(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has named the former President of the Prefecture for Economic Affairs of the Holy See, Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi, the new Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education. The Congregation for Catholic Education is responsible for houses of formation of religious and secular institutes; universities, faculties, institutes and higher schools of study, either ecclesial…
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(Vatican Radio) The Pontifical Council for for Interreligious Dialogue has sent a message to the Jain community on Mahavir Jayanti, the holiday in which they mark the birth of Vardhaman Mahavir.
Jainism is an India-based religion with around 5 million adherents worldwide, that is known for its emphasis on non-violence and asceticism.
This year’s message looks at how Christians and Jains can work together to promote the care of the elderly.
“The growing neglect of the elderly by the young and tendency to abdicate filial responsibility towards the parents and grandparents, therefore invites us all, believers and others, to re-awaken in us, both at a personal and collective level, a sense of gratitude, affection and responsibility towards our parents, grandparents and other elderly people,” writes Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, the President of the Council.
“Making them feel that they are a living part of our families, communities and society and that we are ever indebted to them is a sure way of challenging the ‘throw away’ culture,” he continues.
Cardinal Tauran concludes the message by saying: “May we Christians and Jains, as persons grounded in our own respective religious traditions and conscious of our shared responsibility towards the society, joining hands with others, promote a culture where the elderly are loved, respected and cared for.”
The full text of the Message is below
Mahavir Jayanti 2015 Message
Christians and Jains: Together to promote care for the elderly
Dear Jain Friends,
The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue most happily extends its greetings to you on the Birth Anniversary of Tirthankar (Path-Finder) Vardhaman Mahavir celebrated worldwide on 2 April this year. May the celebrations marking the feast reinforce and rejuvenate friendship and fellowship among individuals and families, as well as, strengthen your commitment to promote the care of all beings, especially the elderly in the families and communities, for enhanced peace, harmony and happiness in the world.
Carrying forward our cherished tradition, this year we reflect on how we, both Christians and Jains, can together promote the care of the elderly. In many societies across the world people tend to reject the elderly. Also worrisome and deplorable is the fact that many elderly people, especially the sick and lonely, are abandoned by their families and relatives because they feel they are a bother, burden and waste, or these are treated as the neo-outcaste of the contemporary world served with a modicum of contact and care. This trend is growing and causing concern for our society. Pope Francis rightly points out that every society “where the elderly are discarded carries within it the virus of death”(To Participants in the Plenary of the Pontifical Academy for Life, 5 March 2015) and a people “who don’t protect their elderly…is a people without a future, a people without hope”(Address to the Sant’Egidio Community, 15 June 2014). The task of guaranteeing the care due to the elderly, therefore, becomes a noble priority for all, as well as, an ethical imperative binding on all governments and political communities.
The elderly are the primary pillars of our multi-generational families. They live with us as our treasure and blessing because they transmit to us not only their rich life and faith experiences but also the history of our families and communities. These ‘treasures’ are to be fondly protected and gratefully cared for so that they continue to inspire and guide people with their wisdom of a lifetime. There is no denying the fact that there are still a large number of families around the world that, true to their traditions, values and convictions, give exemplary care to their aged; Children in these families and even relatives and friends often make great sacrifices and go an extra mile to serve the elderly. This is praiseworthy because they are doing what is right and just in respect of their parents, grandparents and relatives who are old and in need of care, attention and assistance. While looking after the elderly is a sacred and moral duty binding on individuals and society, the professional and medical assistances offered by competent and charitable healthcare workers are best seen as steps the society takes towards ensuring care for the elderly.
All religions expound the moral obligations the children have towards their parents and elders, especially caring for them, with respect and love, till the end of their earthly life. The Holy Bible says, “Honour your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you” (Exodus 20:12). But it also says, “If anyone does not provide for his relatives and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Timothy 5:8). Jainism lays so much emphasis on respect for life; in regard to humans this respect means upholding the dignity of every human person and all that it entails.
The growing neglect of the elderly by the young and tendency to abdicate filial responsibility towards the parents and grandparents, therefore invites us all, believers and others, to re-awaken in us, both at a personal and collective level, a sense of gratitude, affection and responsibility towards our parents, grandparents and other elderly people. Making them feel that they are a living part of our families, communities and society and that we are ever indebted to them is a sure way of challenging the ‘throw away’ culture. This is possible only “with the superabundant joy of a new embrace between the young and the elderly” (Pope Francis, General Audience, 11 March 2015). May we Christians and Jains, as persons grounded in our own respective religious traditions and conscious of our shared responsibility towards the society, joining hands with others, promote a culture where the elderly are loved, respected and cared for.
Wish you all A Happy Mahavir Jayanti!
Jean-Louis Cardinal Tauran
President
Father Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, MCCJ
Secretary
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The Pontifical Council for for Interreligious Dialogue has sent a message to the Jain community on Mahavir Jayanti, the holiday in which they mark the birth of Vardhaman Mahavir. Jainism is an India-based religion with around 5 million adherents worldwide, that is known for its emphasis on non-violence and asceticism. This year’s message…
Read more
(Vatican Radio) The Holy See has urged the International Community to “intervene” when national governments are unable or unwilling to protect their populations.
Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, was speaking at an open debate on “Children in Armed Conflict” at the United Nations Security Council.
“In the case of non-State actors forcibly recruiting and using child soldiers around the world or committing brutal violence against religious and ethnic minorities, when a State is unwilling or unable to confront such atrocities, it is the responsibility of this body to provide, when all other tools and means are exhausted, military means necessary to protect citizens from such inhumane aggressors,” he said.
Archbishop Auza cautioned that solutions to children in armed conflict cannot be limited to the use of force alone.
“Rather the first step requires a renewed commitment to addressing the humanitarian, social, political and economic situations that drive conflicts in which child soldiers are used,” he said.
“In this regard, faith-based communities can play a vital role in serving the communities impacted, reintegrating former child soldiers and providing a means for dialogue,” he continued.
The Archbishop said a solution to the plight of child soldiers also requires sensitivity to finding ways to reintegrate these children back into their own communities.
“While we witness barbaric acts beyond anyone’s imaginations also committed by child soldiers, we must remember that these children are exploited and manipulated into what they have become,” he said. “Thus, while their reintegration into society requires that we recognize that they have committed atrocities, we must at the same time build pathways for counseling and reconciliation with a view to accomplishing fully that reintegration.”
The full text of Archbishop Auza’s intervention is below
Intervention of H.E. Archbishop Bernardito Auza,
Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the UN
United Nations Security Council
Open Debate on “Children in Armed Conflict”
New York, 25 March 2015
Mr. President,
At the outset, I would like to congratulate you for your Presidency during this month and for scheduling this Open Debate on children in armed conflict. Today’s debate comes at a time when the international consensus of the evils of using children as soldiers in armed conflicts is not only morally condemned but also being more vigorously challenged on the ground by various actors around the globe. The increasing use by terrorist groups and other non-state actors of children in armed conflicts demonstrates the urgent need for a new international consensus to confront this crime and to renew the will of the International Community to address this scourge.
The year 2014 marked the worst year in the modern era of children being used as soldiers in armed conflicts. In Syria and Iraq alone, we have seen more than 10,000 children forced and coerced into becoming child soldiers. While the world searches for solutions, we must all take the first step and uniformly affirm that the recruitment and use of children in armed conflicts is not only a grave violation of international humanitarian and human rights law but is an abominable evil to be condemned. This affirmation must not be done by governments alone, but by all social, political and religious leaders.
Mr. President,
The rising influence of non-State actors in regions across the globe has presented this Council and the global community with a growing challenge which requires new tools and new efforts to confront. It is for this reason that the founders of the United Nations gave to this Council the “responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.” This primordial mission does not and must not allow the International Community to turn its back on conflicts in the name of national political interests or geopolitical disagreements with other countries. This responsibility is entrusted to this Council by all the Members of the United Nations, so that the foundational notion of governance is preserved and the responsibility to protect is upheld.
This responsibility not only requires national governments to protect their citizens, but also urges the International Community to intervene when national governments are unable or unwilling to protect their populations. In the case of non-State actors forcibly recruiting and using child soldiers around the world or committing brutal violence against religious and ethnic minorities, when a State is unwilling or unable to confront such atrocities, it is the responsibility of this body to provide, when all other tools and means are exhausted, military means necessary to protect citizens from such inhumane aggressors.
However, solutions to children in armed conflict cannot be limited to the use of force alone. Rather the first step requires a renewed commitment to addressing the humanitarian, social, political and economic situations that drive conflicts in which child soldiers are used. In this regard, faith-based communities can play a vital role in serving the communities impacted, reintegrating former child soldiers and providing a means for dialogue. Faith-based communities also have a responsibility to ensure that those organizations which seek to justify the use of child soldiers in the pursuit of ideological goals driven by distorted understandings of faith and reason are rightly condemned and denounced.
While the International Community plays an important role in supporting States in their primary responsibility to protect their citizens, it must also be sure to interact with the local community so that solutions to child soldiers and conflicts can also emerge organically and local ownership be fostered. Building peace requires the willingness to dialogue even when conflict has sown hate and distrust. A solution to the plight of child soldiers also requires sensitivity to finding ways to reintegrate these children back into their own communities. While we witness barbaric acts beyond anyone’s imaginations also committed by child soldiers, we must remember that these children are exploited and manipulated into what they have become. Thus, while their reintegration into society requires that we recognize that they have committed atrocities, we must at the same time build pathways for counseling and reconciliation with a view to accomplishing fully that reintegration.
Mr. President,
The International Community already has many of the tools necessary to confront the use of child soldiers. However, it lacks the political will and moral courage to take the steps needed to address the challenge. As children are abducted from their schools to be enslaved, as children are forced to become suicide bombers and as children are drugged and tortured into becoming child soldiers, what will it take before we no longer avert our eyes?
Thank you, Mr. President.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The Holy See has urged the International Community to “intervene” when national governments are unable or unwilling to protect their populations. Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, was speaking at an open debate on “Children in Armed Conflict” at the United Nations Security Council. “In the…
Read more