VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXIV - # 85
DATE 10-05-2014

Summary:
- ABDUCTION OF SCHOOLGIRLS IN NIGERIA: A HORRIBLE FORM OF VIOLENCE TO BE
STRONGLY CONDEMNED
- THE POPE TO THE UNITED NATIONS EXECUTIVE BOARD: CHALLENGE ALL FORMS OF
INJUSTICE
- TO THE PONTIFICAL MISSION SOCIETIES: EVANGELISATION MUST START WITH THE
LEAST AMONG US
- BISHOPS OF ETHIOPIA AND ERITREA: YOUR EFFORTS TO ALLEVIATE THE SUFFERING OF
YOUR PEOPLE BEAR WITNESS TO GOD'S LOVE
- CARDINAL TAURAN IN JORDAN
- AUDIENCES

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 ABDUCTION OF SCHOOLGIRLS IN NIGERIA: A HORRIBLE FORM OF VIOLENCE TO BE
STRONGLY CONDEMNED
 Vatican City, 9 May 2014 (VIS) - Yesterday, in a statement to journalists,
the director of the Holy See Press Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J.,
declared that the kidnapping in Nigeria of a large number of schoolgirls by
Boko Haram terrorists is yet another of the "horrible forms of violence long
typical of this group".
 He continued, "The denial of any respect for the lives and dignity of the
human person, even the most innocent, vulnerable and defenceless, calls for
the strongest condemnation and elicits the most heartfelt compassion for the
victims, as well as horror at the physical and spiritual suffering and the
incredible humiliation inflicted upon them. We add our voice to the many
appeals for their liberation and their restoration to a normal condition of
life. We hope and pray that Nigeria, thanks to the commitment of all those who
are able to help, may find a way to end a situation of conflict and hateful
terrorism which is a source of incalculable suffering".

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 THE POPE TO THE UNITED NATIONS EXECUTIVE BOARD: CHALLENGE ALL FORMS OF
INJUSTICE
 Vatican City, 9 May 2014 (VIS) - This morning Pope Francis received in
audience the secretary general of the United Nations, Ban Ki Moon, and the
leading executive officers of the agencies, funds and programmes of the United
Nations and specialised organisations, gathered in Rome for the biannual
meeting for strategic coordination of the United Nations System Chief
Executives Board.
 In his address, the Pontiff thanked the those who are primarily responsible
for the international system, "for the great efforts being made to ensure
world peace, respect for human dignity, the protection of persons, especially
the poorest and most vulnerable, and harmonious economic and social
development". He also congratulated them on the results of the Millennium
Development Goals, especially in terms of education and the decrease in
extreme poverty, adding however, that "it must be kept in mind that the
world's peoples deserve and expect even greater results" since "an important
part of humanity does not share in the benefits of progress and is in fact
relegated to the status of second-class citizens".
 Therefore, future sustainable development goals must be "formulated and
carried out with generosity and courage, so that they can have a real impact
on the structural causes of poverty and hunger, attain more substantial
results in protecting the environment, ensure dignified and productive labour
for all, and provide appropriate protection for the family, which is an
essential element in sustainable human and social development. Specifically,
this involves challenging all forms of injustice and resisting the 'economy of
exclusion', the 'throwaway culture' and the 'culture of death' which nowadays
sadly risk becoming passively accepted".
 The Holy Father explained that the spirit that should be "at the beginning
and end of all political and economic activity" may be found in "the encounter
between Jesus Christ and the rich tax collector Zacchaeus, as a result of
which Zacchaeus made a radical decision of sharing and justice, because his
conscience had been awakened by the gaze of Jesus. The gaze, often silent, of
that part of the human family which is cast off, left behind, ought to awaken
the conscience of political and economic agents and lead them to generous and
courageous decisions with immediate results, like the decision of Zacchaeus.
... Today, in concrete terms, an awareness of the dignity of each of our
brothers and sisters whose life is sacred and inviolable from conception to
natural death must lead us to share with complete freedom the goods which
God's providence has placed in our hands, material goods but also intellectual
and spiritual ones, and to give back generously and lavishly whatever we may
have earlier unjustly refused to others".
 "The account of Jesus and Zacchaeus teaches us that above and beyond economic
and social systems and theories, there will always be a need to promote
generous, effective and practical openness to the needs of others", he
continued. "Jesus does not ask Zacchaeus to change jobs nor does he condemn
his financial activity; he simply inspires him to put everything, freely yet
immediately and indisputably, at the service of others. Consequently, I do not
hesitate to state, as did my predecessors, that equitable economic and social
progress can only be attained by joining scientific and technical abilities
with an unfailing commitment to solidarity accompanied by a generous and
disinterested spirit of gratuitousness at every level. A contribution to this
equitable development will also be made both by international activity aimed
at the integral human development of all the world's peoples and by the
legitimate redistribution of economic benefits by the State, as well as
indispensable cooperation between the private sector and civil society".
 "Consequently", the Holy Father concluded, "while encouraging you in your
continuing efforts to coordinate the activity of the international agencies,
which represents a service to all humanity, I urge you to work together in
promoting a true, worldwide ethical mobilisation which, beyond all differences
of religious or political convictions, will spread and put into practice a
shared ideal of fraternity and solidarity, especially with regard to the
poorest and those most excluded".

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 TO THE PONTIFICAL MISSION SOCIETIES: EVANGELISATION MUST START WITH THE LEAST
AMONG US
 Vatican City, 9 May 2014 (VIS) - Missionary action is the paradigm for all
works of the Church, said the Holy Father this morning, in his address to the
participants in the meeting of the Pontifical Mission Societies, which is
being held in Rome this week.
 The Pope mentioned that with his apostolic exhortation "Evangelii gaudium" he
intended to encourage the faithful to begin a new, evangelical era.
"Evangelisation in this time of great social transformations, necessitates a
missionary, outreach Church, capable of discernment in order to measure up to
different cultures and visions of man. For a world in transformation, there is
a need for a Church that is renewed and transformed by contemplation and
personal contact with Christ, by the power of the Spirit. ... It is He Who
gives us the strength to undertake the missionary path and the joy of
proclamation, so that the light of Christ may illuminate those who still do
not know Him or have denied Him. This takes the courage to go forth to 'reach
all the peripheries in need of the light of the Gospel'. We cannot be held
back by our weaknesses or our sins, nor by the many obstacles to the witness
and proclamation of the Gospel".

--- MPost/386 v1.21
 * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)