VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXII - N° 69   
   DATE 11-04-2014   
      
   Summary:   
   - FRANCIS RECEIVES IN AUDIENCE THE INTERNATIONAL CATHOLIC CHILD BUREAU: THE   
   CHURCH WILL TAKE NO STEP BACKWARDS IN SANCTIONS AGAINST CHILD ABUSERS   
   - THE POPE RECEIVES THE ITALIAN MOVEMENT FOR LIFE   
   - POPE'S MESSAGE TO VENEZUELA: MAY UNITY PREVAIL OVER CONFLICT   
   - AUDIENCES   
      
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    FRANCIS RECEIVES IN AUDIENCE THE INTERNATIONAL CATHOLIC CHILD BUREAU: THE   
   CHURCH WILL TAKE NO STEP BACKWARDS IN SANCTIONS AGAINST CHILD ABUSERS   
   Vatican City, 11 April 2014 (VIS) ? This morning Pope Francis received in   
   audience a delegation from the International Catholic Child Bureau (BICE),   
   instituted following Pope Pius XII's appeal for the defence of children   
   following the Second World War. Since then, this organisation, ?born of the   
   maternity of the Church?, as Pope Francis remarked, has been committed to   
   promoting the defence of the rights of children, also contributing to the 1989   
   United Nations Convention and working in constant collaboration with the Holy   
   See in New York, Strasbourg and above all in Geneva.   
   Francis, after stating that in a well-constructed society, privileges should   
   only be for children and the elderly because the future of the people is in   
   their hands?, went on to comment on the theme of abuse ofminors. ?I feel that   
   I must take responsibility for all the harm that some priests ? quite a   
   number, but not in proportion to the total ? I must take responsibility and   
   ask forgiveness for the damage they have caused through sexual abuse of   
   children. The Church is aware of this damage. It is their own personal and   
   moral damage, but they are men of the Church. And  we will not take one step   
   backwards in dealing with this problem and the sanctions that must be imposed.   
   On the contrary, I believe that we must be even stronger. You do not interfere   
   with children.   
   ?In our times, it is important to implement projects against forced labour,   
   against the recruitment of child soldiers, and against every type of violence   
   against minors. On a more positive note, it is necessary to emphasise the   
   right of children to grow up within a family, with a father and a mother able   
   to create asuitable environment for their development and emotional maturity.   
   Continuing to mature in the relationship, in the complementarity of the   
   masculinity and femininity of a father and a mother, and thus preparing the   
   way for emotional maturity?.   
   ?This means, at the same time, supporting parents' right to moral and   
   religious education for their children. In this regard, I would like to   
   express my refusal of any type of educational experimentation on children. One   
   does not experiment on children and young people. They are not guinea pigs!   
   The horrors of the manipulation of education that we have experienced in the   
   great genocidal dictatorships of the twentieth century have not disappeared;   
   they have retained current relevance in various guises and in proposals that,   
   under the pretext of modernity, compel children and the young to take the   
   dictatorial path of 'unitary thought'?. A great educator said to me, little   
   more than a week ago, ?At times,we don't know if these projects ? referring to   
   real education projects ? are sending a child to school or to a re-education   
   camp?.   
   ?Working for human rights presupposes keeping anthropological formation alive,   
   being well prepared regarding the reality of the human person, and knowing how   
   to respond to the problems and challenges posed by contemporary cultures and   
   mentalities that are spread by the mass media. Obviously this does not mean   
   seeking refuge in protected environments, which these days are incapable of   
   giving life, which are linked to cultures that have already moved on. ?. No,   
   this isn't right. It means facing with the positive values of the human person   
   the new challenges that the new culture presents. For you, this means offering   
   to your managers and workers a permanent formation regarding the anthropology   
   of the child, as it is there that rights and duties are based. This decides   
   the approach to educational projects, thatobviously must continue to progress,   
   mature and adapt to the signs of the times, always respecting human identity   
   and freedom of conscience.   
   ?Thank you again, and I wish you well in your work. I am reminded of the logo   
   of the Commission for the protection of childhood and adolescence in Buenos   
   Aires. It was an image of the Holy Family seated on a donkey, fleeing to Egypt   
   to defend the Child. At times it is necessary to flee; at times it is   
   necessary to stop to protect oneself; and at times one must fight. But always   
   with tenderness?.   
      
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    THE POPE RECEIVES THE ITALIAN MOVEMENT FOR LIFE   
   Vatican City, 11 April 2014 (VIS) ? This morning in the Sala Clementina of the   
   Vatican Apostolic Palace the Holy Father received 470 members of the Italian   
   Movement for Life. The Pontiff thanked them for their work, especially for the   
   ?Progetto Gemma? (a form of prenatal adoption at a distance to assist pregnant   
   women in difficulty) which, he said, ?in these twenty years has enabled,   
   through a particular form of concrete solidarity, the birth of many children   
   who otherwise would never have seen the light of day?.   
   ?Human life is sacred and inviolable?, he emphasised. ?Every civil right is   
   based on the recognition of the first, fundamental right, the right to life,   
   which is not subject to any condition, of a qualitative, economic and   
   certainly not of an ideological nature. Just as the commandment 'Thou shalt   
   not kill' places a clear limit guaranteeing the value ofhuman life, today we   
   must also say 'No to an economy of exclusion and inequality'. This economy   
   kills. ? Human beings are themselves considered consumer goods to be used and   
   then discarded. We have created a 'throwaway' culture which is now spreading.   
   In this way life too is discarded?, continued the Holy Father, quoting from   
   his apostolic exhortation ?Evangelii Gaudium?.   
   ?One of the most serious risks of our age is the divorce of economy and   
   morality, the separation between the opportunities offered by a market which   
   has every technological novelty at its disposal and the basic ethical norms of   
   human nature, which are increasingly neglected. Therefore it is necessary to   
   reaffirm our solid opposition to any direct offence against life, especially   
   when innocent and defenceless, and the unborn child in its mother's womb is   
   the quintessence of innocence. Let us remember the words of Vatican Council   
   II: 'Therefore from themoment of its conception life must be guarded with the   
   greatest care while abortion and infanticide are unspeakable crimes'?.   
   ?I remember once, a long time ago?, he added, ?I participated in a conference   
   with doctors. After the conference I greeted them and while I spoke to them,   
   one of them called me to one side. He had a package and he said to me,   
   'Father, I want to leave this with you. These are the instruments I have used   
   to carry out abortions. I have encountered the Lord and repented, and now I   
   fight for life'. He gave me all those instruments. Let us pray for this good   
   man?.   
   ?Every Christian has the responsibility of this witness to the Gospel: to   
   protect life with courage and love in all its phases. I encourage you to do   
   this, always with an attitude of closeness and proximity, so that every woman   
   feels considered as a person, listened to, welcomed and accompanied?.   
   ?We have spoken aboutchildren: there are many of them! But I would also like   
   to speak about grandparents, the other side of life! Because we must also care   
   for grandparents, because children and grandparents are the hope of the   
   people. Children and young people, because they lead the people ahead; and the   
   elderly, because they hold the wisdom of history, they are the memory of the   
   people. Protect life in a time in which children and grandparents enter into   
   this throwaway culture and are regarded as disposable material. No! Children   
   and the elderly are the hope of a population!?   
   He concluded, ?The Lord supports the activities you carry out as Help Centres   
   for Life and as a Movement for Life, in particular the project ?One of Us?. I   
   entrust you to the heavenly intercession of the Virgin Mother Mary and impart   
   a heartfelt blessing to your families?.   
      
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    POPE'S MESSAGE TO VENEZUELA: MAY UNITY PREVAIL OVER CONFLICT   
   Vatican City, 11 April 2014 (VIS) ? On the occasion of the initiation of the   
   ?Dialogue for Peace? between the government and opposition groups in   
   Venezuela, in which the Holy See has been invited as a mediator, the Holy   
   Father has sent a message to President Nicolas Maduro Moros, members of   
   government, representatives of the Democratic Unity Roundtable and the   
   chancellors of UNASUR, to express his wish that ?unity always prevail over   
   conflict?: The message was read yesterday during the inaugural session of the   
   event by Archbishop Aldo Giordano, apostolic nuncio to Venezuela. The full   
   text is reproduced below:   
   ?Firstly, I would like to thank you for your invitation to the Holy See to   
   participate in the process of dialogue and peace for your beloved country. To   
   each one of you I wish first o all to assure my prayers that the meeting and   
   the process you areundertaking may bear the desired fruit of national   
   reconciliation and peace, gifts we invoke from God for the entire Venezuelan   
   population.   
   ?I am aware of the disquiet and suffering experienced by many people and,   
   while I express my concerns over what is happening, I renew my affection for   
   all Venezuelans and in particular for the victims of the violence and their   
   families. I am deeply convinced that violence can never lead to the peace and   
   well-being of a country, since it always generates violence alone. On the   
   contrary, through dialogue you are able to rediscover the common shared   
   foundation that will lead you to overcome the current moment of conflict and   
   polarisation, which so deeply wounds Venezuela, to find forms of   
   collaboration. Respect for and acknowledgement of the differences that exist   
   between the Parties will promote the common good. All of you, indeed, share   
   the love for your countries and for your people, as well as serious concerns   
   linked to theeconomic crisis, violence and criminality. You all have at heart   
   the future of your children and the wish for peace that distinguishes   
   Venezuelans. You all have in common your faith in God and the will to defend   
   the dignity of the human person.   
   It is precisely this that you have in common and which presses you to   
   undertake the dialogue that begins today, at the base of which there must be   
   an authentic culture of encounter, that is aware that unity always prevails   
   over conflict. I encourage you, therefore, not to stop at this current   
   situation of conflict, but rather to be open with each other in order to   
   become authentic peacemakers. At the heart of every sincere dialogue there is,   
   above all, acknowledgement and respect for the other. Above all there is the   
   'heroism' of forgiveness and mercy, which frees us from resentment and hatred,   
   and opens a truly new path. It will be a long and difficult road that will   
   require patience and courage, but it is theonly one that can lead to peace and   
   justice. For the good of all your people and for the future of your children,   
   I ask you to find this courage.   
   ?With these sentiments I accompany the dear Venezuelan nation, and to each one   
   of you I impart a heartfelt apostolic blessing, invoking the Lord's help?.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    AUDIENCES   
   Vatican City, 11 April 2014 (VIS) ? Today, the Holy Father received in   
   audience:   
   - Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Muller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine   
   of the Faith.   
   - Bishop Oscar Cantoni of Crema, Italy.   
      
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