powers. From Africa, slaves were taken to America, and sold. There are powers
that seek only to take the great wealth of Africa. I don't know, it is possibly
the richest continent. ... But they do not think of how to help countries
grow, to
promote work, so that everyone has work. ... Exploitation! Africa is a martyr.
She
is a martyr to exploitation in history. Those who say that from Africa is the
home of all calamities and all wars do not understand well, perhaps, the damage
that humanity has done to certain forms of development. And it is for this
reason that I love Africa, because Africa has been a victim of other powers".

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 Cardinal Parolin at the COP 21: Reach a global and transformational agreement
 Vatican City, 1 December 2015 (VIS) - Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro
Parolin spoke yesterday at the opening of the 21st Conference of States Parties
to the Convention COP 21, held in Paris from 30 November to 11 December. After
communicating Pope Francis' greetings and encouragement to the the participants
in the hope of a fruitful outcome, the Cardinal mentioned the Holy Father's
address to the United Nations Office at Nairobi on 26 November, when he
expressed his hope that the Paris conference result in the adoption of a
"global
and transformational" agreement, based on the principles of solidarity,
justice,
equality and participation, orientated towards the attainment of three complex
and interdependent objectives: mitigating the effects of climate change,
combating poverty, and promoting the dignity of the human person.
 He went on to list the three pillars of this "global and transformational"
agreement. "The first consists in the adoption of a clear ethical orientation,
inspiring the motivations and aims of the Agreement to be implemented. We are
well aware that the people most vulnerable to the impact of the phenomenon of
climate change are the poorest and future generations, who suffer the gravest
consequences, often without bearing any responsibility. ... Faced with the
urgency
of a situation that requires the broadest collaboration possible so as to reach
a common plan, it is important that this Agreement be focused on the
recognition
both of the ethical imperative to act in a context of global solidarity, and of
the common but differentiated responsibilities of all actors in accordance with
their respective capacities and conditions".
 "The second pillar regards the fact that the Agreement should not only
identify
the methods for its implementation, but should also and above all transmit
clear
signs to guide the behaviour of all the actors involved, beginning with
governments, but also local authorities, the world of business, the scientific
community and civil society. ... This necessitates undertaking with conviction
the
road towards a low-carbon economy and full human development. ... In this
regard,
the countries with greater resources and capacities should set a good example,
contributing resources to those countries in greater need so as to promote
sustainable development policies and programmes. For instance, the promotion of
renewable energy and dematerialisation, as well as the development of energy
efficiency, come to mind, or the correct management of forests, transport and
waste; the development of a circular model for the economy; the implementation
of appropriate, sustainable and diversified programmes for food safety and to
combat food waste; strategies against speculation and ineffective or indeed at
times harmful subsidies; and the development and transfer of suitable
technologies".
 The third and final pillar is the vision of the future. "COP 21 is not a
moment
of arrival or a starting point, but rather a crucial path in a process that
without doubt will not end in 2015", emphasised Cardinal Parolin. "An agreement
with a long term perspective of this type should provide for processes for the
revision of commitments and transparent, effective and dynamic follow-ups, able
to progressively increase the level of ambition, as well as to guarantee
suitable control. Furthermore, it is necessary to take into serious
consideration the implementation of sustainable models of production and
consumption, new attitudes, and new lifestyles. Here we enter the fundamental
fields of education and training, unfortunately often situated at the margins
of
negotiations for international agreements. Technical solutions are necessary,
but they are not enough if they do not consider education in sustainable life
styles and responsible awareness".

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 How did the Council Fathers experience Vatican Council II?
 Vatican City, 1 December 2015 (VIS) - This morning in the Holy See Press
Office, a press conference was held to present the International Study
Convention "Vatican Council II and its protagonists in the light of the
archives" (Vatican City, 9 to 11 December 2015), organised by the Pontifical
Committee for Historical Sciences. The speakers were Fr. Bernard Ardura, O.
Praem., and Professor Philippe Chenaux, respectively president and member of
the
Committee.
 Fr. Ardura explained that the event is a follow-up to the Convention held in
2012, with the collaboration of the Centre for Research and Study on the
Council, on the theme "Vatican Council II: starting again from the archives",
which offered the exceptional opportunity to bring together archivists and
university teachers to present the very diverse situations of conservation,
cataloguing and use of the legacy of the conciliar Fathers. This second event
is
dedicated instead to the protagonists of the Council, "casting light on the
various networks of opinions that had a not insignificant role in forming the
convictions of many Council Fathers, both at the level of the episcopal
conferences, and at the level of communities of thought. Indeed, the personal
notes of many of the Council Fathers enable us at times to follow the evolution
of their thought and their opinions gradually over the passage of time,
highlighting the guiding themes that were consolidated in the sixteen documents
drawn up by the Council".
 "In the programme of this Convention, we have also tried to take into account
not only the diversity, but also the divergences which emerged during the
Council. The unanimity Paul VI strongly desired for the approval of the
conciliar documents left in the shade the opinions of a minority that was
however well-organised; therefore we wanted some of the protagonists of this
current to be presented in these days".
 Philippe Chenaux reiterated that the most arduous task for the historian in
the
interpretation of this event is the change of majority between the beginning
and
the end of the council. "To explain this 'inversion of tendency', without
falling into the trap of conspiratorial hypotheses, reference to the concept of
the 'conciliar experience' would appear fundamental. As St. John Paul II said a
number of times, the council had an unique and unrepeatable meaning for those
who took part. This represented, for many bishops, not only an extraordinary
experience of fraternal communion under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, but
also a school of theological renewal".
 "How did the Council Fathers experience the Council? What was their personal
experience of the event? In what way did the conciliar experience condition
their way of understanding the Church and their way of being bishops? Should we
speak about a simple 'evolution', or a full 'conversion'?" are some of the
questions that this Convention endeavours to answer. "Solving the great
'interpretative enigma' - 'what happened during Vatican Council II? - means the
precise and meticulous reconstruction of the activity of its protagonists",
comments Chenaux.
 The first session on 10 December is entitled "The protagonists revealed in the
archives". The second session on the same day will be dedicated to "Networks of
contacts and opinions", and will evaluate the consistency of the networks for
contact and the exchange of opinions established between the participants. The
third session, on 11 December, is entitled "Evolutions during the Council", and
will explore the theme of the evolution of thought among participants. There
will be two further working sessions, the inauguration and introduction, and
the
conclusion, appraising the three sessions mentioned above.
 In the inaugural session on 9 December, after Fr. Ardura's introduction, five
reports of a general nature will be presented: by Cardinal Laurent Monsegwo
Pasinya, archbishop of Kinshasa, who will speak on Cardinal Malula and his
"African vision" of the Council; Bishop Filaret of Lviv and Galicia, of the
Ukrainian Orthodox Church, will speak about Vatican Council II and the Russian
Orthodox Church; and three historians, Professors John O'Malley of Georgetown
University (United States of America) Michael Quisinsky of the University of
Fribourg (Switzerland), and Philippe Chenaux.
 The final session on 11 December will commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of
the conclusion of the Council. There will be a round table discussion chaired
by
Fr. Ardura, with interventions by Cardinal Georges Cottier, O.P., theologian
emeritus of the Papal Household, and representatives of various Christian
churches: Bishop Filaret, Fr. Alexei Dikarev, delegate of the Department for
External Ecclesiastical Relations of the Patriarchate of Moscow; His Grace
Archbishop David Moxon, representative of the Archbishop of Canterbury at the
Holy See and director of the Anglican Centre in Rome; and Philippe Chenaux. A
message from the chief rabbi of Rome, Riccardo Di Segni, will also be read.

___________________________________________________________

 Other Pontifical Acts
 Vatican City, 1 December 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father has:
 - accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Nueve de
Julio, Argentina, presented by Bishop Martin de Elizalde, O.S.B., upon reaching
the age limit. He is succeeded by Bishop Ariel Edgardo Torrado Mosconi,
currently coadjutor of the same diocese.
 - appointed Fr. J. Victor Alejandro Aguilar Ledesma and Fr. Herculano Medina
Garfias as auxiliaries of the archdiocese of Morelia (area 18,000, population
2,612,300, Catholics 2,455,618, priests 565, religious 1,268), Mexico.
 Bishop-elect Aguilar Ledesma was born in San Guillermo, Mexico in 1965 and was
ordained a priest in 1989. He holds a licentiate in family pastoral ministry
from the Pontifical Lateran University and has served in a number of pastoral
roles, including parish vicar, chaplain of the Clarissian Sisters and diocesan
coordinator of family pastoral ministry. He is currently parish priest,
episcopal vicar, member of the college of consultors and professor at the major
seminary of Morelia.
 Bishop-elect Medina Garfias was born in Rincon de Cedenos, Mexico in 1967, and
was ordained a priest in 1996. He holds a licentiate in social doctrine of the
Church from the Padre Alberto Hurtado University in Santiago, Chile. He has
served in a number of roles, including spiritual director and professor in the
archdiocesan seminary and chaplain of various religious communities. He is
currently bursar of the major seminary of Morelia.

___________________________________________________________

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