Justice, peace and the integrity of creation are values that for Franciscans must be promoted. This is why the Order of Friars Minor has set up a body for the facilitation and sensitization of this message: the General Office for Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation (JPIC). Br. Jaime Campos, who has been the director of the JPIC office in Jerusalem for a few days, had the opportunity to speak to the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land. During the meeting that took place on May 30, Fr. Jaime explained that “these values did not come about on a specific date, but are from Jesus himself and are present in his preaching.” The dimension that surrounds justice, peace and the integrity of creation is “an essential dimension of our vocation,” according to the JPIC office director, “and in this sense, must be facilitated, like all of the other dimensions, and must be part of the planning of our pastoral activities.”
The JPIC Office
In the hall of the Immaculate at St. Savior’s in Jerusalem, the friars of the Custody who guard the Holy Places and who are from the different fraternities gathered together. In front of this audience, Fr. Jaime Campos illustrated the effective work of the Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation office that he directs. The director, also called facilitator-general, had an assistant with him. There were also 13 conferences which grouped the provinces by language, geographical area and number, as well as a fourteenth one, that of the Holy Land. Each conference had a delegate who was part of the International Council of Justice and Peace and each entity had a facilitator. The Rome central bureau [outlined] four areas of action:
- Formation with the elaboration of the aforementioned writings, the publication of a "Contact" bulletin every four months, with the organization of a JPIC course at the Antonianum University in Rome;
- Coordination of international conferences organized by the General Order and meetings of the International Council and the facilitating/organizing committee;
- Communication with the Order’s general government;
- Collaboration with the Secretaries General of the OFM and with organizations linked to the Franciscan world (such as Franciscan International, Talita Kum, etc.)
For the Custody of the Holy Land, the facilitator of the Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation office is Fr. Giorgio Vigna, from the Basilica of Agony in Gethsemane. (more)
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