Father Guillermo Campuzano, CM who has been appointed the new CM representative at the UN. He replaces Fr. Joseph Foley, CM.

Father Campuzano was born in Colombia and is a member of the Western Province of the United States. During the past eight years he has ministered at DePaul University as a professor and as a campus minister. He is a member of the Theological Reflection Team (ETAP) which advises the Latina American/Caribbean Conference of Religious (CLAR). He is also an advisor to the National Project with regard to Hispanic Youth Ministry in the United States.

Fr. Jorge Luis Rodriguez, CM of the Communications Office of the Congregation of the Mission reports on the background of the position and an interview with Father Foley…

As a Society of Apostolic Life, the Congregation of the Mission, together with many other Religious Congregations, is present at the United Nations alongside many other Catholic and Vincentian NGO’s.  There, through the presence of a confrere, the Congregation of the Mission echoes the cries of the poor that are heard in the countless communities where the Missionaries minister throughout the world.  In doing so, these cries are, in turn, heard by those in a position to make significant decisions on these matters.

Furthermore, our representative at the United Nations establishes a relationship between the Congregation and those individuals dealing with many varied matters that effect the whole of humankind, ecology, peace, etc.  He has a twofold task: first, echoing the cries of the poor and making known at the UN the work of the Church’s NGO’s; second, communicating the reflections and the decisions of the UN to the Congregation of the Mission and the Vincentian Family so that these entities might continue to read and interpret, in a prophetic manner, the signs of the time.

This mission makes the Congregation always attentive to the present reality so that she might respond in a creative manner to the cries that arise on the existential and geographical peripheries where so many of our poor brothers and sisters live out their lives.  People continue to cry out and it is important to respond to those cries.  Wherever our voice is heard, we also want the cries of the poor to be heard.

Up to the present time the representative of the Congregation of the Mission has been Father Foley, a member of the Eastern Province of the United States who was appointed to this position in 2000.

During a brief interview Father Foley said that during these years one of his greatest satisfactions has been an ability to come to the understanding that the presence of the Congregation at the UN is in fact an expression of the Superior General’s commitment to social justice on the behalf of those who poor.  The presence of the Congregation at the UN is a way to advocate on behalf of those who are poor and unable to defend themselves either because they are afraid or are threatened.  Another important aspect has been the Church’s support (in the person of recent Popes) of the representatives to this international organization … a support that has been expressed in her social doctrine.  On a more personal level Father spoke about coming to know so many men and women, religious and lay, all of whom are committed and well informed with regard to the present day reality.

Father Foley said that one of the greatest difficulties is the lack of communication with the leaders of the Congregation on both the international and the provincial level.

Father Foley recommended the following:

• Maintain an on-going relationship with the members of the Curia, especially those that exercise regional leadership in the world (assistant generals)
• Establish a closer relationship with the General Council so that regular meetings can be scheduled. In this way information can be communicated in a more personal manner and such sessions could become part of the on-going formation of the Curia.
• Take advantage of the present moment in which Pope Francis has published his encyclical Laudato Si, and from the perspective of the Vincentian charism and the Church’s social doctrine to make some clear proposal on this matter.

The General Council wants to thank Father Foley for his years of service and commitment to this specific mission and at the same time wants to welcome Father Guillermo Campuzano, CM who has been appointed to be the representative of the Congregation at the UN.

Father Campuzano was born in Colombia and is a member of the Western Province of the United States.  During the past eight years he has ministered at DePaul University as a professor and as a campus minister.  He is a member of the Theological Reflection Team (ETAP) which advises the Latina American/Caribbean Conference of Religious (CLAR).  He is also an advisor to the National Project with regard to Hispanic Youth Ministry in the United States.