A Revisit of the Archdiocese of Bombay Social Perspective Plan

A revisit of the Archdiocese of Bombay Social Perspective Plan was conducted at Sarvodaya on December 17th & 18th, 2010. There were 55 participants, comprising of heads of various organisations and institutions, men and women religious, lay people who have contributed to social change and staff of the community centre organisations.

Fr Elias Gonsalves, the Director of the Centre for Social Action gave a brief introduction to the importance of revisiting the Perspective Plan that was prepared in 1999 and he shared about the preparatory process that had taken place during the Lenten Reflection and thereafter.

Cardinal Oswald Gracias delivered the key note address and said that the season of Advent is a season of waiting in hope for our Lord’s coming. He said that Jesus always had a preferential option for the poor and the marginalized when he quoted from the gospel of Luke. He said that it is important to reflect on what the priorities in our social apostolate are. We need to be constantly open to new ideas and to different challenges that we face in our work. Each one has much to contribute from the experiential knowledge that we have which will make our work more effective and fruitful.
He said that Pope Benedict has said that the Church cannot take the place of government to tackle all the problems, but we can be leaven in the dough and influence and pressurize the government to implement the programs for the poor and the marginalized. But we need to have a clear vision and a mission statement. He said that in today’s context networking with the government and other like minded organizations is very important just as advocacy and lobbying are important to tackle the problem of corruption that is rampant in society. We should also use the media effectively to influence civil society.
He wished all the participants success in their deliberations as they revisit the Archdiocesan Social Perspective Plan.

Dr. Keith D’Souza, Director of Human Touch was the facilitator for the two day meeting. Through various exercises and group discussions he led the participants to reflect, share and draw out objectives and activities for the following priority program areas of the archdiocese namely - Vulnerable Children & Education, Women’s Empowerment & Livelihood, Communal Harmony, Care for Creation, Youth and Governance.

The meeting concluded with a vote of thanks delivered by Fr. Elias.