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Background to SICSAL International
The Oscar Romero International Christian Secretariat for Solidarity with Latin America (known commonly either as "The Romero Network" or by its acronym in Spanish: "SICSAL"), was founded in Mexico City in 1980 by a group of Christians keen to find ways of expressing their solidarity with those sectors of the church in Latin America undergoing persecution. Led by Don Sergio Mendez Arceo, Archbishop of Cuernavaca, Mexico, they established the secretariat and named it soon after the March 1980 assassination of Salvadoran Archbishop, Oscar Romero.
Today, SICSAL is presided over by Don Samuel Ruiz, Bishop of San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico with co-presidents Bishop Don Pedro Casaldaliga of Sao Felix de Araguaia, Brazil, and Don Heriberto Hermes, Bishop of Cristilandia, Brazil.
Currently on the episcopal advisory group, there are five Latin American bishops who actively participate with the regional and country delegates in the annual meetings of the SICSAL assembly. This assembly is responsible for the definition of SICSAL statutes and campaign priorities. Internationally the activities of SICSAL are coordinated through the office of the permanent secretariat based in Mexico City.
With an ecumenical membership the Secretariat clearly identifies itself as, and with, the Church of the Poor, the theology of liberation, and the Medellin "preferential option for the poor". SICSAL is also an outspoken opponent against the rising tide of neo-liberalism or economic rationalism and its negative implications for the plight of the poor.
Whilst the majority of the membership of SICSAL come from the Catholic tradition, full membership and participation is open to members of any Christian community. Currently there are SICSAL affiliate regional networks and groups operating in Mexico, Central America (El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua), the Carribean (Haiti, Dominican Republic, Cuba), South America (Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Brazil), Europe (Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Austria, France, Spain), and North America (the United States, Canada, and Quebec).
Copyright © 1996, SICSAL Australia - All rights reserved.
Melbourne contact: Rita Camilleri
Vox: +61 3 9379 3889
Fax: +61 3 9379 1711
Email contact: Michael Abdilla - abdilla@rmit.edu.au