(Vatican Radio) Cardinal Peter Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, recently hosted (September 18-20) a conference in the Vatican for Church representatives and Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of major mining conglomerates to discuss the impact of mining operations on local communities.
The conference follows two similar events organized by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, the first a ‘day-of-reflection’ for many of the same mining executives held in 2013. Then in July 2015 Cardinal Turkson hosted a three-day meeting for representatives from communities impacted by mining operations across the world.
Executives and engineers attending last week’s meeting represented major mining conglomerates, including Anglo American, Rio Tinto, and Newmont Mining, among others.
Father Séamus Finn, OMI, – moderator of the conference – is the Board Chairman of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, which comprises nearly 300 organizations and collectively represents over $100 billion in invested capital. He is also the Chief of Faith Consistent Investing of the OIP Investment Trust.
Devin Watkins spoke to Fr. Séamus Finn after the conference in a wide ranging interview about the goals of the meeting.
Listen to the full interview:
Fr. Séamus noted that Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato si’ was one of the major advances between the 2013 day of reflection and the recent meeting, which laid out “some very important issues about the fact that we share the planet with all sorts of other species, 7 billion people, and that as the human population continues to grow, we have some serious issues to tackle in relationship to – as the Holy Father says – the earth as our common home”.
He said that the meeting included presentations on Laudato si’ and that some of the mining engineers and CEOs “had read some of the document and were familiar with some of the issues, but they were also curious about how do you actually take some of the things that are in the Encyclical and translate some of them into their operations at mine sites”.
“Most of the major companies”, Fr. Séamus said, “have put in place social and environmental policies that would be seen as consistent with what the Encyclical is talking about. I think the question always is are they doing it fast enough and, if you’re living in an local mining community, can you actually notice that their doing something different.”
The goal for the meeting was to aid in translating Church social teaching into practical, ethical directives, which could be implemented at mining sites to minimize the negative impact on local communities.
“One of the challenges for the Church is that we kind of gloss over quite often the fact that God created the world and he created everything in it, which includes the air, the animals, the human beings, the plants, but he also created the minerals that are under the subsurface. So how do we appropriately use them, how do we extract them, how much gold do we need, how much silver do we need? It’s a difficult balance and they [mining corporations] are coming to the Church and the churches and they’re saying ‘can you offer us some ethical, theological, religious wisdom about how we can be better companies’.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
Before his General Audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis greeted four hundred disabled and sick people and their four hundred carers from the German branch of the Order of Malta, in the Paul the VI hall.
The Pope thanked them for their visit and empathized with the difficulties they were facing. He said, that being ill was very hard, even despite care from doctors and nurses and medicine, but he stressed, “there is faith”, faith that encourages us…”. The Holy Father went on to say that God became ill for us, in that, “he sent His Son, who took upon himself all our diseases, to the Cross .” When we look to Jesus and his patience, the Pope added, our faith is stronger.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) In his first General Audience since his return from an Apostolic Journey to Cuba and the United States, Pope Francis recalled that visit in an overcast St Peter’s Square on Wednesday.
Listen to Lydia O’Kane’s report
He told the thousands of pilgrims and tourists gathered, that in Cuba, he wished to embrace all Cubans without exception, to proclaim the transforming power of God’s mercy, and to renew the hope expressed by Saint John Paul II that Cuba will open itself to the world and the world to Cuba. He also underlined how travelling from Cuba to the United States of America was a symbolic step, likening it to a bridge God is rebuilding.
The Pope said, God always wants to build bridges when we build walls, and he stressed, “walls always collapse.”
Speaking about the next leg of his journey to the United States, the Pope called to mind his visit to Washington, noting America’s tradition of religious freedom and its’ contribution to the life of the nation.
The Holy Father also recalled his address to the United Nations in New York, saying he, renewed the Church’s encouragement for its efforts to promote peace, justice, integral human development and care for creation and reaffirmed his call to stop and prevent violence against ethnic and religious minorities and against civilian populations.
Turning his attention to the final part of his U.S trip, the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, Pope Francis said, it was an opportunity to celebrate “the beauty of God’s plan for the family, which, as the fruitful covenant between a man and a woman, is the key to a future of authentic prosperity and solidarity for our world.”
Then, the Holy Family, greeting English speaking pilgrims, asked for prayers for the Synod on the Family which opens on the 4th October, and invited them to to be witnesses of God’s presence in the world and through family life.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(VIS/Vatican Radio) For the first time ever, the Vatican has opened the doors of the iconic Sistine Chapel for a studio recording with the Sistine Chapel Choir – the world’s oldest choir. The new album, “Cantate Domino. The Sistine Chapel and the music of Popes,” captures the sounds of the extraordinary acoustics of the Sistine Chapel, with music performed by the Pope’s own choir. The album was released on Deutsche Grammophon on 25 September, and a presentation was given on Tuesday in the Holy See Press Office.
Presenting the CD were Archbishop Georg Ganswein, Prefect of the Papal Household; Msgr. Massimo Palombella, S.D.B., director of the Pontifical Sistine Chapel Choir; Mark Wilkinson, president of Deutsche Grammophon; and Mirko Gratton, director of the classical music section of Universal Italia.
“The Pontifical Musical Choir, also known as the Sistine Chapel Choir, is among the oldest choral institutions in the world and has the unique characteristic of being the Pope’s choir,” explained Archbishop Ganswein.
He said this characteristic makes it part of the life of the ‘Pope’s Home’ and places the Pontifical Sistine Chapel Choir within the structure of the Prefecture of the Papal Household, and gives it the specific task of being an entity whose service is entirely devoted to the Pope.
“The Prefecture is the point of reference for the Choir in terms of its artistic, administrative and disciplinary management,” he continued. “The release of a musical CD under the prestigious Deutsche Grammaphon label is an unprecedented event in the history of the Pontifical Musical Choir, and attests to the quality and professionalism that this Institution has achieved, thanks to its serious and diligent work under the guidance of Maestro Massimo Palombella.”
The album, released on 25 September, includes Renaissance music written for the Sistine Chapel Choir by Palestrina, Lassus and Victoria. There are also two pieces of Gregorian chant, alongside world premiere recordings of the original version of Allegri’s fabled Miserere (Sistine Codex of 1661) and a Nunc dimittis attributed to Palestrina which is still used during papal celebrations. Cantate Domino offers listeners the chance to hear these pieces as the composers intended – in Latin and in the surroundings for which they were originally written. In order to capture the magic, mystery and beauty of the music in such unique surroundings, Deutsche Grammophon set up a specially constructed studio within the Chapel. The mixing desk was set up in an ante-chamber, next to the “Sala del Pianto” (where the newly elected pontiff first dresses in the papal vestments).
“The Sistine Chapel was consecrated in 1483, and since then it has been home, without interruption, of the Pontifical Musical Choir,” explained Msgr. Palombella. “In recent years, after intense and specific study of Renaissance religious music and its aesthetic importance, we have been able to undertake an interesting and significant recording. My hope is that these musical masterpieces will reach millions of people throughout the world, bringing them into contact with the historical culture and profound spirituality of the Catholic Church.”
The Sistine Chapel Choir is made up of 20 adult singers and 30 boy choristers. Among the singers is British baritone Mark Spyropoulos, who is the first British full-time member of the choir.
“This extraordinary choir, which has served successive popes since the early centuries of Christianity, has never before made a commercial recording in its home,” said Mark Wilkinson, President of Deutsche Grammophon. “This very special record has the power, the beauty, and the excellence to find a truly global audience ‒ and an audience beyond the traditional confines and boundaries of classical music.”
The release of Cantate Domino stands as a prelude to the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, a Holy Year decreed by Pope Francis, which begins in December. During the last Holy Year in 2000, 25 million pilgrims visited Rome and the Vatican.
Tracklisting:
1. Gregorian Chant – Rorate caeli desuper
2. Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525–1594) – Ad te levavi
3. Orlande de Lassus (1532–1594) – Magnificat VIII toni
4. Gregorian Chant – Lumen ad revelationem gentium
attrib. Palestrina – Nunc dimittis (World premiere recording)
5. Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina – Super flumina Babylonis
6. Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina – Improperium exspectavit cor meum
7. Gregorio Allegri (1582–1652) – Miserere Sistine Codex of 1661 (World premiere recording)
8. Gregorian Chant – Christus factus est pro nobis
9. Felice Anerio (c. 1560–1614) – Christus factus est pro nobis
10. Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548–1611) – Popule meus (Improperia)
11. Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina – Adoramus te, Christe
12. Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina – Sicut cervus
13. Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina – Angelus Domini
14. Orlande de Lassus – Iubilate Deo
15. Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina – Constitues eos principes
16. Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina – Tu es Petrus
There is also a trailer and excerpt from Allegri: Miserere on Youtube.
http://youtu.be/fc5YRYtclsM
http://youtu.be/6t5fEnPtYzs
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin celebrated Mass at Vatican Radio on Tuesday (29 September) and told its staff that they were “instruments of the Church” reaching out to the world and urged them to be examples of correct information. The cardinal was presiding over a Mass celebrated at the Radio’s headquarters to mark the feast day of St Gabriel, its patron saint.
Listen to this report by Susy Hodges:
In his homily Cardinal Parolin reflected on Vatican Radio’s mandate to communicate the words, gestures, actions and proposals of Pope Francis. He described it as a message of peace, life, solidarity and forgiveness that is very badly needed in today’s world.
Noting that the Radio is also tasked with providing objective information about the Church and secular news to listeners throughout the world, the cardinal explained that this was a very valuable mission. He said this is because it’s invaluable to have correct information that” is not enslaved” to outside “interests and powers who, in order to serve their own goals, are willing to slant or twist the news.”
Vatican Radio, Cardinal Parolin continued, is a powerful instrument used to spread the Good News and quality information and all those involved in this task should be setting themselves the goal of being “impartial and objective.”
He noted that ever since it was set up in 1931, Vatican Radio has adopted the most modern technology to achieve its objectives and nowadays broadcasts in more than 40 different languages, has 79 daily programs and a website that on average posts around 170 video clips each day.
Nowadays more than ever, he said, there is a need for information that “is not enslaved to interests” who seek to manipulate the truth or just follow the latest fleeting trend or the “heavy and superficial tyranny of emotions.”
In conclusion, Cardinal Parolin referred to the planned reform and re-organization of the Holy See’s media outlets to place them under a unified management, and conceded that like all large-scale projects this may not be easy to achieve. May the Radio, he said, always be capable of renewing itself whilst at the same time remaining faithful to its identity and mission at the service of the Pope and the Church.
(from Vatican Radio)…