barriers or walls behind which we can hide to protect ourselves from the   
   effects   
   of environmental and social degradation. There is no room for the globalisation   
   of indifference, the economy of exclusion or the throwaway culture so often   
   denounced by Pope Francis.Of course, the path is not easy, since this ethical   
   and moral responsibility calls into question the resetting of the development   
   model, requiring a major political and economic commitment. However, as I said   
   to the UN Climate Summit on 23 September 2014, 'the technological and   
   operational bases needed to facilitate this mutual responsibility are already   
   available or within our reach. We have the capacity to start and strengthen a   
   true and beneficial process which will irrigate, as it were, through adaptation   
   and mitigation activities, the field of economic and technological innovation   
   where it is possible to cultivate two interconnected objectives: combating   
   poverty and easing the effects of climate change'".   
    Cardinal Parolin concluded by conveying Pope Francis' best wishes to the   
   participants, and his hope that "the discussions and reflections of this   
   Conference may contribute to further and deepen reflection on the meaning of   
   the   
   economy and its goals, as well as to finding ways to guarantee access to a   
   truly   
   integral human development for all, especially the poor and the future   
   generations".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    The Holy See at the 68th Assembly of the World Health Organisation   
    Vatican City, 20 May 2015 (VIS) - Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, president of   
   the   
   Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers and head of the   
   Holy See delegation at the 68th Assembly of the World Health Organisation, held   
   in Geneva from 18 to 26 May, participated in the debate on the Ebola virus   
   epidemic which has claimed 9,380 lives out of a total of more than 23,000 cases   
   of contagion throughout the world, mainly in West Africa.   
    "The Holy See delegation wishes to note the importance and the timeliness of   
   the theme for the general discussion", said the archbishop. "The recent Ebola   
   outbreak was a human and public health tragedy, which, among others, showed   
   that   
   the need to build resilient health systems cannot be over emphasised, as they   
   are essential for the provision of universal health coverage and for a prompt   
   response to outbreaks of disease".   
    "Unfortunately, most low income countries, which are still afflicted by   
   infectious disease and epidemics, have very poor health systems that need   
   urgent   
   intervention, if they are to respond to the health needs of the whole   
   population. ... This requires long-term commitment from national governments   
   and   
   international donors to support resilient health systems and to ensure   
   universal   
   coverage of health services, thus strengthening the capacity of national health   
   systems to deliver equitable and quality health-care services, and also   
   stepping   
   up their ability to respond to outbreaks and to improve community ownership and   
   participation. This means short and long-term investment in a number of key   
   elements of the health system; particularly, improved primary health care, an   
   adequate number of trained health workers, availability of medicine,   
   appropriate   
   infrastructure, update statistical data, sufficient public financing,   
   public-private partnership and scaling up the number of well-equipped health   
   posts and district hospitals. It is also a challenge to donors to make a shift   
   from short-term program funding to long-term comprehensive health service   
   financing".   
    "The recent report on Global evidence on inequities in rural health   
   protection,   
   by the International Labour Office, revealed that more than half of the   
   population in rural areas worldwide does not have access to basic healthcare,   
   with many of them at risk of impoverishment or deepened poverty due to out of   
   pocket payment for services. This is clear evidence that, in 2015, we are still   
   a long way from universal coverage. For various reasons, there are strong   
   inequalities in access to healthcare between the rural and urban areas, with   
   the   
   latter often more advantaged than the former which are most deprived. Embracing   
   the recommendation of the report, my delegation wishes to note the urgent need   
   to address this rural urban divide in the post-2015 Development Agenda, bearing   
   in mind that "human life is always sacred and always has ‘quality'".   
    "In many countries, the Catholic Church is privileged to be one of the primary   
   partners of the State in providing much needed health care services to   
   populations in remote areas, through its over 110,000 health and social-welfare   
   institutions around the world", he concluded. "It is therefore important to   
   offer them the necessary collaboration and support so as to enable them to   
   bring   
   the services close and to render them accessible to poor people in particular.   
   Indeed, in many low-income countries, the contribution of civil society and   
   communities to health services delivery is fundamental".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Other Pontifical Acts   
    Vatican City, 20 May 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father has:   
    - accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Alto   
   Solimoes, Brazil, presented by Bishop Evangelista Alcimar Caldas Magalhaes,   
   O.F.M. Cap., upon reaching the age limit. He is succeeded by Bishop Adolfo Zon   
   Pereira, S.X., coadjutor of the same diocese.   
    - appointed Fr. Paulo Jackson Nobrego de Sousa as bishop of Garanhuns (area   
   8,734, population 677,000, Catholics 609,000, priests 60, permanent deacons 7,   
   religious 94), France. The bishop-elect was born in Sao Jose de Espinharas,   
   Brazil in 1969 and was ordained a priest in 1993. He holds a licentiate in   
   Biblical Sciences from the Pontifical Biblical Institute, Rome, and a doctorate   
   in biblical theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome. He has   
   served in a number of pastoral roles in the diocese of Patos, Brazil, including   
   parish administrator, parish vicar, rector of the diocesan seminary, formator   
   of   
   major seminarians at the archdiocesan seminary of Joao Pessoa, diocesan   
   pastoral   
   coordinator, and parish priest. He has also served as national secretary of the   
   Organisation of Seminaries and Philosophical and Theological Institutes of   
   Brazil. He is currently professor of sacred scripture at the Pontifical   
   Catholic   
   University of Minas Gerais, parish priest of the "Senhor Bom Jesus do Horto"   
   parish in Belo Horizonte, and formator of seminarians in Patos.   
    - appointed Bishop Laurent Dognin, auxiliary of Bordeaux, France, as bishop of   
   Quimper (area 6,785, population 899,870, Catholics 733,000, priests 271,   
   permanent deacons 33, religious 582), France.   
    - appointed Bishop Pedro Cunha Cruz, auxiliary of the archdiocese of Sao   
   Sebastiao do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as coadjutor of the diocese of Campanha   
   (area 15,420, population 780,000, Catholics 762,000, priests 116, religious   
   181), Brazil.   
    - accepted the resignation from the office of auxiliary of the archdiocese of   
   Hamburg, Germany, presented by Bishop Norbert Werbs upon reaching the age   
   limit.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
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   www.visnews.org and www.vatican.va   
      
   Copyright (VIS):  the news contained in the services of the Vatican   
   Information Service may be reproduced wholly or partially by quoting   
   the source:  V. I. S. - Vatican Information Service.   
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   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)