The Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life has published a brief letter to consecrated men and women, “Prophecy of presence: consecrated life where dignity is wounded and faith is tested.”
The dicastery’s letter, published yesterday, referred to the “many consecrated persons called to share complex situations: contexts marked by conflict, social and political instability, poverty, marginalization, forced migration, religious minority status, violence, and tensions that test people’s dignity, freedom, and sometimes even their faith.”
“These experiences,” the letter continued, “reveal how strong the prophetic dimension of consecrated life is as a ‘presence that remains’: alongside wounded peoples and individuals, in places where the Gospel is often lived in conditions of fragility and trial.”
“Consecrated life, when it remains close to the wounds of humanity without yielding to the logic of conflict, yet without renouncing speaking God’s truth about humanity and history, becomes—often without fanfare—an artisan of peace,” the dicastery added. “Dear consecrated women and men, we thank you for your perseverance when the fruits seem distant, for the peace you sow even when it is not recognized.”