AMERICA/BRAZIL - Week of prayer for Christian unity dedicated to justice

Saint Paul (Agenzia Fides) - In the days preceding the solemnity of Pentecost, this year on Sunday, June 9, the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (SOUC) is celebrated in the southern hemisphere. The theme is inspired by the book of Deuteronomy: "Search for justice, nothing but justice" (see Dt 16,11-20). Promoted worldwide by the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity and the World Council of Churches, SOUC calls for the celebration of justice based on God's grace. "This justice challenges us to look at the complexity of humanity's problems , to review power relations and to realize that the individual interests of economic groups cannot be placed above human beings, the integrity of Creation and the well-being of humanity", explains the text signed by representatives of the National Council of Christian Churches (CONIC).
This year SOUC was prepared by the Christians from Indonesia, while in Brazil by the CONIC of the state of Minas Gerais. In the letter published by CONIC for the occasion, the ruptures of the mining waste dams caused by "the economic interests of the financial groups that have their source of wealth in mining" are remembered. The representatives of the Churches affirm that it is impossible not to think of people even of different faith traditions and those who are not linked to religious traditions, who have lost friends, family and friends in the collapse of the Córrego do Feijão dam. "We want to pray so that the justice of God's grace subverts human justice, which does not always guarantee compensation to those affected by the actions of large corporations". The collapse of the Mina Córrego do Feijão dam, in Brumadinho, in the province of Belo Horizonte, Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, which occurred on January 25th, caused over 60 deaths and hundreds of people went missing.
This week’s intentions include families affected by mining, people who depend on the Doce river, the Paraopeba river and the São Francisco river for their survival: "These rivers suffer the effects of mining exploration. In our prayers, let us remember the indigenous peoples who also suffer for this destruction and for the countless peasant families who have lost their fields". (SL) (Agenzia Fides, 4/6/2019)

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