VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXII - # 203   
   DATE 18-11-2014   
      
   Summary:   
   - The Pope receives in audience the President of Senegal: Church's commitment   
   to peace and national reconciliation   
   - International Conference on autism: three days to inspire hope   
   - The Holy See at the United Nations: civilians are the first victims of   
   conventional weapons   
   - Fifty years on from the Council decree Unitatis Redintegratio   
      
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    The Pope receives in audience the President of Senegal: Church's commitment   
   to peace and national reconciliation   
    Vatican City, 18 November 2014 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father Francis   
   received in audience Macky Sall, president of the Republic of Senegal, who   
   subsequently met with Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, accompanied   
   by the secretary for Relations with States, His Excellency Archbishop   
   Dominique Mamberti.   
    During the discussions, the cordial relations between the Holy See and   
   Senegal were noted, and the important contribution offered by the Church in   
   the sectors of education and healthcare was underlined, as well as her   
   generous and greatly appreciated commitment to promoting peace and national   
   reconciliation.   
    Finally, there was an exchange of views on various themes of international   
   interest, with particular reference to the current situations of crisis in the   
   Region.   
      
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    International Conference on autism: three days to inspire hope   
    Vatican City, 18 November 2014 (VIS) - This morning a press conference was   
   held in the Holy See Press Office to present the 29th International Conference   
   organised by the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers, on the theme "The   
   person with autism spectrum disorders: animating hope", which will take place   
   in the Vatican from 20 to 22 November.   
    The speakers were Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, president of the Pontifical   
   Council for Health Care Workers (for Health Pastoral Care); Msgr. Jean-Marie   
   Mate Musivi Mupendawatu and Fr. Augusto Chendi, M.I., respectively secretary   
   and under-secretary of the same dicastery; and Stefano Vicari, head of the   
   Department of Child Neuropsychiatry at the Bambino Gesu Paediatric Hospital,   
   Rome.   
    Archbishop Zimowski explained that the term "autism" was first used by the   
   Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler in 1911 to describe the introversion of   
   schizophrenic patients. Subsequently, in 1943, his colleague Leo Kanner   
   described the disorder for the first time, affirming that autistic children   
   were born with a congenital incapacity to establish normal contact with other   
   people. It is currently defined as a "neuro-behavioural disturbance (also   
   known as Kanner's Syndrome) of a pervasive type", of multifactorial origin. In   
   general, autism spectrum disorders manifest themselves before the age of   
   three, and are life-long. The most recent statistics confirm that around 1% of   
   children worldwide are affected.   
    "The many difficulties, including those of an ethical, moral and spiritual   
   nature, faced by those with autism spectrum disorders and their carers have   
   led us to choose such an important, difficult and delicate theme for this   
   conference", the prelate explained. "It will be a special occasion for   
   observing the advances that have been made in research and treatment, as well   
   as legal and political-administrative aspects; three valuable days for   
   listening and exchanging experiences, and learning from the world's most   
   qualified specialists."   
    The Conference will be attended by more than 650 people from 57 different   
   countries, and will include an encounter with the Holy Father during the   
   Wednesday general audience, as well as an exhibition of paintings by the   
   Taiwanese autistic artist Leland Lee, a moment of prayer and testimonies from   
   people affected by autism spectrum disorders, their families, and   
   associations. Various famous Italian singers will offer a musical contribution.   
      
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    The Holy See at the United Nations: civilians are the first victims of   
   conventional weapons   
    Vatican City, 18 November 2014 (VIS) - Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, Holy See   
   Permanent Observer at the United Nations in Geneva spoke at the annual meeting   
   of Parties to the Convention on prohibitions or restrictions on the use of   
   certain conventional weapons which may be deemed to be excessively injurious   
   or to have indiscriminate effects (CCW), held on 13 November.   
    Speaking in English, the prelate presented three issues to be considered.   
   First, he spoke on the work carried out on lethal autonomous weapons systems.   
   He emphasised that, with regard to the automation and consequent risk of the   
   dehumanisation of war, a global - "scientific, legal, cultural, economic,   
   ethical, and humanitarian" - rather than solely military approach is   
   indispensable. He added, "I would like to reaffirm our wish that the mandate   
   regarding this topic be renewed taking into account the importance of   
   preserving an official trace of the statements, documents, debates and   
   discussions".   
    Secondly, he considered the theme of the use of explosive weapons in   
   populated areas. "With growing urbanisation of the world population, the   
   tendency of urban wars will increase. How to protect the civilian populations?   
   What should we do to safeguard civil infrastructures, indispensable for the   
   livelihood of large communities? ... What is certain, from the observations   
   and data presently available, is that civilian populations are the first   
   victims of conflicts. In many cases, they have no protection: millions of   
   refugees and displaced people, a majority of them civilian victims, a great   
   number are women and children; there is total or partial destruction of   
   numerous urban centres; total disorganisation of social, academic, economic   
   and political life; the exacerbation of hatred and of feelings of revenge that   
   makes the re-establishment of peace and national reconstruction more   
   difficult, if not impossible. It seems to me that an essential question   
   touches all States parties: Does the CCW have something to say and do in such   
   a situation? For the credibility and the integrity of the Convention and for   
   the respect of the numerous victims, I would like to suggest adding this   
   question to the agenda of the CCW".   
    Finally, he mentioned the use of armed drones. "We are witnessing a certain   
   proliferation of this technology and a growing use of it in various conflicts.   
   ... The choice of indifference in relation to this question is c   
   unter-productive. The fact of not addressing problems at the right moment can   
   have disastrous consequences and make them almost insoluble, as experience in   
   other domains teaches us". He concluded by emphasising that "there is still   
   time for the CCW to become interested in drones before they become an   
   additional source of greater destabilisation when the international community   
   needs, more than ever, stability, cooperation and peace".   
      
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    Fifty years on from the Council decree Unitatis Redintegratio   
    Vatican City, 18 November 2014 (VIS) - On 21 November 1964, after a long and   
   laborious process, the Council Fathers approved the decree on ecumenism,   
   "Unitatis Redintegratio" by 2,137 votes to 11. The document, which undoubtedly   
   marked a qualitative leap in the relations between the Catholic Church and the   
   other Churches and ecclesial Communities, continues to represent an   
   indispensable point of reference for the Catholic Church in her commitment to   
   ecumenism.   
    The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity will commemorate the   
   fiftieth anniversary of the promulgation of the decree with two events. On   
   Thursday, 20 November, in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside-the-Walls, Vespers   
   will be celebrated, open to all, and attended by the members and consultors of   
   this Council and the representatives of the Churches and ecclesial communities   
   present in Rome, to give thanks to God for the fruits already gathered along   
   the path of ecumenism during these last fifty years, and to invoke His   
   blessing for the road that still lies ahead.   
    On 21 November a meeting will take place in the Great Hall of the Pontifical   
   Gregorian University, during which the Pastors and theologians of the Catholic   
   Church and other Churches and ecclesial communities will reread the Council   
   decree, each from his own point of view, discussing today's ecumenical   
   challenges and those that await us in the future. The moderator of the event   
   will be Professor Giovanni Maria Vian, editor of L'Osservatore Romano, and the   
   speakers will be Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for   
   Promoting Christian Unity; Bishop Irinej Bulovic of Backa, the Serb Orthodox   
   Patriarch; Professor Timothy George of the Baptist World Alliance; Fr. William   
   Henn, O.F.M. Cap., of the Pontifical Gregorian University; Teny Pirri Simonian   
   of the Armenian Orthodox Church, Catholicosate of Cilicia; and Friederike   
   Nussel of the Lutheran Church.   
    The meeting will conclude the Council's plenary session, which will take   
   place from 18 to 21 November and will focus on the theme: "The aim of   
   ecumenism: principles, opportunities and challenges, fifty years after   
   'Unitatis Redintegratio'". Fifty years after its promulgation, the dicastery   
   considers it useful to examine how the Council degree continues to inspire the   
   ecumenical efforts of the Catholic Church in a changing landscape.   
      
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