On the day of his appointment as new Moderator for ACT Alliance, Nicolàs Rosenthal delivered the following address in front of the delegates of the ACT Alliance General Assembly:
Dear sisters and brothers,
The other day, when I spoke, we were campaigning. Now we’ve been elected, and here’s the bad news: We are at a critical point in human history. But we did not appear here unexpectedly. More than 50 years ago the Club of Rome was already warning us of the limits of growth. More than 50 years ago, too, my late uncle, the radical thinker and prolific writer Ivan Illich, Monsignor Ivan Illich, was drawing our attention to the critical thresholds that our civilization was beginning to cross, points of no return where supposed advances in energy, transportation, medicine or technology were beginning to turn against their original good purposes.
Well, today we have crossed all possible critical thresholds, we have passed the point of no return and are irreversibly damaging the environment and the living conditions of large sectors of humanity, drastically limiting our chances of survival. There is no more time for lukewarm responses. We need to get out of our comfort zone, which is not very comfortable to say the least, but to which we have become accustomed. Wars and economic and gender inequalities, overconsumption and climate disaster mark our time. Social networks, media and algorithms, fake news and hate speech are used from an individualistic and selfish logic so that human rights cease to be obvious and natural.
Cain’s words in the book of Genesis seem to reverberate around us: “Am I the one who should take care of my brother?” And yet, in the face of the global crisis of values and the colonization of consciences, God empowers us with a marvelous tool: our faith and the conviction that this is not the Kingdom he invites us to build, that love of neighbor and solidarity are supreme values, that loving embrace ultimately overcomes all violence. We are the diaconal arm of the churches that have created us, and whose moral and prophetic voice the world needs. Jesus lived in the midst of Empire, was killed by that Empire, and rose again in spite of Empire. And in the history of homo sapiens that was yesterday.
Today he is in our midst calling us to change, to transformation. In every moment of devotion we have had in this assembly we have been nourished by his presence and we have actualized his call. It is time to be courageous and break the chains of injustice, to love our neighbors as ourselves, to resist peacefully knowing that we are not alone. We need to build convivial societies that are self-limiting and live with liberating austerity. Many need to learn to live with less so that others can have a dignified life. But we cannot be innocent of the factors of power. The other day I highlighted our strengths, our widespread capillarity in the territories, the strength of working together as forums and as north-south, south-south and increasingly north-north partners. That we are action together by the churches and with the churches, and with the WCC and the global communions. I spoke of our appreciation for the beleaguered UN system. The tremendous expertise brought together by the staff of ACT Alliance and each of our organizations.
The possibility of making our voice heard in international forums. We have a lot of work ahead of us in the next three years. Public and silenced wars in the Middle East, Ukraine, Sudan, Congo, Ethiopia, Myanmar and so many other places and the suffering they cause will continue to demand our attention. The terrible economic inequities call us to denounce the powers behind them and articulate transformative development. The failures to curb climate disaster compel us to redouble our efforts. Regressive agendas against our democracies and the United Nations system force us not to be naïve, to unmask the hidden interests behind them and to defend multilateralism. Internally, we must continue with the improvement of the humanitarian system and with the implementation of the new membership model and the strengthening of the forums.
We must further develop the concept of consortia to ensure the sustainability of our work. In this new period that is beginning, we must also discuss and lay the foundations for a new global strategic plan for the Alliance, which will strengthen our work in the areas of gender, climate, human mobility, peace, security and humanitarian aid. It is also very important that all of us remain committed to making ACT Alliance a global name, a unifying brand behind all our efforts. And last but not least, Rudelmar still has a lot of work ahead of him, but we as the Governing Board will also have to start looking for the person to succeed him, male or female. Yes, a lot of work ahead, which I commit myself here today in front of you to accompany from the moderation of the new Governing Board, praying that God will give me the capacity to listen, empathy and wisdom. And also a lot of good work already done by all of you and by the Governing Board that today finishes its work, to whom I want to thank for their commitment, especially the leadership given to us by Erik and Minnie-Ann. To them and to Rudelmar and all the Alliance staff, a big round of applause.
Together for justice. May God help us to fulfill this task. Thanks and Amen.
Find here the speech in Spanish
