Solidarity in action

New forms of Christian solidarity, engagement and witness: the Semaine Sociale de France (SSF), (Paris, 26 – 28 November) on “Migrants, a future to be constructed together”, represented, with its 3,000 participants and some hundred different stands, a great showcase of French Catholicism. The country’s dioceses, together with a strong European representation, were the real protagonists of this event, now in its 85th year. The method of dialogue aimed at commitment to the real issues of our time has kept alive the spirit of this event which was founded in 1904 thanks to the dedication of two laypeople, Marius Gonin from Lyon and Adéodat Boissard from Lille, and which is aimed at disseminating and fostering the social thought of the Church, applying it and adapting it to the current problems of society. The current problems of France are unemployment, immigration, integration, economic crisis and housing crisis, and to these problems French Catholicism responds with a series of practical measures implemented by dioceses, lay associations, movements and groups, and presented in the stands of the Semaine Sociale. On the social and economic level the association “New forms of solidarity in response to unemployment” offers “a personalized accompaniment to support the jobless in their efforts to get back into employment, creating bonds of solidarity, including financial support”. More specifically, the members of the association are engaged at the local and national level in forming small groups of donors and partner firms to create new prospects of work, also by financing projects for insertion in the workforce. Thanks to its 2500 donors of every faith and culture, of whom 1200 volunteers, and its 100 local groups, the association (www.snc.asso.fr) has since 1985 helped over 15,000 persons to find a job and funded over 1000 working contracts within partner companies. Connected with the issue of joblessness is also the association founded by Father Bernard Devert over 25 years ago, “Habitat et Humanisme”. It devotes its attention to those underprivileged individuals and families who don’t have decent housing and who are deprived of everything. Thanks to a network of 50 affiliated associations, present in 64 French Départements, “Habitat et Humanisme” (www.habitat-humanisme.org) has at its disposal in 2010 some 4500 lodgings which it manages either on its own or on behalf of third parties, and which have enabled it to provide accommodation, at advantageous rents, to 12,000 families. From its foundation to the present day, Father Devert has been able to provide over 30,000 people with a roof over their heads. The system of financing is simple: anyone who likes can invest his/her own money in fair trade savings products, donating part of the interest yielded to the association, which then re-invests it to the benefit of its charitable work. This method has received recognition from Finansol, a guarantee for ethical transparency in the use and management of savings.In the field of integration and aid for immigrants, sensitive issues in contemporary France, also in the light of the furore aroused by the recent expulsion of Roma, another Catholic association is actively involved: namely, “Cedre”, one of the antennae of Secours Catholique, which forms part of the worldwide network of Caritas. Cedre, “Centre d’entraide pour les demandeurs d’asile et les réfugiés” (www.secours-catholique.org/cedre), provides assistance to asylum seekers, refugees and foreigners in difficulty who wish to obtain residence permits in France without forgetting the need for integration. The Centre’s volunteers assist immigrants by accompanying them both at the bureaucratic level and of that of promoting their integration through meetings with local realities. That’s why Cedre also organizes courses in French language and culture, computer training, guided visits, theatre and cookery workshops. Social peace and integration are also achieved through the promotion of interfaith dialogue: that’s the conviction of the Interreligious Committee for universal ethics (Cieux) which works at the service of religious and lay communities by organizing meetings on respect for human rights and religious traditions. Religious diversity, according to Cieux (www.cieuxinternational.org), is an opportunity that needs to be grasped to tackle exclusion and enable faith to be experienced in union with others. The stands at this year’s Semaine Sociale also included those of some dioceses, including Creteil, led by Mgr. Michel Santier. In the foreground in this case is youth discontent that is given a vent in the disturbing fashion among teenagers of binge drinking. At the age of 17, according to one survey, 48% of French youth declare they have experimented with binge drinking at least once a month, 17% at least three times a month and 2% at least 10 times. It’s a practice that is causing a marked increase of deaths from cirrhosis of the liver in Great Britain, the country in which this fashion was born. The diocese of Creteil responds to this emergency with a project of consciousness raising and pastoral intervention on youth and their families, thanks to the counselling of experts in the medical, educational and social fields.