(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has appealed to all persons to act in a responsible manner to prevent the spread of HIV-Aids.
Speaking during the weekly general audience in the Paul VI Hall, the Pope recalled that on Thursday, 1st December, we mark World Aids Day which is promoted by the United Nations.
“Millions of people live with this illness and only half of them have access to life-saving therapies” he said.
The Pope invited all to pray for them and for their families and promote solidarity so that “also the poor can benefit from adequate diagnosis and treatment.
“I appeal to all to act in a responsible way in order to prevent the further spread of this disease” he said.
HIV continues to be a major global public health issue. Recent statistics show that globally an estimated 36.7 million people are living with HIV (including 1.8 million children).
The vast majority of this number live in low- and middle- income countries
Since the start of the epidemic, an estimated 78 million people have become infected with HIV and 35 million people have died of AIDS-related illnesses.
An estimated 25.5 million people living with HIV live in sub-Saharan Africa The vast majority of them (an estimated 19 million) live in east and southern Africa which saw 46% of new HIV infections globally in 2015. Around 40% of all people living with HIV do not know that they have the virus.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis said on Tuesday that true Christian humility is the virtue of the childlike and is never a theatrical humility. His words came at his morning Mass celebrated in the chapel of the Santa Marta residence.
Taking his inspiration from the day’s readings the Pope’s homily was a reflection on how God reveals himself to the humble and childlike rather than the wise and learned as recounted in the gospel of Luke. He noted that the day’s first reading from the book of Isaiah is also full of references to little things such as the small shoot that “shall sprout from the stump of Jesse” rather than an army that will bring about liberation. Pope Francis went on to explain how in the Christmas story too the leading figures are the small and the humble.
“Then at Christmas, we see this smallness, this little thing: a baby, a stable, a mother, a father… little ones. (They have) big hearts but the attitude of a child. And the Spirit of the Lord, the Holy Spirit comes to rest on this shoot and this small shoot will have the virtue of the childlike and the fear of the Lord. He will walk in the fear of the Lord. Fear of the Lord is not terror: no, it is putting into practice God’s commandment that he gave to our father Abram: ‘Live in my presence, be perfect,’ Humble – this is humility, fear of the Lord is humility.”
The Pope stressed that only the childlike are capable of fully understanding the sense of humility and the fear of the Lord because they walk in front of the Lord, watched over and protected, feeling that the Lord gives them the strength to journey forward and this is true humility.
“Living our humility, Christian humility means having this fear of the Lord which, I repeat, is not terror but is:‘You are God, I am a person, I journey forward in this way with the little things of life but walking in Your presence and trying to be perfect.’ Humility is the virtue of the childlike and this is true humility and not a rather theatrical humility: no, not that: the humility of somebody who said: ‘I am humble but proud of being so.’ No, that is not true humility. The humility of the childlike is that of somebody who walks in the presence of the Lord, does not speak badly about others, looks only at serving and feels that he or she is the smallest …. That is where their strength lies.
In the same way, the Pope continued, we see the great humility of that girl to whom God sent His Son and who immediately afterwards hastened to her cousin Elizabeth and who said nothing about what had happened. He said humility is like this, journeying in the presence of the Lord, happy, joyful because they are humble just as we see in today’s gospel reading.
“Looking at Jesus who rejoiced because God reveals his mystery to the humble, we can ask for the grace of humility for all of us, the grace of fear of God, of walking in his presence trying to be perfect. And in this way with this humility, we can be vigilant in prayer, carrying out works of brotherly charity and rejoicing and giving praise.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The President of Costa Rica, Luis Guillermo Solís, spoke with Vatican Radio in the wake of Pope Francis’ appeal for prayer and concrete solidarity with all those affected in his country and throughout the region by hurricane Otto, which passed through the southern parts of Central America late last week.
Pope Francis made his appeal during remarks to the faithful gathered for the Angelus prayer on Sunday in St. Peter’s Square.
“The people and the government of Costa Rica have received with great joy the message of His Holiness, Pope Francis, who remembered the difficult times we have endured just a few days ago, as we experienced the passing of hurricane Otto,” President Solís told Vatican Radio.
Click below to hear the extended remarks of Costa Rica’s President Luis Guillermo Solís to Vatican Radio
“The words of the Pope have brought joy,” he explained, “and also a balm of understanding to our people, thousands of whom have been severely affected by this climactic phenomenon.”
Solís went on to say, “We are now in the phase of recuperating: material goods, but most importantly the lives of these thousands of Costa Ricans, who were left without a home [in which] to live, or without any possessions – and in that context, the words of the Pope have become a ray, a beam of light, of hope, for my country [and] my fellow citizens. I would like to convey to His Holiness our word of adhesion, of adherence, of love – and [to] thank him very much for remembering us in his prayers.”
At least nine people were killed by Otto in Costa Rica, as some areas recorded over a month’s worth of rain in just a few hours, forcing the evacuation of more than 5 thousand people. Several towns were completely inundated.
Otto was the southernmost hurricane on record to hit Central America: it made landfall in southern Nicaragua as a category-two storm on Thursday of last week, before losing strength and becoming a tropical storm as it moved into the Pacific. At peak force, Otto had wind speeds of up to 175km/h.
Since the keeping of records began in 1851, Costa Rica had never taken a direct hit from a hurricane.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The eminent physicist Stephen Hawking was among those present at an audience with Pope Francis for the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.
The Academy is meeting in Rome for its plenary session, on “Science and Sustainability: Impacts of Scientific Knowledge and Technology on Human Society and its Environment.” On Saturday, Dr Hawking gave a presentation on his No-Boundary proposal concerning the beginnings of the universe.
The plenary session of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences concludes on Tuesday.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis received the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland, Enda Kenny, on Monday.
A communiqué from the Press Office of the Holy See reports that the Pope and Taoiseach held cordial discussions, in which they evoked the historical ties between the Holy See and Ireland, and underlined the continued contribution ensured by the Catholic Church in the fields of education and social service.
The Communiqué goes on to say the men also spoke of the importance of the role of Christians in the public sphere, especially in promoting respect for the dignity of every person, beginning with the weakest and most defenseless.
The conversation then continued with an exchange of views on Europe, with particular reference to migration, youth employment and the main challenges that the continent has to deal with, from the political point of view and institutional.
Kenny also met with the Secretary of State of the Holy See, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who was accompanied by Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States.
(from Vatican Radio)…