VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - # 122
DATE 01-07-2015

Summary:
- The Pope commemorates the late Patriarch of Cilicia of the Armenians
- People and planet first: the imperative to change course
- Archbishop Tomasi: terrorism is the antithesis of the values and commitments
of peaceful national and international co-existence
- Message for Sea Sunday: more resources to combat human trafficking and
exploitation

___________________________________________________________

 The Pope commemorates the late Patriarch of Cilicia of the Armenians
 Vatican City, 1 July 2015 (VIS) - Pope Francis has sent a message to Bishop
Gregoire Ghabroyan, administrator of the Patriarchate of Cilicia of the
Armenians, for the funeral of His Beatitude Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni, who
died
on 25 June, to be held in the Cathedral of St. Elie and St. Gregory the
Illuminator in Beirut. The message was read during the funeral ceremony by
Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental
Churches.
 "It is with great sadness that I have learned of the return to the house of
the
Father of our beloved brother in Christ, His Beatitude Nerses Bedros XIX
Tarmouni, Patriarch of Cilicia of the Armenians. I conserve in my heart the
memory of my encounter with him, accompanied by the bishops of the Synod and
the
faithful of this Patriarchal Church, on the occasion of the commemoration of
the
victims of the Metz Yegern and the proclamation of St. Gregory of Narek as as
Doctor of the universal Church. It was as if these events lived in the vicinity
of the relics of the apostle St. Peter had marked the long and faithful journey
of your 'Caput et Pater', revealing some of his most characteristic aspects.
 "He was, above all, deeply rooted on the Rock that is Christ. He held that the
most valuable treasure that a bishop is called upon to minister to is the faith
that comes from apostolic preaching. His Beatitude spared nothing in ensuring
its dissemination, especially by promoting the continuing formation of the
clergy so that, even in difficult contexts, the ministers of God renew their
adhesion to Christ, the sole hope and consolation for humanity.
 "He dedicated himself to ensuring that the just commemoration of the
sufferings
of the Armenian people throughout their history become an action of God's grace
considering the example of martyrs and witnesses, and at the same time obtained
from Him the balm of consolation and reconciliation, which alone may heal the
deepest wounds of souls and of peoples.
 "Patriarch Nerses was finally able to rejoice with the Armenian people at the
elevation of St. Gregory of Narek to the luminous title of Doctor of the
Church.
His Beatitude wished the spiritual influence of this great saint be an example
for pastors and faithful, convinced that through St. Gregory of Narek everyone
can experience the wonders that the Lord is able to achieve in the heart that
opens up to Him in daily simplicity and humility, and in solidarity with the
drama of humanity, through ceaseless intercession.
 "Invited to perpetuate this triple heritage left to us by Patriarch Nerses, we
implore the Holy Spirit to continue to renew the face of the Armenian Catholic
Church, through the commitment of pastors and faithful, and we also entrust to
the Father of all Mercy the labours , linked to the the limits and weaknesses
of
the condition of the pilgrims on their way to the eternal homeland".

___________________________________________________________

 People and planet first: the imperative to change course
 Vatican City, 1 July 2015 (VIS) - This morning a press conference was held in
the Holy See Press Office to present the Conference "People and planet first:
the imperative to change course" (Rome, Augustinianum, 2-3 July) organised by
the Pontifical Council "Justice and Peace" and CIDSE, an international network
of Catholic non-governmental development organisations.
 The speakers at the conference were Cardinal Kodwo Appiah Turkson, president
of
the Pontifical Council "Justice and Peace"; Naomi Klein, writer; Ottmar
Edenhofer, co-president of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Climate
Change (IPCC) and Bernd Nilles, secretary general of Cooperation Internationale
pour le Developpement et la Solidarite (International Cooperation for
Development and Solidarity).
 Cardinal Turkson emphasised that the title of the conference, which focuses on
climate change, clearly indicates the aim to be pursued: "people and planet,
not
one or the other, not one at the expense of the other". He noted that in his
recent Encyclical "Laudato si'", the Pope proposes an integral ecology that
respects its human and social dimensions, and shows that climate change is one
of the main challenges facing humanity in our times, also highlighting that the
climate is a common good, belonging to all and meant for all. "Yet the costs of
climate change are being borne by those least responsible for it and least able
to adapt to it - the poor. Overall, climate change is a global problem with a
spectrum of serious implications: environmental, social, economic and
political". In "Laudato si'", the Pope also laments the failure of past global
summits on the environment, and launches an urgent appeal for enforceable
international agreements to stop climate change.
 In this respect, as Cardinal Turkson observes, the COP21 Conference held in
Paris from 30 November to 11 December 2015 will be crucial in identifying
strong
solutions to the problem of climate change. The Sustainable Development Goals
are also relevant in this context, and coincide in various aspects with the
points made by Pope Francis in his Encyclical. "For example, the 13th proposed
goal will express the imperative to take urgent action to combat climate change
and its impacts. Related goals include: make cities and human settlements
inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable; ensure sustainable consumption and
production patterns; conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine
resources for sustainable development; protect, restore and promote sustainable
use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat
desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity
loss".
 "These goals, similar to important points made in 'Laudato si'', await the
pledges and the will of the whole world community during the 70th United
Nations
General Assembly beginning in mid-September 2015. Yet the single biggest
obstacle to the imperative to change course is not economic, scientific or even
technological, but rather within our minds and hearts. The same mindset which
stands in the way of making radical decisions to reverse the trend of global
warming also stands in the way of achieving the goal of eliminating poverty. A
more responsible overall approach is needed to deal with both problems: the
reduction of pollution and the development of poorer countries and regions. ...
The political dimension needs to re-establish democratic control over the
economy and finance, that is, over the basic choices made by human societies.
This is the path the entire human family is on, the one which leads through New
York to Paris and beyond", concluded the prelate.
 Naomi Klein affirmed that what Pope Francis writes in "Laudato si'" "is not
only a teaching for the Catholic world but for 'every person living on this
planet'. And I can say that as a secular Jewish feminist who was rather
surprised to be invited to the Vatican, it certainly spoke to me".
 "In a world where profit is consistently put before both people and the
planet,
climate economics has everything to do with ethics and morality. Because if we
agree that endangering life on earth is a moral crisis, then it is incumbent on
us to act like it. That does not mean gambling the future on the boom and bust
cycles of the market. It means policies that directly regulate how much carbon
can be extracted from the earth. It means policies that will get us to 100 per
cent renewable energy in two or three decades - not by the end of the century.
And it means allocating common, shared resources - like the atmosphere - on the
basis of justice and equity, not winners-take-all".
 Therefore, "a new kind of climate movement is fast emerging. It is based on
the
most courageous truth expressed in the encyclical: that our current economic
system is both fuelling the climate crisis and actively preventing us from
taking the necessary actions to avert it. A movement based on the knowledge
that
if we don't want runaway climate change, then we need system change. And
because
our current system is also fuelling ever widening inequality, we have a chance,
in rising to the climate challenge, to solve multiple, overlapping crises at
once. In short, we can shift to a more stable climate and fairer economy at the
same time".
 "This growing understanding is why you are seeing some surprising and even
unlikely alliances. Like, for instance, me at the Vatican. Like trade unions,
Indigenous, faith and green groups working more closely together than ever
before. Inside these coalitions, we do not agree on everything. ... But we

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