The launch on May 8th 2011 of the Hope&Joy Network was greeted as a landmark
moment for the Catholic Church in Southern Africa.
The network, which aims
to promote the second Vatican Council, energize the local Church, and provide tools
for evangelization and education, was conceived to become the visible sign of a vibrant
Church that is forward-looking.
It is significant that Hope&Joy, a grassroots
movement with no formal structure or hierarchy, has been welcomed so warmly by so
many bishops, including Durban Archbishop, Cardinal Wilfrid Napier. So much so, that
in a letter of encouragement and support for the Hope&Joy initiative, Cardinal Napier
describes it as "a manifestation of the Holy Spirit moving within our Church…"
At the core of Hope&Joy’s creation is the Second Vatican Council. In October the
Church will mark the 50th anniversary of the council’s opening. Hope&Joy sees this
anniversary as an opportunity to deepen our understanding of its teachings.
At
the top of the Hope&Joy webpage, you can read that at Vatican II, the Church recognised
that it carries out its Mission “in the Modern World” not by fleeing from it, but
by engaging with it.
Linda Bordoni spoke to the man behind this wide-ranging
initiative. His name is Raymond Perrier and he is the director of the Jesuit Institute
in South Africa. Perrier explains the idea behind the creation of Hope&Joy and
why the translation of "Gaudium et Spes", Pope Paul VIth’s Pastoral Constituion of
1965 was chosen for the title. He talks about the network that enables organisations
to work together and benefit by association, and points out that the network is open
to any organisation listed in a Catholic directory. Perrier says he continues to
receive much positive feedback and that the project, which is programmed for another
year, is growing and developing day by day. He says that although the initiative
is very much rooted in a South African reality, he hopes it will provide inspiration
and tools for others... listen to the interview...