Letter to the Faithful - Fifth World day of the Poor

(A printable PDF of the letter is at this link.)

To: The Faithful of the Diocese of London

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, 14 November 2021, marks the Fifth World Day of the Poor. This day was established by Pope Francis at the end of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy.

In his message for the World Day of the Poor, Pope Francis reminds us that being disciples of Jesus means respecting those who are poor. He calls us to work to “alleviate their difficulties and marginalization” and to follow the path of justice “so that social inequalities can be overcome and human dignity, so often trampled upon, can be restored.” We need to listen to the cry of the poor, recognizing the different forms of poverty and responding in a spirit of mutual sharing.

Since 1967, Development and Peace has striven to follow this path of justice, working in solidarity with partners in the Global South to address the root causes of poverty. Its annual fall action campaign mobilizes Canadian Catholics to reflect on those root causes and to act for change. This year’s campaign, People and Planet First, invites us to stand in solidarity with environmental and human rights defenders in the Global South, many of whose communities are oppressed by Canadian corporations. Development and Peace has joined the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability in petitioning for strong laws to make Canadian corporations accountable for their global operations. Learn more about this call and add your voice to it at https://www.devp.org.

I invite all the faithful to continue to listen to the cry of the poor, to work in solidarity with those who are poor and to take steps to address injustices. To learn more, please visit the Development and Peace website, and consider signing the petition.

Sincerely yours in Christ,
Most Rev. Ronald P. Fabbro, CSB
Bishop of London