In letter number 59 the Superior General told us:
Mary Barron, President of the UISG, has appointed our sister Caterina Ciriello as a member of the Board of the UMOF (World Union of Women’s Organizations). We appreciate Caterina’s availability and the contribution she can offer.
We asked Caterina what WUCWO is and what work she will do in order to better accompany her in this new task she has been entrusted with.
What is WUCWO?
is the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organizations. It was founded in 1910 and currently represents almost 100 women’s organizations worldwide. It is active in more than 50 countries on all continents and has about 8 million Catholic women in all stages of life.
WUCWOWO unites Catholic women around the world by giving them a voice on an international platform. Since its creation, WUCWO has consultative status at the United Nations with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the Human Rights Council (Geneva), the FAO (Rome), is present at the Council of Europe (Strasbourg) and is an Official Partner of UNESCO (Paris).
What is your role?
WUCWO’s objective is: to promote the presence, participation and co-responsibility of Catholic women in society and in the Church, so that they can fulfill their evangelizing mission and work for the development of peoples, particularly by increasing educational opportunities, reducing poverty and promoting human rights, beginning with the fundamental right to life.
What does Board membership consist of?
Being a member of such an organization means, first of all, becoming aware of its social, political and religious role and responsibilities in the world, and fully assuming its values by collaborating as much as possible to achieve its objectives, which are indeed many and of great importance.
As a representative of the UISG in the decision-making votes of the assembly, I do not have a vote, but I am called to participate in the face-to-face meetings and also online, in the events that the president organizes and to which I am invited by the president. For example, recently, on October 24, there was a meeting at the Residence of the Embassy of Argentina to the Holy See on “Women’s Participation in a Synodal Church in Mission. Responsibilities and mysteries in response to the pastoral needs of our time“.
Of course, my participation also takes into account my work at the University. We already had the Annual Congress from May 27 to June 2 this year in Rome, in which I participated with great enthusiasm and interest.
How do you feel about this appointment?
The truth is that I am very happy to have the opportunity to collaborate with such an important organization. I have always worked and work for the promotion of women in all areas; I do it mainly by writing books and articles that raise awareness about respect for the feminine universe, and by doing feminine theology, not feminist theology, which I do not like. WUCWO is a place where I can broaden my horizons and knowledge by coming in contact with so many realities from all parts of the world. Yes, I am really excited and I hope to be able to do much more, not only as a representative of the UISG, but also as a Daughter of Jesus who wants to bring a witness of peace and justice to the world.
What do you want to say to the Daughters of Jesus as a member of this group?
The first thing I would like to say, and I think it is the most important thing, is that we must be open to so many realities that seek to create a world where the values of the Christian faith are ever more present and where respect for the dignity of the person comes first. We can no longer walk alone, we can no longer be self-referential. We must have the courage to step out of our box and think big, that is, to have the courage to live the Gospel in collaboration with those who have the same desire for good as we do.
The second is that we should always keep alive the desire to know, to learn, not to know everything, to accept the life lessons of so many committed lay men and women, such as the women of WUCWO, who dedicate their time to helping women in every corner of the world.
And finally, although I would have many other things to say, always support each other with prayer and tokens of affection, because the mission is one, even if each one of us carries it out in a different way, wherever God has called her.
Caterina Ciriello, FI Curia Community -Rome-.
