Caritas President Points to "Occasion for Growth"
By Sergio Estrada
MEXICO CITY, FEB. 27, 2009 ( Zenit.org ).- Even if the financial crisis is spread throughout the world, this is no time for discouragement, says the leader of Caritas Internationalis.
Cardinal Oscar Rodríguez Maradiaga affirmed this at a conference this week in Mexico, sponsored by the Instituto Mexicana de Doctrina Social Cristiana (Mexican Institute of Christian Social Doctrine).
"The crisis is generalized but we must not be discouraged," the Honduran cardinal affirmed. "The Church isn't a dead organization and she responds in times of crisis. This time of scarcity is an occasion for growth, and solidarity is the solution."
Cardinal Rodríguez Maradiaga called the Incarnation a manifestation of solidarity. And, he said, the Christian should never take an attitude of "let he who can save himself." Instead the faithful must hear Christ's call to solidarity.
Contending that the crisis is not so much economic as ethical, he said that when the human being marginalizes ethics from life, crises flourish.
What is important, the prelate affirmed, is that society not fall into "Cain's syndrome," which is not to bother about others.
Instead, he encouraged, all must work against this situation as children of God and help one another, thereby avoiding related consequences of poverty, such as the spread of violence and organized crime.
Cardinal Rodríguez Maradiaga urged the creation of networks of solidarity and mentioned Caritas by way of example.
Helping neighbors
Today, a Knights of Columbus summit in New York City echoed the cardinal's invitation to solidarity. The conference was called "A Nation of Neighbors Helping Neighbors: A Summit on Volunteerism as a Response to the Economic Crisis."
A statement from the men's group cited the invitation of Supreme Knight Carl Anderson: "If greed -- one of the worst aspects of human nature -- helped push us into this crisis, then one of the best aspects of our nature -- generosity -- will be necessary to help pull us out of it."
The summit gathered representatives from about 40 organizations to focus on fostering volunteerism, as the recession has made needs more acute.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Vatican: Economic Crisis and Human Rights
REPERCUSSIONS OF ECONOMIC CRISIS ON HUMAN RIGHTS
VATICAN CITY, 25 FEB 2009 (VIS) - On 20 February Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi C.S., Holy See permanent observer to the United Nations at Geneva, participated in the tenth special session of the Human Rights Council, which focused on the world economic crisis and its repercussions on human rights.
Speaking English, the prelate noted how the current crisis "has created a global recession causing dramatic social consequences, including the loss of millions of jobs and the serious risk that, for many of the developing countries, the Millennium Development Goals may not be reached. The human rights of countless persons are compromised, including the right to food, water, health and decent work".
"In a recent document, the World Bank estimates that, in 2009, the current global economic crisis could push an additional 53 million people below the threshold of two dollars a day. This figure is in addition to the 130 million people pushed into poverty in 2008 by the increase in food and energy prices".
"It is well known", the permanent observer went on, "that low-income countries are heavily dependent upon two financing flows: foreign aid and migrant remittances. Both flows are expected to decline significantly over the next months, due to the worsening of the economic crisis. ... The delegation of the Holy See would like to focus on a specific case in this crisis: its impact on the human rights of children, which exemplifies, as well, what is symptomatic of the destructive impact on all other social and economic rights. At present some important rights of poor people are heavily dependent on official aid flows and on workers' remittances. These include the right to health, education, and food. In several poor countries, in fact, educational, health and nutritional programmes are implemented with the help of aid flows from official donors. Should the economic crisis reduce this assistance, the successful completion of these programs could be threatened".
"If the reduction of both aid and remittances continue, it will deprive children of the right to be educated creating a double negative consequence", noted Archbishop Tomasi. "Lower educational investment today, in fact, will be translated into lower future growth. At the same time, poor nutrition among children significantly worsens life expectancy by increasing both child and adult mortality rates. The negative economic consequences of this go beyond the personal dimension and affect entire societies".
The nuncio then went on to consider another consequence of the crisis "that could be particularly relevant for the mandate of the United Nations: All too often, periods of severe economic hardship have been characterised by the rise in power of governments with dubious commitments to democracy. The Holy See prays that such consequences will be avoided in the present crisis, since they would result in a serious threat for the diffusion of basic human rights for which this institution has so tenaciously struggled.
"The last fifty years have witnessed some great achievements in poverty reduction", he added in conclusion. "These achievements are at risk, and a coherent approach is required to preserve them through a renewed sense of solidarity, especially for the segments of population and for the countries more affected by the crisis".
DELSS/ECONOMIC CRISIS/GENEVA:TOMASI VIS 090225 (540)
VATICAN CITY, 25 FEB 2009 (VIS) - On 20 February Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi C.S., Holy See permanent observer to the United Nations at Geneva, participated in the tenth special session of the Human Rights Council, which focused on the world economic crisis and its repercussions on human rights.
Speaking English, the prelate noted how the current crisis "has created a global recession causing dramatic social consequences, including the loss of millions of jobs and the serious risk that, for many of the developing countries, the Millennium Development Goals may not be reached. The human rights of countless persons are compromised, including the right to food, water, health and decent work".
"In a recent document, the World Bank estimates that, in 2009, the current global economic crisis could push an additional 53 million people below the threshold of two dollars a day. This figure is in addition to the 130 million people pushed into poverty in 2008 by the increase in food and energy prices".
"It is well known", the permanent observer went on, "that low-income countries are heavily dependent upon two financing flows: foreign aid and migrant remittances. Both flows are expected to decline significantly over the next months, due to the worsening of the economic crisis. ... The delegation of the Holy See would like to focus on a specific case in this crisis: its impact on the human rights of children, which exemplifies, as well, what is symptomatic of the destructive impact on all other social and economic rights. At present some important rights of poor people are heavily dependent on official aid flows and on workers' remittances. These include the right to health, education, and food. In several poor countries, in fact, educational, health and nutritional programmes are implemented with the help of aid flows from official donors. Should the economic crisis reduce this assistance, the successful completion of these programs could be threatened".
"If the reduction of both aid and remittances continue, it will deprive children of the right to be educated creating a double negative consequence", noted Archbishop Tomasi. "Lower educational investment today, in fact, will be translated into lower future growth. At the same time, poor nutrition among children significantly worsens life expectancy by increasing both child and adult mortality rates. The negative economic consequences of this go beyond the personal dimension and affect entire societies".
The nuncio then went on to consider another consequence of the crisis "that could be particularly relevant for the mandate of the United Nations: All too often, periods of severe economic hardship have been characterised by the rise in power of governments with dubious commitments to democracy. The Holy See prays that such consequences will be avoided in the present crisis, since they would result in a serious threat for the diffusion of basic human rights for which this institution has so tenaciously struggled.
"The last fifty years have witnessed some great achievements in poverty reduction", he added in conclusion. "These achievements are at risk, and a coherent approach is required to preserve them through a renewed sense of solidarity, especially for the segments of population and for the countries more affected by the crisis".
DELSS/ECONOMIC CRISIS/GENEVA:TOMASI VIS 090225 (540)
Cardinal Calls Poverty a Moral Problem
Cardinal Calls Poverty a Moral Problem
Urges Change in Short-Term Gain Mentality
GUADALAJARA, Spain, FEB. 24, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Poverty is a problem posed to humanity's moral conscience, and cannot be explained solely from the material point of view, says the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.
Cardinal Renato Martino affirmed this Friday in an address in Guadalajara, Spain, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Spanish nongovernmental organization "Manos Unidas" (United Hands).
Referring to Benedict XVI's message for this year's World Day of Peace, the cardinal explained that poverty "is not only of the material and quantitative type," adding that "material poverty never explains, on its own, the immaterial poverties; rather, the opposite is true."
Cardinal Martino stressed the moral "knots" in which poverty is tied up at present, which the Pope highlighted in his message: abortion, the fight against AIDS, children, disarmament and the food crisis.
Speaking on the issue of demographic growth, the Vatican official explained that the promotion of abortion in poor countries is "the most unjust of the many expressions of that dissimulated and malevolent strategy of wanting to overcome poverty by eliminating the poor."
It is a "dangerous strategy," he said, which consists in "using authority to lessen the number of guests rather than multiplying the bread to be shared."
Addressing the topic of poverty and pandemics, especially AIDS, Cardinal Martino called for "greater and more exact consideration of the intrinsic moral implications that such a relationship entails."
He underlined two ethical points for the fight against illness in poor countries. It is necessary, he said, "to make medicines and necessary care available to poor people, reconsidering the system of patents through the assumption of responsibility by the international community, to guarantee all men and women the necessary basic health care." He also called on the global community to "hasten educational campaigns for a sexuality that responds fully to the dignity of the person."
The cardinal reminded his listeners that "everything that weakens the family causes harm that is discharged on children; where the dignity of woman and motherhood is not promoted, the dignity of boys and girls is also wounded."
Addressing the topic of disarmament, he explained that "the material and human resources used in military expenditures and armaments are subtracted from nations' development projects, especially from the poorest and most in need of aid."
He affirmed that the food crisis "is characterized not by the insufficiency of food, but by the lack of a network of political and economic institutions capable of addressing needs and emergencies."
At the world level, he said, the most serious problem is "the increase of the inequality between rich and poor," because "of the technological change" and "the price dynamics of industrial products, which increases more rapidly than the price of the goods and services produced by the poorest countries."
Moral struggle
Cardinal Martino stressed that the struggle against poverty, far from implying an increase of material aid, entails a "moral change." He highlighted the need to "rediscover the natural law, namely, the shared ethical code that gives meaning to the common commitment to build peace."
He also mentioned the need to renew the norms that govern international trade, especially the abrogation of "protective, unjust and anachronistic measures" used by industrialized countries, as well as the establishment of a "culture of cooperation" among the poor countries.
Addressing the present economic crisis, the cardinal clarified once again that it is "an ethical problem," and that it is necessary to change "the mentality that reigns in financial activities, all based on self-reference and short-term gain," and to place it in "the perspective of the common good."
He emphasized the importance of putting the person at the center of the economy. He affirmed, "The problems of development, aid and international cooperation are often resolved without really involving people, but only as questions of predisposition of mechanisms, of specifying tariff agreements, of accreditation of anonymous financing, while, on the contrary, the struggle against poverty needs men and women who live fraternity profoundly, who are able to support individuals, families and communities in endeavors of genuine human development."
He continued: "It is impossible to help the poor if they are seen only as part of a balance sheet of costs and benefits, as numbers and, in the end, as problems."
Social doctrine
In the struggle against poverty, it is necessary that Catholic organizations "know well" the social doctrine of the Church, because the object of this doctrine is and will always be the sacred dignity of man, made in the image of God, and the safeguarding of his inalienable rights, explained the cardinal.
Social doctrine's basis, he affirmed, is "the truth about human nature itself, truth understood by reason and enlightened by revelation, its moving force, love as evangelical precept and norm of action."
The cardinal stated that the Church, in offering her social teaching, "does not limit herself to offer principles for reflection, orientations, guidelines, observations or appeals, but she also presents norms of judgment and guidelines for action that every Catholic is called to put at the base of his prudent experience, to translate it later and concretely into efficacious categories of collaboration and commitment."
He added: "The light of the truth of man, created by God and redeemed by Christ, is an answer to one of the greatest weaknesses of contemporary society: the inadequate vision of man." This vision, he said, "must differentiate a Catholic NGO from those nongovernmental organizations that are also dedicated to the struggle against extreme poverty and hunger."
Urges Change in Short-Term Gain Mentality
GUADALAJARA, Spain, FEB. 24, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Poverty is a problem posed to humanity's moral conscience, and cannot be explained solely from the material point of view, says the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.
Cardinal Renato Martino affirmed this Friday in an address in Guadalajara, Spain, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Spanish nongovernmental organization "Manos Unidas" (United Hands).
Referring to Benedict XVI's message for this year's World Day of Peace, the cardinal explained that poverty "is not only of the material and quantitative type," adding that "material poverty never explains, on its own, the immaterial poverties; rather, the opposite is true."
Cardinal Martino stressed the moral "knots" in which poverty is tied up at present, which the Pope highlighted in his message: abortion, the fight against AIDS, children, disarmament and the food crisis.
Speaking on the issue of demographic growth, the Vatican official explained that the promotion of abortion in poor countries is "the most unjust of the many expressions of that dissimulated and malevolent strategy of wanting to overcome poverty by eliminating the poor."
It is a "dangerous strategy," he said, which consists in "using authority to lessen the number of guests rather than multiplying the bread to be shared."
Addressing the topic of poverty and pandemics, especially AIDS, Cardinal Martino called for "greater and more exact consideration of the intrinsic moral implications that such a relationship entails."
He underlined two ethical points for the fight against illness in poor countries. It is necessary, he said, "to make medicines and necessary care available to poor people, reconsidering the system of patents through the assumption of responsibility by the international community, to guarantee all men and women the necessary basic health care." He also called on the global community to "hasten educational campaigns for a sexuality that responds fully to the dignity of the person."
The cardinal reminded his listeners that "everything that weakens the family causes harm that is discharged on children; where the dignity of woman and motherhood is not promoted, the dignity of boys and girls is also wounded."
Addressing the topic of disarmament, he explained that "the material and human resources used in military expenditures and armaments are subtracted from nations' development projects, especially from the poorest and most in need of aid."
He affirmed that the food crisis "is characterized not by the insufficiency of food, but by the lack of a network of political and economic institutions capable of addressing needs and emergencies."
At the world level, he said, the most serious problem is "the increase of the inequality between rich and poor," because "of the technological change" and "the price dynamics of industrial products, which increases more rapidly than the price of the goods and services produced by the poorest countries."
Moral struggle
Cardinal Martino stressed that the struggle against poverty, far from implying an increase of material aid, entails a "moral change." He highlighted the need to "rediscover the natural law, namely, the shared ethical code that gives meaning to the common commitment to build peace."
He also mentioned the need to renew the norms that govern international trade, especially the abrogation of "protective, unjust and anachronistic measures" used by industrialized countries, as well as the establishment of a "culture of cooperation" among the poor countries.
Addressing the present economic crisis, the cardinal clarified once again that it is "an ethical problem," and that it is necessary to change "the mentality that reigns in financial activities, all based on self-reference and short-term gain," and to place it in "the perspective of the common good."
He emphasized the importance of putting the person at the center of the economy. He affirmed, "The problems of development, aid and international cooperation are often resolved without really involving people, but only as questions of predisposition of mechanisms, of specifying tariff agreements, of accreditation of anonymous financing, while, on the contrary, the struggle against poverty needs men and women who live fraternity profoundly, who are able to support individuals, families and communities in endeavors of genuine human development."
He continued: "It is impossible to help the poor if they are seen only as part of a balance sheet of costs and benefits, as numbers and, in the end, as problems."
Social doctrine
In the struggle against poverty, it is necessary that Catholic organizations "know well" the social doctrine of the Church, because the object of this doctrine is and will always be the sacred dignity of man, made in the image of God, and the safeguarding of his inalienable rights, explained the cardinal.
Social doctrine's basis, he affirmed, is "the truth about human nature itself, truth understood by reason and enlightened by revelation, its moving force, love as evangelical precept and norm of action."
The cardinal stated that the Church, in offering her social teaching, "does not limit herself to offer principles for reflection, orientations, guidelines, observations or appeals, but she also presents norms of judgment and guidelines for action that every Catholic is called to put at the base of his prudent experience, to translate it later and concretely into efficacious categories of collaboration and commitment."
He added: "The light of the truth of man, created by God and redeemed by Christ, is an answer to one of the greatest weaknesses of contemporary society: the inadequate vision of man." This vision, he said, "must differentiate a Catholic NGO from those nongovernmental organizations that are also dedicated to the struggle against extreme poverty and hunger."
Saturday, February 21, 2009
MONDAY MORNING MISSION MEDITATION for week of February 22, 2009
Providing Help. Creating Hope.
VISION: Believing in the presence of God in our midst, we proclaim the sanctity of human life and the dignity of the person by sharing in the mission of Jesus given to the Church. To this end, Catholic Charities works with individuals, families, and communities to help them meet their needs, address their issues, eliminate oppression, and build a just and compassionate society.
MISSION: To provide service to people in need, to advocate for justice in social structures, and to call the entire Church and other people of good will to do the same.
GOALS: Catholic Charities is devoted to helping meet basic human needs, strengthening families, building communities and empowering low-income people. Committed to work to reduce poverty in half by 2020.
KEY VALUE: Hospitality
WHAT WE DO: Organizing Love. "As a community, the Church must practise love. Love thus needs to be organized if it is to be an ordered service to the community" (Deus Caritas Est, par. 20)
On Sunday (7th Week of Ordinary Time Cycle B ) we read in Mark's Gospel about the faith of the four friends who lower their 'neighbor' through the roof of the house in which Jesus is residing and preaching the Good News. These four carriers cannot break through the crowds to have Jesus touch their sick friend in the hopes of being healed. They take the radical step of breaking through the roof. This hope and faith echo the first reading by the Prophet Isaiah which reports God's proclamation that "see, I am doing something new!"
In Catholic Charities we have persons visit us each day who have a need for similar relief and a word of hope. As the economy shifts, we see an increase in families and persons coming to our agencies for basic help with utilities, food and rent. We must constantly work to re-organize our way of being in solidarity with people in their needs and fears. Like in the prophet Isaiah, we too are called to do things differently and in "new" ways in order to best respond to the current economic reality. Catholic Charities remains a place where a person knows that regardless of their situation, they can find a place of hope and help.
Some important date(s) this week:
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25. Ash Wednesday; the First Day of the Lenten Season. Although Ash Wednesday is not a Catholic holy day of obligation, it is an important part of the season of Lent. The first clear evidence of Ash Wednesday is around 960, and in the 12th century people began using palm branches from the previous Palm Sunday for ashes.Visit article, "Ash Wednesday Our Shifting Understanding of Lent" for more reflections.
Consider participating in OPERATION RICE BOWL, as part of your annual Lenten practice of almsgiving, prayer, fasting and learning. This year's theme is: "Solidarity will transform the World." 75% of the procedures is used by Catholic Relief Services () for their work in over 90 countries providing humanitarian relief and long term development in the name of the US Catholic Bishops. 25% of this collection remains in the Diocese of Youngstown providing grants to parishes, groups and Catholic Charities, to provide food for those in need.
A Prayer for Ash Wednesday
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, the all-holy one, who gives us life and all things. As we go about our lives, the press of our duties and activities often leads us to forget your presence and your love. We fall into sin and fail to live out the responsibilities that you have entrusted to those who were baptized into your Son.
In this holy season, help us to turn our minds and hearts back to you. Lead us into sincere repentance and renew our lives with your grace. Help us to remember that we are sinners, but even more, help us to remember your loving mercy.
As we live through this Ash Wednesday, may the crosses of ashes that mark our foreheads be a reminder to us and to those we meet that we belong to your Son. May our worship and prayer and penitence this day be sustained throughout these 40 days of Lent. Bring us refreshed and renewed to the celebration of Christ’s resurrection at Easter.
We ask this through your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.
http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/saints/bydate.asp
PAPAL INTENTIONS:
February 2009
General: That the Pastors of the Church may always be docile to the action of the Holy Spirit in their teaching and in their service to God's people.
Mission: That the Church in Africa may find adequate ways and means to promote reconciliation, justice and peace efficaciously, according to the indications of the Synod of the Bishops’ Special Assembly for Africa.
Corporal Works of Mercy: The seven practices of charity toward our neighbor
1. Feed the hungry
2. Give drink to the thirsty
3. Clothe the naked
4. Shelter the homeless
5. Visit the sick
6. Visit those in prison
7. Bury the dead
See our website at www.catholiccharitiesyoungstown.org for links to the our ministries and services.
For more information on Catholic Social Doctrine and its connection to our ministries, visit my blog at: http://corbinchurchthinking.blogspot.com/
VISION: Believing in the presence of God in our midst, we proclaim the sanctity of human life and the dignity of the person by sharing in the mission of Jesus given to the Church. To this end, Catholic Charities works with individuals, families, and communities to help them meet their needs, address their issues, eliminate oppression, and build a just and compassionate society.
MISSION: To provide service to people in need, to advocate for justice in social structures, and to call the entire Church and other people of good will to do the same.
GOALS: Catholic Charities is devoted to helping meet basic human needs, strengthening families, building communities and empowering low-income people. Committed to work to reduce poverty in half by 2020.
KEY VALUE: Hospitality
WHAT WE DO: Organizing Love. "As a community, the Church must practise love. Love thus needs to be organized if it is to be an ordered service to the community" (Deus Caritas Est, par. 20)
On Sunday (7th Week of Ordinary Time Cycle B ) we read in Mark's Gospel about the faith of the four friends who lower their 'neighbor' through the roof of the house in which Jesus is residing and preaching the Good News. These four carriers cannot break through the crowds to have Jesus touch their sick friend in the hopes of being healed. They take the radical step of breaking through the roof. This hope and faith echo the first reading by the Prophet Isaiah which reports God's proclamation that "see, I am doing something new!"
In Catholic Charities we have persons visit us each day who have a need for similar relief and a word of hope. As the economy shifts, we see an increase in families and persons coming to our agencies for basic help with utilities, food and rent. We must constantly work to re-organize our way of being in solidarity with people in their needs and fears. Like in the prophet Isaiah, we too are called to do things differently and in "new" ways in order to best respond to the current economic reality. Catholic Charities remains a place where a person knows that regardless of their situation, they can find a place of hope and help.
Some important date(s) this week:
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25. Ash Wednesday; the First Day of the Lenten Season. Although Ash Wednesday is not a Catholic holy day of obligation, it is an important part of the season of Lent. The first clear evidence of Ash Wednesday is around 960, and in the 12th century people began using palm branches from the previous Palm Sunday for ashes.Visit article, "Ash Wednesday Our Shifting Understanding of Lent" for more reflections.
Consider participating in OPERATION RICE BOWL, as part of your annual Lenten practice of almsgiving, prayer, fasting and learning. This year's theme is: "Solidarity will transform the World." 75% of the procedures is used by Catholic Relief Services () for their work in over 90 countries providing humanitarian relief and long term development in the name of the US Catholic Bishops. 25% of this collection remains in the Diocese of Youngstown providing grants to parishes, groups and Catholic Charities, to provide food for those in need.
A Prayer for Ash Wednesday
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, the all-holy one, who gives us life and all things. As we go about our lives, the press of our duties and activities often leads us to forget your presence and your love. We fall into sin and fail to live out the responsibilities that you have entrusted to those who were baptized into your Son.
In this holy season, help us to turn our minds and hearts back to you. Lead us into sincere repentance and renew our lives with your grace. Help us to remember that we are sinners, but even more, help us to remember your loving mercy.
As we live through this Ash Wednesday, may the crosses of ashes that mark our foreheads be a reminder to us and to those we meet that we belong to your Son. May our worship and prayer and penitence this day be sustained throughout these 40 days of Lent. Bring us refreshed and renewed to the celebration of Christ’s resurrection at Easter.
We ask this through your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.
http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/saints/bydate.asp
PAPAL INTENTIONS:
February 2009
General: That the Pastors of the Church may always be docile to the action of the Holy Spirit in their teaching and in their service to God's people.
Mission: That the Church in Africa may find adequate ways and means to promote reconciliation, justice and peace efficaciously, according to the indications of the Synod of the Bishops’ Special Assembly for Africa.
Corporal Works of Mercy: The seven practices of charity toward our neighbor
1. Feed the hungry
2. Give drink to the thirsty
3. Clothe the naked
4. Shelter the homeless
5. Visit the sick
6. Visit those in prison
7. Bury the dead
See our website at www.catholiccharitiesyoungstown.org for links to the our ministries and services.
For more information on Catholic Social Doctrine and its connection to our ministries, visit my blog at: http://corbinchurchthinking.blogspot.com/
Friday, February 20, 2009
Vatican: Eradicating Poverty/Rural Development
ERADICATING POVERTY, PROMOTING RURAL DEVELOPMENT
VATICAN CITY, 20 FEB 2009 (VIS) - The Pope today received participants in a meeting of the governing council of the Rome-based International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), which is celebrating its thirtieth anniversary this year.
Speaking English he said: "When wealthy countries and developing nations come together to make joint decisions and to determine specific criteria for each country's budgetary contribution to the Fund, it can truly be said that the various member States come together as equals, expressing their solidarity with one another and their shared commitment to eradicate poverty and hunger. In an increasingly interdependent world, joint decision-making processes of this kind are essential if international affairs are to be conducted with equity and foresight".
Continuing his remarks, the Holy Father underlined "the emphasis placed by IFAD on promoting employment opportunities within rural communities, with a view to enabling them, in the long term, to become independent of outside aid. ... In this sense the 'rural credit' projects, designed to assist smallholder farmers and agricultural workers with no land of their own, can boost the wider economy and provide greater food security for all.
"These projects", he added, "also help indigenous communities to flourish on their own soil, and to live in harmony with their traditional culture, instead of being forced to uproot themselves in order to seek employment in overcrowded cities, teeming with social problems, where they often have to endure squalid living conditions".
"The principle of subsidiarity requires that each group within society be free to make its proper contribution to the good of the whole. All too often, agricultural workers in developing nations are denied that opportunity, when their labour is greedily exploited, and their produce is diverted to distant markets, with little or no resulting benefit for the local community itself".
The Holy Father expressed his thanks for IFAD's achievements over the last thirty years, affirming the need "for renewed determination to act in harmony and solidarity with all the different elements of the human family in order to ensure equitable access to the earth's resources now and in the future".
"The goals of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, as well as promoting food security and rural development, far from being over-ambitious or unrealistic, become", he concluded, "imperatives binding upon the whole international community".
AC/.../IFAD VIS 090220 (390)
VATICAN CITY, 20 FEB 2009 (VIS) - The Pope today received participants in a meeting of the governing council of the Rome-based International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), which is celebrating its thirtieth anniversary this year.
Speaking English he said: "When wealthy countries and developing nations come together to make joint decisions and to determine specific criteria for each country's budgetary contribution to the Fund, it can truly be said that the various member States come together as equals, expressing their solidarity with one another and their shared commitment to eradicate poverty and hunger. In an increasingly interdependent world, joint decision-making processes of this kind are essential if international affairs are to be conducted with equity and foresight".
Continuing his remarks, the Holy Father underlined "the emphasis placed by IFAD on promoting employment opportunities within rural communities, with a view to enabling them, in the long term, to become independent of outside aid. ... In this sense the 'rural credit' projects, designed to assist smallholder farmers and agricultural workers with no land of their own, can boost the wider economy and provide greater food security for all.
"These projects", he added, "also help indigenous communities to flourish on their own soil, and to live in harmony with their traditional culture, instead of being forced to uproot themselves in order to seek employment in overcrowded cities, teeming with social problems, where they often have to endure squalid living conditions".
"The principle of subsidiarity requires that each group within society be free to make its proper contribution to the good of the whole. All too often, agricultural workers in developing nations are denied that opportunity, when their labour is greedily exploited, and their produce is diverted to distant markets, with little or no resulting benefit for the local community itself".
The Holy Father expressed his thanks for IFAD's achievements over the last thirty years, affirming the need "for renewed determination to act in harmony and solidarity with all the different elements of the human family in order to ensure equitable access to the earth's resources now and in the future".
"The goals of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, as well as promoting food security and rural development, far from being over-ambitious or unrealistic, become", he concluded, "imperatives binding upon the whole international community".
AC/.../IFAD VIS 090220 (390)
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
A JUST SYSTEM OF LAWS CAPABLE OF PROTECTING HUMAN LIFE
VATICAN CITY, 18 FEB 2009 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office released the following communique at midday today:
"Following the general audience the Holy Father briefly greeted Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, together with her entourage.
"His Holiness took the opportunity to speak of the requirements of the natural moral law and the Church's consistent teaching on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death which enjoin all Catholics, and especially legislators, jurists and those responsible for the common good of society, to work in co-operation with all men and women of good will in creating a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development".
OP/HUMAN LIFE/PELOSI VIS 090218 (140)
"Following the general audience the Holy Father briefly greeted Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, together with her entourage.
"His Holiness took the opportunity to speak of the requirements of the natural moral law and the Church's consistent teaching on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death which enjoin all Catholics, and especially legislators, jurists and those responsible for the common good of society, to work in co-operation with all men and women of good will in creating a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development".
OP/HUMAN LIFE/PELOSI VIS 090218 (140)
Monday, February 16, 2009
Vatican: Migrants Are Family
Archbishop Marchetto Says All Are Equals
By Roberta Sciamplicotti
VATICAN CITY, FEB. 15, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The starting point for addressing the problem of migration is recognizing the unity of the human family, says the secretary of the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travelers.
Archbishop Agostino Marchetto said this Friday in Rome at a symposium on the theme "Human Dignity and Human Rights in the Time of Globalization," sponsored by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in cooperation with the Community Sant'Egidio.
The archbishop began his talk, titled "Human Rights and the Dignity of Migrants in the Age of Globalization," by observing that migration "constitutes one of the most complex challenges of our globalized world."
"The human and ecclesial starting points," he said, are "the affirmation of equality among persons -- completely beyond questions of ethnicity, language and origin -- and the unity of the human family."
The archbishop explained that this is why the Church is "extremely attentive" to the welcoming and pastoral care of migrants, not forgetting that the phenomenon of migration also carries with it "a complex mix of duties and rights, the first of which is the right to migratory relocation."
The right of governments to handle migration must, for its part, he continued, "provide clear and viable measures for regular entrance into the country, oversee the labor market to prevent the exploitation of migrant workers, enact measures for regular integration, combat xenophobic behavior, and promote the social, cultural and religious coexistence that every pluralistic society demands."
The archbishop said the government must also "correspond to its duty/right to guarantee lawfulness, punish criminal behavior and delinquency and deal with people in irregular situations," but always doing so "with respect for human dignity, human rights and international agreements."
Global approach
Archbishop Marchetto explained that the safeguarding of human dignity "highlights the necessity of a specific pastoral care for first and second generation migrants" that should consider "respect for the use of the mother tongue in catechesis, preaching and the administration of the sacraments, attention to the particular demands of popular piety, and the assignment of expressly designated missionaries."
The pastoral structures, he added, must "guarantee a progressive process of active integration into the local Church, that overcomes, on the one hand, the temptations of 'religious colonization' and total assimilation, and avoids, on the other hand, the formation of a ghetto."
Along with pastoral care, Archbishop Marchetto continued, "adequate social, civil and political interventions must not be lacking."
The prelate said migration "almost obliges us to put the human person at the center for the sake of a profitable development of the whole family of peoples and nations, urging priorities and precise criteria for intervention."
Dialogue
Archbishop Marchetto stressed that there is a need to "improve society's level of 'humanism,' renewing the culture and education in its many ramifications." From this perspective the knowledge of various ethnic groups and their cultures is seen as "an obligatory step that should be inserted into educational programs and catechesis."
The structures for the pastoral care of migrants, Archbishop Marchetto pointed out, "need to value occasions of meeting and dialogue, that can help to improve interpersonal relations and also favor a more complete and convinced witness to the evangelical message."
Toward this end it is necessary to emphasize "formation, especially of young people, but also of leaders of groups and communities."
"What is urgent today and is the secret of the future is dialogue between persons, communities, peoples, cultures, religions and ethnic groups because closure and intolerance come from making ourselves and our own group into idols," he added.
"To have a positive and lasting effect," Archbishop Marchetto concluded, "globalization must be founded on a vision of the human person that responds to Christian criteria that are profoundly human, totally beyond materialist and atheist ideologies, which are wedded to relativism, and in the end relativize the fundamental dignity of every human person."
By Roberta Sciamplicotti
VATICAN CITY, FEB. 15, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The starting point for addressing the problem of migration is recognizing the unity of the human family, says the secretary of the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travelers.
Archbishop Agostino Marchetto said this Friday in Rome at a symposium on the theme "Human Dignity and Human Rights in the Time of Globalization," sponsored by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in cooperation with the Community Sant'Egidio.
The archbishop began his talk, titled "Human Rights and the Dignity of Migrants in the Age of Globalization," by observing that migration "constitutes one of the most complex challenges of our globalized world."
"The human and ecclesial starting points," he said, are "the affirmation of equality among persons -- completely beyond questions of ethnicity, language and origin -- and the unity of the human family."
The archbishop explained that this is why the Church is "extremely attentive" to the welcoming and pastoral care of migrants, not forgetting that the phenomenon of migration also carries with it "a complex mix of duties and rights, the first of which is the right to migratory relocation."
The right of governments to handle migration must, for its part, he continued, "provide clear and viable measures for regular entrance into the country, oversee the labor market to prevent the exploitation of migrant workers, enact measures for regular integration, combat xenophobic behavior, and promote the social, cultural and religious coexistence that every pluralistic society demands."
The archbishop said the government must also "correspond to its duty/right to guarantee lawfulness, punish criminal behavior and delinquency and deal with people in irregular situations," but always doing so "with respect for human dignity, human rights and international agreements."
Global approach
Archbishop Marchetto explained that the safeguarding of human dignity "highlights the necessity of a specific pastoral care for first and second generation migrants" that should consider "respect for the use of the mother tongue in catechesis, preaching and the administration of the sacraments, attention to the particular demands of popular piety, and the assignment of expressly designated missionaries."
The pastoral structures, he added, must "guarantee a progressive process of active integration into the local Church, that overcomes, on the one hand, the temptations of 'religious colonization' and total assimilation, and avoids, on the other hand, the formation of a ghetto."
Along with pastoral care, Archbishop Marchetto continued, "adequate social, civil and political interventions must not be lacking."
The prelate said migration "almost obliges us to put the human person at the center for the sake of a profitable development of the whole family of peoples and nations, urging priorities and precise criteria for intervention."
Dialogue
Archbishop Marchetto stressed that there is a need to "improve society's level of 'humanism,' renewing the culture and education in its many ramifications." From this perspective the knowledge of various ethnic groups and their cultures is seen as "an obligatory step that should be inserted into educational programs and catechesis."
The structures for the pastoral care of migrants, Archbishop Marchetto pointed out, "need to value occasions of meeting and dialogue, that can help to improve interpersonal relations and also favor a more complete and convinced witness to the evangelical message."
Toward this end it is necessary to emphasize "formation, especially of young people, but also of leaders of groups and communities."
"What is urgent today and is the secret of the future is dialogue between persons, communities, peoples, cultures, religions and ethnic groups because closure and intolerance come from making ourselves and our own group into idols," he added.
"To have a positive and lasting effect," Archbishop Marchetto concluded, "globalization must be founded on a vision of the human person that responds to Christian criteria that are profoundly human, totally beyond materialist and atheist ideologies, which are wedded to relativism, and in the end relativize the fundamental dignity of every human person."
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