IN BRIEF

THE HOLY FATHER HAS WRITTEN A MESSAGE TO BISHOP FRANCOIS Maupu of Verdun, France, to mark the 90th anniversary of the First World War battle there, which represented, the Pope writes, "a dark moment in the history of the continent," as well as "one of the symbols of reconciliation between the great European nations that were once enemies." He continues: "May our contemporaries, and in particular the younger generations, learn the lessons of history and, on the basis of the Christian roots and values that greatly contributed to giving shape to the Europe of nations and of peoples, create ties of fraternity and charity among themselves, for the good of everyone and the development of nations!"

ARCHBISHOP CELESTINO MIGLIORE, HOLY SEE PERMANENT OBSERVER to the United Nations in New York delivered an address on November 10 before the second committee of the 61st UN General Assembly, which is considering the question of the eradication of poverty. "The poor," said the archbishop in his English-language speech, "have the right to justice, decent work, adequate food, health and education, in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. ... However, since the poor are many times, by their very condition, excluded from society, their capacity to secure their rights is often very limited. ... The link between peace and development appears quite evident to those on the ground who must confront the constraints placed on the poor and who know, sometimes from bitter experience, that 'development is the new name for peace'."

DURING THE THIRD CONFERENCE TO EXAMINE THE "CONVENTION on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May be Deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects," currently being held in Geneva, Switzerland, Archbishop Silvano Maria Tomasi C.S., permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations and International Institutions in Geneva, delivered an address in which he stated: "This convention must remain dynamic and flexible. It would be harmful and artificial to limit it and its protocols to what has been achieved thus far. New arms are being developed and produced. It is important that reflection and negotiations keep apace of military reality in order to guarantee that these new arms respect the criteria imposed by the convention, ... and to study whether it is appropriate to negotiate with new instruments where existing agreements do not respond to the new military realities."
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