LENT, A TIME FOR MORE INTENSE PRAYER AND PENANCE

VATICAN CITY, 26 FEB 2009 (VIS) - Yesterday afternoon, Ash Wednesday, Benedict XVI led a penitential procession from the church of Sant'Anselmo on Rome's Aventine Hill to the nearby basilica of Santa Sabina where he presided at a Eucharistic celebration. During the ceremony the ashes were imposed upon him by Cardinal Jozef Tomko, titular of Santa Sabina, after which the Pope himself imposed the ashes upon cardinals, bishops and a number of faithful.

  In his homily the Pope highlighted how "the call to conversion emerges as the dominant theme" in today's liturgy. Having then recalled how the Church is currently celebrating the two thousandth anniversary of the birth of St. Paul, he explained that the Apostle was "aware of having been chosen as an example. This exemplarity status concerns conversion, the transformation of his life brought about thanks to the merciful love of God".

  "St. Paul recognised that everything in him was the work of divine grace, yet he did not forget the need to accept freely the gift of new life received at Baptism".

  "How can we fulfil our baptismal vocation?" the Holy Father asked. "How can we emerge victorious from the battle between the flesh and the spirit, between good and evil, the battle that characterises our lives? Today's Gospel reading shows us three useful means to this end: prayer, alms and fasting.

  "In this context", he added, "we also find useful references in the life and writings of St. Paul". The Apostle exhorts us to "persevere" in prayer, and to "pray without ceasing". On the subject of almsgiving, he speaks of "the great collection in favour of our poor brethren" and underlines how "charity is the apex of a believer's life. ... He does not expressly mention fasting, but he often calls for sobriety as a characteristic of people called to live in vigilant expectation of the Lord".

  "May Lent", said Pope Benedict concluding his homily, "marked by more frequent contact with the Word of God, by more intense prayer, and by a severe and penitential lifestyle, be a stimulus to convert and to love our brothers and sisters, especially the poor and needy".
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HOLY FATHER MEETS PRIESTS OF DIOCESE OF ROME

VATICAN CITY, 26 FEB 2009 (VIS) - In a traditional annual appointment at the beginning of Lent, the Holy Father met this morning in the Vatican's Hall of Blessings with pastors and clergy of the diocese of Rome.
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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, 26 FEB 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed:

 - As consultors of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints: Fr. Priamo Etzi O.F.M., dean of the faculty of canon law at Rome's Pontifical "Antonianum" University, and Fr. Stephane Oppes O.F.M. professor at the faculty of philosophy of the same university.

 - Fr. Thomas Rosica C.S.B. as consultor of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.
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BRAZIL FRATERNITY CAMPAIGN: PEACE IS THE FRUIT OF JUSTICE

VATICAN CITY, 25 FEB 2009 (VIS) - Benedict XVI has sent a Message to Archbishop Geraldo Lyrio Rocha, president of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil, for the start today, Ash Wednesday, of the Fraternity Campaign traditionally promoted by the Brazilian Church during Lent. This year the campaign has as its theme: "Peace is the fruit of justice".

  In his Message the Pope refers to the Fifth General Conference of the Episcopate of Latin America and the Caribbean, held in the Brazilian city of Aparecida in 2007, and recalls how the final document of that gathering described the "clear signs of the presence of the Kingdom of God, in the individual and community experience of the Beatitudes, in the evangelisation of the poor, ... in universal access to the goods of creation, in mutual, sincere and fraternal forgiveness, ... and in the struggle not to succumb to the temptation of becoming slaves to evil".

  "Lent calls us to an unfailing struggle to do good, precisely because we know how difficult it is for us, as human beings, to dedicate ourselves seriously to the practice of justice, a justice more than ever necessary for a coexistence based on peace and love and not on hatred and indifference. Yet we know that, even if we achieve a reasonable distribution of wealth and a harmonious organisation of society, nothing can remove the pain of sickness, misunderstanding, solitude, the death of people we love, or an awareness of our own limitations".

  "Our Lord", the Holy Father writes, "abhors injustice and condemns those who practice it; yet He respects individual liberty and for this reason allows it to exist, because it forms part of the human condition after original sin. Despite this His heart, full of love for human beings, brought Him to shoulder, along with the cross, all our torments: our suffering, our sadness, our hunger, our thirst for justice. Let us ask him for the strength to bear witness to the same feelings of peace and reconciliation that inspired Him on the Sermon on the Mount, in order to achieve eternal Beatitude".
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REPERCUSSIONS OF ECONOMIC CRISIS ON HUMAN RIGHTS

VATICAN CITY, 25 FEB 2009 (VIS) - On 20 February Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi C.S., Holy See permanent observer to the United Nations at Geneva, participated in the tenth special session of the Human Rights Council, which focused on the world economic crisis and its repercussions on human rights.

  Speaking English, the prelate noted how the current crisis "has created a global recession causing dramatic social consequences, including the loss of millions of jobs and the serious risk that, for many of the developing countries, the Millennium Development Goals may not be reached. The human rights of countless persons are compromised, including the right to food, water, health and decent work".

  "In a recent document, the World Bank estimates that, in 2009, the current global economic crisis could push an additional 53 million people below the threshold of two dollars a day. This figure is in addition to the 130 million people pushed into poverty in 2008 by the increase in food and energy prices".

  "It is well known", the permanent observer went on, "that low-income countries are heavily dependent upon two financing flows: foreign aid and migrant remittances. Both flows are expected to decline significantly over the next months, due to the worsening of the economic crisis. ... The delegation of the Holy See would like to focus on a specific case in this crisis: its impact on the human rights of children, which exemplifies, as well, what is symptomatic of the destructive impact on all other social and economic rights. At present some important rights of poor people are heavily dependent on official aid flows and on workers' remittances. These include the right to health, education, and food. In several poor countries, in fact, educational, health and nutritional programmes are implemented with the help of aid flows from official donors. Should the economic crisis reduce this assistance, the successful completion of these programs could be threatened".

  "If the reduction of both aid and remittances continue, it will deprive children of the right to be educated creating a double negative consequence", noted Archbishop Tomasi. "Lower educational investment today, in fact, will be translated into lower future growth. At the same time, poor nutrition among children significantly worsens life expectancy by increasing both child and adult mortality rates. The negative economic consequences of this go beyond the personal dimension and affect entire societies".

  The nuncio then went on to consider another consequence of the crisis "that could be particularly relevant for the mandate of the United Nations: All too often, periods of severe economic hardship have been characterised by the rise in power of governments with dubious commitments to democracy. The Holy See prays that such consequences will be avoided in the present crisis, since they would result in a serious threat for the diffusion of basic human rights for which this institution has so tenaciously struggled.

  "The last fifty years have witnessed some great achievements in poverty reduction", he added in conclusion. "These achievements are at risk, and a coherent approach is required to preserve them through a renewed sense of solidarity, especially for the segments of population and for the countries more affected by the crisis".
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