VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXII - # 39   
   DATE 25-02-2016   
      
   Summary:   
   - "Love before the world": the Pope answers questions from children   
   - Francis to meet the Patriarch of the Orthodox Tewahedo Church of Ethiopia   
   - Religious and migrations: perspectives, response and challenges   
   - Audiences   
   - Notice to VIS subscribers   
      
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    "Love before the world": the Pope answers questions from children   
    Vatican City, 25 February 2016 (VIS) - "L'amore prima del mondo" ("Love before   
   the world") is the title of a book published by Rizzoli, in the form of 31   
   letters and drawings sent to the Holy Father by children from various Jesuit   
   institutions from all five continents, asking for advice and explanations, and   
   Francis' replies.   
    The title is drawn from the Pope's answer to the question, "What did God do   
   before the world was made?". The eighty pages of the volume consist of a   
   dialogue between Francis and the Jesuit Fr. Antonio Spadaro, director of La   
   Civilta Cattolica, who took the children's letters and drawings the Domus   
   Sanctae Marthae last summer and to ask for a response. The Pope accepted the   
   proposal and the resulting book has been released in Italian bookshops today.   
   It   
   will shortly be available in other languages.   
    Francis answers questions on a wide variety of issues, such as how Jesus   
   managed to walk on water: "God doesn't sink", and why He created us if He knew   
   we were going to sin against Him: Because God created us like Him. Free. And   
   being free includes the possibility of sinning. ... Freedom can be frightening   
   because it cannot be planned. But it is beautiful and it is the greatest gift".   
   In response to questions from the youngest children regarding the devil and   
   guardian angels, the Pope recalls the importance of liturgy of prayer, or   
   evokes   
   the fantastic imagination of the young: "God defeated the devil on the cross.   
   The devil is like the big scary dragons who are defeated and killed. They have   
   a   
   very long tail which, even if they are beaten and killed, continues to move".   
    There are also questions regarding war and atrocities; for instance, a child   
   from Nigeria asks how these conflicts could be resolved. "It is necessary to   
   encourage people of good will to speak against war. I cannot solve the   
   conflicts   
   in the world, but you and I can try to make this a better world. We need to   
   convince everyone that the best way to win a war is not to enter into one. It   
   is   
   not easy, I know. But I try. You can try too".   
    A child from China wants to know why the Pope likes football. "I have never   
   learned well the techniques of the game", admits Francis. "I don't have agile   
   feet. But I like to see the team on the field because it is a game of   
   solidarity". In response to a boy from the United Kingdom asks, "What was your   
   hardest choice in your mission for faith?", the Holy Father replies, "There are   
   many hard choices, but I have to say that the type of decision that is most   
   difficult for me is to remove someone from a responsible job or a position of   
   trust, or a path they are following, for reasons of unsuitability".   
      
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    Francis to meet the Patriarch of the Orthodox Tewahedo Church of Ethiopia   
    Vatican City, 25 February 2016 (VIS) - On Monday, 29 February, the Holy Father   
   Francis will meet with His Holiness Abuna Mathias, Patriarch of the Orthodox   
   Tewahedo Church of Ethiopia, who will be present in Rome from Friday 26 to   
   Monday 29. During his stay the Patriarch will visit the Pontifical Council for   
   Promoting Christian Unity and the tomb of the apostle Peter, and will celebrate   
   Holy Mass with the Ethiopian community of Rome on Sunday 28 February in the   
   chapel of the Urbanian College.   
    The Orthodox Tewahedo Church of Ethiopia currently consists of 35 million   
   faithful, and a large community exists in Rome. It enjoys cordial and   
   increasingly close relations with the Catholic Church, especially following the   
   first visit in 1993 of the then-Patriarch Abuna Paulos to Pope John Paul II.   
      
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    Religious and migrations: perspectives, response and challenges   
    Vatican City, 25 February 2016 (VIS) - The international conference "The   
   religious and migrations in the 21 st century: perspectives, response and   
   challenges", organised by the representation before the United Nations of the   
   Passionists International, the Congregation of St. Joseph, Augustinians   
   International and the Vincentians, yesterday concluded two days of intense   
   work.   
    The aim of the meeting, attended by around a hundred men and women religious,   
   as well as laypersons and experts in the sector, was to understand more fully   
   the phenomenon of migration and its repercussions in today's world, especially   
   in the context of the current European situation. It also considered the   
   identification of more effective and shared forms of solidarity. A strong   
   appeal   
   was launched for intensified network-building among congregations, associations   
   and other organisations in countries of origin, transit and destination. The   
   network represents one of the most efficient ways of using energy, skills and   
   resources, to give greater impetus to the already extraordinary work that these   
   entities carry out. In Italy alone, some 23 million people (almost a quarter of   
   the refugees present in the country) are received by parishes, religious   
   communities, monasteries and sanctuaries.   
    The participants expressed major concerns regarding the large number of often   
   unaccompanied minors involved in migratory flows, as well as the many young   
   women, especially from Nigeria (more than four thousand in 2015) who risk   
   falling into the trap of exploitation and prostitution.   
    Fr. Emela Xris Obiezu, representative of Augustinians International before the   
   United Nations, emphasised that "In this complex world, and faced with the   
   challenge of migration, it is increasingly necessary to think globally and act   
   locally, also in terms of lobbying and advocacy, to take the voice of the   
   victims and those who work alongside them to every level of attention, from   
   local administrations to the United Nations, so as to influence working   
   decisions, always placing at the centre of attention the person and respect for   
   his or her freedom and dignity".   
      
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    Audiences   
    Vatican City, 25 February 2016 (VIS) - Yesterday the Holy Father received in   
   audience Cardinal Mario Aurelio Poli, archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina.   
      
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    Notice to VIS subscribers   
    Vatican City, 25 February 2016 (VIS) - From Tuesday 1 March 2016, the Vatican   
   Information Service newsletter will not be transmitted, but subscribers will   
   instead receive a link via which they may consult the web page including a   
   synthesis in English of the official Holy See Press Office Bulletin, the   
   summary   
   hitherto provided by the Vatican Information Service.   
    The newsletter service is expected to resume within a few weeks.   
      
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