"The fourth part of the Initial Report, regarding the 'Affirmation of the   
   prohibition against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or   
   punishment in the teachings and activities of the Holy See', references the   
   wide array of documents, proclamations, publications, radio and television   
   programs by which the Holy See actively addresses not only followers of the   
   Catholic Faith, but also the international Community and all people of good   
   will".   
    "It should be stressed, particularly in light of much confusion, that the   
   Holy See has no jurisdiction - as that term is understood also under article   
   2.1 of the Convention - over every member of the Catholic Church. The Holy See   
   wishes to reiterate that the persons who live in a particular country are   
   under the jurisdiction of the legitimate authorities of that country and are   
   thus subject to the domestic law and the consequences contained therein. State   
   authorities are obligated to protect, and when necessary, prosecute persons   
   under their jurisdiction. The Holy See exercises the same authority upon those   
   who live in Vatican City State in accordance with its laws. Hence, the Holy   
   See, in respecting the principles of autonomy and sovereignty of States,   
   insists that the State authority, which has legitimate competency, act as the   
   responsible agent of justice in regard to crimes and abuses committed by   
   persons under their jurisdiction. My Delegation wishes to emphasize that this   
   includes not only acts of torture and other acts of cruel and inhuman   
   punishments, but also all other acts considered as crimes committed by any   
   individual who, notwithstanding affiliation with a Catholic institution, is   
   subject to a particular State authority. The obligation and responsibility of   
   promoting justice in these cases resides with the competent domestic   
   jurisdiction".   
    "To recapitulate this fourth part of the Report, it might be said that the   
   measures employed by the Holy See to take effective legislative,   
   administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent and to prohibit torture   
   and to address its root causes to avoid future acts in this area are abundant.   
   This manifests the Holy See's desire 'to lend its moral support and   
   collaboration to the international Community, so as to contribute to the   
   elimination of recourse to torture, which is inadmissible and inhuman'".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    BE RESURRECTED WAYFARERS, LET THE WORD OF GOD WARM YOUR HEARTS   
    Vatican City, 4 May 2014 (VIS) - "Peter is a witness to the hope there is in   
   Christ ... and is the firm point of reference for the community, since he is   
   based on the rock that is Christ. ... Thus was John Paul II, a true stone   
   anchored to the great Rock". With these words, the Pope began his homily in   
   the Roman Church of St. Stanislaw in Rome this Sunday, in which he joined with   
   the Polish community to give thanks for the canonisation of John Paul II.   
   Francis mentioned that, during his pontificate, Pope Wojtyla visited this   
   church on more than eighty occasions and said that "in moments of sadness or   
   dejection, when all appeared to be lost, he never lost hope, as his faith and   
   hope were rooted in God. And therefore he was an anchor stone, a rock for this   
   community".   
    The Holy Father commented that the Polish population is well aware that, to   
   enter into glory, one must pass through passion and the cross, "and they know   
   this not because they have studied it, but because they have experienced it.   
   St. John Paul II, as a worthy son of his earthly homeland, followed this   
   route. He followed it in an exemplary fashion, being thoroughly despoiled by   
   God. For this reason, his flesh reposes in hope".   
    The Pope asked those present if they were willing to follow this route and   
   mentioned that St. Peter, with the voice of St. John Paul II, asks us to   
   conduct ourselves in fear of God during our time on earth. "We are wayfarers",   
   he emphasised, "but not errants. We walk, but we know where we are going.   
   Errants do not. We are pilgrims but not vagabonds, as St. John Paul II used to   
   say".   
    He concluded, "We too can become 'resurrected wayfarers', if His Word warms   
   our heart, and His Eucharist opens our eyes to faith and nourishes us with   
   hope and charity. We too can walk alongside our brothers and sisters who are   
   sad and desperate, warm our hearts with the Gospel, and break the bread of   
   fraternity with them".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    FRANCIS: REIGNITE HOPE IN OUR HEARTS   
    Vatican City, 4 May 2014 (VIS) - As is usual on Sunday, the Holy Father   
   appeared at the window of the Vatican Apostolic Palace to pray the Regina   
   Coeli with the faithful gathered in the square. He spoke about the disciples   
   who encountered Jesus on the path to Emmaus but did not recognise Him. "Seeing   
   how sad they were, He first helped them to understand that the passion and the   
   death of the Messiah were foreseen in God's plan and foretold in the Sacred   
   Scriptures; and in this way He reignited the flame of hope in their hearts".   
    "The road to Emmaus has thus become a symbol of our path of faith", he   
   continued. "The Scriptures and the Eucharist are the indispensable elements   
   for the encounter with the Lord. Often we too arrive at Sunday Mass with our   
   worries, our difficulties and our disappointments. Life at times wounds us and   
   we proceed sadly towards our 'Emmaus', turning away from God's plan. We drift   
   away from God. But the Liturgy of the Word accommodates us: Jesus explains the   
   Scriptures to us and reignites in our hearts the warmth of faith and hope, and   
   in Communion He gives us strength".   
    Before concluding, the Pope also commented that the Word of God and the   
   Eucharist always fill us with joy. "Do not forget! When you are sad, take the   
   Word of God. When you are down, take the Word of God and go to Mass on Sunday   
   to receive Communion, to participate in the mystery of Jesus. The Word of God,   
   the Eucharist: they fill us with joy. .. There is always a Word of God that   
   guides us when we are disorientated; and through our weariness and   
   disappointments, there is always the broken Bread that helps us along the   
   path".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    CATHOLIC ACTION: REACH OUT TO THE BOUNDARIES WITH THE JOY OF BEING WITH CHRIST   
    Vatican City, 3 May 2014 (VIS) - "New people in Christ Jesus, sharing   
   responsibility for the joy of living" is the theme chosen for the national   
   assembly of Italian Catholic Action, whose members were received in audience   
   by Pope Francis this morning. He emphasised to them that this joy is that of   
   the disciples who encounter the risen Christ and that it is necessary for it   
   to be interiorised as part of an evangelical style able to influence life.   
    "In the current social and ecclesial context, the lay members of Catholic   
   Action are required to renew your missionary choice, open to the horizons that   
   the Spirit indicates to the Church and the expression of a new youth of the   
   lay apostolate. First and foremost, the parishes, especially those that are   
   weary and closed, need your apostolic enthusiasm, your full willingness and   
   your creative service. This means taking on the missionary dynamism to reach   
   out to everyone, especially those who feel they are distant, and the weakest,   
   most forgotten parts of the population. It means opening the doors and letting   
   Jesus out to them".   
    Staying, going and rejoicing were the three key words that the Pope indicated   
   to Catholic Action as beacons for their path.   
    "As proclaimers and witnesses of Christ, it is necessary, first of all, to   
   stay near to Him", he began. "It is from the encounter with Him, He Who is our   
   life and our joy, that our witness gains new meaning and new strength every   
   day".   
    He then spoke of the need to "go and proclaim that God is the Father and that   
   Jesus Christ has let you know Him, and therefore your life has changed: it is   
   possible to live as brothers, carrying within a hope that does not disappoint.   
   ... [Go] where humankind suffers and hopes, loves and believes; where there   
   are our deepest dreams, our truest questions, the desires of the heart. There,   
   Jesus awaits you". To rejoice, finally, means "being people who sing life, who   
   sing faith; people able to recognise their own talents and their own limits,   
   who are able to see in all their days, even the darkest, the signs of the   
   Lord's presence. Rejoice because the Lord has called you to share in the   
   responsibility of the mission of His Church".   
    "With these three attitudes, staying in Jesus, going out to the boundaries   
   and living the joy of Christian belonging, you can carry forward your vocation   
   and avoid the temptation of 'quiescence', which has nothing to do with staying   
   with Jesus; the temptation of closure and 'intimism'; and the temptation of   
   formal seriousness. Avoid living a life that bears more resemblance to that of   
   a statue in a museum rather than those of people called upon by Christ to live   
   and spread the joy of the Gospel".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    TO THE BISHOPS OF SRI LANKA: CONTRIBUTE TO NATIONAL RECONCILIATION AND FOSTER   
   INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE AGAINST EXTREMISM   
    Vatican City, 3 May 2014 (VIS) - The contribution of the Catholic Church to   
   national reconciliation and the reconstruction of civil society, the   
   importance of interreligious dialogue as a bulwark against an extremism that   
   promotes a false sense of national unity based on a single religious identity,   
   and the protection of the family were the central themes of Pope Francis'   
   address to the bishops of Sri Lanka at the end of their five-yearly "ad   
   limina" visit.   
    After many years of conflict and bloodshed, the war in Sri Lanka has finally   
   come to an end and its inhabitants now hope to rebuild their lives and   
   communities. The bishops have dedicated themselves to this task, as may be   
   seen by their pastoral letter "Towards Reconciliation and Rebuilding of our   
   Nation" in which, as well as sharing in the tribulations of the people, they   
   note that much work remains to be done to ensure respect for human rights and   
   to overcome ethnic tensions. The Pope joins with them in offering a word of   
   consolation to "all those who lost loved ones during the war and remain   
   uncertain as to their fate", and invites communities, "steadfast in the faith,   
   to remain close to those who still mourn and suffer the lasting effects of   
   war".   
    The Catholic Church in Sri Lanka, which has both Sinhalese and Tamil among   
   her members, is therefore in a unique position to be able to promote unity   
   between these groups, and also knows intimately "the concerns and fears of the   
   people, particularly how they can be marginalised and distrust one another.   
   The faithful, knowledgeable of the issues that cause tensions between the   
   Sinhalese and Tamil, can provide an atmosphere of dialogue that seeks to   
   construct a more just and equitable society".   
    He continues, "Sri Lanka is a country not only of rich ethnic diversity, but   
   also of various religious traditions; this highlights the importance of   
   interreligious and ecumenical dialogue for fostering mutual knowledge and   
   enrichment. Your efforts in this regard are commendable and bearing fruit.   
   They allow the Church to collaborate more easily with others in securing a   
   lasting peace, and ensure the Church's freedom in pursuing her proper ends,   
   especially in educating young people in the faith and in witnessing freely to   
   Christian life. Sri Lanka has also seen, however, the rise of religious   
   extremists who, in promoting a false sense of national unity based on a single   
   religious identity, have created tensions through various acts of intimidation   
   and violence. Though these tensions may threaten interreligious and ecumenical   
   relations, the Church in Sri Lanka must remain steadfast in seeking partners   
   in peace and interlocutors in dialogue".   
    Francis comments on the important work of priests and consecrated persons in   
   transmitting faith and promoting reconciliation and dialogue, and dedicates   
   the final part of his discourse to the family, noting that the war in Sri   
   Lanka has left many families displaced or mourning the death of their members.   
   "Many have lost their employment and so families have been separated as   
   spouses leave their homes to find work. There is also the great challenge and   
   increasing reality of mixed marriages, which require greater attention to   
   preparation and assistance to couples in providing for the faith formation of   
   their children. When we are attentive to our families and their needs, when we   
   understand their difficulties and hopes, we strengthen the Church's witness   
   and proclamation of the Gospel. ... Your efforts in support of the family   
   assist not only the Church, but aid Sri Lankan society as a whole, especially   
   in its efforts for reconciliation and unity".   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)