VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXII - # 026   
   DATE 05-02-2015   
      
   Summary:   
   - Defence of the environment central to the Pope's audience with the president   
   of Kiribati   
   - To the bishops of Greece: "Christian solidarity is a leaven for hope"   
   - Francis calls for collaboration of episcopal conferences and religious   
   superiors with the Commission for the Protection of Minors   
   - Audiences   
   - Other Pontifical Acts   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Defence of the environment central to the Pope's audience with the president   
   of Kiribati   
    Vatican City, 5 February 2015 (VIS) - Today the Holy Father Francis received   
   in audience the president of the Independent and Sovereign Republic of   
   Kiribati, Anote Tong, who subsequently met with Cardinal Secretary of State   
   Pietro Parolin, accompanied by His Excellency Archbishop Paul R. Gallagher,   
   secretary for Relations with States.   
    During the cordial discussions, emphasis was placed on the importance of the   
   protection of the environment and on matters of climate change, which has   
   worrying negative effects on the country, as in other Pacific States. In this   
   regard, the hope was expressed that on the occasion of the COP-21, to be held   
   in Paris next December, the international Community may adopt concerted and   
   effective measures to face this challenge.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    To the bishops of Greece: "Christian solidarity is a leaven for hope"   
    Vatican City, 5 February 2015 (VIS) - "Faced with the economic and financial   
   crisis that has hit your country particularly hard, do not tire of exhorting   
   trust in the future to all, resisting the culture of pessimism. The spirit of   
   solidarity, that every Christian is called upon to bear witness to in the   
   reality of everyday life, constitutes a leaven of hope", writes the Pope in   
   the text he handed to the prelates of the Holy Synod of Catholic Bishops of   
   Greece this morning, at the end of their five-yearly "ad Limina" visit. He   
   emphasises, in this context, that it is important for the bishops "to maintain   
   constructive relations with the authorities of the country, as well as with   
   the various members of society, so as to spread this outlook of solidarity ...   
   favouring dialogue and collaboration also with the other European countries".   
    A key theme of the Pope's text is the need for fraternal communion between   
   the prelates and, in turn, with the faithful in a "diakonia of fraternity".   
   This diakonia "on the one hand, postulates the stewardship and strengthening   
   of cultural traditions and the Christian roots of Greek society, and on the   
   other, requires openness to the cultural and spiritual values brought by many   
   migrants, with a spirit of sincere acceptance towards these brothers and   
   sisters, without distinction on the basis of race, language or religious   
   belief. Your Christian communities, showing themselves to be truly united and   
   at the same time open to encounter and acceptance, especially in relation to   
   the most disadvantaged, can make a real contribution to transforming society,   
   with the aim of making it more closely resemble the Gospel ideal. I rejoice in   
   the knowledge that you are already engaged in this pastoral and charitable   
   action, above all in favour of immigrants including those who are   
   undocumented, many of whom are Catholic".   
    In the same spirit, Francis encourages the Greek bishops to continue in their   
   interpersonal dialogue with their Orthodox brothers, "with the aim of   
   nurturing the necessary ecumenical journey, an indispensable prospect for a   
   future of serenity and spiritual fecundity for your entire nation". He also   
   remarks that, in order to carry out the mission of evangelisation and human   
   development, which the Church in Greece is called upon to perform, a "generous   
   and motivated clergy" is essential. He encourages the promotion of "vocational   
   pastoral care", to deal with the insufficient number of priests, and urges the   
   bishops "to transmit to the priests in your dioceses, many of whom are   
   elderly, all my affection and appreciation for their apostolic zeal despite   
   their limited means". Similarly, he mentions the valuable contribution made by   
   consecrated persons, notwithstanding the difficulties they face, and   
   emphasises that in order to revitalise Christian communities it is necessary   
   to fully acknowledge and promote the role of laypersons and to increase "the   
   presence of ecclesial movements and associations ... always working in keeping   
   with the guidelines of the particular Churches and well integrated in the   
   dioceses and parishes". With regard to the family, the Holy Father insists on   
   the need for programmes in preparation for marriage and work on the Christian   
   formation of the new generations. He indicates the importance of underlining,   
   "with words and actions, that the presence and participation of the elderly in   
   social life is indispensable for the good progress of a population".   
    "Dear brothers and sisters in the episcopate", he concludes, "I wish to   
   express my acknowledgement of the work of evangelisation that, despite many   
   difficulties, you are carrying out in Greece. The legal recognition of the   
   Catholic Church on the part of the competent authorities is an event of great   
   importance, that will help you to look to the future with greater serenity,   
   making efforts today with trustful dynamism and the enthusiasm of those who   
   are witnesses to the Risen Lord. I encourage you to persevere in your mission   
   with evangelical joy".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Francis calls for collaboration of episcopal conferences and religious   
   superiors with the Commission for the Protection of Minors   
    Vatican City, 5 February 2015 (VIS) - Pope Francis has written a letter to   
   the presidents of the Episcopal Conferences and the superiors of the   
   Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Societies of Apostolic Life, in which   
   he calls for collaboration with the Commission for the Protection of Minors,   
   instituted in March 2014. The following is the full text of the letter, signed   
   in the Vatican on 2 February, feast of the Presentation of the Lord.   
    "Last March I established the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of   
   Minors, which had first been announced in December 2013, for the purpose of   
   offering proposals and initiatives meant to improve the norms and procedures   
   for protecting children and vulnerable adults. I then appointed to the   
   Commission a number of highly qualified persons well-known for their work in   
   this field.   
    At my meeting in July with persons who had suffered sexual abuse by priests,   
   I was deeply moved by their witness to the depth of their sufferings and the   
   strength of their faith. This experience reaffirmed my conviction that   
   everything possible must be done to rid the Church of the scourge of the   
   sexual abuse of minors and to open pathways of reconciliation and healing for   
   those who were abused.   
    For this reason, last December I added new members to the Commission, in   
   order to represent the Particular Churches throughout the world. In just a few   
   days, all the members will meet in Rome for the first time.   
    In light of the above, I believe that the Commission can be a new, important   
   and effective means for helping me to encourage and advance the commitment of   
   the Church at every level - Episcopal Conferences, Dioceses, Institutes of   
   Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, and others - to take   
   whatever steps are necessary to ensure the protection of minors and vulnerable   
   adults, and to respond to their needs with fairness and mercy.   
    Families need to know that the Church is making every effort to protect their   
   children. They should also know that they have every right to turn to the   
   Church with full confidence, for it is a safe and secure home. Consequently,   
   priority must not be given to any other kind of concern, whatever its nature,   
   such as the desire to avoid scandal, since there is absolutely no place in   
   ministry for those who abuse minors.   
    Every effort must also be made to ensure that the provisions of the Circular   
   Letter of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith dated 3 May 2011 are   
   fully implemented. This document was issued to assist Episcopal Conferences in   
   drawing up guidelines for handling cases of sexual abuse of minors by clerics.   
   It is likewise important that Episcopal Conferences establish a practical   
   means for periodically reviewing their norms and verifying that they are being   
   observed.   
    It is the responsibility of Diocesan Bishops and Major Superiors to ascertain   
   that the safety of minors and vulnerable adults is assured in parishes and   
   other Church institutions. As an expression of the Church's duty to express   
   the compassion of Jesus towards those who have suffered abuse and towards   
   their families, the various Dioceses, Institutes of Consecrated Life and   
   Societies of Apostolic Life are urged to identify programmes for pastoral care   
   which include provisions for psychological assistance and spiritual care.   
   Pastors and those in charge of religious communities should be available to   
   meet with victims and their loved ones; such meetings are valuable   
   opportunities for listening to those have greatly suffered and for asking   
   their forgiveness.   
    For all of these reasons, I now ask for your close and complete cooperation   
   with the Commission for the Protection of Minors. The work I have entrusted to   
   them includes providing assistance to you and your Conferences through an   
   exchange of best practices and through programmes of education, training, and   
   developing adequate responses to sexual abuse.   
    May the Lord Jesus instil in each of us, as ministers of the Church, the same   
   love and affection for the little ones which characterised his own presence   
   among us, and which in turn enjoins on us a particular responsibility for the   
   welfare of children and vulnerable adults. May Mary Most Holy, Mother of   
   tenderness and mercy, help us to carry out, generously and thoroughly, our   
   duty to humbly acknowledge and repair past injustices and to remain ever   
   faithful in the work of protecting those closest to the heart of Jesus".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Audiences   
    Vatican City, 5 February 2015 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father received in   
   audience:   
    - Cardinal George Pell, prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy;   
    - Archbishop Charles Joseph Chaput, of Philadelphia, U.S.A.;   
    - Archbishop Giambattista Diquattro, apostolic nuncio in Bolivia;   
    - Eight prelates of the Holy Synod of Catholic Bishops of Greece, on their   
   "ad Limina" visit:   
    - Archbishop Sevastianos Rossolatos of Athens; apostolic administrator "sede   
   vacante et ad nutum Sanctae Sedis" of Rhodes, with Archbishop emeritus   
   Nikolaos Foskolos;   
    - Archbishop Ioannis Spiteris of Corfu, Zante and Kefalonia; apostolic   
   administrator "ad nutum Sanctae Sedis" of the apostolic vicariate of   
   Thessaloniki;   
    - Bishop Nikolaos Printezis of Naxos, Andros, Tinos and Mykonos; apostolic   
   administrator "sede vacante" of Chios;   
    - Bishop Petros Stefanou of Syros, Milos and Santorini, with Bishop emeritus   
   Frangkiskos Papamanolis;   
    - Bishop Dimitrios Salachas, apostolic esarch for Catholics of Byzantine rite   
   resident in Greece;   
    - Archbishop Neshan Karakeheyan, apostolic administrator of the Ordinary for   
   Catholics of Armenian rite resident in Greece.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Other Pontifical Acts   
    Vatican City, 5 February 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father has appointed   
   Archbishop Bruno Musaro as apostolic nuncio in the Arab Republic of Egypt and   
   delegate at the League of Arab States. Archbishop Musaro is currently   
   apostolic nuncio in Cuba.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
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    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)