Charity and other associations present in the diocese of Rome. The event will
also be attended by detainees from the Rebibbia prison and various inhabitants
of camps for nomadic peoples. Elderly people, families and young people from
the
Roman parishes have also been invited, especially those from the quarters
afflicted by material and spiritual difficulties.
 An invitation is required to attend the concert. These are entirely free and
may be obtained online before 8 May by compiling the form on the website of the
Choir of the Diocese of Rome, at
http://www.corodiocesidiroma.com/concerto-aula-paolo-vi.html. During the press
conference, Msgr. Diego Ravelli, head of the office of the Apostolic Almoner,
explained that this will be a concert not only "with" the poor but rather "for"
the poor, as the donations made by the sponsors and all those who wish to offer
an economic contribution will be destined for Pope Francis' charitable works.
This task is entrusted to the Apostolic Almoner, whose mission is explained
below, and which receives every day a great number of letters from needy people
and families, a number that has increased along with the economic crisis,
rising
unemployment and the phenomenon of immigration. All these letters are
authenticated by parish priests and other ecclesiastical authorities, to whom
as
guarantors the economic assistance will be given, to be devolved to the people
concerned, "as it is important for the Pope's concrete gesture to be integrated
with the solidarity of the local Church and Christian parish community".
 "Aid will be modest as it is hoped it will reach the largest possible number
of
people", he continued. "The Almoner's Office also supports associations devoted
to alleviating the suffering of different groups of people in difficulties,
such
as the homeless, political refugees, prisoners, overseas university students,
hospital inpatients, the elderly, single mothers and orphaned or abandoned
children. Similarly, again with modest subsidies, it also intervenes outside
Italy, especially in the poorest countries, to support initiatives of a
charitable nature promoted by bishops and diocesan or religious priests.
Particular attention is also given to cloistered women religious, who often
lack
sufficient economic resources for everyday needs or to face extraordinary or
unexpected maintenance work on community buildings".
 "In total, the sum that the Apostolic Almoner distributed in 2014 exceeded one
and a half million Euros", said Msgr. Rivelli, who went on to remark that when
Pope Francis appointed Archbishop Konrad Krajewski in 2013 he instructed him to
reach out to the poor, not to wait for them to ask for help, and to "leave his
desk to go in search of them beyond the office walls".
 "All this is possible thanks to the charity fund available to the Almoner,
made
up of donations from private individuals and groups or bodies, or collections
organised for the purpose, and offers directly from the hands of the Holy
Father, who receives contributions for his charity during the general audiences
and from meetings with pilgrims. The majority of the funds, however, come from
the faculty, delegated to the Almoner by Pope Leo XIII, to grant apostolic
blessings in the form of documents on parchment to the faithful who request
them
for certain occasions".

___________________________________________________________

 New commission for Vatican communications
 Vatican City, 30 April 2015 (VIS) - During the last meeting of the Council of
Cardinals to assist the Holy Father in the governance of the universal Church
and to draw up a plan for the revision of the apostolic constitution "Pastor
bonus" on the Roman Curia (13-15 April 2015), the final report of the committee
charged with proposing reform of Vatican communications, the so-called Vatican
Media Committee (VMC), was examined.
 The Council of Cardinals subsequently proposed to His Holiness the institution
of a commission to study this final report and to suggest feasible approaches
to
its implementation. The proposal was favourably accepted by the Holy Father,
who
on 23 April decided to institute the commission and to appoint its members.
 The new commission will be chaired by Msgr. Dario Edoardo Vigano, director of
the Vatican Television Centre, and its members will be: Paolo Nusiner, director
general of the daily newspaper "Avvenire", Nuova Editoriale Italiana, Milan;
Msgr. Lucio Adrian Ruiz, head of the Vatican Internet Service, directorate of
Telecommunications of the Governorate of Vatican City State; Fr. Antonio
Spadaro, S.J., director of "La Civilt  Cattolica"; and Msgr. Paul Tighe,
secretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.

___________________________________________________________

 The international community must not resign itself to the tragedy of
Christians
in the Middle East
 Vatican City, 30 April 2015 (VIS) - Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the
Congregation for the Oriental Churches, spoke yesterday at the opening of the
Symposium "Christians in the Middle East: what future?", organised by the
Sant'Egidio Community and the archdiocese of Bari-Bitonto, Italy.
 In his address, the cardinal remarked that many Christians in the East,
hearing
just a few days ago the story of Pilate's famous gesture of washing his hands,
"may have thought of the indifference and inaction to which the international
community appears to have resigned itself before the tragedies that have for
some years now been wearing away at Syria and Iraq". He added, "it is also
saddening to see the incapacity of leaders in Lebanon, even those who are
Christians, to arrive at consensus on the new president on the basis of a line
of conduct due less to conscience than to the weighty influences of the forces
that compete for supremacy in the area".
 "We trust, however, that in the heart of all people, both in the West and in
the East, the governor Pilate's poignant question remains alive: 'Quid est
veritas?', 'What is truth?', followed by his search and service to it. The
truth
is first and foremost an act of removing every veil and covering from reality.
It cannot be denied that if a solution has not yet been found it is certainly
because the problems are many and complex, and also touch upon the internal
relations between the different groups of Muslim faithful and between them and
other religions present in the region, including Christians. But it is also
legitimate to think that there are interests and balances of power and wealth
that go before - seemingly without conceding a step - the mere survival, rather
than the well-being, of the populations. And this is a scandal: let us remember
what the Lord says, still today, to all the Cains on earth: 'What have you
done?
The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground'.
 Cardinal Sandri went on to mention that every year he launches an appeal, on
behalf of the Holy Father, for support and aid to Christians in the Holy Land,
a
term that designates not only those who live within the borders of the State of
Israel and the Palestinian Authority, but also all the places linked to
salvation history, the area of Mesopotamia and Persia, where the apostles
preached, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt, where the Holy Family sought
refuge.
 "But mentioning a presence thus configured must be an indication of a method
also for discussion at other levels", he added. "It is not possible to speak of
stability in the Middle East without reference to the age-old question of
Israel
and Palestine, accepting that Christians are permitted to live relatively
peacefully in both territories. On the other hand, there must be no doubt
regarding the need for all States, including Israel, to exist and be protected,
not threatened. It is the task of Christian pastors throughout the Middle East
to help their faithful to grow in this knowledge, pouring abundant oil of
consolation, forgiveness and mercy on the wounds of the recent past. If we do
not move in this direction, there is no doubt that power-crazed groups such as
ISIS will multiply, especially as they are supported with arms and resources by
various interested parties".
 "The West appears to have lost, over the centuries, the capacity for
conceiving
of itself within a healthy religious framework of reference, and increasingly
favours an exasperated secular model, if not indeed a true 'eclipse of God'.
The
destruction and horrors of the Middle East - which some wish to attribute
exclusively to the religious factors - must not become an excuse to confirm
this
partial and mistaken vision, but rather a stimulus for rethinking the
coexistence of and collaboration between different sectors of society for the
full development of humanity", concluded the prefect.
 The participants in the symposium subsequently attended the Basilica of St.
Nicholas, patron of Bari, where they prayed for the saint's intercession to
bring an end to the suffering of Christians in the Middle East and to accompany
the work of the Pan-Orthodox Council, to be held in Turkey in 2016.

___________________________________________________________

 Audiences
 Vatican City, 30 April 2015 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father received in
audience
Bishop Robert Francis Provost, apostolic administrator of Chiclayo, Peru.

___________________________________________________________

 Notice
 Vatican City, 30 April 2015 (VIS) - We inform our readers that tomorrow,
Friday
1 May, feast of St. Joseph the Worker and a holiday in the Vatican, the Vatican
Information Service bulletin will not be transmitted. Service will resume on
Monday, 4 May.

___________________________________________________________

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www.visnews.org and www.vatican.va

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Information Service may be reproduced wholly or partially by quoting
the source:  V. I. S. - Vatican Information Service.
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