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(Vatican Radio) Following the recent Synods of Bishops in the Vatican, a Scottish diocese will soon hold its own synod after more than a year of planning.

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Bishop John Keenan, the fifth bishop of the Diocese of Paisley, announced last year that he would open a synod in Eastertime 2016, which would remain open until summertime. He told Vatican Radio about the major themes of the synod. Of particular importance are the ideas of New Evangelization and the participation of the lay faithful in the life of the Church. He added that just as the Holy Spirit spoke to the ancient Churches, as reported by Saint John in the book of Revelation, so He speaks to the Church in Paisley. It is Bishop Keenan’s intention to hear what the Holy Spirit has to say through the people of the diocese.

Much work has already been done in preparation. The diocese commissioned an impressive icon of Our Lady of Paisley, which has been touring around the parishes of the diocese. In Lent 2015, there was a series of catechetical sessions in Saint Mirin’s Cathedral led by prominent bishops from around the UK, including the papal nuncio to Ireland, Archbishop Charles Brown. Together with a preparatory commission, Bishop Keenan has also met with the people of the three deaneries within the diocese, hoping to find out how they understand their role in the Church today, both at a local and a universal level.

The Church in Scotland has faced a number of challenges in recent years. Bishop Keenan believes that the effects of the synod are already being felt throughout the country. He said that after being stuck in a cycle of accusations and scandal, the people are beginning to realize that the synod, with its themes of evangelization and lay participation, will allow them to move on and to open a new chapter in the life of their country.

In June 2016, after he has heard from the people of the diocese, Bishop Keenan will begin to write the synodal Decrees and Declarations, which will be sent to the President of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland and to Rome for approval.

The Diocese of Paisley is a small yet densely populated diocese situated in the central belt of Scotland. It was erected in 1947 when Pope Pius XII changed the boundaries of the Archdiocese of Glasgow. 

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(Vatican Radio) The British film Suffragette has opened in Italy just in time for International Women’s Day.

The film is a historical drama which looks at the efforts to give the vote to British women in the early part of the 20th century.  It stars Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter, Brendan Gleeson, and Meryl Streep.

“I think it is reminder of how a hundred years ago, these women… how hard they fought to get the vote, and how recently that vote was won across the world, and how important it is to use the vote,” said Sarah Gavron, the director of the film.

“I hope  it also sparks debate about society today, where in some places women have many rights, and in some places they have very few rights,” she told Vatican Radio.

Listen to the interview by Vatican Radio’s Fr. Luca Pellegrini with Sarah Gavron:

Suffragette mixes historical and fictional characters to give viewers in the 21st century an idea of what members of the  women's suffrage movement endured in order to get the right to vote.

“I wasn’t taught about them at school…I didn’t know that women had gone to prison, I didn’t know that they had hunger-striked, I didn’t know that they had been force-fed, I didn’t know they faced such great brutality at the hands of the police,” – Gavron said –  “It was all surprising, shocking, and showed the length which they were prepared to go to.”

Although the film was released on 12 October 2015 in Britain, the Italian release on International Women’s Day is hoped to draw attention to the film.

“I think March 8 is a great opportunity to have some media attention on women’s rights [and] for young people to reconnect with their own histories,” Gavron said.

“What I hope is that people feel encouraged to do small and big acts, so if they see inequality around them, they are encouraged to speak out, whether that means setting up a society or just getting a group together,”  she continued. “However you do it, I think it is useful to campaign in small and big ways.”

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Pope Francis will hold an ordinary public consistory of cardinals in the Vatican March 15, during which he will sign the decree for the canonization of Blessed Mother Teresa of Kolkata and four others.  The dates and venue  of their sainthood ceremony are expected to be declared at the consistory.  Pope Francis had officially cleared Blessed Mother Teresa for sainthood on Dec. 17, 2015, recognizing the miraculous healing through her intercession of a Brazilian man with multiple brain abscesses.   Mother Teresa was conferred the title Blessed in Rome, Italy, on October 19, 2003, after Pope St. John Paul II recognized  the miraculous healing of an Indian woman with a tumour in her abdomen.

Born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu‎ of Albanian parents on ‎August 26, 1910, in Skopje, in what ‎is ‎Macedonia today, Mother Teresa died in Kolkata, formerly Calcutta, on September 5, ‎‎1997.  ‎Affectionately known as the "saint of the gutter" for her unconditional ‎love ‎for the poor, abandoned and the marginalized, she earned several international honours, including ‎the ‎Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. ‎

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About 60 Indian sisters from various congregations have pledged to donate their eyes upon their death. The decision was reached during a program organized on 29 Feb. by the Claretian Fathers at the Indian Institute of Spirituality in Bangalore.  The event was part of the initiative called "The Vision Project", which aims to raise awareness about vision problems in a country that is home to a third of blind people worldwide.   This is why the religious are committed not only to donate their cornea, but also to become "Ambassadors of vision" in the places where they live and work. 

Fr George Kannanthanam, the organizer, explained that it is a "programme to make citizens aware of the problem and motivate the sisters to work for this cause.  During the event, Fr. George told the sisters  not to “burn or bury” their eyes.  “They could be the eyes for someone else. After your death, leave them to someone who has never seen the world.”  He pointed to Jesus’ special love for the blind, saying there are 6 miracles of healing recorded in the Gospels. 

Worldwide, about 39 million people have poor vision and 15 million of them live in India. Their living conditions are really "sad because of the physical, social, psychological and economic challenges that they face" because of the disease. The majority of disabled people cannot survive.  Eye donation is not widespread in India. Every year 140 thousand people need a cornea transplant, but the number of donors does not exceed 40 thousand.  This means that 100 thousand patients are put on waiting lists.

According to Fr. George, the work of the sisters in society as "Ambassadors of Vision" can be crucial in countering the traditional distrust of cornea donation.  If "all religious India donated their eyes - concluded Fr. George - and promised to donate in favor of the suffering blind, the demand for corneal transplants" could be met. ‎  (Source: AsiaNews)

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(Vatican Radio) Monsignor Richard Gyhra, Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva, on Monday “the debt of developing countries must be placed in a broader context of economic, political and technological relations which have brought an increased interdependence between countries, as well as the need for international collaboration in pursuing the objectives of the common good.”

He was speaking at a session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

“This interdependence should give rise to a new and broader concept of solidarity which respects the equal dignity of all peoples, rather than leading to domination by the strongest, to national egoism, to inequalities and injustices,” Msgr. Gyhra said.

The full text of Msgr. Gyhra’s remarks are below

Intervention by Msgr. Richard Gyhra, Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva

at the 31^st Session of the Human Rights Council

Item 3 - Interactive Dialogue on Human Rights and Foreign Debt

Geneva, 7 March 2016

Mr. President,

The scale of the 2008 crisis has left many governments struggling to offset the effects of financial retrenchments in banks, businesses and households, as they seek to repair their balance sheets. Since the crisis, many developed economies have turned to “unconventional” monetary policy instruments in their efforts at recovery. Consequently, its effects have been felt most severely there, but the subsequent collapse of aggregate demand in those countries is still working its way through the global economy and in particular on the Least Developed Countries.

We all know, however, the history of the current international debt situation. It is a history with a specific beginning in particular economic circumstances. We have to recognize that this history has been marked by two determining factors: irresponsible spending, but also irresponsible lending. Within individual debtor countries there is corruption, poor administration of public monies or the improper utilization of loans received. Lenders have also invested irresponsibly and predatory hedge funds have taken advantage of both developed and developing countries in financial crisis. The resolution of the international debt problem is an economic question, but is also a question of political will. The International community cannot ignore this fact. As the Holy Father told the United Nations last year, “The International Financial Agencies should care for the sustainable development of countries and should ensure that they are not subjected to oppressive lending systems which, far from promoting progress, subject people to mechanisms which generate greater poverty, exclusion and dependence.”^[1] While reaffirming the principle that debts must be repaid, ways must be found that do not compromise the “fundamental right of peoples to subsistence and progress.”^[2] Real solutions to the international financial crisis must include the implementation of responsible lending and borrowing principles in banks and international financial institutions. These principles have been developed by the UN Conference on Trade and Development and investigated by the special UN expert on debt and human rights.

            The debt problem is linked also with that of adjustment, which is in turn linked to transition. By their nature, both these terms point to something, to some important aim, towards which we are working. Transition and adjustment must also be looked at in a people-centred manner. We wish to move towards democratic, socially responsible market economies, so that the needs of people can be better addressed, so that people can make the fullest use of their potential. People are prepared to accept hardship when they know that they are on the road to something better. But when the initial sustained impact brings with it a situation in which the poorest are the first to suffer even more, we cannot be surprised when the very goal towards which we are moving becomes discredited in their eyes. Adjustment or transition also means that those who were marginalized in the older system must be provided with the training needed to make them the protagonists of a new one.

            As pointed out by the Special Rapporteur, there “are manifold linkages between inequality, private and sovereign debt and the occurrence of financial crises”. Inequality may affect sovereign debt both directly and indirectly, since the income tax base of the State concerned may be rather small, at least if income taxation is not progressive. This diminishes sovereign revenues and consequently makes the State more dependent on borrowing. Thus inequality contributes in many cases to sovereign debt. Facing this reality “we should be particularly indignant at the enormous inequalities in our midst, whereby we continue to tolerate some considering themselves more worthy than others… as if they had been born with greater rights.”^[3]

The traditional strategy of the International Monetary Fund in providing assistance to countries in situations of external payment difficulties has had the aim not only of helping debtor countries keep up with their repayment obligations vis-a-vis foreign creditors, but also of restoring the confidence of financial markets through the policy conditionality attached to its lending. Through this approach, restoring investor confidence is considered to be a precondition for allowing the exchange rate to depreciate. To block the growth of the debt, which is a consequence of the global economic crisis, developing countries could utilize an agreed multilateral mechanism for a temporary standstill on debt repayments, that would greatly help orderly debt workouts. This mechanism would involve the private sector in the resolution of financial crises in emerging markets, it would influence investor and creditor portfolio decisions. This would also help reduce destabilizing capital flows.

Once crises have broken out, the resolution of sovereign debt has also often been a time-consuming affair that has been damaging to the interests of both private creditors and sovereign debtors. In the absence of an impartial institutional framework, lenders have become de facto judges on their own claims against borrowers. Given these realities a clear set of international rules could be of benefit to all: they could force holdout creditors to accept terms of debt restructuring, impose stays on litigation during restructuring negotiations and provide for the extension of new credits during restructuring exercises. Proposals for the introduction of an orderly international debt workout mechanism for sovereign debt, modeled on national insolvency procedures, has already been realized by UNCTAD since the early 1980s.

The debt of developing countries must be placed in a broader context of economic, political and technological relations which have brought an increased interdependence between countries, as well as the need for international collaboration in pursuing the objectives of the common good. This interdependence should give rise to a new and broader concept of solidarity which respects the equal dignity of all peoples, rather than leading to domination by the strongest, to national egoism, to inequalities and injustices. As the Holy Father has stated, “It must never be forgotten that political and economic activity is only effective when it is understood as a prudential activity, guided by a perennial concept of justice.”^[4] Solidarity implies an awareness and acceptance of co-responsibility for the causes and the solutions relative to international debt. Co-responsibility will help to create or restore relations based on trust between nations (creditor and debtor) and between the various agents (political authorities, commercial banks, international organizations) and thus will promote cooperation in the search for solutions. Mutual trust is an indispensable value which must be constantly renewed^[5].

Mr. President,

In conclusion, inequalities can be reduced through taxation and transfers, the latter including in cash and in kind. Governments “may wish to consider a combination of progressive income taxes and highly redistributive transfers to decrease income inequality and its impact on social development”^[6]. Efforts should be undertaken to 1) promote responsible lending and borrowing; 2) prevent both corporate tax avoidance and the outflow of illicit funds from debtor nations and 3) create a fair and transparent international debt resolution process. The Holy See would like to reiterate that the right to development must be taken into account when considering questions related to the debt crisis of many poor countries^[7]. Eliminating poverty means, among other things, permitting all people, especially women and persons with disabilities, to be active participants in the economy and in society. The effectiveness of our economic systems to meet the needs of people must be constantly evaluated. A system which leaves substantial sectors of a nation or a community on the margins, unable to contribute actively with their talents to society and to the economy, has failed to provide the entire community the minimal conditions for a quality welfare system. The Holy See continues to call for the creation of a model of market economy capable of including within its range all peoples and not just the better off.  It  calls for stronger efforts to build a more human world for all, a world in which “all will be able to give and receive, without one group making progress at the expense of the other”^[8]. In this sense, States and the International community should urgently implement financial market reforms in order to combat and prevent financial instability, excessive debt and financial crises, and build an inclusive economy that upholds the dignity of all people. 

Thank you, Mr. President.

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IMAGE: CNS photo/Stringer, EPA

By Cindy Wooden

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The four Missionaries of Charity murdered March 4 in Yemen "are the martyrs of today," Pope Francis said. "They gave their blood for the church."

After reciting the Angelus with thousands of people gathered in St. Peter's Square March 6, Pope Francis publicly offered his condolences to the Missionaries of Charity and prayed that Blessed Teresa of Kolkata would "accompany to paradise these daughters of hers, martyrs of charity, and that she would intercede for peace and a sacred respect for human life."

The four Missionaries of Charity and 12 other people were killed by uniformed gunmen, who entered the home the sisters operate for the elderly and disabled in Aden.

The superior of the Missionaries of Charity at the home survived by hiding, according to the Vatican's Fides news agency. Father Tom Uzhunnalil, an Indian Salesian priest who had been living at the home since Holy Family Parish in Aden was sacked and burned in September, was missing after the attack.

Although the sisters would not make news headlines, Pope Francis said, the martyred sisters "gave their blood for the church."

The sisters and the 14 others killed "are victims of the attack by those who killed them, but also (victims) of indifference, this globalization of indifference that just doesn't care," the pope said.

Yemen has been experiencing a political crisis since 2011 and is often described as being in a state of civil war with members of the Shiite and Sunni Muslim communities vying for power; in the midst of the tensions, terrorist groups have been operating in the country, including groups believed to be associated with the so-called Islamic State and al-Qaida.

Although most Christians have fled the country, a handful of Salesian priests and about 20 Missionaries of Charity chose to stay and continue their ministry.

In a condolence message released March 5 by the Vatican, Pope Francis described the Aden murders as an "act of senseless and diabolical violence."

The pope "prays that this pointless slaughter will awaken consciences, lead to a change of heart, and inspire all parties to lay down their arms and take up the path of dialogue," the message said. "In the name of God, he calls upon all parties in the present conflict to renounce violence, and to renew their commitment to the people of Yemen, particularly those most in need, whom the sisters and their helpers sought to serve."

Bishop Paul Hinder, head of the vicariate of Southern Arabia, which includes Yemen, told AsiaNews, a Rome-based missionary news agency, that at 8:30 a.m. March 4, "persons in uniform" broke into the Aden compound, killing the guard and all employees who tried to stop them. "They then reached the sisters and opened fire."

Two of the sisters killed were Rwandan, one was from India and one was from Kenya, the bishop said. Father Uzhunnalil apparently was kidnapped, he added.

"The signal was clear: This has to do with religion," Bishop Hinder said.

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IMAGE: CNS photo/Piyal Adhikary, EPA

By Junno Arocho Esteves

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis will preside over a consistory to approve the canonization of five men and women, including Blessed Teresa of Kolkata, the Vatican announced.

The March 15 consistory will also determine the approval of canonization of Argentine "gaucho priest," Blessed Jose Gabriel del Rosario Brochero and Blessed Jose Sanchez del Rio, a 14-year-old Mexican boy martyred for refusing to renounce his faith during the Cristero War of the 1920s, the Vatican said March 7.

The meeting of cardinals and promoters of the sainthood causes, also known as an "ordinary public consistory," formally ends the process of approving a new saint.

Although the canonization dates are often announced at the consistory, it is widely believed Blessed Teresa's canonization will take place Sept. 4. That date celebrates the Jubilee of Workers and Volunteers of Mercy and comes the day before the 19th anniversary of her death, Sept. 5, 1997.

On Dec. 17, Pope Francis approved a second miracle attributed to Blessed Teresa's intercession. That miracle involved the healing of a now 42-year-old mechanical engineer in Santos, Brazil, who was in a coma after being diagnosed with a viral brain infection that resulted in multiple brain abscesses.

The pope also will announce the canonization dates of Blessed Stanislaus Papczynski of Poland, founder of the Marians of the Immaculate Conception, and Blessed Mary Elizabeth Hesselblad, a Swedish Lutheran convert who established a branch of the Bridgettine order in Sweden.

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Follow Arocho on Twitter: @arochoju.

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