Aid to the Church in Need: Nicaragua: A vehicle for the inter-diocesan seminary in Managua

Nicaragua: A vehicle for the inter-diocesan seminary in Managua

Posted by Project of the Week on 6/10/2009, 8:22 am
Board Administrator

NICARAGUA

Delivery and transport vehicle for the inter-diocesan seminary of Our Lady of Fatima in Managua

The Year of the Priest, proclaimed this year by the Holy Father, is intended to help the entire Church to rediscover the beauty and grace of the priestly vocation. Father Werenfried van Straaten, the founder of the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), often used to say, "The Church will never and nowhere die, as long as her priests give clear and incontrovertible testimony of the life that can be lived only through Christ and in the power of God". That is why ACN is supporting the training of priests in some 140 countries around the world. Thanks to the help of our benefactors, every eighth seminarian in the world is able to pursue his vocation today.

For the same reason we are also supporting the inter-diocesan seminary of Our Lady of Fatima in Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. At the present time over 200 young men study, pray and work here, the flame of their vocation burning brightly in them. They come from every part of Nicaragua, one of the poorest countries in Latin America and one with a desperate shortage of priests. Indeed, there have always been too few priests here. And here too, thanks to television, secularisation is now making deep inroads. US soap operas, the so-called "Telenovelas", that can be seen flickering across the television screens even in the poorest of hovels, are contributing to a decline in values, especially in the area of marriage and the family. The Church must now strive to help people achieve a deeper understanding of the meaning of love, faithfulness and trust and to guide their lives accordingly. Priests are an indispensable part of this.

Again, Latin America for a time suffered from some of the advocates of a so-called "liberation theology", who sought to reinterpret the Good News of the Gospel into a form of Marxist ideology. In the process Nicaragua became a testing ground for the whole of Central America, and as a result great damage was done to the souls of many of the poor, who in reality were yearning for God rather than for political slogans. Hence it is all the more important today to strengthen the kind of vocations that draw their strength from the grace of God and are rooted in the heart of the Church. Good priests can give the poor something greater than the illusion of an earthly paradise, or the sterile chant of "Viva la Revolución!" –"Long live the revolution!"

"Young people seek greatness", says Pope Benedict XVI - and this same greatness is what the many seminarians currently studying for the priesthood in Managua are also seeking. Not only has ACN been supporting the training of these future priests in Managua for over 30 years, but the charity recently promised them a small transport and delivery truck. For a community of over 200 individuals there are purchases to be made, and seminarians have to be transported from one place to another, especially when they are placed in parishes to help the priests and gain practical pastoral experience. The seminary does have two old cars, but these are now devouring ever increasing sums of money for repairs. ACN has promised the rector $20,800 towards the cost of a new vehicle.

To help this cause please contact the Australian office of ACN on (02) 9679-1929. e-mail: info@aidtochurch.org or write to Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 6245 Blacktown DC NSW 2148. Web: www.aidtochurch.org

Some of the seminarians in Managua with their new vehicle.
(Code: 231-02-29)

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Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 6245 Blacktown DC NSW 2148 ABN: 62 418 911 594
Ph/Fax (02) 9679-1929 e-mail: info@aidtochurch.org web: www.aidtochurch.org