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(Vatican Radio) As Pope Francis prepares to visit the Greek island of Lesbos, one of the gateways of Europe for hundreds of thousands of people fleeing conflict, we take a look at the current conditions forced migrants and refugees are faced with as they attempt to reach their final destinations.

The situation in Lesbos is highly charged as a recent deal between the EU and Ankara directly affects the refugees and migrants on the island.
 
According to that deal, migrants arriving in Greece are to be sent back to Turkey if they do not apply for asylum or their claim is rejected.

The deal also says that for every Syrian migrant sent back to Turkey, one Syrian already in Turkey will be resettled in the EU.

Apart from the dramatic situation in the main refugee center on the island – the Morìa camp which Pope Francis will visit – rights organizations are raising doubts as to whether Turkey really can offer the protection that many of these migrants need and whether the European Union is living up to its own core values on human rights.

Vatican Radio’s Linda Bordoni spoke to Mark Provera, JRS Europe’s Policy and Advocacy Officer to find out more about the situation.

Listen:

Mark Provera says first hand JRS experience shows that there are many migrants in a very vulnerable position.

“The recent agreement between Brussels and Ankara is an extremely unjust one. This is not about protection, it’s about deterrence” he says.

Provera explains that the deal consists of two core elements: “forced migrants, seeking protection, fleeing violence in their own countries, are quickly assessed when they reach the Greek island, with the view of having them return to Turkey; the second aspect is that for every Syrian returned to Turkey from Greece, another – completely different Syrian – will be admitted to an EU member state. This has been called the one-for-one deal”.

He points out  that instead of putting a stop to the illegal crossings which play into the hands of human smugglers, the one-for-one scheme effectively foresees one Syrian risking his life and making the dangerous crossing from Turkey to Greece in order for another person to be resettled in the EU.

“The claims that this scheme saves lives ring hollow, given that it’s based on forced migrants actually engaging in the very risk  that this deal purports to avoid” he says.

Voicing the concern of JRS that the EU has misappropriated the need to create safe and regular channels for refugees to reach safety in Europe, Provera also points out that every person has the right to apply for asylum and have their application individually assessed regardless of race, religion or nationality.

He agrees that many aspects of this deal appear to be in overt violation of international humanitarian law.

He also says it is a dangerous turning point in the way States deal with people seeking protection because it is contrary to the principle of non-refoulement of refugees (or not pushing back people in need of protection). 

“If we keep going down this route how do we expect to justly regulate our relations with one another” he says.

The fact, Provera says, that so many people are continuing in these days to arrive in Greece notwithstanding the implementation of the EU/Turkey deal talks volumes about their desperation and their need for protection.

Regarding the Morìa Center in Lesbos where people are being registered and assessed, Provera says that “formally ‘open’ Centers which had been called ‘hotspots’ in European policy language have now been transformed into detention Centers”.

This, he says, is particularly troubling as such decisions can only represent a last resort.

He points out is also unacceptable because of the profile of forced migrants who are reaching the Greek island: “statistics show a large number of adults with their families, a large proportion of women and children.”

So, he says, these are entirely inappropriate reception conditions for people to be held in.

Provera says European governments need to rethink not only the legality of this deal, they need to commit to honouring their international and their moral obligations to protect some of the most vulnerable people in the world.

“We would like to see firstly that all asylum seekers arriving on EU territory have full and proper access to the asylum procedure and that their claims are assessed properly in accordance with international and European law” he says.

The second thing, Provera continues, is that JRS continues to advocate for more safe and legal ways for people to reach European territory in order to make their claim for asylum.

He says there are many existing legal procedures and instruments such as those that relate to family reunification, humanitarian admission, humanitarian visas and legal visas for asylum seekers and even private sponsorship that could and should be implemented.

Provera says JRS hopes to see European governments take a comprehensive approach and make good use of existing instruments to use the full range of possibilities geared towards helping people who seek protection in the European Union.

Welcoming Pope Francis’ visit to Lesbos Provera says it goes an enormous way in highlighting the plight of individual people who are victims of violence, injustice and disaster:

“By bartering people as mere numbers we forget there are individual people involved in very perilous and vulnerable situations; we forget why people are needing protection and why they are leaving their countries in order to seek protection in Europe” he says.

So, he concludes, JRS hopes very much the Pope’s visit will highlight the personal circumstances and the human factor behind the numbers.   

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Providence, R.I., Apr 13, 2016 / 05:21 pm (CNA).- As part of his birthday celebration April 1, Bishop Thomas J. Tobin of Providence, R.I., had the privilege of meeting and sharing a birthday celebration with a very special woman, Claire Sharpe, who turned 106 that day.

Sharpe is a member of the first graduating class of St. Paul School, Cranston, a longtime parishioner of Our Lady of Mercy Parish, and is the oldest resident of East Greenwich, R.I.

She remembers growing up in Rhode Island in the early 1900s. In those days, her family did not have indoor plumbing — the children took baths in a galvanized tub in the kitchen, and often before going to bed, she would heat a brick to keep her warm, wearing her coat as she slept. Sharpe recalls not having electric heating until she was 19.

“We were very poor,” she said. “We didn’t have a cent. But, I learned that pennies don’t count, human beings count. We didn’t have much, but look what God has brought me today.”

And for her 106th birthday, God certainly brought her a full house. On Friday, Sharpe’s home was filled with friends and family, handmade birthday cards and gifts, stories and singing, all for a woman who has lived a life centered on the faith.

Father Bernard Healey, pastor of Our Lady of Mercy, organized the birthday celebration for Sharpe. Having suggested that all she wanted for her birthday was the celebration of a Mass, the pastor was happy to make this humble birthday wish come true. Young girls from the parish children’s choir sang for her and several of Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion to the Sick, who bring Sharpe Holy Communion weekly, came to celebrate.

“Claire is a wonderful woman of faith and joy,” said Father Healey. “She has a deep devotion to the Eucharist as evidenced by the only request she had for her birthday was to have Mass celebrated for her. It was a great privilege to celebrate Mass for her in her home on her 106th birthday and celebrate two great gifts, Claire and the Eucharist.”

Father Ryan Connors, assistant pastor of the parish, said that he counts it as a real gift to have gotten to know Sharpe.

“She has an inspiring faith and I love visiting her,” he said. “Her gentle spirit and genuine kindness demonstrate for me what a life lived for God really looks like.”

After Mass was celebrated in her home, Bishop Tobin surprised Sharpe with visit as well as a special papal blessing and a rosary blessed by Pope Francis.

Bishop Tobin and Sharpe agreed that it's not easy being born on April Fool's Day, but Claire reminded the bishop that their unique purpose in life is to be “fools for God.”

“She is a person with wonderful stories and remarkable faith, with a beautiful devotion to our Blessed Mother,” Bishop Tobin said.

Sharpe credits her long life to her strong faith. Even though her mother was unable afford a gift to give young Claire on her birthday so many years ago, the spiritual gift of faith that she gave her meant “more than millions,” she explained.

“My mother showed me how to love God with all of my heart,” she said. “She taught me to love him and always to thank him,” she said “And even though I’m afraid to go to him, through prayer he brings me so much love that I am losing the fear.”

Sharpe has three daughters, Roberta McMahon and Kathleen Sharpe who live in Rhode Island, and Paula Hiebert, who lives in Chicago. Her daughter Kathleen said that her mother’s faith has brought her through the many challenges of life. Even after the death of her baby girl and becoming a widow, she still counted on God to get her through.

“She has a very devoted faith,” Kathleen Sharpe said of her mother. “It gets her through everything. It’s very strong.”

“Her deep faith is at the center of her spiritual life,” added McMahon.

Sofia Stewart, a sixth-grader at Our Lady of Mercy said that Sharpe shared with the girls that she fears so much for the world and especially for the youth and encouraged them to put hate aside and seek God through prayer.

“It’s pretty remarkable to meet someone who is 106,” she said. “She have us wonderful advice and told us to be kind and not to hate.”

Bishop Tobin thanked Sharpe for welcoming him into her home, for her prayers and for a faith that has inspired so many throughout her 106 years.

“I pray you have peace and happiness in the years to come,” he said. “I am so honored to share this day with you.”


Reprinted with permission from the Rhode Island Catholic.

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Cali, Colombia, Apr 14, 2016 / 11:57 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Watch them sing, and you might be convinced of it.

The Eucharistic Communicators of the Heavenly Father are a community of nuns from Colombia who have a great passion for music and an intense desire to announce God through the gifts he has given them.

Sister María Victoria de Jesús told CNA the mission of their apostolate “is to evangelize through as many means of communication as possible,” and added that the charism of the sisters “is to communicate the love of God the Father.”

They have released a Spanish-language album Yo le Canto, or “I Sing”, as well as numerous music videos online.

They are currently producing new songs for a 2017 release, and have been featured regularly on Catholic stations in Colombia, Peru, and Los Angeles.

The Eucharistic Communicators of the Heavenly Father were formed in 2004 by Mother Gabriela del Amor Crucificado and Father Antonio Lootens, from two communities of hermits. They are based in the Archdiocese of Cali, in southwestern Colombia, and the community includes 65 religious women dedicated to evangelization through social media.

Sister Maria of Nazareth, who founded the musical group within the community, recalled “the words of Paul VI that the Church would be culpable if it did not use the powerful medium of television, and that John Paul II said there should be a group of consecrated persons dedicated to communications media: and thus our community was born.”

Sister María Victoria de Jesús noted that their music ministry “began three years ago, when we produced our first CD with the help of some lay persons.”

“In the past year, we began producing music videos so as to reach many more people. We work in all that is artistic and audiovisual: radio, film, music, television, and social media.”

While the community was principally founded to work in communications media in 2004, “the musical power emerged spontaneously with the sisters who were given musical talents.”

Sister Maria of Nazareth commented that “before bringing a message, it is necessary to have a witness of life, to be faithful to the Lord, and to his call. Really, our vows of poverty, obedience, and chastity help us to give of ourselves. The first medium of communication is our life and it is this that the world needs – living gospels. Then the rest follows.”

The texts, production, direction, and recording are done by the sisters themselves, who are prepared within their community to be able to perform these tasks.

“Visually we develop it all; we are trained to make a good audiovisual product. We develop it as a producer because we want the content to be high quality, to be the best for the Lord,” she said.

“Our goal is to support all the dioceses so that there is strength in the Church, and not just in Cali. To have a presence wherever there are persons who do not believe, do not know God, to look for the lost sheep and to strengthen those who are in the fold,” noted Sister Maria of Nazareth.

“When people listen to us they say they feel great peace, the love of God the Father, and some even cry. The sisters by their life of prayer touch hearts ... which need a voice of encouragement, to feel loved by God. We seek to give people hope,” she concluded.

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IMAGE: CNS photo/Diego Azubel, EPA

By Carol Glatz

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The fight against HIV/AIDS is being hampered by continued stigma against those who are infected, a lack of access to appropriate medical care and fake antiretroviral drugs pedaled on the black market, said activists taking part in a Caritas Internationalis conference.

Caritas brought together representatives of faith-based groups from all over the world to hammer out a "road map" indicating the best ways to promote or provide early diagnosis and treatment for HIV, especially in children. The gathering was organized together with UNAIDS, the U.S. President's Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Vatican's pediatric hospital, Bambino Gesu.

About 80 people active in HIV/AIDS policy and relief work took part in the conference April 11-13 in Rome.

The importance of offering effective antiretroviral treatment can be seen in the work of Loretto Sister Mary Owens, executive director of Nyumbani, which provides care and support in Kenya for HIV/AIDS survivors, especially children.

She told Catholic News Service that when she and the organization's founder, U.S. Jesuit Father Angelo D'Agostino -- a medical doctor -- started in the 1990s taking in children who were abandoned because they had HIV/AIDS, "we had no access to antiretroviral treatment" and the mortality rates of children in their care were high.

Since getting help from PEPFAR in 2005, everyone in their care has access to proper treatment and their eldest HIV-positive resident is turning 35 this year, she said with a smile.

"It's a huge joy to see our kids grow up. One boy is now married and has a son who is HIV-negative."

Sister Owens, who moved from Ireland to Kenya in 1969, said her biggest priorities now are lobbying for help in testing people for drug resistance so the appropriate treatments can be prescribed immediately and getting access to more advanced medications.

Despite awareness campaigns and action over the decades, stigma is still a huge problem in Kenya, she said.

Having HIV "is purely a medical condition," she said, and she wants people to know "how unjust it is to stigmatize people, especially children, who are so vulnerable," and who merely "inherited the virus" during gestation or breastfeeding from an infected mother who didn't get any or appropriate treatment.

Pope Francis would be the perfect advocate in persuading people to not be afraid of people with HIV/AIDS, she said, pointing to how his appeals and gestures on behalf of migrants have alerted and mobilized people globally.

It would be nice to have the pope "just make a statement, embrace a child with HIV," she said, to help draw the needed attention to their plight and remind people of their responsibility to help. These "people have a right to treatment and care."

Representatives from Caritas Myanmar -- Karuna Mission Social Solidarity -- told CNS April 13 that less than 2 percent of their country's national gross domestic product is invested in health care.

A lack of resources means some government agencies are "weak," including the one in charge of regulating pharmaceuticals to guarantee quality and safety, said Dr. Win Tun Kyi, national director of Caritas Myanmar.

With low drug supplies, doctors and clinics have to rely on the cross-border purchases and the black market for many pharmaceuticals including basics like penicillin and vaccinations, he said.

Kyi said these medications are "usually low quality and there are lots of fake drugs out there. I am a medical doctor and I don't know if a drug is good" and where it really came from since there are no guaranteed controls.

Effective antiretroviral treatment has been key to preventing the spread of HIV and extending the lifespan and quality of life of those infected. But the stigma of having HIV is still strong in Myanmar, Kyi said, so people who are infected often "don't disclose their situation and get (the drugs) from the border markets" on their own without adequate medical supervision.

Augustine Tuai Sian Piang, program manager of health and HIV/AIDS for Caritas Myanmar, told CNS that when he started working on the program in 2005, church leaders were just as reluctant as the larger society to face and understand the problem of HIV/AIDS. Now, local bishops are more aware and help promote a church that openly embraces, cares for and supports people with HIV/AIDS.

The church's medical, social, spiritual and psychological support services for patients are so respected and effective, Kyi said, that "the government will refer people to us."

The church plays a critical role in raising awareness and spurring action, he said, because the traditional local culture means most people "are very shy, we don't speak up easily, it takes lots of energy to defreeze" rigid appearances hiding real problems.

Because of the cultural obstacles and social taboos associated with HIV/AIDS, a purely medical response is not enough, he said. "Lots of social interventions are needed," he said, as well as knowing how to navigate the "moral landscape" in order to address the problem in a holistic manner.

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