SUMMARY:
- AUDIENCES
- OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
_______________________________________
STATES
MUST ENSURE THAT LEGISLATION DOES NOT INCREASE SOCIAL INEQUALITY
Vatican
City, 4 May 2012 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican, Benedict XVI
received five new non resident ambassadors to the Holy See: Teshome
Toga Chanaka of Ethiopia, David Cooney of Ireland, Naivakarurubalavu
Solo Mara of the Republic of Fiji, Viguen Tchitetchian of Armenia and
Dato' Ho May Young, the first ambassador of Malaysia to the Holy See.
Excerpts
from the Holy Father's French-language address to the diplomats is
given below:
"The
development of the communications media has, in some way, made our
planet smaller. ... Awareness of the great suffering caused
throughout the world by both material and spiritual poverty calls
people to mobilise in order to face, in justice and solidarity, all
threats to human beings, society and the environment".
"Exodus
to the great cities, armed conflict, hunger and pandemics, which
affect so many people, give rise to new forms of poverty in our time.
The global economic crisis has caused an increasing number of
families to live in precarious conditions. When the manufacture and
increase of needs leads us to believe in the possibility of unlimited
enjoyment and consumption, the lack of the means necessary to achieve
these ends leads to frustration. ... When poverty coexists with
enormous wealth, a sense of injustice arises which can become a
source of rebellion. Therefore it is necessary for States to ensure
that legislation does not increase social inequality and that people
can live dignified lives".
"The
development to which all nations aspire must involve human beings in
their entirety, not just economic factors. ... Experiences such as
micro-credit, and initiatives to create cooperative associations show
that it is possible to harmonise economic objectives with social
necessities, democratic government and respect for nature. It is also
advisable to encourage manual work and to promote an agriculture
which works in favour of local people, viewing these activities with
the respect they deserve".
"In
order to strengthen the human factor of social and political life,
attention must given to another kind of poverty: the loss of
reference to spiritual values and to God. This defect make it more
difficult to distinguish good from evil, and to overcome personal
interests in favour of the common good. States have a duty to promote
their cultural and religious heritage, which contributes to the
development of a nation, and to facilitate people's access thereto,
because by familiarising ourselves with our history each of us is
able to discover the roots of our own existence".
"Religion
helps us to recognise others as brothers and sisters in humanity.
Giving everyone the opportunity to know God, in complete freedom, is
to help them forge a strong personality which will enable them to
bear witness to good, and put it into effect even at great cost. In
this way we will build a society in which sobriety and fraternity
triumph over misery, indifference and selfishness, over exploitation
and waste and, above all, over exclusion".
AUDIENCES
Vatican
City, 4 May 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in audience:
-
Ten prelates of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, on
their "ad limina" visit:
-
Archbishop Michael Jarboe Sheehan of Santa Fe.
-
Bishop James S. Wall of Gallup.
-
Bishop Ricardo Ramirez C.S.B. of Las Cruces
-
Bishop Thomas James Olmsted of Phoenix, accompanied by Auxiliary
Bishop Eduardo A. Nevares.
-
Bishop Gerald Frederick Kicanas of Tucson.
-
Bishop James Douglas Conley, apostolic administrator of Denver.
-
Bishop Paul D. Etienne of Cheyenne.
-
Bishop Michael John Sheridan of Colorado Springs.
-
Bishop Fernando Isern of Pueblo.
-
Bishop Luigi Negri of San Marino-Montefeltro.
OTHER
PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican
City, 4 May 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Fr. James Romen
Boiragi, vicar general and currently diocesan administrator of
Khulna, Bangladesh, as bishop of the same diocese (area 28,236,
population 15,343,767, Catholics 33,296, priests 45, religious 104).
The bishop-elect was born in Holdibunia, Bangladesh in 1955 and
ordained a priest in 1985. He studied in Bangladesh and in Rome and
has served as pastor of the cathedral of Khulna and as vice judicial
vicar of the diocesan tribunal.
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