On the occasion of International Women’s Day, the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organisations (WUCWO) and the Consulta Femminile of the Pontifical Council for Culture have organized, in collaboration with the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and the patronage of various Embassies to the Holy See, an ecumenical and interreligious webinar entitled "Women reading Fratelli tutti".

The Ecology and Creation Sector of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development of the Holy See has invited WUCWO, as a Catholic NGO, to collaborate from a grassroot level in the launch of the 7-year plan wanted by Pope Francis to achieve the 7 Sustainable Goals of Laudato si':

International Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking - An Economy without Human Trafficking.

The International Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking 2021 brings into the spotlight one of the main causes of human trafficking: the dominant economic model of our time, whose limits and contradictions are exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

PILAR BELLOSILLO GARCÍA VERDE
(1913-2003)

Pilar Bellosillo was a woman unconditionally devoted to the service of God in the Church, especially in lay ecclesiastical institutions, in which she took on many different responsibilities.

Her main concern was the issue of women in society and in the Church. She also worked actively for ecumenism and all that amounted to progress in dialogue and reconciliation.

She served as WUCWO President from 1961 to 1974. We are now promoting her cause for beatification.

PRAYER

Lord God and our Father, we thank you for the fruitful life of Pilar Bellosillo, for her testimony of dedication to the cause of the Gospel, for her love for the Church, and for her dedicated and important work for the path of renewal in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council.

We thank you for the impetus she gave to the Church's laity and for her constant commitment to the promotion of women.

Trusting in her intercession, we put in your hands the grace we ask you to grant us. Make us, too, courageous and committed witnesses of the faith. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord.

More information about the life of Pilar Bellosillo: pilarbellosillo.es/en

To communicate favours and graces:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Donations for the Cause:
Santander ES28 0049 6791 70 2416001681
BIC/SWIFT CODE: BSCHESMMXXX

For the month of February, the Pope has decided to pray for women who are victims of violence. Luckily this monthly intention is in line with our 3rd resolution "LET US ELIMINATE DISCRIMINATION AND VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN", which we have adopted for this year's prayer intention and WUCWO Day.

Pope Francis, during his weekly General Audience, recalls the first International Day of Human Fraternity, which falls on 4 February. The international day was established by a Resolution of the United Nations General Assembly in December 2020.

Working together for a culture of care.

Dear friends,

we begin this year with a strong and tender call from the Holy Father: “I ask everyone to […] become a prophetic witness of the culture of care, working to overcome the many existing social inequalities. This can only come about through a widespread and meaningful involvement on the part of women, in the family and in every social, political and institutional sphere. […] Promoting a culture of care calls for a process of education. The ‘compass’ of social principles can prove useful and reliable in a variety of interrelated contexts. Let me offer a few examples:

Please find below the proposal for our WUCWO Day 2021, which has been drawn up by the Region of North America.

A special thanks goes to Maribeth Stewart Blogoslawski, Vice President General and Regional Vice President North America.

PRAYER FOR RESOLUTION #3: Let Us Eliminate Violence and Discrimination Against Women.

Dear Lord,

We pray for all touched by the evil of violence:

For the victim survivors;

A field hospital to heal the victims and the creation.

The crisis of the Coronavirus is not only a health crisis, for it also has repercussions in many areas: economy, politics, our family environment and that of our organisations. It was not present in science fiction bestsellers or in the collective imagination. This global and complex crisis aggravates the climatic, migratory, discriminatory and enslaving hardships already existing in humanity. “Those who fail to view a crisis in the light of the Gospel simply perform an autopsy on a cadaver. They see the crisis, but not the hope and the light brought by the Gospel.” (Pope Francis to the Roman Curia, 21 December 2020).

WUCWO participated to the first virtual meeting in the cycle “The leadership role of women of faith in international relations”. The event was organised by the Latin American Women of Faith of Religions for Peace. The opening speech was given by the President of WUCWO. You can download her presentation below (only in Spanish).

WUCWO participated to the 5th edition of Átrio dos Gentios, an initiative created by Cardinal Ravasi, Prefect of the Pontifical Council for Culture.