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(Vatican Radio) A top level Holy See delegation will be present in Istanbul for the first ever World Humanitarian Summit that takes place on 23 and 24 May.

Convened by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as the world witnesses the highest level of human suffering since World War 2, the summit brings together governments, humanitarian organizations, people affected by humanitarian crises and new partners - including the private sector.

Listen to the report by Linda Bordoni:

At the heart of the summit is the call for us all to invest in humanity – that is in people’s safety, dignity and the right to thrive – to  place that belief at the core of global decision-making.

To do this, the summit is asking participants to propose solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges and to set an agenda for effective humanitarian action.

What with over 4.3 million Syrians displaced by the conflict in their nation and estimates there will be at least 4.7 million by the end of the year, refugee issues will take center stage in Istanbul as leaders and policy-makers have to acknowledge that more  than half of those suffering are children under the age of 18 who have lost everything: family, friends, education and hope for a future of normality.

So, while the Summit is above all a call to action to change the effects of the crisis on a global, regional and local level  by trying to rethink and reshape the aid given to refugees today, the  refugee crisis is not the only topic. 

All participants will be committed to a unified agenda focusing on climate change, urbanization, population growth and how new technology can be used for the benefit of everyone. Round table events will provide the space for further creative brainstorming and on how to share and invest in new ideas.

So important are the issues at stake that the Holy See  has sent three top representatives to the meeting including Cardinal Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, Permanent Observer to the UN, Archbishop Bernard Auza and Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, who until a few months ago was the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations in Geneva.

The role and specific value of religious organizations and faith-based groups involved in peace-making, humanitarian assistance and long term reconstruction is recognized and highlighted as the strengthening of the synergies between all humanitarian stakeholders is one of the priorities in Istanbul.

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(Vatican Radio) The Secretary General of NATO says the military alliance wants a meeting with Russia before NATO leaders meet in Warsaw this July amidst the worst east-west standoff since the end of the Cold War. Jens Stoltenberg made the announcement following a two-day meeting of NATO foreign ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. The gathering was overshadowed by Russian anger over NATO's decision to invite Montenegro as its 29th member state and tensions between the United States and Russia over Syria.

Listen to Stefan Bos' report:

The NATO ministers gathered while the United States rejected a Russian proposal to carry out joint air strikes against Islamist militants in Syria.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu had urged both nations to target groups who do not observe a US-Russia brokered truce. “We should start joint actions between the Russian air force and the air force of the US-led coalition on May 25 and plan and carry out air strikes on targets and units belonging to al-Nusra and other illegal military groups, that do not observe the ceasefire,” he suggested.  

Yet, the U.S. State Department made clear they had different objections. While Moscow supports Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, Washington is backing groups attempting to overthrow him in a conflict which has claimed 250,000 lives.

Beyond Syria, tensions remain between NATO and Russia over the ongoing expansion of the alliance and its plans to boost its presence in Europe. On Thursday the small Balkan nation of Montenegro was officially invited to join NATO, prompting the Kremlin to describe NATO's  further expansion as a “negative process”.

'NO COLD WAR'

At the same NATO meeting in Brussels the alliance's secretary general Stoltenberg also announced that troops would be deployed in eastern Europe amid rising tensions with Russia. “The signal of having a multinational presence sends a very clear signal about that an attack on one ally would be an attack on the whole alliance," he told reporters.

"But at the same we are sending a signal about that NATO does not seek confrontation. We don’t want a new Cold War, and we’re are still striving for more constructive and cooperative cooperation with Russia,” he added.

Britain says NATO’s build-up in eastern Europe could include up to 3,500 troops. NATO claims that Moscow’s annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014 for pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine has prompted the alliance to consider deterrent forces in other nearby nations such as the Baltics.

Though the U.S. and NATO ceased all formal military cooperation with Moscow, foreign ministers agreed that the alliance should meet Russia before a NATO summit in Warsaw in July. Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman has welcomed the announcement, but cautioned that all dialogue must in his words "include respect for Russia's interests".

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(Vatican Radio) Amongst the high profile organizations committed to humanitarian action who are present at the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul is the Sovereign Order of Malta, reaffirming its over 900-year old commitment and its present global outreach to those in need.

The Grand Chancellor of the Sovereign Order of Malta Albrecht Boeselager told Vatican Radio’s Linda Bordoni why he believes the World Humanitarian Summit represents a unique and unprecedented opportunity:

Listen: 

The Grand Chancellor explains that “First: it’s the first time the UN has called for a World Summit dealing with humanitarian issues as the theme of the conference”.

Second – he goes on to say the Sovereign Order of Malta is extremely concerned that the respect for humanitarian law and humanitarian principle is declining in many regions of the world and he hopes that the summit will help to remind the signatory States of the Convention (and all other actors) that they have to respect the principles of humanitarian law and treat people accordingly.

Thirdly – he says- within this context he believes that religious organizations and faith-based groups have much to contribute as regards peace-making and peace-keeping and this capacity should be remembered, highlighted and used in regions of conflict.

“Many people see different religious or conflicts between religions as one of the major causes of war, which in fact is not true: recent researches have shown that  religions are not the cause for conflicts but are very often misused to fuel conflict or to give justification to conflict” he says.

Boeselager says that the engagement and commitment of religious institutions and faith-based organizations is very important, and that the Sovereign Order of Malta firmly believes it would be counter-productive to ignore the fact that they are fundamental in situations of humanitarian assistance and protection.

“90% of the world population belongs to a religion, a religious infrastructure is present in most regions and people have trust in religious leaders in most cases, so it would be stupid not to rely on those infrastructures and to include them in negotiations while distributing humanitarian goods” he says.

He points out that they know what the needs are at all stages: before, during and after crises.
  
“It’s an infrastructure that is most appropriate to be involved in humanitarian aid” he says.
  
The Summit is organized around five core commitments and the Sovereign Order of Malta endorses all of them. 

Boeselager says of the five the one he feels is most “actual” is the one regarding how we treat refugees and migrants.

“It’s a very hot potato at the moment, there is a lot of disagreement among the different nations but we must uphold the dignity of these people and treat them as children of God” he says.

He says the Sovereign Order of Malta is committed to continue to help migrants and refugees in precarious situations.

The Grand Chancellor points out that the Order has been active in the field of refugees for many decades in different parts of the world.     

He says his hope for the outcome of the summit is that “the attention of the world is drawn more intensely to the humanitarian tragedy which is unfolding and  that awareness is raised regarding the challenges we are facing”.

He expresses concern in particular for the increasing violations of humanitarian principles which, he points out, in most cases are committed by militant groups which are not State armies and therefore have not signed the humanitarian conventions, but he says “we also see an increasing number of States who are violating the humanitarian principles”.

Boeselager says “We hope that the attention will be drawn to this scandal” and on a more practical level we hope that some burocratic procedures regarding financing and coordinating humanitarian aid will be approved.

The Grand Chancellor concludes speaking of impact of Pope Francis in giving voice to the voiceless, calling for peace, upholding the rights of the most vulnerable:

“I think his position and his voice cannot be overestimated. He is one of the few, if not the only uncompromised authority in this field. So his action and his appeals are of crucial value for all who are active in the field and of course for all the victims”. 

To find out more about the commitments and involvement of the Sovreign Order of Malta at the WHS click here.

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Vatican City, May 21, 2016 / 09:40 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Vatican announced today that recent articles claiming that Pope emeritus Benedict XVI said that the Third Secret of Fatima was not released in its entirety back in 2000 are “pure inventions” and “absolutely untrue.”

The Holy See Press Office released a statement May 21 responding to recent blog posts that, during his time as Prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger told someone the Third Secret of Fatima was not completely published.

According to one article, Professor Ingo Dollinger was told by Cardinal Ratzinger that the Third Secret of Fatima, released in 2000 during the Jubilee Year by Pope John Paul II, was “incomplete.”

“In this regard, Pope emeritus Benedict XVI declares ‘never to have spoken with Professor Dollinger about Fatima’, clearly affirming that the remarks attributed to Professor Dollinger on the matter ‘are pure inventions, absolutely untrue’, and he confirms decisively that ‘the publication of the Third Secret of Fatima is complete,’” the Vatican statement said.

On May 13, 1917, brothers Francisco and Jacinta Marto – 9 and 7 years-old – and their cousin, 10-year-old Lucia dos Santos, were with their sheep grazing near the Portuguese town of Fatima when they saw a figure of a woman dressed in white and holding a rosary.

After this first appearance, the Virgin Mary would come to the children on the 13th of the month from May until October. The message of the Fatima apparitions can be summarized primarily as a call to repentance and prayer.

In 1930, the Catholic Church proclaimed the supernatural character of the apparitions and a shrine was erected at Fatima. Pope Paul VI visited Fatima in 1967, and later Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI visited during their pontificates. Pope Francis plans to visit Fatima in 2017 in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Marian apparitions.

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