In the 1960s, liberation theology was popular in the Catholic Church. Proponents believe that Christians should actively work towards liberating the poor and the oppressed from social injustice. At the then Maryknoll Sisters’ School in Hong Kong, nuns discussed with the students the Biafran genocide in Nigeria and other social upheavals of 1968. A young girl was encouraged by a teacher to correspond with a Maryknoll nun in a Latin American country.
That young girl is Catherine Bragg. She moved to Canada, got a PhD in criminal justice and worked in the Canadian government in various capacities. She is now the United Nations‘ Assistant Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, serving as deputy Emergency Relief Co-ordinator in the UN office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Jesus himself always stands on the side of the poor and the oppressed. Surely He would like to see us do likewise.
I have never met Catherine Bragg. But I have some good friends who also studied at MSS, who have made important contributions to society in their own ways. They are part of the reasons I have great respect for the The Maryknoll Sisters and the Catholic Church in Hong Kong.
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