VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - # 004
DATE 08-01-2015

Summary:
- Francis joins in the suffering of the French people
- The Pope strongly condemns the attack in Paris: "Homicidal violence is
abominable and never justifiable"
- The Pope receives a delegation of Yezidi
- The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue calls for human and
spiritual solidarity with the victims of the attack on "Charlie Hebdo" and
their families
- Audiences
- Other Pontifical Acts

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 Francis joins in the suffering of the French people
 Vatican City, 8 January 2014 (VIS) - This morning in the Sanctae Marthae
Chapel the Holy Father celebrated Mass for the victims of the attack in Paris
yesterday, in which twelve people were killed and several were seriously
injured. "The attack makes us think of great cruelty, human cruelty; of such
terrorism, both isolated terrorism and state terrorism. The cruelty of which
man is capable! Let us pray, in this Mass, for the victims of this cruelty. So
many of them! And let us also pray for those who perform these cruel acts, so
that the Lord might transform their hearts".
 Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin has sent a telegram on behalf of
the Holy Father to Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois, archbishop of Paris, France,
the full text of which is published below:
 "Upon learning of the terrible attack in Paris on the offices of 'Charlie
Hebdo', which has claimed numerous victims, His Holiness Pope Francis joins in
prayer with the suffering of the bereaved families and the sadness of all the
French people. He entrusts the victims to God, full of mercy, and prays that
He will welcome them in His light. He expresses his deepest sympathy for the
injured and their families, and asks that the Lord console and comfort them in
their ordeal. The Holy Father reiterates his condemnation of the violence that
generates such suffering, and praying that God grant the gift of peace, he
invokes a divine blessing for the afflicted families and the French people".

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 The Pope strongly condemns the attack in Paris: "Homicidal violence is
abominable and never justifiable"
 Vatican City, 8 January 2014 (VIS) - Yesterday afternoon the director of the
Holy See Press Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., issued the following
statement to journalists:
 "The Holy Father expresses his strongest condemnation of the horrendous
attack this morning that plunged the city of Paris into mourning, claiming a
large number of victims, sowing death and causing consternation throughout the
whole of French society, and profoundly disturbing all those who favour peace,
well beyond the French borders.
 Pope Francis participates in prayer in the suffering of the wounded and of
the families of the deceased, and urges opposition by every means to the
propagation of hate and every form of violence, both physical and moral, that
destroys human life, violates the dignity of human beings, and radically
undermines the foundations of peaceful co-existence between persons and
peoples, notwithstanding differences of nationality, religion and culture.
 Whatever the motive may be, homicidal violence is abominable and never
justifiable; the life and dignity of all must be guaranteed and protected
decisively, every incitement to hate must be denied, and respect for others
must be nurtured.
 The Pope expresses his closeness, his spiritual solidarity and his support
for all those who, in accordance with their various responsibilities, continue
to make constant efforts for peace, justice and the rule of law, to heal the
causes and sources of hate in this painful and dramatic moment, in France and
in every part of the world affected by tensions and violence".

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 The Pope receives a delegation of Yezidi
 Vatican City, 8 January 2014 (VIS) - This morning the Holy Father received in
audience a delegation from the World Community of Yezidi, according to the
director of the Holy See Press Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J. The
delegation was led by the Head of all the Yezidi, Mir Tahsin Said Ali Beg, and
their supreme spiritual Head, the "Baba Sheikh", Sheikh Khato, both resident
in Iraqi Kurdistan. The group also comprised three representatives of the
Yezidi of North Iraq, Georgia and the diaspora in Germany.
 During the meeting, which lasted approximately half an hour and took place in
the private library of the Apostolic Palace, the delegation thanked the Pope -
indicated by one of the delegates as the "father of the poor" -for his support
for the Yezidi in this time of persecution and suffering. They informed the
Pope of the situation of around five thousand Yezidi women reduced to slavery
by the ISIS, and emphasised the good relations between Yezidi and Christians,
emphasising their mutual solidarity. Pope Francis assured the delegates of his
spiritual closeness and his support in these challenging times, and expressed
his hope that soon it will be possible to restore justice and the conditions
for a free and peaceful life for the Yezidi, as well as all other minority
groups who are the object of discrimination and violence.
 There are around one and a half million Yezidi throughout the world, of whom
half a million are in Iraq; there are others in Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, and
in diaspora in many other countries.

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 The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue calls for human and
spiritual solidarity with the victims of the attack on "Charlie Hebdo" and
their families
 Vatican City, 8 January 2014 (VIS) - This morning the Pontifical Council for
Interreligious Dialogue published the following declaration:
 "As we reach the end of the meeting in Rome of the four Imams of France, who
attended yesterday's general audience along with the delegation from the
French Episcopal Conference, the participants, shocked by the heinous attack
on 7 January 2015 on the offices of the publication "Charlie Hebdo", wish once
more to echo the words pronounced by Pope yesterday and this morning,
denouncing this cruelty and blind violence. Like him, we invite believers to
show through friendship and prayer their human and spiritual solidarity
towards the victims and their families.
 In these circumstances, it should be noted that, without freedom of speech,
the world is in danger: it is imperative to oppose hate and every form of
violence that destroys human life, violates the dignity of the person and
radically undermines the foundation of peaceful co-existence between persons
and peoples, notwithstanding differences of nationality, religion and culture.
 Religious leaders are called upon to further promote a "culture of peace and
hope" able to conquer fear and to build bridges between people.
 Considering the impact of the media, their leaders are invited to offer
information that is respectful of religions, their followers and their
practices, thus favouring a culture of encounter.
 Interreligious dialogue remains the only path to follow together to dissipate
prejudice".
 The communique is signed by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the
Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Bishop Michel Dubost of
Evry-Corbeil et Essonnes, president of the Council for Interreligious
Relations of the Bishops' Conference of France, the Imams Tareq Oubrou,
Azzedine Cami, Mohammed Moussaoui, Djelloul Seddiki and Fr. Roucou, director
of the National Service for Relations with Islam, France.

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 Audiences
 Vatican City, 8 January 2014 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father received in
audience:
 - Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, prefect of the Congregation for Catholic
Education (for Institutes of Study);
 - Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta;
 - Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois, archbishop of Paris, France;
 - Bishop Santiago Olivera of Cruz del Eje, Argentina;
 - Nicola Zingaretti, president of the Latium region;
 - His Excellency Mir Tahsin-beg (Tahseen Saeed Ali), head of the Yezidi in
all the World, Georgia, and entourage.

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 Other Pontifical Acts
 Vatican City, 8 January 2014 (VIS) - The Holy Father has appointed Msgr. Joel
Mercier, as secretary of the Congregation for the Clergy, at the same time
elevating him to the dignity of archbishop. The archbishop-elect was born in
Chaudesfonds-sur-Layon, France in 1945 and was ordained a priest in 1970. He
holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy and a licentiate in theology from the
Universite Catholique de l'Ouest in Angers, and a licentiate and doctorate in
canon law from the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome. He has served in a
number of pastoral and administrative roles, including parish vicar in the
"Saint-Joseph" parish in Angers, chaplain of Catholic colleges and high
schools in Angers, and secretary to the bishop of Angers. He has also served
as member of the ecclesiastical tribunal in the Pays de Loire and teaches in
the faculty of theology, Angers. He is currently an official of the
Congregation for Bishops and spiritual director of the French Seminary in
Rome. He was named Chaplain of His Holiness in 2005.

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