WUCWO Assembly June 2006
The WUCWO [World Union of Catholic Women's Organisations] General Assembly saw more than 700 women from 39 countries gathered to discuss social justice and world peace.
The Conference was hosted by the The National Council of Catholic Women (USA) in Arlington, Virginia.
Eight CWLA members attended the WUCWO Assembly.
Australia's submission adopted by the Assembly
WUCWO will make a formal approach to the Holy See to have St.
Maria Goretti proclaimed Patroness of the Innocence of
Children.
WUCWO will request the Holy See to set aside St. Maria
Goretti's Feast Day on 6th July as a day of prayer throughout
the Universal Church for all those who are currently being
sexually abused, and a day on which to pray for the healing of
all those who have suffered sexual abuse in their childhood.
WUCWO Resolutions Adopted at the General Assembly
This is an exact copy of the text document which is also available as a download from the WUCWO website [Download = 42KB]
1. DAY OF PRAYER FOR SEXUALLY ABUSED
Submitted by the Catholic Women's League of Australia,
seconded by KALASZ of Hungary
Motivation
The protection of the innocence of children has always been a
Christian priority. Recent reports show a disturbing increase in
sexually abused young children who, in turn, are becoming abusers
of other young children.
Aged 11, St. Maria Goretti confronted a threat to her childhood
innocence. Her action in repelling this evil led to her suffering
and death - yet she was instrumental in obtaining the conversion
of her attacker.
We believe that prayer to St. Maria Goretti can and will change
the lives of abusers of children and bring them to repentance. St
Maria Goretti's attacker lived to see his victim canonized in
1950, as a martyr for chastity and Christian life.
WUCWO will make a formal approach to the Holy See to have St. Maria Goretti proclaimed Patroness of the Innocence of Children. WUCWO will request the Holy See to set aside St. Maria Goretti's Feast Day on 6th July as a day of prayer throughout the Universal Church for all those who are currently being sexually abused, and a day on which to pray for the healing of all those who have suffered sexual abuse in their childhood.
2. EDUCATION (CHILDREN)
Submitted by the National Council of Catholic Women of Ghana,
seconded by the National Council of Catholic Women of Zambia
Motivation
Education is a human right to which boys and girls, men and women are equally entitled. It is a cornerstone for development and the eradication of poverty. Education empowers girls and women and enables them to know and enjoy their rights. It also enhances their contribution to development. Yet, statistics worldwide show that the level of girls' education is inferior to that of boys and women's illiteracy rates are far higher than men's.
ResolutionWUCWO member organisations are called upon to advocate actively with all providers of education, the church, NGO's and the State, to invest more in the education of all children and women. With the support of the international community, developing world governments should allocate resources from debt relief to promote the education of the girl child and women where serious disparities exist between them and boys and men.
3. GIRLS AND BOYS AT RISK
Submitted by Union Femenina Catolica Mexicana of Mexico, seconded
by Liga de Madres de Familia of Argentina
Motivation
Abandoned girls and boys suffer from unmet basic needs which must be compensated for to allow their development by such means as: food, health, clothing, housing, education as well as love, self-esteem and responsibility. These children are a sign of our times suffering from grave insufficiencies which require action by governments, civil society and the Church's pastoral services.
ResolutionWUCWO organisations will urge governments, civil society and the Church to offer protection to girls and boys either abandoned or coming from broken homes, and who are exposed to lack of basic care, hunger, violence, pornography, sexual abuse, organ trafficking, drug addiction and delinquency.
4. COMMITMENT TO DEMOCRACY
Submitted by Misiones Rurales Argentinas of Argentina, seconded
by Asociacion Mexicana para la Superacion Integral de la Familia,
A.C. of Mexico
In the light of the reality in many countries, where governments call themselves democratic but where democracy has not become a concrete reality, we believe that women through their personality can contribute to reverse the situation through education, participation and group training to foster peace through dialogue, exchange of ideas with a view to changing society.
ResolutionWUCWO urges women to commit themselves to take action within the family, as well as in social and political areas for a true pluralistic and participatory democracy.
5.THE WOMAN
SAVES THE ENVIRONMENT
Submitted by Asociacion Mexicana para la Superacion Integral de
la Familia, A.C. of Mexico, seconded by Grupo de Mujeres de
Holguin and Movimiento Diocesano de Mujeres Catolicas of Cuba
Motivation
The woman is closer to nature (her body knows about cycles,
rhythms, expectations....) so she can contribute with a wealth of
work and experience in sustainable development; in front of the
depredation of the ecological environment, she can respond to the
Owner of creation giving a different response from the answer of
Cain: "Yes my Lord I am the caretaker of my
brother."
CFR: Genesis 2.9 and the Hour of Mary, Hour of the Woman, by
Maria Teresa Porcile.
WUCWO urges women to offer their minds, hearts and hands to take care of creation. In studying the problems of their ecological environment, they should be aware of the social and personal responsibility, in their role as women, in the restoration and conservation of the environment.
6. SOLIDARITY IN GLOBALIZATION
Submitted by Union Femenina Catolica Mexicana, seconded by Accion
Catolica Argentina.
Motivation
WUCWO must be a space where solidarity in globalization among the regions may be lived, the commitment in the international dimension may be valued, the pluralism may be respected and the economic and cultural wealth may be shared, above all, with the neediest organisations.
ResolutionWUCWO will be a privileged space for the member organisations where solidarity in globalization may be lived between the regions through the interchange of human resources and materials, the formation of leaders and the giving of help to the various countries and member organisations which are facing emergency situations.
7. HIV/AIDS
Submitted by the Association of Catholic Women of Mali, the
Catholic Women's League of Norway, seconded by the National
Council of Catholic Women of Ghana
Motivation
The HIV/AIDS virus presents one of the greatest threats to mankind. With 40 million people infected presently and these figures escalating, the disease is the most serious humanitarian catastrophe of our time. Women's health issues have not yet received the required priority, particularly in developing countries, as manifested by the very high rates of maternal mortality and the fact that the HIV/AIDS pandemic affects women and teenage girls disproportionately and with disastrous consequences for their children and families.
ResolutionAs a defender of women's rights and dignity, WUCWO will
support and encourage various actions to alleviate the situation
for women and children who are AIDS victims or in danger of
becoming so - this in terms of information, education,
medical advice or humanitarian support. WUCWO will also
encourage various alliances which have joined forces to fight
HIV/AIDS and which are instruments in bringing together people
working on the same problem.
Women are urged to assume greater responsibility for their own
health and that of their children by participating actively in
various health care programmes and by utilizing fully health
services.
WUCWO member organisations will disseminate the teachings of the
Catholic Church on the HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment
accessible especially to women and girls in poor urban and rural
communities and to work on raising awareness among youth and
other groups of the population.
8. RATIFICATION OF INTERNATIONAL COVENANT RE: DEATH
PENALTY
Submitted by the Catholic Women's
League of Canada, seconded by the National Board of Catholic
Women of England and Wales
Motivation
Many member - states have not yet signed or ratified the 1989 United Nations Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty, and Article #3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that, "Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person" and the death penalty violates this right.
ResolutionThe World Union of Catholic Women's Organisations will encourage its member organisations to urge their governments to sign and ratify the 1989 United Nations Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty.
9. CAMPAIGNING AGAINST MANUFACTURE, STORAGE AND THE
USE OF WEAPONS
Submitted by the National Board of Catholic Women of England and
Wales, seconded by the National Council of Catholic Women of
Zambia
Motivation
Given that many countries spend enormous sums of money on armaments. Given that armed conflict is the greatest cause of poverty and deprivation affecting women and children disproportionately.
ResolutionWUCWO, its member organisations and individuals will, in their role as peacemakers, campaign against the manufacture, storage and the use of weapons.
10. IMPROVING THE WOMEN'S ECONOMIC
SITUATION
Submitted by the National Board of
Catholic Women of England and Wales, seconded by the National
Council of Catholic Women of Ghana, and the Federation of
Catholic Women's Organisations of Togo (FOFCATO)
Motivation
Given that most people living in extreme poverty are women and that eradicating this extreme poverty is the necessary first step to achieving all the other United Nations Millennium Development Goals. Given that the majority of countries have signed up to the Millennium Goals,
ResolutionWUCWO and its member organisations will work towards the eradication of extreme poverty by encouraging and enabling women to acquire skills which will allow them to become self-supporting, for example through culturally appropriate projects, micro-finance projects and co-operatives, support those goals which aim to promote gender equality, reduce child poverty and improve maternal health, and ask their governments to respect the principles of good governance for a more equitable distribution of their country's resources.
11. THE FAMILY
Submitted by Liga de Madres de Familia of Argentina, seconded
Movimiento Diocesano de Mujeres of Cuba
Motivation
WUCWO passed both at the General Assemblies in Roehampton, England in 1987 and in Rome 2001 resolutions on the family. In the situation in the world today, where the concept of family is changing, it is even more necessary to uphold the importance of the family and protect the families with all appropriate measures, especially with regard to health and social services. Furthermore, it is necessary that the Church supports and protects in every way the family as the most important space for teaching of the faith, for fostering a culture of peace, for learning respect for the dignity of others, to teach about equality between men and women while recognizing their difference and for teaching and practising interreligious dialogue.
ResolutionWUCWO's member organisations will urge governments to take
measures that support the family nucleus when implementing
schemes of health programmes, maternity services and social
services.
WUCWO and its member organisations will urge the Church to uphold
and support the family as the transmitter of the faith, for
teaching of human values and for learning to build the peace. The
Church should provide adequate pastoral support for parents in
their task of raising children to become responsible human beings
of faith, justice and peace.
Submitted by the Catholic Women's League of Canada and seconded by the National Board of Catholic Women of England and Wales
Whereas, the 1996 Stockholm Declaration of the 1st World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children called for comprehensive, coordinated plans of action to address the commercial sexual exploitation of children, and the United Nations Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography has yet to be ratified by many member-states; therefore, be it Resolved, That the World Union of Catholic Women's Organisations encourage its member organisations to urge their federal governments to develop, implement and monitor comprehensive, national plans of action as called for by the the 1996 Stockholm Declaration of the 1st World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, and to ratify the United Nations Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.
