| Of all the activities organised by Development and Peace during the International Eucharistic Congress, the Night of the Landless was the most spectacular. A camping site set up on the grounds of the Congress on June 20, 2008 allowed pilgrims to sleep outside all night, in solidarity with the landless peasants of Brazil.
After a picnic and a presentation on Brazil’s Landless Rural Worker’s Movement, Cardinal Oscar Andrés Rodriguez Maradiaga, Archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, spoke of land redistribution and poverty in Latin America. He invited the assembly to work for social justice and to put pressure on the government to change unjust international structures. The Cardinal, who is also President of Caritas Internationalis, has been a driving force behind efforts to promote responsible mining in Honduras.
During the Night of the Landless, over 125 participants took part in activities including presentations, music, singing, storytelling and films, finishing with a free breakfast under the main tent and a mística, or Brazilian spiritual celebration.
Earlier, Father Jean-Patrice Ngoyi, director of the Justice, Development and Peace Commission in Nigeria gave a conference on human rights, development challenges, control and management of extractive resources in the country.
During the International Eucharistic Congress, pilgrims were invited to sign a petition asking that the Canadian government create an independent ombudsperson to verify social responsibility by Canadian mining, oil and gas companies in their overseas operations. Over 900 signatures were obtained, including that of Cardinal Rodriguez, joining the 190 000 Canadians who have already signed the petition.
Father Jean-Patrice Ngoyi and Gabrielle Lachance, President of the Development and Peace Quebec diocesan council also participated in a panel discussion entitled "Eucharist and liberation". |
