DEVELOPMENT OF EVERY PERSON AND OF THE WHOLE PERSON IS THE HEART OF EVANGELISATION

Vatican City,  (VIS) - Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. has sent a letter, in the Holy Father's name, to Cardinal Polycarp Pengo, archbishop of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, for the opening of the first Integrated Meeting for the Pastoral Care of the Road/Street for the Continent of Africa and Madagascar, which is currently taking place in that city.

"As the Synod Fathers at the two Special Assemblies for Africa of the Synod of Bishops prophetically acknowledged, the Church's concern for the development of every person and the whole person, especially of the poorest and most neglected, is at the heart of her mission of evangelisation in Africa", the English-language text reads.

"His Holiness trusts that the present meeting will lead to greater cooperation and coordinated efforts among the particular Churches for the sake of safeguarding every life at risk on African streets and roads. He asks that special attention be paid to the pastoral needs of those women and children who find themselves on the streets, whether as a result of concrete social, economic and political factors, or as victims of organised national and international exploiters. He is likewise confident that the meeting will address situations affecting the lives of those who travel in their work and, not least, the road insecurity which threatens the lives of millions on African soil.

"With these sentiments, the Holy Father offers fervent prayers that the meeting will confirm the Church in Africa and Madagascar in its witness to the Gospel and its contribution to the building up of civil society and to the forging of a new Africa".

AUDIENCES

Vatican City,  (VIS) - Following this morning's general audience, the Holy Father received in audience Karekin II, Catholicos and Supreme Patriarch of All Armenians.

HOLY SEE'S ONGOING COMMITMENT TO COMBAT MONEY LAUNDERING

Vatican City,  (VIS) - In the wake of the recent MONEYVAL report, the Holy See is continuing to respond to the report's recommendations and ever more efficaciously pursue transparency and financial trustworthiness, thus contributing more effectively to the fight against money laundering.

According to Holy See Press Office Director Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J., speaking on Vatican Radio today, one powerful sign of commitment to work in this direction is that the Holy See has hired an international expert in Anti-Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) activities.

Rene Bruelhart, 40, a lawyer originally from Fribourg, Switzerland, spent eight years as the director of Liechtenstein’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), and is an expert in AML/CFT. As director of Liechtenstein’s FIU, he was also appointed in 2010 as the vice-chair of the Egmont Group, the global network of FIUs.

Bruelhart began work this month as a consultant to the Holy See in all matters related to AML/CFT. His role is to assist the Holy See in strengthening its framework to fight financial crimes. This is based on the clear commitment the Holy See has already expressed in its active efforts to address these matters effectively.

WOMEN AND CHILDREN, BENEFICIARIES OF THE PASTORAL CARE OF THE ROAD

Vatican City,  (VIS) - Under the theme of "Jesus himself came up and walked by their side", the first Integrated Meeting for the Pastoral Care of the Road/Street for the Continent of Africa and Madagascar is opening today in the Tanzanian capital of Dar-Es-Salaam.

The initiative, which has been promoted by the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples in collaboration with Tanzania's Episcopal Commission for Migrants and Itinerant Peoples, will examine certain crucial issues such as the position of women and girls who, engaged in voluntary and forced prostitution in Africa and Madagascar, become victims of new forms of slavery. "Unfortunately", reads a communique released by the pontifical council, "insufficient recognition of the dignity and rights of women means they have fewer opportunities for formation, work and respect".

The meeting will also examine the situation of street children and adolescents, a problem which arises from family, social and cultural contrasts on the continent. The causes which force women and children to live on the street include poverty, family violence, tribal and civil conflicts, superstition, organised criminality and exploitation.

Attention will also be given to the problems and requirements of transport workers who, on long journeys with low pay and no work or health insurance, have to face multiple difficulties, such as separation from their families, long waits at frontiers and fatigue.

All these issues will be examined in the light of the "Guidelines for the Pastoral Care of the Road" published by the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples in 2007, as well as that of two documents of Church Magisterium concerning the African continent and the mission of the Church there: the Apostolic Exhortations "Ecclesia in Africa" (1995) and "Africae Munus" (2011).

The meeting is being attended by more than eighty-five people from thirty-one African nations. They include bishops, priests, religious and lay people, delegates of various episcopal commissions for migrants and itinerant peoples, of Caritas internationalis and of religious institutes which dedicate their efforts to the pastoral care of people who live on or from the road.

During this afternoon's inaugural session a message will be read out, sent to the meeting in the Holy Father's name by Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. The first lecture will be given tomorrow by Bishop Joseph Kalathiparambil, secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples, who will present his dicastery's core document "Guidelines for the Pastoral Care of the Road", which includes the point of view not only of the "users" of the road, but also of the people who are obliged to live there. Bishop Kalathiparambil will emphasise the Church’s pastoral responsibility to denounce all forms of injustice, to defend the dignity of those exploited or mistreated by family or social situations, and to commit herself to helping them.

COLOMBIA: SOW THE GOSPEL TO REAP RECONCILIATION

Vatican City,  (VIS) - "The history of Colombia is indelibly marked by the profound Catholic faith of its its people, by their love for the Eucharist, their devotion to the Virgin Mary and the witness of charity of outstanding pastors and lay people. The announcement of the Gospel has produced fruit among you", said the Holy Father to a second group of prelates from the Episcopal Conference of Colombia, who have just completed their "ad limina" visit

Yet the Pope also noted how, in their reports, the bishops had drawn attention to "the devastating effects of increasing secularisation, which is affecting people's lifestyles and upsetting their scale of values, undermining the very foundation of Catholic faith, of marriage, the family and Christian morals". In this context, "tireless defence and promotion of the institution of the family continues to be a pastoral priority for you", he said. "Therefore, amidst the difficulties, I invite you not to lessen your efforts but to continue to proclaim the integral truth about the family, founded on marriage as a domestic Church and a shrine of life".

Benedict XVI then turned to focus on the Episcopal Conference of Colombia's Global Plan (2012-2020) and its overall objective of "promoting the processes of new evangelisation in order to form missionary disciples, encourage ecclesial communion and modify society on the basis of Gospel values. ... I accompany this intention with my prayers, asking God that, in putting it into effect, ministers of the Church may never cease to identify themselves with the sentiments of Christ, the Good Shepherd, going out to meet all people ... so as to offer them the light of His Word. Thus the dynamism of interior renewal will lead your compatriots to revitalise their love for the Lord, a source capable of infusing steadfast hope to live the faith responsibly and joyfully, and irradiate it on all sides".

The Pope went on to invite the bishops to consecrate "your best ministry to the priests, deacons and religious under your care, ... helping them to discern the truth of God's call that they may respond thereto with generosity and right intention. In this context, it would be appropriate for you, following to guidance of the Magisterium, to favour a revision of the content and methodology of their formation, seeking to ensure that it responds to the challenges of the present time and the urgent needs and requirements of the People of God".

Notwithstanding a number of hopeful signs, "violence continues to bring suffering, solitude, death and injustice to many of our brothers and sisters in Colombia", said the Holy Father. and he expressed his appreciation for "the pastoral mission which, often in places beset with difficulties and dangers, is being carried out in support of so many people who are unjustly suffering in your beloved nation". Finally he exhorted the episcopate to continue "to defend human life and cultivate peace, drawing inspiration from the example of our Saviour and humbly entreating His grace. Sow the Gospel and you will reap reconciliation, knowing that, wherever Christ reaches, harmony opens a way. hatred gives place to forgiveness and rivalry is transformed into fraternity".