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(Vatican Radio) The Vatican on Tuesday advocated for an increased involvement of women in making, maintaining and building peace.

The Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, Archbishop Bernardito Auza, was speaking at a UN Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace, and Security.

“Setting up women to succeed in using their talents for making, maintaining and building peace also requires combatting poverty and ensure access to other fundamental resources,” the Vatican diplomat said.

“Helping women to bring healing to the world by addressing the causes and consequences of war  and violence also means protecting them in this vital mission,” – continued Archbishop Auza – “Without the inputs and specific skills of women, the most comprehensive understanding possible of the causes of conflicts and the most effective solutions to end them and build peace may never be fully attained.”

The full statement is below

Statement of H.E. Archbishop Bernardito Auza

Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations

Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace, and Security

New York, 25 October 2015

Mr. President,

The Holy See is pleased that the Russian Federation Presidency has submitted this topic

for  Open  Debate  in  this  Council  and  brought  it  to  the  attention  of  the  International

Community.

The  Holy  See  has  long  advocated  for  an  increased  involvement  of  women  in  making,

maintaining  and  building  peace.  Thus  it  appreciates  the  initiatives  promoted  by  the

Security Council and Governments to raise awareness and arrive at a fuller recognition of

the vital role of women in preventing the outbreak of war through mediation and preventive

diplomacy,  in  reconciling,  rehabilitating  and  rebuilding  societies  in  post-war  situations,

and in avoiding relapses into armed conflicts. Women can and should play much greater

roles  in  all  of  these  processes.  Their  special  capacities  to  bring  order  out  of  chaos,

community out of division, and peace out of conflict and their special gifts in educating

people to be more receptive and sensitive to the needs of others is essential in order to spare

our world from further scourges of war and help heal the wounds of previous and present

violent conflicts.

To harness the special capacities of women in peace and security, however, an international

effort should be made to enable them to succeed, something that will be difficult to achieve

if women still represent a disproportionate number of the world’s disadvantaged. The lack

of  access  for  women  and  girls  to  education,  in  particular,  quality  education,  must  be

addressed.  Sad to say, as Pope Francis pointed out in his 25 September 2015 Address to the

General Assembly, not everywhere are girls and women given full access to education; most

of the time, this results in condemning them to a second-class role within society  and in

giving them no possibility of being heard.  Education is the great enabler for women to be

able to contribute fully to the promotion and consolidation of peace and harmony not only

in the family, but also in local communities, and the entire world.

The Catholic Church has long placed great emphasis on the absolute necessity of giving

young women and girls access to education. Today, young women and girls constitute the

majority in many of the more than 100,000 schools of the Catholic Church worldwide, from

kindergarten through university, in particular, in regions where women and girls still suffer

discrimination. They learn the skills to become well-trained educators and professionals,

that may greatly contribute to a secure and safe society. The priority of ensuring a quality

education for girls and women is also essential if we hope that they will transmit to boys

and men the necessary values to desist from violence and conflict, for the role and influence

of the mother are vital in the education of  children and youth in the values of peace and

mutual respect, of reconciliation and healing. The peacemaking role of the mother in the

family is of the essence not merely fora peaceful and secure home but also for a peaceful,

inclusive and safe society.

Setting up women to succeed in using their talents for making, maintaining and building

peace also requires combatting poverty and ensure access to other fundamental resources.

In  both urban and rural areas, it is far more common for women to lack access to basic

services, including health-care and social protections. In vast areas of the world, the lack of

consistent and nutritious food, clean water and sanitation services, as well as the lack of

employment  opportunities  and  decent  pay,  continue  to  undermine  women’s  abilities  to

play their role in the life of their own families and society as a whole.

Helping women to bring healing to the world by addressing the causes and consequences

of  war  and  violence  also  means  protecting  them  in  this  vital  mission.  The  close  to  fifty

conflicts raging in different parts of the world today call on us to concentrate our efforts on

the  plight  of  women  and  girls  in  violent  situations.  Women  who  have  fallen  victims  to

violence must be helped to overcome the stigma and the shame to which they are subjected

to in certain societies, and to seek justice. It is so much more difficult for women to sustain

the family and care for family members maimed by violence if their own wounds are not

being  treated  and  the  injustices  they  have  suffered  not  being  remedied.  With  so  much

money available for weapons, can’t the world spare resources to compensate for the loss of

life and limb, of the families and homes of these innocent victims, to help them overcome

the ravages of conflict and enable them to become peacemakers?

Mr. President,

That  women  suffer  disproportionately  from  conflicts  and  wars  that  they  did  not  cause

creates the false impression that women are only victims and not also peacemakers. It is

high time – indeed, high time is long past – that this flawed image be laid to rest. And one

sure way of achieving that is to harness to the full the active role of women in all phases of

conflict prevention, mediation, conflict resolution and post-conflict peacebuilding. Without

the inputs and specific skills of women, the most comprehensive understanding possible of

the causes of conflicts and the most effective solutions to end them and build peace may

never be fully attained.

Thank you, Mr. President.

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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday called for solidarity with migrants and refugees.

Speaking to the crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the weekly General Audience, the Pope reflected on two particular corporal works of mercy - welcoming the stranger and clothing the naked – and said that the growing numbers of refugees fleeing war, famine and dire poverty calls us to welcome and care for these brothers and sisters.

Pope Francis reflected on the many stories of migration that are to be found in the Bible and on how, through the centuries, so many committed Christians have found generous ways of meeting the needs of people fleeing violence and injustice. 

“Today – he said – the current economic crisis unfortunately fosters attitudes of closure instead of welcome”.   

“In some parts of the world walls and barriers are being built. It appears that the silent work of men and women who, in different ways, do what they can to help and assist refugees and migrants, is being drowned out by the noise made by those who give voice to an instinctive egoism” he said. 

And saying that closure is never a solution, the Pope said it actually ends up favouring criminal trafficking. The only solution, he said,  is solidarity: “Solidarity with the migrant, solidarity with the foreigner…” 

Pope Francis reiterated that this is a commitment that we must all make: “no one excluded”.

“Dioceses, parishes, religious institutes, organisations and individual Christians: we are all called to welcome our brothers and sisters who are fleeing war, hunger, violence and cruel conditions of  life” he said.

And setting aside his text, Pope Francis told the story of a lady who was approached by a refugee asking directions for the Holy Door. The man, the Pope said, was dirty and  barefoot but wanted to go to St. Peter’s Basilica to cross the holy threshold. The woman took stock of his bare feet and called a taxi, but the taxi driver initially didn’t want him on board because he was ‘smelly’. The taxi driver ended up boarding the woman and the man who, during the drive, told his story of pain, war, hunger and migration.
 
Upon destination, Pope Francis recounted that the taxi driver, the same man who initially didn’t want the refugee to board his taxi because he was ‘smelly’, refused to accept payment for his service from the woman because he said: “It is I who should pay you because thanks to you I have listened to a story that has changed my heart”.

The Pope continued saying that the woman was well aware of the pain of a migrant because she had Armenian blood and knew the suffering of her people.

“When we do something like that initially there is some discomfort – ‘a smell’ – but at the end, a story like this brings fragrance to our soul, and changes us. Think about this story and think what you can do for refugees” he said.        

So too, ‘clothing the naked’ he said, increasingly means caring for those whose dignity has been stripped from them, and working to ensure that it is upheld and safeguarded. 

And this, he explained, means literally giving clothes to those who have none, but it also means thinking of women whose bodies are exploited by human traffickers and  of the many other ways people – even minors – are used as a form of merchandise.

“Having no job, no home, no just salary is also a form of nakedness, as is suffering discrimination because of race or faith. These are all forms of ‘nakedness’ that we Christians are called to act upon” he said. 
 
As followers of Christ, Pope Francis concluded, may we never close our hearts to those in need. By being open to others, our lives are enriched, our societies can enjoy peace and all people can live in a way befitting their dignity.

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(Vatican Radio) Police chiefs, Bishops, Religious sisters and representatives from civil society, who make up the Santa Marta Group, are joining together this week, 26-27 October, in the Vatican to share and encourage best practice in the struggle against human trafficking.

Among those taking part in the conference is Archbishop Stephen Brislin of Cape Town, South Africa. He spoke with Christopher Wells about the meeting.

“What the conference tries to do is to bring together bishops and heads of the Church together with chiefs of police from various countries,” he said.

And so we often have chiefs of police from South America, from Canada, North America, various European countries and some African countries as well, and Asian countries, and sometimes the presidents of the different episcopal conferences, or some bishops who are particularly concerned about the issue. And the idea of course is that together with the police we believe that the church has a very important role to play in counteracting human trafficking.

Archbishop Brislin said human trafficking is “an enormous” problem throughout the world, even if, on account of the secrecy and deception of traffickers, “it’s very difficult to assess” the full extent of the problem. He described human trafficking as “a new form of slave labour.”

Describing the efforts of the Santa Marta Group to counteract human trafficking, Archbishop Brislin pointed to the example of the cooperation between the Church and police in the United Kingdom, noting especially the role of women religious in assisting victims of human trafficking.

Archbishop Brislin also spoke of the Church’s role in raising awareness about human trafficking. “Another very important role for the Church is in terms of awareness,” he said, “because the whole of human trafficking really revolves around deception, deceiving people into believing that there are wonderful job opportunities in other places of the world.” He said it’s important to warn vulnerable persons, especially young people, of the threat of trafficking. “If there is any job offer that seems to be too good to be true, it is too good to be true. So beware.”

Listen to the full interview of Archbishop Stephen Brislin with Christopher Wells:

At this year’s conference, Santa Marta Group delegates will report back to Pope Francis the progress that has been made since signing the SMG commitment two years ago, where each of the 24 police chiefs present committed to developing partnerships with the Church and civil society to bring to justice those who are responsible for the horrendous crime of trafficking and to alleviate the suffering of the victims.

This year’s SMG conference will include a call for every Bishops’ Conference to ensure there is a named Bishop in their Conference to meet and engage with law enforcement officials; a call to accompany all victims of trafficking through the law enforcement process; a call for the Church to engage with vulnerable communities and to provide a safe space for people to report suspected trafficking and for victims to come forward; a challenge to exploitative industries – not just the sex trade, but mainstream goods and services; and guidance on the indicators of trafficking so people can more easily identify when exploitation is occurring.

Delegates will also have an audience with Pope Francis on 27 October.

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Rome, Italy, Oct 26, 2016 / 03:03 am (CNA).- This week 130 Syrian refugees landed in Rome as part of a pilot program aimed at providing safe passage for migrants seeking to enter Europe, all of whom voiced their gratitude and desire to leave war behind.

“I want to live normal, as a human, just that.”

This is what a young woman, who preferred not to give her name, told CNA just hours after arriving to Rome from Lebanon.

A university student studying geology, she is originally from the southern city of As-Suwayda, but left her friends and relatives behind and came to Italy by herself in the hopes of continuing her studies and living a normal life, far away from war.

The situation in Syria “is destroying everything. Every person, every dream, you can’t dream. There is killing everywhere. This is Syria now, not before,” she said through tears.

Wiping her face dry, the young woman didn’t want to talk about her family, but said she came to Italy “to continue my studies. This is the basic thing.” Italy, she said, is “a nice place, I expect the best.”



The young student was among the latest round of refugees to arrive to Rome through the Humanitarian Corridors project.

Humanitarian Corridors is a pilot program and joint-ecumenical initiative of the Sant'Egidio Community, the Federation of Protestant Churches in Italy, the Italian government and the Waldensian and Methodist churches, the project provides aid and safe passage to those fleeing war and violence.

The refugees have come from situations of desperation in countries such as Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, Ethiopia and Eritrea. Among them are sick children, disabled persons, elderly and widows of war with children.

So far roughly 400 people have already arrived in Italy through project, without having to risk their lives in the Mediterranean. The first arrivals came in February, and 12 more followed soon after on board the papal plane with Pope Francis when he returned to Rome after his April 16 day trip to Lesbos.

On March 6 Pope Francis gave a shout-out to the program, saying he admires the project, “which combines solidarity and security, allows one to help people fleeing war and violence.”

The most recent arrivals came on two separate flights from Lebanon Oct. 24 and 25, nearly all of whom are Syrians who fled their country and had been living in refugee camps in Lebanon.

The group consisted of 72 Syrian refugees, both individuals and 18 families, and included 45 children and 14 mothers. They are both Christians and Muslims, nearly all originally from war-torn Syria.

A single mother who arrived with her two children told CNA she came “first of all for the children,” adding that “this was a dream. I didn’t think this dream could be realized.”

The woman, whose children are about six and eight years old, has been living in refugee camps since her children were born. They first lived in a camp in Syria when the children were infants, and later transferred to a camp in Lebanon, where they have been living for the past four years.

With no husband, the woman left all of her relatives behind in Lebanon and came to Italy to meet her brother, who had already migrated and was at the airport to welcome her.

“I am very happy because life in the camp was very hard and very difficult. I wanted to get out and to see Italy, to see what was outside, which certainly isn’t like life in the camp,” she said.

She said the first step for her family now will be for the children to learn Italian so they can go to school. They “must learn the language to continue their life journey, because now they are saved,” she said, explaining that the rest of her family hopes to join them one day.

Rami, a Muslim refugee from Deir ez-Zor, Syria, was among those who arrived to Rome with Pope Francis in April.

After making the perilous journey from Turkey to the Greek island of Lesbos, Rami found himself stuck in a refugee camp on the island, but was selected by lottery to come back to Rome with the Pope since he had his paperwork in order.

He was present at Rome’s Fiumicino airport for the Oct. 24 arrival of his sister and her children, whom he had not seen for six years.

When he and the other refugees arrived to Rome with Pope Francis, “our life took a 180 degree turn from hell to paradise,” he told CNA. “I come from a country at war, and we arrived to a country where there is peace, security and tranquility.”

In Syria “there was war, destruction, calumny,” he said, explaining that his sister’s husband is missing, and that after traveling from Syria to Lebanon and finally Lebanon to Rome, “we're all happy.”

Speaking of his experience living in Italy, Rami, who worked in general renovation in Syria, said that “it’s fabulous, I am happy, there is a lot of stability. My children go to school now, they have already learned Italian better than me. We hope to continue going forward, that the situation gets better.”

He voiced his gratitude to Pope Francis for his welcome and attention to migrants, explaining that “we are guests of the Pope.”

“I am very proud and I will tell it to everyone with great pleasure...We are under his care. We are very happy in his care,” he said.

For her part, Sara said she is happy to be in “a calm, secure country,” and that she decided to come above all for her children.

“I am thinking of school. I am more interested in the future of my children,” she said, explaining that she will “always give thanks to the Italian people, for their welcome.”

Dirkan Qariqosh, a refugee from Aleppo who came to Italy with his wife and son, told CNA that he had been an artist in Syria, and hopes to better his skills in such an artistic culture.

“We have come here to a country of peace. I am an artist, I worked with copper, with gypsum,” he said, explaining that in Syria, “I did paintings and taught children.”

Since he and his family are now living in Italy, “perhaps I can study to further advance (my skills),” he said, adding that “we have suffered a lot and we want to say ‘enough!’ We hope for peace in Syria and we want to say ‘enough!’ to war.”

Andrea Riccardi, Founder of the Sant’Egidio Community, told CNA that the success of the Humanitarian Corridors project “means that Italy is opening itself to the Syrian crisis with the Humanitarian Corridors.”

“It’s the answer to the war, the inhumanity of war, but also to the merchants of death.”

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