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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis travelled to the Roman cemetery of Prima Porta, where he offered the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for the liturgical commemoration of All Souls’ Day.

Listen to Christopher Wells' report: 

Thousands of people joined the Holy Father as he prayed for the repose of the souls of all the faithful departed. Arriving at the cemetery, Pope Francis visited a mausoleum and laid flowers at several tombs, while praying silently.

In his homily for the Mass, which he delivered off the cuff, the Holy Father reflected on the words of Job: “I know that my Redeemer lives.” The commemoration of the dead, he explained, fills us both with sorrow, a sense of sadness, and with hope. “A cemetery is sad because it reminds us of our loved ones who have died, it reminds us of our future, death.” But, he continued, “in this sadness, we bring flowers as a sign of hope; even, I could say, of a festival – but later, not now.”

This hope, Pope Francis said, can help us, because we too must make the same journey, from this life to the next. The hope in the Resurrection does not disappoint.

In fact it is Jesus Himself who first took this journey; we walk along the path He has trod. “With His Cross,” Pope Francis said, Jesus “has opened the gate of salvation, where we will contemplate God.”

The Flaminio Cemetery in Prima Porta, where Pope Francis said the All Souls’ Day Mass is the largest cemetery in Rome.

Following the ceremony, on his return to the Vatican, Pope Francis was scheduled to visit St Peter’s Basilica for a private prayer for his deceased predecessors in the Petrine office. 

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(Vatican Radio) On Sunday, India celebrated Diwali with lamps, candles, feasting and fireworks. The day after fireworks for the festival of lights, New Delhi was choked with a thick, dark smog.

On Wednesday, the air quality in Delhi and the National Capital region deteriorated further and the toxicity level recording a new high since Sunday, Diwali night. Air quality-monitoring agencies said the pollution level will remain 'severe' for the next couple of days due to adverse climatic conditions.

The celebrations sharply exacerbated the city's perpetual pollution problems — the BBC reported that in the wake of the fireworks, levels of extremely small particulate matter more than doubled over the course of a few hours.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the Air Quality Index touched the figure of 494 on Wednesday, which comes under the 'severe' category. Its data showed that air quality at Anand Vihar was the worst in the national capital on Wednesday. The index stood at 445 on Monday and 389 on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the air quality had improved a little to 'very poor' category.

The System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) of the Ministry of Earth Science also painted a grim picture about pollution in the city. Its official said that pollution level in Delhi is set to remain 'severe' for a few more days, thanks to a drop in wind speed and temperature, and increase in humidity.

The BBC reports that by Monday, PM2.5 levels had exceeded 30 times the World Health Organization's recommendation for average daily exposure. Particulate Matter less than 10 micrometres in diameter (PM10) are so small that they can get into lungs, likely causing serious health problems. Particulate Matter less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter (PM2.5) are more refined particles produced by burning fuels.

Residents of New Delhi were advised to remain indoors Monday, The Associated Press reported, with special cautions for the young, elderly and those with health problems.

Anumita Roychowdhury, the executive director of a New Delhi-based think tank called the Centre for Science and Environment, tells ‘The Guardian’ there are several reasons for the severe Diwali pollution.

Weather plays a factor — in winter, cooler temperatures and slower winds prevent the smoke from being blown away. India's Central Pollution Control Board says wind speeds were lower for this Diwali than they were for last year's festival.

Then there's the baseline smog problem. "Delhi's air remains so polluted throughout the year that it doesn't really have room for additional pollution during Diwali," says Roychowdhury.

"New Delhi's air pollution, among the world's worst, spikes every winter because of the season's weak winds and countless garbage fires set alight to help people stay warm," the AP reports. Agricultural fires in nearby fields also contribute to the problem.

"New Delhi has tried to clean its air," the wire service adds. "It has barred cargo trucks from city streets, required drivers to buy newer cars that meet higher emissions standards, and carried out several weeks of experimental traffic control, limiting the number of cars on the road. But other pollution sources, including construction dust and cooking fires fueled by wood or kerosene, continue unabated."

In the run-up to Diwali, several campaigns called for residents to cut back on fireworks, the BBC reports. "Similar initiatives in the past have got little attention," the network says.

A new report from UNICEF says 2 billion children live in areas with elevated air pollution, with nearly a third of them in South Asia. The report also says some 300 million kids are exposed to air pollution levels that are toxic, or six times higher than WHO standards.

Delhi has some of the most polluted air in the world, according to a World Health Organization survey. Some 50 percent of all children who grow up in the Indian capital will suffer irreversible lung damage.

The Delhi government, for instance, said it had formed task forces to monitor people who were using cheap Chinese crackers that cause a lot of pollution and are also deemed unsafe due to the heavy presence of Potassium Chlorate in the explosive mixture. However, the Diwali celebrations quickly turned into a sort of collective fumigation for citizens.

The Delhi government called an emergency meeting on Tuesday to tackle the problem and assured the city's inhabitants that special sprinklers and mist fountains would be used to clear dust particles. Manish Sisodia, Delhi’s deputy chief minister ensured the plan would be implemented on a "war footing."

Calling for a ban on firecrackers, Father Robert Athickal, an environmentalist, told ucanews.com that bursting crackers is a "crime" as the combined smoke can seriously harm people, especially children and the elderly.

"People are following a herd mentality and do what others are doing. India needs a sustained campaign to ban crackers," he said. Father Athickal said that the Indian government would have to work collectively with state legislators to tackle the issue of air pollution.

Echoing the same views, environmentalist Anil Joshi told ucanews.com that people need to look after future generations. "We have to decide what we are leaving for our children. A healthy environment or smog-filled air which can only lead to health problems," said Joshi, founder of the Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organization.

Disappointed by the situation, Father Savari Raj, director of Chetnalaya, the social service wing of the Delhi Archdiocese, said that the campaign for an eco-friendly Diwali had "failed." Firecrackers have been set off for centuries "and we have to reach out to the hearts of the people to not use crackers," he said.

Although Chetnalaya carried out a series of activities before Diwali to make people more aware of the harmful effects of crackers, they would be engaging in a more sustained campaign next year, according to Father Raj.

Banning crackers itself will hurt businesses and livelihoods of thousands of manufacturers and sellers across the country. However, there has to be a ban on the import of material that is particularly unsafe and can easily be replaced. Secondly, there should be regulations in place on the explosives, so as to reduce noise and air pollution as much as possible.

Several activists demand blanket bans on crackers every year. The issue itself has been taken up by several administrations who urge people not to burst crackers, a sort of voluntary ban. Activists have taken the matter to the Supreme Court as well, but have failed to get a favourable ruling. Some activists had demanded that there must be a ban on arbitrary bursting of crackers and there should be a designated place and time for bursting crackers on Diwali. The court ruled against the same, saying a ban will “hurt religious sentiments and hurt celebrations”.

Traditionally, each family lights firecrackers on the night of the festival, especially in northern India, filling the atmosphere with dust and smoke. The noise and smoke continues well past midnight in most cities.

There is no law that regulates permissions or restrictions on the amount of crackers one can burst or the kind or manner of bursting crackers. In India, it seems that the rituals and celebrations have taken such prime role that the health and safety of people has taken the backseat. There is a need for a strict legislation to mandate bursting of crackers, if the judiciary is unwilling to impose a blanket ban.

(Source: Indian Express, BBC, AFP, UCANews)

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Rome, Italy, Nov 2, 2016 / 10:57 am (CNA/EWTN News).- While it's sad to think about our own death or that of a loved one, we can never be truly hopeless because of Christ's resurrection, Pope Francis said on All Souls day at a cemetery outside of Rome.

“The commemoration of the dead has a dual meaning,” Francis said Nov. 2. “Sadness mixes with hope, and this is what we all feel today in this celebration. The memory of our loved ones, in front of their remains, and hope.”

“But we also feel that this hope helps, because we too have to make this journey! All of us will make this journey. Sooner or later, but everyone. With pain, some more some less, but all. But with the flower of hope, with that strong thread of hope that is anchored in the hereafter.”

Traditionally, popes have gone to Rome's 19th century Campo Verano cemetery to celebrate Mass for the Feast of All Souls, however this year Pope Francis celebrated the Mass at the Prima Porta Cemetery on the northern outskirts of Rome.

Cemeteries are often sad places because they remind us of our loved ones who are gone, the Pope noted: “But in this sadness we bring flowers as a sign of hope, and also, I dare to say, of celebration – not now, but in the future.”

He explained that the reason for this hope is the Resurrection, that “Jesus is the one who made this journey first.”

“We are walking the path that he walked, and he brings us through the door that he himself opened. With his cross, he opened the door of hope. He opened the door so that we can enter into where we will contemplate God.”

After the Mass, Pope Francis went to the grottoes beneath the Vatican for a moment of private prayer for the deceased popes.

Also known as Prima Porta cemetery, Flaminio Cemetery was consecrated in 1941 and is considered to be a masterpiece of contemporary architecture.

Over 345 acres in size, it is the largest cemetery in Italy, and contains sections dedicated to the Catholic, Evangelical, Jewish and Islamic faiths. The Catholic church in the cemetery is dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel.

The Jewish Temple and Polish Chapel were both erected by Poles living in Italy and St. John Paul II consecrated them on Nov. 1, 1991.

Many famous Italians choose to be buried there, including people from the worlds of art, entertainment, sports and politics. Inside, there is also an archaeological site of a Roman villa from 25 BC.

The Pope concluded his homily by reminding those present that the hope of the Resurrection “doesn’t delude” and that even Job, in his moment of anguish, expresses hope through the words: “I know that my Redeemer lives.”

“Let us go home today with this dual memory: the memory of the past, of those who have gone, and the memory of the future, the path on which we will go with the certainty, the security of the words that came from the lips of Jesus: I will raise him up on the last day.”

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Los Angeles, Calif., Nov 2, 2016 / 01:26 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Faithful Catholics need to be aware of the ever-increasing serious threats to Christians living their faith in the field of medicine, warned Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles.

Noting the annual White Mass for health care professionals in the archdiocese, which was held at the cathedral Oct. 23, the archbishop reflected in his weekly column on the history of Christians in medicine.

“Before Christianity, the healing arts were practiced by self-taught individuals who traveled from town to town,” he said. “Christians invented the hospital and were the first to establish medicine as a profession, with standards for training and care and a commitment to medical research.”

From the very beginning, Archbishop Gomez said, Christian doctors served all patients that came to them, including those of different religions, social statuses and people with highly contagious diseases.

Some doctors even died from the diseases they contracted from their patients, he said. “Historians tell us that Christians were the only ones who cared for the sick and dying during the plagues and epidemics that afflicted the late Roman Empire.”

“Something else distinguished early Christian doctors,” the archbishop continued, “from the beginning they refused to take part in abortion, infanticide, birth control, assisted suicide or castration, all of which they considered bad medical practice and contrary to the truths of the Gospel.”

But while these basic commitments by Catholic doctors and nurses remain, the surrounding world of health care has greatly changed, he said.

Archbishop Gomez pointed to current challenges ranging from the rise of insurance costs to new pressure on doctors to treat patients in a certain way.

Particularly troubling, he said, is the rise of assisted suicide measures, which are being considered this fall in several states.

California legalized the practice of assisted suicide earlier this year. In the months that followed, abuses have already been seen, including a terminally ill woman being denied insurance coverage for a doctor-recommended chemotherapy treatment, but being told that her insurance would cover drugs for suicide.

“We must continue to oppose assisted suicide as an unjust and dangerous public policy,” Archbishop Gomez said. “It gives ‘end of life options’ to those who already have the privilege of good health care. But for the poor, it will make suicide by prescription the ‘recommended’ or only option. In fact, this year’s California budget includes $2.3 million to subsidize giving lethal drugs to the poor through the Medi-Cal system.”

“Assisted suicide is not only being promoted for the poor, but also for the mentally ill,” the archbishop added. “State officials have already published disturbing new regulations to require doctors who work in state institutions for the mentally ill to help their patients kill themselves if they request it.”

And coercion of doctors is making the situation worse for Christian health care professionals, Archbishop Gomez said.

He pointed to the medical journal Practical Ethics, which recently published a statement by prominent bioethicists making the argument that doctors should have no ability to make a medical judgment call against performing any legally permitted procedure.

Any doctor who declines to perform a requested procedure, the bioethicists said, should face a tribunal and be made “to compensate society and the health system for their failure to fulfill their professional obligations.”

“Writing in the influential international journal, Bioethics, another group of leading bioethicists titled their article: ‘Doctors have no right to refuse medical assistance in dying, abortion or contraception’,” the archbishop said.

Other areas of coercion in medicine nationwide include efforts to remove longstanding conscience protections and force doctors and nurses to perform abortions, sterilizations, and sex reassignment surgeries, he added.

Responding to these ongoing concerns, Archbishop Gomez highlighted efforts in the archdiocese to promote a culture of life and freedom of conscience.

The area’s Catholic hospitals and religious sisters offer care to the whole person and provide care for the elderly and dying. In addition, the archdiocesan Office of Life, Justice and Peace is offering guidance on end-of-life issues.  

The archdiocese is also home to Dr. Ira Byock, founder of the Providence Institute for Human Caring and one of the leading global authorities on end-of-life care.

Archbishop Gomez concluded his reflections by emphasizing the importance of prayer, encouraging the faithful to “ask our Blessed Mother Mary, the Health of the Sick, to help us build a new culture of conscience, compassion and care.”

 

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