VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXII - # 220   
   DATE 11-12-2014   
      
   Summary:   
   - Consistory for the creation of new cardinals in February 2015   
   - 20th Conference on Climate Change: solidarity, encounter and dialogue to   
   protect the planet   
   - To the participants in the 4th European Congress on youth pastoral ministry:   
   "Your task is to sow, but only God can make the seeds grow"   
   - Audiences   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Consistory for the creation of new cardinals in February 2015   
    Vatican City, 11 December 2014 (VIS) - A press conference was held today   
   during which the director of the Holy See Press Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi,   
   S.J., announced the Holy Father's wish to convene a Consistory for the   
   creation of new cardinals on 14 and 15 February 2015. He also announced two   
   other important appointments: a meeting of the Council of Cardinals for the   
   reform of the Roman Curia (9 to 11 February) and a meeting of the College of   
   Cardinals (12 to 13 February) to discuss matters relating to the   
   reorganisation of the Holy See.   
      
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    20th Conference on Climate Change: solidarity, encounter and dialogue to   
   protect the planet   
    Vatican City, 11 December 2014 (VIS) - The Holy Father has sent a message to   
   Manuel Pugal Vidal, minister for the environment of the Republic of Peru and   
   president of the 20th Conference of States Party to the United Nations   
   Framework Agreement on Climate Change, held in Lima, Peru from 1 to 12   
   December. The Pope assured the organisers and participants of his closeness   
   and encouragement "so that your work may be carried out during these days with   
   an open and generous spirit", and he remarked that the current debate affects   
   all of humanity, in particular the poorest and future generations. "It is a   
   grave ethical and moral responsibility".   
    "The consequences of environmental change, which are already dramatically   
   felt in many states, especially the islands of the Pacific, remind us of the   
   grave consequences of mismanagement and inaction. The time for seeking global   
   solutions is running out. We can find suitable solutions only if we act   
   together and in agreement. There exists, however, a clear, definitive and   
   unpostponable ethical imperative to act". Pope Francis thus emphasised that an   
   "effective battle against global warming will be possible only through a   
   responsible collective response that sets aside particular interests and   
   behaviours and develops free from political and economic pressures. A   
   collective response that is also capable of overcoming distrust and promoting   
   a culture of solidarity, encounter and dialogue; capable of demonstrating our   
   responsibility for protecting the planet and the human family".   
    Finally, before imparting his blessing to all the participants and the   
   citizens of the countries represented, the Pontiff expressed his wish that   
   this Conference and subsequent meetings on climate change put into effect "a   
   dialogue imbued with ... the values of justice, respect and equality", and   
   give rise to fruitful decisions and initiatives, in the service of all   
   humanity.   
      
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    To the participants in the 4th European Congress on youth pastoral ministry:   
   "Your task is to sow, but only God can make the seeds grow"   
    Vatican City, 11 December 2014 (VIS) - "Those of you who work in the field of   
   youth pastoral ministry, carry out valuable work for the Church. The young   
   need this service: both adults and other young people of mature faith who   
   accompany them on their path, helping them to find the road that leads to   
   Christ", writes the Pope in his message to Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko, president   
   of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, and to the participants in the 4th   
   European Congress on Youth Pastoral Ministry, promoted by the same dicastery   
   and in collaboration with the Council of Episcopal Conferences of Europe, held   
   in Rome from 11 to 13 December on the theme: "A young Church, witness to the   
   joy of the Gospel".   
    "This pastoral ministry consists of walking with them, accompanying them   
   personally in the complex and at times difficult contexts in which they are   
   immersed", he continues. "Youth pastoral ministry must engage with the   
   questions posed by the youth of today, and from this starting point, initiate   
   a real and honest dialogue to bring Christ into their lives. And a true   
   dialogue in this sense can be achieved by those who experience a personal   
   relationship with the Lord Jesus, which then overflows into their   
   relationships with their brethren".   
    The Pope acknowledges in his message that much remains to be done, and   
   encourages the participants never to tire of announcing the Gospel, with their   
   life and their word, since "Europe needs to rediscover it!". He also   
   encourages them to consider the current situation of young Europeans through   
   the eyes of Christ. "He teaches us to see not only the challenges and   
   problems, but also to recognise the many seeds of love and hope dispersed   
   across the continent, that has given to the Church as great number of saints,   
   many of whom were young. Let us not forget that we are given the task of   
   sowing, but it is God Who makes these seeds grow".   
    "While you sow the Word of the Lord in this vast field that is European   
   youth, you have the opportunity of bearing witness to the reasons for the hope   
   that is within you, with gentleness and respect. You are able to help the   
   young to realise that faith is not opposed to reason, and thus to accompany   
   them as they become joyful agents for the evangelisation of their peers". Pope   
   Francis concludes his message by remarking that "youth pastoral ministry is   
   required to offer to the young a path of vocational discernment, to prepare   
   them to follow Jesus on the way of conjugal and family life, or that of   
   special consecration in the service of God's Kingdom".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Audiences   
    Vatican City, 11 December 2014 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father received in   
   audience Alicia Castro, Argentine ambassador to the United Kingdom.   
      
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