Vatican City, 13 February 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Pope sent a message
to participants in the meeting of the Board of Governors of the International
Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), which celebrates its 36th
anniversary this year.
The Holy Father praised "the methodology followed by IFAD, which gives
ongoing development priority over mere assistance, and places the group
dimension alongside the purely individual dimension, to the point of setting
up forms of interest-free
Subject: VISnews130213
From: Vatican Information Service - Eng - txt
grants and loans, often choosing, as the primary beneficiaries, the 'poorest
of the poor'. This activity shows that approaches inspired by the principle of
gratuitousness and by the culture of gift can 'find their place within normal
economic activity'
(Caritas in Veritate)."
"Indeed, the approach taken by the Fund is to link the elimination of
poverty not only to the fight against hunger and the guarantee of food
security, but also to the creation of work opportunities and institutional
decision-making structures. It is
well known that when these elements are missing, the involvement of rural
labourers in choices that affect them is restricted, hence reinforcing their
sense of being limited in their capacity and their dignity."
"In this area there are two specific lines taken by the Organization that
are to be commended. The first is the constant attention given to Africa,
where, by supporting projects of 'rural credit', IFAD aims to endow small
farmers with modest but
essential financial resources, and to empower them in the decision-making and
administrative phase as well. The second line is the support given to
indigenous communities, which have a particular care for preserving
biodiversity, recognized as a
precious good that the Creator has placed at the disposal of the entire human
family. The safeguarding of these peoples’ identity needs to be given
priority, and their indispensable role in handing down traditional know-how
needs to be
acknowledged."
"The Catholic Church, in her teaching and her activity, has always upheld
the centrality of the worker on the land, urging concrete political and
economic action in areas that affect him. This stance, I am happy to observe,
harmonizes with the
Fund’s approach in underlining the role of farmers, as individuals and
as small groups, thus actively involving them in the development of their
communities and countries. This attention to the person, both individually and
collectively, will be
more effective if it is achieved through forms of association, both
cooperatives and small family businesses with the wherewithal to produce an
income that is sufficient to support a decent standard of living."
Referring to "the next International Year that the United Nations has
chosen to dedicate to the rural family," the Pope added that it will promote
"a deep-rooted and sound notion of agricultural development and of the fight
against poverty, based on
this fundamental cell of society. IFAD knows from experience that the family
is at the heart of the social order, and what serves to regulate family life,
prior to the laws of a State or international norms, are the moral principles
inscribed in the
natural patrimony of values which are immediately identifiable in the rural
world as well. These principles inspire the conduct of individuals, the
relationship between spouses and between generations, and the sense of shared
ownership. To ignore this
reality, or to fail to recognize it, would be to undermine the foundations not
only of the family, but of the entire rural community, with consequences whose
gravity is easily foreseeable."
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FR. LOMBARDI: BRIEFING ON PAPAL ACTIVITIES
Vatican City, 13 February 2013 (VIS) – Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J.,
director of the Holy See Press Office, presented the Holy Father's activities
up to 28 February.
Tomorrow, as announced in Tuesday's briefing, Benedict XVI will meet with
the Roman pastors in the Paul VI Hall. On the 15th he will receive,
respectively, the "Pro Petri Sede" association and the president of Romania.
On the 16th he will meet with
the president of Guatemala. On those same days he will meet with the Italian
bishops from Liguria and Lombardy on their 'ad limina' visits. However, the
audience with the president of Cameroon, which was scheduled for 28 February,
has been cancelled as
well as the 'ad limina' visits scheduled with the Italian prelates from the Le
Marche region between 25 and 28 February. On Saturday the 16th at 6:00pm, the
Pope will meet with the Italian Prime Minister, Mario Monti, and the following
Saturday, the
23rd in the late morning, with the Italian President, Giorgio Napolitano.
"Both," Fr. Lombardi clarified, "have expressed the desire to meet briefly
with the Pope."
From the 17th, after the Angelus, until the morning of the 23th, the Holy
Father and the Roman Curia have the Lenten Spiritual Exercises, which will be
led this year by Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi. As is traditional, for the
Wednesday of that week
there will be no general audience and no activity with the Pope is planned. On
the 24th, he will pray the Angelus with the faithful who are gathered in St.
Peter's Square.
On the 25th, the Holy Father will receive some of the cardinals in a
private audience. On the 27th, the general audience will take place in St.
Peter's Square. On the 28th, the last day of his pontificate, Benedict XVI
will meet with members of the
College of Cardinals in the Clementine Hall and at 5:00pm he will travel by
helicopter to Castel Gandolfo.
The period of Sede vacante begins on 1 March. All the visits and activities
that call for the Pope's presence during that time are therefore cancelled.
Finally, the director of the Holy See Press Office recalled that when the
period of Sede vacante begins, the congregations of cardinals to prepare for
the conclave also begin. The congregations have a number of juridical
requirements to meet along
with serving to exchange viewpoints regarding the problems to be addressed,
the situation of the Church, etc., so that each of the members of the College
of Cardinals might develop his criteria regarding the election of the new
Pope. For this reason,
the regulations provide that the beginning of the conclave be established
between 15 and 20 days from the beginning of the Sede vacante. "If everything
goes normally, it could be envisioned," Fr. Lombardi said, "that the conclave
begins between 15 and
19 March. At the moment, we cannot give an exact date because it falls to the
cardinals to determine it."
___________________________________________________________
OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS<
destination>
Vatican City, 13 February 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father
appointed Bishop Giuseppe Sciacca as auditor general of the Apostolic Camera.
Bishop Sciacca, titular of Fundi, is the secretary general of the Governorate
of Vatican City State.
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