ZENIT, Daily dispatch
The World Seen From Rome
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VATICAN DOSSIER
* Pope Appeals for Aid for African Nation
* Prefect of Clergy Congregation Thanks Catechists
ANALYSIS
* Aborting Viable Lives
WORLD FEATURES
* Womens' Conference Assailed for Pro-abortion Tilt
* Naples Event Seen as Aid in Warding Off Civilization Clash
* Fighting the Scourge of Human Trafficking
NEWS BRIEFS
* Hong Kong Bishops Concerned for Detainees
DOCUMENTS
* Letter to "Women Deliver" Conference Organizers
* Cardinal Hummes' Message to Catechists
* Women Religious on Human Trafficking
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VATICAN DOSSIER
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Pope Appeals for Aid for African Nation
VATICAN CITY, OCT. 22, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI called for international support to help the Central African Republic overcome poverty.
The Pope made this appeal Saturday, when he received in audience the president of the country, François Bozizé. After the two leaders talked for a little more than 10 minutes, the president went on to meet with the Pope's secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, and Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for relations with states.
The Vatican press office reported: "During the cordial discussions consideration was given to questions concerning the situation in the Central African Republic, with particular reference to the peace process and the role played by the Church in the fields of national dialogue, health care and education.
"Mention was also made of the need for the international community's support to help the country overcome poverty and the other difficulties it currently faces."
About 25% of the nation's 4 million inhabitants are Catholic. Another 25% are Protestant, 15% are Muslim, and the remaining 35% adhere to indigenous belief systems.
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Prefect of Clergy Congregation Thanks Catechists
Says They Are an Asset to Parish Communities
VATICAN CITY, OCT. 22, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The prefect for the Congregation for Clergy said catechists are an asset to parishes and a promising sign for the Church today.
Cardinal Cláudio Hummes made that affirmation in a letter sent to catechists Thursday, feast day of St. Luke the Evangelist, marking the prelate's first year of service as prefect of the Vatican dicastery that also oversees catechesis.
The cardinal said to catechists: "You are one of the most promising signs with which the Lord endlessly comforts and surprises us. In a dedicated fashion and with passion, seek to acquire and exhibit that image, which is required of teachers, educators and witnesses of the truth, by faithfully passing on that truth to contemporary man, in all of its fullness and integrity.
"I urge you to pray and cultivate with trust a relationship of love, devotion, attentiveness and silence with the Lord."
The letter expressed the cardinal's gratitude and exhorted catechists to a deeper relationship with God.
Quoting Pope Paul VI's apostolic exhortation "Evangelii Nuntiandi," Cardinal Hummes wrote, "May the world of our time, which is searching, sometimes with anguish, sometimes with hope, be enabled to receive the Good News not from evangelizers who are dejected, discouraged, impatient or anxious, but from ministers of the Gospel whose lives glow with fervor, who have first received the joy of Christ, and who are willing to risk their lives so that the kingdom may be proclaimed and the Church established in the midst of the world."
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ANALYSIS
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Aborting Viable Lives
British Parliament Launches Inquiry on Age Limit
By Father John Flynn, LCROME, OCT. 22, 2007 (Zenit.org).- A long-running debate over age limits for abortions was renewed last week in England. Current law allows abortions up to the 24th week of pregnancy, but improvements in survival rates for babies born prematurely have led to pressure for the limit to be lowered.
The Abortion Act of 1967 originally set at 28 weeks the legal limit for abortions. Then, in 1990, Parliament agreed to lower the time limit to 24 weeks.
An inquiry into the age limits commenced Oct. 15 by the House of Commons committee on science and technology. The committee Web page noted that the terms of reference for the inquiry do not include the ethical or moral questions related to the debate, but will concentrate on scientific and medical evidence about fetal viability.
One of those backing a reduction in the age limit is obstetrician Stuart Campbell, reported the Telegraph newspaper on Oct. 15. Campbell pioneered three-dimensional scans of fetuses sucking their thumbs and walking in the womb.
Campbell used to perform abortions at 20 weeks, the Telegraph reported. "I feel pretty appalled at the idea that we abort normal babies and most of them are born alive and most of them are allowed to die," he said during a BBC radio program.
The committee's Web site contains several hundred pages of evidence submitted to the inquiry.
A submission from the Department of Health to the committee provided information about abortions in England and Wales. In 2006, there were 193,700 abortions. Of these, 89% were carried out at under 13 weeks of pregnancy.
Out of the total number, 2,948 abortions were performed at 20 weeks and over. Of these, 1,262 were performed at 22 weeks and over, and 136 at 24 weeks and over.
Christian opposition
The Christian Medical Fellowship, an interdenominational Christian organization with more than 4,500 British doctor members, is in favor of a reduction. In its submission to the committee, it outlined a number of concerns related to abortion.
For a start, it argued that maternal mortality after abortion is higher than currently recognized. Moreover, the fellowship noted, strong evidence exists that induced abortion increases risk of premature birth in subsequent pregnancies. Such premature births not only cause neonatal mortality and ongoing disability, but also imply significant economic costs.
There is overwhelming recent evidence that abortion causes significant rates of serious mental health problems, the submission continued. Several studies have demonstrated higher levels of depression, suicidal tendencies, and problems with drug and alcohol use among women who have undergone abortion.
The fellowship also called for Parliament to reconsider the norms for abortions for reasons of fetal abnormality. The upper limit for abortion for disabled babies should not be higher than that for able-bodied babies.
Handicapped
The question of disabled babies being aborted was also raised by the London-based Lejeune Clinic for Children With Down Syndrome. In its submission to the parliamentary committee they said that in 2005 alone, 429 abortions were carried out on babies with Down syndrome. The law sets no time limits for abortions on babies that are held to be disabled.
The clinic also commented that after Down syndrome is detected, some women feel pressured to abort their babies. As well, very few women are offered information on help available to raise a child with the chromosomal disorder.
The submission argued that most children with Down syndrome are happy, sociable and enjoy friendships. Around 80% attend mainstream primary school, either full or part time, and nearly all integrate in a loving fashion into their families. Behavioral problems can occur, but this can be helped, the clinic pointed out.
In its conclusions, the clinic argued: "It is hard to see how the majority of children with Down syndrome fulfill the criteria for abortion on the ground of serious untreatable disability." In fact, the majority suffer from only moderate learning difficulties and treatable physical health problems.
A written submission to the parliamentary committee was also made by the Pro-life Alliance (PLA). It started by noting its objection to any form of intentional abortion, at whatever age limit of the fetus.
Benefit of the doubt
Nevertheless, within the context of the current debate the PLA observed, "At the very least one would expect consensus in the country against the abortion of a viable baby, with the benefit of the doubt always on the side of the baby."
Another pro-life group, also opposed to any form of abortion, which made a submission was the nonprofit organization Comment on Reproductive Ethics (CORE). Opinions over abortion vary widely, it observed, but there is common concern over the rising abortion rates in Britain.
The CORE submission also called for greater transparency about abortions. Currently 97% of all abortions are justified under Ground C of the Abortion Act, which groups together both the medical or psychological health of the mother as a justification. It would be much better, CORE argued, for the two to be separated as they are quite diverse conditions.
It also called for greater transparency for abortions performed on the grounds of fetal abnormality. The submission mentioned the 2001 case of a baby aborted at 7 months for cleft palate, which caused a major public reaction.
After the outcry over this case the government's statistics became notably less specific in identifying details of the abnormalities for which abortions have been performed.
Defending life
A petition for changes in the abortion law also came from Scotland, in the form of an article published in the Scotsman newspaper July 6 by Cardinal Keith O'Brien, archbishop of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh. The Catholic leader called on Prime Minister Gordon Brown to review the law and thus ensure greater respect for human life.
The Scotsman reported that the latest data show that 13,081 abortions were carried out in Scotland in 2006, compared with 12,603 the year before -- the fourth consecutive annual increase.
"Abortion is neither political nor medical, though clearly it has implications in these spheres," the cardinal stated. "It is about morality and the destruction of human life."
Cardinal O'Brien praised Brown for being "a man of principle and deeply held moral convictions," and noted his efforts to reduce poverty in developing nations. He then called on the prime minister to support human life for those who are unborn."What exists in the womb is not 'a potential human being,' but rather 'a human being with potential,'" the cardinal argued.
Not a right
Benedict XVI also had strong words to say recently on protecting unborn life. During his trip to Austria, he addressed the members of government and diplomatic corps Sept. 7.
During his speech, given in the reception hall of Vienna's Hofburg Palace, the Pontiff recalled that Europe is the place where the notion of human rights was first formulated.
"The fundamental human right, the presupposition of every other right, is the right to life itself," the Pope pointed out. "Abortion, consequently, cannot be a human right -- it is the very opposite."
Benedict XVI acknowledged the difficulties women experience in going ahead with difficult pregnancies, but at the same time, expressed his concern for the unborn children who have no voice.
He called upon political leaders to help bring about a society that welcomes children and encourages young married couples to start new families. Doing so, the Pope added, requires creating "a climate of joy and confidence in life, a climate in which children are not seen as a burden, but rather as a gift for all." A gift unfortunately too often rejected by society today.
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WORLD FEATURES
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Womens' Conference Assailed for Pro-abortion Tilt
Participants Say Ideology Overrode Focus on Health Care
LONDON, OCT. 22, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The global conference Women Deliver failed in its objective of finding ways to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity, reported various participating humanitarian organizations dedicated to the woman, family and the protection of life.
Several organizations expressed their dismay at the end of the Oct. 18-20 conference in a letter sent to the conference organizing committee. The conference brought together some 1,800 participants, including health care professionals, high-level officials from 35 countries and U.N. representatives.
According to the letter, "Regrettably, the conference agenda was so preoccupied with promoting the ideology and practice of abortion that the genuine health care needs of women and children were virtually ignored in the plenary sessions and overwhelmed in the panel discussions."
The three-day conference included a grant announcement of more than $200 million from the United Kingdom to the United Nations Population Fund.
Promoting falsehood
The letter's signatories noted that numerous U.N. reports, such as "The World's Women 2005: Progress in Statistics," "have concluded that accurate data about maternal mortality, including abortion, are not available, especially for the developing world. Therefore, the presentation of unsubstantiated and unreliable data on illegal abortion as fact can only be seen as a deliberate attempt to mislead the conferees and the international community."
"To assert that 'unsafe abortions' are only those that are illegal, and to subsequently imply that legal abortion is therefore safe, is both disingenuous and scientifically flawed," they wrote. "The consistent assertions that improvements in the maternal mortality rate are dependent on the promotion of legal abortion not only diverts attention from the urgent need for basic heath care, skilled birth attendants and emergency obstetrics, it threatens to undermine the field of obstetrics and gynecology if implemented on a wide scale."
The letter concludes with a call to "the conference partners to focus on basic health care, skilled attendants and emergency obstetrics, which have been the key to decreasing maternal mortality in the developed world, instead of exploiting the tragedy of maternal mortality to promote abortion rights."
Fourteen organizations signed the letter, including Concerned Women for America, MaterCare International, the World Federation of Catholic Medical Associations, United Families International and the World Union of Catholic Women's Organizations.
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Naples Event Seen as Aid in Warding Off Civilization Clash
Says Coexistence Is Only Solution for Globalized World
ROME, OCT. 22, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The interreligious event under way in Naples is the type of meeting that may help the world avoid the clash of civilizations, says the founder of the Catholic lay group that is co-sponsoring the encounter.
Andrea Riccardi described in this way the 21st International Encounter of Peoples and Religions, organized by the Sant'Egidio Community and the Archdiocese of Naples. Benedict XVI inaugurated the event Sunday.
Riccardi told ZENIT that Samuel Huntington's book on the feared clash of civilizations is "something to be taken very seriously."
"It has impressed me that the book sold well in the Arab world," the founder said. "And it has even gained approval in certain fundamentalist environments, because perhaps it says that which many want to hear: Our situation is this clash? What happened on Sept. 11 is proof that Huntington was right?
"I believe that we are within a framework of difficulties, but within this framework, we have the responsibility of finding a model or bringing ourselves out of this situation, and this model -- I believe -- is a civilization of coexistence."
This is the theme of Riccardi's book "Convivir" (Coexisting), published in Spanish by RBA Libros.
Riccardi explained: "There are different civilizations, there are diverse religions, there is not a universal civilization, because with globalization, Western civilization has not become universal civilization.
"On the contrary -- I speak in the book about just this -- identities rise up from the past in the face of this process of globalization. Precisely because we are before the phenomenon of globalization, we are all naked and want to clothe ourselves with our colored clothing.
"And therefore, identities exist, civilizations exist, cultures exist, nations exist, religions don't die."
Surviving
Riccardi noted that secularization has not overcome the desire for religiosity.
"There is a great demand for religion coming from all parts, including in Europe," he said. "Thus, the problem is not to destroy identity, but to live together.
"I believe that secularism is a model of coexistence in a handful of countries: France, Spain, Italy, Portugal and a few more. It is an interesting and important model, but I am convinced that the most intelligent thing that European countries can do is not divide themselves between secularists and believers, because I believe our countries need 'ressourcement' -- to use the French word -- to go back to the origins, to the headwaters of their religious discourses.
"In my opinion, it is silly to divide ourselves regarding the religious question. It is necessary to understand that a religious life is one of the important components of our identity. Naturally, it is not the only one."
The answer to possible conflicts of identity, Riccardi says, is in the "civilization of coexistence," that is, "the capacity of people from different worlds to live together and to merge."
Talking
This coexistence, he suggested, is supported with dialogue, which should not be understand as "a loss of one's own identity."
"Dialogue without identity does not exist," Riccardi said. "Therefore, dialogue demands a great identity, and dialoguing is not in itself an identity. If you and I dialogue, it is because you represent something for me, and I for you.
"Each one has many identities. I am Catholic and I define myself as such, but within me, there is a lay heritage; in my Christian being, there is an implicit Jewish tradition; there is the experience of contact with a socialist-lay culture, and so on.
"Some of us choose what we want to be, but in this identity, purity is a myth, a dangerous myth sometimes. The myth which is invented by the fundamentalists is dangerous, and fundamentalism is a great simplification."
For this reason, Riccardi affirmed that he rejects relativism, the denial of the existence of truth.
"Relativism conceives of a world without history, a world that has not taken tradition into account, from where we come," the Sant'Egidio Community founder affirmed. "This is, for me, the gist of the question. The delusion of European modernity consists in failing to take into account tradition. I believe that we should take into account tradition, and therefore, relativism is frequently a discourse constructed in a laboratory."
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Fighting the Scourge of Human Trafficking
Women Religious Combat New Form of Slavery
ROME, OCT. 22, 2007 (Zenit.org).- On the 200th anniversary of the U.K.'s abolition of the slave trade, which led to the end of transatlantic trafficking of human beings, women religious from 26 countries gathered to fight a new form of enslavement.
The U.S. Embassy to the Holy See and the Italian Union of Major Superiors co-sponsored a five-day seminar in Rome last week titled "Building a Network: The Prophetic Role of Women Religious in the Fight Against Trafficking in Persons."
All continents were represented at the Oct. 15-20 congress, which launched the International Network of Religious Against Trafficking in Persons (INRATIP), dedicated to strengthening the global fight against sexual, labor and organ trafficking.
Sister Susan Malone of Los Angeles said women religious are not naive about the task they are taking on, and are prepared for the long haul. The United Nations Population Fund estimates that between 700,000 and 2 million women are trafficked annually across international borders.
Pointing to history, Sister Malone said that women religious have always tackled large social problems, and human trafficking is the new call.
Sister Patricia Egbebulem of Nigeria told ZENIT that "this work is not pretty, not rosy," but women religious have an advantage in understanding the situation since they are approached by victims in dire need who see a religious sister as someone to trust.
Presidential support
U.S. President George Bush sent a note to the gathering, in which he said that "human trafficking is one of the worst offenses against human dignity; it is a modern-day form of slavery, treating women and children as commodities for sale to the highest bidder."
"As members of the global community," the president continued, "we are called by conscience and compassion to bring this cruel practice to an end. Those gathered for this seminar are helping to fight this great evil by harnessing the energy and resources of individuals guided by faith and dedicated to the cause of justice."
Bush added, "Your efforts reflect the very best of the human spirit and help build a world where every life is respected."
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NEWS BRIEFS
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Hong Kong Bishops Concerned for Detainees
Urge China to Release Imprisoned Catholics
HONG KONG, OCT. 22, 2007 (Zenit.org).- In the wake of the death of an imprisoned underground bishop in China, the Hong Kong bishops' justice and peace commission urged authorities to release all Catholics who are detained without good cause.
In Sunday's edition of Hong Kong's diocesan weekly Kung Kao Po, the commission questioned the way the local government handled the death in September of Bishop John Han Dingxiang, of Yong Nian Diocese in Hebei Province.
Bishop Han was secretly moved to an unknown location for more than a year before his death; only close relatives were summoned to the prelate's deathbed in his last moments. He was cremated within a few hours after his death. No priests or other faithful were present during his burial.
The commission criticized the treatment of the bishop, and expressed concern for other bishops currently imprisoned: "We are deeply concerned for the health and the safety of those aged Church people who are 'missing,' detained repeatedly and are under house arrest."
It specifically named three aging underground Chinese bishops, Julius Jia Zhiguo of Zhengding, who had been detained repeatedly at a politically sensitive period; James Su Zhimin of Baoding, who had been arrested in 1997; and Cosmas Shi Enxiang of Yixian, who was taken into custody in 2001.
Citing religious freedom as a basic human right, the commission asked the Chinese authorities to release all Catholics who had been detained unreasonably, especially the aging bishops, so that they might receive proper care.
The justice and peace commission said that it plans to hold a requiem Mass for Bishop Han on Nov. 2 to pray for the late bishop, and for the Church in China.
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DOCUMENTS
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Letter to "Women Deliver" Conference Organizers
"Genuine Health Care Needs of Women Were Virtually Ignored"
LONDON, OCT. 22, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here is the text of a letter sent to the organizing committee of the Women Deliver conference, held to discuss the issue of maternal mortality Oct. 18-21 in London. Various participating associations sent the text at the end of the conference, stating disappointment that instead of addressing the real health care needs of women and children, the agenda focused on promoting the ideology and practice of abortion.
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London, Oct. 20, 2007
Delivered to: Jill Sheffield, president, Family Care International and the Organizing Committee Dr. Asha-Rose Migiro, deputy secretary-general of the United Nations and Honorable Mary Robinson, president of Realizing Rights and conference honorary co-chair.
We, the undersigned organizations, wish to express our profound disappointment and dismay that the Women Deliver conference has failed to meet its stated objective of addressing Millennium Development Goal 5, which is to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity.
Delegates were invited to attend a global conference on the causes, prevention and treatment of the complications of pregnancy and childbirth, which lead to the deaths of so many mothers, particularly in developing countries, and to consider effective solutions.
Regrettably, the conference agenda was so preoccupied with promoting the ideology and practice of abortion that the genuine health care needs of women and children were virtually ignored in the plenary sessions and overwhelmed in the panel discussions.
Numerous U.N. reports, such as "The World's Women 2005: Progress in Statistics," have concluded that accurate data about maternal mortality, including abortion, are not available, especially for the developing world. Therefore, the presentation of unsubstantiated and unreliable data on illegal abortion as fact can only be seen as a deliberate attempt to mislead the conferees and the international community.
To assert that "unsafe abortions" are only those that are illegal, and to subsequently imply that legal abortion is therefore safe, is both disingenuous and scientifically flawed. The fact that the WHO [World Health Organization] will not be collecting information on the morbidity and mortality related to legal abortion is unconscionable if there is truly a commitment to accurate and meaningful data collection on morbidity and mortality statistics.
The consistent assertions that improvements in the maternal mortality rate are dependent on the promotion of legal abortion not only diverts attention from the urgent need for basic heath care, skilled birth attendants and emergency obstetrics, it threatens to undermine the field of obstetrics and gynecology if implemented on a wide scale.
Furthermore, we oppose the fact that:
-- Members of the organizing committee, including the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and Marie Stopes International, who have financial interests in the provision of abortion, have used the conference to promote a private agenda to spread abortion throughout the developing world;
-- The organizing committee has attempted to manufacture a false consensus by ensuring that only the views that reinforced its preconceived ideas were represented during the conference;
-- The conference has sidelined the main issues related to maternal mortality (basic health conditions based on vaccine availability, clean water, sanitation, basic nutritional supplementation, primary medical postnatal and perinatal care, fistula, female genital mutilation, hemorrhage, sepsis, obstructed labor, eclampsia). Such sidelining is a serious act of negligence that leads not only to continuing, but increasing, the risks associated with maternal health.
We call upon the conference partners to focus on basic health care, skilled attendants and emergency obstetrics, which have been the key to decreasing maternal mortality in the developed world, instead of exploiting the tragedy of maternal mortality to promote abortion rights.
-- Instituto De Política Familiar (IPF), ECOSOC consultative status with the United Nations.
-- Concerned Women for America (CWA), ECOSOC consultative status with the United Nations.
-- MaterCare International (MCI), ECOSOC consultative status with the United Nations.
-- World Federation of Catholic Medical Associations (FIAMC), ECOSOC consultative status with the United Nations.
-- United Families International (UFI), ECOSOC consultative status with the United Nations.
-- Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), ECOSOC consultative status with the United Nations.
-- World Union of Catholic Women's Organisations (WUCWO), ECOSOC consultative status with the United Nations.
-- Federación Española de Asociaciones Provida, ECOSOC consultative status with the United Nations.
-- Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (C-FAM)
-- American Association of Prolife Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG)
-- Instituto Mujer y Vida, Spain
-- Comité Nacional Provida de México, A.C.
-- Salud Sexual y Reproductiva De México, A.C.
-- Asociación Mexicana Cultura de la Vida
[Text adapted]
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Cardinal Hummes' Message to Catechists
VATICAN CITY, OCT. 22, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here is the text of a message to catechists of the world from Cardinal Cláudio Hummes, prefect of the Congregation for Clergy. It was published Thursday, feast of St. Luke the Evangelist, and marks the end of the cardinal's first year of service as leader of the dicastery.
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Dear Catechists,
May the peace of the Lord be with you!
In my first year of service to the Holy Father, Benedict XVI, in the Congregation for Clergy -- which also has catechesis entrusted to it -- I wish to extend to you my cordial and fraternal greeting.
I ask almighty God, who is good and great in his love, and rich in mercy, to bless you in a very special way.
I do this on the feast day of St. Luke the Evangelist, recalling his foundational contribution to the universal proclamation of Jesus Christ dead and risen, and of his kingdom.
First of all, I want to express my admiration for your often untiring ecclesial service in the area of the transmission of Catholic faith to so many catechumens and those entrusted to you who have been already baptized.
I assure you of my affection, as my dearest brothers and sisters, committed to the good fight of faith, which often requires heroic sacrifices, to which, nonetheless, you respond with joy and perseverance.
In daily faithfulness to God and man, you continue to be and represent a real asset for your parish communities. You are one of the most promising signs with which the Lord endlessly comforts and surprises us.
In a dedicated fashion and with passion, seek to acquire and exhibit that image, which is required of teachers, educators and witnesses of the truth, by faithfully passing on that truth to contemporary man, in all of its fullness and integrity.
Be able to strengthen your faith, "always ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope" (1 Peter 3:15), with prayer, with continuing education, with charity. Be always joyful and zealous so that, also through your work, "in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong glory and dominion" (1 Peter 4:11).
I urge you to pray and cultivate with trust a relationship of love, devotion, attentiveness and silence with the Lord.
In a world which is often hopeless, in the grip of violence and selfishness, let every gesture, every smile, every word of yours be a living testimony that the Lord is victorious over sin and death, and that love is possible!
Rediscover the deep roots of your witness in baptism and confirmation. Nourish your service as catechists with the food of the strong: the Eucharist.
Reveal the face of Christ to all those you meet, through the grace and faithfulness of your service.
May the Spirit of the Lord render your life new and make communion among you grow.
"May the world of our time, which is searching, sometimes with anguish, sometimes with hope, be enabled to receive the Good News not from evangelizers who are dejected, discouraged, impatient or anxious, but from ministers of the Gospel whose lives glow with fervor, who have first received the joy of Christ, and who are willing to risk their lives so that the kingdom may be proclaimed and the Church established in the midst of the world" ("Evangelii Nuntiandi," 80).
I invoke upon you the blessing that was so dear to St. Francis of Assisi:
"The Lord bless you and keep you.
May he show his face to you and have mercy.
May he turn his countenance to you and give you peace."
And may the Virgin Mary, star of evangelization, guide you and help you, and be for you a sign of sure hope.
From the Vatican, Oct. 18, 2007
Feast day of St. Luke the Evangelist
Cardinal Cláudio Hummes
Prefect
[Text adapted]
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Women Religious on Human Trafficking
ROME, OCT. 22, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here are the conclusions of a five-day seminar of religious women held in Rome entitled "Building a Network: The Prophetic Role of Women Religious in the Fight Against Trafficking in Persons."
The Oct. 15-20 event was organized by the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See and the Italian Union of Major Superiors. The more than 30 women religious from 26 countries launched the International Network of Religious Against Trafficking in Persons (INRATIP).
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Introduction
At their first international conference on human trafficking, Catholic sisters from 26 countries and all continents gathered in Rome. Statistics indicate that there are 800 congregations and over 1 million Catholic sisters in the world. Delegates to the conference committed to use their personnel, resources and historical commitment to those living in situations of poverty to eradicate human trafficking -- a modern-day form of slavery. The following is their statement to the world.
Definition
Trafficking in human beings means the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons using threat, force, coercion, fraud, deception or abuse of power by payments to achieve consent of control over a person for the purpose of exploitation. Trafficking in children requires only the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of a child for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall mean, among other things, sexual exploitation, domestic service, forced labor or removal of organs.
To victims
We say to you who have been trafficked -- especially women and children -- we stand with you, you are not alone. We will fight with you to release you from your bondage. In solidarity with you, we will confront the traffickers. We challenge unjust systems and those who exploit you. Do not give up hope.
To traffickers
We, the women religious from across the world say to you traffickers: Stop the exploitation! Look at the children, women and men you are destroying with your physical and psychological abuse. By violating their fundamental human rights you damage, deny and destroy their identities, names and status. We condemn these actions as well as the subtle ways you use to exploit them.
To demanders and exploiters
We call on you who exploit women, children and men for commercial sex or forced labor to stop buying human beings, for without your demand, the evil of human trafficking would not exist. We call on you to realize that all women, children and men have equal rights and dignity and that in your demand you cause irreparable harm and lose your own dignity.
To governments
We acknowledge that many governments have laws against trafficking and call for an increased enforcement of these laws. We further call on the governments of the world to address the issues of economic inequality, poverty and corruption that lead to the destruction of so many lives. The physical, emotional, spiritual and psychological torture of millions of people, hidden in back streets, ghettoes, hotels and parlors all over the world is criminal activity. We urge governments to create and implement policies and strong legislation to criminalize the exploiters. Good governance demands that traffickers do not benefit from the vulnerability of others.
To all religious leaders
We appreciate all the religious leaders who have supported us in the fight against trafficking in persons. We call on all religious leaders to end religious practices and customs that discriminate against women and girls, and hence contribute to the attitude of gender inequality underlying the growth of human trafficking in our world today.
We urge all religious leaders to denounce injustice and violence against women, children and men who are exploited or used in the sale of organs. We encourage you to relentlessly use your pastoral responsibility to defend and promote the human dignity of persons exploited by these forms of slavery.
To people of good will
We urge all people of good will to open your hearts to the victims and to act to change the root causes of human trafficking -- poverty, gender inequality, discrimination, greed and corruption. Each small action of restoring dignity to another person furthers the dignity of each on of us. Our hope rests in that vision of humanity that honors the principle that no woman, child or man is a commodity for sale. Relying on the love of God, we ask you to join us in our prayers and our actions to eradicate this social and moral evil.
[Text adapted]
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