(Vatican Radio) Cardinal Peter Turkson, the President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, on Tuesday addressed UNICEF House at the United Nations in New York. He spoke about the new Encyclical of Pope Francis, Laudato si’, and how it relates to children. The full text of Cardinal Turkson’s remarks are blow Remarks on Laudato si’ to Child-Focused Agencies UNICEF House, 30 June 2015 Cardinal Peter K.A. Turkson, President, Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace Thank you for this opportunity to address you. I have prepared some brief remarks to summarize the insights of Laudato si’ into the choices we have to make today to leave future generations a better “common home.” Then I will offer a child-focused interpretation of the encyclical. I hope this will stimulate your thinking as you contribute to the growing social movement to fight climate change. A. How the Encyclical Talks about Children and the Future of our Common Home You are probably aware of the broad vision of Laudato si’. Among the main points made by Pope Francis are that • humanity is not separate from the environment in which we live; rather humanity and the natural environment are one; • the accelerating change in climate is undeniable, catastrophic, worsened by human activities, but also amenable to human intervention; • the grave errors that increase our disastrous indifference to the environment include a throwaway-culture of consumerism, and a naïve confidence that technological advances and undirected commercial markets will inevitably solve our environmental problems; • we must address the ethical nature of our crisis, both through dialogue, and by recovering our fundamental spiritual dimension. As Pope Francis said in an earlier document, Evangelii Gaudium, “Realities are more important than ideas.” Laudato si’ is not an abstract document. It resonates with our lived human experience. And that includes the experience of family life. The Holy Father’s embrace of the multi-generational human family resonates very strongly with me as an African. Many African traditional cultures share a belief in the real presence among us of the generations who have gone before us and those who will be born later. Today’s family contains more than just those who are alive right now. So I sense the pain in his words when he laments the consequences for children when families are forced to migrate after local animals and plants disappear due to changes in climate; “this in turn affects the livelihood of the poor, who are then forced to leave their homes, with great uncertainty for their future and that of their children” (§25). What anguish we should feel that thousands of plant and animal species are lost every year, so our children will never see them (§33). The Holy Father is deeply critical of parents who selfishly waste resources on what is not really needed, leaving their children with less chance to build lives of their own later on (§162). He ties this in with the throw-away culture which not only allows the sexual exploitation of children but also the “abandonment of the elderly who no longer serve our interests…. Is it not the same relativistic logic which justifies buying the organs of the poor for resale or use in experimentation, or eliminating children because they are not what their parents wanted?” (§123). In contrast to these remarks, Pope Francis is confident that planning can improve when local populations are fully involved, because “they are concerned about their own future and that of their children, and can consider goals transcending immediate economic interest” (§183). Cooperatives can also attend to the needs of future generations while they generate “a greater sense of responsibility, a strong sense of community, a readiness to protect others, a spirit of creativity and a deep love for the land. They are also concerned about what they will eventually leave to their children and grandchildren” (§179). Both the critical remarks and the avenues of solution cluster around the Pope’s key question: what sort of world will we bequeath to future generations (§160). I will turn to this in detail in the next section. B. The Encyclical through the Eyes of a Child As I have shown, both in vocabulary and in topics, Laudato si’ takes children into account. But we can go further. We can explore the perspective of a child as a key to understanding the encyclical. Commentators have already noticed a simple elegance in the style of Laudato si’ and even a child-like quality. For instance, there are similarities between important points in the encyclical and the insights of the popular 1988 book by American author Robert Fulghum called All I Ever Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. Their sage advice is that we should recover the lessons we all learn as children, lessons like “Share. Be kind. Clean up after yourself. All things in moderation. Make time for wonder.” Care is central; it is part of the title, “Care for our Common Home.” It is repeated dozens of times. This is very important. Care goes further than “stewardship” (mentioned just twice in the English version). Good stewards take responsibility and fulfil their obligations to manage and to render an account. But one can be a good steward without feeling connected. If one cares, however, one is connected. To care is to allow oneself to be affected by another, so much so that one’s path and priorities change. Children understand these bonds: We’re all connected. Plants and animals and human beings; strangers and friends and enemies; God and humanity and the world. Children’s faith in things like magic or the impossible comes directly from that belief that everything is connected. So does their sense of morality. It’s not only that hurting people is bad. It’s also, when your sister is sad, your parents are sad or even your dog is sad, you get sad, too. We’re all deeply connected. With his integral ecology, the Pope emphasizes that we are completely connected, integrated, with everything and everyone. Thus he invokes care for our children to formulate his pivotal question about the environment: “What kind of world do we want to leave to those who come after us, to children who are now growing up?”(§160). We care about our children; we care for our children, so much so that parents will sacrifice enormously – even their lives – to ensure the safety and flourishing of their children. (Remember the beautiful lesson in Le Petit prince of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: the fox teaches the boy that the flower has meaning in relation to his care for it.) With caring, the hard line between self and other softens, blurs, even disappears. So when we cast aside anything precious in the world, we destroy part of ourselves too because we are completely connected. This helps to explain why the Church promotes the greatest respect for human life, from conception to natural death. Destruction of human life at any stage violates the absolutely fundamental human dignity upon which all human rights and responsibilities rest. The Pope could have asked his pivotal question (“What kind of world…?”) in a different manner. His chosen formulation – care for and about our children and the world that future generations will inherit – is how he conveys the seriousness of the looming catastrophe. It is almost parable-like: “There once was a society that forgot to care for its children…” Thinking about the needs and the world of children now and yet to be born is also an index of justice. The common good is not just horizontal (the good of everyone now) but vertical (the good of future generations). Indeed, some North American indigenous peoples insist on thinking about seven generations onwards: today’s decisions must consider consequences for the next seven generations. Some might say that this would eliminate all innovation because it sets too high a demand for predicting the unpredictable. But look at it this way: knowing that processes have cumulative effects, the seven-generation requirement would make us react quickly to modest measurements – for instance, a small amount of pollution in the first few years of a new process – rather than wait until the negative consequences are much larger, affecting our grandchildren and their children. Pope Francis agrees; “The burden of proof” on the latest advancements, he writes, “is effectively reversed”, our immediate responsibility “to demonstrate that the proposed activity will not cause serious harm to the environment or to those who inhabit it” (§187). Laudato si’ brings us back to basics, to the fundamentals of human existence. Often children approach these basics innocently, yet profoundly, when they ask “Why?” Pope Francis is unafraid of this and other huge questions that children also ask: “What is the purpose of our life in this world? Why are we here? What is the goal of our work and all our efforts? What need does the earth have of us?” (§160). Indeed, in Laudato si’ he rejoices in such questions as the beginning of the dialogues our world so desperately need. The Holy Father wishes to inspire a change of minds and hearts. Through our children’s eyes we can discover once again the beauty, the wonder, the majesty of our planet and our existence, the dazzling panoply of life. Through their questions and challenges we are brought face to face with our hypocrisies, the compromises we have made to our values, the choices we need re-examine in light of what we know in our hearts to be right and true. This child-like lens turns us to who we are as the adults of today: “It is no longer enough, then, simply to state that we should be concerned for future generations. We need to see that what is at stake is our own dignity. Leaving an inhabitable planet to future generations is, first and foremost, up to us. The issue is one which dramatically affects us, for it has to do with the ultimate meaning of our earthly sojourn” (§160). C. A Common Home for All In Laudato Si’, Pope Francis invites us into a very similar meditation. What will make us real, he says, what will make us the people we were born and called to be, is our dedication to one another, our willingness to sacrifice for our children and all the children that will ever walk on this world, whether today or in the future. “Even the fleeting life of the least of beings is the object of God’s love,” says Pope Francis (§77), and should be objects of human love too. As the Pope acknowledges, the path before us is a challenging one, one that demands–particularly from the developed world—humility, sobriety and sacrifice, that all may share in the boundless wonders and blessings that God has intended for us in his creation, and for many millennia to come. Your organizations focus on children. I hope you feel inspired to bring your understanding and profound experience with children into the growing social movement to fight climate change. I know you will have many opportunities to do so. Children and youth are yearning to make a difference in many countries. Your organizations – and the Church too – must collaborate with them and enhance their efforts. Their stake in the climate change battle is greater than ours! The UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris, from 30 November to 11 December of this year, is a key moment. But let us not focus only on that event. We are all brothers and sisters – the adults of today, our children, those who have gone before and those who will come after. We are one family. I pray for God to bless us as we strive to take care of our common home. Thank you. (from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) For the first time since his election on 13 March 2013, Pope Francis is returning to the continent of his birth – Latin America – on a journey which will see him interact and communicate in his own language – Spanish.
The journey to Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay, which is scheduled to last from 5 to 13 July, was presented on Tuesday morning at the Vatican Press Office by its Director, Father Federico Lombardi SJ.
The underlying theme of all three counties, ravaged by conquest, exploitation and conflict in years not so long gone by is that of reconciliation and renewal.
Listen to the report by Linda Bordoni :
Pointing out that this is the first time Pope Francis will visit three different nations during a single journey, Fr Lombardi also noted that just as he did in Europe by choosing Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina as the first nations to reach out to at the beginning of his pontificate, here too he is starting with the “peripheries” as far as the Latin American and global scenarios are concerned.
It will also be the first journey – Lombardi observed – in which Spanish – the Pope’s mother-tongue – is spoken throughout, giving him plenty of occasions to set aside prepared texts (including 22 official discourses) and to talk and converse freely with his audiences.
Lombardi also said that in just seven days Pope Francis will be experiencing enormous changes in temperature and in altitude: from 3° to 40° Centigrade, from sea level to over 4,100 meters above sea level as he travels from the Atlantic to the Andes and in between.
A swift glance at the Pope’s schedule highlights the fact that the journey will be intense for other reasons as well!
All in all, Pope Francis is to spend 48 hours in each country, and each time he will be involved in a number of “common” events such as an audience with each President; a “sit-down” with the bishops, an encounter with civil society (representatives of business, indigenous people, the world of education, culture); a meeting with consecrated people.
Of course in each country he will also be involved in other events and situations as he is scheduled to visit a home for the aged run by the Sisters of Mother Teresa in Ecuador, a prison (one of the largest in Latin America) and a meeting with members of the World Meeting of Popular Movements in Bolivia; a children’s hospital and a slum area in Paraguay.
Another important feature of the journey will be a Marian one as Pope Francis will gather in prayer before the “Virgen Dolorosa” in Quito and before Our Lady of Caacupé 40 km from Asuncion.
One important characteristic of the whole journey – Father Lombardi pointed out – has to do with the wealth of traditions, cultures and languages that are present on the territory. The Pope’s respect for the diversity and value of each of these is also reflected in all of the liturgies and celebrations.
Lombardi recalled that Pope Saint John Paul II travelled to all three nations: Ecuador in 1985, Bolivia and Paraguay in 1988 where he had a memorable meeting with minors, canonized Rocco Gonzales and was witness to the last days of General Alfredo Stroessner’s cruel dictatorship.
Father Lombardi concluded a detailed account of the Pope’s day-to-day schedule, pointing out that this journey is Francis’ “homecoming” in the sense that it is the first time he will be back in his own continent since travelling to Rome for the conclave in 2013, and that he will finally be speaking his own language. “All this – he said – should make for a particularly intense occasion for communication”.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The General Audiences held on Wednesdays will be suspended for the whole month of July. They will resume in August in the Paul VI Hall.
There will, however, be an Audience on the afternoon of July 3rd with the Movement of Renewal in the Spirit, in St. Peter’s Square.
The Pope will continue to recite the Angelus on Sunday’s.
The morning mass at Santa Marta is also suspended during July and August. It will resume in early September.
(from Vatican Radio)…
Vatican City, 30 June 2015 (VIS) – The Holy Father’s universal prayer intention for July is: “That political responsibility may be lived at all levels as a high form of charity”.
His intention for evangelisation is: “That, amid social inequalities, Latin American Christians may bear witness to love for the poor and contribute to a more fraternal society”….
Vatican City, 30 June 2015 (VIS) – Today the programme was published for Pope Francis’ apostolic trip to Cuba and the U.S.A. and his visit to the United Nations on the occasion of his participation in the Eighth World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, from 19 to 28 September. The Pope will depart from Rome’s Fiumicino airport at 10 a.m. on Saturday 19 September and is expected to arrive at 4.05 p.m. in Havana, Cuba, where the welcome ceremony will take place. On Sunday 20 September he will celebrate Holy Mass in Plaza de la Revolucion in Havana and will pay a courtesy visit to the president of the Council of State and of the Council of Ministers of the Republic in the Palace of the Revolution. Later he will celebrate Vespers in the Cathedral with priests, men and women religious, and seminarians, and will subsequently greet the young in the Fr. Felix Varela Cultural Centre. On Monday 21 September, in the morning, he will transfer to Holguin where he will celebrate Holy Mass in Plaza de la Revolucion and will bless the city from the Loma de la Cruz. He will then depart by air for Santiago, where he will meet with the bishops in St. Basil’s Major Seminary. The day will conclude with the prayer to Our Lady of Charity with the bishops and the papal entourage in the minor Basilica of the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity of Cobre, Santiago. Tuesday 22 September will begin with the celebration of Holy Mass in the minor Basilica of the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity of Cobre, Santiago. The Pope will then meet families in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Asuncion in Santiago and, after blessing the city, will depart by air for Washington D.C., U.S.A., where he will be received at the Andrews Air Force Base. On Wednesday 23 September, there will be a welcome ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, where the Pope will pronounce a discourse and pay a courtesy visit to the president of the United States. At 11 a.m., the Pope will meet with the bishops of the United States in St. Matthew’s Cathedral. In the afternoon he will celebrate Mass for the canonisation of Blessed Fr. Junipero Serra. On Thursday 24 September Pope Francis will visit and address the United States Congress. He will subsequently visit the charity centre of the St. Patrick’s parish where he will meet a group of homeless people. In the afternoon he will transfer by air to New York, where at 6.45 p.m. he will celebrate Vespers with priests and men and women religious in St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Friday 25 September will begin with an address by the Holy Father at the seat of the United Nations in New York and, at 11.30 a.m., he will participate in an interreligious meeting at the Ground Zero Memorial site. He will then visit the “Our Lady, Queen of Angels” school and meet with families of immigrants in Harlem. The day will conclude with Holy Mass in Madison Square Garden. On Saturday 26 September, the Pope will travel by air to Philadelphia, where at 10.30 a.m. he will celebrate Holy Mass with the bishops, clergy and men and women religious in the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul in Philadelphia. In the afternoon he will participate in a meeting for religious freedom with the Hispanic community and other immigrants in the Independence Mall, Philadelphia. Sunday 27 September will begin with a meeting with the bishops invited to the World Meeting of Families in the St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, after which the Pope will visit the detainees in the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, Philadelphia. He will go on to celebrate the concluding Holy Mass of the Eighth World Meeting of Families at the B. Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia. In the late afternoon, before the farewell ceremony, he will greet the organising committee, the volunteers and benefactors at the international airport of Philadelphia, from where he will depart on his return flight to Rome. The aircraft carrying the Holy Father is scheduled to land on Monday 28 September at 10 a.m….