Vatican City, 17 July 2015 (VIS) – This morning in the Holy See Press Office Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council “Justice and Peace”, presented the dicastery’s initiative “A day of Reflection: united with God, we hear a cry”, to be attended by various representatives of communities affected by mining activity in Africa, Asia and America who will gather in the Salesianum Congress Centre in Rome from 17 to 19 July. Cardinal Turkson explained that the aim of the meeting was to take stock of the situation of these communities, recalling that in 2013 Justice and Peace organised a day of reflection entitled “Mining for the common good”, upon request of the directors of various mining companies, in order to evaluate the human, economic and environmental implications of this activity. A report of the event was distributed to the Episcopal Conferences of the countries involved. A second day of reflection will be held in September, entitled “Creating a new future, Reimaging the future of mining” and so the current initiative, aimed at giving a voice to the communities affected by the mining industry, is intended as preparation for this second meeting. “There is no lack of reasons and motives for the decision of the Pontifical dicastery”, said the Cardinal. “With the Encyclical ‘Laudato si” the Holy Father urges us to ‘hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor’. We cannot remain indifferent to this cry, as the need to her it is ‘born of the liberating action of grace within each of us, and thus it is not a mission reserved only to a few: the Church, guided by the Gospel of mercy and by love for mankind, hears the cry for justice and intends to respond to it with all her might’”. “Many of us are aware of this harrowing cry from those areas where mineral extraction is carried out”, he continued. “To give just a few examples: the ‘Africa Progress Report’ by the former secretary general of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, the OECD directives on the issue, the numerous reports on the rights of indigenous populations, the ‘Publish what you pay’ initiative, legislation on the traceability of minerals currently being developed by the European Parliament, in cinema with films such as ‘Blood Diamonds’ or ‘Avatar’, and so on”. “The Church, on various occasions and for many years, has closely followed mining activities. At national level, the documents of the Episcopal Conferences which denounce human rights violations, illegality, violence and the exploitation of deposits causing pollution and problems for the safety of local produce. … At regional level, it is considered by the Continental Episcopal Conferences, the Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network, and so on, and at transnational level, by Franciscan networks, the CIDSE and Caritas. All these voices follow the same direction: faced with these situations, we cannot allow indifference, cynicism and impunity to continue to prevail. A radical paradigm change is needed in the interests of the common good, justice, sustainability and human dignity”. In these three days the representatives of the communities affected by mining operations in different ways will act as spokespeople for those who are unable to come to Rome and whose voice frequently goes unheard by experts and commentators. “I must emphasise that some people who are attending the meeting have experienced pressure and intimidation in recent days, for example after having requested a passport. The Pontifical Council has heard testimonies of threats, violence and murder; of retaliation, of compensation never received, and of unkept promises”. “Therefore”, he continued, “there are individuals who work without a truly human aim. There are denials of the primacy of the human being, insensitivity to the welfare of the social and natural environment and the full experience of fragility, abandonment and rejection. Those responsible are investors, businesspeople, politicians and governors of the countries where the deposits are found, or rather the countries where the headquarters of the mining multinationals reside”. “On the other hand, exploited and poor countries are above all in need of honest governments, educated people and investors with an acute sense of justice and the common good, as it is morally unacceptable, politically dangerous, environmentally unsustainable and economically unjustifiable for developing countries to ‘continue to fuel the development of richer countries at the cost of their own present and future’”, he concluded….
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday received in private audience His Eminence Cardinal Angelo Amato, S.D.B., the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. In the course of the audience, the Holy Father authorized the Congregation to promulgate the decrees regarding the heroic virtues:
– of the Servant of God Andrey Sheptytsky (given name: Roman Alexander Maria), of the Order of Saint Basil the Great, Archbishop of Lviv of the Ukrainians and Metropolitan of Halych; born 29 July 1865 in Prylbychi (Ukraine), died in Lviv (Ukraine) 1 November 1944;
– of the Servant of God Giuseepe Carraro, Bishop of Verona; born in Mira, Italy, on 26 June 1899 and died in Verona, Italy 30 December 1980;
– of the Servant of God Agostino Ramírez Barba, Diocesan Priest, Founder of the Congregation of Sister Servants of the Lord of Mercy; born 27 August 1881 in San Miguel in Alto (Mexico) and died in Tepatitlán (Mexico) 4 July 1967;
– of the Servant of God Simpliciano della Natività (given name: Aniello Francesco Saverio Maresco), Professed Priest of the Order of Friars Minor, Founder of the Congregation of the Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart; born in Meta di Sorrento (Italy) 11 May 1827 and died in Rome (Italy) 25 May 1898;
– of the Servant of God Maria del Rifugio Aguilar y Torres, the widow of Cancino, Foundress of the Congregation of Mercedarian Sisters of the Most Holy Sacrament; born in San Miguel de Allende (Mexico) 21 September 1866 and died in Mexico City (Mexico) 24 April 1937;
– of the Servant of God Maria Teresa Dupouy Bordes, Professed Relgious of the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Foundress of the Congregation of the Missionaries of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary; born in Saint Pierre d’Irube (France) 6 May 1873 and died in San Sebastán (Spain) 26 May 1953;
– of the Servant of God Elisa Miceli, Foundress of the Institute of the Rural Catechist Sisters of the Sacred heart; born in Longobardi (Italy) 12 April 1904 and died in Frascati (Italy) 19 April 1976;
– of the Servant of God Isabella Méndez Herrero (in religion: Isabella di Maria Immacolata), Professed Sister of the Congregation of the Servants of Saint Joseph; born in Castellanos de Moriscos (Spain) 30 August 1924 and died in Salamanca (Spain) 28 December 1953
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The Holy See has reminded the international community many countries are still facing enormous challenges in order to fully participate in the global economy.
Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, said some countries have “fallen further behind and may continue to do so” unless the international community help them find solutions for what is constraining them.
Archbishop Auza is the Head of Delegation of the Holy See to the Third International Conference on Financing for Development in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
“As Pope Francis said in his recent Encyclical Laudato Si’, development efforts cannot make significant progress if countries continue to emphasize their national interests to the detriment of the global common good,” said Archbishop Auza.
“The solutions to global poverty and hunger cannot be left to market forces alone,” he continued. “To eradicate poverty and hunger, in particular extreme poverty and chronic hunger, the sharing of science and technology, the acceptance of ethical values like solidarity and social justice to influence the market, and joint political will must all align themselves.”
The full text of Archbishop Auza’s intervention can be found below
Statement by H.E. Archbishop Bernardito Auza
Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the UN,
Head of Delegation of the Holy See to the
Third International Conference on Financing for Development
Addis Ababa, July 15, 2015
Mr. President,
My delegation is pleased that the global community has joined hands and has come together for the Third International Conference on Financing for Development and the adoption of its Outcome Document, The Addis Ababa Action Agenda.
Since the adoption of the MDGs in 2000, the Monterrey Consensus in 2002 and the Doha Declaration in 2008, the global community has had opportunities to assess the progress made and the challenges that still remain in ending poverty and hunger. These collective efforts have helped shape the present Outcome Document, in support of a transformative post-2015 development agenda.
Mr. President,
Overall, the world has made significant economic progress. More and more countries are participating in the global economy than ever before. Global economic activity and financing flows have increased and advances in science, technology and innovation have enhanced the potential to achieve sustainable development for all.
However, a large portion of the world’s population continue to be excluded from the benefits of such progress and the gap between the haves and the have-nots has grown rapidly and never been greater. Many countries are still facing enormous challenges in order fully to participate in the global economy. Indeed, some have fallen further behind and may continue to do so unless the international community help them find solutions for what is constraining them.
While acknowledging that progress has been made, we must also recognize that developing countries, in particular the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), still need support. For that reason, both financial and non-financial development commitments should remain, be enhanced wherever necessary and be fulfilled. As Pope Francis said in his recent Encyclical Laudato Si’, development efforts cannot make significant progress if countries continue to emphasize their national interests to the detriment of the global common good (LS 169).
Mr. President,
Taking into account the progress made and the challenges that still lie ahead, the Holy See supports the overarching goal of this Outcome Document, namely, to end poverty and hunger and achieve sustainable development, while promoting peaceful and inclusive societies and an equitable global economic system that cares for the environment. My delegation is convinced that this multi-dimensional approach is indispensable. The solutions to global poverty and hunger cannot be left to market forces alone. To eradicate poverty and hunger, in particular extreme poverty and chronic hunger, the sharing of science and technology, the acceptance of ethical values like solidarity and social justice to influence the market, and joint political will must all align themselves.
Similarly, we welcome that the Outcome Document has a strong focus on people in vulnerable situations, especially women and girls, and stresses the importance of their participation, contributions, and leadership roles in the economy and in society at large.
My delegation would like to highlight three aspects of the Outcome Document that are closely linked to the achievement of sustainable development: first, financial resource mobilization; second, the creation of an enabling international economic environment; and third, an effective monitoring and follow-up mechanism to review implementation of the Outcome Document, especially in support of the post-2015 development agenda.
First, every effort should be made to mobilize financing for human integral development from all sources: domestic, international, private sector, and official development assistance. We would urge that particular attention be given to the financing needs of countries in special situations, particularly the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), the Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs), the Small Island Developing States (SIDS), as well as countries in conflict or post-conflict situations. For their special or greater needs, the global community may have to mobilize new stakeholders and create new specific financing mechanisms to enhance the prospects that these countries will achieve sustainable development.
Second, while every country has the primary responsibility for its own economic and social development through nationally owned, coherent, and sustainable development strategies, a supportive international economic environment must undergird development strategies, in the spirit of global partnership, shared prosperity and intergenerational solidarity.
Third, my delegation welcomes the attention given to an effective monitoring and follow-up mechanism, which would provide the means to assess progress and identify obstacles to the implementation of the Financing for Development (FfD) Outcome Documents. In this regard, the global community must pay special attention to countries that may need assistance to review and assess their own progress.
Finally, Mr. President, as we embark upon this pivotal year, let us once again remind ourselves of our responsibility to ensure that the commitments made here in Addis Ababa meet our overarching goal to end poverty and hunger and to ensure sustainable, equitable, and integral development that leaves no country and no one behind. It is no longer enough for us to declare our desire to end poverty and hunger and to achieve sustainable development; we must embrace a transformative shift to translate declarations into actions, and commitments into achievements.
In closing, my delegation profoundly thanks the Government and the people of Ethiopia for hosting this Conference.
Thank you, Mr. President.
(from Vatican Radio)…
Bulletin: July 26, 2015-17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Vatican Radio) The President of Caritas Internationalis has issued a letter to the Caritas Federation on the Encyclical of Pope Francis, Laudato Si’.
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the Archbishop of Manila, said, in his encyclical, Pope Francis has called on every person to undertake a mission to save the planet, their relationship with God and the human family.
“In Laudato Si’ Pope Francis reminds us to replace consumption with a sense of sacrifice, greed with generosity and wastefulness with a spirit of sharing,” Cardinal Tagle writes. “We must ‘give, and not simply give up’. We are called to free ourselves from all that is heavy and negative and wasteful and to enter into dialogue with our global family.”
Cardinal Tagle writes Caritas workers build bonds of solidarity with people “living on trash heaps,” adding Caritas reinforces the dignity of the poorest who are battered by climate change.
“As Caritas and as members of the human family, we all have a role to play in this ecological revolution to which Pope Francis has invited us,” he writes.
“We must strengthen the ties among our organisations so we work better together,” writes Cardinal Tagle. “By pooling our resources, sharing information and supporting one another we can show that it is possible for people of good will to restore hope together.”
The full text of the letter by Cardinal Tagle is below
10 July 2015
Dear Caritas friends,
In some parts of the world babies are born, children grow up and adults face the end of their lives living and working in the poisonous waste created and discarded by others. In other parts people live on a tightrope between floods and droughts and grave injustices. In these places, life is slowly strangled from the very beginning. This is not God’s design for humanity and the Earth.
Life is moving so fast that many people are disorientated. The faster life goes, the more we consume, the more we waste and the further away from God and the poor we move. With this over-consumption comes a heaviness – not just physical but also spiritual. We gather so many things into our heads and lives that one more thought or fact or responsibility overwhelms us into lethargy.
In June, Pope Francis called each of us to undertake a mission to save the planet, our relationship with God and our human family. He gave us a reminder to “take the trash out of our lives” and clean it up out of everyone else’s so we can live as one human family in dignity and in unity.
In the encyclical Laudato Si’ the Holy Father lays the path for a global “ecological conversion”. I would like to echo this call to the whole of the Caritas family and invite you to welcome into your hearts Caritas’ strategic vision “One Human Family, Caring for Creation”.
In Laudato Si’ Pope Francis reminds us to replace consumption with a sense of sacrifice, greed with generosity and wastefulness with a spirit of sharing. We must “give, and not simply give up”. We are called to free ourselves from all that is heavy and negative and wasteful and to enter into dialogue with our global family.
This requires a process of universal communication and listening in truth, a global examination of conscience, a global recognition of failures and guilt and a global resolve to right the harm already done.
We need to recover the horizon of gift and grace within which every creature finds its place. We need to see our human vocation to live with the family of creation as stewards and not owners. This requires us to be energetic, driven and creative but never domineering and abusive.
In Caritas I have witnessed the power of active love at work in the midst of this global ecological crisis. Caritas workers build bonds of solidarity with people living on trash heaps. They reinforce the dignity of the poorest who are battered by climate change. Caritas volunteers accompany people across the world in their efforts to build up their lives and homes and send their children to school.
Caritas is the living Word of God in the poor communities of the world. It is a free-flowing river of love and hope which nourishes and has an enormous natural power to bring about change.
As Caritas and as members of the human family, we all have a role to play in this ecological revolution to which Pope Francis has invited us. We must strengthen the ties among our organisations so we work better together. By pooling our resources, sharing information and supporting one another we can show that it is possible for people of good will to restore hope together.
We must use all of our knowledge and experience to come up with “bite-size” initiatives which will enable ourselves and any member of society to embark on the lifestyle changes necessary for personal conversion. We must think long and hard about how to make sure that the message of the encyclical reaches the extremes of society: the poorest who suffer unjustly because of other people’s choices, and the elites who have an enormous power to bring about global change and yet shy away from this responsibility.
The many quotations of bishops’ conferences from all over the world in the encyclical show that the local Churches have been addressing the ecological issue for a number of years now. We thank Pope Francis for bringing these voices together into a “chorus” of praise, lament and call. I believe that Church leaders, especially Caritas bishops have a major role to play making sure people take to their hearts the message of Pope Francis’ encyclical by pushing for a Christian spirituality of ecological integrity. Such a spirituality includes a recovery of a contemplative stance that sees and appreciates the beauty of creation.
We need to shape a spirituality that invites politicians, business people, artists, educators, scientists and builders to work for the common good, respecting the dignity of each person, especially of the poor and most vulnerable.
God’s love is the fundamental moving force in all created things. Caritas is a manifestation of that love which translates “global warming” into a worldwide warming of our hearts to the poor.
Yours in Christ,
Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle
(from Vatican Radio)…