by Lucy Rauer, Catholic Social Action Coordinator 

 

This year marks the tenth anniversary since Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’: On Care for our Common Home reached our doorsteps. In this month’s Pastoral Development article, we celebrate Pope Francis’ message, dive into the meaning of ‘accompaniment’, and ask for your prayers as we approach the archdiocese’s annual conference on Catholic Social Action. 

 

If you are an avid reader of the Pastoral Development section of the Catholic Pic, you will have noticed the recurrence of what seems to be a very trendy word around the archdiocese in recent years: ‘accompaniment’.  

 

Of Latin derivative, ad cum panis, the term implies the sharing of bread or sustenance. In her own usage, the Church understands ‘accompaniment’ to stand for the exchanging of gifts; the formation of a relationship that enables both parties to flourish. As my colleague, Moses, pointed out in last month’s article, “accompaniment means meeting people where they are”.  

 

To accompany someone is, therefore, a statement of solidarity.  

 

The current focus on accompaniment has not been pulled out of thin air. The idea took a central position in Catholic Social Teaching at the time of its founding in 1891 with the publication of Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum, which prompted a shift in our understanding of how we ought to relate to those in situations of suffering; simply giving to charity whilst maintaining distance from those suffering is not enough, Pope Leo XIII urged - we are called to meet people where they are and to walk alongside them in their journey.  

 

The highest example of accompaniment, of course, is to be found in Christ, “who came to accompany us on the journey of life” (Laudato Si’, §235). Not once ignoring the grumblings of creation, Jesus lived in solidarity with the suffering, made known that all belong to him, and gave hope for the renewal of all things.  

 

As we celebrate the tenth anniversary since the publication of Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’, the themes of accompaniment and solidarity once again become relevant to us. Following in Christ’s example, Laudato Si’ urges us to create communities where each person can feel “held within a network of solidarity and belonging”, so that any place can be transformed into “the setting for a dignified life”.  

 

This July, the archdiocese celebrates its annual conference on Catholic Social Action. Charities, working groups, and other champions of social action will meet to collaborate on the theme of ‘Building Stronger Communities’. We will accompany each other, sharing our gifts and resources, and encouraging each other in mission.  

 

We ask for you to join us in praying for the strengthening of networks of solidarity across the archdiocese. And to God who came to earth to accompany us on every one of our journeys, we say with Pope Francis: Praise be to you! 

 

For more information on the upcoming conference, or to find out ways to get involved in catholic social action in the Archdiocese of Liverpool, contact Lucy Rauer (Catholic Social Action Coordinator) at l.rauer@rcaol.org.uk.