Our Movement and the Social Credit idea continue to expand all over the world, and most recently especially in Poland, Mexico, and Ecuador. For example, on December 5-7, 2003, a conference on Social Credit, entitled "A financial system at the service of the human person", was organized in Zakopane, in the south of Poland, by the Catholic Action of the Archdiocese of Krakow. The organizers invited us to send representatives, so there were, from Poland, Mr. Janusz Lewicki of Wroclaw, who is in charge of our Polish edition in that country, and Dr. Szczesny Górski of Poznan, who writes books and gives lectures on Social Credit, and from Canada, Alain Pilote, who is in charge of the edition in English of "Michael", and Mrs. Diane Boucher, of Quebec City, who holds a master's degree in computer science and another one in economics, and who was one of the main speakers at this conference. The official aim of this conference was "to explain in a synthetic way the Social Credit idea, and to emphasize the possibilities of its implementation in Poland."
On December 4, our four representatives spoke about Social Credit on Radio Maria in Torun. From left to right: Fr. Gonczaruk, Diane Boucher, Alain Pilote, and Janusz Lewicki.
Mr. Lewicki wrote to us: "The Congress in Zakopane was a great success for Social Credit in Poland. There were 50 people from different areas in Poland: professors, doctors, economists, and even a lady who is a member of the Polish Parliament.
"Father Jozef Jakubiec, the head of Catholic Action in Krakow, attended all the conferences that were principally on Social Credit. He repeated several times in his homilies that this conference on Social Credit in Poland was a true miracle of Saint Nicholas (whose feast falls on December 6).
"It is truly a miracle that in Poland we would organize such an important event on a subject of such importance like Social Credit. One of the organizers remarked that in 1907, Lenin had organized a secret meeting in Zakopane to prepare the Russian Revolution. In 2003, it was a secret meeting in Zakopane that we held to prepare for the application of Social Credit."
Mr. Melvin Sickler and Mr. Patrick Tetrault spent two months in Mexico City with Mr. and Mrs. Guillermo Beltran. At the end of November, these four Pilgrims participated in a Congress of missionaries in Guatemala. They received permission to distribute "Michael" leaflets on the Pope's document on the Rosary and the Eucharist, and the leaflet, "It is urgent to put and end to the scandal of poverty in the world". Our Pilgrims were invited by several priests and Bishops.
Mr. and Mrs. Beltran, wearing their white beret, were questioned by journalists from Quebec, who said to them in an ironic tone of voice: "How do you come to be here with a White Beret on your head?" Mrs. Beltran answered them: "Michael'is a very Catholic Movement that brings a solution against poverty. Mexico, all of America, the whole world needs Social Credit to take care of the problem of poverty. If the Michael Journal has existed for 65 years, it is because it is supported by God. How can you judge Social Credit when you did not even make the effort to read one line, one paragraph, one article from the Michael Journal?"
in Mexico City, Mr. and Mrs. Beltran speak at churches after the Masses on Sundays. They ask for donations and subscriptions. One Sunday they took 10 subscriptions and $180 in donations. Another Sunday, $60.00 and 3 subscriptions. Three young people asked to participate in their activities. One week, Mrs. Beltran sent us 25 subscriptions. She sent us 36 before, and 40 before that. Mrs. Beltran is no longer working. She goes to do the apostolate every day.
Mr. and Mrs. Carlos Reyes and Mr. Pierre Marchildon are so busy holding meetings and organizing apostolate activities that they don't have time to make out their reports. The churches are full on Sundays; there are 6 to 8 Masses. All the young people attend Mass. Our Pilgrims speak at the Masses, they distribute leaflets, and they take names for meetings. They have meetings of 14, 15, and 20 people in the homes. In one week, for example, they took 100 subscriptions. On December 11, they had 4 meetings organized. They like these small meetings in the families; they can speak to each one and convince them about Social Credit.
Social Credit is circulating from country to country. Our Pilgrims in Ecuador acquired a small truck that holds 70 bundles of leaflets. They are satisfied. They sent 10,000 leaflets to a Bishop in Columbia about asked for 100,000. They will send him 10,000 per week. Pierre Marchildon spent the holidays in the mission field; he returns in March.
So far, Mr. and Mrs. Carlos Reyes and Mr. Pierre Marchildon have gathered hundreds of subscriptions to the "San Miguel" Journal, and they are raising up leaflet distributors. Every second week they are invited to speak on the Catholic Radio Station "Radio Maria" in Quito. They announce the "San Miguel" Journal and offer leaflets to all who want some.
On January 17, 2004, there were five teams of Pilgrims of St. Michael wearing white berets who did the Rosary Crusade. The week before, our Pilgrims went to see the Archbishop of Quito, who likes our work, and he recommended them to see the Vicar General to help them spread the leaflets more rapidly.
Poland, Latin America, and all the countries in the world need the implementation of Social Credit to "put an end to the scandal of poverty". With God's help, and the humble apostolate of the Pilgrims of St. Michael, the truth and justice will prevail!