Reportage
Popular movements are working toward global organization
At a meeting in Rome, 180 delegates from 26 countries around the world gathered to decide what kind of alliance they can forge together. ‘We must respond to global phenomena and organize on a world scale.’
The Jubilee of Popular Movements began Tuesday at SpinTime, an occupied building in Rome’s Esquilino district. There was one recurring word that showed up again and again through the meetings held in many languages: “organization.” The question of what kind of alliance the movements want to forge comes together with the search for novel solutions: “New strategies are needed so that social justice can prevail and all people are recognized as having equal dignity.” In short, the issues are deeply political.
Gloria Morales Palos, from the PICO network in California, shared her perspective: “For many, the United States was the land of dreams; now it has become the land of nightmares.” She referred pointedly to the mass deportations of migrants: “The government is kidnapping people,” she said. “These are the same workers who provided essential services during the pandemic.” Morales Palos then posed the central question to the gathering: “How do we make these people understand that they are not alone, that there is someone who feels their pain and is organizing to help them?”
Also on the theme of organization, Andrea Alzetta described how the SpinTime community prepared for this event. “We need to bring Catholic and secular movements together to discuss a planetary alliance,” he argued. “After denouncing injustice and war, we must respond to global phenomena and organize on a world scale. From this point of view, the Global Sumud Flotilla is a model. Similarly, we want to speak with the millions of Americans who took to the streets against Trump.”
Don Mattia Ferrari, coordinator of the political committee, greeted everyone and announced that Luca Casarini of Mediterranea Saving Humans could not attend the first day, as he was facing trial in Ragusa on charges of “aiding and abetting illegal immigration.” Ferrari then explained the nature of SpinTime to the international guests: “We are in a place where many people organize to weave worlds together, build bridges, practice solidarity and fight.”
As announced, local church representatives were present alongside the movement delegations. Pope Francis had asked the Church to take the people by the hand “in the struggle for solidarity and justice.” Beatrice Tabacco, from the organizing secretariat, summed up the attendance numbers: “There are 180 delegates from 26 countries across all continents.”
Alejandro Gramajo, from Argentina’s Union of Workers of the Popular Economy, summed up the moment: “We are meeting at a difficult time for humanity, in a process of violent change. Eighty percent of global capital is tied up in finance, excluding millions upon millions of workers from the productive processes. There is also the technological transformation; artificial intelligence could generate even deeper inequalities if we are unable to devise alternative processes.”
Ayala Dias Ferreira, from Brazil’s Landless Workers' Movement (MST), spoke of the peasants’ struggle and its connection to sister movements: “We have high expectations for these days; we must confront the new challenges facing the world.”
Rose Molokane of Slum Dwellers International (South Africa) also emphasized the need for global organizing. And Xaro Castellò of the World Movement of Christian Workers added: “With Pope Francis, we said we must plant flags of humanity and fraternity. Look, this SpinTime project is a miracle: giving hundreds of families a roof over their heads.”
During the coffee break, cakes prepared by the building’s residents were offered. “SpinTime welcomes you as part of its home, because these rooms are the synthesis of what already exists and what we want to build,” said Giovanna Cavallo, describing the project hosting the event. “Here there is no private property; here there is shared property for the future.”
Then it was the turn of the cardinals. Don Baldo Reina, the Pope’s vicar for the Diocese of Rome, brought greetings, urging the Church to “heed the cry of the poor.” Cardinal Michael Czerny, head of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, reiterated the need to revive Pope Francis's dream that the popular movements could be fellow travellers with the Church on the road to building a fraternal society – a world where no one is without food, shelter, land, work or rights.
On Wednesday, the working groups were set to continue, followed by the first evening of the “Festival of the Popular Word” in the nearby Piazza Vittorio. “Our strength lies in brotherhood, in our relationships,” reflected Don Mattia. “For believers, it is a gift from God. For non-believers, it is a gift of history.”
Originally published at https://ilmanifesto.it/movimenti-popolari-alla-ricerca-di-forme-di-organizzazione-globale on 2025-10-20