that a just society recognises the primacy of the right to life from conception   
   to natural end. However, I would like us to go beyond this, and to think   
   carefully about the time that joins the beginning to the end. Therefore,   
   recognising the inestimable value of human life, we must also reflect on the   
   use   
   we make of it".   
    Francis emphasised that the measure of the progress of a civilisation is "its   
   capacity to protect life, especially in its most fragile phases, rather than   
   the   
   spread of technological tools. When we speak about man, we must never forget   
   all   
   the assaults on the sacredness of human life. The scourge of abortion is an   
   assault on life. Leaving our brothers to die on boats in the Sicilian straits   
   is   
   an assault on life. Death at work due to a failure to respect the minimum   
   safety   
   requirements is an assault on life. Death due to hunger is an assault on life.   
   Terrorism, war, violence are all assaults on life, as is is euthanasia".   
    "I encourage you to relaunch a culture of life, that knows how to establish   
   networks of trust and reciprocity, and how to offer prospects of peace, mercy   
   and communion", he concluded.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Francis receives the passengers of the "Children's Train"   
    Vatican City, 1 June 2015 (VIS) - "Never stop dreaming ... You can fly with   
   your   
   dreams, and dreaming opens the doors to happiness"; said Pope Francis to the   
   six   
   hundred children on the "Children's Train", an initiative of the Courtyard of   
   the Gentiles in support of children who live in difficult situations. This year   
   it was dedicated to the children of detainees in the Italian penitentiaries of   
   Roma, Civitavecchia, Latina, Bari and Trani, on the theme "Flight".   
    The train, on which two-hundred children travelled from Bari and Trani,   
   arrived   
   at the Vatican railway station, where they joined those already present from   
   the   
   other three provinces. Upon arrival they were welcomed by Cardinal Giuseppe   
   Bertello, president of the Governorate of Vatican City State, Cardinal   
   Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture and Michele   
   Mario Elia, director of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane SpA, the Italian rail   
   network infrastructure company.   
    The Holy Father met with the passengers of the train in the Paul VI Hall, and   
   spoke with them on the theme of flight, inviting them to fly with their   
   imagination to be with their families and to fulfil their dreams.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    The Pope receives a group of sick children: "You are life's heroes"   
    Vatican City, 30 May 2015 (VIS) - Yesterday afternoon, in the Chapel of the   
   Domus Sanctae Marthae, the Pope received in audience a group of twenty   
   seriously   
   ill children, accompanied by their parents, along with volunteers and leaders   
   from the UNITALSI association, which organises pilgrimages to Lourdes and   
   Loreto. The majority of the children were aged between seven and 14 years,   
   although there were also some as young as two and three.   
    The Pope approached each child affectionately. One of the children then spoke   
   to the Holy Father about a similar previous meeting two years ago, recalling   
   all   
   those who had been present and some who have passed away in the meantime, and   
   assured him that they have all prayed a lot for the Pope, as he had asked them   
   too.   
    The Holy Father went on to speak about the mystery of the suffering of   
   children. "It is a question I often ask myself, and which many of you, many   
   people, ask themselves: why do children suffer? And there are no explanations.   
   ...   
   I simply look to God and ask, 'But why?'. And looking at the Cross: 'Why is   
   Your   
   Son there, why?' It is the mystery of the Cross. ... I also often think of the   
   Virgin when as they brought her the lifeless body of her Son. ... She did not   
   understand either. She would have recalled what the Angel had told her: 'He   
   will   
   be King, He will be great, He will be a prophet'. With that wounded body in her   
   arms, that had suffered so greatly before death, she would surely have wanted   
   to   
   say to the Angel: 'Liar! I have been deceived'. She had no answers either".   
    "Do not be afraid of asking, indeed even challenging the Lord. 'Why?'", he   
   exclaimed. "Perhaps no explanation will come, but the gaze of the Father will   
   give you the strength to go on. ... The only explanation He will be able to   
   give   
   you is: 'My son suffered too'. This is the explanation. The most important is   
   his gaze. This is your strength, the loving gaze of the Father".   
    "In a world in which it is so normal to experience a throwaway culture - if we   
   are not happy with something we discard it - you live this situation ... with   
   heroism. ... You are the little heroes of life. I thank you for your example",   
   affirmed the Pope, visibly moved. "I pray for you, for these mixed feelings of   
   joy and sadness. ... The Lord knows how to comfort you in your suffering in a   
   special way".   
    Those present then prayed a Hail Mary and received the Pope's blessing. He   
   continued the meeting by talking with each child and their parents. The group   
   left the Domus Sanctae Marthae at 6 p.m.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Fr. Lombardi issues clarification on Cardinal George Pell   
    Vatican City, 1 June 2015 (VIS) - In response to questions from journalists,   
   the director of the Holy See Press Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J.,   
   explained that the statement made by Mr. Peter Saunders (one of the 17 members   
   of the Commission for the Protection of Minors) during a television broadcast   
   was evidently given in an entirely personal way and not on behalf of the   
   Commission, which is not competent to investigate or to pronounce specific   
   judgements on individual cases.   
    Moreover, Cardinal George Pell has always responded carefully and thoroughly   
   to   
   the accusations and questions posed by the competent Australian authorities,   
   and   
   his position has been made known again in recent days by a public declaration   
   on   
   his part, which must be considered reliable and worthy of respect and   
   attention.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Audiences   
    Vatican City, 31 May 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father received in audience   
   Archbishop Paolo Gualtieri, apostolic nuncio in Madagascar.   
    On Saturday 30 May, the Holy Father received in audience:   
    - Cardinal Marc Ouellet, P.S.S., prefect of the Congregation for Bishops;   
    - Archbishop Hector Miguel Cabrejos Vidarte of Trujillo, Peru.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Other Pontifical Acts   
    Vatican City, 1 June 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father has appointed:   
    - Bishop Gustavo Rodriguez Vega of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, as metropolitan   
   archbishop of Yucatan (area 39,612, population 2,064,151, Catholics 1,655,449,   
   priests 237, permanent deacons 37, religious 700), Mexico. He succeeds   
   Archbishop Emilio Carlos Berlie Belaunzaran, whose resignation upon reaching   
   the   
   age limit was accepted by the Holy Father.   
    On Saturday 30 May, the Holy Father appointed:   
    - Bishop Orlando Roa Barbosa, auxiliary of Ibague, Colombia, as bishop of   
   Espinal (area 14,000, population 484,000, Catholics 437,000, priests 92,   
   religious 71), Colombia.   
    - Rev. Fr. Eugene Joseph as bishop of Varanasi (area 21,296, population   
   21,165,000, Catholics 19,536, priests 154, religious 675), India. The   
   bishop-elect was born in Madurai, India in 1958 and ordained a priest in 1985.   
   He holds a bachelor's degree in education from the Gorakhpur University,   
   Varanasi; a master's degree in English from the Mahatma Gandhi K.V. University,   
   Varanasi, and a masters in business administration from the Townsend School of   
   Business, New York, U.S.A.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
   For more information and to search for documents refer to the site:   
   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.   
   http://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/vis/vis_en.html   
      
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    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)