SUMMARY:
-
TELEGRAM FOR THE DEATHS OF OSWALDO PAYA AND HAROLD CEPERO
- TOURISM
AND SUSTAINABLE ENERGY: POWERING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
- OTHER
PONTIFICAL ACTS
______________________________________
TELEGRAM
FOR THE DEATHS OF OSWALDO PAYA AND HAROLD CEPERO
Vatican
City, 25 July 2012 (VIS) - Benedict XVI has sent a telegram to
Cardinal Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino, archbishop of San Cristobal de
la Habana, Cuba, for the traffic accident of 22 July which killed
Oswaldo Paya Sardinas, founder of the Christian Liberation Movement
and winner of the 2002 Sakharov Prize, and Harold Cepero Escalante,
youth leader of the Movement, and injured a number of others. The
telegram was sent through Archbishop Giovanni Angelo Becciu,
substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State, who was
apostolic nuncio to Cuba between 2009 and 2011.
Having
learned of the "tragic episode", the Pope asks Cardinal
Ortega y Alamino to inform the victims' families of "his
heartfelt condolences and spiritual closeness. At the same time he
prays to the Lord that the injured may be restored to complete
health".
The
telegram continues: "The Holy Father likewise raises fervent
prayers to God for the eternal repose of the deceased and asks Him to
grant consolation and strength to those who, at this sad time, are
weeping their irreparable loss. ... Invoking the protection of
Nuestra Senora de la Caridad del Cobre, and as a pledge of copious
divine favour at this time of suffering, the Holy Father
affectionately imparts his apostolic blessing as a sign of faith and
hope in Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of mankind".
TOURISM
AND SUSTAINABLE ENERGY: POWERING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Vatican
City, 25 July 2012 (VIS) - The Message for World Tourism Day
published by the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants
and Itinerant Peoples was issued today. The Day, which is due to be
celebrated on 27 September, has as its theme this year: "Tourism
and Sustainable Energy: Powering Sustainable Development".
The
message, signed by Cardinal Antonio Maria Veglio and Archbishop
Joseph Kalathiparambil, respectively president and secretary of the
pontifical council, recalls the fact that World Tourism Day is
promoted annually by the World Tourism Organisation (WTO). "The
Holy See has adhered to this initiative from its first edition. It
considers it an opportunity to dialogue with the civil world and
offers its concrete contribution, based on the Gospel, and also sees
it as an occasion to sensitise the whole Church about the importance
of this sector from the economic and social standpoint and, in
particular, in the context of the new evangelisation".
"Also
in this edition of the World Day we make the theme proposed by the
WTO our own: 'Tourism and Sustainable Energy: Powering Sustainable
Development'", the English-language version of the message
reads. "It is in harmony with the present 'International Year of
Sustainable Energy for All' promulgated by the United Nations with
the objective of highlighting 'the need to improve access to
reliable, affordable, economically viable, socially acceptable and
environmentally sound energy services and resources for sustainable
development'.
"Tourism
has grown at a significant rhythm in the past decades. According to
the World Tourism Organisation statistics, it is foreseen that during
the year in progress the quota will reach one billion international
tourist arrivals, which will become two billion in the year 2030. To
these should be added the even higher numbers involved in local
tourism. This growth, which surely has positive effects, can lead to
a serious environmental impact owing, among other factors, to the
immoderate consumption of energy resources, the increase in polluting
agents and the production of waste".
"The
concept of 'sustainable development' is already engrained in our
society and the tourism sector cannot and must not remain on the
margin. When we talk about 'sustainable tourism', we are not
referring to one means among others, such as cultural, beach or
adventure tourism. Every form and expression of tourism must
necessarily be sustainable and cannot be otherwise. Along this way,
the energy problems have to be taken into due consideration. It is an
erroneous assumption to think that 'an infinite quantity of energy
and resources are available, that it is possible to renew them
quickly, and that the negative effects of the exploitation of the
natural order can be easily absorbed'".
"In
this area also the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of
Migrants and Itinerant People wishes to offer its contribution based
on the conviction that 'the Church has a responsibility towards
creation and she must assert this responsibility in the public
sphere'. It is not up to us to propose concrete technical solutions
but to show that development cannot be reduced to mere technical,
political or economic parameters. We wish to accompany this
development with some appropriate ethical guidelines which stress the
fact that all growth must always be at the service of the human being
and the common good".
"We
cannot separate the theme of environmental ecology from concern for
an appropriate human ecology in the sense of interest in the human
being's integral development. In the same way, we cannot separate our
view of man and nature from the bond which unites them with the
Creator. God has entrusted the good stewardship of creation to the
human being. In the first place, a great educational effort is
important in order to promote 'an effective shift in mentality which
can lead to the adoption of new life-styles'. This conversion of the
mind and heart 'allows us rapidly to become more proficient in the
art of living together that respects the alliance between man and
nature'.
"It
is right to acknowledge that our daily habits are changing and that a
greater ecological sensitivity exists. However, it is also true that
the risk is easily run of forgetting these motivations during the
vacation period in a search for certain comforts to which we believe
we are entitled, without always reflecting on their consequences.
"It
is necessary to cultivate the ethics of responsibility and prudence
and to ask ourselves about the impact and consequences of our
actions. In this regard, the Holy Father says: 'The way humanity
treats the environment influences the way it treats itself, and vice
versa. This invites contemporary society to a serious review of its
life-style, which, in many parts of the world, is prone to hedonism
and consumerism, regardless of their harmful consequences'. On this
point, it will be important to encourage both entrepreneurs and
tourists to consider the repercussions of their decisions and
attitudes. In the same way, it is crucial 'to encourage more sober
lifestyles, while reducing their energy consumption and improving
efficiency'.
"These
underlying ideas must necessarily be translated into concrete
actions. Therefore, and with the objective of making the tourist
destinations sustainable, all initiatives that are energy efficient
and have the least environmental impact possible and lead to using
renewable energies, should be promoted and supported to promoting the
saving of resources and avoiding contamination. In this regard, it is
fundamental for the ecclesial tourism structures and vacations
proposals promoted by the Church to be characterised, among other
things, by their respect for the environment. All of the sectors
involved (businesses, local communities, governments and tourists)
must be aware of their respective responsibilities in order to
achieve sustainable forms of tourism. Collaboration between all the
parts involved is necessary.
"The
Social Doctrine of the Church reminds us that 'care for the
environment represents a challenge for all of humanity. It is a
matter of a common and universal duty, that of respecting a common
good'. A good which human beings do not own but are 'stewards', a
good which God entrusted to them so that they would administer it
properly.
"Pope
Benedict XVI says that 'the new evangelisation, to which all are
called, requires us to keep in mind and to make good use of the many
occasions that tourism offers us to put forward Christ as the supreme
response to modern man’s fundamental questions'. Therefore, we
invite everyone to promote and use tourism in a respectful and
responsible way in order to allow it to develop all of its
potentialities, with the certainty that in contemplating the beauty
of nature and peoples we can arrive at the encounter with God".
OTHER
PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican
City, 25 July 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed:
- Fr.
Vincent Dollmann of the clergy of the archdiocese of Strasbourg,
France, official of the Congregation for Catholic Education and
spiritual director of the Pontifical French Seminary in Rome, as
auxiliary of the same archdiocese (area 8,280, population 1,909,000,
Catholics 1,367,000, priests 810, permanent deacons 78, religious
1,529). The bishop-elect was born in Mulhouse, France in 1964 and
ordained a priest in 1990. He has served as preacher and confessor in
the cathedral, spiritual director of the major archdiocesan seminary
and pastor of the parish of "Sainte-Madeleine".
- As
members of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelisation:
Archbishop Paul Youssef Matar of Beirut of the Maronites, Lebanon,
and Archbishop Ignatius Ayau Kaigama of Jos, Nigeria.
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