Each of us is part of the human community, and we are all interconnected and interdependent. When one part of the community suffers, all of us suffer. Solidarity is a recognition that we are “all in this together” and forms a commitment to strengthen community and promote a just society.
[Solidarity] is not a feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at the misfortunes of so many people, both near and far. On the contrary, it is a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good; that is to say to the good of all and of each individual, because we are all really responsible for all.
Solidarity… means much more than an occasional gesture of generosity. It means thinking and acting in terms of community. It means that the lives of all take priority over the appropriation of goods by a few. It also means fighting against the structural causes of poverty and inequality; of the lack of work, land and housing; and of the denial of social and labour rights. It means confronting the destructive effects of the empire of money: forced dislocation, painful emigration, human trafficking, drugs, war, violence and all those realities that many of you suffer and that we are all called upon to transform. Solidarity, understood in its deepest sense, is a way of making history, and this is what the popular movements are doing.
Living out solidarity is at the heart of Development and Peace ― Caritas Canada’s mission of standing against injustice with our partners as equals, and supporting their efforts through fundraising, education, mobilization and advocacy in Canada. Our international programs, based on partnerships of solidarity, are conceived and realized by local organizations that best understand their communities’ realities and how to address them.
In Canada, our members make personal commitments to advocate for change. Whether it be travelling an extra 100 kilometres to meet an MP, addressing their parish, or joining a climate justice rally, Development and Peace ― Caritas Canada members make solidarity part of their daily lives.
While giving charitably is important, solidarity means building strong bonds of connection that can confront the root causes of injustice. To be in solidarity is to do things with others, rather than simply for others, taking on each other’s struggles and working together in mutual cooperation.
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555 René-Lévesque Blvd. West, 8th Floor
Montreal (Quebec) Canada H2Z 1B1
Phone: 514-257-8711
Toll-free: 1-888-234-8533
Fax: 514-257-8497
Email: info@devp.org
Charity number: 1 1882 9902 RR 0001
Our international cooperation program is carried out in part with the financial support of the Government of Canada acting through Global Affairs Canada.
Development and Peace — Caritas Canada is the official international solidarity organization of the Catholic Church in Canada and the Canadian member of Caritas Internationalis.
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