SUMMARY:
- REMAIN
CLOSE TO THOSE WHO SUFFER, POPE TELLS COLOMBIAN BISHOPS
- THE
CHURCH IS NOT INDIFFERENT TO PEOPLE'S QUALITY OF LIFE
-
CARDINAL BERTONE CALLS FOR FREE AND UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO TREATMENT FOR
HIV/AIDS
-
AUDIENCES
______________________________________
REMAIN
CLOSE TO THOSE WHO SUFFER, POPE TELLS COLOMBIAN BISHOPS
Vatican
City, 22 June 2012 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican the Holy
Father received a first group of prelates from the Episcopal
Conference of Colombia, who have just completed their "ad
limina" visit. The Pontiff began his remarks by praising them
for their "initiatives aimed at fomenting a renewed and fruitful
movement of evangelisation", at the same time he noted that
"Colombia is not immune to the consequences of neglecting God".
"While
years ago there was a recognisable and unified social fabric in which
reference to the faith and the inspirations of faith was broadly
accepted, today in vast areas of society this no longer seems to be
the case, due to the crisis in spiritual and moral values which has
had a negative effect on many of your fellow citizens", the Holy
Father told the prelates. And he invited them to contrast this state
of affairs by following "with tenacity and perseverance"
the guidelines of the Episcopal Conference's Global Plan (2012 -
2020), and by taking advantage of the reflections to emerge from the
forthcoming Synod of Bishops and the Year of Faith".
"Growing
religious pluralism", he went on, "calls for serious
consideration. The increasingly active presence of Pentecostal and
Evangelical communities, not only in Colombia but also in many other
regions of Latin America, cannot be ignored or underestimated. In
this sense, the people of God are clearly called to purification and
the revitalisation of their faith, ... because 'often sincere people
who leave our Church do not do so as a result of what non-Catholic
groups believe, but fundamentally as a result of their own lived
experience; for reasons not of doctrine but of life; not for strictly
dogmatic, but for pastoral reasons; not due to theological problems,
but to methodological problems of our Church'. What is important,
then, is to become better believers ... so that no one may feel
marginalised or excluded".
Benedict
XVI told his audience that they should not fail "to identify the
factors which hinder equitable development in Colombia, seeking to
reach out to those whom iniquitous violence deprives of their
freedom". You must, he told the prelates, "increase
measures and programmes to accompany ... and assist people facing
difficulties, especially the victims of natural disasters, the poor,
peasants, the sick and the afflicted. ... Nor must you neglect those
forced to emigrate from their homeland because they have lost their
job or have difficulty finding employment, people whose fundamental
rights are trampled underfoot and are forced to abandon home and
family under the threat of terror and criminality, or those who have
fallen into the barbarous networks of drugs or arms dealing. I wish
to encourage you to continue your generous and fraternal service,
which is not the result of any human calculation, but is born of love
for God and neighbour: the source whence the Church draws the
strength she needs to carry out her task".
"Dear
brothers in the episcopate", the Holy Father concluded, "in
order that the Light from on high may still make the Church's
prophetic and charitable efforts in Colombia fruitful, continue to
help the faithful to a personal encounter with Jesus Christ, ... to
meditate assiduously upon the Word of God and to participate ... in
the Sacraments, celebrated in accordance with canonical norms and
liturgical texts. All this will help towards an appropriate process
of Christian initiation, inviting everyone to conversion and
sanctity, and helping towards much-need ecclesial renewal".
THE
CHURCH IS NOT INDIFFERENT TO PEOPLE'S QUALITY OF LIFE
Vatican
City, 22 June 2012 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican the Pope
received a delegation from the Italian agricultural organisation
"Coldiretti", which is currently celebrating its national
congress on the theme "Family agriculture for sustainable
development".
"Society,
the economy and work are not exclusively secular environments",
the Pope said, "even less so are they alien to the Christian
message. They are, rather, spaces to be fecundated with the spiritual
richness of the Gospel. The Church, in fact, is never indifferent to
people's quality of life and working conditions; she feels the need
to care for man in the contexts in which he lives and produces, that
these may increasingly become places that are authentically human and
humanising".
"It
is in Coldiretti that Catholic teaching on social ethics has found
one its most fertile 'laboratories', thanks to the intuition and
far-sighted wisdom of its founder, Paolo Bonomi. ... Now it is up to
you, remaining faithful to the values you have acquired, to enter
into a courageous dialogue with a changing society. ... Each of you
in his or her own role must commit yourselves to support the
legitimate interests of the categories you represent, ... in order to
bring out the most noble and salient aspects of the human person: a
sense of duty, a capacity for sharing and sacrifice, solidarity, and
observing the just requirement for rest and corporeal (and, even more
so, spiritual) regeneration".
The Holy
Father invited the members of Coldiretti to continue their
evangelical witness,"highlighting the values which make working
activity a valuable instrument in the creation of a more just and
human form of coexistence. I am thinking of respect for the person,
the search for the common good, honesty and transparency in the
supply of services, food security, protecting the environment and the
landscape, and the promotion of a spirit of solidarity".
The
uncertainty generated by the enduring economic and financial crisis
means that people in the agriculture and fisheries sector are facing
"a series of difficult challenges which you are called to face
as Christians, by cultivating a renewed and profound sense of
responsibility and showing your capacity for solidarity and sharing",
the Pope said. "Considering that at the roots of current
economic difficulties there lies a moral crisis, you must work with
solicitude to ensure that ethical requirements maintain their primacy
over everything else".
"It
is on this ethical terrain that families, schools, trade unions and
all other political, cultural and civic institutions must play an
important role of collaboration, ... especially as regards young
people. The young are full of ideas and hopes, and generously seek to
build themselves a future. From adults they expect worthwhile
examples and serious proposals. We must not delude them".
CARDINAL
BERTONE CALLS FOR FREE AND UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO TREATMENT FOR HIV/AIDS
Vatican
City, 22 June 2012 (VIS) - This morning Cardinal Secretary of State
Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. delivered the opening address at the eighth
International AIDS Conference, being held at the San Gallicano
Institute in Rome under the title: "Long live mothers and
children".
In his
remarks the cardinal noted that maternal mortality in Africa is, to a
large extent, associated with AIDS. "We can no longer tolerate
the death of so many mothers", he said. "We cannot think of
thousands of children as a lost generation. Nothing is lost; Africa
has sufficient resources; it is the continent of hope. Thus we need
to make a joint effort ... to protect women in their role as
mothers".
"The
Church, which is present in countries where the pandemic exists, is
extremely concerned at this tragedy of our times. It is a tragedy
which swallows many human lives, weakens entire societies, burns up
the future. We must do more. The more the infection spreads among
women, who are the mainstay of families and communities, the greater
the risk of social breakdown in many countries. The sickness of
women, of children, of men, becomes the sickness of a whole society".
The
Cardinal then recalled how thirty per cent of HIV/AIDS treatment
centres in the world are Catholic. Church activities in this field,
he said, include "awareness raising campaigns; prevention and
health education programmes; support for orphans; distribution of
medicines and food; home help; hospitals, centres and communities for
the assistance of AIDS sufferers; collaboration with governments;
assistance in jails; catechism courses; help systems over the
internet, and the creation of support groups for the sick".
"I
would", the secretary of State said, "like to make an
appeal to the international community, to States and to donors: let
us ensure that AIDS sufferers are given prompt, free and effective
treatment. Access to treatment should be universal. Let us do this
beginning with mothers and children. Here, in the name of the Holy
Father, I speak for so many suffering voices, for so many sick people
who have no voice: let us not waste time, but invest in the necessary
resources. ... Studies by the World Health Organisation confirm that
... universal access to treatment is possible, scientifically proven
and economically viable. It is not a utopia, it is possible. ... Yet
we cannot conceive of universal access to treatment without taking
account of the weakness - especially the economic weakness - of the
majority of African people. What is needed is free access to
treatment".
AUDIENCES
Vatican
City, 22 June 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in audience
Cardinal Lluis Martinez Sistach, archbishop of Barcelona, Spain.
This
evening he is scheduled to receive in audience Cardinal Fernando
Filoni, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of
Peoples.
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