Vatican City, Jul 19, 2015 / 09:14 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis entrusted his recent tri-nation voyage to South America to Our Lady of Guadalupe – praising the deeply-rooted Christianity in these countries, but also noting the social and economic challenges. “To the maternal intercession of the Virgin Mary, whom the whole of Latin America venerates as Patron by the title Our Lady of Guadalupe, I entrust the fruits of this unforgettable Apostolic journey,” the pontiff said. He made his remarks on Sunday to the large crowds who had gathered in Saint Peter’s Square for the weekly Angelus, despite the heat wave currently sweeping through Rome. It's the Pope's first Angelus address since returning from his July 5-13 trip to Ecuador, Bolivia, and Paraguay. Drawing from the Gospel reading, the Argentine-born pontiff said he had asked the Good Shepherd to accompany him on his recent trip to the continent of his birth. “I thank God with all my heart for this gift. I thank the people of the three countries for their affectionate and loving welcome and enthusiasm.” Pope Francis extended his gratitude for all those who took part in his visit, including Bishops, priests, and consecrated persons. He said that, alongside those who participated, he praised God “for the wondrous things he has worked” among them, as well as as for the natural beauty of these countries. The Holy Father then acknowledged the social and economic challenges which exist in these countries, and stressed the Church’s role in bringing about their resolutions. “The Latin-American continent has great human and spiritual potential. It protects deeply-rooted Christian values, but also lives with serious social and economic problems.” The Church has worked to offer spiritual and moral strength throughout the communities, working with all members of society, Pope Francis said. In the face of these challenges, the Pope said he prayed for “the grace which saves and which gives strength to the commitment of Christian witness, to develop the spread of God’s Word, in order that the strong religiosity of those populations may always be faithful witnesses of the Gospel. The July 19 Angelus address centered on the day’s Gospel reading, in which the Apostles return – “happy but also tired” – from the mission on which Jesus had sent them. He in turn takes them to a secluded place on a boat where they can rest. However, the crowds find Jesus, and run ahead to meet him where the boat lands. Saint Mark in his Gospel then gives a sort of “photographic” image of Jesus, the Pope said, when He feels compassion upon seeing the crowds “because they were like sheep without a shepherd,” and taught them Pope Francis honed on three key words: “to see, to have compassion, to teach.” These first two words, he said, “are always associated in Jesus’ approach: In fact, his gaze is not the gaze of a sociologist or a photojournalist, because he always looks with ‘the eyes of the heart.’” He added that seeing and having compassion “amount to Jesus as the Good Shepherd.” “Even his compassion: it is not merely a human emotion, but it is the sentiment of the Messiah in whom is made flesh the tenderness of God.” This compassion, he continued, leads Jesus to “nourish the crowds with the bread of his Word.” “Jesus sees, Jesus has compassion, Jesus teaches us. This is beautiful!” Read more

Vatican City, Jul 18, 2015 / 12:09 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Holy See and Vatican City State administration released their 2014 financial statements Thursday amid an ongoing process to reform Vatican finances and accounting standards. The Holy See&rs... Read more

Vatican City, Jul 18, 2015 / 12:03 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Continuing his theme on protecting both the environment and human rights, Pope Francis pointed to various injustices in the mining industry and called for collaboration in fostering change. All involved in the field of mining “are called upon to adopt behavior inspired by the fact that we constitute a single human family, everything is interconnected,” Francis said July 18. He stressed that genuine care for our own lives and our relationship with nature is “inseparable from fraternity, justice and faithfulness to others.” The Pope made his comments in a message sent to participants in a July 17-19 conference titled “United to God, We Hear a Cry,” organized by the Vatican’s Council for Justice and Peace and the Latin American “Churches and Mining” network. Held at Rome’s Salesianum Congress Centre, the meeting gathers community leaders, laborers and families involved in and affected by the mining industry. The event featured testimonies from those who have suffered first hand from corruption and torture. Mining was a subject Francis also touched on in his recent encyclical on the environment, “Laudato Si,” released June 18. In his message, Pope Francis noted that there are many communities, families and individuals who frequently suffer both directly and indirectly due to the “too often negative” consequences of mining activities. The conference, he said, represents “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.” He said it also gives voice to the “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.” Francis also pointed to the frequent contamination of the water, air and land, and the 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.” The Pope made an “urgent appeal” for collaboration in fighting environmental degradation and fostering an “integral, inclusive” sustainable development. He called on governments in countries where mining takes place, suppliers, business leaders and investors to hold multinational mining companies to a socially responsible behavior. “The entire mining sector is undoubtedly required to effect a radical paradigm change to improve the situation in many countries.” Cardinal Peter Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, spoke with journalists July 17 about the closed-door meeting, saying that we cannot remain indifferent to both “the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor” highlighted by Pope Francis in his encyclical “Laudato Si.” In 2013 the council organized a similar conference titled “Mining for the common good,” which was followed up by a report handed out to the various episcopal conferences involved. This week’s meeting serves as a preparation   for a second conference titled “Creating a new future, Reimaging the future of mining,” scheduled to take place in September. “Many of us are aware of this harrowing cry from those areas where mineral extraction is carried out,” the cardinal said, and pointed to various reports informing on the status of the rights of indigenous populations and legislation on mineral traceability currently being developed by the European Parliament. He also pointed to the portrayal of these injustices seen in films such as “Blood Diamond” and “Avatar.” “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,” he said. Cardinal Turkson pointed to various stories the council has received of “threats, violence and murder; of retaliation, of compensation never received, and of un-kept promises.” Among them is the story of Héritier Wembo Nyama from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who was present alongside the cardinal and four other members of the mining sector. Wembo recalled how he was set on fire by local police during a protest against a mining company. After then being arrested, tied up and tortured, it took him a two-week stay in the hospital to recover. He said he was tracked down and threatened while in Kigali waiting to come to Rome. “They said they’d kill me if I came,” he said. Other instances recounted by participants from Chile, Brazil and India revealed stories of activists in popular movements that had been killed for opposing mining activities in their communities, as well as those of water pollution, environmental degradation and various other negative effects of mining. Read more

Vatican City, Jul 18, 2015 / 04:04 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Correction: July 21, 2015 9:28 am MST. Due to an erroneous Vatican source, this article originally said that the Vatican's helicopter was being used by the hospital. It is in fact the Vatican's helifacilities. One of Europe's best pediatric hospitals, Bambino Gesu Children's Hospital in Rome, can now use the Vatican’s helipad to transport patients, personnel and medical equipment in emergencies.  The agreement was announced July 17th by the hospital and the Governatorate of the Vatican City State, and is part of a bigger initiative to use the helipad within a regional network for emergency management.  “We are grateful to the Holy See, the Secretary of State and the Governatorate in particular, in the person of the SCV's Secretary General, Bishop Fernando Vergez Alzaga, for this opportunity, which is given to the Bambino Gesù hospital, and especially to the many young patients from all over Italy, who unfortunately need urgently to reach our hospital,” Bambino Gesu President Mariella Enoc said Friday, according to Vatican Radio.   “It is an important gesture of charity that responds to a basic health need: the physical proximity between the Vatican City State and our seat on the Janiculum Hill, in fact, will significantly shorten transport times, contributing in many cases to saving the lives of children,” she added.  The Vatican City Heliport is a small, rectangular landing pad in the Vatican Gardens and is sometimes used to transport the Pope and other heads of state on short trips away from the Vatican, and to Castle Gandolfo, the pope’s summer residence. It was first used in 1976 by Pope Paul VI.   Bambino Gesu (which translates to the child Jesus) is the largest pediatric hospital and research center in Europe. It has a child-centered, welcoming approach and operates on the moral and ethical principles of the Catholic faith. The hospital was built in 1869 and is the oldest pediatric hospital in Italy. Owned by the Holy See and known as the Pope’s hospital, Bambino Gesu also serves children from all over the world. The Holy Father is a popular figure at the hospital, where children write him letters and know many details of his life, including words from his homilies and facts about his home country and favorite soccer team.  In December 2013, Pope Francis visited the hospital for Christmas, after receiving drawings from the children at the hospital asking for a visit. Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI were all known to visit the hospital. During his first visit in September 2005, during the first three months of his pontificate, Pope Benedict XVI said he came in order “to bear witness to the love of Jesus for children.” In 2010, Bambino Gesu doctors performed the world’s first transplant of a permanent artificial heart into a 15-year old boy, and since 2013 has been conducting research on a rare heart condition known as Long QT syndrome.  Read more