For many of my generation, it all began in March of 1967. It was on that date that Pope Paul VI gave the Church his encyclical, Populorum Progressio - On the Development of Peoples. He noted that the economy of the world should serve mankind (sp) and not just a few. It was released on March 26th, 1967. If you want peace work for justice.

The encyclical was met with wide enthusiasm. The Canadian Bishops’ Conference founded Development and Peace (D&P). Labour Day statements were written each year on Justice and its sub-topics. Major documents were written by the Social Affairs Commission of the Bishops and an example is “A Society to be Transformed” which made the papers daily for a whole month. Pierre Trudeau was Prime Minister at the time and is reported to have said that the bishops should stay in their pulpits and be concerned about Church attendance and not be involved in politics.

The Canadian Religious Conference (CRC) living in a different structure then, created Social Action Committees. Ontario CRC-O created one and our Fr. Frank Maloney was an early member.

The Christian churches in Canada, beginning to work ecumenically, created Ecumenical Church Coalitions working for justice, economic and human development, human rights, and peace. Some of us attended annual general meetings of Canadian Corporations and pleaded with the shareholders to have the corporation be concerned about their presence in Canada and countries around the world. Canada is known worldwide for mining and our record internationally is not good.

At this time the Religious of Ontario with the help of their Social Action Committee created the Canadian Alternative Investment Co-Op (CAIC). Religious would invest their money and the returning interest would be split and a fund was set up to support social scenes that cried for help - battered women’s shelters, anti-poverty movements to name only two. Our Frank Maloney was a founding member of this initiative. The Redemptorists were also members and financed many of the Ecumenical Canadian Church Coalitions working for Justice.

The Redemptorist General Chapter of 1985 was a turning point for many of us. The theme resulting from that Chapter held in Brazil “was to evangelize and be evangelized by the Poor.” In Rome, the Redemptorists had a Commission for Justice and Peace and after the Chapter of 1985, this Commission was elevated to that of a Secretariat with members from the Congregation worldwide and an Office in Rome with a Secretary. The Chapter of 1997 tried to integrate that Secretariat into other commitments of Spirituality the new theme for Redemptorists.

Pope Francis is trying to restructure the Roman Curia in Rome. Very recently he demoted the Congregation for Doctrine and Faith (Holy Office) to second place on the power grid and made the Dicastery for Evangelization number one and he himself is its boss. Our General Government did something the same. We now have a General Secretariat for Evangelization and within a Redemptorist approach to Social Ministry - Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation.

An 85-page document was produced by the members of this subset and recently a Zoom meeting from the Congregation was held relating to it from the perspective of members working in this apostolate worldwide. After the Zoom meeting, I contacted confreres and lay associates in Germany and sought their experience. So far at least this commitment of Redemptorists is an individual concern and not a province concern in the north, only in so far as the province supports the work of the individual.

This is also true of many dioceses in Canada. At a recent meeting of the Social Affairs Commission of the Ontario Bishops, I asked how Pope Francis’ encyclical of Laudato Si was being lived out. The response from the meeting was very low. Demographics, membership etc. have changed the climate for Justice.

On March 23rd the CRC held a Webinar on Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation (JPIC). About 140 attended, leaders and folks trying to live this apostolate for Justice. Stories were told about what has been done across Canada in the last 20 years. The future of Religious in Canada is very fragile, Church attendance has changed. New immigrants who are Catholic often have different spiritual and apostolic needs for Church attendance and their new life in Canada.

Micah said it well: “Do Justice, Love Tenderly and Walk Humbly with your God.” The Beatitudes - attitudes of Being Jesus for these times - are the commandments of Jesus to be lived out in our lives as Religious.