(Vatican Radio) The Vice-director of the Holy See Press Office, Paloma Garcia Ovejero, gave a briefing on Wednesday on the XVIII Meeting of the Cardinal Advisors with Pope Francis. The Council of Cardinals met together with the Holy Father for three days, Monday through Wednesday, 13-15 February. Pope Francis was not present for the second part of the morning meeting on Monday, on account of the ad limina visit of the Bishops of Costa Rica; he was absent as well on Wednesday morning because of the weekly General Audience. He will, however, be present at the 105 th sitting of the Council set for Wednesday afternoon. On Monday and Tuesday the Cardinals concelebrated Mass with the Pope. Following their first meeting on 13 February, the Cardinals released the following statement through the Holy See Press Office: The Council of Cardinals began its eighteenth session today. At the beginning, Cardinal Oscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga, coordinator of the group, after greeting the Holy Father, thanked him on behalf of all the Members for his words in the Christmas address to the Roman Curia on 22 December 2016, acknowledging his encouragement and guidance for the work of the Council. In relation to recent events, the Council of Cardinals pledges its full support for the Pope’s work, assuring him at the same time of its adhesion and loyalty to the figure of the Pope and to his Magisterium. The working sessions of the Council’s meeting took place each morning from 9:00-12:30, and each afternoon from 16:30-19:00; and were dedicated to further considerations concerning the different Curial Dicasteries. In particular, they continued the discussion on the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (Propaganda Fide); the Congregation for Oriental Churches; and the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue. The Cardinals also began their examination of the “Diakonia of Justice,” and thus considerable time was dedicated to the Tribunals: the Apostolic Penitentiary, the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Segnatura, and the Tribunal of the Roman Rota. During the meetings, the Council also studied the process for the selection of candidates to the Episcopate. Cardinal George Pell reported on his work at the Secretariat for the Economy, entrusted to him, for the full realization of the economic reform requested by the Holy Father, with particular attention to the activity of personal formation and human resources. The Prefect for the Secretariat for Communications, Msgr Dario Edoardo Viganò, presented the current state of the reform of the communications of the Holy See, or the unification of Vatican Radio and the Vatican Television Centre in the dicastery entrusted to him. Meetings have been initiated with the Secretariat of State, the Secretariat for the Economy, APSA, and the Labour Office to accompany this new phase of the reform. Further, the plan for restructuring Vatican Radio frequencies, and the new policies for the world of social networks were presented. Finally, there was a reflection on the project for the beginning of the reform of the Vatican publishing house, the Libreria Editrice Vaticana. The next meeting of the Council of Cardinals will take place 24-26 April 2017. (from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis met with a group representing indigenous peoples ahead of his Wednesday General Audience, speaking to them about the need to “reconcile the right to development, both social and cultural, with the protection of the particular characteristics of indigenous peoples and their territories”.
The representatives are participating in the Indigenous Peoples’ Forum hosted in Rome by the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The biennial meeting aims to promote greater economic empowerment of indigenous peoples.
Listen to Devin Watkins’ report:
In his brief address to representatives, Pope Francis discussed two aspects of the economic empowerment of indigenous peoples.
He said, “The central issue is how to reconcile the right to development, both social and cultural, with the protection of the particular characteristics of indigenous peoples and their territories.”
This is especially clear, he said, “when planning economic activities which may interfere with indigenous cultures and their ancestral relationship to the earth”.
He said confrontation and conflict can be overcome through “prior and informed consent” of indigenous peoples for initiates proposed by governing authorities.
The Holy Father said the second aspect “concerns the development of guidelines and projects which take into account indigenous identity”.
He called on governments to recognize “that indigenous communities are a part of the population to be appreciated and consulted, and whose full participation should be promoted at the local and national level”.
The Pope said IFAD “can contribute effectively to this needed road map through its funding and expertise”.
IFAD was established in 1977 as an international financial institution dedicated to eradicating rural poverty in developing countries.
Some 75% of the world’s poorest people – 1.4 billion women, children and men – live in rural areas and depend on agriculture and related activities for their livelihoods.
Please find below the official translation of the Pope’s speech:
Dear Friends,
I am pleased to welcome you at the conclusion of the third Indigenous Peoples’ Forum convened by the International Fund for Agricultural Development, which this year is celebrating the fortieth anniversary of its foundation.
You have come together to identify ways of giving greater economic empowerment to indigenous peoples. I believe that the central issue is how to reconcile the right to development, both social and cultural, with the protection of the particular characteristics of indigenous peoples and their territories.
This is especially clear when planning economic activities which may interfere with indigenous cultures and their ancestral relationship to the earth. In this regard, the right to prior and informed consent should always prevail, as foreseen in Article 32 of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Only then is it possible to guarantee peaceful cooperation between governing authorities and indigenous peoples, overcoming confrontation and conflict.
A second aspect concerns the development of guidelines and projects which take into account indigenous identity, with particular attention to young people and women; not only considering them, but including them! For governments this means recognizing that indigenous communities are a part of the population to be appreciated and consulted, and whose full participation should be promoted at the local and national level.
IFAD can contribute effectively to this needed road map through its funding and expertise, keeping in mind that “a technological and economic development which does not leave in its wake a better world and an integrally higher quality of life cannot be considered progress” ( Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’ , 194).
I offer you heartfelt thanks for your presence, and I ask the Almighty to bless your communities and to enlighten the work of all those responsible for governing IFAD.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis, continuing his catechesis on Christian hope at his Wednesday General Audience, told pilgrims that God’s hope calls us to be “channels of humility and simplicity for all.”
Listen to Lydia O’Kane’s report
“The hope that we have been given does not separate us from others, nor does it lead us to discredit or marginalize them.”
Those were Pope Francis’ words at his weekly General Audience in the Paul VI Hall on Wednesday as he continued his catechesis on Christian hope, dedicating his audience to the theme “Hope does not disappoint”.
The Pope underlined that God does not have favourites and does not exclude anyone, but opens his home to all human beings beginning with the least.
Hope, the Holy Father remarked, “is a gift of which we are called to become ‘channels’, with humility ‘and simplicity’, for all.”
During his catechesis and drawing inspiration from St Paul, Pope Francis said that “as children we were always taught that it is not good to boast. Yet, Saint Paul surprises us by twice telling us to boast.” This Saint, continued the Holy Father, tells us “to boast of the abundant grace we receive in Jesus Christ” through the gifts of faith and love.
When we do this, the Pope observed, “we know God’s peace, which flows into our lives and relationships.”
According to St Paul, Pope Francis said, afflictions too can be something to boost about. For God’s peace is not the absence of fears, disappointments, or suffering, he explained, “ but rather, it reminds us that God loves us and is always with us.”
In remarks to Polish pilgrims on Wednesday, the Pope also recalled, Patrons of Europe, Saints Cyril and Methodius.
Even today, he said, “ they remind Europe, and all of us, of the need to maintain the unity of faith, tradition, Christian culture and to live the Gospel each day.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Vatican Secretary for Relations with States, has returned from a visit to Prague in the Czech Republic (9-11 February) upon the invitation of the Czech Foreign Minister, Lubomír Zaorálek.
During the visit, Archbishop Gallagher met with several civil authorities and bishops.
He met with Czech Foreign Minister, Lubomír Zaorálek, on 10 February.
An article in the Osservatore Romano said their meeting was cordial, touching on topics including the ‘good relations between the Holy See and the Czech Republic, the role of the Catholic Church in Czech society, where it is particularly involved in charitable, educational, and healthcare activities, as well as the latest developments in the hoped for Bilateral Accord’.
Regarding international concerns, the two foreign ministers discussed the ‘prospects for the future of the European Union, migratory flows, terrorism, conflicts in the Middle East, and development on the African continent’.
Finally, Mr. Zaorálek renewed the invitation – already extended by Czech President Miloš Zeman – for Pope Francis to make an Apostolic Journey to the Czech Republic.
Archbishop Gallagher subsequently met with the Culture Minister Daniel Herman and Ambassador Štefan Füle.
He also met several representatives of the Czech hierarchy, including Cardinal Dominik Duka, Archbishop of Prague, Cardinal Miloslav Vlk, and the Archbishop of Olomouc, Jan Graubner.
During the meetings, they spoke about the various pastoral challenges in the country, such as the ‘welcoming of migrants, the future of the European project, and the worrying situation of Christians in some areas of the Middle East’.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday greeted pilgrims and tourists during his weekly General Audience tellling them to rejoice in God’s gift of love.
Find Pope’s Francis’ English language remarks read out at the General Audience below
Dear Brothers and Sisters: As children we were always taught that it is not good to boast. For when we boast about who we are or what we have, we disrespect those who are less fortunate. Yet, Saint Paul surprises us by twice telling us to boast. First, he tells us to boast of the abundant grace we receive in Jesus Christ through the gift of faith. God has created all things as a gift of love, through which he makes known his plan of salvation fulfilled in Jesus. He invites us to make this grace the cause of all our praise and joy. When we do this, we know God’s peace, which flows into our lives and relationships. But Saint Paul also tells us to boast of our afflictions. For God’s peace is not the absence of fears, disappointments, or suffering. Rather, it reminds us that God loves us and is always with us. This peace, Saint Paul says, bears patience, for even in the most difficult moments, we know that the mercy and goodness of the Lord remain with us, that nothing can separate us from God. Christian hope then is not based on who we are or what we are capable of, but on God’s love for each one of us. May we be instruments of hope, so that our greatest boast will be of a Father who excludes no one, but opens his home to all. And may we be a people who sustain one another with this message of Christian hope.
(from Vatican Radio)…