The XXI century puts us in a different context from the past, in terms of the presence of the Catholic Church in the public sphere of thought. In this context of weakening of the religious culture in our society we firmly believe that what the Christian proposal offers to the world is fully in force. The Moviment de Professionals Catòlics de Barcelona, on its 25th anniversary presents this manifesto:

WE ARE

An association of lay people who live the Christian faith from our commitment with our professional, cultural, social and political environments. As Christians the option for the poor leads us to be concerned politically, socially committed, culturally rooted, spiritually inspired and globally connected.

WE LIVE

This commitment with humility, along with our brothers, believers or not, from whom we learn constantly.

WE WANT

to exercise our professions in a responsible and ethical manner. Either in health, education, science, technology, law, culture, we try, despite our limitations, to exercise our profession in a honest and committed way.

WE PARTICIPATE

In organizations and agencies working in cohesion, education, solidarity, culture, including development organizations, for peace, for the Fourth World, associations of parents, school councils, cooperatives, etc.

WE DENOUNCE

The current situation where many people suffer from precarious living conditions in a context of turning back from a hard-won welfare. We denounce a culture that excludes people, without voice or rights; people excluded from our proper societies or from other continents so that Europe builds walls and the Mediterranean becomes the grave of all their dreams. We denounce the economic system that generates economic poverty, inequality and environmental destruction.

WE ACNOWLEDGE

The enormous task done by many Church organizations to address economic crisis, poverty and exclusion. Where would we be without the effort and the daily work of organizations like Caritas, Arrels, Mans Unides, MigraStudium, Justícia i Pau, and so many others? We claim the value of political work in the broadest sense of the term, that many of these entities do together with other non-ecclesial associations, as a way to fight injustice and defend the rights and dignity of people.

WE SHARE

Our dreams, hopes and sufferings in small groups that help us appreciate our own lives; there are groups in which we share the faith to grow both humanly and spiritually, groups where we can feel listened to, accepted, comforted through our losses and appreciated beyond professional, economic or social success criteria. Groups that form a movement that offers spaces for personal growth, prayer and reflection together with other movements of the pastoral of the workers, cities and country, and with the young, adults and professionals from other dioceses and countries.

WE WANT

To live our faith in the Church understood as communion of People and God, sent as to be seed in the world in every historical moment, able to dialogue with the society that undergoes a process of constant change.

WE COMMIT

On the family, because it is not easy to live together, because traditional roles of parents and children, men and women, have changed and sometimes it is difficult to find how to be happy; and yet, we believe in this space of conflict and love, help and support, which allows everyone who wants to grow and become who they want to be, freely, with respect and esteem.

WE LOOK FOR

Places of prayer and silence, where noise, hustle and bustle of the hectic lifestyle we are accustomed to endure, gives place to calm, meditation, contemplation, and the experience of the transcendent dimension of the human being.

WE FEEL

God in the midst of our communities, facing the colleague at work, a friend, an enemy, those who suffer, the vision of the unattainable nature, the beauty of art, the harsh and inevitable death; we feel the presence of infinity, the mystery of a compassioned God who is love and urges us to go forward, who gives us courage and hope on what has not become yet, will come true one day.

WE BELIEVE

In the outrageous and unexpected fact that God has become human, we believe in Jesus of Nazareth. With Him, who has given us a light and decisive guidance to our lives, we can maintain a personal relationship that fills us with joy that we want to communicate to others so that they can share it.

WE CELEBRATE

That 25 years ago a group of young professionals created this movement and we live with gratitude that this experience is still alive. We are young as a movement, but we come from a tradition of a Church over 2,000 years old with its goals and failures. We have a past but we especially want to have a future.

WE IMAGINE

This future with hope, with the will of walking together with Christians, non believers and people from other religions to make our cities and towns a decent place to live.

Therefore,

WE INVITE

Everyone who wants to discover this proposal to approach with curiosity to our movement or any other open and welcoming movement, association, church or monastery.

AND WE WISH

To leave our own comforts behind, to be a Church with open doors and live creatively and joyfully what the Gospel invites us to: “To see God in others and to go forth from ourselves to seek the good of others. (Evangelii Gaudium 39)

That is our wish in this twenty-fifth anniversary.

Barcelona, 7th November 2015

 

 

Manifesto MPCB (Synthesis)

WE ARE lay people who live the Christian faith from our commitment

WE LIVE this commitment with humility from the ethical practice of our professions

WE PARTICIPATE in organizations and agencies working for social cohesion

WE DENOUNCE a culture that excludes people

WE RECOGNIZE the value of politics in the broadest sense to fight injustice

WE SHARE our faith in groups to grow humanly and spiritually

WE WANT to live our faith in the Church

WE COMMIT to family

WE LOOK FOR prayer and silence places

WE HAVE THE FEELING of a compassionate God who is love

WE BELIEVE in Jesus of Nazareth

WE CELEBRATE our 25th anniversary

WE IMAGINE future with hope

WE INVITE everyone

WE WISH To see God in others and to go forth from ourselves to seek the good of others (EG 39)