International Catholic Committee for the Gypsies

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The International Catholic Committee for Gypsies ( en . : International Catholic Committee for Gypsies ; fr . : Comité Catholique International pour les Tsiganes , common abbreviation: CCIT ; it . : Comitato Cattolico Internazionale per gli Zingari ) is an international Roman Catholic association of Believers who have taken on the pastoral care and care of Sinti and Roma . The committee was established in Paris in 1976 , recognized by the Pontifical Council for the Laity as an international Catholic organization in the 1990s , and works closely with the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and People on the Move .

history

The French priest André Barthélemy († 1991) and the married couple Elisa and Léon Tambour stand for the founding idea; it was they who spontaneously promoted the establishment of a committee and gave further impetus. In March 1976, Abbé Yoska or Yoschka gathered various people from four countries to reflect on the Pentecostal movement . Without much preparation, the idea of setting up a committee for the integration of ethnic groups developed, which was supposed to organize an international meeting every year. Every year since 1976 there has been a meeting in a different country. During these encounters, priests and lay people met as well as Gypsies and Gadsche (non-Roma). The committee developed its own self-image and led to the development of a charter that is still valid today . It was worked out by a team in 1985; in 1997 the committee gave itself a “very simple structure”. Pastors , helpers and friends of the Roma, and of course committed Roma themselves, meet at the annual meetings for a free exchange of ideas and for mutual support.

Self-image

The basic principles of the CCIT are based on reciprocity , fraternity and freedom , according to the statute this means:

“Through its members, the CCIT establishes relationships that are characterized by respect and affection for the gypsies, especially the poorest and the most isolated. It wants to open up to their lives, to offer their culture the opportunity to develop and, together with it, to promote their dignity as children of God and as full members of the Church ... In order to be authentic and fruitful, the CCIT develops a fraternal spirituality in its ranks the presence before God and the world and the acceptance of otherness arises. "

- CCIT statute extract

Organization and expansion

With full intent, the committee adopted a “very simple structure”, its aim being to work effectively with little organization. Every four years, all members elect an advisory council consisting of eight people, specifically the president, the vice-president, two delegates for the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and People on the Move, and an editor . The editor is responsible for the half-year publication “Nevi Yag” (de .: New Fire), which appears in five languages. The advisory board elects a management team, which is supported by a secretariat. Those who apply for membership must have attended at least three meetings and agree to the charter. The advisory board determines the time, place and main topic of the next international meeting every year. The headquarters of the committee is Merksem in Belgium .

literature

  • The Spiritual Communities of the Catholic Church - Compendium (No. 26, International Catholic Committee for the Gypsies, pp. 84–85), St. Benno-Verlag , Leipzig 2006, ISBN 3-7462-1995-7 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Claude Dumas nuovo Presidente del CCIT versione testuale [1]
  2. ↑ vice presidente è Marijan Lampret della Slovenia [2]