LACC 2012
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Don´t judge others and you will not be judged; do not condemn and you will not be condemned; forgive and you will be forgiven; give and it will be given to you, and you will receive a good measure, pressed down, full and running over. (Lk 6, 36-38)
This year, LACC was held in “Villa Marista,” a beautiful retreat house, owned by the Marist Fathers, on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, from the 21st to the 26th of February. You’ll be wondering, that is if you do not know, what LACC is. Well, they are the initials for the Latin American and Caribbean Conference which is held every four years in a different country for the Sisters of Mercy who minister in these areas.
The Sisters of Mercy who participate are Sisters of the Institute of the Americas (United States, called C.A.S.A), the Congregation of Newfoundland (Canada) and the Peru Mission Area. Leaders from Newfoundland, C.A.S.A and the Southern Province of the Congregation (Ireland) also attended. The three groups of the Sisters of Mercy all have Sisters working in Peru.
I am going to share a bit about my experience as a member of the organizing team for the Conference. In the previous LACC in Belize in 2006, three members were elected to form the new team: Denise from Guyana (El Caribbean), Sandra from Honduras (Central America), and myself from Peru (South America). The proposed topic was NEW COSMOLOGIES. We had a Formation meeting last year in Honduras, at which all three of us participated. At that meeting we shared responsibilities to be assumed for organizing the LAAC Conference.
Bienvenidas – Welcome
Since Peru was the host country, I felt both the burden of responsibility and frustration that speakers we had booked did not honour the commitment. I searched and searched and thank God, I found a speaker. I was blessed with the support of all the Sisters in Peru, because last year we formed various committees for the Conference and the support has been tremendous.
Organizing Committee for LACC 2012
L to R: Diane (Guyana), Sandra (Honduras), Angelica (Southern Province, Peru) and Caritas (Belize)
The Conference itself has been wonderful, with the collaboration of all the Sisters who were participating. The speakers, topics, and the profound sharing of the realities of each country were marvelous. The only weakness was the lack of communication between the organizing team and the participants before the meeting.
The theme developed in this Conference “NEW COSMOLOGIES: LIGHTS AND CHALLENGES” is a continuation of our Congregational Chapter Statement… “conscious that all of life is interconnected…” and from our Provincial Chapter Statement, which responds to the question, “How can we deepen our awareness of being interconnected with everything that lives”? Care for the Earth and the Environment are not an aspiration for us, but rather an integral part of our lives. This calls us to a personal commitment, to the responsible use of the Earth’s limited resources”. At this Conference the speakers: Dr. Flora and Dr. Cristian gave us some lights and challenged us to share them in our local communities and our ministries.
Participating in the Cosmic Walk
They also developed the new cosmologies and the world visions, be it the world vision of a person, a culture, or an age, etc. World visions are complex and resistant to change since they may incorporate opposite and even contradictory elements. An integral cosmo-vision takes into account all aspects of life: religious, cultural, political, ethical, moral, artistic etc. One cosmo-vision should not be considered better or worse than another, but different. My cosmo-vision influences my behaviour, what I do, think and feel. It gives meaning to my world.
It is important to be conscious of our own cosmo-vision in order to be able to receive wisely from other cosmo-visions and to be able to share wisely what is coherent in our own. In Peru we have three world visions that are very different: coastal, mountain and jungle.
The Western worldview believes it is superior and wants to impose its ways of thinking and doing on other cultures, and is unable to listen to the needs of the other. What we have to do is educate to give life, so that people have the ability to choose, to work together and network. We need to learn more, listen more, and accept more from others.
If we look at our Congregation and its members we notice that among us there are also diverse world visions – urban, rural and generational depending on how we view culture, age, etc. This diversity in our Congregation is rich and our task will be to see how to address a culture that is more diverse every day, and how to respect the present diverse world visions, and to live side by side with them.
Walking the Labyrinth at Dusk
Before the Conference, Sandra, Denise and I met as a team, and that has been an experience of God. We helped each other, we were attentive to what was missing, or if any one of us forgot anything, the other came to the rescue. Sandra and Denise were excellent companions.
The next LACC will be in Panama in 2016. The members of the new team are: Rose from Belize (El Caribbean), Nieves from Panama (Central America), and Blanca from Peru (South America). The Assembly requested me to be the link with the new team. It was difficult for me to decide, but I accepted. I feel we gave of our best for this Conference and we have received abundantly, this is our God, right?
Angelica Gonzalez Haro rsm
Southern Province
