Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - The annual meeting of the administrative council of the "Populorum Progressio" Foundation is due to be held from 27 to 31 July at the Schwerte Catholic Academy in the archdiocese of Paderborn, Germany, to consider the financing of projects in support of poor indigenous mixed race and Afro-American rural communities of Latin America and the Caribbean. According to a communique from the Holy See Press Office, on July 27, there will be a press conference featuring the presentation of the Foundation's work. The following day, the members will participate in a Mass that will mark the beginning of the festivities for the Patron of the Archdiocese of Paderborn, Saint Liborio. This will be followed by three days of sessions and a visit to the city of Neheim, birthplace of Fr. Franz Stock, hero of the faith who gave his life after the Second World War to strengthen bonds between France and Germany.
The Foundation, with the help of contributions from benefactors all over the world, finances projects that focus on integral human formation. The presence of Latin American Prelates on the Council guarantees both concrete and direct knowledge of the problems, as well as application of the ecclesial principle of the integral development of the person, which is not only concerned for meeting the material needs, but focuses above all on the spiritual dimension. “Yet it should be stressed that progress of a merely economic and technological kind is insufficient. Development needs above all to be true and integral” (Caritas in veritate, 23).
This past year, a total of 231 projects have been presented, covering 20 countries and various different sectors including: manufacturing (agricultural implements, production and marketing), healthcare, professional training, creation of community centers, school education and the construction of rural dwellings. Among the countries that have presented the greatest number of projects are Colombia (52), Brazil (45), Peru (32) and Ecuador (17). They are followed by Bolivia (12), El Salvador (12), Haiti (11), Mexico (9), Guatemala (7), Argentina (6), Chile (6), Costa Rica (5), Nicaragua (3), Dominican Republic (3), Venezuela (3), Cuba (2), Honduras (2), Paraguay (2), Panama (1) and Uruguay (1). (SL) (Agenzia Fides 21/7/2009)
