(Vatican Radio) ‘ The Declaration of Rome ’, the final document produced by participants at the World Congress hosted by the Pontifical Gregorian University on ‘ Child Dignity in the Digital World ’, issues an urgent call to action. 140 participants from all continents gathered in Rome from 3 to 6 October for the first world congress focused on addressing the dangers children and adolescents face on the internet. Put together by a UK-based global alliance called ‘WePROTECT’ and by ‘Telefono Azzurro’, the first Italian helpline for children at risk, the congress drew delegates from countries across the world, including China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates. Receiving participants at the event on Friday morning in the Vatican, Pope Francis was handed ‘The Declaration of Rome’ by a young girl “on behalf of millions of young people around the world who need information and far more protection from the risks of sexual and other forms of abuse on the internet”. “Using your own words, she said to the Pope, we believe that ‘A society can be judged by the way it treats its children’.” While technology, she continued, has changed our lives in so many positive ways, it is also being used in the growing exploitation of children, millions of whom are being abused and exploited all over the world. Explaining that increasingly extreme and dehumanizing content is available at children’s fingertips, she said that some of the effects include cyberbullying, harassment and sextortion, while “online pornography is impacting the malleable minds of young children”. Highlighting the right of all children to be protected, she called for unity and collaboration in seeking in seeking “positive, empowering solutions for all”. One of the main points of the document is the need for technology companies and governments to innovate to better protect children. “This is a problem, she said, that cannot be solved by one nation or one company or one faith acting alone, it is a global problem that requires global solutions. It requires that we build awareness and that we mobilize action from every government, every faith, every company and every institution”. “In this era of the internet the world faces unprecedented challenges if it is to preserve the rights and dignity of children and protect them from abuse and exploitation. These challenges require new thinking and approaches, heightened global awareness and inspired leadership. For this reason this Declaration of Rome appeals to everyone to stand up for the protection of the dignity of children” she concluded. One of the participants at the Congress was Antoine Normand from Canada. Normand is the founder of BlueBear , a company that combats child pornography on the Internet thanks to the development of software which analyzes and categorizes image and video evidence files seized during child pornography investigations and that is used in collaboration with the Police. Normand was at the audience with the Pope and sums up the content of “The Rome Declaration.” Listen :
Please find below the full text of “The Rome Declaration”: The Declaration of Rome World Congress: Child Dignity in the Digital World 6 October 2017 Pope Francis — “A society can be judged by the way it treats its children.” Every child’s life is unique, meaningful and precious and every child has a right to dignity and safety. Yet today, global society is failing its children. Millions of children are being abused and exploited in tragic and unspeakable ways, and on an unprecedented scale all over the world. Technology’s exponential advancement and integration into our everyday lives is not only changing what we do and how we do it, but who we are. Much of the impact of these changes has been very positive. However, we face the dark side of this new-found world, a world which is enabling a host of social ills that are harming the most vulnerable members of society. While undoubtedly the Internet creates numerous benefits and opportunities in terms of social inclusion and educational attainment, today, content that is increasingly extreme and dehumanizing is available literally at children’s fingertips. The proliferation of social media means insidious acts, such as cyberbullying, harassment and sextortion, are becoming commonplace. Specifically, the range and scope of child sexual abuse and exploitation online is shocking. Vast numbers of sexual abuse images of children and youth are available online and continue to grow unabated. The detrimental impact of pornography on the malleable minds of young children is another significant online harm. We embrace the vision of an internet accessible by all people. However, we believe the constitution of this vision must recognize the unwavering value of protecting all children. The challenges are enormous, but our response must not be gloom and dismay. We must work together to seek positive, empowering solutions for all. We must ensure that all children have safe access to the internet to enhance their education, communications and connections. Technology companies and government have shown leadership in this fight and must continue to innovate to better protect children. We must also awaken families, neighbours, communities around the world and children themselves to the reality of the internet’s impact upon children. We already have potent global platforms in place and important global leaders making significant progress in fulfilling these aims. The Centre for Child Protection at the Pontifical Gregorian University conducts international safe-guarding work in 30 countries on four continents. The WePROTECT Global Alliance, launched by the United Kingdom, in partnership with the European Union and the United States, unites 70 nations, 23 technology companies and many international organizations in this fight. The United Nations is leading a global effort to achieve UN Sustainable Development Goal 16.2 to eradicate violence against children by 2030, particularly through the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children. This is a problem that cannot be solved by one nation or one company or one faith acting alone, it is a global problem that requires global solutions. It requires that we build awareness, and that we mobilize action from every government, every faith, every company and every institution. This Declaration of Rome issues a call to action: 1 – To world leaders to undertake a global awareness campaign to educate and inform the people of the world about the severity and extent of the abuse and exploitation of the world’s children, and to urge them to demand action from national leaders. 2 – To leaders of the world’s great religions to inform and mobilize members of every faith to join in a global movement to protect the world’s children. 3 – To the parliaments of the world to improve their laws to better protect children and hold those accountable who abuse and exploit children. 4 – To leaders of technology companies to commit to the development and implementation of new tools and technologies to attack the proliferation of sex abuse images on the Internet, and to interdict the redistribution of the images of identified child victims. 5 – To world’s ministries of public health and the leaders of non-governmental organizations to expand the rescue of child victims and improve treatment programs for victims of abuse and sexual exploitation. 6 – To government agencies, civil society and law enforcement to work to improve the recognition and identification of child victims, and ensure help for the massive numbers of hidden victims of child abuse and sexual exploitation. 7 – To the world’s law enforcement organizations to expand regional and global cooperation in order to improve information sharing in investigations and increase collaborative efforts in addressing these crimes against children which cross national boundaries. 8 – To the world’s medical institutions to enhance training for medical professionals in recognizing the indicators of abuse and sexual exploitation, and improve the reporting and treatment of such abuse and sexual exploitation. 9 – To governments and private institutions to enhance resources available to psychiatric and other treatment professionals for expanded treatment and rehabilitation services for children who have been abused or exploited. 10 – To the leading authorities in public health to expand research into the health impacts resulting from the exposure of young children and adolescents to graphic, extreme internet pornography. 11 – To leaders of the world’s governments, legislative bodies, private industry and religious institutions to advocate for and implement techniques to deny access by children and youth to internet content suitable only for adults. 12 – To governments, private industry and religious institutions to undertake a global awareness campaign directed at children and youth to educate them and provide them with the tools necessary to use the internet safely and responsibly, and to avoid the harm being done to many of their peers. 13 – To governments, private industry and religious institutions to undertake a global awareness initiative to make citizens in every country more alert and aware regarding the abuse and sexual exploitation of children, and to encourage them to report such abuse or exploitation to appropriate authorities if they see it, know about it or suspect it. In this era of the internet the world faces unprecedented challenges if it is to preserve the rights and dignity of children and protect them from abuse and exploitation. These challenges require new thinking and approaches, heightened global awareness and inspired leadership. For this reason this Declaration of Rome appeals to everyone to stand up for the protection of the dignity of children. Presented this 6 th day of October 2017 (from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) One cannot be silent in the face of an “unscrupulous materialism” that marks the alliance between economy and technology, and that treats life as a resource to be exploited or discarded by power and profit. “Unfortunately men, women and children the world over are experiencing the bitterness and pain of the “illusory promises” of this “technocratic materialism” , said Pope Francis on Thursday.
He was speaking to the members of the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life (PAV) at the start of their 2-day general assembly in Rome. The Oct. 5-6 meeting is holding a workshop on the theme “Accompanying Life: New Responsibilities in the Technological Era.”
Technology against person and life
In the face of the effects of recent technological developments in life sciences and the power of biotechnologies that permit extensive manipulation of life, unthinkable until recently, Pope Francis urged for a behavior that is consistent with the dignity of the human person and of life and its meaning and value. The Pope observed that contrary to the welfare promised by this “technocratic materialism” with the expansion of the market, what we are witnessing is widening territories of poverty, conflict, waste and abandonment , resentment and despair. Instead, he said, authentic scientific and technological progress should inspire more humane policies.
In this regard, the Holy Father said, Christian faith and the Church’s rich tradition of enlightened minds can inspire today’s believers repair the “fracture between generations” that interrupts the transmission of life . The life of fathers and mothers in advanced age wants to be honoured for what they have generously given, and not be discarded for what they don’t have any more, he said.
Neutralizing sexual differences is not a right
In this initiative, the Word of God sheds light on the origin of life and it destiny, the Pope said. The narrative of creation should be read as God’s act of love that entrusts creation and history to the alliance between man and woman . But neither of them can alone assume this responsibility, because they were created together in their blessed difference. In this regard, the Pope said, recent effort to assert the dignity of a person by radically neutralizing sexual differences and the understanding of man and woman is not right. He said, the utopia of the “neuter”, removes both the human dignity of the sexually different constitution as well as the personal quality of the ”generative transmission of life”.
Generating and caring for life
The generative alliance of man and woman is a defence for the worldwide humanism of men and women, not a handicap, the Pope said warning, “if we reject this, our history will not be renewed.” The passion for accompanying and caring for life, along the entire arch of its individual and social history, calls for a revival of an ethos of compassion or tenderness for the generation and regeneration of the human being in its distinction. The Pope thus called for reviving sensitivity for the various stages of life, especially for children and the elderly in all their fragility, vulnerability and corruptibility.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis said Mass in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta on Thursday morning. In remarks to the faithful following the Readings of the Day, the Holy Father reflected on the importance of keeping tethered to our roots – especially our spiritual roots – and avoiding what he called “psychological self-exile”.
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Taking as his starting point the reading from the Book of Nehemiah , in which the prophet recounts Ezra ’s reading of the law to the whole assembly of the people before their re-entrance into the holy city, Jerusalem, after some seventy years of Babylonian captivity, Pope Francis recalled the nostalgic tears of Nehemiah – who was cup-bearer to the Persian king, Ataxerxes, at Babylon.
Then Pope Francis recalled the verse of Psalm 137, which says, “Upon the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept: when we remembered Sion[.]”
The Pope also reflected on the “nostalgia of migrants,” those who are, “far from home and want to return.”
On the shores of Babylon – real and spiritual
After so many years of exile, the roots “had weakened” but were not lost. Recovering the roots “means recovering the [sense of] belonging of a people,” Pope Francis said. “Without roots,” he continued, “we cannot live: a people without roots or at risk of losing roots, is a sick people”:
“A person without roots, who has forgotten his roots, is sick. Finding, rediscovering their roots and taking the strength to go forward, the strength to flourish and, as the poet says, ‘the power to flourish because – he says – what the tree has borne in fruit comes from what he has buried.’ Just that relationship between the root and the good we can do.”
Along this journey of recovery, however, the Pope noted, there has been “so much resistance”:
“Resistance comes from those who prefer exile, and when there is no physical exile, psychological exile: self-exile from the community, from society, from those who prefer to be uprooted people, without roots. We must think of this psychological self-exile as a disease: it does so much harm. It takes away the roots. It takes away our belonging.”
Recovering the roots
The people, however, go forward, and achieve the day on which they are finally to rebuild their city. The people rally to “restore the roots,” that is to say, to hear the Word of God, which the scribe Ezra read – and the people were weeping once more, but this time their tears were not those shed on Babylonian shores: “It was the weeping of joy, the encounter with their roots, the encounter with their belonging [to God and to one another].” After reading, Nehemiah invites them to feast. This is the joy of those who have found their roots:
“The man and woman who find their roots, who are faithful to their membership, are a man and a woman in joy – joy – and this joy is their strength. From the weeping of sadness to tears of joy: from the weeping of weakness at being far from their roots, far from their people, to the cry of belonging; ‘I’m home’. I am at home.”
The courage to weep
The Pope went on to invite all those at Mass to read the whole of the eighth chapter of Nehemiah, from which the First Reading of the Day was drawn, and to ask whether they have not themselves “let fail the memory of the Lord,” and if they have, whether they are ready start a journey to recover their roots, or whether they prefer to be closed in on themselves in the soul’s self-imposed exile. Finally, Pope Francis said that if you are “afraid of crying,” you will have, “fear of laughing,” because, after one weeps with sadness, there come tears of joy. We must therefore ask for the grace of the “repentant cry,” the weeping of those who are “sad for their sins,” but also for the weeping of joy, because the Lord “forgave us and has done in our lives what He did with his people.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has urged leaders of the Chaldean Church to be builders of unity, favouring dialogue and collaboration between all actors of Iraqi society.
Listen to the report by Linda Bordoni :
The Pope was addressing bishops in Rome for the Synod of the Chaldeans , taking place from 4 to 8 October . The Chaldean Church is headed by Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako, Archbishop of Baghdad.
Amongst the main topics of discussion are the Kurdish referendum and the return of Christian refugees in the Nineveh Plain.
A time of hope for the region
Noting that this meeting comes at a time of need and of hope for the region, Pope Francis said together with all Iraqis, religious leaders are called to face issues such as the forced migration of Christians, the reconstruction of villages, the return of many displaced people as well as liturgical and pastoral issues.
“This is an occasion for me, the Pope said, to send my greetings to the sorely tested faithful of the beloved Iraqi nation” and to share the hope that stems from the resumption of life and activity “in regions and cities that were subjected to painful and violent oppression”.
While a tragic page of history has been concluded, he said, there remains much to do.
Builders of unity
“I exhort you to work tirelessly as builders of unity” he said.
He spoke of the need for unity within the Chaldean Church and with pastors of other Churches, and of the need to favour dialogue and collaboration in a concerted effort to facilitate the return of the displaced and heal divisions and contrasts between brothers.
Commenting on a situation of uncertainty for the future, Francis talked of the need for a national reconciliation process and for a joint effort on the part of all components of society to work out solutions for the good of the entire nation.
Reflecting on the historical significance of the region as a land of ancient evangelization, of civilization, encounter and dialogue, he exhorted the bishops never to be discouraged in the face of inevitable difficulties, and he highlighted the importance of unity between Christians in the promotion of respectful relationships and interreligious dialogue.
Ecclesial and liturgical concerns
On a different note, the Pope gave directions to the bishops regarding the need for accompaniment and formation of priests and seminarians, whom, he said, must be well grounded in four different dimensions: the human one, the spiritual one, the pastoral one and the intellectual one.
He spoke of his concern for the theme of the Diaspora which, he said, must be ‘rethought’ taking into consideration the situations in which ecclesial communities find themselves, both from a numerical and a religious freedom point of view.
“Everything possible must be done in order to bring the aims of the Second Vatican Council into effect, facilitating pastoral care in those regions where Oriental communities are well established, and promoting communion and fraternity with Latin Rite communities in order to provide the faithful with good witness and avoid protracting divisions and contrasts” he said.
Need for ecumenical and interreligious dialogue
Ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, he noted, must be rooted in Catholic unity and communion: “the Congregation for Oriental Churches will support you in this.”
Pope Francis concluded his speech expressing his hope that this Synod may provide a time of fruitful debate and fraternal reflection for the beloved Chaldean Church.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday received a delegation from the Church Relations Committee of the United Bible Societies telling them that “the word of God enlightens, protects, defends, heals and frees.”
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Speaking to the delegation Pope Francis began by highlighting the role they play in making “the Bible more easily accessible in diverse languages and in today’s wide variety of communication media.”
He told them that, “we are servants of the word of salvation, which, he added, never returns to the Lord empty.” The Holy Father also underlined the importance of, as he called it, nourishing ourselves “at the table of the word by reading, listening, studying and bearing witness with our lives.”
Proclaiming the Gospel
The Pope stressed to those gathered how vital it is that the Church today goes out to proclaim the Gospel to all, “in all places, on all occasions, without delay, reluctance or fear. We do so, he continued, in obedience to the Lord’s missionary mandate, certain of his presence among us until the end of the world.”
Testimonies of faith
Recalling the many people who are in prison on account of the word, and the many more who have shed their blood as a testimony to their faith in Jesus Christ, the Holy Father said as Christians, “we are servants of the powerful word of God that enlightens, protects, defends, heals and frees.”
In conclusion, and quoting from Bible passages, the Pope said, “Let us walk together to spread the word. Let us pray together, that the Father’s will be done. Let us work together, that what the Lord has said may be accomplished in us.”
(from Vatican Radio)…