Catholic News 2

Since the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, dedicated to prayer and fasting, the Syrian Orthodox Archdiocese of Aleppo offers daily food for breakfast and evening meals to the poorest Muslim families living in Sulaimaniyah area. Some photos released by ankawa.com site document the distribution of the meals prepared by Christians for Muslim families. The distribution center is located in the local archdiocese, at the Cathedral of St. Ephrem the Syrian.

A message released by the media of the Archdiocese presents this initiative as a simple gesture to express the feelings of solidarity between citizens of different religious affiliations, in the hope of helping to restore with time the coexistence among the various ethnic and religious communities that characterized the Syrian society before the war.

Even the conflict led, in many cases, Christians and Muslims to carry out interfaith solidarity gestures, as in the case of Muslim orphan children who found hospitality in structures owned by the Church, after the building where they were staying had been devastated by the bombing.

The leadership of the Syrian-Orthodox Archdiocese of Aleppo is still formally entrusted to Metropolitan Mar Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim, who died along with the Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Aleppo, Boulos Yazigi in April 2013, while the two Archbishops were in the area between Aleppo and the border with Turkey.  

(Source: Agenzia Fides)

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(Vatican Radio) About a quarter of Air France pilots have gone on strike to demand better working conditions — the latest challenge to travelers and tarnishing France's image as it hosts Europe's biggest sporting event.

Listen to Stefan Bos' report:

Strikes and demonstrations over the country's labor reforms and other industrial disputes are further complicating efforts to host the European Football Championship Euro 2016, which is also suffering under terror threats and violence.

French leaders are frustrated that they have no time to celebrate their country's victorious start to the Euro 2016 football championship after France won the opening match against Romania. Officials had hoped hoped to put terrorism, strikes, and recent deadly flooding at least for some weeks behind them, as the country turns its attention to the European Championship soccer tournament, expected to draw over 2 million visitors.

But on Saturday Air France, the nation's main airline, said up to a fifth of flights are canceled, both domestic and international. Among those affected were flights carrying spectators to cities holding the matches. It's the latest standoff between unions and the government.

Weeks of strikes and demonstrations over the country's labor reforms and other industrial disputes already led to panic at the pumps, violent protests in the streets and, most recently, garbage rotting in the gutters. Unions are angry at a package of government labor reforms that will give big companies more freedom to hire and fire workers or extend working hours, moves the government says are needed to make France more competitive.

Among the most significant changes is a new rule allowing companies to reach collective pay deals with their own workers rather than having to match national agreements. Another new requirement says at least 50 percent of employees must endorse a pay deal.

UNIONS LOSING?

At present, unions representing only one-third of employees can negotiate pay settlements, and strikers fears the biggest losers could be larger, traditional unions.

Despite the obvious impact on Euro 2016, protesters refuse to end the strikes. "It's important to go on with the strikes, because we must stop this law," an angry woman said. 

That's not all. French police have stepped in to break up small groups of mainly British and Russian football fans fighting one another in Marseille

Separately riot police also dispersed crowds with tear gas after mainly English football fans clashed with French locals in the southern city. Several vollies of tear gas were fired to disperse the fans, many of whom appeared to be drinking heavily.

The latest disturbances saw several arrests. That violence comes at a moment when thousands of police and troops are already patrolling the streets amid ongoing terror threats. Yet, French President Francois Hollande made clear he remained confident that Euro 2016 would be a success.

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Vatican City, Jun 11, 2016 / 11:56 am (CNA/EWTN News).- No single person is more valuable than another, especially when it comes to those with disabilities, Pope Francis said on Saturday,, insisting that these people have a unique richness, and that discriminating against them is “one of the ugliest things” we can do.

When asked by a young woman named Serena, 25 and in a wheelchair, why some disabled people aren’t able to receive Communion or go to Mass like other members of their parish, the Pope said the question touches on “one of the ugliest things among us: discrimination. It’s a very ugly thing.”

To say that “you aren’t like me, you go over there” or that it’s not possible to receive catechesis because “this parish is for those who are the same, without differences,” is one of the worst things that can happen.

Francis, who spoke off-the-cuff, said that if a priest does this to someone, he must “convert,” because having diversity doesn’t mean someone “with five senses that function well is better than one who is blind and deaf. No, that’s not true.”

“We all have the same ability to grow, to go forward, to love the Lord, to do good things, to understand Christian doctrine. We all have the same capacity to receive the sacraments.”

While it’s true that a good formation is needed if someone wants to receive the Eucharist, there ought to be a way for those with disabilities to receive the same preparation as everyone else, he said.

For example, if a person is deaf, there must be “the opportunity in that parish to prepare yourself with sign language. It’s important.”

Pope Francis spoke to several hundred disabled persons and their caregivers June 11 as part of a conference organized by the Department of Catechesis for Disabled Persons of the Italian National Office of Catechesis in honor of the 25th anniversary of their founding.

The conference, titled “…and you will always eat at my table!”, coincided with the June 10-12 Jubilee for the Sick and Disabled currently taking place as part of the wider Jubilee of Mercy.

Francis told participants that a world in which everyone is the same “would be boring,” and that diversity is a gift. He tossed his prepared text aside, jesting that “as we all know, to read a speech is also a bit boring, right?”

He then took three questions from people in the audience. The first was from a woman named Lavinia, who spoke about the fear that often comes when associating with people who have disabilities.

In his response, the Pope stressed that “we are all different. There is not one equal to the other,” and that the fear of meeting a person who is different from us comes because it presents us with a challenge.

“It’s a challenge. It's more comfortable to stay still, to ignore diversity and pretend that we’re all equal,” he said, noting that while every challenge brings about some sort of fear, diversity “is a richness,” because each person is able to give something to the other.

“I have something, you have another,  and together we have something bigger and more beautiful. This is how we go forward.”

Francis admitted that while some differences among individuals have painful causes rooted in illness, these also enrich, because they challenge us and help us to overcome our fears.

“We should never be afraid of diversity,” he said, explaining that in order for this to happen we must learn how to connect with the things that we have in common. A concrete gesture that can get us started on this path, he said, is “extending the hand.”

“When I extend my hand, I put in common what I have and what you have. If someone extends their hand sincerely, I give you what is mine and you give me what is yours.”

Pope Francis also took a question from a priest, Fr. Luigi, who is in charge of catechesis in a parish in the south of Rome, on how to teach parish communities to welcome and listen to everyone who comes to them.

In his answer, Francis stressed the importance of welcoming everyone, without exception. If a priest doesn’t do this, “what advice would the Pope give?” he asked, saying the answer would be to “Please, close the doors of the parish – either everyone, or no one!”

The role of the priest, assisted by the laity and catechists, is to ensure that everyone truly understands the faith, understands love and how to get along, even amid differences, he said.

He also stressed the importance of what he called “the pastoral of the ears,” meaning to listen. While the Church does a lot of good things in her pastoral work, this is one thing everyone, but especially priests, “must do more.”

Even though the stories might get old, it’s not the same person telling them, he said, adding that “the Lord is in the heart of every person, and you must have the patience to listen, to welcome and to listen to everyone.”

In his answer to the third question, posed by Serena, the Pope noted how disabled people are frequently discriminated against, even with “offensive words,” and insisted that this shouldn’t happen.

While some parish priests might say they are denying catechesis or the necessary formation to receive the sacraments to a disabled people because they aren’t able to understand, this is no excuse, Francis said.

“Each one of us has a different way of understanding things…but each of us has the ability to know God,” he said, and pointed to St. Pius X’s decision in 1910 to allow children aged 7 and older to receive Holy Communion.

“Many were scandalized” by the decision, saying that children weren’t able to understand the mystery of the sacrament, Francis observed. However, St. Pius X “did something different, an equality, because he knew that children understood in a different way.”

Each person has their own unique richness that is different from everyone else’s, he said, but noted that in the Mass and in the sacraments,  everyone is  equal because we all have Christ and we all have the same mother, Mary.

Pope Francis then thanked those present for coming, and asked for prayers. He led the group in reciting the Hail Mary before spending several minutes greeting the elderly and disabled in the first few rows of the auditorium.

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(Vatican Radio) Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the UN, addressed the UN's High Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS Friday. He noted that as many as fifty percent of HIV-positive children die before their second birthday because they lack access to necessary diagnosis, treatment and medication. In fact, he said, the majority of HIV-positive children are not diagnosed until they are four years of age. The Holy See recently took up these concerns by convoking meetings at the Vatican with the executives of drug companies so that a more timely and affordable response can be made to address this tragedy.

Please find the full statement of Archbishop Auza following, delivered in English:  

Mr. President,

After years of shocking narratives on the loss of health and life among men, women and children living with HIV, my delegation is pleased with the progress detailed in the Secretary General’s Report “On the Fast-Track to End the AIDS Epidemic.” It is indeed heartening to set strategic goals and benchmarks with a view to ending this disease, and to do so within the more comprehensive framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. My delegation, however, urges the international community to pay equal attention to the cautionary note raised in the same Report, namely, that “AIDS is far from over […] despite remarkable progress,” and “if we accept the status quo unchanged, the epidemic will rebound in several low- and middle-income countries.”

In this regard, Catholic-inspired organizations often report the persistent obstacles posed by lack of access to early diagnosis and treatment; by lack of appropriate, affordable, and accessible “child-friendly” formulations and dosages of medications for pediatric use; by changes in funding priorities imposed by donor governments and agencies resulting in disruptions of services for those who do not live in the so-called HIV “hot spots”; by frequent stock-outs of medicines and diagnostic equipment and supplies; by interruptions of treatment, especially of women and young people who are subjected to stigma, discrimination and physical and emotional abuse as a result of their HIV status. While global goals and targets will be essentially moving forward, they must be anchored in reality, integrating the very real concerns that respective countries have in considering the holistic well-being of their people. Discrimination and stigmatization can never be an excuse to exclude or leave anyone behind. Every effort must be made to distinguish between policies that discriminate and stigmatize and those that are put in place to discourage risk-taking behaviors and encourage responsible and healthy relationships, especially among youth. While access to prevention, treatment and health care services must be guaranteed to all, they will never be enough by themselves to end HIV transmission and AIDS. We must continue to address their root causes and promote healthy lifestyles.

The obstacles to eradicating the spread of HIV/AIDS give ample evidence of the fact that in different parts of the world, especially in many regions of Africa, health care is still a privilege of the few who can afford it. As Pope Francis has said, access to health care, treatment, and medicines remains a dream for too many. Health-related issues, such as HIV/AIDS and related infections, require urgent political attention, above and beyond all other commercial or political interests. The international community must find the will, the technical expertise, the resources and the methods that provide access to diagnosis and treatment for all, and not simply for a privileged few, for “there is no human life that is more sacred than another, as there is no human life that is qualitatively more significant than another.” 

Presently, as many as fifty percent of HIV-positive children die before their second birthday, because they do not have access to the necessary diagnosis, treatment and medication. In fact, the majority of HIV-positive children are not diagnosed until they are four years of age. Taking up these concerns, the Holy See recently convened two meetings in the Vatican with the executive-level leaders of companies that manufacture pharmaceuticals and diagnostic equipment, in order to plan a timelier and more appropriate response to children living with HIV and tuberculosis. These business leaders, together with representatives of specialized multilateral organizations, governments, religious and other non-governmental organizations, agreed that providing affordable, appropriate, and accessible HIV medicines and diagnostic tools for pediatric use everywhere is an urgent global goal, thus committing themselves to overcoming the obstacles and accelerating access to diagnosis, treatment and medication for children living with HIV/AIDS. The Holy See and all the institutions of the Catholic Church are motivated more than ever to consider the plight of children living with HIV. Together let us muster the will, continue to sharpen the technical expertise already available and find the resources necessary to provide access to diagnosis, care and treatment, not only for a privileged few, but for all.

Thank you, Mr. President.

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(Vatican Radio) Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, addressed the United Nations Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in the Context of Peacekeeping Operations on Friday. Archbishop Auza urged the UN to take positive measures to prevent open violence against civilian populations. The Holy See also called for arms control and the limiting of the manufacture, sale and gifting of "horrendous weapons" which are later used to terrorize civilian populations. 

Please read Archbishop Auza's full address below:

Mr. President,

The Holy See commends the Presidency of France for bringing this extremely important topic to the attention of the Security Council and to the International Community. The long history of peacekeeping operations, with their successes and shortcomings, offers a rich reservoir of lessons learned with which to develop parameters for more effective strategy in conflict prevention and conflict resolution, as well as in defining mandates and rules of engagement.

The same history tells us about the evolution in the mandates that peacekeeping missions have been receiving from this Council. For instance, one might presume that an essential mandate of peacekeeping operations has always been the protection of civilians. Yet this is a relatively recent development. In fact, the first peacekeeping operation to receive the explicit mandate to protect civilians was the UN Assistance Mission in Sierra Leone in 1999.

While my delegation considers the protection of civilians a positive evolution of UN peacekeeping mandates, paradoxically it also points to the disturbing fact that more and more civilians are being targeted during armed conflict and indeed used as weapons of war. This is one of the saddest developments in the evolution of armed conflict. In the early 1900s, around 5 percent of fatalities were civilians, while in the 1990s, over 90 percent of the fatalities were non-combatants. Recent reports and studies unanimously affirm that deliberate targeting of and indiscriminate attacks on civilians are increasing. Untold violence willfully inflicted upon civilian populations and the defiant violations of international humanitarian law in many current conflicts are all too flagrant.

My delegation thus believes that in all cases where mass atrocities and other forms of attacks against defenseless civilian populations are being perpetrated or are most likely to happen, the protection of civilians in armed conflict must be a critical component of peacekeeping mission mandates. It would be one of the primary yardsticks with which to measure the success or failure of a peacekeeping mission. Every peacekeeping operation should be, at the end of the day, all about saving lives.

The evolution in UN mandates also tells us that peacekeeping missions have become much more than instruments for restoring peace after conflicts have erupted. Considering the decisive importance of both prevention and post-conflict peace consolidation, peacekeeping missions must also be deployed to prevent latent conflicts from exploding into open violence and to prevent post-conflict situations from descending again into violence.

While conflict prevention is primarily a function of diplomatic negotiations and mediations and post-conflict reconstruction and peace-building are often seen as the work of development experts and social scientists, particularly grave cases warrant a preventive peacekeeping mission to realistically stop latent conflicts from exploding, thus sparing populations from the scourges of death and destruction. In the same manner, lessons learned suggest that pulling peacekeeping missions too early can be extremely costly in every way.

A sure way to protect civilians during armed conflict is the preventive strategy of arms control. The Holy See renews its call upon arms producers and States to limit the manufacture, sale and gifting of horrendous weapons that are later used to terrorize the civilian population or destroy civilian infrastructure.

In the name of Pope Francis, my delegation wishes to express deep appreciation in particular for the work of the peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic. Without ignoring the disturbing allegations of crimes committed by some peacekeepers and without underestimating the danger that the Country could still fall back to violence, MINUSCA has contributed substantially to calming down the situation, to assisting the displaced and those victimized, and to maintaining an atmosphere that is conducive to the pacification of the population, the regular functioning of the institutions and the return to normal life. The multidimensional mandate of MINUSCA overall augurs well for the reconstruction and institutional capacity building efforts that underpin durable peace and sustainable development in the Country.

Moreover, the Holy See would like to express its profound gratitude to MINUSCA for all the help it rendered to make the visit of Pope Francis in Bangui safe and fruitful. The President of the Central African Republic spoke about the fruit of the Pope’s visit at the recent World Humanitarian Summit, saying, « Avec le passage du Saint Père dans mon pays la situation humanitaire s’est nettement apaisée caractérisé par un désarmement du coeur avec un retour de l’esprit de cohésion sociale et du vivre ensemble. »

The Holy See follows with interest the activities of the UN peacekeeping missions in different hot spots in the world and reiterates its commitment to collaborate, where possible, in the work of conflict prevention, conflict resolution, post-conflict stabilization and peace consolidation.

Thank you, Mr. President.

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