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About 25 thousand people took part in the annual Lenten Walking Pigrimage in the western Indian city of Mumbai in which Catholics, members of other Christian Churches and other religions also participated.  A large number of priests, religious, Catholic lay people and members of other confessions and religions participated in the overnight march led by the Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Bombay.    The pilgrimage that started at night on March 25 from Cross Maidan, wound its way to the Basilica of Mount Mary some 20 km away the following morning, Sunday, where it concluded with Holy Mass.

Card. Gracias, who is president of India’s Latin-rite bishops, began the pilgrimage with his blessings and reciting prayers to the Virgin, interceding for the city of Mumbai and the whole of India.  He prayed in particular for harmony and peaceful coexistence among the different components of Indian society, asking that "Christians in India may live their faith in peace."

More than 50 percent of the participants were boys and girls from remote villages of Goral, Uttan, Vasai Agassi, Korlai, Roha and from the suburbs of Maharashtra. Card. Oswald Gracias wanted to recite a special prayer for the young people: "Mary Seat of Wisdom guide our young people, and direct their steps towards mission, both for the country and for the Church, and intercede for the young people present, to contribute mission of the Church and the growth of the nation. We also pray for our young people for their faith and for their vocational discernment".

The cardinal led the pilgrimage for a short distance, and then reunited with the crowd at the time of recitation of the Holy Rosary. The pilgrims then walked for seven hours at night, animated by prayers, songs and the many volunteers.  Felix Sequeira, one of the pilgrimage organizers told AsiaNews: "About 25,000 pilgrims carried four statues in procession decorated with flowers and lights: Mary Queen of Peace, Jesus carrying the Cross, Mary Mother of Sorrows and St. Joseph Patron of the pilgrimage ".

The pilgrimage is held every year in March, during the season of Lent. The first edition took place in the Marian Year 1988, when some devotees have decided to organize a Lenten march for peace. "Since then, the number of participants has grown from year to year with people of every creed and caste" -  Francis Fernandes, president Marian Seva Sangh and main organizer, told AsiaNews. (Source: AsiaNews)

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(Vatican Radio)  Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, has sent a letter in the name of Pope Francis to the Tenth Forum for the Future of Agriculture taking place in Brussels.

In the letter addressed to Janez Potocnik, president of the Forum, Cardinal Parolin called on participants to put the human person at the heart of agriculture, “whether he or she be an agricultural worker, an economic agent or a consumer”.

“Such an approach,” he writes, “if viewed as a shared goal and not simply a technical question, will allow greater consideration to be given to the close relationship between agriculture, the care and protection of creation, economic growth, levels of development, and the present and future needs of the world population.”

Cardinal Parolin called for “greater commitment to supporting agricultural activity” through better production and commerce systems, as well as by “emphasizing the right of every human being to healthy and sufficient nourishment”.

He said the deficiency of agricultural activity in some countries has a negative effect on the life of its citizens: “These are not only excluded from processes of production, but are also frequently forced to leave their lands and to seek refuge in search of a better life.”

Cardinal Parolin called for efforts to help countries increase their own resources in order to achieve “alimentary self-sufficiency”.

He said this means “contemplating new models of development and consumption, facilitating forms of community structures that value small producers and that protect local ecosystems and biodiversity.”

In conclusion, the Vatican Secretary of State said, “The distance between the enormity of the problems and the positive results obtained to date must never be a reason for discouragement or diffidence, but rather an incentive to greater responsibility.”

Please find below the full text of the letter:

To Mr Janez Potocnik, President of the Forum for the Future of Agriculture

The work of the Tenth Forum for the Future of Agriculture affords His Holiness Pope Francis the opportunity to express his encouragement to all those who, with their different duties and responsibilities, are called to offer solutions to the needs of the agricultural sector in all its various elements.

A cursory look at the world situation is sufficient to show the need for greater commitment to supporting agricultural activity.  This would entail not only improving systems of production and commerce, but also, and primarily, emphasizing the right of every human being to healthy and sufficient nourishment, in accordance with individual needs, and an integral role in the implementation of decisions and strategies.  It is increasingly clear that at the heart of all activity must be the person, whether he or she be an agricultural worker, an economic agent or a consumer.  Such an approach, if viewed as a shared goal and not simply a technical question, will allow greater consideration to be given to the close relationship between agriculture, the care and protection of creation, economic growth, levels of development, and the present and future needs of the world population.

The expectations linked to the Sustainable Development Goals set for the entire international community require facing the situation of some countries and regions where agricultural activity remains deficient, because insufficiently diversified and consequently incapable of responding to the local environment and climate change.  At present we are witnessing low levels of employment and therefore of overall earnings, as well as malnutrition, at times chronic, affecting millions of human beings.  This is a complex mechanism, striking above all the most vulnerable sectors.  These are not only excluded from processes of production, but are also frequently forced to leave their lands and to seek refuge in search of a better life.

This is not to say that the future of agriculture lies in the imposition of a model of production that greatly benefits limited groups and a tiny portion of the world’s population.  Nor does it mean viewing agricultural work on the basis of laboratory findings.  Those approaches may bring immediate benefits to some, yet have we adequately considered the harm they can do to others?  Every effort should be directed primarily to helping each country increase its own resources in order to achieve alimentary self-sufficiency.  This will involve contemplating new models of development and consumption, facilitating forms of community structures that value small producers and that protect local ecosystems and biodiversity (cf. Laudato Si’, 129, 180).  It will also mean adopting policies of cooperation that do not aggravate the situation of less developed peoples and their dependence on others.

The distance between the enormity of the problems and the positive results obtained to date must never be a reason for discouragement or diffidence, but rather an incentive to greater responsibility.  Through the dialogue promoted by the Forum over which you preside, may each participant be inspired to intensify the work already begun and to make it ever more creative and better organized.  “Truly, much can be done!” (ibid., 180).

In the name of Pope Francis, I express the hope that this meeting will prove most fruitful.  To you and to all taking part I offer my own cordial best wishes.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin

Secretary of State

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Vatican City, Mar 28, 2017 / 08:55 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Tuesday, Pope Francis acknowledged the difficulty of totally eliminating nuclear weapons, but said the challenge is still a necessary undertaking, especially given what’s at stake.

“The ultimate goal of the total elimination of nuclear weapons becomes both a challenge and a moral and humanitarian imperative,” he said in a message to United Nations members March 28.

The message was read before the “United Nations conference aimed at negotiating a legally binding instrument on the prohibition of nuclear weapons, leading to their total elimination,” held in New York March 27-31.

Presented by Msgr. Antoine Camilleri, Secretary for Relations with States and head of the Holy See’s delegation at the meetings, the Pope’s message acknowledged that the goal is a “demanding” and “forward-looking” one.

And this is true especially given the present international climate, which is both “cause and indication” of the difficulties of furthering and strengthening a nuclear ban, he said.

“If we take into consideration the principal threats to peace and security,” he continued, “for example, terrorism, asymmetrical conflicts, cybersecurity, environmental problems, poverty, not a few doubts arise regarding the inadequacy of nuclear deterrence as an effective response to such challenges.”

These combined with the “catastrophic humanitarian and environmental consequences” that would follow the use of nuclear weapons make the goal a moral and ethical necessity, he said.

Additionally, the resources spent on nuclear weapon development could be used for more worthy causes, such as poverty, and the promotion of peace and integral human development.  

Considered to be only the first part of UN meetings to ban and eventually eliminate nuclear weapons, the talks are supported by more than 120 countries, as well as numerous disarmament groups.

On the other hand, more than 40 countries have declined to participate in the talks, including the United States and most other nuclear powers, such as Britain and Russia.

On Monday, U.S. Ambassador Nikki R. Haley led a group of dozens of UN members in boycotting the discussions, saying she did not think that it was the right time to have these talks given the unlikeliness of North Korea banning nuclear weapons, according to the New York Times.

In his message, Pope Francis said the conference “intends to negotiate a Treaty inspired by ethical and moral arguments.”

“It is an exercise in hope and it is my wish that it may also constitute a decisive step along the road towards a world without nuclear weapons. Although this is a significantly complex and long-term goal, it is not beyond our reach,” he said.

“International peace and stability cannot be based on a false sense of security, on the threat of mutual destruction or total annihilation, or on simply maintaining a balance of power.”

 

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IMAGE: CNS photo/Robert Duncan

By Rhina Guidos

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- In Spanish, the word "encuentro" means encounter and in the modern church in the U.S., it refers to a series of meetings that will take place over the next four years aimed at getting to know Latinos and producing more involvement in the church of its second largest and fastest growing community.

"The intent is for Latinos to have an encounter with the entire church and for the church to have an encounter with Latinos, understanding who they are, how they think, how they live their faith, so we can work together and move together and build a church together," said Mar Munoz-Visoso, executive director of the Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

A recent report by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University commissioned by the U.S. bishops shows that more than half of millennial-generation Catholics born in 1982 or later are Hispanic or Latino. Those numbers alone call for the church to have a plan of how it will bring Latinos in the U.S. into the church's leaderships roles, its vocations and their role in society, Munoz-Visoso said.

"You cannot plan the future of the church without having an important conversation about this population," she told Catholic News Service. "This effort is very important."

While the numbers of Latinos in the church are growing, "there is a gap between the numbers of Latinos in the pews, and the numbers of Latinos in leadership, and the numbers of vocations, or (Latino students) in Catholic schools," Munoz-Visoso said.

The first part of encuentro, as the process is called, started in early 2017 and it's the fifth such process of its kind. Encuentros in the U.S. church took place in 1972, 1977, 1985 and 2000, but the Fifth National Encuentro, also known as "V Encuentro," is expected to be the biggest one of its kind in terms of attendance.

Participants first meet in small Christian communities at the local level to discern, dialogue, reflect about faith and the baptismal call, Munoz-Visoso said. Later in the year, parishes will hold parish encuentros of their own, which will later lead to diocesan, regional and finally a nationwide encuentro, set for Sept. 20-23, 2018, in Grapevine, Texas, in the Diocese of Fort Worth. The final part is a "post-national encuentro" that will include publishing a national working document about ways to implement what was learned during the process.

Encuentro organizers hope the process will yield an increase in vocations of Latinos to the priesthood, religious life, permanent diaconate, an increase in the percentage of Latino students enrolling at Catholic schools, and create a group of Latino leaders for the church, as well as an increase Latinos' sense of belonging and stewardship in the U.S. church.

At the fall 2016 meeting of U.S. bishops in Baltimore, Boston Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley expressed concern that the younger generations of Latinos "is a demographic that is slipping away from the church and I think we have a window of opportunity and the window of opportunity is closing."

Many Latinos are "joining the ranks of 'nones,'" said Cardinal O'Malley, referring to the growing number of Americans who are choosing to be unaffiliated with any organized religion.

"We have very few, relatively, Hispanics in our Catholic schools. They're underrepresented in our religious education programs, and I'm hoping that the outreach that is going to be done as part of the preparation for this 'encuentro' will make a difference," he said.

Munoz-Visoso said Latinos are being courted by all kinds of groups, not just other church denominations.

"And we are at this juncture in history where we have this dilemma, where the majority of the Catholic Church in the country is becoming Latino, but at the same time, more Latinos than ever are leaving the church," she said. "So, we have to address this situation because we have to really engage them, re-enamor them, their faith and make sure they're committed to their faith."

For those wanting to become involved, they can contact their local parish to see if the parish is involved in the process. More than 5,000 parishes have signed up to participate, said Munoz-Visoso.

Parish-level encuentros take place this May and June. Diocesan encuentros will take place in the fall in more than 150 dioceses with a total of 200,000 participants. The regional encuentros are slated for March-June 2018, with 10,000 delegates expected to attend. The regions conform to the U.S. bishops' 14 episcopal regions. Then comes the Fifth National Encuentro in Texas, which will have as its theme "Missionary Disciples: Witnesses of God's Love." This is then followed by the post-encuentro working document.

Alejandro Aquilera-Ttitus, assistant director of Hispanic affairs in the diversity secretariat, is national coordinator of the Fifth National Encuentro.

The materials for the encuentro meetings were designed so they could be used by small and large groups, Munoz-Visoso told CNS, and there are dioceses that plan to use them with migrant workers in the fields, among prison populations, on university campuses, in prison ministry and in military services so that U.S. service men and women who want to participate can do so anywhere in the world.

"The intent is for Latinos ... but we're inviting everybody (to participate), if they want to have it in their community," Munoz-Visoso said, adding that the website www.vencuentro.org has information about getting started.

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Follow Guidos on Twitter: @CNS_Rhina.

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IMAGE: CNS photo/Rick Bajornas, UN

By Carol Glatz

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Today's threats to global peace and security must be countered through dialogue and development, not nuclear weapons, Pope Francis told the United Nations.

"How sustainable is a stability based on fear, when it actually increases fear and undermines relationships of trust between peoples," the pope asked in a letter sent to a U.N. meeting on nuclear arms.

"International peace and stability cannot be based on a false sense of security, on the threat of mutual destruction or total annihilation, or on simply maintaining a balance of power," he said in the message, released by the Vatican March 28. The message was read aloud at the U.N. by Msgr. Antoine Camilleri, Vatican undersecretary for relations with states.

The pope's message was sent to Elayne Whyte Gomez, president of the U.N. Conference to Negotiate a Legally Binding Instrument to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons, Leading Towards Their Total Elimination. The conference was being held at the U.N. headquarters in New York March 27-31, with a follow-up meeting June 15-July 7.

A number of nations -- many of which already possess nuclear arms -- were boycotting the negotiations to ban such weapons. These included the United States, France, the United Kingdom and about 40 other nations. Some continue to support the Non-Proliferation Treaty to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology.

U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley told reporters in New York March 28 that it was the responsibility of leaders to keep their nations safe.

"There is nothing I want more for my family than a world with no nuclear weapons. But we have to be realistic," Haley said.

"In this day and time, we can't honestly say that we can protect our people by allowing the bad actors to have them and those of us that are good, trying to keep peace and safety, not to have them," she said.

However, Pope Francis said in his message that the strategy of nuclear deterrence was not an effective response to today's threats to peace and security: terrorism, cybersecurity, environmental problems and poverty.

"Peace must be built on justice, on integral human development, on respect for fundamental human rights, on the protection of creation, on the participation of all in public life, on trust between peoples, on the support of peaceful institutions, on access to education and health, on dialogue and solidarity," he said.

The world needs "to adopt forward-looking strategies to promote the goal of peace and stability and to avoid short-sighted approaches to the problems surrounding national and international security," he said.

The complete elimination of nuclear weapons is "a moral and humanitarian imperative" that should prompt people to reflect on "an ethics of peace and multilateral and cooperative security that goes beyond the fear and isolationism that prevail in many debates today."

Making a total global ban possible will demand more dialogue, trust and cooperation. "This trust can be built only through dialogue that is truly directed to the common good and not to the protection of veiled or particular interests," he added.

Humanity has the ability, freedom and intelligence to work together to "lead and direct technology, to place limits on our power, and to put all this at the service of another type of progress: one that is more human, social and integral," he said.

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Follow Glatz on Twitter: @CarolGlatz.

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Copyright © 2017 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. www.catholicnews.com. All rights reserved. Republishing or redistributing of CNS content, including by framing or similar means without prior permission, is prohibited. You may link to stories on our public site. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To request permission for republishing or redistributing of CNS content, please contact permissions at cns@catholicnews.com.

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