(Vatican Radio) Refugees and migrants are more than statistics, Pope Francis told members of the European Confederation and World Union of Jesuit Alumni and Alumnae; they are no different than our own family and friends.
The Jesuit group had been participating in a conference in Rome this week entitled “Global Migration and Refugee Crisis: Time to Contemplate and Act” .
Ann Schneible reports:
In the face of tens of thousands of persons forcibly displaced worldwide, the Pope stressed that it is important to move beyond the statistics, and realize that migrants and refugees “are no different than our own family members and friends.”
“Each of them has a name, a face, and a story,” the Holy Father said,” as well as an inalienable right to live in peace and to aspire to a better future for their sons and daughters.”
The Pope challenged those present to be guided by Jesuit founder, St Ignatius of Loyola, in addressing the challenges which refugees face.
“At this place and time in history, there is great need for men and women who hear the cry of the poor and respond with mercy and generosity.”
The Holy Father said responses to the refugee crisis should be “through acts of mercy that promote their integration into the European context and beyond.”
“Remember that authentic hospitality is a profound gospel value that nurtures love and is our greatest security against hateful acts of terrorism.”
Jesuits also have the important role of providing education for refugee children, many of whom grow up without access to schools, Pope Francis said.
By helping to “transform this educational reality,” he said, the conference participants can “build a stronger Europe and a brighter future for refugees.”
Finally, the Holy Father urged those present to transform their communities “into places of welcome where all God’s children have the opportunity not simply to survive, but to grow, flourish and bear fruit.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The important work of ministering to migrants and refugees was at the heart of Pope Francis’ address on Saturday to members of the European Confederation and World Union of Jesuit Alumni and Alumnae.
The Jesuit group had been participating in a 14-16 September conference in Rome entitled “Global Migration and Refugee Crisis: Time to Contemplate and Act”.
Please find the official translation of Pope Francis’ address below:
Address of His Holiness Pope Francis
To Members of the European Confederation
And World Union of Jesuit Alumni and Alumnae
Saturday 17 September 2016
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Members of the European Confederation and of the
World Union of Jesuit Alumni and Alumnae,
I am pleased to receive you today as part of your conference on migration and the refugee crisis. Graduates of Jesuit schools, you have come to Rome as “men and women for others” to explore on this occasion the roots of forced migration, to contemplate your responsibility in response to the current situation and to be sent forth as promoters of change in your home communities.
Tragically, more than sixty-five million persons are forcibly displaced around the globe. This unprecedented number is beyond all imagination. The displaced population of today’s world is now larger than the entire population of Italy! If we move beyond mere statistics, however, we will discover that refugees are women and men, boys and girls who are no different than our own family members and friends. Each of them has a name, a face, and a story, as well as an inalienable right to live in peace and to aspire to a better future for their sons and daughters.
You have dedicated your world association to the memory and example of Father Pedro Arrupe, who was also the founder of the Jesuit Refugee Service, the organization that has been accompanying you during this past week in Rome. More than thirty-five years ago, Father Arrupe was moved to act in response to the plight of the South Vietnamese boat people who were exposed to pirate attacks and storms in the South China Sea, while trying desperately to flee from violence in their homeland. Sadly, the world today still finds itself embroiled in countless conflicts. The terrible war in Syria, as well as civil conflicts in South Sudan and elsewhere throughout the world, can seem irresolvable. This is precisely why your gathering “to contemplate and act” on the issue of refugees is so important.
More than ever today, as war rages across God’s creation, as record numbers of refugees die trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea, and refugees spend years and years languishing in camps, the Church needs you to draw on the bravery and example of Father Pedro Arrupe. Through your Jesuit education, you have been invited to become “companions of Jesus” and, with Saint Ignatius Loyola as your guide, you have been sent into the world to be women and men for and with others. At this place and time in history, there is great need for men and women who hear the cry of the poor and respond with mercy and generosity.
At the close of World Youth Day in Krakow a few weeks ago, I told the youth gathered there to be brave. As graduates of Jesuit schools, you also must know how be brave in responding to the needs of today’s refugees. It will help you to recall your Ignatian roots as you address the problems experienced by refugees. You must offer the Lord “all your liberty, your memory, your understanding and your entire will” as you continue to understand the causes of forced migration and serve refugees in your countries.
Throughout this Year of Mercy, the Holy Door of Saint Peter’s Basilica has remained open as a reminder that God’s mercy is offered to all those in need, now and always. Millions of the faithful have made the pilgrimage to the Holy Door here and in churches throughout the world, recalling that God’s mercy lasts forever and reaches out to all. Also with your help, the Church will be able to respond more fully to the human tragedy of refugees through acts of mercy that promote their integration into the European context and beyond. And so, I encourage you to welcome refugees into your homes and communities, so that their first experience of Europe is not the traumatic experience of sleeping cold on the streets, but one of warm human welcome. Remember that authentic hospitality is a profound gospel value that nurtures love and is our greatest security against hateful acts of terrorism.
I urge you to draw on the joys and successes that your Jesuit education has given you by supporting the education of refugees throughout the world. It is a disturbing truth that less than fifty percent of child refugees have access to primary education. Unfortunately, that number drops to twenty-two percent for adolescents enrolled in secondary schools and less than one percent who have access to a university education. Together with the Jesuit Refugee Service, put your mercy in motion and help transform this educational reality. In doing so, you will build a stronger Europe and a brighter future for refugees.
Sometimes we can feel that we are alone as we try to put mercy into action. Know, however, that you join your work with that of many ecclesial organizations which work for humanitarian causes and which dedicate themselves to the excluded and marginalized. Yet more important, remember that the love of God accompanies you in this work. You are God’s eyes, mouth, hands and heart in this world.
I thank you for stepping into the difficult issues involved in welcoming refugees. Many doors have been opened for you through your Jesuit education while refugees find many doors closed to them. You have learned much from the refugees you have met. As you leave Rome and return home, I urge you to help transform your communities into places of welcome where all God’s children have the opportunity not simply to survive, but to grow, flourish and bear fruit.
And as you persevere in this faithful work of providing welcome and education for refugees, think of the Holy Family — Mary, Joseph, and the Child Jesus — on their long journey to Egypt as refugees, fleeing violence and finding refuge among strangers. Remember as well the words of Jesus: “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me” ( Mt 25:35). Take these words and gestures with you today. May they bring you encouragement and consolation. As for me, assuring you of my prayers, I ask you also, please, do not forget to pray for me.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has made two more of his impromptu visits to hospitals and social service centres as part of his regular Friday initiatives during this Year of Mercy.
The Pope began by making a surprise visit to the Accident and Emergency department and to the Neonatal unit of Rome’s San Giovanni hospital.
After putting on a mask and completing the other health and safety procedures, the Pope stopped beside the incubators of twelve new born babies, five of whom are suffering from severe complications, including one set of twins. The Holy Father offered words of comfort and support to all of the parents, before going on to meet with staff and families at the nursery on the floor above.
Later in the afternoon the Pope visited some thirty terminally ill patients at the Villa Speranza Hospice, located in the north of Rome as part of the Gemelli University Hospital Foundation.
A note from the Holy See press office explained that through these two ‘Mercy Friday’ encounters, Pope Francis wished to “send a strong signal about the importance of life from its first moment until its natural end”. Welcoming life and guaranteeing its dignity at all times, the statement said, is a teaching that the Pope regularly reiterates. Through these two visits, it concluded, he has given a concrete and tangible sign of the importance of caring for the weakest and most vulnerable in order to show mercy in our lives.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a telegramme to the Italian Senate expressing his condolences for the death of former Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi.
Senator Ciampi served as the Prime Minister of Italy from 1993 to 1994 and as President of the Italian Republic from 1999 to 2006. He passed away on Friday at the age of 95 in a clinic in Rome.
In the telegramme, the Holy Father extended his “deeply felt condolences” to Mr. Ciampi’s wife and children.
He also recalled the “sincere friendship which bound this illustrious man of the institutions to Pope St. John Paul II”.
The Holy Father closed the telegramme by extending his Apostolic Blessing.
Below, please find the original telegramme in Italian:
GENTILE SIGNORA FRANCA PILLA CIAMPI
C/O SENATO DELLA REPUBBLICA – PALAZZO GIUSTINIANI
VIA DELLA DOGANA VECCHIA 29 00186 ROMA
DESIDERO PORGERE LE MIE PIU’ SENTITE CONDOGLIANZE A LEI, AI FIGLI E A TUTTI I FAMILIARI IN QUESTO MOMENTO DI DOLORE PER LA MORTE DEL SENATORE CARLO AZEGLIO CIAMPI, PRESIDENTE EMERITO DELLA REPUBBLICA ITALIANA, CHE RICOPRI’ LE PUBBLICHE RESPONSABILITA’ CON SIGNORILE DISCREZIONE E FORTE SENSO DELLO STATO. NEL RICORDARE LA SINCERA AMICIZIA CHE LEGAVA QUESTO ILLUSTRE UOMO DELLE ISTITUZIONI A SAN GIOVANNI PAOLO SECONDO, ELEVO FERVIDE PREGHIERE DI SUFFRAGIO INVOCANDO DAL SIGNORE PER LA SUA ANIMA LA PACE ETERNA. CON TALI SENTIMENTI INVIO A LEI E AI CONGIUNTI LA BENEDIZIONE APOSTOLICA
FRANCISCUS PP
(from Vatican Radio)…
(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)…