VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXII - # 135   
   DATE 17-07-2015   
      
   Summary:   
   - The Pope writes to participants in the meeting "United with God, we hear a   
   cry" on the effects of mining   
   - Justice and Peace speaks out for communities affected by mining   
   - Decrees for the Causes of Saints   
   - Audiences   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    The Pope writes to participants in the meeting "United with God, we hear a   
   cry"   
   on the effects of mining   
    Vatican City, 17 July 2015 (VIS) - Pope Francis has sent a message to Cardinal   
   Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council "Justice and   
   Peace", to be communicated to the representatives of communities affected by   
   mining activities participating in the meeting "United with God, we hear a   
   cry",   
   organised by the same dicastery in collaboration with the Latin American   
   "Churches and Mining" network.   
    "You come from difficult situations and in various ways you experience the   
   repercussions of mining activities, whether they be conducted by large   
   industrial companies, small enterprises or informal operators. You have chosen   
   to gather in Rome on this day of reflection that links to a passage from the   
   Apostolic Exhortation 'Evangelii gaudium', to echo the cry of the many people,   
   families and communities who suffer directly and indirectly as a result of the   
   consequences, too often negative, of mining activities. A cry for lost land; a   
   cry for the extraction of wealth from land that paradoxically does not produce   
   wealth for the local populations who remain poor; a cry of pain in reaction to   
   violence, threats and corruption; a cry of indignation and for help for the   
   violations of human rights, blatantly or discreetly trampled with regard to the   
   health of populations, working conditions, and at times the slavery and human   
   trafficking that feeds the tragic phenomenon of prostitution; a cry of sadness   
   and impotence for the contamination of the water, the air and the land; a cry   
   of   
   incomprehension for the absence for inclusive processes or support from the   
   civil, local and national authorities, which have the fundamental duty to   
   promote the common good.   
    "Minerals and, in general the wealth of the earth, of the soil and   
   underground,   
   constitute a precious gift from God that humanity has used for thousands of   
   years. Indeed, minerals are fundamental to many sectors of human life and   
   activity. In the Encyclical 'Laudati si'' I wished to make an urgent appeal for   
   collaboration in the care of our common home, countering the dramatic   
   consequences of environmental degradation in the life of the poorest and the   
   excluded, advancing towards an integral, inclusive and sustainable development.   
   The entire mining sector is undoubtedly required to effect a radical paradigm   
   change to improve the situation in many countries. A contribution can be made   
   by   
   the governments of the countries of origin of multinational companies and those   
   in which they operate, businesses and investors, the local authorities who   
   supervise mining operations, workers and their representatives, the   
   international supply chains with their various intermediaries and those who   
   work   
   in the markets of these materials, and the consumers of goods for whose   
   production the minerals are required. All these people are called upon to adopt   
   behaviour inspired by the fact that we constitute a single human family, "that   
   everything is interconnected, and that genuine care for our own lives and our   
   relationships with nature is inseparable from fraternity, justice and   
   faithfulness to others.   
    "I encourage the communities represented in this meeting to reflect on how   
   they   
   can interact constructively with all the other actors involved, in a sincere   
   and   
   respectful dialogue. I hope that this occasion may contribute to a greater   
   awareness and responsibility on these themes: and that, based on human dignity,   
   the culture necessary for facing the current crisis may be created. I pray to   
   the Lord that your work in these days be fruitful, and that these fruits can be   
   shared with all those in need. I ask you, please, to pray for me and with   
   affection I bless you, your communities and your families".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Justice and Peace speaks out for communities affected by mining   
    Vatican City, 17 July 2015 (VIS) - This morning in the Holy See Press Office   
   Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council   
   "Justice and Peace", presented the dicastery's initiative "A day of Reflection:   
   united with God, we hear a cry", to be attended by various representatives of   
   communities affected by mining activity in Africa, Asia and America who will   
   gather in the Salesianum Congress Centre in Rome from 17 to 19 July.   
    Cardinal Turkson explained that the aim of the meeting was to take stock of   
   the   
   situation of these communities, recalling that in 2013 Justice and Peace   
   organised a day of reflection entitled "Mining for the common good", upon   
   request of the directors of various mining companies, in order to evaluate the   
   human, economic and environmental implications of this activity. A report of   
   the   
   event was distributed to the Episcopal Conferences of the countries involved. A   
   second day of reflection will be held in September, entitled "Creating a new   
   future, Reimaging the future of mining" and so the current initiative, aimed at   
   giving a voice to the communities affected by the mining industry, is intended   
   as preparation for this second meeting.   
    "There is no lack of reasons and motives for the decision of the Pontifical   
   dicastery", said the Cardinal. "With the Encyclical 'Laudato si'' the Holy   
   Father urges us to 'hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor'. We   
   cannot remain indifferent to this cry, as the need to her it is 'born of the   
   liberating action of grace within each of us, and thus it is not a mission   
   reserved only to a few: the Church, guided by the Gospel of mercy and by love   
   for mankind, hears the cry for justice and intends to respond to it with all   
   her   
   might'".   
    "Many of us are aware of this harrowing cry from those areas where mineral   
   extraction is carried out", he continued. "To give just a few examples: the   
   'Africa Progress Report' by the former secretary general of the United Nations,   
   Kofi Annan, the OECD directives on the issue, the numerous reports on the   
   rights   
   of indigenous populations, the 'Publish what you pay' initiative, legislation   
   on   
   the traceability of minerals currently being developed by the European   
   Parliament, in cinema with films such as 'Blood Diamonds' or 'Avatar', and so   
   on".   
    "The Church, on various occasions and for many years, has closely followed   
   mining activities. At national level, the documents of the Episcopal   
   Conferences   
   which denounce human rights violations, illegality, violence and the   
   exploitation of deposits causing pollution and problems for the safety of local   
   produce. ... At regional level, it is considered by the Continental Episcopal   
   Conferences, the Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network, and so on, and at   
   transnational level, by Franciscan networks, the CIDSE and Caritas. All these   
   voices follow the same direction: faced with these situations, we cannot allow   
   indifference, cynicism and impunity to continue to prevail. A radical paradigm   
   change is needed in the interests of the common good, justice, sustainability   
   and human dignity".   
    In these three days the representatives of the communities affected by mining   
   operations in different ways will act as spokespeople for those who are unable   
   to come to Rome and whose voice frequently goes unheard by experts and   
   commentators. "I must emphasise that some people who are attending the meeting   
   have experienced pressure and intimidation in recent days, for example after   
   having requested a passport. The Pontifical Council has heard testimonies of   
   threats, violence and murder; of retaliation, of compensation never received,   
   and of unkept promises".   
    "Therefore", he continued, "there are individuals who work without a truly   
   human aim. There are denials of the primacy of the human being, insensitivity   
   to   
   the welfare of the social and natural environment and the full experience of   
   fragility, abandonment and rejection. Those responsible are investors,   
   businesspeople, politicians and governors of the countries where the deposits   
   are found, or rather the countries where the headquarters of the mining   
   multinationals reside".   
    "On the other hand, exploited and poor countries are above all in need of   
   honest governments, educated people and investors with an acute sense of   
   justice   
   and the common good, as it is morally unacceptable, politically dangerous,   
   environmentally unsustainable and economically unjustifiable for developing   
   countries to 'continue to fuel the development of richer countries at the cost   
   of their own present and future'", he concluded.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Decrees for the Causes of Saints   
    Vatican City, 17 July 2015 (VIS) - Yesterday afternoon the Holy Father Francis   
   received in a private audience Cardinal Angelo Amato, S.D.B., prefect of the   
   Congregation for the Causes of Saints, during which he authorised the   
   Congregation to promulgate the following decrees regarding the heroic virtues   
   of:   
    - Servant of God Andrey Sheptytsky, O.S.B.M., major archbishop of Leopolis of   
   the Ukrainians, metropolitan of Halyc (1865-1944);   
    - Servant of God Giuseppe Carraro, Bishop of Verona, Italy (1899-1980);   
    - Servant of God Agustin Ramirez Barba, Mexican diocesan priest and founder of   
   the Servants of the Lord of Mercy (1881-1967);   
    - Servant of God Simpliciano della Nativita (ne Aniello Francesco Saverio   
   Maresca), Italian professed priest of the Order of Friars Minor, founder of the   
   Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Hearts (1827-1898);   
    - Servant of God Maria del Refugio Aguilar y Torres del Cancino, Mexican   
   founder of the Mercedarian Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament (1866-1937);   
    - Servant of God Marie-Charlotte Dupouy Bordes (Marie-Teresa), French   
   professed   
   religious of the Society of the Religious of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and   
   Mary   
   (1873-1953);   
    - Servant of God Elisa Miceli, Italian founder of the Rural Catechist Sisters   
   of the Sacred Heart (1904-1976);   
    - Servant of God Isabel Mendez Herrero (Isabel of Mary Immaculate), Spanish   
   professed nun of the Servants of St. Joseph (1924-1953).   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Audiences   
    Vatican City, 17 July 2015 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father received in audience   
   Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for   
   Promoting New Evangelisation.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
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