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My name is Jonali. I was born on a cold February morning in Shillong a month and a half ahead of time. Sadly, my twin brother did not survive. However, I made it through the winter in the warm and loving arms of my parents. Growing up, I was a very quiet and shy girl who liked to observe my surroundings. I loved books and found refuge in them. My sister has been an avid reader and I guess I got into the habit of reading just by being with her. My mom is a stay at home mom by choice and we would lovingly tease and call her ‘The Kitchen Lecturer’ – someone who screams from the kitchen. My dad is the best dad ever (and I am dead serious). He is persistent, creative and such a positive influence in my life. We grew up poor, but we also grew up happy. My mom and dad always inspired me to do more, achieve more and taught me to never give up.

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Jonali Patgiri

It was a hostel meant for poor students managed by a religious congregation.  Mr Andrew, the hostel warden, came with a list of complaints against Arun, one of the newly admitted boys and suggested to the director that Arun be sent away for the good of all the others.  The superior told the warden, “Mr Andrew, this is a hostel meant for poor boys.  Arun is from a poor family and he has no mother.  His father is a drunkard.  If we send him away now, he may end up as a social misfit.  Let us be patient with him.  After all, this hostel is meant for such boys.”

The superior of that hostel had a clear understanding of the mission of that hostel.  Here, by “mission,” we are not referring to missionary work, or the act of preaching the Gospel.  By mission we mean “the task one is entrusted with,” “the assignment/apostolate given to an individual or community.”

In the last article we spoke about “vision.”  We described “vision” as the ideal that we want to reach.  Vision is the ultimate goal to be realized in the future.  Vision is future-oriented.

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Fr Jose Kuttianimattathil SDB

We, at MAGNET, invited open feedback about religious from lay women and men, in these words:

“Thousands of schools and colleges—from top-rated institutions in cities to those catering to the poorest in the villages—are run by religious. So, too, hospitals and health centres of all types. And centres for street children, homes for the destitute aged, leprosaria, orphanages, media houses, retreat houses, shelters for the homeless, legal aid centres, …

As a lay person, you will probably be familiar with one or a few activities of religious. We would like to know your impressions of Catholic religious (women and men) and your expectations from them. “

Here is a frank and well-thought out feedback from a professional familiar with members of religious orders.

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Conrad Saldanha

Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) of 1968 is a law with special reference to this lockdown period

Imposition of ESMA:

“The Covid-19 outbreak has breathed life into antiquated laws,” says The Economic Times of 21 March 2020.  In April 2020, the Uttar Pradesh Government decided to put on hold the increase of the Dearness Allowance (DA) for its sixteen lakh employees which was due from January 1, 2020.  The government decided not to pay DA instalments which will be due from July 1, 2020 and January 1, 2021.  Further, it imposed ‘The Essential Services Maintenance Act, 1968’ (ESMA) and prohibited strikes in workplace for the next six months.  Similarly, the Andhra Pradesh Government imposed ESMA on health and medical services for a period of six months from April 2020.  The Madhya Pradesh Government invoked it on 3 April 2020 across the state as a measure to prevent any strike by essential services delivery system, including the medical and health services.  Therefore, it is high time we learnt the provisions of ESMA, especially during this pandemic period.

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Fr Ravi Sagar SJ

Moments before sending this to the Magnet, I happened to see two or three news items in ‘Matters India’, a news service run by a veteran journalist and a dear friend, Jose Kavi. They speak about the arrest of a veteran Jesuit social activist, who has spent much of his life working for the rights of tribal people in north India. We will come back to him later. This article is about someone else.

It was amazing to learn that a person who was just forty-eight years old could touch the lives of so many thousands of people. When Trepan Singh Chauhan passed away on 13 August 2020, every newspaper and media organization in the State of Uttarakhand carried the news. Hundreds of people poured out their grief on social media.

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Fr M A Joe Antony SJ

We are currently living through perhaps the worst crisis the global community has faced in the last one hundred years since the Spanish flu of 1918. COVID-19 has disrupted life on a massive scale.

Recently, in a talk to faculty and students, Fr Stephen Mavely, Vice Chancellor of Assam Don Bosco University, made a comment which later became the central point of his address at the University Convocation. He described this as time of “churning.” He presented the following characteristics of this churning: a challenging time, a disconcerting time, a revealing time, a disturbing time, an unsettling time. The talk inspired me to reflect further on this “churning.” I characterize this time with three phrases: a time of unsettling disruption, a transformative time and a time for community and compassion.

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FR JOSE PARAPPULLY SDB

Introduction:

Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis’ third Encyclical Letter on the theme of Fraternity and Social Friendship, was published on October 4, 2020 (feast of Saint Francis of Assisi). The title is an expression of this saint, who used these words to “address his brothers and sisters and proposed to them a way of life marked by the flavour of the Gospel.”

The Holy Father describes it as a “Social Encyclical,” since it draws inspiration from the Document on Human Fraternity that he had signed with the Grand Imam of Al Azhar, Egypt, during his Apostolic Trip to the United Arab Emirates on February 3, 2019.

The encyclical addresses not only Catholics but all humanity, so that brotherhood and social friendship prevail and help the human family to live in a more dignified way, to build a world where rights are respected, every person is worthily welcomed, everyone can enjoy the same rights and have the same duties and where we can work together to promote social cohesion. These are all objectives that bring us closer to each other, as a human family, for the concrete good of all.

In the background of the Encyclical is the COVID-19 pandemic which, the Pope reveals, “unexpectedly erupted, exposing our false securities” as he was writing this letter. The letter is also marked by a sadness and even indignation at the scores of people who have died during the pandemic for want of better distribution of health care resources.

“If only this may prove not to be just another tragedy of history from which we learned nothing,” the pontiff writes. “If only we might rediscover once for all that we need one another,” he continues. “God willing, after all this, we will think no longer in terms of ‘them’ and ‘those,’ but only ‘us’.”

The encyclical is quite long: Over more than 43,000 words in 287 numbered paragraphs; 288 footnotes. It consists of a general introduction and eight chapters. Here is a short summary, chapter by chapter.

1. Dark clouds over closed world

The first chapter reflects on the many distortions of the contemporary era. “Globalized society makes us neighbours, but it does not make us brothers and sisters.” The dark clouds over a closed world are observed in the despair and discouragement that are widespread in society, in the polarization that impedes dialogue and living together, persons are easily sacrificed and discarded; there is inequality of rights and new forms of slavery and moral deterioration and the weakening of spiritual values.

Great words, such as democracy, liberty, justice and unity are being manipulated. In the face of these challenges, Fratelli Tutti insists that “the road we must travel is that of closeness; it is the culture of encounter” that can bring people together. Despite these ‘dark clouds’ the Pope invites us to be hopeful. Hope can look beyond personal inconvenience and opens us up to grand ideals that make life more beautiful and worthwhile.

2. A Stranger on the road

The second chapter is a detailed reflection on the Gospel story of the Good Samaritan—a true example in building fraternity and social friendship. The text explains an unhealthy society as one that turns its back on suffering and is “illiterate” in caring for the frail and vulnerable. In the face of so much pain and suffering, our only path is to imitate the Good Samaritan—to become neighbours to others, overcoming prejudices, personal interests, historic and cultural barriers. Love shatters chains and breaks walls. “We were made for love,” the Pope writes. Further, Fratelli Tutti summons us to be actively involved in rehabilitating our wounded societies and reminds us that we all are co-responsible in creating a society that is able to include, integrate, and lift those who have fallen or are suffering.  We are exhorted to recognize Christ in the face of every excluded person.

Hence the question, “Will you pass by on the other side, or will you stop to help those wounded on the roadside?”

3. Envisaging and engendering an open world

In this chapter, the Pope calls for an alternative way of thinking. We can rise to the

challenge of envisaging a new humanity. We can aspire to a world that provides land, housing and work for all. This is the true path of peace, built on love, not fear. We are  exhorted to go outside the self to find a fuller existence in another and tend toward “universal fulfilment.” Promoting the good means promoting values that advance integral Human development by thinking and acting in terms of community, by combating the structural causes of poverty and inequality, by requiring the state to be present and active and to invest in assistance to the vulnerable, by ensuring that no one is excluded, by establishing a real and lasting peace based on a global ethic of solidarity and service. Love can create or build open societies that integrate everyone. A love capable of transcending borders is the basis of “social friendship.”

4. A heart open to the whole world

The fourth chapter is dedicated to the theme of migration. The Pope makes a passionate invitation to all societies to welcome, protect, support and integrate the migrants whose life is “at stake,” fleeing from war, persecution, natural catastrophes, unscrupulous trafficking, ripped from their communities of origin. Our urgent mission in this is:

• Welcoming, protecting and integrating migrants and others on the margins;
• Becoming aware that either we are all saved together, or no one is saved;
• Forging a global juridical, political and economic order;
• Doing something good without expecting any personal gain or reward;
• Opening our minds and hearts to understand others different from us.

What is needed above all is global governance, an international collaboration for migration which implements long-term planning, going beyond single emergencies, on behalf of the supportive development of all peoples based on the principle of gratuitousness. In this way, countries will be able to think as “human family.” We can be open to our neighbours within a family nation by opening our minds and hearts to those who are different. In the universal communion, each human group discovers its beauty.

5. A better kind of politics

The fifth chapter presents one of the most valuable forms of charity because it is placed at the service of the common good. Besides promoting the common good,  a better kind of politics does not seek merely to gain votes. It serves as a channel for personal growth, promotes an economy that favours productive diversity and business creativity and is capable of a new, integral and interdisciplinary dialogue. A better politics is also one that protects work, an “essential dimension of social life”, and seeks to ensure everyone the opportunity to develop their own abilities. In this perspective, Fratelli Tutti calls for a social and political order whose passion is social charity. Social charity makes us effectively seek the good of all people, recognising all human beings as brothers and sisters, with no one excluded.

Pope Francis imagines societies that are more caring, focused on helping those in need and less swayed by market capitalism.

6. Dialogue and friendship in society

To dialogue means to approach, to speak, to listen and to look at; these lead to knowing and understanding one another and to finding common ground that favours friendship and love. From here emerges the concept of the “art of encounter” with everyone, even with the world’s peripheries and with original peoples, because “each of us can learn something from others, no one is useless, and no one is expendable.” The encyclical calls upon us to build a pluralistic society where dialogue finds a way. Such a society respects the dignity of others in all circumstances, it integrates differences—guaranteeing a genuine and lasting peace; and it recognizes other people’s rights to be themselves, maintaining an atmosphere of friendliness.

Three attitudes or actions that do not favour dialogue:

• Any aggression we may manifest, for example, on social networks;;
• Monologues that do not listen to others;
• The quick and humiliating discrediting of others.

True dialogue, indeed, is what allows one to respect the point of view of others. A kind person, writes Pope Francis, creates a healthy co-existence and opens paths in places whereas exasperation burns bridges.

7. Paths of renewed encounter

The value and promotion of peace is reflected on in the seventh chapter, “Paths of renewed encounter,” in which the Pope underlines that peace is connected to truth, justice and mercy. Everyone must feel “at home.” Peace-building is, therefore, “an open-ended endeavour, a never-ending task” and we have to take this path:

• In reconciliation;
• In common projects that do not deny each person’s individuality;
• In recognising, protecting and restoring the dignity of all persons;
• In option for the poor, the dispossessed and the discarded;
• In understanding and appreciating the meaning of forgiveness.

Given the present alarming scenario in the world, where COVID-19 has taken its toll and nations are engaging in different forms of war, the encyclical emphasizes the urgency of saying “Never again war!” and abolishing the death penalty. The pope says that nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, and new technological combat systems “have granted war an uncontrollable destructive power over great numbers of innocent civilians.” Hence war is a failure of politics and of humanity, a shameful capitulation, a stinging defeat before the forces of evil. How great a global fund to eliminate hunger could have been established with the money invested in weapons!

8. Religions at the service of fraternity in our world

In the eighth and final chapter, the Pontiff focuses on “Religions at the service of fraternity in our world.” He emphasizes that only with the awareness that we are all children of God can we live in peace with one another. The different religions contribute significantly to building fraternity. Seeking God helps us recognize one another as travelling companions, truly brothers and sisters, while the denial of religious freedom and freedom of conscience leaves humanity impoverished. The church is a home with open doors because she is a mother; she builds bridges, she breaks down walls, she sows seeds of reconciliation.

The encyclical reflects, in particular, on the role of the church: she does not “restrict her mission to the private sphere,” it states. While not engaging in politics, she does not, however, renounce the political dimension of life itself, attention to the common good, and concern for integral human development, according to evangelical principals.

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SR THERESA PHAWA FMA

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Here are the salient points of the new Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act 2020, passed by the Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, on 28 September 2020. It amends the previous Act of 2010.

1. General Guidelines

According to the FCRA laws 2010 and Rules 2011, the FCRA registration certificate has to be renewed once every five years. The renewal application should be made six months before the expiry of the existing registration. The FCRA registration certificate will lapse if the renewal is not done in time. This means that after the period of validity of the certificate the association will not be able to receive foreign contributions.

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Fr Trevor D’Souza FCA

Closeness to God and compassionate love, learnt from her mother, have kept Sr Nirmala happy to serve leprosy patients, or do any work, or face tough tragedies.

Sr Nirmala, you have been a novice mistress and vice-provincial. I have heard you say that one ministry in which you felt very happy was looking after leprosy patients. Many are afraid of that work. What made you happy working with leprosy patients?

When I joined religious life, I came with the idea that I am going to serve God. So, I was ready and available for any service. Since the main charism of the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate is “option for the poor,” it was begun, especially in India, with caring for the leprosy patients. So, even as a candidate, I was very happy to visit them. For three months, I  was given the duty of dressing their wounds, and helping those who had no fingers to eat. I had a great desire to care for the leprosy patients, but I got this opportunity for only one year.

What made me happy was being with them, making them feel loved, accepted and understood, and sharing their pain, listening to their sad stories with my heart, praying with them, sitting beside them,  finding joy in their smile,  assuring them, “We, FSI Sisters, are here to love you and care for you.”  We accompanied them till the end of their journey.

You also said your mother’s example influenced you a lot. How?

My mother was very kind to the poor and the lonely. Whenever any beggars come to my house, she treated them well. Sometimes she would take them inside the house and serve them food. While they ate, she would listen to their sad stories. She used to visit the leprosarium near my place with the parish group members. Sometimes I would accompany her; I was touched by her dealing with the leprosy patients with so much love and compassion.

Mother would often visit the sick, the lonely and the aged in my village. She spent lots of time with them. She consoled them and prayed for them. For the aged and the lonely, she did all they needed, like cooking, cleaning, giving them a bath regularly. She somehow found time to help them even though they were not my close neighbours or relatives. She was such a great service-minded person.

At home, the family rosary was compulsory, with singing and Bible reading. Mother enjoyed praying. She was regular for Holy Mass, and participated with great devotion. Even when she became sick, she used to be very cheerful, and prayed nine rosaries a day—or even more on some days. She read the Bible and meditated on the Word of God. She used to pray for the whole world. She never spoke ill of others, never argued or fought with anybody. She was good with all, and uttered only blessings to everyone. She was very generous in giving her things, time and her energy. She never got angry or punished any of her children; rather she just smiled with a compassionate look when something went wrong.

Her last instruction for me was: “Be faithful to your call, live your committed life, and do your service whole heartedly; be constant in reading the Bible and praying the rosary.”

Mother was very courageous in facing death. She was able to sense her approaching death, and told us that she would live only for a few more days. She asked for confession and Holy Communion. The only “sin” she had to confess was that she was unable to pray the rosary as before.

Five days before her death, we, her four daughters, gathered around her and prayed the full rosary. She too prayed, loud and clear. She then blessed all her children, praised and thanked  God, and prayed three times, “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, i give you my heart and my soul; Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,  assist me in my last agony; Jesus, Mary and Joseph, may my soul rest in peace in you.”

Later she felt restless. A doctor checked her and gave her an injection. Mother then went into a deep sleep, and breathed her last in peace. I believe that she continues to pray for us all.

In preparation to be a formator, you did some training in formation ministry. What are the main things you learnt in that training?

Through Vocational Growth Session (VGS), I learned to listen to myself and became aware of my own tendencies and desires. From then on, I began to make a journey within myself. Often a question which was asked by my guide, Father Mathew Vattamattam CMF came to my mind, “What could be going on in you?“ Like a screwdriver fixing a screw in place, this question really helped me to be honest with myself.

The group dynamics made me to realise the brokenness, woundedness, and the hidden positive energy in each one. The seminar on counselling taught me the art of listening. The Anthropology of Christian Vocation gave a boost to real life experience and learning to grow in holiness with all the ups and downs of human existence.

Many approaches, such as, Eclectic approach, NLP and TA,  and topics like Human Development, Theories of Personality, Sexuality and  Community Building helped me to have a deeper knowledge of  myself and of others. The Bachelor of Religious Science studies helped me to have a better knowledge about the Christian faith, greater love for the Bible, and deeper love for Jesus. Above all, I learned to grow in love, forgiveness, humility and gratitude to God and to others.

You have been a novice mistress for several years. What are the main lessons this experience has taught you?

I became more aware of myself, my temperament, my deepest desires and wishes. As the saying goes, “Even the expert swimmer does not know the deepest dimensions of the ocean.” I believe that there is more to learn from the formees in many areas, as well as mutual reciprocal learning.  There is brokenness and woundedness in every person. The more open and non-judgemental I am towards others, the more open and trustworthy they become.

There is a lot of hidden capacity, goodness and talent in all of them beyond what they say or do. Human beings are a deep mystery,  unveiled gradually. There is a deep longing in every person to be united with God.

What are the main things a formator should keep in mind?

• Inspire them to pray and to taste the love of Jesus and His mission.
• To be a person of knowledge, love and compassionate listening.
• If I don’t love them, I have no right to correct them.
• The ground that I am walking on is holy, and the people I encounter are sacred.
• Create a family spirit of freedom and responsibility.
• Help the formees to be healed of their woundedness, learn to love oneself, make them feel loved by God and others.
• Formees are just at the beginning of a long road to maturity.

What are the main strengths and weaknesses of today’s candidates?

 Today, almost one third of them seem to join with mixed motivation. Often, they are undecided, and not firm in their decision. There is a lot of distraction and confusion on the journey of discernment. Some of them find it hard to understand the value of silence.

 The positive side is that most of them are genuine, generous, open and sincere, and able to verbalize their faults and defects. They have the desire to learn and improve. They are hard-working and show a deep sense of commitment.

Besides your mother, who are the main people who inspired and influenced you? What did you learn from them?

From the time I joined the congregation, I feel this is my second family, where I am experiencing a lot of family spirit, love and care, encouragement and support. There are many sisters who are very generous, available, ready to listen and share, including my own community members. I am grateful to God for the many opportunities the congregation is providing me. In every community I experienced a family spirit and simplicity of life and the meaningful mission of selfless service.

 Persons who have been special sources of inspiration include: My novice mistress, Sr K Y Elsy, through her prayerfulness and her hard work; Sr Maria Rosa, through her commitment and missionary zeal;  Fr Mathew Vattamattam CMF,  my guide during the formators’ programme, through his patient listening, gentle guidance and awakening my spiritual journey; lay charismatic preacher (the late) Sister Cynthia Lobo, through her great enthusiasm for the Word of God and prayer. I continue to be inspired by these and other great persons.

What gives you strength to face the ups and downs of life, and to be happy and positive?

It is God who gives me strength to bear up all that comes on my way. God’s abiding presence is everywhere. The word of God gives great strength and consolation. Other helps: Encouragement of my sisters in the congregation, of my family and friends and the good books I read. I deeply believe that God’s power envelopes the whole universe, and His ocean of mercy is present everywhere. God’s creative power and His vibrating presence is everywhere; therefore, I am never alone. I find great joy in my personal prayer and community prayer. Through my prayer life, I learn to surrender everything that comes on my way. In all the deep losses, I learned to “let go.” God knows what is best. Everything that happens in my life has a purpose. Everything is a passing reality; God alone is a permanent reality. Therefore, when the storms of life toss me, I cling to Him.

Would you like to share how you experience God in your life?

My experience of God kept on changing from my childhood. I have encountered many uncertainties.

When I was seven, my twelve-year-old sister, who was also my best friend, died. Before that, I had lost my eldest brother, who was eight, a two-year-old baby brother, as well as a six-month-old baby sister. Though the whole family suffered the loss, my mother never stopped praying, nor complained about God. Her faith and the gentle supporting presence of my father and their perseverance in prayer kept everyone alive in faith.

I am one of twins. I had a twin brother, who was my best and dearest friend.  We grew up as a happy family, four girls and a boy. My three sisters are married. I was a twenty-five-year-old junior religious sister when I received the news that my brother passed away. He was in Muscat.  My superior told me that he was coming home, since he was not well. So, they sent me home to see him. But, during my bus journey home, I had a dream that he was kept in a coffin, wrapped in white, with many people dressed in white surrounding him. One of them put her arms around me and consoled me, saying not to worry, and that he is with God. Then on, I had great courage and strength, though my heart was broken and half my soul was gone.

I was worried about my parents. How would they face this shock? When my brother’s body arrived, there was a big crowed of people in my house to console my family. There was a loud cry. Everyone came forward to pay their last respects, but my mother sat inside the house, singing and praising God with deep devotion. They pulled her out to have a last look at her son in the coffin; she just kissed him without a cry and went inside again. After the funeral service was over, she started to console me, saying that the gardener has the right to cut any plant he chooses.

Later she told me about a vision she had seen. She saw a big white cloud, and thousands of first Holy Communion children dressed in white with lighted candles entered the house along with my brother, and thousands of candles were placed around my brother with sweet smelling incense. They all sang to an angelic music, praising God. My mother was lost in worship along with them. As she shared this with me, I too felt the deep personal touch of Jesus. Whether we live or die, we all belong to Him. In all these experiences, I learned to “let go.” I experience God with deep awe and wonder. Everything comes from Him and goes back to Him. I experience His presence in everyone and in everything. Through personal prayer, reading the Word of God, celebration of the Eucharist, Eucharistic adoration and other ways of praying, I experience the deep abiding presence of God.

Sr Nirmala Vasanthiyappan FSI is the novice mistress of the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate in India.

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Interview with Sr Nirmala Vasanthiappan FSI

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7 November: Infant Protection Day

The day is also called Baby Safety Day. It aims at spreading awareness about the safety and proper care of infants.

In India, the infant mortality rate is higher than in many other countries due to the lack of health care and basic health services. Hence the government has initiated various schemes for the benefit of infants and the well-being of their mothers.

The first few hours and days of the newborn’s life are a critical period for both bay and mother. Due to lack of awareness, there has not been the expected reduction in infant mortality. Sometimes even basic amenities, such as, ambulance facilities, are lacking. The lives of mothers and babes are often lost on the way. The absence of proper nutrition is another factor. Babies are little and vulnerable. They need parental care and assurance. This gets simpler once you find out about your newborn’s fundamental needs and how to accommodate them.

A sad factor is the still unwelcome attitude towards the girl child. Her life is threatened even while in the womb. When will these attitudes change? When will she be allowed to have a fair chance in life, to enjoy what every child is born to have? Every child is a gift from God and a sign that He loves our world. Every newborn child spells the future and the continuance of our race.

The mother’s milk is like nectar for the child. Unfortunately, today it is becoming fashionable for some women not to breastfeed. With no grandparents or relatives to tend to their child, working mothers in nuclear families resort to a baby-sitter or to baby-care centres. They leave their infants with them while they are at work. The babes are left there at a very tender age and for longer and longer time frames. The child’s basic needs may be provided for. But we are missing the chance to give them the individual attention they need. Both parents and kids are thus deprived of the unique chance that nature gives for mutual bonding and nurturing. That is the privileged time for cuddling, fondling and caring. Once gone, it is lost forever!

21 November: World Fisheries Day

The WFD is a chance to recognize the sea as a food source for millions of humans.  Most human settlements, whether villages or cities, are situated near water bodies. This has led to severe coastal pollution and mass fish mortality. The depletion of fish stocks in the vicinity leads to fishing farther and farther away.

Yet one in ten people on the planet rely on fisheries and aquaculture for their livelihood.

More than 25% of the world’s dietary protein comes from fish.

Humans consume over 100 million tons of fish annually.

India has over 8,000 kilometres of coastline and over 2 million square kilometres of freshwater resources, making fisheries vital in the economy of the country.

Despite the growth of aquaculture,  small-scale fisheries operating in rivers, lakes, wetlands, coral reefs and estuaries in coastal seas will continue to supply most of the fish consumed. Yet these fisheries are frequently overlooked in discussions on the sustainable and equitable use of oceans, seas and inland water bodies. The voice of fishers and workers needs to be heard. There are still too many cases of unacceptable practices, human rights violations and abuses.

Recent UN studies reported that more than two-thirds of the world’s fisheries have been overfished or are fully harvested. More than one third fisheries are in a state of decline. WFD highlights the importance of healthy oceans ecosystems and complete accountability of fishers, discouraging them from targeting at-risk species, overfishing and mechanization.

But there are reasons for optimism too. Fish diversity determines the health of seas, lakes, ponds and rivers. Extensive new research has demonstrated that Fish Stock Regeneration is possible if sustainable conditions are created. An abundance of fish will help even coral reefs to recover. These have suffered because of warming and plastic pollution, leading to coral bleaching and a massive loss of biodiversity. The regeneration of fish stocks can give these reefs a much-needed boost.

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Sr Esme da Cunha FDCC

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