From 22 to 27 May 2022. Casa Lago, CEM headquarters in Lago de Guadalupe, Cuautitlán Izcalli.

Participating in the second face-to-face workshop of JCOR (Coalition of Religious for Justice) called "Justice at the Heart of Global Transformation" was a very rich experience in several ways: owing to the diversity of religious congregations and countries of origin of the participants (31 women and 4 men); the range of the themes addressed; the sense of synodality as a Mesoamerican ecclesial community; the opportunity to share our realities; etc.

The facilitating team guided us using the method of seeing, thinking and acting, interpreted in different ways such as listening, discerning and contemplating, for example. The first part of seeing and listening, based on life experiences, which included migrants, trafficking, expropriation of land, missing persons, mostly women, etc., outlined the route of reflection and the work that has been done.

From the experiences that were shared, what stood out was the strength of the links and collaboration among religious congregations and institutions in responding to or dealing with life-threatening situations, especially in the contexts of Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua.

The outcome of this meeting was a campaign to promote the empowerment of women and their participation in social and religious spheres, through the development of a project that can be undertaken in everyday missionary contexts and beyond. While this is not a new issue, there is much to be done and a long way to go.

We are grateful for the invitation to be part of this meeting in which we can strengthen our hope and be energized to continue together with others in the building of the Kingdom. 

Ma. Luisa Moreno rscj and Maricruz Trigueros rscj