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Vatican City, Feb 9, 2017 / 03:07 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- After a conference on organ trafficking at the Vatican Feb. 7-8, participants signed a statement agreeing to unite in fighting the crime of organ trafficking – submitting 11 proposals for implementation by healthcare and law enforcement professionals around the world.

The creation of the statement was one of the main objectives of the Summit on Organ Trafficking and Transplant Tourism organized by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.

Participants in the summit included nearly 80 doctors, law enforcement officials and representatives of health and non-government organizations from around the world, who gave reports on the issue and how it is currently being combated in their respective countries.

“...we the undersigned pledge our commitment to combat these illicit and immoral practices as a community of stakeholders fulfilling the directive of Pope Francis to combat human trafficking and organ trafficking in all their condemnable forms,” the statement, published Feb. 9, reads.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), only about 10 percent – or 120,000 – of the estimated 1 million organ transplants needed are performed each year. This data was presented to Pope Francis in 2014, and is an example of the demand for organs creating, in large part, the drive for illegal trafficking.

In general, migrants, refugees and the poor are among the most vulnerable populations for organ trafficking, because they may be forced to sell organs if they do not have the cash to pay when soliciting help for transportation by people-smugglers to more stable countries.

Mons. Robert J. Vitillo, Secretary General of the International Catholic Migration Commission, was a participant in the summit. He told CNA/EWTN News in email comments that he “was impressed by the determination” of those present at the summit “to work together to eliminate this terrible crime.”

“It was noted very clearly during the meeting that, a contributing factor of this situation is the throw-away culture about which Pope Francis speaks so frequently,” he said.

When influential societal forces see people or human organs as “dispensable,” and not “economically productive,” he said, then it is easier to fall down “the slippery slope of using other people as with all forms of modern human slavery.”

He was particularly concerned, he explained, by the reports of the large number of migrants and refugees who are coerced into donating kidneys in order to pay for their journeys to freedom or to a more dignified life.

Based on reports and discussion from the conference, the signed statement puts forward 11 different recommendations “to national, regional and municipal governments, ministries of health, to the judiciary, to the leaders of the major religions, to professional medical organizations, and to the general public for implementation around the world.”

These recommendations deal with governmental approaches to laws surrounding organ and human trafficking and their enforcement, emphasizing that all nations and cultures should recognize these issues as crimes that should be condemned and that religious leaders encourage ethical organ donation.

One recommendation calls for the establishment of legal frameworks, where they do not already exist, “that provide an explicit basis for the prevention and prosecution of transplant-related crimes” that also protect victims.

Another suggestion is that registries of all organ procurement and transplants are established and “appropriate data shared with international databanks” and that a legal framework be developed for healthcare professionals “to report information about suspected cases of transplant-related crimes, while respecting their professional obligations to patients.”

It is also recommended that healthcare professionals be educated by organizations involved in transplantation in legal and international guidelines on trafficking, and in consistent ethical and medical reviews of both donors and recipients to assess both short and long-term outcomes.

“That nations provide the resources to achieve self-sufficiency in organ donation at a national level…by reducing the need for transplants through preventive measures and improving access to national transplant programs in an ethical and regulated manner,” is also suggested.

Prior to the conference, there was some controversy regarding China's participation in the Summit, as the advocacy group Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting (DAFOH) said in a statement that there was “no evidence that past practices of forced organ harvesting have ended” in China.

During the conference, Dr. Huang Jiefu, Beijing's top official on transplants, said that Beijing was, in fact, working on reforming its use of organs being taken from detained or executed prisoners.

“China is mending its ways and constantly improving its national organ donation and transplantation systems,” he said.

DAFOH criticized the Vatican for inviting Huang, saying that it would compromise the conference's image and objectives, when there isn’t sufficient evidence that reform on this issue is actually happening in China.

However, the Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Mons. Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, defended China's participation, saying that the country's participation may help encourage reform, according to Reuters.

Mons. Vitillo said that during the meeting it was “clearly recognized that we do face a challenge in the waiting lists for transplants of vital organs, especially kidneys, livers, and lungs.”

“For this we need to raise more awareness and motivate people to voluntarily serve as living donors so that the lives of seriously ill people needing transplants will have the opportunity for longer, fuller, and higher quality lives,” he said.

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New Orleans, La., Feb 9, 2017 / 04:43 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- It’s a scene all too unfortunately familiar for many in the city of New Orleans - that of devastation in the wake of a natural disaster.

On Tuesday, at least seven tornadoes ripped through the state of Louisiana, wiping out homes and leaving a trail of damage in areas of New Orleans that were hard hit by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

An estimated 250-400 homes were either destroyed or heavily damaged by the storm, and about two dozen people were injured, some of them seriously.

However, “the Lord has blessed us with not a single fatality at this time,” Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said at a news conference following the tornadoes.

Tom Costanza with Catholic Charities for the Archdiocese of New Orleans was on the scene with aid workers soon after the tornadoes. He told CNA that they are beginning the “long process” of cleaning up and rebuilding.

Catholic Charities and local parishes have been providing immediate assistance at distribution centers such as the one at Resurrection of Our Lord Parish for the people in the area, he said, handing out food and providing initial counseling and case management services.  

Catholic Charities is also partnering with the city, the Red Cross, and other aid organizations to meet basic and immediate needs, he said. A shelter for the displaced that Catholic Charities helped establish had 93 people in it last night. Thousands are still without power and probably will be for a few more days.

“What we’re finding is a lot of people were renters with no insurance who lost everything,” Costanza said, “so we’re kind of helping them get situated.”

Andrew Gutierrez, a seminarian for the Archdiocese of New Orleans, is also organizing a group of 15-20 men from Notre Dame seminary to go out and help with “whatever physical need these people need met.”

Because Louisiana doesn’t often get tornadoes, Gutierrez told CNA the seminarians are not entirely sure what to expect, but they want to help in whatever ways they can.

“We’re just going, this is what we do,” he said. When there was flooding in Lafayette and Baton Rouge last year, the whole seminary – more than 100 men – went out for a few days to offer relief.

“These are the types of seminarians that the church is forming right now,” Gutierrez said. “These are the kind of men that are entering the priesthood, men that are willing to meet people with a variety of needs, knowing that we ultimately go as Christ. So when we’re picking up a broken door, we’re doing it as Christ, with his joy, with his compassion and sensitivity to these people who are suffering.”

There’s also been a lot of interdenominational collaboration in providing relief, as there has been in other times of disaster, Costanza said.

“We all work collaboratively as a faith community when things like this happen.”

Archbishop Gregory Aymond of the Archdiocese of New Orleans released a letter to clergy to be read before all the Masses this weekend, asking for people’s help and prayers.

“We always need to see the face of Jesus in the lives of those in need,” he wrote. “Please join me in praying for those who have lost their homes and possessions.”

The archbishop added that he was pleased by the “quick response” of Catholic Charities and other groups who were on the scene immediately. Archbishop Aymond is also scheduled to celebrate Mass at Resurrection parish this weekend.

And while it’s been devastating, by and large the people are handling it relatively well, Costanza said.

“There was a lady I was talking to in the shelter, and I said, 'What happened?' And she said, 'Well, I heard the tornado coming and God told me to go in the bathroom, so I went in the bathroom and the tornado ripped my roof off.' And she said, 'I listened to God, and I’m glad',” he recalled.

“And she started quoting Scripture to me, and I said, 'I can’t believe you’re Catholic, you know Scripture so well!' She was spouting off all the Scripture that’s been comforting her,” he added, laughing.

“So our people are resilient. We’ve been through this before, we’ll get through it.”  

To find out more about providing assistance for tornado relief efforts, visit: http://www.ccano.org/uncategorized/tornado-recovery-efforts/

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IMAGE: CNS photo/Ed Langlois, Catholic Sentinel

By Ed Langlois

NEWBERG, Ore. (CNS) -- A common faith, thinking as a team, being flexible and arguing candidly but respectfully describe some of the keys to a strong marriage for Claude and Yvette Arrington, named Oregon's longest married couple by Worldwide Marriage Encounter.

"We've had a super life," said Claude, 95.

"We've always had God at the top and we let him decide," added Yvette, 93.

The couple was married May 23, 1942, at St. Elizabeth Church in Van Nuys, California. Claude, who was raised Baptist, became Catholic before the wedding and says his faith provided a foundation for a good, long marriage.

He was born in Los Angeles, and Yvette was born in a small town near Winnipeg, Manitoba. By 1940, they were both at Van Nuys High School. They met there and married soon after graduating when it became clear Claude should join the Navy.

During his 20-month tour, the couple only corresponded with occasional letters.

Yvette, home with a baby girl, did odd jobs while Claude sent home what money he could. The household got by but without much to spare.

Claude's ship headed to Hiroshima just after the atomic bomb was dropped. He and his shipmates were about to go ashore into the contaminated zone when orders came to leave the region. The vessel then picked up emaciated prisoners of war and survived a typhoon before returning to the United States.

The couple would have four children -- three girls and a boy. Today, they also have eight grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.

They said they agreed on how to raise a family before they married.

"We did a lot of talking to find out our likes and dislikes, religion and everything else," Yvette told the Catholic Sentinel, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Portland.

To help make ends meet for the growing family, Yvette opened a home child care and eventually worked for the local school district. Claude became a mail carrier, but cleaned schools in the evenings and a restaurant on weekends. He delivered the Los Angeles Times early in the morning, including to the home of Liberace, the piano star.

On weekends, a relative would come watch the children while Claude and Yvette went on a date and in later years, they took longer trips. They have been in every state, plus Belgium and Canada and have been on a few cruises.

Through it all, they have kept lines of communication open.

"You have to talk to each other," Yvette said. "If he doesn't like something, he tells me. If I don't like something, I tell him."

The couple came to Oregon 11 years ago to be near their daughter, who drives them to St. Peter's Church for Mass each weekend. Yvette belongs to the Catholic Daughters and has a deep devotion to Mary. "Our Lady has been very good to us," she said.

Across the country in Nebraska, two couples -- one married for more than 70 years and the other, more than 60 years -- can tell similar stories of faith and perseverance that have seen them through life's challenges.

William and Evelyn Schulte, members of St. Wenceslaus Parish in Dodge, Nebraska, relied on their faith during wartime separation, the death of a son, health issues and other challenges.

The Schultes were married Feb. 12, 1946, at Sacred Heart Church in Olean, Nebraska. But before that, William was away for four years during World War II, including two years in the Pacific theater.

"I thought the war would never end," Evelyn told the Catholic Voice, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Omaha. "But we just trusted in the Lord and we went on."

Faith also was a source of strength for William who said he only missed Mass twice while he was in the service "and those were for legitimate reasons," he said.

Frequent letters also sustained the couple during the war, many of which Evelyn saved.

"The servicemen really appreciate mail and always liked hearing from home," she said. "That meant so much to them. You always felt for them because they were sacrificing a lot."

Separation because military service also was a challenge for Richard and Barbara McMahon, members of St. Patrick Parish in Gretna, Nebraska, who have been married more than 60 years.

As they planned their wedding, Richard's assignment in the Air Force was going to prevent him from coming home for their wedding date, so Barbara's sister, Jane, who was planning her own wedding, invited them to share a double wedding with her.

The couples were married Aug. 18, 1956, at St. Joseph Church in York, Nebraska.

And they've shared their anniversary celebrations every year since. "We usually have a dinner out," Barbara said, "and we had a big celebration for our 50th anniversary with an open house."

The Schultes and McMahons shared similar stories of long, productive careers, hard work and child rearing, with faith always at the center.

After the war, William Schulte had a 30-year career as a mail carrier while Evelyn was busy at home raising their four sons and one daughter. They now have nine grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

Over the years, William and Evelyn have often volunteered in their parish, William serving at weekday Masses, Evelyn bringing Communion to residents of the local nursing home.

And she remains active in their parish, leading the rosary every other Saturday evening.

Like most married couples, the Schultes experienced the joys and struggles of marriage and family life, including health challenges and the death of a son, regularly turning to the Lord in prayer, she said.

The McMahons, who raised one daughter and five sons, also experienced the loss of a child and share a similar commitment to faith and prayer.

"We've always had a strong faith ever since we were young," said Barbara. "I don't know what people would do without it. We pray every day for the strength to meet the challenges."

Following four years in the Air Force, Richard McMahon worked 30 years for Union Pacific, and Barbara, once their children were raised, spent 27 years managing temporary employment agencies. They have 13 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

As the Schultes reflected on more than 70 years together, William said: "Marriage is just like a beautiful bouquet of roses, beautiful flowers but some stickers. You just overlook them and you work together."

"There are always problems in life and we've had a lot of things you don't expect, but you just go with it and you pray a lot," Evelyn added.

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Langlois is editor of the Catholic Sentinel, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Portland. Contributing to this story was Mike May, senior write at the Catholic Voice, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Omaha, Nebraska.

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