DEBATE “HOUSE OF COMPASSION” AT SINT-JACOBSKERK
DEBATE “HOUSE OF COMPASSION” AT SINT-JACOBSKERK
Sunday, July 20 at 2:30 PM
We warmly invite you to a unique conversation between Bishop Lode Van Hecke and Alderman Christophe Peeters, responsible for the church councils in Ghent, on Sunday, July 20 at 2:30 PM in Sint-Jacobskerk.
House of Compassion
A few months ago, Bishop Lode Van Hecke announced his intention to create a House of Compassion in Ghent, inspired by the initiative of the same name that has been active since 2020 in the Brussels Beguinage Church. Diaconia — care for others through service and solidarity — is made tangible there through reflection and action. But it is also a place of beauty, silence, encounter, and exchange.
It is Bishop Lode’s dream that the House of Compassion in Ghent will focus on the needs of the most vulnerable in our society. It makes these needs visible, seeks to understand the mechanisms behind poverty, exclusion, and exploitation. “Compassion” is the foundation — and it goes beyond pity or empathy. After witnessing injustice, compassion calls for reflection and action. It is rooted in the deepest source shared by all religions and worldviews: the “Golden Rule” — “Treat others as you would like to be treated.”
House of Compassion in Sint-Jacobskerk
Ghent’s Sint-Jacobskerk is currently known as a popular church with a valuable interior, a stop on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela, and as an “art church” hosting regular concerts and exhibitions. The church council of Sint-Jacobs and the nonprofit Jacobus were happy to support this new initiative. The House of Compassion adds a new dimension to the church’s current mission: a place for the social dimension of being church in Ghent.
This is not about direct aid — for which Ghent already has many excellent institutions and organizations — but about creating space to reflect on the structures and mechanisms that perpetuate injustice, and to take action. It relies on the knowledge and expertise of various partners in the field and makes their work visible to a broad audience. It engages in dialogue with anyone who embraces the “Golden Rule,” regardless of faith or worldview.
House of Compassion in and for Ghent
The House of Compassion is built on collaboration with many partners in Ghent’s social sector. Cooperation with the city of Ghent is also crucial to make this initiative a success.
Bishop Lode Van Hecke and Alderman Christophe Peeters will debate this dream and the path to its realization on Sunday, July 20 at 2:30 PM in Sint-Jacobskerk.
Everyone is welcome, free entry, no reservation required.
More information Jan Jaspers janjaspers1@gmail.com
