Self-giving, without borders

The function of volunteers “is to take an active part in the life of society, seeking to make it ever more humane, ever more marked by authentic freedom, justice and solidarity”, said Benedict XVI in the audience with the participants in the recent meeting for Vatican European Catholic Volunteers, promoted by the EU, organized by the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum”. Millions of Catholic volunteers “contribute, regularly and generously, to the Church’s charitable mission throughout the world”. “At the present time, marked as it is by crisis and uncertainty, your commitment is a reason for confidence, since it shows that goodness exists and that it is growing in our midst. Catholic volunteer work cannot respond to all these needs, but that does not discourage us”.We need “innovation”. Which are these volunteering organizations and what do they do? Gianpietro Cavazza, president of the “Francesco Luigi Ferrari” Cultural Centre in Padua, presented some of the findings of the questionnaire handed out to some 60 European bodies, including several Caritas centres. The answers show that volunteering organizations’ main areas of activity are social exclusion and poverty, international cooperation, education and social-support. It was also found that there are more young people serving as volunteers than among the regular staff. “The prevailing motivations which prompt volunteers to take action – Cavazza said – are solidarity and faith”. The expert pointed out that relations with local Churches and institutions are “efficient, ongoing, and cooperative”, while respondents lamented a lack of “innovation”, poor “networking between volunteering bodies” and insufficient “formation of young volunteers”. Of these, Cavazza said, the first is a critical aspect that urgently needs to be addressed, as a new organizational layout “would provide opportunities for volunteering work”.A new European body. Kristalina Georgieva, Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian aid and Crisis Eesponse, also present at the meeting, announced the project for the creation of a “European Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps”. “There is a need for a greater number of experts and we must step up coordination – the Commissioner pointer out -. As the experience of the earthquake in Haiti has shown, many non-coordinated volunteers can be counterproductive”. The Commissioner recalled that “20% of the overall population is engaged in volunteering. As a European citizen I am very proud that this realm is inscribed within our DNA”. “The world we live in today -she added – is more fragile compared to the past. Our world has grown richer but it also became more exposed to natural and humanitarian disasters that are hard to address”. The Commissioner recalled that the European Year of Volunteering (http://europa.eu/volunteering/it/home2) is an opportunity “to identify and appreciate volunteers’ work” that “benefits the whole of society”. is an opportunity “to identify and appreciate volunteers’ work” that “benefits the whole of society”. Dignity for the seriously disabled. In the two-day meeting Veronika Ottrubay presented the experience of Arche, a place “that struggles in the name of justice” for the dignity of seriously mentally disabled persons, “a gift for society and for the Church”. Arche encompasses 150 community centres, each of which assists seven seriously disabled persons who live together with “counselors” and young volunteers, who offer their services for a period of at least nine months. Arche communities are present in 36 countries, 30 only in France. They provide support to approximately 4000 people with serious mental disabilities. “Rooted” in European culture. The working session was opened on November 10 by Card. Robert Sarah, president of Cor Unum. His Eminence pointed out that despite the “social changes” and the ongoing “crisis” the phenomenon of volunteering in Europe is ongoing, and that it is “strongly rooted in European culture”. Reflecting on the current aspects of the various charity organizations, card. Sarah underlined that “volunteering has become avprofession” but Catholic volunteers, whose model is Jesus, entailing “total self-bestowal”, should perhaps “focus more on the dignity of the human person”. This doesn’t mean “replacing expertise with improvisation”, since, conversely, “self-giving entails perfection”. Thus volunteering organizations must not renounce public funding since “the Church is not against it and according to the principle of subsidiarity it is the duty of the State to provide the conditions that enable citizens to be committed in volunteering”. For the president of Cor Unum, “rooted in our Christian identity we will be able to respond to world challenges”. For the cardinal, “secularized” Europe is in “dire need” of the witness of “compassionate love”.