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VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXIII - N° 108
DATE 16-05-2013
Summary:
- POPE TO NEW AMBASSADORS: FINANCIAL CRISIS ROOTED IN REJECTION OF ETHICS
- POPE RECEIVES CARITAS INTERNATIONALIS' EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
- POPE'S MESSAGE COMMEMORATING EDICT OF MILAN
- AUDIENCES
- OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
___________________________________________________________
POPE TO NEW AMBASSADORS: FINANCIAL CRISIS ROOTED IN REJECTION OF ETHICS
Vatican City, 16 May 2013 (VIS) - This morning the Holy Father received the
credential letters of four new ambassadors to the Holy See: Mr. Bolot Iskovich
Otunbaev from Kyrgyzstan; Mr. David Shoul from Antigua and Barbuda; Mr.
Jean-Paul Senninger from
Luxembourg; and Mr. Lameck Nthekela from Botswana. In the address he gave
them, the pontiff urged them not to forget the predominance of ethics in the
economy and in social life, emphasizing the value of solidarity and the
centrality of the human being.
“Our human family,” the Pope said, “is presently
experiencing something of a turning point in its own history, if we consider
the advances made in various areas. We can only praise the positive
achievements which contribute to the
authentic welfare of mankind, in fields such as those of health, education and
communications. At the same time, we must also acknowledge that the majority
of the men and women of our time continue to live daily in situations of
insecurity, with dire
consequences. Certain pathologies are increasing, with their psychological
consequences; fear and desperation grip the hearts of many people, even in the
so-called rich countries; the joy of life is diminishing; indecency and
violence are on the rise;
poverty is becoming more and more evident. People have to struggle to live
and, frequently, to live in an undignified way. One cause of this situation,
in my opinion, is in the our relationship with money, and our acceptance of
its power
over
ourselves and our society. Consequently the financial crisis which we are
experiencing makes us forget that its ultimate origin is to be found in a
profound human crisis. In the denial of the primacy of human beings! We have
created new idols. The
worship of the golden calf of old has found a new and heartless image in the
cult of money and the dictatorship of an economy which is faceless and lacking
any truly humane goal.”
“The worldwide financial and economic crisis,” the pontiff
observed, “seems to highlight their distortions and above all the
gravely deficient human perspective, which reduces men and women to just one
of their needs alone, namely,
consumption. Worse yet, human beings themselves are nowadays considered as
consumer goods which can be used and thrown away. We have started down the
path of a disposable culture. This tendency is seen on the level of
individuals and whole societies;
and it is being promoted! In circumstances like these, solidarity, which is
the treasure of the poor, is often considered counterproductive, opposed to
the logic of finance and the economy. While the income of a minority is
increasing exponentially,
that of the majority is crumbling. This imbalance results from ideologies
which uphold the absolute autonomy of markets and financial speculation, and
thus deny the right of control to States, which are themselves charged with
providing fo
r the
common good. A new, invisible and at times virtual, tyranny is established,
one which unilaterally and irremediably imposes its own laws and rules.
Moreover, indebtedness and credit distance countries from their real economy
and citizens from their real
buying power. Added to this, as if it were needed, is widespread corruption
and selfish fiscal evasion which have taken on worldwide dimensions. The will
to power and of possession has become limitless.”
“Concealed behind this attitude,” the Bishop of Rome warned,
“is a rejection of ethics, a rejection of God. Ethics, like solidarity,
is a nuisance! It is regarded as counterproductive: as something too human,
because it relativizes
money and power; as a threat, because it rejects manipulation and subjection
of people: because ethics leads to God, who is situated outside the categories
of the market. These financiers, economists and politicians consider God to be
unmanageable, God
is unmanageable, even dangerous, because He calls man to his full realization
and to independence from any kind of slavery. Ethics—naturally, not the
ethics of ideology—makes it possible, in my view, to create a balanced
social order that is
more humane. In this sense, I encourage the financial experts and the
political leaders of your countries to consider the words of Saint John
Chrysostom: 'Not to share one’s goods with the poor is to rob them and
to deprive the
m of
life. It is not our goods that we possess, but theirs'.”
The Pope asserted that “there is a need for financial reform along
ethical lines that would produce in its turn an economic reform to benefit
everyone. This would nevertheless require a courageous change of attitude on
the part of political
leaders. I urge them to face this challenge with determination and
farsightedness, taking account, naturally, of their particular situations.
Money has to serve, not to rule! The Pope loves everyone, rich and poor alike,
but the Pope has the duty, in
Christ’s name, to remind the rich to help the poor, to respect them, to
promote them. The Pope appeals for disinterested solidarity and for a return
to person-centred ethics in the world of finance and economics.”
“For her part, the Church,” he reiterated, “always works for
the integral development of every person. In this sense, she reiterates that
the common good should not be simply an extra, simply a conceptual scheme of
inferior quality
tacked onto political programmes. The Church encourages those in power to be
truly at the service of the common good of their peoples. She urges financial
leaders to take account of ethics and solidarity. And why should they not turn
to God to draw
inspiration from his designs? In this way, a new political and economic
mindset would arise that would help to transform the absolute dichotomy
between the economic and social spheres into a healthy symbiosis.”
Finally, Francis greeted—through the ambassadors—the faithful of
the Catholic communities present in their respective countries, urging them
“to continue their courageous and joyful witness of faith and fraternal
love in accordance
with Christ’s teaching. Let them not be afraid to offer their
contribution to the development of their countries, through initiatives and
attitudes inspired by the Sacred Scriptures!”
___________________________________________________________
POPE RECEIVES CARITAS INTERNATIONALIS' EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Vatican City, 16 May 2013 (VIS) – This morning, after celebrating Mass
in the Domus Sanctae Marthae chapel, Pope Francis met with the Executive
Committee of Caritas Internationalis, with their president, Cardinal Oscar
Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga,
S.D.B., archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, for a presentation of their
Campaign Against Hunger, which will be launched soon.
___________________________________________________________
POPE'S MESSAGE COMMEMORATING EDICT OF MILAN
Vatican City, 16 May 2013 (VIS) – The Ecumenical Patriarch of
Constantinople, Bartholomew I, is visiting Milan, on the occasion of the
1700th anniversary of the Edict of Milan, signed by Constantine and Licinius,
respectively the emperors of the
western and eastern parts of the Roman Empire, in 313. The treaty granted
freedom of worship to Christians throughout the Roman Empire, putting an end
to religious persecution.
For his visit, Pope Francis, yesterday afternoon, sent a message—through
Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone, S.D.B., to Cardinal Angelo Scola,
archbishop of Milan, with greetings to the Patriarch, the participants in the
commemoration, as well as
to the entire city, “for the importance given to the memory of the
historic decision that, decreeing religious freedom for Christians, opened new
paths to the Gospel and decisively contributed to the birth of European
civilization.”
In the text, the Holy Father expresses the desire that, “today as then,
the common witness of Christians of the East and West, sustained by the Spirit
of the Risen One, will agree to the spread of the message of salvation in
Europe and the entire
world and that, thanks to the foresight of civil authorities, the right to
publicly express one’s faith will be respected everywhere, and that the
contribution that Christianity continues to offer to culture and society in
our time will be
accepted without prejudice.”
___________________________________________________________
AUDIENCES
Vatican City, 16 May 2013 (VIS) – Today the Holy Father received in
audience seven prelates from the Puglia Region of the Italian Episcopal
Conference on their "ad limina" visit:
- Archbishop Domenico Umberto D’Ambrosio of Lecce,
- Archbishop Domenico Caliandro of Brindisi-Ostuni,
- Archbishop Filippo Santoro of Taranto,
- Bishop Domenico Padovano of Conversano-Monopoli,
- Bishop Vincenzo Pisanello of Oria,
- Bishop Vito Angiuli of Ugento-Santa Maria di Leuca, and
- Msgr. Luigi Ruperto, diocesan administrator of Nardo-Gallipoli.
___________________________________________________________
OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican City, 16 May 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father appointed as
members of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences:
- Dr. Phillippe Chenaux, Swiss full professor of History of the Modern and
Contemporary Church at Rome's Pontifical Lateran University and director of
that same university's Centre for Studies and Research on Vatican Council II.
- Fr. Cosimo Semeraro, S.D.B., full professor of Critical Methodology and
Modern and Contemporary History at Rome's Pontifical Salesian University.
The Holy Father also appointed Msgr. Michele De Palma, of the clergy of the
Diocese of Molfetta-Ruvo-Giovinazzo-Terlizzi, Italy, as secretary of that same
Committee.
___________________________________________________________
Per ulteriori informazioni e per la ricerca di documenti consultare il
sito: www.wisnews.org e www.vatican.va
Il servizio del VIS viene inviato soltanto agli indirizzi di posta
elettronica che ne hanno fatto richiesta. Se per qualunque motivo
non si desidera continuare a riceverlo, si prega di visitare nostra pagina
dinizio:
http://212.77.1.245/news_services/press/vis/italinde.php
Copyright (VIS): Le notizie contenute nei servizi del Vatican
Information Service possono essere riprodotte parzialmente o totalmente
citando la fonte: V.I.S. - Vatican Information Service.
--Boundary_(ID_LQny8DfbHPEESdds9ddWdQ)
Content-type: text/html; CHARSET=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT
VISnews130516
VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE YEAR XXIII - N° 108 DATE 16-05-2013
Summary: - POPE TO NEW AMBASSADORS:
FINANCIAL CRISIS ROOTED IN
REJECTION OF ETHICS - POPE RECEIVES CARITAS INTERNATIONALIS' EXECUTIVE
COMMITTEE - POPE'S MESSAGE COMMEMORATING EDICT OF MILAN -
AUDIENCES - OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
POPE TO NEW AMBASSADORS: FINANCIAL CRISIS ROOTED IN REJECTION OF ETHICS
Vatican City, 16 May 2013 (VIS) - This morning the Holy Father received the
credential letters of four new ambassadors to the Holy See: Mr. Bolot Iskovich
Otunbaev from Kyrgyzstan; Mr. David Shoul from Antigua and Barbuda; Mr.
Jean-Paul Senninger
from Luxembourg; and Mr. Lameck Nthekela from Botswana. In the address he gave
them, the pontiff urged them not to forget the predominance of ethics in the
economy and in social life, emphasizing the value of solidarity and the
centrality of the human
being.
“Our human family,” the Pope said, “is presently
experiencing something of a turning point in its own history, if we consider
the advances made in various areas. We can only praise the positive
achievements which contribute to the
authentic welfare of mankind, in fields such as those of health, education and
communications. At the same time, we must also acknowledge that the majority
of the men and women of our time continue to live daily in situations of
insecurity, with dire
consequences. Certain pathologies are increasing, with their psychological
consequences; fear and desperation grip the hearts of many people, even in the
so-called rich countries; the joy of life is diminishing; indecency and
violence are on the rise;
poverty is becoming more and more evident. People have to struggle to live
and, frequently, to live in an undignified way. One cause of this situation,
in my opinion, is in the our relationship with money, and our acceptance of its
power over ourselves and our society. Consequently the financial crisis which
we are experiencing makes us forget that its ultimate origin is to be found in
a profound human crisis. In the denial of the primacy of human beings! We have
created new
idols. The worship of the golden calf of old has found a new and heartless
image in the cult of money and the dictatorship of an economy which is
faceless and lacking any truly humane goal.”
“The worldwide financial and economic crisis,” the pontiff
observed, “seems to highlight their distortions and above all the
gravely deficient human perspective, which reduces men and women to just one
of their needs alone, namely,
consumption. Worse yet, human beings themselves are nowadays considered as
consumer goods which can be used and thrown away. We have started down the
path of a disposable culture. This tendency is seen on the level of
individuals and whole societies;
and it is being promoted! In circumstances like these, solidarity, which is
the treasure of the poor, is often considered counterproductive, opposed to
the logic of finance and the economy. While the income of a minority is
increasing exponentially,
that of the majority is crumbling. This imbalance results from ideologies
which uphold the absolute autonomy of markets and financial speculation, and
thus deny the right of control to States, which are themselves charged with
providing
for the common good. A new, invisible and at times virtual, tyranny is
established, one which unilaterally and irremediably imposes its own laws and
rules. Moreover, indebtedness and credit distance countries from their real
economy and citizens from
their real buying power. Added to this, as if it were needed, is widespread
corruption and selfish fiscal evasion which have taken on worldwide
dimensions. The will to power and of possession has become limit
ess.”
“Concealed behind this attitude,” the Bishop of Rome warned,
“is a rejection of ethics, a rejection of God. Ethics, like solidarity,
is a nuisance! It is regarded as counterproductive: as something too human,
because it relativizes
money and power; as a threat, because it rejects manipulation and subjection
of people: because ethics leads to God, who is situated outside the categories
of the market. These financiers, economists and politicians consider God to be
unmanageable, God
is unmanageable, even dangerous, because He calls man to his full realization
and to independence from any kind of slavery. Ethics—naturally, not the
ethics of ideology—makes it possible, in my view, to create a balanced
social order that is
more humane. In this sense, I encourage the financial experts and the
political leaders of your countries to consider the words of Saint John
Chrysostom: 'Not to share one’s goods with the poor is to rob them and to
deprive them of life. It is not our goods that we possess, but t
eirs'.”
The Pope asserted that “there is a need for financial reform along
ethical lines that would produce in its turn an economic reform to benefit
everyone. This would nevertheless require a courageous change of attitude on
the part of political
leaders. I urge them to face this challenge with determination and
farsightedness, taking account, naturally, of their particular situations.
Money has to serve, not to rule! The Pope loves everyone, rich and poor alike,
but the Pope has the duty, in
Christ’s name, to remind the rich to help the poor, to respect them, to
promote them. The Pope appeals for disinterested solidarity and for a return
to person-centred ethics in the world of finance and economics.”
“For her part, the Church,” he reiterated, “always works
for the integral development of every person. In this sense, she reiterates
that the common good should not be simply an extra, simply a conceptual scheme
of inferior quality
tacked onto political programmes. The Church encourages those in power to be
truly at the service of the common good of their peoples. She urges financial
leaders to take account of ethics and solidarity. And why should they not turn
to God to draw
inspiration from his designs? In this way, a new political and economic
mindset would arise that would help to transform the absolute dichotomy
between the economic and social spheres into a healthy symbiosis.”
Finally, Francis greeted—through the ambassadors—the faithful
of the Catholic communities present in their respective countries, urging them
“to continue their courageous and joyful witness of faith and fraternal
love in accordance
with Christ’s teaching. Let them not be afraid to offer their
contribution to the development of their countries, through initiatives and
attitudes inspired by the Sacred Scriptures!”
POPE RECEIVES CARITAS INTERNATIONALIS' EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Vatican City, 16 May 2013 (VIS) – This morning, after celebrating
Mass in the Domus Sanctae Marthae chapel, Pope Francis met with the Executive
Committee of Caritas Internationalis, with their president, Cardinal Oscar
Andres Rodriguez
Maradiaga, S.D.B., archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, for a presentation of
their Campaign Against Hunger, which will be launched soon.
Vatican City, 16 May 2013 (VIS) – The Ecumenical Patriarch of
Constantinople, Bartholomew I, is visiting Milan, on the occasion of the
1700th anniversary of the Edict of Milan, signed by Constantine and Licinius,
respectively the emperors of
the western and eastern parts of the Roman Empire, in 313. The treaty granted
freedom of worship to Christians throughout the Roman Empire, putting an end
to religious persecution.
For his visit, Pope Francis, yesterday afternoon, sent a mess
ge—through Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone, S.D.B., to Cardinal
Angelo Scola, archbishop of Milan, with greetings to the Patriarch, the
participants in the commemoration, as well
as to the entire city, “for the importance given to the memory of the
historic decision that, decreeing religious freedom for Christians, opened new
paths to the Gospel and decisively contributed to the birth of European
civilization.”
In the text, the Holy Father expresses the desire that, “today as
then, the common witness of Christians of the East and West, sustained by the
Spirit of the Risen One, will agree to the spread of the message of salvation
in Europe and the
entire world and that, thanks to the foresight of civil authorities, the right
to publicly express one’s faith will be respected everywhere, and that
the contribution that Christianity continues to offer to culture and society
in our time will be
accepted without prejudice.”
Vatican City, 16 May 2013 (VIS) – Today the Holy Father received in
audience seven prelates from the Puglia Region of the Italian Episcopal
Conference on their "ad limina" visit:
- Archbishop Domenico Umberto D’Ambrosio of Lecce,
- Archbishop Domenico Caliandro of Brindisi-Ostuni,
- Archbishop Filippo Santoro of Taranto,
- Bishop Domenico Padovano of Conversano-Monopoli,
- Bishop Vincenzo Pisanello of Oria,
- Bishop Vito Angiuli of Ugento-Santa Maria di Leuca, and
- Msgr. Luigi Ruperto, diocesan administrator of Nardo-Gallipoli.
Vatican City, 16 May 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father appointed as
members of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences:
- Dr. Phillippe Chenaux, Swiss full professor of History of the Modern
and Contemporary Church at Rome's Pontifical Lateran University and director
of that same university's Centre for Studies and Research on Vatican Council
II.
- Fr. Cosimo Semeraro, S.D.B., full professor of Critical Methodology
and Modern and Contemporary History at Rome's Pontifical Salesian
University.
The Holy Father also appointed Msgr. Michele De Palma, of the clergy of the
Diocese of Molfetta-Ruvo-Giovinazzo-Terlizzi, Italy, as secretary of that same
Committee.
Per ulteriori informazioni e per la ricerca di documenti consultare il
sito: www.wisnews.org e www.vatican.va Il servizio
del VIS viene inviato soltanto agli indirizzi di posta elettronica che
ne hanno
fatto richiesta. Se per qualunque motivo non si desidera continuare a
riceverlo, si prega di visitare nostra pagina dinizio: http://212.77.1.245/news_services/press/v
s/italinde.php
Copyright (VIS): Le notizie contenute nei servizi del Vatican
Information Service possono essere riprodotte parzialmente o totalmente
citando la fonte: V.I.S. - Vatican Information Service.
--Boundary_(ID_LQny8DfbHPEESdds9ddWdQ)--
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