(Vatican Radio) The Holy See’s Permanent Observer to the United Nations in Geneva, Archbishop Ivan Jurkovic, lamented how often in today’s throw-away culture, the elderly feel useless and alone because they have lost their proper place in society. His remarks came during an address on Wednesday at a Session of the UN’s Human Rights Council dealing with the Rights of Older Persons. Archbishop Jurkovic expressed the Holy See’s concern over the “increasing discrimination” faced by the elderly and said some of the biggest challenges to their welfare include poverty and inadequate access to health care. He also said the Holy See considers of “utmost importance” the need to “keep older people engaged in decision-making about their lives and their social integration.”
Please find below the full text of Archbishop Jurkovic’s address to the U.N. Session:
Mr. President,
My Delegation is grateful for the Report of the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons. As presented in the Report, the population of older persons represents the fastest growing segment of the global population. “By 2050, for the first time, there will be more older persons than children under the age of 15 worldwide, and it is projected that the number of older persons will more than double from 900 million currently to nearly 2 billion”. In a world that is living a critical demographic transformation the elderly face a number of particular challenges in the enjoyment of their human rights that need to be addressed urgently. The major challenges summarized by the Independent Expert in the area of health care, the right to work, social protection, access to justice, violence and abuse, the participation of older persons, and their increasing discrimination, represent a grave concern for the Holy See.
One of the most pressing challenges to the welfare of older persons is poverty, including their often inadequate living conditions. As highlighted in the Report, “Poverty and lack of income security constitute major concerns for many older persons. Social transfers, in particular adequate pensions, significantly contribute to ensuring the financial security of older persons and are a suitable means of reducing the at-risk-of-poverty rate, their vulnerability and social exclusion”.
Pensions are essential to ensuring rights, dignity and income security for older persons. The right to income security in old age, as grounded in human rights instruments and international labour standards, includes the right to an adequate pension. However, “nearly half of all people over pensionable age do not receive a pension. For many of those who do receive a pension, pension levels are not adequate.”
As a result, most of the world’s older women and men have no income security, have no right to retire and have to continue working as long as they can – often with poor remuneration and in precarious conditions. Yet, despite lower income levels, older persons may be the main providers for the household and the primary caregivers, including for the care of grandchildren and other members of the family.
Mr. President,
In a society often dominated by the logic of efficiency and profit, the elderly can easily be considered unproductive and useless. Several States have recognized the relatively low standard of living among older persons as compared to other segments of the population, including the prevalence of poverty, and even extreme poverty.
In the sector of health care, older patients are usually discharged with complex medical problems, high stress and vulnerability, and these factors place the elderly at risk for poor outcomes. Transitional care, such as a discharge planning programmes, facilitates the care process from hospital to home. The sustainable access to health care can be realized through stronger policies in strengthening the primary care and by helping families, even to financial subsidies, to take care of parents at home.
Older people have a wealth of skills and experiences, they have lived through situations others cannot even imagine, and yet we continue to dismiss these lifetimes of experiences when they begin to need care and support and instead people become a list of care needs. On a macro level, older people contribute financially to society and to the workplace, and at a local level, they contribute to their communities and individual networks in terms of experience. They have also contributed for many decades which is often forgotten. In the Political Declaration and Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (2002), States have foreseen the human right of older persons to participate in all aspects of society, highlighting the rights to work, to health, to independence and to accessibility. Consistent with the Madrid Plan of Action, the Holy See considers of utmost importance to keep older people engaged in decision-making about their lives and their social integration. Often these decisions are relegated to others even when older persons are competent to decide and discern their best interest. Respect for their human dignity and rights requires that they be engaged in such decisions and that others take over responsibility for determining their care only when there is verified evidence that they are incapable of doing so.
Making cities inclusive of older persons means generating opportunities for their economic and social participation in accessible and safe environments. It also means providing affordable housing as well as the basic health and social services needed to support ageing in place. This will necessitate a reflection on and development of more just and equitable policies aimed at re-defining the concept of social utility for those who have retired from the system of paid employment but who are quite capable and needed to strengthen the fabric of society through volunteer service and social presence as respected and learned members of families and communities. As stated by Pope Francis a society that does not take care of the elderly has no future. “The elderly are those who transmit history to us, who transmit doctrine, who transmit the faith and give it to us as an inheritance.”
The Holy See considers essential the promotion of policies and systems of education that propose an alternative approach to the dominant “throw-away culture” that judges human beings simply by what they produce. So often, the elderly feel useless and alone because they have lost their proper place in society.
Mr. President,
Living longer must never be seen as an exception, a burden or a challenge, but rather it must be recognized as the blessing that it is. Older persons enrich society and their positive and constructive presence in society is valued. The elderly are a source of wisdom and a great resource. The quality of a society, of a civilization, may also be judged by how it treats its elderly and by the place reserved for them in communal life. Existing arrangements to protect the human rights of older persons are inadequate and dedicated measures to strengthen the international protection regime are required. Bearing in mind the General Assembly Resolution 67/139 of 20 December 2012 about the need to strengthen the protection of the human rights of older persons, the Holy See wishes that the existing divergences will be soon overcome, given the millions of older persons waiting for their human rights to become a reality.
Thank you, Mr. President.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis issued an Apostolic Letter motu proprio on Thursday, in which he brings the basic legal instruments that govern the Latin Church and the Eastern Churches in communion with Rome more closely into accord with one another in several different specific areas regarding the discipline of the sacraments, and ecclesial identity of the faithful.
The Holy Father has introduced material changes only to the Code of Canon Law that governs the Latin Church, in order to bring the Latin code into harmony with the Eastern code, especially as regards the valid celebration of marriages with spouses of mixed Rite, the circumstances under which a spouse may change Rite, how to determine the Rite to which a child belongs properly, and other questions in a similar vein.
A note issued by the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts explains that the reason for the reforms is that of responding to the desire to facilitate the pastoral care of all the faithful, especially of those very great and increasing numbers of Eastern Christians living in predominantly Latin environments.
Below, please find the full text of the motu proprio in Latin
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Litterae Apostolicae Motu Proprio datae
Quibus nonnullae normae Codicis Iuris Canonici immutantur.
FRANCISCUS PP.
De concordia inter Codices valde solliciti, quasdam discrepantias animadvertimus inter Codicis Iuris Canonici et Codicis Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium normas reperiri.
Duo enim Codices partim communes normas continent, partim vero peculiares ac proprias, id quod utrumque autonomum reddit. Oportet tamen ut etiam peculiares normae apte inter se componantur. Namque discrepantiae, si et quatenus adsint, in pastorali praxi incommoda secum ferunt, praesertim cum relationes inter membra tum ad Ecclesiam latinam tum ad aliquam Ecclesiam orientalem pertinentia moderandae sunt.
Id accidit praesertim nostris temporibus, cum nempe ex populorum migratione sequatur ut plures christifideles orientales in regionibus latinis degant. Quaestiones pastorales et iuridicae haud paucae inde sunt exortae, quae ut solvantur accommodatas normas postulant. Speciatim est memorandum christifideles orientales ad suum cuiusque ritum servandum teneri, ubicumque terrarum inveniantur (cfr CCEO can. 40 § 3; Conc. Oecum. Vat. II, Decr. Orientalium Ecclesiarum , 6), ac proinde auctoritatis ecclesiasticae competentis est maximopere curare ut congrua media apparentur quibus ipsi hanc suam obligationem implere queant (cfr CCEO can. 193, § 1; CIC can. 383 §§ 1-2; Adhort. ap. postsyn. Pastores gregis , 72). Normarum concordia haud dubie medium est quod valde iuvabit ut venerabilium rituum orientalium incremento faveatur (cf. CCEO can. 39), ita ut Ecclesiae sui iuris curam pastoralem efficacius exercere valeant.
Prae oculis tamen habenda est necessitas agnoscendi peculiares notas disciplinares illius regionis in qua relationes interecclesiales eveniunt. In Occidente enim, qui est maiore ex parte latinus, oportet consentaneam aequilibritatem servari inter tutelam iuris proprii minoris partis orientalis et obsequium exhibendum erga historicam traditionem canonicam maioris partis latinae, ita ut indebiti concursus et conflictus vitentur omniumque catholicarum communitatum in illa regione commorantium fructuosa cooperatio foveatur.
Accedit et alia ratio ut normae CIC expressis quibusdam compleantur dispositionibus, iis quidem similibus quae in CCEO continentur, postulatio nempe ut accuratius determinentur relationes cum christifidelibus ad Ecclesias orientales non catholicas pertinentibus, quorum in praesentia auctus est numerus in territoriis latinis.
Prae oculis quoque habendum est canonistarum commentaria animadvertisse discrepantias quasdam inveniri inter utrumque Codicem ac fere unanimiter ostendisse quae sint praecipuae quaestiones et quomodo eae concordes sint reddendae.
Finis igitur normarum quae his Litteris Apostolicis Motu Proprio datis introducuntur in eo consistit ut perveniatur ad concordem disciplinam, quae certam signet viam sequendam singulis in casibus in exercitio curae pastoralis.
Pontificium Consilium de Legum Textibus per Commissionem peritorum in Iure canonico orientali et latino quaestiones repperit quae prae ceteris egere videntur accommodata renovatione legislativa sicque textum elaboravit transmissum ad triginta circiter totius orbis Consultores et Iuris canonici cultores necnon ad Auctoritates Ordinariatuum latinorum pro orientalibus. Expensis receptis animadversionibus, novus textus approbatus est a Sessione Plenaria Pontificii Consilii de Legum Textibus.
His omnibus perpensis, quae sequuntur decernimus:
Art. 1. Canon 111 CIC integre sequenti textu substituitur, in quo adiungitur nova paragraphus et nonnullae expressiones mutantur:
§1 Ecclesiae latinae per receptum baptismum adscribitur filius parentum, qui ad eam pertinent vel, si alteruter ad eam non pertineat, ambo concordi voluntate optaverint ut proles in Ecclesia latina baptizaretur; quodsi concors voluntas desit, Ecclesiae sui iuris ad quam pater pertinet adscribitur.
§2 Si vero unus tantum ex parentibus sit catholicus, Ecclesiae ad quam hic parens catholicus pertinet adscribitur.
§3 Quilibet baptizandus qui quartum decimum aetatis annum expleverit, libere potest eligere ut in Ecclesia latina vel in alia Ecclesia sui iuris baptizetur; quo in casu, ipse ad eam Ecclesiam pertinet quam elegerit.
Art. 2. Canon 112 CIC integre sequenti textu substituitur, in quo adiungitur nova paragraphus et nonnullae expressiones mutantur:
§1. Post receptum baptismum, alii Ecclesiae sui iuris ascribuntur:
1° qui licentiam ab Apostolica Sede obtinuerit;
2° coniux qui, in matrimonio ineundo vel eo durante, ad Ecclesiam sui iuris alterius coniugis se transire declaraverit; matrimonio autem soluto, libere potest ad latinam Ecclesiam redire;
3° filii eorum, de quibus in nn. 1 et 2, ante decimum quartum aetatis annum completum itemque, in matrimonio mixto, filii partis catholicae quae ad aliam Ecclesiam sui iuris legitime transierit; adepta vero hac aetate, iidem possunt ad latinam Ecclesiam redire.
§2. Mos, quamvis diuturnus, sacramenta secundum ritum alius Ecclesiae sui iuris recipiendi, non secumfert adscriptionem eidem Ecclesiae.
§3. Omnis transitus ad aliam Ecclesiam sui iuris vim habet a momento declarationis factae coram eiusdem Ecclesiae Ordinario loci vel parocho proprio aut sacerdote ab alterutro delegato et duobus testibus, nisi rescriptum Sedis Apostolicae aliud ferat; et in libro baptizatorum adnotetur.
Art. 3. Paragraphus secunda can. 535 CIC integre sequenti textu substituitur:
§ 2. In libro baptizatorum adnotentur quoque adscriptio Ecclesiae sui iuris vel ad aliam transitus, necnon confirmatio, item quae pertinent ad statum canonicum christifidelium, ratione matrimonii, salvo quidem praescripto can. 1133, ratione adoptionis, ratione suscepti ordinis sacri, necnon professionis perpetuae in instituto religioso emissae; eaeque adnotationes in documento accepti baptismi semper referantur.
Art. 4. Numerus secundus primae paragraphi can. 868 CIC integre sequenti textu substituitur:
§1. 2° spes habeatur fundata eum in religione catholica educatum iri, firma § 3 ; quae si prorsus deficiat, baptismus secundum praescripta iuris particularis differatur, monitis de ratione parentibus.
Art. 5. Canon 868 CIC posthac tertiam paragraphum habebit ut sequitur:
§3. Infans christianorum non catholicorum licite baptizatur, si parentes aut unus saltem eorum aut is, qui legitime eorundem locum tenet, id petunt et si eis corporaliter aut moraliter impossibile sit accedere ad ministrum proprium.
Art. 6. Canon 1108 CIC posthac tertiam paragraphum habebit ut sequitur:
§3. Solus sacerdos valide assistit matrimonio inter partes orientales vel inter partem latinam et partem orientalem sive catholicam sive non catholicam.
Art. 7. Canon 1109 CIC integre sequenti textu substituitur:
Loci Ordinarius et parochus, nisi per sententiam vel per decretum fuerint excommunicati vel interdicti vel suspensi ab officio aut tales declarati, vi officii, intra fines sui territorii, valide matrimoniis assistunt non tantum subditorum, sed etiam, dummodo alterutra saltem pars sit adscripta Ecclesiae latinae, non subditorum.
Art. 8. Prima paragraphus can. 1111 CIC integre sequenti textu substituitur:
§ 1. Loci Ordinarius et parochus, quamdiu valide officio funguntur, possunt facultatem intra fines sui territorii matrimoniis assistendi, etiam generalem, sacerdotibus et diaconis delegare, firmo tamen eo quod praescribit can. 1108 § 3 .
Art. 9. Prima paragraphus can. 1112 CIC integre sequenti textu substituitur:
§ 1. Ubi desunt sacerdotes et diaconi, potest Episcopus dioecesanus, praevio voto favorabili Episcoporum conferentiae et obtenta licentia Sanctae Sedis, delegare laicos, qui matrimoniis assistant, firmo praescripto can. 1108 § 3 .
Art. 10. Canon 1116 CIC posthac tertiam paragraphum habebit, ut sequitur:
§3. In iisdem rerum adiunctis, de quibus in §1, nn. 1 et 2, Ordinarius loci cuilibet sacerdoti catholico facultatem conferre potest matrimonium benedicendi christifidelium Ecclesiarum orientalium quae plenam cum Ecclesia catholica communionem non habeant si sponte id petant, et dummodo nihil validae vel licitae celebrationi matrimonii obstet. Idem s acerdos, semper necessaria cum prudentia, auctoritatem competentem Ecclesiae non catholicae, cuius interest, de re certiorem faciat.
Art. 11. Prima paragraphus can. 1127 CIC integre sequenti textu substituitur:
§ 1. Ad formam quod attinet in matrimonio mixto adhibendam, serventur praescripta can. 1108; si tamen pars catholica matrimonium contrahit cum parte non catholica ritus orientalis, forma canonica celebrationis servanda est ad liceitatem tantum; ad validitatem autem requiritur interventus sacerdotis , servatis aliis de iure servandis.
Quaecumque vero a Nobis hisce Litteris Apostolicis Motu Proprio datis decreta sunt, ea omnia firma ac rata esse iubemus, contrariis quibuslibet non obstantibus, peculiari etiam mentione dignis, atque decernimus ut per editionem in actis diurnis L’Osservatore Romano promulgentur et deinde in Actis Apostolicae Sedis commmentario officiali edantur.
Datum Romae, apud Sanctum Petrum, die XXXI mensis Maii anno MMXVI, Pontificatus Nostri quarto.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) In a “world that suffers the crisis of a great orphanhood,” we have a Mother that accompanies and defends us. That was the message of Pope Francis during the morning Mass at the Casa Santa Marta on the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows.
The Gospel of the day brings us to Calvary. All the disciples had fled, except for St John and a few women. At the foot of the Cross is Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Everyone is looking at her, saying, “That’s the mother of this delinquent! That is the mother of this subversive!”
“And Mary heard these things. She suffered terrible humiliation. And she also heard the dignitaries, even some priests, whom she respected, because they were priests, [saying] “You who are so good, come down! Come down!” With her Son, naked, there [on the Cross]. And Mary had such great suffering, but she didn’t go away. She didn’t deny her Son! He was her flesh.”
Pope Francis recalled that, when he was in Buenos Aires and would visit prisoners in the jails, he always saw lines of women waiting to enter:
“They were moms. But they were not ashamed: their flesh was there inside. And these women suffered not only the shame of being there – “Look at her! What did her son do?” — but they also suffer the ugly humiliation of the searches they had to undergo before entering. But they were mothers, and they went to find their own flesh. And so it was with Mary: she was there, with her Son, with that very great suffering.”
Jesus, the Pope said, has promised not to leave us orphans, and on the Cross he gives us His Mother as our Mother:
“We Christians have a Mother, Jesus’ [Mother]; we have a Father, Jesus’ [Father]. We are not orphans! And she gives birth to us in that moment with such great sorrow: She is truly a martyr. With a pierced heart, she accepts giving birth to all of us in that moment of sorrow. And from that moment she becomes our Mother, from that moment she is our Mother, the one who takes care of us and is not ashamed of us: she defends us.”
The mystics of the early centuries, Pope Francis said, counsel us to take refuge under the mantle of the Mother of God in moments of spiritual turbulence: “The devil can’t enter there.” He continued, explaining that Mary is a mother, and she will defend as a Mother. The West later took this advice to heart and composed the Latin version of the Marian antiphon: Sub tuum praesidium, “under your mantle, under your protection, O Mother!” We are safe there, he said.
“In a world we could call an orphan,” Pope Francis concluded, “in this world that suffers the crisis” of a great experience of being orphaned, “perhaps our help lies in saying ‘Look to your Mother!’” We have a mother “who defends us, teaches us, accompanies us; who is not ashamed of our sins. She is not ashamed, because she is our Mother. May the Holy Spirit, this friend, this companion along the way, this Paraclete or advocate Whom the Lord has sent, make us understand this very great mystery of the maternity of Mary.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday reflected on how we are created in the image and likeness of the Creator, and warned us – God’s children – against the temptation of undermining our intrinsic dignity by embracing false idols.
The Pope’s words came during a speech to members of the Italian Biblical Association whom he received in the Vatican on the occasion of National Biblical Week.
Pope Francis remarked on the theme chosen for the occasion which focusses on the male-female polarity in the Scriptures.
He recalled the cycle of catechesis held by St. John Paul II during the first part of his pontificate regarding the many aspects of the relationship between man and woman stemming from the analysis of biblical texts.
The Pope said that he himself, during a Catechesis last year, had occasion to stress that “God, after having created the universe and all living beings, created his masterpiece, the human being, whom He made in his own image: ‘in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them’” (Gen 1:27).
And inviting those present to reflect on how we are created in the image and likeness of the Creator, he said that it is essential to note the differences that exist within creation.
This, he said, helps us to understand the dignity of all men and women, a dignity which has its roots in the same Creator.
The Pope said we must never forget we are all children of God and we are not only shaped by Him, but guided by Him just as a father does with his children.
He warned against the possibility of ‘degrading’ this dignity that has been granted to us by God and said this happens when we embrace idolatry, when we make place in our hearts for false idols – as narrated in the Bible passage about the exodus from Egypt when Moses, tempted by the devil, built an idol made of gold (Ex 32).
This idol of gold, Pope Francis said, symbolizes the attractive force of wealth, and the fact that man loses his dignity when riches take the place of God in his heart.
Reiterating the preciousness of the gift of dignity, Pope Francis reflected on the possibility of sharing this dignity so that it triggers a positive reciprocity and he invited those present to ask the question ‘How can I make the other feel worthy? How can I “infect” the other with dignity?”
When one despises, segregates or discriminates, the Pope concluded, he does not “share or infect the other” with his God-given dignity
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Papal diplomats from around the world are in Rome this week for a special Jubilee event that includes both practical refresher seminars and moments of spiritual reflection with the Holy Father.
Relations with Islam, gender culture and other challenges facing the Church today are on the programme, as Philippa Hitchen reports:
The year of mercy may be drawing to a close but Pope Francis is maintaining a packed agenda of Jubilee events. From September 15th to 17th he’s meeting with over a hundred representatives of the Holy See working in locations right across the globe. Of the 108 diplomatic missions in existence today, 103 are headed by archbishops serving as papal nuncios, while the other five posts are permanent observers to international organisations.
The Jubilee event began on Thursday morning with Mass, presided over by Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, in St Peter’s Basilica, followed by two seminars held in the Synod Hall. The first of these was focused on the Pope, the Church and the world today, led by Professor Piero Coda, president of the Sofia University Institute founded by the Focolari movement just south of Florence. The second session, led by Rev. Robert Ghal from the Pontifical Holy Cross University in Rome is entitled ‘Genesis and the case of gender culture’ and will be followed by dinner with Pope Francis at the Casina Pio IV in the Vatican gardens.
On Friday morning participants will have a working session with officials from the Secretariat of State and in the afternoon they’ll attend a third seminar, focused on interreligious dialogue and relations with Islam, led by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran. In the evening, they’ll join heads of all the Curial offices and ambassadors accredited to the Holy See for a reception in the Vatican museums.
The final day, Saturday, will include many of the 40 retired apostolic nuncios and will be a time for spiritual communion, starting with Mass concelebrated with Pope Francis in the Santa Marta chapel. That’ll be followed by a reflection from Mgr Pierangelo Sequeri of the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family Life. The diplomats will then make their way through the Holy Door of St Peter’s Basilica before meeting together with Pope Francis in the Clementine hall of the apostolic palace.
The event concludes with a lunch in Santa Marta, but the Pope has invited all 163 staff members of the nunciatures and diplomatic missions for their own Jubilee here in the Vatican on November 18th.
(from Vatican Radio)…