SUMMARY:
-
VIOLENCE IN ALL ITS FORMS IS ALWAYS UNACCEPTABLE
-
CELEBRATIONS TO BE PRESIDED BY THE POPE NOVEMBER - JANUARY
-
AUDIENCES
- OTHER
PONTIFICAL ACTS
______________________________________
VIOLENCE
IN ALL ITS FORMS IS ALWAYS UNACCEPTABLE
Vatican
City, 9 November 2012 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican Benedict
XVI received participants in the eighty-first session of the general
assembly of the International Criminal Police Organisation
(INTERPOL). The meeting, which is currently being held in Rome,
brings together delegates from police forces and political
representatives from the 190 member States which, since 2008, have
included Vatican City State.
In light
of the fact that the participants are focusing on international
cooperation in the fight against crime, the Pope highlighted the
importance of strengthening collaboration and exchanging expertise
"at a time when, at a global level, we see a widening of the
sources of violence provoked by transnational entities which hinder
the progress of humanity.
The
evolution of criminal violence "is a particularly troubling
aspect for the future of the world. No less important is the fact
that the task of reflection brings together politicians responsible
for security and justice, as well as judicial bodies and the forces
of law and order, in such a way that each one, in his respective
sphere, can offer an effective contribution to the service of
constructive exchange".
Continuing
his English-language address, the Pope noted that, "in our own
day, the human family suffers owing to numerous violations of justice
and law, which in not a few instances is seen in outbursts of
violence and of criminal acts. Thus, it is necessary to safeguard
individuals and communities by a constant, renewed determination, and
by adequate means. In this regard, the function of Interpol, which we
may define as a bastion of international security, enjoys an
important place in the realisation of the common good, because a just
society needs order and a respect for the rule of law to achieve a
peaceful and tranquil coexistence in society".
"We
are aware that violence today is taking on new forms. At the end of
the Cold War between the Eastern and Western blocks, there were high
hopes, especially where a form of institutionalised political
violence was ended by peaceful movements demanding freedom of
peoples. However, although some forms of violence seem to have
decreased, especially the number of military conflicts, there are
others which are developing, such as criminal violence which is
responsible each year for the majority of violent deaths in the
world. Today, this phenomenon is so dangerous that it is a gravely
destabilising threat to society and, at times, poses a major
challenge to the supremacy of the State.
"The
Church and the Holy See encourage all those who help to combat the
scourge of violence and crime, as our world resembles more and more a
global village. The gravest forms of criminal activities can be seen
in terrorism and organised crime. Terrorism, one of the most brutal
forms of violence, sows hate, death and a desire for revenge. This
phenomenon, with subversive strategies typical of some extremist
organisations aimed at the destruction of property and at murder, has
transformed itself into an obscure web of political complicity, with
sophisticated technology, enormous financial resources and planning
projects on a vast scale. For its part, organised crime proliferates
in ordinary places and often acts and strikes in darkness, outside of
any rules; it does its work through numerous illicit and immoral
activities, such as human trafficking – a modern form of slavery –
the smuggling of materials or substances such as drugs, arms,
contraband goods, even the traffic of pharmaceuticals, used in large
part by the poor, which kill instead of curing. This illicit market
becomes even more deplorable when it involves trafficking the organs
of innocent victims: they undergo physical and moral humiliation
which we had hoped were over after the tragedies of the twentieth
century but which, unfortunately, have again surfaced through the
violence generated by crime carried out by unscrupulous persons and
organisations. These crimes transgress the moral barriers which were
progressively built up by civilisation and they reintroduce a form of
barbarism which denies man and his dignity.
Benedict
XVI then went on to reaffirm the fact that "violence in all its
forms, whether crime or terrorism, is always unacceptable, because it
profoundly wounds human dignity and is an offence against the whole
of humanity. It is therefore necessary to combat criminal activities
within the limits of moral and juridical norms, since action against
crime should always be carried out with respect for the rights of
each person and of the principles of the rule of law. The struggle
against violence must aim to stem crime and defend society, but it
must also aim at the reform and the correction of the criminal, who
remains always a human person, a subject of inalienable rights, and
as such is not to be excluded from society, but rather
rehabilitated".
At the
same time, he explained, "international collaboration against
crime cannot be reduced to the work done by police. It is essential
that the necessary work of containing crime be accompanied by a
courageous and lucid analysis of the underlying motives for such
unacceptable criminal acts. Special attention should be paid to the
factors of social exclusion and deprivation which persist in the
population and which are a vehicle for the spread of violence and
hatred. Special effort should also be made in the political and
educational fields, to remedy the problems which feed violence, and
to foster conditions that prevent violence from occurring or
developing".
Therefore,
the Holy Father concluded, "the response to violence and crime
cannot be delegated to the forces of law and order alone, but
requires the participation of all those capable of confronting this
phenomenon. To overcome violence is a task which must involve not
only the institutions and organisations mentioned, but all of
society: the family, educational institutions, including schools and
religious bodies, the means of social communication, as well as each
and every citizen. Everyone has his or her particular responsibility
in building a future of justice and peace".
CELEBRATIONS
TO BE PRESIDED BY THE POPE NOVEMBER - JANUARY
Vatican
City, 9 November 2012 (VIS) - The Office of Liturgical Celebrations
of the Supreme Pontiff today published the calendar of celebrations
to be presided over by the Holy Father between November 2012 and
January 2013.
NOVEMBER
-
Saturday 24: At 11 a.m. in the Vatican Basilica, Ordinary Public
Consistory for the creation of new cardinals.
- Sunday
25: Solemnity of Christ the King, at 9.30 a.m. in the Vatican
Basilica, Mass with newly-created cardinals.
DECEMBER
-
Saturday 1: At 6 p.m. in the Vatican Basilica, First Vespers for the
first Sunday of Advent with students of Roman and Pontifical
universities.
-
Saturday 8: Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed
Virgin Mary. At 4 p.m. in Rome's Piazza di Spagna, homage to Mary
Immaculate.
- Sunday
16: Third Sunday of Advent, pastoral visit to the Roman parish of
"San Patrizio al Colle Prenestino". At 9 a.m., celebration
of the Eucharist.
- Monday
24: Vigil of the Solemnity of the Birth of Our Lord. At 10 p.m., Mass
in the Vatican Basilica.
- Tuesday
25: Solemnity of the Birth of Our Lord. At midday from the central
loggia of the Vatican Basilica, "Urbi et Orbi" blessing.
-
Saturday 29: At 6 p.m. in the Vatican Basilica, prayer presided by
the Holy Father with young people participating in a European meeting
organised by the Taize Community.
- Monday
31: At 5 p.m. in the Vatican Basilica, First Vespers and "Te
Deum" of thanksgiving for the past year.
JANUARY
2013
- Tuesday
1: Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God and forty-sixth World Day of
Peace. Mass in the Vatican Basilica at 9.30 a.m.
- Sunday
6: Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord. Mass in the Vatican
Basilica at 9.30 a.m.
- Sunday
13: Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord. Mass in the Sistine Chapel at
9.45 a.m., conferment of the Sacrament of Baptism upon a number of
children.
- Friday
25: Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle. At 5.30 p.m. in
the Basilica of St. Paul Outside-the-Walls, celebration of Vespers.
AUDIENCES
Vatican
City, 9 November 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in
audience:
- Mirko
V. Jelic, the new Serbian ambassador to the Holy See, for the
presentation of his Letters of Credence.
-
Archbishop Alain Paul Lebeaupin, apostolic nuncio to the European
Union.
OTHER
PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican
City, 9 November 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed:
Msgr.
Robert P. Deeley, vicar general of the archdiocese of Boston, U.S.A.,
as auxiliary of the same archdiocese (area 6,386, population
4,181,000, Catholics 1,908,000, priests 1.233, permanent deacons 247,
religious 2550). The bishop-elect was born in Cambridge, U.S.A. in
1946 and ordained a priest in 1973. He studied in Washington DC and
at the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, and served in the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 2004 to 2011.
Msgr.
Angelo Vincenzo Zani, under secretary of the Congregation for
Catholic Education, as secretary of the same congregation, at the
same time elevating him to the dignity of archbishop. The
archbishop-elect was born in Brescia, Italy in 1950 and ordained a
priest in 1975. He obtained his doctorate in theology at the
Pontifical Lateran University, Rome and has fulfilled roles in
relation to the pastoral care of schools and universities, in the
Lombard Episcopal Conference and the Italian Episcopal Conference.
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