MISEREOR Lenten Campaign 2022

The slogan of this year’s Lenten Campaign is a claim, a commitment and Jesus’ promise all in one. It is part of MISEREOR’s DNA and drives the work of our partner organisations.
Over the past year, extreme weather in the shape of typhoons, forest fires and destructive floods in Germany and its neighbouring countries have pushed the boundaries of what we consider conceivable. People lost their loved ones. The news was full of events that we usually associate with countries of the South but were suddenly taking place right on our own doorstep. Where were you, God?

Scientists have concluded that these extreme weather situations are a consequence of humaninduced climate change. Painful as it is, these events are opening our eyes to the damage we are doing to Mother Earth, God’s creation.
It is plain to see that today, as in the past, the world’s industrialised nations are responsible for most CO2 emissions, while poorer countries in particular are bearing the brunt of the consequences of global warming. Pope Francis talks of humanity as
people who share a common home and notes that everything is interconnected and that we simultaneously have a joint and an individual
responsibility. If we share this attitude, then it is clear that the time for metanoia, for reorientation and reformation, has come. Now is the time to put words about justice into action: in the face of the climate crisis, no one must be left behind. The alternative to poverty is a community built on solidarity. That is where you are, God!

In his encyclical Laudato Si’, Pope Francis says that in order to ensure that new models of progress arise, we have to change ‘models of global development’ (cf. LS 194). He is referring here to the kind of development that brings forth an affluent minority at the expense
of the majority and of Mother Earth. Progress means seeing the writing on the wall and really changing direction and reforming; really developing rigorous, consistent policies and responsible economic practices and really allowing ourselves to be shaken out of our complacency by Earth Overshoot Day, which is gradually moving forward in the calendar. With you, God!

Stand up and take action for greater climate justice: let us share the resources we have been given in a responsible manner.
Make a change. For climate justice.

Pirmin Spiegel
Director General of Misereor

Let us take a look at the MISEREOR Lenten Veil created by Lilian Moreno Sánchez: ‚You have set my feet in a broad place – The power of change‘. The artist was born in Chile and has been living in Germany since 1996. The veil is a triptych, in other words, it has three sections. Black lines trace the X-ray image of a foot with multiple fractures. The foot belongs to a person who was seriously injured by the police during a demonstration in Santiago de Chile. Since October 2019, many people have been demonstrating in Santiago‘s Dignity Square against unjust conditions in the country. Thousands of demonstrators were brutally beaten by security forces and jailed. This foot, with its obvious injuries, represents all places where people are broken and downtrodden.

For more information, click here

Learning and getting actively involved together, collecting ideas and donations. For more information on this in German, click here

In view of recent developments relating to the Covid-19 pandemic and in the spirit of acting responsibly for the good of all, we have decided not to invite any representatives of our partner organisations to Germany for the Lenten Campaign 2021. We are very sad that we will not be able to welcome any guests from Bolivia to Germany next year.

Alternative plans, e.g. involving our project partners digitally, are currently under consideration. We will keep you informed of our progress!