VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXVI - # 11   
   DATE 19-01-2016   
      
   Summary:   
   - Cardinal Parolin to the Global Foundation: encourage an economy at the   
   service   
   of our common home, the world   
   - Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, sole   
   non-Muslim speaker at the First Arab Thinkers Forum   
   - In memoriam   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Cardinal Parolin to the Global Foundation: encourage an economy at the service   
   of our common home, the world   
    Vatican City, 19 January 2016 (VIS) - Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro   
   Parolin spoke yesterday at round table organised by the Global Foundation on   
   the   
   theme "Rejecting the globalisation of indifference - towards a more inclusive   
   and sustainable global economy". This initiative, he said, emphasises the   
   Foundation's "commitment to being a privileged place of dialogue between major   
   economic and political players, as well as a catalyst for ideas for the   
   construction of an economic system at the service of integral economic   
   development".   
    Cardinal Parolin affirmed that since the beginning of his Pontificate, faced   
   with the many difficulties which afflict the world, the Pope has emphasised   
   "the   
   grave consequences of indifference and of the lack of responsibility", calling   
   for the correction of an economy that causes exclusion and inequality. "He   
   invites the rich and the poor, the powerful and simple, politicians and   
   entrepreneurs to put the creative power of human intelligence at the service of   
   the common good, with a spirit of solidarity and - I would add - mercy".   
    "Without forgetting how much has been done in these first years of the third   
   millennium to help people escape from extreme poverty, Pope Francis continues   
   to   
   underscore his conviction that much more still needs to be done, and that in   
   times of crisis and economic hardship a spirit of global solidarity must not be   
   lost. It goes without saying - that part of this great effort is the creation   
   and distribution of wealth. The right use of natural resources, the proper   
   application of technology and the harnessing of the spirit of enterprise are   
   essential elements of an economy which seeks to be modern, inclusive and   
   sustainable. That will be possible, keeping in mind the definition of justice   
   of   
   the Roman jurist Ulpian and of St Augustine of Hippo - "Iustitia est constans   
   et   
   perpetua voluntas ius suum cuique tribuendi" (Justice is the constant and   
   perpetual will to render to every man his due), which the Pope quoted in his   
   address to the United Nations on 25th September 2015, with reference to the   
   "2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development", in order to say to those responsible   
   for global affairs that our world demands of all government leaders a will   
   which   
   is effective, practical and constant, concrete steps and immediate measures for   
   preserving and improving the natural environment and thus putting an end as   
   quickly as possible to the phenomenon of social and economic exclusion".   
    The Secretary of State concluded by highlighting the importance of the meeting   
   organised by the Global Foundation, which is "an important space for   
   encouraging   
   an increase in global awareness of the serious problems of environmental   
   degradation and exclusion. It will thus provide a stimulus to strengthen the   
   action which has already begun, and is starting to show positive and enduring   
   results. ... I reiterate the wish that these days might bring forth worthwhile   
   contributions to encourage an economy which is increasingly at the service of   
   our common home, which is the world as a whole".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, sole   
   non-Muslim speaker at the First Arab Thinkers Forum   
    Vatican City, 19 January 2016 (VIS) - "Interreligious Dialogue and Extremism:   
   reasons and remedies" was the title of the First Arab Thinkers Forum, held in   
   Abu Dhabi from 17 to 18 January at the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies   
   and   
   Research. The only non-Muslim speaker was Fr. Miguel Angel Ayuso Guixot,   
   secretary of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, who intervened   
   during the first session during which the Grand Mufti of Lebanon, Sheikh Abdul   
   Latif Daryan, also gave an address. In the other sessions there were   
   contributions from various figures from the Arab Emirates, Egypt and Morocco.   
    Fr. Ayuso Guixot structured his discourse around five key points: extremism,   
   the culture of encounter, the key role of religious leaders, the need for   
   sincere dialogue and the importance of prayer. He emphasised that it was not   
   his   
   intention to pursue considerations on the economic, political, social and   
   cultural reasons for extremism, well known to those present, preferring to   
   focus   
   instead on Pope Francis' recommendations to the international community on how   
   to construct peace which can serve to counter extremism.   
    He began by citing the Holy Father's address to the Diplomatic Corps on 11   
   January this year, in which he affirmed that "extremism and fundamentalism find   
   fertile ground not only in the exploitation of religion for purposes of power,   
   but also in the vacuum of ideals and the loss of identity - including religious   
   identity - which dramatically marks the so-called West. This vacuum gives rise   
   to the fear which leads to seeing the other as a threat and an enemy, to   
   closed-mindedness and intransigence in defending perceived notions. Yet the   
   greatest challenge we face is that overcoming indifference in order to work   
   together for peace, a good which must constantly be sought, by the promotion of   
   a 'culture of encounter'. ... Pope Francis believes that the motivation for   
   interreligious dialogue must rest in the mutual commitment to peace and   
   justice,   
   thus making them the basic principles for all exchanges".   
    With reference to the key role of religious leaders, the secretary of the   
   Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue underlined that "extremist   
   tendencies, irrespective of their origin, are actually among the most dangerous   
   threats to world peace and security", and are incompatible with a truly   
   religious ethic. Consequently, there is a need for "genuine effort by religious   
   leaders and opinion makers to identify those persons who portray false beliefs   
   and behaviours as part of their religious ideology". Political leaders "must   
   support this campaign of awareness in order to prevent extremism in society and   
   to lay the groundwork for moderation", has said, adding that "As religious   
   leaders, we are obliged to denounce all violations against human dignity and   
   human rights. Human life, a gift of God the Creator, possesses a sacred   
   character. As such, any violence that seeks religious justification warrants   
   the   
   strongest condemnation because the Omnipotent is the God of life and peace".   
    In relation to the need for sincere interreligious dialogue, the prelate   
   underlined that believers are united in the path of life, starting from our own   
   identify for the good of our brothers and sisters. "Every one of us offers the   
   witness of our identity to others and engages in dialogue with others. Then   
   dialogue can move on to theological questions. But even more important and   
   beautiful is to walk together without betraying our own identity, without   
   disguising it, without hypocrisy".   
    Finally he recalled that "we believers have no recipe for these problems, but   
   we have one great resource: prayer. As believers we pray. We must pray. Prayer   
   is our treasure, which we draw from according to our respective traditions, to   
   request the gifts for which humanity longs".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    In memoriam   
    Vatican City, 19 January 2016 (VIS) - The following prelates have died in   
   recent weeks:   
    - Bishop Joseph Roduit, C.R.A, abbot-bishop emeritus of Saint-Maurice,   
   Switzerland, on 17 December 2015 at the age of 76.   
    - Bishop Placidus Gervasius Nkalanga, O.S.B., emeritus of Bukoba, Tanzania, on   
   18 December 2015 at the age of 96.   
    - Bishop Joseph Leopold Imesch, emeritus of Joliet in Illinois, United States   
   of America, on 22 December 2015 at the age of 84.   
    - Archbishop Grégoire Haddad, emeritus of Beirut and Jbeil of the   
   Greek-Melkites, Lebanon, on 23 December 2015 at the age of 91.   
    - Bishop Youhannes Ezzat Zakaria Badir, emeritus of Luxor of the Copts, Egypt,   
   on 27 December 2015 at the age of 66.   
    - Bishop Daniel Leo Ryan, emeritus of Springfield in Illinois, United States   
   of   
   America, on 31 December 2015 at the age of 85.   
    - Bishop Barnabas Rugwizangonga Halem 'Imana, emeritus of Kabale, Uganda, on 3   
   January 2016 at the age of 87.   
    - Bishop Alberto Iniesta Jimenez, auxiliary emeritus of Madrid, Spain, on 3   
   January 2016 at the age of 92.   
    - Bishop Raymond William Lessard, emeritus of Savannah, Georgia, United States   
   of America, on 3 January 2016 at the age of 85.   
    - Bishop Carlos Milciades Villalba Aquino, emeritus of San Juan Bautista de   
   las   
   Misiones, Paraguay, on 8 January 2016 at the age of 91.   
    - Bishop Paul-Marie Francois Rousset, Ist. del Prado, emeritus of   
   Saint-Etienne, France, on 9 January 2016 at the age of 94.   
    - Archbishop Francis Thomas Hurley, emeritus of Anchorage, Alaska, USA, on 10   
   January 2016 at the age of 88.   
    - Bishop Albert Onyembo Lomandjo, C.S.Sp., emeritus of Kindu, Democratic   
   Republic of Congo, 11 January 2016 at the age of 84.   
    - Archbishop Daniel Joseph Bohan, of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, on 15   
   January 2016 at the age of 74.   
    - Archbishop Francis Bible Schulte, emeritus of New Orleans, Louisiana, United   
   States of America, on 17 January 2016 at the age of 89.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
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