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Month: April 2016

Holy See addresses Meeting on minority education rights

(Vatican Radio) The Permanent Representative of the Holy See to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Msgr. Janusz S. Urbańczyk, addressed the Organization’s High Level Meeting on the 20th Anniversary of the Hague Recommendations on the Education Rights of National Minorities, taking place Wednesday and Thursday of this week in Geneva.
Below, please find the official English version of his prepared remarks
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Mr. Chairman,
The  Holy  See  takes  this  opportunity  to  reiterate  its  gratitude  to  the  OSCE  High  Commissioner  on  National  Minorities  for  her  role  in  providing  early warnings  and, as appropriate, early action  in  relation  to tensions involving  national minority issues that have conflict potential within the OSCE area.
We are gathered here today to reflect on the Hague Recommendations  which  were  not  intended  to  be  comprehensive  but  to  serve  as  a  general  framework whose goal was to “assist States in the process of minority education  policy development”.
At this point in human history, when various negative forces threaten the  legitimate aspirations for peaceful co-existence that exist in many regions of the  world, my  Delegation  would  like  to  use  this  opportunity  to  explore  the  responsibility shared by all participating States, as well as  by  civil society, in  doing everything possible to educate  their  people, especially the young,  so that  they  become  peace-makers  and  promoters  of  true  tolerance  and  nondiscrimination.
The  Holy  See  wishes  to  underline  the  importance  of  the  religious  identity of national minorities. It  has a  distinctive duty to insist on the role of  religion, not  for  purely  partisan reasons  nor  because it  is  uninterested in other  aspects  of the issue, but because  it feels that  religion  has left, and  continues to  leave,  a mark in  the history, identity, culture and social life of our societies and  communities.
Education, especially at school, plays a great role in  the  promotion  of  religious tolerance and non-discrimination because it addresses  the roots of the  phenomenon. Mingling with students who belong to different religions is in  itself a great help to understand the unity of mankind. Moreover, it is  important  that schools  teach about different religions and  allow  each student to manifest  and  express plainly and openly  her or his belief. Knowledge about  the  other’s  religion can reduce harmful misunderstandings and stereotypes.
Educational programmes should be developed and strengthened in order  to promote a better understanding and respect for different cultures, ethnicities  and religions. These programmes should also hand on some  paramount  values  like  the dignity of every person and the solidarity amon g peoples. Education in  respect  for  human rights and fundamental freedoms is no less important, both  for students at all levels,  as well as for  students  attending military, police and  public service schools.
According  to  the  indivisibility,  interdependence  and  interrelation  of  human  dimension  commitments,  in  developing  and  implementing  these  programmes,  participating States should always respect the right of parents to  ensure  the  religious  and  moral  education  of  their  children  in  conformity with  their own convictions, a right that is enshrined in both the International  Covenants on Human Rights as well as in the OSCE commitments.
In this regard,  it should be noted that such parental right s  do not imply  only  the  right  of  parents  to  choose  their  children’s  schools,  other  than  those  established  by  public  authorities,  or  the  rights  to  establish  and  manage  alternative  educational  institutions;  it  also  requires  States  to  ensure  that  instruction  in  public  schools  does  not  pursue  an  aim  of  indoctrination  and  to  ensure that  children  are not  forced to attend  lessons  that are  inconsistent with  the convictions of their parents.
Many States, in fact, provide –  or intend to provide  –  in public schools,  compulsory  classes  on  ethical  or  religious  subjects.  Such  instruction  is  appreciated but it should be  borne  in mind that States cannot pursue an aim of  indoctrination and that children shouldn’t be forced to participate in courses that  are  not  consistent  with  the  convictions  of  their  parents.  Therefore, it is  preferable  that  such  teachings  be  facultative,  and,  when  they  are  compulsory,  participating States should provide non-punitive and non-discriminatory opt-out  possibilities.
In  the  Catholic  Church’s  view,  all  people  of  whatever  race,  nation,  religion,  sex  or  age,  in  virtue  of  their  dignity  as  human  persons,  have  an  inalienable right to education. This education should be suitable to the particular  destiny of the individual person, and should be conducive to fraternal relations  within  diverse  societies  in  order  to  build  stable  multi-ethnic  societies  and  promote true unity and peace between the countries of the OSCE region.
Children and young people who are molded by an education oriented  towards respect  for  national and religious minorities today, will be the building  blocks  on  which  the  society of tomorrow  can  be  constructed.  But  in  order  to  reach  that  goal, there is a long way to go, since building a  just  and  peaceful  society: “requires  a  wholehearted  commitment  to  eliminate  not  only  evident  discrimination  but  also  all  barriers  that  divide  groups…The increased  awareness… regarding the situation of minority groups constitutes for our own  times  a  hopeful  sign  for  the  coming  generations  and  for  the  aspirations  of  minority  groups  themselves…  respect  for  minorities  is  to  be  considered  the  touchstone of social harmony and the index of the civic maturity attained by a  country and its institutions” .
Finally, my Delegation is confident that, through the commitments of  the OSCE and the efforts of its High Commissioner on National Minorities,  participating States will make progress in ensuring that national minorities  enjoy a quality education that will be a helpful tool in preventing conflicts, by  inculcating values of tolerance, pluralism, respect and international and intercommunal harmony, capable of preserving regional peace and security.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
(from Vatican Radio)…

Pope prays for victims of Chernobyl disaster 30 years on

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday prayed for the victims of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station disaster 30 years from the tragedy.
Addressing the various groups of pilgrims of different nationalities present in St. Peter’s Square for the General Audience , the Pope had special greetings for those from Ukraine and Belarus.
Mentioning the International Conference that has been organized to mark the anniversary, Pope Francis said he is “praying for the victims of that disaster while expressing appreciation and gratitude to those who have assisted them and for the initiatives aimed at alleviating their suffering and the damage.”
Vatican Radio’s Linda Bordoni asked Kate Hudson, General Secretary of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, to recall what happened at Chernobyl on April 26, 1986:
Listen :

Kate Hudson explains that during routine activity at the Nuclear Power Station there was an unexpected power surge and attempts to deal with it the resulting in a reactor fire which provoked an enormous disaster at the Power Station.
She says it was located in the former Western Soviet Union, just inside the Ukrainian border, but it “very much impacted on Belarus and Russia and of course Western Europe as well eventually, through the transportation by air and the weather systems of the radiation”.
Hudson says the result was an absolute catastrophe for the local population: “the nearest city, Pribyat, had to be evacuated and hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated from the area and permanently re-located away from their homes”.
“Of course the environmental consequences – huge areas that are not allowed to be lived in – the health consequences are still very much with the community there. The instances of childhood thyroid cancer and leukemia are very much more prevalent in that area” she says.
Hudson points out that it is a tragedy ongoing.
”It was wonderful to hear the Pope’s words on this subject: his humanitarian response to the needs of that community and of the support that they continue to receive” she says.        
Kate Hudson goes on to speak of the 2011 Nuclear Power Station disaster in Fukushima and of how, in many respects, it does not appear that the world has learnt its lesson.
She talks of the need to be vigilant and to advocate for alternative energy production, of the many large and small nuclear power station incidents that have happened and continue to take place, and of the role of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.
“We urge people to look at the consequences of government decisions, whether they are on nuclear energy or on nuclear weapons: it’s a technology that is too dangerous to retain” she says.     
(from Vatican Radio)…

First meeting of XIV Ordinary Council of the Synod of Bishops

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis this week presided over the first meeting of the XIV Ordinary Council of the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops. A statement released on Wednesday said the meeting, which took place from 18-19 April, began with a speech by  the Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops, Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri. In his remarks, Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri thanked Pope Francis for his presence, as well as for the recent publication of the , Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, Amoris Laetitia. The Ordinary Council then considered the results of the consultation taken to identify the theme of the next Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. The consultation included offices of the Roman Curia, Episcopal Conferences, the Eastern Churches, and the Union of Superiors General. After much discussion, a list of proposed topics was submitted to the Holy Father for his consideration. Finally, the members of the Council discussed the revision of the Ordo of the Synod of Bishops. Bishop Fabio Fabene, the Under-Secretary of the Synod of Bishops, gave a report on the study seminar organized by the Secretariat  following the speech given by Pope Francis on October 17, 2015. From earlier group discussions on the matter, it emerged that synodality and collegiality must always be joined with the exercise of the ministry of the Bishop of Rome, in a way which fruitfully combines primacy, collegiality and synodality. (from Vatican Radio)…

Pope Audience: Distinguish between the sin and the sinner

(Vatican Radio)  In his continuing catechesis for this Holy Year of Mercy during his weekly General Audience, Pope Francis drew inspiration from the Gospel episode of Jesus’ dinner at the home of Simon the Pharisee. 
He said, “All of us are sinners, so many times we fall into the temptation of hypocrisy, believing that we are better than the other ”, but he continued, look at your sin, all of us need to look at our sins, our mistakes and look to the Lord,” because, he added, “this is the lifeline, the relationship between the sinner and the Lord.”
The Pope was referring to the story from St Luke in which a woman known as a sinner comes up to Jesus, and bathes his feet in her tears and anoints them with precious perfume, but the Pharisee judges the woman by appearances. However, Jesus, underlined the Holy Father, distinguishes between the “sin and the sinner.” 
The Lord, continued Pope Francis teaches Simon that “the woman’s act, as an expression of faith and trust in God’s mercy has merited the forgiveness of her sins.”
The Pope told the faithful gathered in St Peter’s Square, it is a lesson for us all that “God’s mercy reaches out to everyone; it overcomes prejudice and surmounts all barriers.”
He added, that “through faith in Christ, we too have received the forgiveness of our sins and the new life of grace.”
(from Vatican Radio)…

Pope Audience: Appeals for Ukraine and Ecuador

(Vatican Radio)  Pope Francis during his weekly General Audience on Wednesday again appealed for Ukraine, reminding those gathering in St Peter’s Square that for a long time the country’s population has been suffering the consequences of armed conflict, forgotten, he said, by many.
On April 3 rd during his Regina Coeli address the Pope announced a special charity collection to support the people of Ukraine telling the faithful it would be possible to contribute to the collection in all Catholic Churches in Europe on Sunday April 24 th and saying that, “this gesture of charity, beyond alleviating material suffering, expresses my personal closeness and the solidarity of the entire Church”.
On Wednesday, the Holy Father thanked in advance those who will contribute generously to this initiative this weekend.
The Pope also greeted pilgrims from Ukraine and Belarus on the occasion of an international conference marking the 30 th anniversary of the tragedy at Chernobyl. While praying for the victims of the disaster, he expressed gratitude to all those involved in alleviating their suffering.
During the Audience and speaking in Spanish, Pope Francis also expressed his closeness to the people of Ecuador who were hit at the weekend by a massive earthquake which has left over 500 people dead.
(from Vatican Radio)…