(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has given provisional approval to a new series of norms governing the establishment and management of funds for the advancement of investigations into the lives of people proposed for sainthood. Given by Papal rescript, the approval ad experimentum for a period of three years governs the way funds for the Causes of Saints are established and managed, especially at the so-called “Roman phase” of the process, which follows initial evidence collection at the diocesan level and the preparation of a position paper – often thousands of pages long and containing painstakingly assembled intimate details of the proposed saint’s earthly life and career – to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Rome, which forms the basis of the Roman phase proper. All of this can prove extremely costly and time-consuming. The new norms seek to increase transparency in the process and assist in cost containment by requiring regular and detailed accounting, creating disciplinary procedures in case of misuse, and providing for the liquidation of funds established for causes, once the process reaches its conclusion. In addition, the new norms provide for the creation of a “solidarity fund” that is supplied by freely given donations from the promoters of causes or any other source. In the case of real and genuinely documented need, appeals for assistance from the Solidarity Fund are to be made by the promoters of causes, through the local bishop. The Congregation for the Causes of Saints will evaluate case by case. (from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The Vatican on Wednesday said there is “a lack of political will on the part of the different Institutions of the International community” to address attacks on the right of religious freedom.
The comments were made during a United Nations Human Rights Council discussion on the Report of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief.
“Minimizing the essential role that religion has in all societies will not be the answer to the current challenges found in the interplay of [the freedom of religion and the freedom of expression],” said Msgr. Richard Gyhra, Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva.
“We live in a world subject to the ‘globalization of the technocratic paradigm,’ which consciously aims at a one-dimensional uniformity and seeks to eliminate all differences and traditions in a superficial quest for unity,” he continued.
“Religions thus have the right and the duty to make clear that it is possible to build a society where ‘a healthy pluralism which respects differences and values them as such’ is a precious ally in the commitment to defending human dignity… and a path to peace in our troubled world,” said Msgr. Gyhra.
“The tendency to globalization is not necessarily bad. On the contrary, if it unites us, it can be noble. However, we are all aware that ‘globalization makes us neighbors, but does not make us brothers’.”
The Vatican diplomat said another essential aspect to the respect for freedom of religion or belief and its relationship with freedom of expression is the limitation that some forms of national legislation impose by not permitting an open exercise of the freedom of religion.
“For a diminution of violations of this essential right, it is imperative that all persons of all religious persuasions, or of no religion, are treated equally as citizens in the fullest sense, without discrimination and persecution because of their convictions or beliefs,” Msgr. Gyhra said.
The full text of Msgr. Gyhra’s address is below
Intervention by Msgr. Richard Gyhra, Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of the
Holy See to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva
at the 31 st Session of the Human Rights Council
Item 3 – Report of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief
Geneva, 9 March 2016
Mr. President,
The Special Rapporteur on the freedom of religion or belief has provided us with a rather thought-provoking Report which addresses the interplay and interconnectedness of this freedom with the freedom of expression. The ongoing and world-wide terrorist attacks, as well as the greater relation between religion and tolerance, underscore the necessity of reflecting upon these basic freedoms, of how we approach and understand them, and the “rights” and “obligations” demanded by them. Studies and statistics indicate a rather sober and sad reality when they show that limits and abuses of the freedom of religion or belief are continuing to increase in many countries. This trend is very alarming for the Holy See as it seems to indicate a lack of political will on the part of the different Institutions of the International community to address the causes of such violence and that there is a long path that lies ahead in the area of mutual understanding and dialogue. Often times, the public reactions to these unfortunate and violent events drive a greater wedge between these two rights, pushing them further apart as if they are opposite rights or innately antithetical. On the contrary, these freedoms, as with all rights, are to be understood within the framework of the universality and interdependence of all fundamental human rights. The danger arises, however, when human rights are understood from an approach that considers freedom as complete license or autonomy, the exercise of one’s freedom without any reference to the other or to the “obligation” which corresponds to the right. As the Special Rapporteur notes, “the two rights under discussion here are rights of “everyone” and thus held by all human beings who should be able to exercise them free from fear and free from discrimination… (they) epitomize the principle of equality which underpins the human -rights approach as a whole.”
Minimizing the essential role that religion has in all societies will not be the answer to the current challenges found in the interplay of these two freedoms. We live in a world subject to the “globalization of the technocratic paradigm,” which consciously aims at a one-dimensional uniformity and seeks to eliminate all differences and traditions in a superficial quest for unity. Religions thus have the right and the duty to make clear that it is possible to build a society where “a healthy pluralism which respects differences and values them as such” is a “precious ally in the commitment to defending human dignity… and a path to peace in our troubled world.” The tendency to globalization is not necessarily bad. On the contrary, if it unites us, it can be noble. However, we are all aware that “globalization makes us neighbors, but does not make us brothers”.
Therefore, if this tendency pretends to makes us all the same, it destroys the individuality of every person. Freedom of religion or belief is a fundamental right which shapes the way we interact, alone or in community, with our neighbors whose religious views differ from our own. Religious freedom is rooted in respecting the freedom of conscience. By its very nature it transcends places of worship and the private sphere of individuals and families and seeks to build the common good of all persons. As Pope Francis says, religious freedom allows us to seek “the truth and dignity of the human person and human rights. In a world where various forms of modern tyranny seek to suppress religious freedom, or try to reduce it to a subculture without right to a voice in the public square, or to use religion as a pretext for hatred and brutality, it is imperative that the followers of the various religions join their voices in calling for peace, tolerance and respect for the dignity and rights of others.”
Mr. President,
For the Holy See, freedom of religion and freedom of speech are called to coexist as fundamental human rights. There is a truth, however, that must not be overlooked; namely, that everyone has the right to practice his or her religion freely, without offending others. Furthermore, we must not offend other believers, make war or kill in the name of one’s own religion, in God’s name. “To kill in the name of God is an aberration. I believe that this is the most important thing about religious freedom: to exercise it in freedom, without offending, but also without imposing it or killing for it.”
“Everyone not only has the freedom of expression, the right, but also the obligation, to say what they think in order to promote the common good. We have the obligation to speak openly, to enjoy this freedom, but without offending others. We cannot provoke others, we cannot insult their faith, we cannot mock their faith.”
In this sense, there is a delicate interplay of these two fundamental rights that must be carefully maintained by respecting the freedom of conscience of others, by exercising our freedom in a responsible and respectful way, not as complete autonomy or license but rather as the freedom to choose what is truly good for the individual, his community and for the common good, and by treating others as we wish to be treated.
Another essential aspect to the respect for freedom of religion or belief and its relationship with freedom of expression is the limitation that some forms of national legislation impose by not permitting an open exercise of the freedom of religion, a fundamental human right as articulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. For a diminution of violations of this essential right, it is imperative that all persons of all religious persuasions, or of no religion, are treated equally as citizens in the fullest sense, without discrimination and persecution because of their convictions or beliefs.
Mr. President,
In conclusion, the enjoyment of the freedom of religion or belief is a fundamental human right that cannot be simply brushed aside, as if our societies have moved beyond any religious belief or sentiment. With many conflicts occurring at the hands of some extremists, religion has unfortunately been portrayed as the culprit that must be excised from modernity by way of the scalpel of freedom of expression. This effort is not only misguided, but contrary to the nature of the human person. In fact, freedom of religion and freedom of expression cannot exist separately, for they are interdependent and united. Thus, they should always be enjoyed together through a reasonable and respectful exchange.
Thank you, Mr. President.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The theme of transparency regarding the Church‘s assets and the question regarding the fight against hunger and food waste were two key points during the Sixth meditation of the Pope’s Lenten Retreat.
Led by Father Ermes Ronchi who is preaching to Pope Francis and to members of the Roman Curia at their retreat in the town of Ariccia, the exercises focus on ten questions from the Gospels.
The question at the heart of Wednesday morning’s reflection was “How many loaves do you have?” (Mark 6:38, Matthew 15:34).
“The thing that most hurts Christians – Father Ronchi said – is the clergy’s attachment to money,” whilst what makes them happy is “the sharing of the bread”.
Father Ronchi began his meditation saying “Some people are so hungry that for them God cannot but have the form of a loaf of bread”.
“Life – he said – begins with hunger; to be alive is to be hungry”. And if you take that a step further one must consider the hunger of millions of people in the world: “the siege of the poor”, millions of outstretched hands asking for something to eat does not – he said – ask for a religious definition. “How does the Church respond?”
No to smoke screens
Quoting from the Gospel reading which tells of the multiplication of the loaves and the fish, Ronchi points out that Jesus has a very practical approach when he tells the disciples to sum up what they have in hand.
He said that all disciples, including the ones today, are called to quantify their assets.
“How much money do you have? How many houses? What standard of living? You must check! How many cars and how much jewelry in the form of crucifixes or rings?” he said.
The Church – Father Ronchi concluded – must not be afraid of transparency.
To share is to multiply
“If you are transparent you are truthful. When you are true you are free.” Father Ronchi observed that Jesus did not allow anyone to ‘buy’ him, and “he never entered the palaces of the powerful if not as a prisoner.”
He explained that Jesus’ logic is that of giving – not of hoarding. He said that the verb ‘to love’ in the Gospel translates into ‘to give’. The miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and the fish shows us that Jesus is not concerned with the quantity of the bread; what he desires is that the bread be shared.
“According to a mysterious divine rule: when my bread becomes our bread, then little becomes enough. Hunger begins when I keep my bread to myself, when the satiated West holds on to its bread, its fish, its assets… It is possible to feed the earth, there is enough bread. There is no need to multiply it, it would be sufficient to just distribute it, starting with ourselves. We do not need prodigious multiplications: we need to beat the Goliath of selfishness, of food waste and the hoarding of few”.
“The hunger of others has rights over me”
Quoting from the Gospel of Luke Father Ronchi said: “Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap…” In this promise of Jesus – Father Ronchi said – is the mysterious, immense economy of giving and its hundredfold return which turns every budget upside down.
And the last question will be – he continued: “Have you given little or a lot to life?” – Life depends on this, not on assets.
“A gift of five loaves of bread is sufficient to change the world” he said.
Father Ronchi concluded saying that the miracle of the five loaves and the two fish that the nascent Church put in the hands of Christ who did no calculations and held nothing back for his own supper or that of his disciples, shows us that a drop in the ocean can give meaning and hope to life”.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The Vatican celebrated “International Women’s Day” on Tuesday with a conference dedicated to giving a platform to women working for the Church around the world. Listen to our report:
Held at the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, this week’s gathering was the third consecutive “Voices of Faith” conference, which is an initiative of Fidel Götz Foundation, with the partnership of Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS). The afternoon session of the 8 March event had a four-women panel discussion which centered on the role of women in the Church The panel was moderated by Fr. Thomas Smolich SJ, International Director of JRS in Rome. He shared his impressions with Tracey McClure about the conference, which often touched on mercy throughout. “The theme of VoF this year was that ‘Mercy requires Courage’,” Fr. Smolich said. “It’s very fitting with the Holy Year of Mercy, but also fitting in the stories that we heard from the people who spoke, both the women and men who, in a sense, share God’s mercy and also those who experience God’s mercy. It requires courage on both sides.” “What we also heard was a desire for the Church to recognize this courage, especially the courage of the voices of women, women who make up most of the Church, women who participate in many ways in the Church,” the Jesuit priest said. He added: “They are courageous to be here; they are courageous to do what they do. [They ask us:] ‘How can we, as Church, really be family and welcome all people? That’s what I took away from VoF this year.” One of the Panelists at the VoF conference was Dr. Carolyn Woo, President and CEO of Catholic Relief Services in the US. “We are here to celebrate the gifts and contributions of women but, at the same time, to also remember the challenges which they deal with every day,” she told Tracey McClure in an interview. “Women have actually come a long way. Eighty-five percent of the work in the Church, which is not done by clerics, is done by women. At least in the United States, there are many key positions held by women.” Asked about the question of women’s ordination, Woo said, “I think the pope has spoken very clearly that there will be no women’s ordination. I think where the tragedy is, is that the conversation sometimes gets stopped right at that point. “Women don’t talk about other things because of that particular issue, and sometimes the Church may be skeptical about women’s voices out of the concern that every conversation may lead to a conversation about women’s ordination.” “I think we should actually let that rest, so that we could proceed on the other dimensions.” (from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Cardinal Peter Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, on Tuesday addressed a seminar in Rome on health and sexuality in sustainable development goals and in Catholic Church teaching. The seminar, held on International Women’s Day, was co-sponsored by the Council for Justice and Peace, the World youth Alliance (WYA) and its sister organization, FEMM, that deals with women’s health issues. In his remarks at the seminar, Cardinal Turkson reaffirmed the Holy See’s commitment to both human life and the dignity of women and warned that technology based on science provides humanity with tremendous “power over itself”, and “we need to work very hard together to make sure that it is used wisely.”
Please see below Cardinal Turkson’s prepared address to the seminar which was read on his behalf by a senior official from the Council for Justice and peace:
Health and Sexuality in the Sustainable Development Goals and Catholic Church Teaching
Istituto Patristico Augustinianum, Rome, 8 March 2016
Opening Remarks
Thank you for coming to this important lecture, which the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace is co-sponsoring with the World Youth Alliance (WYA), FEMM, and the Reproductive Health Research Institute (RHRI). The Council has worked closely with the World Youth Alliance since its founding in 1999, both at the United Nations and in supporting the organization’s work with young people in more than 160 countries around the world. This collaboration has been important and fruitful because of the foundational commitment of both organizations to defend the dignity of each person, and to advocate for person-centered responses in the actions that we take individually and globally.
We are happy, therefore, to continue and to advance our collaboration tonight, particularly in light of the recent encyclical, Laudato si’, in which the Holy Father exhorts humankind to combine the best science available with the Church’s values and teachings to “open up” the “immense possibilities … before us” [§102]. Tonight, we move beyond the advocacy of person-centered proposals to the development of programs that can meet the urgent and basic needs of people around the world. In particular, the World Youth Alliance, through its collaboration with its sister organizations FEMM and the RHRI, has developed cutting-edge educational and medical programs to advance the care for women’s health in response to needs expressed by governments, civil society and the Church. As such, these organizations exemplify the Holy Father’s words: “Science and religion, with their distinctive approaches to understanding reality, can enter into an intense dialogue fruitful for both” [§62].
When adopting the current Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Holy See rejected a one-dimensional interpretation of reproductive health requiring an ideological promotion of contraception and abortion. As Pope Francis notes in Laudato si’, “The more complex problems of today’s world … cannot be dealt with from a single perspective or from a single set of interests. A science which would of¬fer solutions to the great issues would necessarily have to take into account the data generated by other fields of knowledge, including … social ethics” [§110]. The Holy See has always maintained its commitment to both human life and the dignity of women, and has also reaffirmed a commitment to science and ongoing advances that can further defend and support the needs faced by women, families and children in human and effective ways. At the same time, technology based on science provides humanity with tremendous “power over itself”, and we need to work very hard together to make sure that it is used wisely [§104].
Tonight’s lecture demonstrates the impressive advances that can be achieved when a deep commitment to science in the service of the needs of the human person is offered. The work of RHRI, led by Dr. Pilar Vigil, is a testament to a lifetime of careful research and clinical care in order to provide solutions for the suffering of so many women, both in their health and in the management and use of their fertility.
WYA was awarded a Papal Foundation grant last year, highlighting Pope Francis’ recognition of its important work in support of the poor and defenceless and mirroring the gratitude of this Pontifical Council for WYA’s endeavors. This collaboration in the development of new programs that advance the science, research, and clinical ability to care for women and families is an enormous service to the families and to the world, and one which the Pontifical Council is proud to highlight and support. Trusting that this lecture will further expand awareness and understanding of WYA’s important work in the Vatican and throughout the world, we are grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the organization’s vital work.
Cardinal Peter K.A. Turkson
President
Please find below details of a press release describing the work of the WYA and FMM:
The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace is co-sponsoring a joint lecture with World Youth Alliance (WYA) and its sister organization, FEMM. The Council has worked with WYA since its founding in 1999. WYA also works closely with the Holy See’s Mission to the UN in NY. In 2015, WYA received a Papal Foundation grant, highlighting Pope Francis’ recognition of their important work in support of the poor and defenseless.
In order to provide constructive proposals internationally, WYA has developed a curriculum program that focuses on the understanding of the dignity of the person. This program, for ages 4-18, is a unique and powerful response to Pope Francis’ exhortation to focus on a deeper understanding of our anthropology as the key to engaging moral and sexual ethics. WYA’s sister organization, FEMM, offers a ground-breaking approach to women’s health. FEMM enables medical providers to diagnose and treat ovulatory dysfunction (symptoms of which include acne, pain, weight gain, depression, migraines, PMS), infertility and menopause, rather than manage or suppress symptoms with the pill and IVF.
These programs offer other concrete solutions to many of the needs facing communities and nations. They also offer a sound implementation or pathway for the newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s), particularly in the most difficult areas of sexual education and women’s reproductive health. In recognition of this, the Holy See Mission in New York is co-sponsoring a similar event with WYA and FEMM during the upcoming Commission on the Status of Women.
(from Vatican Radio)…