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(Vatican Radio)  Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, called for ‘the enhancement of infection prevention and control, including good sanitation and hygiene both in health care settings and in communities’ in response to the danger of antimicrobial resistance.

His comments came in an address to a high-level meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance at the UN headquarters in New York during the General Assembly.

Cardinal Parolin warned against the potential causes of an increasing resistance to antibiotics and current medical methods.

‘These causes include inappropriate use of antimicrobial medicines in human, animal, food, agriculture and aquaculture sectors; lack of access to health care services, including diagnostics and laboratory tests; and the contamination of soil, water and crops with antimicrobial residues.’

He concluded his address by reminding world leaders of the need to leave no one behind in regard to universal health care access.

‘On behalf of these hundreds of millions of people who have no access to health care and are most susceptible to diseases related to antimicrobial resistance, the Holy See appeals to the International Community to take their concerns and basic needs into greater consideration, without viewing them as burdens supported merely out of duty, or as problems raised as an afterthought. Leaving no one behind means giving greater attention to these persons who are left farthest behind.’

Cardinal Parolin’s full address is below:

21 September 2016

Mr. President,

The Holy See shares the deep concern repeatedly expressed by the United Nations General Assembly and by the governing bodies of the relevant Specialized Agencies with regard to the prevalence and impact of antimicrobial resistance in all parts of the world. With tens of thousands of health care centers and institutions of higher medical education in many parts of the world, the Catholic Church is deeply and extensively engaged in health care and in preventive health education. Thus the Holy See is keenly aware of the catastrophic situation that could develop if effective measures to control this global health threat are not adequately taken by the international community, and thus calls for the enhancement of infection prevention and control, including good sanitation and hygiene both in health care settings and in communities. Experts have pointed to the interrelated causes of this complex public health challenge. These causes include inappropriate use of antimicrobial medicines in human, animal, food, agriculture and aquaculture sectors; lack of access to health care services, including diagnostics and laboratory tests; and the contamination of soil, water and crops with antimicrobial residues. In this regard, Pope Francis has warned that “the degree of human intervention, often in the service of business interests and consumerism, is actually making our earth less rich and beautiful, ever more limited and grey, even as technological advances and consumer goods continue to abound limitlessly.” [1] The Political Declaration rightfully points out that antimicrobial resistance makes it more difficult to safeguard the health and well-being of people most vulnerable to life-threatening infections, especially women giving birth, newborns, patients with certain chronic diseases, and those undergoing chemotherapy or surgery. Insufficient attention seems to be paid, however, to those who are socially and economically deprived, including the poor, marginalized and minority populations, refugees, migrants, and those internally displaced. Their lack of access to quality health care drives them to buy medicines on informal markets, where they are vulnerable to being sold false or counterfeit products.

Mr President,

My Delegation earnestly hopes that public health measures, medical research and diagnostic development will provide accessible and equitable solutions leading to, as Pope Francis has emphasized, “a genuine service… to care for our common home and the integral development of persons, especially those in greatest need”. [2] On behalf of these hundreds of millions of people who have no access to health care and are most susceptible to diseases related to antimicrobial resistance, the Holy See appeals to the International Community to take their concerns and basic needs into greater consideration, without viewing them as burdens supported merely out of duty, or as problems raised as an afterthought. [3] Leaving no one behind means giving greater attention to these persons who are left farthest behind.

Thank you, Mr. President.

[1] Pope Francis, Laudato Si’, 34.

[2] Pope Francis, Address during Visit to the United Nations Office at Nairobi, Kenya, 26

November 2015.

[3] Pope Francis, Laudato Si’, 49.

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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday met with the Italian National Council of the Order of Journalists, telling them that truth, professionalism and respect for human dignity were essential elements in their work.

Listen to Lydia O'Kane's report

Meeting with the assembled Italian journalists in the Vatican’s Clementine Hall on Thursday, Pope Francis told them that there were few professions that have “so much influence on society like that of journalism.” He noted that they are usually the ones who are there to record what he called,  the "first draft of history”, “the building of the news agenda and introducing people to the interpretation of events.”

He also noted that the journalistic profession was one that was continually adapting to changes in the way people digest news through new forms of media.

In his discourse the Pope stressed three essential elements in the work of a journalist, that he said, could serve to “improve the society in which we live”: To love the truth, to embody professionalism and to respect human dignity.

Truth

He said that loving the truth meant not only stating it, but living it  and bearing witness to it in their work, adding, even in journalism we must be able to discern between shades of grey surrounding the events that we are called to tell.”

Speaking about the second element, professionalism, Pope Francis underlined that when there was professionalism, journalists remained “a cornerstone, a fundamental element for the vitality of a free and pluralistic society.”

Respecting human dignity

On the subject of human dignity, the Pope stressed the importance of responsible journalism and he reiterated earlier comments he made about rumours being a form of "terrorism", and  how you can kill a person with language. The Holy Father went on to say that “journalism cannot become a '' weapon of destruction "of people and even nations.” Criticism, is legitimate, he added, “as well as the denunciation of evil, but this must always be done respecting the other, his life, his affections”.

Holy See communications

Pope Francis during his discourse also commented on the changing communication’s environment of the Holy See. He said that it was experiencing a renewal process from which journalists should benefit, adding “the Secretariat for Communication will be the natural point of reference for your valuable work.”

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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis contrasted the anxiety that comes from the Holy Spirit and the anxiety that comes from a dirty conscience. During his homily during the daily Mass at the Casa Santa Marta, he also spoke about vanity, which “masks” life, making it look like something it is not. 

Listen to Christopher Wells' report: 

Two forms of anxiety

The Gospel of the day describes King Herod (Antipas) as being perplexed or anxious because, having had John the Baptist killed, he now felt threatened by Jesus. He was worried just as his father, Herod the Great, was troubled after the visit of the Magi. There can be two different kinds of anxiety in the soul, Pope Francis said, a “good” anxiety, which “the Holy Spirit gives us” and which “makes the soul restless to do good things”; and a “bad” anxiety, “that which is born from a dirty conscience.” The two Herods tried to resolve their anxiety by killing, going forward over “the bodies of the people”:

These people who had done such evil, who does evil and has a dirty conscience and cannot live in peace, because they live with a continual itch, with a continual rash that does not leave them in peace… These people have done evil, but evil always has the same root, any evil: greed, vanity, and pride. And all three do not leave the conscience in peace; all three do not allow the healthy restlessness of the Holy Spirit to enter, but bring you to live like this: anxiously, with fear. Greed, vanity, and pride are the roots of all evils.

Vanity, the osteoporosis of the soul

The day’s first Reading, taken from Ecclesiastes, speaks about vanity:

The vanity that makes us swell up. The vanity that does not have long life, because it is like a soap bubble. The vanity that does not give us true gain. What profit comes to the person for all the effort he puts into worrying? He is anxious to appear, to pretend, to seem. This is vanity. If we want to speak simply: vanity is covering up real life. And this makes the soul sick. Because in the end, if they cover up their real life in order to appear or to seem a certain way, all the things they do to pretend… What is gained? Vanity is like an osteoporosis of the soul: the bones seem good on the outside, but within they are totally ruined. Vanity makes us a fraud.

A face like an image in a picture, but the truth is otherwise

It’s like con men who “mark the cards” in order to win, the Pope continued. But “this victory is a fiction, it’s not true. This is vanity: living to pretend, living to seem, living to appear. And this makes the soul restless.” Pope Francis recalled the strong words Saint Bernard had for the vain: “Think of what you will be: food for worms.” Following on the saint’s thought, the Pope said, “All this ‘putting make-up’ on life is a lie, because the worms will eat you and you will be nothing.” What power does vanity have? he asked. Driven by pride to wickedness, it does not allow you to see your mistakes, “it covers everything, everything is covered”:

How many people do we know that appear one way: ‘What a good person! He goes to Mass every Sunday. He makes great donations to the Church.’ This is how they appear, but the osteoporosis is the corruption they have within. There are people like this – but there are also holy people! – who do this. This is vanity: You try to appear with a face like a pretty picture, and yet your truth is otherwise. And where is our strength and security, our refuge? We read it in the psalm between the readings: ‘Lord, you have been our refuge from generation to generation.’ And before the Gospel we recalled the words of Jesus: ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life.’ This is the truth, not the cosmetics of vanity. May the Lord free us from these three roots of all evil: greed, vanity, and pride. But especially from vanity, that makes us so bad.

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Rome, Italy, Sep 22, 2016 / 03:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Known around the globe as simply “Padre Pio,” Saint Pio of Pietrelcina has been called one of the “most active” saints in the Church, and continues to work miracles for those who pray through his intercession.

“St. Padre Pio is a pretty powerful intercessor…a priest said to me once that he’s probably one of the most active saints in the Church,” Fr. John Paul Zeller MVFA, told CNA in an interview.

A friar with the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word and a Missionary of Mercy from Birmingham, Ala., Fr. Zeller is the proud owner of a first-class relic of Padre Pio, and has witnessed several healings in first-person after praying through Padre Pio's intercession with the relic in hand.

Fr. Zeller said that while he initially had no specific devotion to Padre Pio, he developed one after taking a trip to San Giovanni Rotondo, where Padre Pio served as a priest for the majority of his life, after the 2014 canonization of St. John Paul II.

After learning more about Padre Pio's life, the priest said he was moved, and worked up the courage to ask one of the superiors in San Giovanni for a relic. The superior agreed, and gave Fr. Zeller not one but two pieces of a blood-soaked bandage Padre Pio had wrapped around the wounds of his stigmata.

Padre Pio was born Francesco Forgione May 25, 1887, to a devout Catholic family in Pietrelcina, Italy. At the age of 15, he joined the Capuchin Friars, and eventually became a priest with the order.

Throughout his life, Padre Pio was known as a mystic who experienced the stigmata for 50 years. Many miracles and wonders have been attributed to him, including reports of healing, soul-reading, levitation and even bi-location.

Fr. Zeller said that after he received the relics, he gave one to his community, founded by Mother Angelica, and was granted permission to keep the other for himself.

“I keep that relic on me at all times,” he said, noting that in his role as Director of the pilgrimage department at EWTN’s headquarters in Birmingham, “I have the opportunity to pray with a lot of people.”

“I’ve prayed with people and there have been cases where there have been, I would say, some healings,” the priest said, explaining that people will come up to him several months, even a year, after he prayed with them and recount experiences of healing.

One such experience happened only a few months ago during a healing service at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville on the feast of Our Lady of Fatima, he said, recalling how during the service, he and two other priests prayed over people with the two blood-soaked bandages as well as a glove of Padre Pio’s that belonged to Mother Angelica.

As they were praying a woman suffering from sciatica came up “and I prayed over her,” Fr. Zeller said, noting that the woman approached him later and said that after she went back to her seat, she told her husband “I’m healed.”

Sciatica “is a very serious back condition that doesn’t really go away and is very painful,” the priest said, noting that “it totally went away” for this woman after he prayed over her with the relic.

In another instance, Fr. Zeller recalled how shortly after he received the relic he was talking with some friends and found out that their 12-year-old daughter had been suffering from an ear infection that “wouldn’t seem to go away.”

He asked the girl if he could pray over her with his relic, and when she said yes, “I showed her mom and I showed her and I said ‘which ear is it?’”

Fr. Zeller said that as soon as he put the relic to the girl’s ear and began to pray “she dropped to the ground. She totally slipped out of my hands.”

“I should have caught her, but I didn’t know what was happening, I was kind of scared that something happened to her, but she totally slipped out of my hands and fell on the ground,” he said, noting that while he was anxious over the situation, the girl’s mother was calm, saying “that would be ‘Slain in the Spirit.’”

“The ear infection was completely knocked out of her,” he said, noting that from that point on, “from what I know she didn’t have the ear infection.”

In yet another case “there was a lady that had some kind of heart disease for 40 years that she’d suffered from in her life,” he said, adding that while he didn’t have time to get into the specifics, “she’s totally healed” after having been prayed over with the relic of Padre Pio.

“It’s a longer story than that, but she’s totally free from that,” Fr. Zeller said, recalling how another women recently came to him, saying she “had experienced some kind of physical healing” after being prayed over with the relic.

Referring to the healings, Fr. Zeller stressed that “that’s not me, that’s the intercession of St. Padre Pio.”

Although he initially had no devotion to Padre Pio until just a few years ago, the priest said he feels like the sudden connection that came is because the saint chose him, rather than the other way around.

“One of my professors at seminary used to say that we don’t choose saints, saints choose us,” he said, noting that while we may have “a particular liking of a saint, we may look at a saint’s personality and be drawn to them…I think there is a truth to saints choosing us rather than us choosing them.”

Padre Pio “was really a joyful friar,” he said, explaining that he had always envisioned the saint as being “really stern” and was afraid to ask for his intercession, lest Padre Pio “be stern with me.”

However, it was during his trip to San Giovanni Rotondo that he learned who Padre Pio really was, Fr. Zeller said, explaining that in his view, the reason for the saint’s seemingly serious disposition is that “he knew when people were not repentant.”

“It was said that he could even smell sin, and I don’t even imagine what eternal separation from God smells like,” the priest said.

“So that was his concern for the salvation of people’s souls. He was concerned about people’s souls and bringing them God’s mercy and God’s forgiveness.”

To honor his upcoming Sept. 23 feast, devotees in Rome will celebrate with an entire week of events and activities.

Thousands of devotees with 600 groups will gather in the Roman parish of San Salvatore in Lauro, adjacent to Rome’s famous Piazza Navona, which will serve as a hub for the people attending the various activities linked to Padre Pio’s feast.

Inside San Salvatore numerous relics of Padre Pio, including his cloak, gloves, stole and blood from the wounds of the stigmata that marked his body for 50 years.

Festivities opened Sept. 18 with a special Mass celebrated by Rome’s auxiliary bishop Guerino Di Tora. On Sept. 20 Padre Pio’s relics were exposed in San Salvatore for veneration, and a special Mass celebrated by another of Rome’s auxiliary bishops, Angelo De Donatis.

Two days later, on the 22nd, the “Vigil of Transit” commemorating what is believed to be the exact moment of Padre Pio’s death will be celebrated. After the vigil, Mass will be celebrated by Msgr. Carmelo Pellegrino, Promotor of Faith of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

Celebrations will culminate on Padre Pio’s Sept. 23 feast with several Masses said throughout the day as well as a procession of a statue of the saint and his relics from San Salvatore to Piazza Navona, which will take place in the afternoon.

A special blessing will be given and a prayer offered for the victims of the recent earthquake that devastated several cities in Central Italy.

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