(Vatican Radio) The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, on Wednesday said he hoped the newly elected American president, Donald Trump, would be guided by God to serve his country but also to promote peace and wellbeing in the world.
Talking to journalists on the sidelines of a conference at Rome’s Lateran University, the cardinal said he respected the will of the American people as expressed in this exercise of democracy. “We send our congratulations to the new president”, he continued, in the hope that “his government may bear real fruit”.
Cardinal Parolin said it would be premature to comment on specific issues such as immigration, noting that the views of presidential candidates often differ from their policies once they become president and adding that Trump had already spoken “in leadership style”.
He said Trump can be “assured of our prayers that the Lord may enlighten and support him” in the service of his country, but also in the service of peace and wellbeing in the world. Cardinal Parolin concluded by saying he believes there is a need for everyone to work to change the situation in the world today, which is one of “grave wounds, of serious conflicts”.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday urged the faithful not to fall into indifference but to become active instruments of mercy. The Pope’s words came during the weekly General Audience in St. Peter’s Square. As the Holy Year of Mercy comes to end, he was reflecting on the corporal work of mercy that calls us to visit the sick and the imprisoned. Please find below the English language synopsis of the Pope’s catechesis: Dear Brothers and Sisters: In our catechesis for this Holy Year of Mercy, we now consider two further corporal works of mercy: healing the sick and visiting the imprisoned. Jesus himself is our model in both. He shows us the importance of drawing near to those who so often feel alone and abandoned. How much good is done when we visit the sick and those in prison, and how much we ourselves are enriched by these acts of charity! Visiting the imprisoned is a fruitful way of bringing the Lord’s healing presence to those who are paying for their mistakes. Deprived of their freedom, they especially need to hear the message of God’s merciful love and forgiveness, and in this way to recognize their worth and dignity. Jesus himself, though innocent, suffered in prison for our sake, and the apostles Peter and Paul used the time of their imprisonment to pray and proclaim the Gospel. By visiting the sick and the imprisoned, may we bring God’s mercy and its redemptive power to our brothers and sisters in need. (from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The Holy See’s permanent observer to the United Nations organisations in Geneva, Archbishop Ivan Jurkovič, urged countries to work together to win the war against the proliferation of biological weapons.
His words came on Monday as part of an address to the 8th review conference of the Biological Weapons Convention.
Please find below the full statement by Archbishop Ivan Jurkovič, Permanent Representative of the Holy See to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva
Mr. President,
At the outset, Ambassador Molnár, allow me to congratulate you on your election as President of this 8th Review Conference of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC). The Holy See Delegation offers you its full support for a successful and effective outcome.
The BWC was the first multilateral treaty to ban a whole category of weapons of mass destruction. By stigmatizing biological weapons the BWC managed to create a clear international norm which must be continually strengthened.
We are confronted today with unprecedented complexity in the international security system: breakthroughs in life sciences are posing increasingly difficult challenges to the implementation of the BWC; traditional and non-traditional security threats are more and more intertwined; the threat of the illegal acquisition, production and use of biological agents by terrorists is increasing; the frequent spread of pandemics threatens global health and security.
Mr. President,
The Holy See Delegation would like to add its voice to address the most important issues on the agenda, especially those relevant to the effectiveness of the Convention.
The BWC is an essential pillar of international disarmament and security and its Preamble affirms that the use of biological weapons “would be repugnant to the conscience of mankind and that no effort should be spared to minimize this risk”. Using life to indiscriminately destroy life, using science to spread death instead of curing diseases and alleviating suffering, is contrary to human dignity.
The very nature and purpose of the BWC framework offers a chance to underline and understand the direct link between disarmament and development, and their mutually reinforcing relationship. The right to participate in the fullest possible exchange of equipment, materials and scientific and technological information about the use of bacteriological agents and toxins for peaceful purposes is set out in Article X of the BWC, with the understanding that safety, security and non-proliferation are an essential part of the equation. In this regard, an effective implementation of Art. X could also serve as a good incentive for the universalization of the membership of the BWC.
The recent naturally occurring outbreaks of diseases are an example of the relationship between disarmament and development: they highlight the limitations of the national and international response. We know how quickly these outbreaks can spread across borders and how vulnerable public health systems are, especially in the poorest countries; a response that would likely be even more difficult and strained in the case of an intentional use of biological weapons, especially if it occurred during an armed conflict.
For these reasons, it is important that State Parties continue and strengthen support for capacity-building in States Parties in need of assistance through international cooperation, while coordinating and creating synergies with international and regional organizations and stakeholders. Given their very nature, diseases do not respect borders, so it is in everyone’s interest that our neighbors can rely on robust national health systems. In this regard, development is truly another name for peace and justice.
Additionally, the lack of an institutional mechanism for assistance under the BWC must be re-assessed: there is a need for clear procedures when submitting requests for assistance or when responding to a case of alleged use of biological or toxin weapons. This is of the utmost importance, considering that there are no specific direct provisions for the victims of such attacks.
Advances in science and technology and international cooperation and assistance are strictly interconnected and lie at the very heart of the BWC. As we witness more remarkable breakthroughs in life sciences through more sophisticated genetic engineering and synthetic biology, the BWC finds itself operating within a rapidly changing scientific and technological context. These advances bring positive opportunities for peaceful uses, for new treatments and cures for diseases or for improvements to the environment; but the same knowledge and equipment can be too easily diverted for hostile purposes. Because of this dual-use nature, a systematic and periodic review of science and technology in relation with the BWC is needed if we want to avoid seeing our Convention become irrelevant.
In this regard, education plays a crucial role in addressing the issue of misuse at its roots. National codes of conduct and ethical training should be developed and respected. All stakeholders should join forces: scientists, universities, industries, government, and international agencies should all together feel responsible for the use of biotechnology to promote life and an integral human development. As Pope Francis reminds us: “…we need constantly to rethink the goals, effects, overall context and ethical limits of this human activity, which is a form of power involving considerable risks.” (Laudato Si’, 131)
Capabilities to produce biological weapons are accessible to a wider range of actors, as is witnessed in the growth of “do-it-yourself biology” and “garage labs”. No State alone can win the war against the proliferation of biological weapons. The efforts to prevent non-State actors from acquiring, producing or using chemical and biological weapons require a collective will and joint action in the fields of safety and biosecurity, as well as increased international cooperation and assistance and strengthened capacity-building.
Finally, the Holy See Delegation wishes to express its appreciation for the dedication and good work of the ISU. The ISU should be strengthened, in particular through the addition of technical expertise concerning crucial aspects of the BWC: namely, international assistance and cooperation and the Science and Technology review process.
Mr. President,
Disarmament and non-proliferation instruments are only as successful as State Parties’ commitment to implement them. Today’s complacency is tomorrow’s catastrophe. The Holy See wishes success to this 8th Review Conference, through our common commitment to protecting our people from the real risks we are facing in the field of biology.
Thank you, Mr. President!
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) We cannot serve God well if we hunger after power and wealth. That was Pope Francis’ message as he reflected on the daily readings at his Santa Marta Mass on Tuesday morning.
Listen to Philippa Hitchen’s report:
Pope Francis began his homily by saying that if we want to be good and faithful servants of the Lord, we must guard against dishonestly and the pursuit of power. But how often, he said, do we see or hear ourselves saying, even in our own homes, that “I’m in charge here?” Jesus taught us that leaders are those who serve others, and if we want to be first, we must become the servant of all. The Pope stressed that Jesus turns the values of our world upside-down, showing that the search for power is an obstacle to becoming a servant of the Lord
A second obstacle, he continued, is dishonesty which can also be found in the life of the Church. Jesus told us that we cannot serve two masters – God and money, the Pope warned, so we have to choose to serve one or the other. Dishonesty, he continued, is not just being a sinner, since we are all sinners and can repent of those sins. But dishonesty, he said, is being duplicitous and playing one hand off against the other, playing the ‘God’ card and the ‘world’ card at the same time.
These obstacles of dishonesty and the pursuit of power, the Pope said, take away our peace of mind and leave us anxious, with an ‘itch’ in our hearts. In this way, he said, we live in constant tension, concerned only about appearances and the worldly desires of fame and fortune. We cannot serve the Lord like this, he insisted, so we ask to be freed from these obstacles in order that we may find serenity of body and mind.
We are not slaves, but children of God, Pope Francis said, and when we serve Him freely we feel deep peace in our hearts. We hear the voice of the Lord calling “Come, come, come, good and faithful servant”. We all want to be faithful servants of the Lord, he said, but we cannot do it on our own and so we ask God for the grace to overcome these obstacles and to serve Him freely with peace in our hearts.
Pope Francis concluded by saying we must constantly remind ourselves that we are unworthy servants, unable to do anything on our own. Instead, he said, we must ask God to open our hearts and let the Spirit in, to remove these obstacles and to transform us into children whose hearts are free to serve the Lord.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) A Vatican conference this week aims to show solidarity for persons affected by rare diseases and highlight the plight of poor and vulnerable populations afflicted by neglected diseases, many of whom live in the most remote rural areas of the world.
The conference, hosted by the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers takes take place from 10 to 12 November, and is entitled “ Towards a Culture of Health that is Welcoming and Supportive at the Service of People with Rare and Neglected Pathologies .”
Listen to the report by Linda Bordoni :
Illustrating the three day event, the Secretary of the Council Monsignor Jean-Marie Mupendawatu , said the conference comes to life within the spirit of the Holy Year of Mercy. He pointed out that thanks to the Church’s 2000 year old mission to serve the sick – which has made it the world’s largest provider of healthcare services – it is in a unique position to be able to offer significant educational, cultural and pastoral responses to the challenges posed by the conference.
Monsignor Mupendawatu said that according to the World Health Organization a disease is considered rare when it affects one out of 2000 people. He said that today there are between 5000 and 8000 pathologies that are defined ‘rare’ and 80% of them are of genetic origin.
Regarding neglected diseases he said they affect some 400 million people, almost half of them children. Most of these, he said, are infectious and are to be found in tropical climates and in areas where people do not have access to clean water and sanitation or health centers. So – he pointed out – they not only pose a medical and clinical challenge, but also cultural and socio-political ones that call for global commitment.
Addressing United Nations officials in Kenya in 2015, Pope Francis spoke of the issue and called for international agreements to be shaped around the needs of the poor: “Certain health issues, like the elimination of malaria and tuberculosis, treatment of so-called orphan diseases, and neglected sectors of tropical medicine, require urgent political attention, above and beyond all other commercial or political interests.”
Monsignor Mupendawatu explained that the Conference will focus on how to expand treatment coverage, advance research and development and ensure the basic rights and dignity of patients. This – he said – also implies better care of the environment in which man lives.
During the three-day event physicians and medical researchers who are specialized in the field of rare and neglected diseases will address participants and some patients will bring their personal witness and reflections.
Pope Francis will receive the more than 5,000 conference participants, patients, and family members at the conclusion of the event in the Paul VI Hall.
(from Vatican Radio)…