a stronger identity, which
requires the structural flexibility that the Forum hopes to achieve.
c) clear Catholic identity.
When exercising this freedom, we mustn’t only
restrict ourselves to lobbying or advocacy before inter-government forums as do
the other non-religious NGOs. It will be necessary to take into account the
Christian dimension which directs and imbues all proposed actions. For this
reason, the social impact of Catholic NGOs will depend on the quality of their members’
faith. It will be necessary to safeguard their meaning in the Church and their relationship
with the local Church which provides actual basic experience, in order to be
able to make concrete proposals at the international level and so make the
voices of the weakest heard in such forums. Our action and identity will
naturally be professionally qualified to make the truth of our message intelligible
to the world. For many years it will be necessary to invest in the training and
qualification of competent people on the themes of the Church’s Social Doctrine
and Christian anthropology.
5. In this very beautiful island that Saint
Paul saw with his own eyes, I imagine he would say to us: « Now look, the
time is ripe » (2Cor, 6,2); It is true that the time is ripe for serious
thinking, both individually and collectively, by MIAMSI members, leading it to
renew its commitment to the Church through[1] its action in the independent milieus.
Fermina Álvarez
Secretariat of State
[1] Cf. Mons. Pietro Parolin, Santa Sede e ONG di ispirazione cattolica: presenza, impatto,
difficoltà e sfide nell’ambito internazionale, Forum delle ONG di
ispirazione cattolica, 30 November 2007 (unpublished document).
² Benedict XVI, Speech to the participants in
the Forum of Catholic NGOs, 1 December 2007, AAS 99 (2007/12), p. 1062.