Fr Brian O'Toole CSSp describes to Mags Gargan the road that led him to work with the Irish Missionary Union (IMU) Justice Office.

Catholic social justice is often described as the Church's biggest secret because so many people are unaware of the extraordinary work being achieved, often at local grassroots level by priests and religious. As a young man Fr Brian O'Toole had struggled between his passion for campaigning for justice and peace for the poor and vulnerable, and his calling to a religious vocation, until he came to the realisation that he could merge the two as a missionary priest.

Originally from Dublin and a former student at a Christian Brothers school, Fr Brian says that it was personalities that he met over the years that influenced his decision to join the priesthood. ''I was particularly influenced by Keda Asmal who started an Anti-Apartheid group in Trinity. I was always anti-war and involved in movements like 'Ban the Bomb' while in secondary school. I believed in pacificism and in my teens I wanted to change the world,'' he says.

Injustices

Fr Brian (right) studied psychology and philosophy in UCD and there was a strong Christian student movement in the college. ''I was always into Church faith and trying to work out the Gospel in terms of the world I was living in and the injustices I could see around me.

''Then I met a newly ordained Spiritan (Holy Ghost) priest, Fr Pat O'Toole who had been working in Kenya. His dynamism and his enthusiasm inspired me.''

In 1978 Fr Brian was ordained as a Spiritan priest and went to study in New York, until he was sent to Ethiopia in 1981. He spent the next 13 years of his life in Africa's oldest independent country, famous for its periodic droughts and famines, its long civil conflict and a border war with Eritrea.

''I worked in union with the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and supported their missionary endeavours, working on a joint evangelisation programme. After years of negotiation we agreed in 1984 that one priest from each Church would go into the desert area, and I went to the Gamu Gofa province in the south.'' There he lived side-by-side with the local community and assisted them in development work. He lived within a semi-pastoral community who moved their cattle from camp to camp, learning their language and their way of life. ''It was a question of listening and learning, sharing stories and taking baby steps. They live by an oral tradition and in their culture their name changes as they grow up; their baby name, their herder name, their adult name. The social setting could leave you baffled.''

Impact

''People were always on the verge of hunger and famine in the North, but over time it seeped down to us as food prices went up. The impact was not as great on us in our part of the country but at the same time we had a number of famines.''

The ravages of famine led Fr Brian to get involved in the setting up of Self Help Development International, an Irish Third World development agency established by Eoin Lambert in Hacketstown, Co. Carlow in 1984 in response to the Ethiopian famine. One of its first major interventions in Africa in the mid-1980's was the shipping of 2,000 tonnes of Irish 'Cara' seed potatoes to Ethiopia. Cara is an Irish potato developed by the Department of Agriculture and UCD which can self harvest, and it is now the fifth largest cash crop produced in Ethiopia. Self Help was one of the major Irish beneficiaries from Bob Geldof's Band Aid Trust, receiving one million pounds from the organisation in 1987.

Important part

After 13 years of working in the field, Fr Brian ''reluctantly'' moved back to urban life in Ethiopia to co-ordinate the Spiritan's community development projects across the whole country. ''On reflection this work was a more important part of life; training the trainers and creating a network for all the tribal areas. But I was greatly enriched by the experience of grassroots work, and building up relationships with people.''

Fr Brian returned home after 19 years in Ethiopia to come into a leadership role in the Spiritans in Ireland, which was a whole different experience again, involving 17-20 different countries and over 100 personnel overseas. ''It was a new ministry, a new way of being on mission, working with all the people on mission or back home from mission.''

Finding himself back in Ireland in the year 2000 was also a big adjustment in terms of how the society and culture had changed since he left, and he says the first three years were a time of learning and catching up. ''I felt out of place. I had no current frame of reference in terms of the political set-up, the news of the day, even the sense of my own family. I had to get to know my nieces and nephews who grew up while I was away. I was considered out-of-date and it takes a few years to insert yourself again - if you ever do.''

Advocacy

Following six years in leadership, Fr Brian decided to stay in Ireland for family reasons, and with his flair for justice and peace it seemed only natural that he would take up a role in the area of advocacy in justice and peace. He now divides his time between the IMU Justice Office and as the Irish representative of the Africa and Europe Faith and Justice Network (AFEFJN). ''These groups are made up of people who are passionately in tune with places they have been and people they have met who have been treated unfairly - that is our contribution,'' he says.

''In my role I watch out for any legislation in Ireland and the EU that would have a negative affect on life in developing countries. I research, familiarise myself with the issues and find out what we can do, working in partnership with NGOs and community interest groups. The environment and integrity of creation is a huge area at the moment, and advocating for fairness on this issue for poor countries.''

Strong as ever

After more than thirty years in ministry Fr Brian's passion for justice remains as strong as ever, and he sums it up as a sense of solidarity that both drives him forward and nurtures his spirit.

''It was inspiration from the Gospel message that brought me into solidarity with all kinds of people suffering in any way unjustly. I am motivated to work for fairness - for a fair deal for others. Within that solidarity there is a compassion that pushes you to respond and a friendship which is nourishing and empowering.''