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(Vatican Radio) The Statute of the Pontifical Academy for Life, signed by the Holy Father on 18 October, was published on Saturday, and will come into effect on 1 January 2017.

The following is a working translation of the text.

 

Part I

Nature and Aims

Article 1 – Introduction

§ 1 – The Pontifical Academy for Life, which has its seat in Vatican City State, was instituted by the Supreme Pontiff St. John Paul II by the Motu Proprio Vitae Mysterium of 11 February 1994.

The aim of the Pontifical Academy for Life is the defence and promotion of the value of human life and the dignity of the person.

§ 2 – The specific task of the Academy is to:

a) study questions and issues connected with the promotion and defence of human life from an interdisciplinary perspective;

b) educate in a culture of life – in relation to those aspects that belong to its specific range of competence – through suitable initiatives, always in full respect of the Magisterium of the Church;

c) inform the authorities of the Church, the various institutions of the biomedical sciences, social-healthcare organisations, the mass media and the civil community in general about the most relevant results of its study and research activities in a clear and prompt manner (cf. Vitae Mysterium, 4).

§ 3 – The Academy has a task of a prevalently scientific nature, directed towards the promotion and defence of human life (cf. Vitae Mysterium, 4). In particular, it studies the various aspects that relate to the care of the dignity of the human person at the different ages of existence, mutual respect between genders and generations, the defence of the dignity of each single human being, the promotion of a quality of human life that integrates material and spiritual value, with a view to an authentic “human ecology”, which may help to recover the original balance of Creation between the human person and the entire universe (cf. Chirograph, 15 August 2016).

§ 4 – In carrying out the activity provided for in this Statute, the Pontifical Academy for Life cooperates with the Dicasteries of the Roman Curia, primarily the Secretary of State and the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life, in relation to their respective competences and in a spirit of collaboration.

§ 5 – In order to promote and disseminate the culture of life, the Academy maintains close contacts with university Institutions, scientific Societies and research centres that pursue the various themes connected with life.

Part II

Organisation

Article 2 – The Structure of the Academy

The Pontifical Academy for Life is made up of a Presidency and a Central Office, and the Members, who are also called Academicians.

Article 3 – The Presidency

The Presidency is made up of the President, the Chancellor and the Governing Council. The direction and running of the ordinary and extraordinary activities of the Academy are the responsibility of the President, together with the Chancellor, assisted by the Governing Council. The Ecclesiastical Advisor also belongs to the Presidency.

§ 1 – The President

a) The President is appointed by the Supreme Pontiff, remains in office for the period indicated in the letter of appointment, and can be reconfirmed in office.

b) The President officially represents the Pontifical Academy, directs it in all its activities and is answerable on its behalf to the Holy Father; he convenes and chairs the Governing Council; establishes the agenda and implements the resolutions of the Governing Council. The President convenes and presides over the sessions of the Academy and may invoke the extraordinary collaboration of individual Members.

§ 2 – The Chancellor

a) The Chancellor, appointed by the Supreme Pontiff for the period indicated in the letter of appointment, can be reconfirmed in office.

b) The Chancellor can represent the Pontifical Academy for Life on behalf of the President, and collaborates with him in the direction and running of the activities of the Academy.

§ 3 – The Governing Council

a) The Governing Council of the Pontifical Academy for Life is composed of the President, a possible Vice President, the Chancellor and six Councillors appointed by the Supreme Pontiff, of whom four are chosen from among the Ordinary Members of the Academy, the fifth is proposed by the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life, and the sixth is the President of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family. Each Councillor remains in office for five years and can be reconfirmed in office. The Ecclesiastical Advisor, if appointed, also belongs to the Governing Council (cf. § 4 of this Article).

b) The Governing Council meets in ordinary session at least twice a year to deliberate on the general orientations of the ordinary activities of the Academy and to address special questions connected with the life of the Academy.

c) The Governing Council can meet in extraordinary session to examine grave questions that cannot be postponed. At such sessions all the members of the Governing Council who are present have the right to vote.

d) The Governing Council chooses and appoints the Corresponding Members of the Pontifical Academy for Life, as referred to in Art .5, § 3 of these Statutes, also assessing external proposals, and approves the programmes of study of the General Assemblies and the educational activities, contributing to the general direction of the annual programmes.

§ 4 – The Ecclesiastical Advisor

a) The Ecclesiastical Advisor is appointed by the Supreme Pontiff for a five-year period of office that can be reconfirmed. This office may remain vacant when the office of President or that of Chancellor is held by an Ecclesiastic.

b) The Ecclesiastical Advisor has the task of ensuring that the declarations of the Pontifical Academy for Life are in conformity with Catholic doctrine according to the teachings of the Magisterium of the Church. In addition, he is entrusted with maintaining relations with the Ecclesiastical Superiors.

Article 4 – The Central Office

a) The Central Office of the Pontifical Academy for Life has its seat in the Vatican. It is the executive organ of the Presidency for the overall organisation, implementation and coordination of the activities of the Academy. The Central Office performs its functions in accordance with the directives of the President and the Chancellor.

b) In order to perform its activities in a more effective way, the Central Office is organised into two sections: the scientific section and the technical-administrative section or Secretariat.

§ 1 The scientific section

The scientific section attends to the activities of the Academy in relation to study and research on the basis of the aims set out in the Statutes and the specific tasks of the Pontifical Academy for Life (cf. Article 1).

To this end, the section is organised in three areas: study, formation and information.

§ 2 The technical-administrative section or Secretariat

The technical-administrative section attends to the secretarial and administrative activities of the Academy.

Article 5 – The Members or Academicians

The Pontifical Academy for Life is made up of the Ordinary Members, the Corresponding Members, the Honorary Members and the Young Researcher Members. The appointment of a Member to the Academy requires ascertained willingness to collaborate with the Academy in a spirit of service, solely for the fulfilment of his specific tasks.

§ 1 – Ordinary Members

The Ordinary Members may number up to a maximum of seventy. They are appointed by the Holy Father after hearing the opinions of the Governing Council for a five-year period of office, on the basis of their academic qualifications, proven professional integrity and expertise, and faithful service to the defence and promotion of the right to life of every human person.

Upon the termination of their five-year period of office, ordinary Members may be reconfirmed for subsequent mandates, up to the age of eighty.

§ 2 – The Honorary Members

Some Academicians are appointed by the Holy Father as Honorary Members, linked in a particular way to the life and activity of the Academy.

§ 3 – The Corresponding Members

The Corresponding Members are chosen and appointed for a five-year period of office by the Governing Council on the basis of their professional integrity and expertise, and their acknowledged commitment to the promotion and defence of human life.

At the end of their five-year period of office, corresponding Members can be reconfirmed for a maximum of two further mandates.

§ 4 – Young Researcher Members

The Young Researcher Members come from disciplines associated with the areas of research of interest to the Academy, with a maximum age of 35, selected and appointed by the Governing Council for a five-year period, renewable for one further mandate.

§ 5 – Indications and Rules regarding Members

a) The Academicians are chosen, without any religious discrimination, from amongst ecclesiastical, religious and lay personalities of various nationalities who are experts in the disciplines pertaining to human life (medicine, the biological sciences, theology, philosophy, anthropology, law, sociology, etc.).

b) The new Academicians undertake to promote and defend the principles regarding the value of life and the dignity of the human person interpreted in conformity with the Magisterium of the Church.

c) The Academicians are required to take part in the General Assemblies, in which they present scientific communications, notes and memoranda, debate, vote and have the right to propose appointments and subjects for study and research to the Governing Council.

d) In the case of inability to take part in the works of the General Assembly, the Academicians must adequately justify their absence.

In the case of unjustified absence on more than two occasions during a five-year mandate, the Academician ipso facto ceases to be a Member of the Academy.

e) The position of Academician can be revoked, following the procedure stipulated by the Regulations of the Academy, in the event of a public and deliberate action or declaration that is clearly contrary to the aforementioned principles, or gravely offensive to the dignity and credibility of the Catholic Church and the Academy itself.

f) Institutional political positions in the person’s own country or abroad are not compatible with appointment to or exercise of the office of Member of the Pontifical Academy for Life. Thus, should a Member of the Academy accept such a position he or she is suspended from his or her academic functions, and he or she cannot publicly use the title of Member of the Academy until this institutional office has come to an end.

Part III

Scientific activity and operational instruments

Article 6 – Description of ordinary activities

The scientific and interdisciplinary activity of the Pontifical Academy for Life shall maintain a close connection with the bodies and institutions through which the Church is present in the world of the biomedical sciences, of health, and of healthcare organisations, also offering its collaboration to medical doctors and researchers (including those who are non-Catholics and non-Christians) who recognise that the dignity of man and the inviolability of human life from conception to natural death, as enunciated by the Magisterium of the Church, is the essential moral foundation of the science and art of medicine.

To achieve the aims of its Statutes (cf. Art. 1), the Pontifical Academy for Life:

a) organises a General Assembly every year in which all the Members take part;

b) convenes and coordinates the activity of work groups of a national and international

character;

c) studies the legislation in force in the various countries of the world, the directions of international health-care policy, and the principal currents of thought that bear upon the contemporary culture of life;

d) publishes the results of its study and research and disseminates its cultural and operational proposals through publications and other instruments of mass communication;

e) organises national and international meetings on bioethical questions and issues of great interest;

f) organises initiatives that involve formation in bioethics, takes part in them, and offers its own contribution;

g) participates with its representatives in the most important scientific, biomedical, juridical, political, philosophical, anthropological, charitable-welfare, moral and pastoral (etc.) initiatives pertaining to the aims of the Academy itself.

Part IV

Financial Instruments

Article 7 – Financial resources

As an Institution supported by the Holy See, the Pontifical Academy for Life every year presents a budget for its ordinary and extraordinary activities to the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, in accordance with current legislation.

§ 1 – The Foundation Vitae Mysterium

Resources provided by the Foundation Vitae Mysterium are primarily destined for the support of the ordinary or extraordinary activities of the Academy. In the case of sufficient availability of financial resources, a part of these resources can also be allocated to the funding of study grants and other initiatives for formation in bioethics, in particular for people from developing countries, or in regions where the culture of life is most in need of support.

Part V

Final Provisions

Article 8 – Regulations

In order to ensure the effective implementation of these Statutes, the President and the Chancellor, after hearing the opinions of the Governing Council, will submit the Regulations of the Pontifical Academy for Life to the Cardinal Secretary of State for his approval.

These Regulations shall contain, in addition to a list of positions and job descriptions of the Central Office, supplementary provisions relating to the structure and the working of the Academy.

This Statute is approved for five years. I order its promulgation through publication in the daily “L’Osservatore Romano” and subsequently in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis, entering into force on 1 January 2017.

From the Vatican, 18 October 2016.

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(Vatican Radio) Dozens of Catholic martyrs who were killed between 1945 and 1974 by Albania's Communist regime for their Christian faith were beatified on Saturday during a Mass presided over by Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation of the Causes of Saints.

The Beatification ceremony took place in the northwestern Albanian city of Shkodër.

Listen to the report by Stefan Bos:

Up to 20,000 people attended an emotionally charged Mass in and around the main cathedral in the city of Shkodër to remember the martyrs who refused to renounce their faith in Jesus Christ and were therefore executed by Albania's late communist dictator Enver Hoxha's regime. 

In April, Pope Francis officially recognized as martyrs Archbishop Vincens Prenushi and 37 other priests and consecrated persons who died in prison or were murdered from 1945 to 1974 by communist dictator Enver Hoxha's regime. 

Hoxha banned religion in 1967 and his regime persecuted especially Christian leaders and believers. During Pope Francis' visit to Tirana in 2014, big posters of the 38 Blessed were placed along the Martyrs of the Nation Boulevard in Tirana, the capital.

The 88-year old Ernest Simoni, who was named recently as a cardinal by the pope to honor his suffering in prison, held a box with the bones of ten martyrs at the Mass, which was also attended by several other cardinals and Albanian government officials. 

"REWARD FROM GOD"

In a statement he said that "Today's beatification of the 38 martyrs is the reward form God to all those living in this world and assisting the poor."

He added: "It is a reward for us, the people and the whole world." 

People heard how the martyrs were tortured to death or executed, always praying for God and pardoning their murderers. One female teacher died wrapped in a sack simply because she reminded her students of the presence of Christ. All reportedly died shouting "Long live Christ the King! Long live Albania! We forgive those who kill us."

Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation of the Causes of Saints, presided over the Beatification Mass and spoke to the crowd in the Square of St. Stephen’s Cathedral encouraging them to remain hopeful: "While the persecutors dissolve like so many black shadows which are lost forever in the darkness of eternal oblivion," he said, "martyrs are guiding lights  that shine in the sky of humanity, showing the true face of man’s goodness, his profound identity created in the image of God”.

The beatification ceremony was held in Shkoder, 120 kilometers north of Tirana,  because that is where just prior to the fall of the communist regime in 1990, the first public Mass was held. The cathedral served as a sports hall after religion was banned.

In September, Albanians also celebrated the canonization of Mother Teresa, who was born Agnes Gonxhe Bojaxhiu of Albanian parents. Now Albania is seen as model for religious harmony, with a Muslim majority and Orthodox and Catholic communities among its 3.2 million people.

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By Cindy Wooden

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- When the search for profits outweighs all other considerations in society, money becomes a god who terrorizes humanity -- excluding the majority of people and causing those still well off to build walls to cower behind, Pope Francis said.

"The entire social doctrine of the church and the magisterium of my predecessors rebel against money as an idol that reigns instead of serves, tyrannizing and terrorizing humanity," the pope said.

Like all forms of terrorism, the terrorism of an economy focused only on making money relies on people's fear for effectiveness, Pope Francis said Nov. 5 during a meeting at the Vatican with participants in the third World Meeting of Popular Movements, a collection of grassroots organizations of the poor, the underemployed, indigenous communities and farmworkers.

"When this terror, which is sown in the peripheries with massacres, pillaging, oppression and injustice, explodes in the centers with various forms of violence -- including odious and vile attacks -- the citizens who still have some rights are tempted by the false security of physical or social walls," he said. "Walls that enclose some and exile others."

Frightened citizens building walls on one side and frightened and excluded people on the other -- "is this the life that God our father wants for his children?" the pope asked.

Wherever there is fear, he said, there is someone who will increase and manipulate it. "Because fear, besides being good business for merchants of weapons and death, weakens and destabilizes us, destroying our psychological and spiritual defenses, anesthetizing us to the suffering of others and, in the end, making us cruel."

Pope Francis said mercy is the "best antidote" to fear. It works better than anti-depression medicine and is "much more effective than walls, iron bars, alarms and weapons. And it is free."

Mercy and courage also are needed to respond to the huge wave of refugees, migrants and displaced people all over the globe, he said.

"No one should be forced to flee his or her homeland," he said. "But the evil is doubled when, facing terrible circumstances, the migrant is thrown into the clutches of human traffickers to cross the border. And it is tripled if, arriving in the land where he or she hoped to find a better future, one is despised, exploited or even enslaved."

Pope Francis urged members of the popular movements to lobby their governments to be more welcoming of migrants and to improve programs to ensure their integration into their host societies.

The political activism of the groups, he said, is important for ensuring true democracy and not simply an attitude where politicians address poverty without ever listening to or responding to the poor.

In democracies, he said, people who "seek the common good can defeat, with the help of God, the false prophets who exploit fear and desperation, who sell magic formulas of hatred and cruelty or selfish well-being and illusory security."

When getting involved in politics, though, the pope said, members of the movement must guard against corruption.

All people are called to be honest, he said, but politicians and public servants have an even greater obligation. "The standard is very high: one must live the vocation of service with a strong sense of austerity and humility. This applies to politicians, but also for social leaders and for us pastors."

Pope Francis said politics is not the place for "anyone who is too attached to material things or to the mirror, those who love money, lavish banquets, sumptuous houses, refined clothes, luxury cars."

They don't belong in the seminary, either, he said.

Seeking power or money "sullies the noble cause" of politics as service, the pope said.

"Fight the fear with a life of service, solidarity and humility on behalf of the people, especially those who suffer," he said. "Against the terror, the best remedy is love. Love heals all."

Saying that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. "always chose fraternal love, even in the midst of the worst persecution and humiliation," Pope Francis quoted from one of the sermons of the civil rights leader:

"Hate for hate only intensifies the existence of hate and evil in the universe. If I hit you and you hit me and I hit you back and you hit me back and go on, you see, that goes on ad infinitum. It just never ends. Somewhere somebody must have a little sense, and that's the strong person. The strong person is the person who can cut off the chain of hate, the chain of evil."

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Follow Wooden on Twitter: @Cindy_Wooden.

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SHKODER, Albania (AP) -- Thousands gathered in prayer Saturday at a cathedral in Albania to celebrate the beatification of 38 Albanian Catholic martyrs executed or tortured to death during the former communist regime....

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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) -- The Harvard men's soccer team has apologized for sexual comments made about members of the women's soccer team that led the Ivy League school to suspend the men's team for the rest of the season....

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NICHOLS, S.C. (AP) -- Nearly a month since floodwaters consumed this Mayberry-like hamlet in rural South Carolina, few have returned. The fear is that many never will....

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MOSUL, Iraq (AP) -- Islamic State fighters launched counterattacks Saturday against Iraqi special forces in eastern Mosul, emerging from populated areas deeper in the city to target the troops with mortars and suicide car bombs in clashes that raged late into the night....

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WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Latest on the 2016 presidential race (all times EDT):...

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(Vatican Radio) Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, on Friday said “peacemaking and substantive dialogue including genuine bilateral negotiations must replace the counterproductive illogic of violence and war, currently underway in the Middle East.”

The Vatican diplomat was speaking to the United Nations General Assembly as they discussed the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

“The Holy See notes that the areas where UNRWA exercises its responsibilities includes territories of the ancient Christian heartland where for two millennia Christians have been part and parcel of the culture and history of the peoples in the region, along with other ethnic and religious groups,” – Archbishop Auza said – “Greatly reduced in number, they are today among the refugees served by UNRWA. Forced by violent persecution, in some places by outright slaughter, and by the harsh geopolitical realities of the region, they have left their homes, becoming internally displaced or leaving in search of peace and security outside the region.”

 

The full statement is below

 

Statement by H.E. Archbishop Bernardito Auza Apostolic Nuncio, Permanent Observer of the Holy See Seventy-first Session of the United Nations General Assembly Fourth Committee Agenda Item 49: United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)

New York, 4th November 2016

 

Mr. Chair,

My delegation has reviewed with great care the 2015 Annual Report of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).1 This report, together with the frequent briefings focusing on the refugees served by UNRWA, paint a very sobering picture of the financial woes and of the unacceptable situation that more than five million Palestinians in need of humanitarian assistance found themselves in. Before my delegation addresses the important issues in the report, it wishes to extend prayers and condolences to the families of the UNRWA workers who have been killed while providing humanitarian aid to victims of conflict and political turmoil. We also offer our heartfelt prayers for the UNRWA workers who have been injured in the line of duty. The Holy See notes that the areas where UNRWA exercises its responsibilities includes territories of the ancient Christian heartland where for two millennia Christians have been part and parcel of the culture and history of the peoples in the region, along with other ethnic and

religious groups. Greatly reduced in number, they are today among the refugees served by UNRWA. Forced by violent persecution, in some places by outright slaughter, and by the harsh geopolitical realities of the region, they have left their homes, becoming internally displaced or leaving in search of peace and security outside the region.

Mr. Chair,

Like UNRWA, various entities and organizations of the Catholic Church provide education, health-care and social services to the internally displaced and to the refugees. They include educational programs for children and adults and rehabilitation efforts for those physically and mentally traumatized by incessant conflict. These services are provided to all in need not on the basis of creed. Generous donors associated with the Catholic Church around the globe, such as the Pontifical Mission for Palestine, the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, the Aid to Church in Need, the Knights and Ladies of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, inter alia, make these activities possible. Like UNRWA, the works of the Holy See in the region are donor driven. One of the problems mentioned in the 2015 UNRWA report is that resources do not match the ever-increasing needs. The peace process between Israelis and Palestinians has stalled.

1 A/71/13

Unilateral actions and inflammatory rhetoric have led to tensions and violence in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. The Holy See views the holy City of Jerusalem as the spiritual patrimony of the three monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In this context, the Holy See renews its support for a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the question of the City of Jerusalem, which should, inter alia, ensure the freedom of religion and of conscience of all its inhabitants, as well as the secure, free and unhindered access to the Holy Places by the faithful of all religions and nationalities.

My delegation notes with grave concern that, as indicated in the UNRWA report under consideration, heinous crimes are being committed daily against refugee populations as their education, health-care facilities and essential civilian infrastructure are being targeted by the warring parties. Because of the besiegement and bombardment by indiscriminate weaponry, Palestinian refugees in Syria must flee again as camps become targets of military actions. The 2015 UNRWA report, along with daily media reports, do not give us much hope that all these barbaric acts against the civilian population along with the Palestinian refugees will end soon.

Mr. Chair,

The Holy See takes this opportunity once more to express its deep gratitude and appreciation to the people of Lebanon and Jordan for their enduring collaboration with UNRWA, in particular for taking in many Palestinian refugees, and for contending heroically, together with some other countries in the region, with the influx of refugees from Iraq and Syria. Lebanon, desperately needs the attention and the support of the International Community to stabilize its institutions, protect its four million or so citizens, and to deal with millions of refugees fleeing the conflicts of the Near East Region. Jordan, long a beacon in the acceptance of refugees within its borders, requires as well international assistance to take care of the millions of refugees in its territory, to guarantee security and social cohesion to its own people, and to fend off attempts by terrorist and extremists groups seeking to push Jordan into the spiral of violence which plagues the region. Peacemaking and substantive dialogue including genuine bilateral negotiations must replace the counterproductive illogic of violence and war, currently underway in the Middle East. Military solutions and the support of client states or non-state actors by the industrialized nations of the world have succeeded only in the increase of civilian casualties, with death and injury, as the horrendously powerful weapons which they sold or gifted to their clients are used to commit crimes against defenseless civilians. Accessible humanitarian assistance for the refugees and the internally displaced must replace the current flood of weapons inundating the region from all over the globe.

Mr. Chair,

No matter how grim the picture might be, let us never give up hope that the unquenchable quest for peace, so much desired and so much needed, will eventually dawn in that land so significant to all and so sacred to many.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Saturday received family members of the House of Hasburg visiting the Vatican for a Jubilee pilgrimage.

To the some 300 people gathered in the Clementine Hall, the Pope said “I am happy to receive you in the occasion of this pilgrimage that you have undertaken as a family” and he highlighted the fact that ‘family’ implies a wealth of interconnections and variety and is a value to be “rediscovered” in current times.

The Pope recalled one of the Hasburg family’s most remarkable ancestors: Blessed Charles of Austria who was beatified in 2004 by Saint Pope John Paul II.

Remembering that some 100 years ago or so he ascended to the throne, the Pope said Charles’ spiritual presence is such that the Hasburg family is not nostalgically imbued in the past but, to the contrary, “it is actively present in the challenges and needs” of our time.

He mentioned how some of those present for the audience have roles of responsibility in organizations of solidarity and human and cultural development, as well as in the support of “the European project as a common home founded on human and Christian values”.    

Pope Francis also expressed his joy for having learnt that in the new generations of the Hasburg family some have been called to vocations of priestly and consecrated life: “a confirmation of the fact that the Christian family provides fertile ground for the seeds of vocation – including that of marriage.” 

“Charles of Austria was first of all a good family father and as such a servant of life and peace” he said.

The Pope recalled that Charles had been called to arms as a simple soldier at the beginning of WWI, and after having ascended to the throne in 1916,  in accord with the appeals of Pope Benedict XV, “he used all his strength in pursuit of  peace, at the cost of being misunderstood and mocked at. For this reason too he offers us an example for our times, and we can invoke him as an intercessor of peace for humanity”.     

 

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