Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the UN and Other International Organizations in Geneva, spoke at a conference on Tuesday entitled “Migrants and Cities: New Partnerships to Manage Mobility”, organized by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Mons. Tomasi introduced his statement with figures illustrating how, “for the first time in human history, the density of population in urban areas surpasses the population in rural areas”. He said such demographic change could “turn much of the world into a global city”. The Archbishop outlined the positive effects of this trend, namely “the promise of economic progress, upward social mobility, greater access to jobs… improved education opportunities and healthcare”.
However, he did go on to illustrate the many challenges faced by migrants and their host cities. Mons. Tomasi expressed concern about the fact that “migrants have been relegated to confined areas”; he explained that “these areas function as a type of exclusive social “barrier”, a sort of enclave for the wealthy classes, who shelter themselves within walls of protection against the insecurity that comes from social inequalities”. This fragile situation led the Archbishop to call for “a rethinking of the relationship between the city and migrants… in terms of urban space… and their interactions with other social groups”.
Mons. Tomasi then turned to the positive role played by migrants, demonstrating how they “contribute to the economic and social development of host cities”. He pointed out that “their involvement in the social and civic life of the urban community facilitates their integration and allows them to give back to the host country what they have received”.
He called for all urban citizens to “interact and to become involved together in issues of common interest and develop interethnic, interreligious and intercultural activity”. Such interchange will, he hopes, lead to a “dynamic two-way integration process, required for the creation of a shared citizenship”.
He reminded those gathered at the conference that “migrants become the “living proof” of the quality of a democracy”. He observed that “policies supportive of migrants… offer an extraordinary occasion for reflection on the values on which a democracy is based”. In other words, such policies “constitute a unique opportunity to improve respect for human rights and the basic principles of civilization”.
Concluding his statement, Archbishop Tomasi quoted Pope Francis: “The multicultural character of society today… calls us to deepen and strengthen the values needed to guarantee peaceful coexistence between persons and cultures”.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has appealed for concrete solidarity for the peoples of Pakistan and Afghanistan who have been struck by a devastating earthquake. The Pope’s appeal came during the Wednesday General Audience in St. Peter’s Square two days a massive earthquake that struck the remote Hindu Kush Mountains on the Afghan-Pakistan border. Officials are warning that the death toll which has soared above 300 will likely leap once relief workers return from remote villages. “We remain close to the peoples of Pakistan and Afghanistan who have been struck by a strong earthquake, which has caused numerous victims and terrible damage” the Pope said. And assuring his prayers “for the deceased and their families, for all the wounded and those who remain without a home, imploring God for relief in their suffering and courage in the face of adversity” the Pope said: “May our concrete solidarity not lack for these our brothers.” Pope Francis’ appeal came on the heels of his weekly catechesis which was dedicated to the 50th Anniversary of the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration “Nostra Aetate” on the Church’s relations with other religions. Recalling that this theme was very close to the heart of the Blessed Pope Paul VI who established the “Secretariat for non-Christians” which today is the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, the Pope expressed a specially warm greeting of welcome to people of different religions present in the Square for the Audience. Noting that the Second Vatican Council represented an extraordinary time of reflection, dialogue and prayer to renew the vision of the Catholic Church regarding itself and the world. And speaking of “Nostra Aetate” Pope Francis said the Council’s Declaration was an expression of the Church’s esteem for the followers of other religious traditions, and her openness to dialogue in the service of understanding and friendship.
And, he said, its message is important and timely today as peoples become increasingly interdependent as one human family. The Pope noted that The past fifty years have seen much progress and expressed gratitude for the significant advances made in relations between Christians and Jews, and in those between Christians and Muslims. The world, he said, rightly expects believers to work together with all people of good will in confronting the many problems affecting our human family. Pope Francis concluded expressing his hope that the forthcoming Jubilee of Mercy will be an occasion for ever greater interreligious cooperation in works of charity, reconciliation and care for God’s gift of creation. “As we look to the future of interreligous dialogue, let us pray that in accordance with God’s will, all men and women will see themselves as brothers and sisters in the great human family, peacefully united in and through our diversities” he said. (from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has expressed his sorrow at “the tragic loss of life in Afghanistan and Pakistan as a result of the earthquake in the region.” The Pope’s remarks were conveyed in a telegram from Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, addressed to Archbishop Ghaleb Moussa Abdalla Bader, the Apostolic Nuncio to Pakistan.
Below, please find the full text of the telegram:
His Holiness Pope Francis was deeply saddened to learn of the tragic loss of life in Afghanistan and Pakistan as a result of the earthquake in the region. He expresses his heartfelt solidarity with all those affected by this disaster, and he offers the assurance of his prayers for the dead, as well as for the injured and those still missing. Upon all those who mourn the loss of loved ones and upon the civil authorities and emergency personnel involved in the relief efforts, Pope Francis invokes the divine blessings of consolation and strength.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin
Secretary of State
(from Vatican Radio)…
Vatican City, 27 October 2015 (VIS) – Pope Francis has sent a message to the cardinal archbishop of Florence, Giuseppe Bettori, Grand Chancellor of the On the occasion of the Sophia University Institute, Loppiano, Italy, following the conferral of a doctorate honoris causa in “Culture of Unity” to His Holiness Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.
The Holy Father greets those present, expresses his closeness, and offers a special thought for his beloved brother Bartholomew, to whom, he writes, “I renew my sentiments of profound esteem and heartfelt appreciation, rejoicing in the present initiative which, as well as constituting heartfelt recognition for his commitment to the promotion of the culture of unity, contributes favourably to the common journey our Churches take towards full and visible unity, to which we aspire with dedication and perseverance”.
“In the hope that the Sophia University Institute, following the charism of the Focolari Movement and open to the action of the Spirit, may continue to be a place of encounter and dialogue between different cultures and religions, I assure my prayerful remembrance and, asking for your prayers, I impart my Blessing to all present”, the Pope concludes….
Vatican City, 27 October 2015 (VIS) – This morning in the Holy See Press Office a press conference was held to present the 51st International Eucharistic Congress, to take place in Cebu, Philippines from 24 to 31 January 2016 on the theme “Christ in you, our Hope of glory; the Eucharist, source and goal of mission”. The speakers were Archbishop Jose S. Palma of Cebu, Philippines, Archbishop Piero Marini, Italy, president of the Committee for the International Eucharistic Congresses, and Fr. Vittore Boccardi, S.S.S., member of the same committee.
Archbishop Palma commented on the importance of the choice of Asia and the Philippines to host the Congress. “In recent years, Asia is the continent that has become one of the great engines of world growth in the economic and social point of view”, he said. “From the religious point of view, however, it is still a contingent that has to be evangelised; … where the Catholic Church is a small minority; in spite of being the continent where Jesus was born, lived, died and rose again. The 51st Eucharistic Congress, therefore, could become the mirror of the Asian Church in the sense that it will see how the Catholic Church carries out its task of evangelisation. As with the previous Congresses, representatives of the different Churches and a myriad of pilgrims from all over the world will be attending”.
The Congress, he continued, is expected to be attended by “around 20 cardinals, 50 bishops from other countries and at least 100 Filipino bishops who gather for the Catholic Bishops Conference Plenary Assembly in January 2016. As of October 2015, we already have 8,345 registered pilgrims representing 57 nations”. In addition, said Archbishop Palma, so far there are 600 registered host families ready to welcome pilgrims.
The events of the Congress will be divided into two main parts: the first, the “Theological Symposium”, will take place from 20 to 22 January, and the “Congress Proper”, from 24 to 31 January. The basic themes for reflection during the Theological Symposium are: “The Christian Virtue of Hope”; “Eucharist in the Gospel of St. John”; “Liturgy and Inculturation”; “The History of the Novus Ordo”; “Evangelising the Secular World” and “A Catechism on the Sunday Eucharist”. During the Congress Proper, the themes will be “Christ our Hope of Glory”; “Christian Hope”; “The Eucharist as Celebration of the Paschal Mystery”; “The Eucharist as Mission”; “Mission as Dialogue”; “The Eucharist and Dialogue with Cultures”; “The Eucharist and Dialogue with the Poor”; “The Eucharist and Dialogue with other Religions” and “The Eucharist and Mary”.
Archbishop Marini, with reference to the theme of the Congress, affirmed that “the evangelical announcement and faith in the Lord Jesus professed by the Christian community are important and necessary for Asia, but must be presented in accordance with the methods of dialogue, methods that have distinguished the activity of the particular Churches of the continent in the last thirty years. It is precisely this programme of dialogue with cultures, religious traditions and the multitudes of the poor that forms, in an entirely natural and evident way, the fabric of pastoral reflections contained in the basic text. The text explains that the Eucharist is the source and culmination of the mission of the Church and identifies the added value offered by the Eucharistic celebration for a mission that is committed to leavening through the enzymes of dialogue, reconciliation, peace and future, of which Asia is in great need”.
“The Eucharistic Congresses, then, will go to Cebu to recall that the mission is an exchange of gifts between those who announce and who receive the evangelical message”, he added. “They go to the city that is the cradle of Christianity in the East to give and to receive, to evangelise and to be evangelised, to speak but also to listen. In that human environment that is not linked to the labyrinth of rationalism, the celebration of the Eucharistic mystery is bound with the experience of poverty, suffering and affections and continues to build communities that wish to break bread in the Kingdom of God”.
Finally, Fr. Boccardi commented that the event in Cebu, along with the World Youth Days, World Family Day, and so on, will become “an extraordinary resource for bearing witness, through its celebration, to how the Eucharist is not only the source of life in the Church but also the place of its projection in the world. Every particular Church that celebrates the Eucharist in any part of the world, is called upon to demonstrate the maturity of giving to others, of mutual listening, of availability and concrete collaboration so that the community of faithful might become the house of God and of our brothers amid the homes of mankind. There it will be possible to live that ‘dialogue of life” that is a starting point for the joyful witness of the Gospel”….