The Holy See Permanent Observer to the United Nations, Archbishop Bernadito Auza spoke twice this week at the UN about peace-building and peace-keeping. Here’s a link to the great website of the Holy See Permanent Observer Mission to the United Nations: https://holyseemission.org/ Take a trip there some day if you want to understand the Holy See mission and what the Catholic Church’s position is on a myriad of issues.
I expect that soon this Holy See office in New York and/or the press office here in Rome will be making a statement on today’s breakthrough meeting between the two leaders of North and South Korea at the demilitarized zone. This is the meeting for which Pope Francis, at last Wednesday’s general audience, asked for prayers
As I write this column – 4:35 pm local time – there is no Vatican statement on the meeting in Korea.
VATICAN INSIDER CELEBRATES FR. LLOYD, 97 AND 70 YEARS A PAULIST
Join me this weekend on “Vatican Insider” for Part II of my conversation with Paulist Father Jim Lloyd. We had a great visit over the Easter holidays at the Paulist Motherhouse in NY where I was a guest for a few days. He had just turned 97 and on May 1st he will celebrate his 70th anniversary as a priest!!
The Paulists, of course, have been in Rome since 1922 when they were asked to care for the Catholic American community in the Eternal City. Our home now is St. Patrick’s Church on Via Boncompagni in central Rome.
Fr. Jim began our conversation by telling me about his amazing parents – his Jewish father and Irish Catholic mother, both of whom starred for years in Vaudeville! We cover his multi-faceted and very rich priestly life and ministries and this week talk about his NBC TV show “Inquiry” – and so much more! You will be riveted by every facet of his life! Not a dull second in our conversation!
As I said last week, I only wish that Vatican Insider was TV instead of radio so you could see Father Jim’s sparkling blue eyes and feel his enthusiasm and joy when he talks about the amazing, different periods in his life as a priest. One thing you will hear him says several times is that, no matter what he was doing, he always wore his Roman collar so people would know he was a priest.
In the United States, you can listen to Vatican Insider (VI) on a Catholic radio station near you (there is a list of U.S. stations at http://www.ewtn.com) or on channel 130 Sirius-XM satellite radio. Outside the U.S., you can listen to EWTN radio on our website home page by clicking on the right side where you see “LISTEN TO EWTN.” Vatican Insider airs Saturday mornings at 9:00am (ET). On the SKY satellite feed to the UK and parts of Europe, VI airs on audio channel 0147 at 11:30 am CET on Saturdays, and 5:30am and 10pm CET on Sundays. It’s also available on demand on the EWTN app and on the website. CHECK YOUR TIME ZONE. Here’s a link to download VI to your iTunes library: http://www.ewtn.com/se/pg/DatService.svc/feed/~LE.xml For VI archives: http://www.ewtn.com/vondemand/audio/file_index.asp?SeriesId=7096&pgnu=
PEACE-BUILDING DESERVES ATTENTION OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
The Holy See Permanent Observer to the United Nations spoke at two high level UN meetings in New York calling on them to increase peace-building efforts and to seek peace in Syria.
By Sr Bernadette Mary Reis, fsp
The Holy See Permanent Observer to the United Nations, Archbishop Bernardito Auza, addressed participants in the High-Level Meeting on Peace-building and Sustaining Peace at the United Nations headquarters in New York, which took place on April 24-25, 2018. Archbishop Auza presented five priorities on behalf of the Holy See. (photo vaticanmedia)
Increase peace-building efforts
The Archbishop stated that the United Nations “can and should recommit itself to, and scale up, its peace-building efforts.” Unified and broad action, effective transitional strategies, analysis, better and more coherent synergy, and constant adjustment were among his recommendations.
Preventive diplomacy
Identifying beforehand the presence of factors, such as corruption, that destabilize nations would lead toward preventive diplomacy. Where potential conflicts are foreseen, “the international community should focus on institutional and capacity building,” the archbishop said.
Address arms trafficking
Archbishop Auza called the end of both the trafficking of arms and the illicit funding behind it to be “essential elements to sustaining peace.” He added that former combatants can be invited to “become a part of a peaceful solution” through “demobilization and reintegration” strategies.
Involving all sectors of society
Lasting peace can only be attained when all sectors of society are involved. The Holy See representative specifically mentioned women, saying they “must play an active role” along the entire spectrum of conflict prevention and resolution.
Justice and accountability
Unless justice and accountability are “seriously addressed,” successful transition from conflict to peace is not attainable. “Justice and legal accountability are essential vectors of reconciliation, not its opposite,” Archbishop Auza said. In the absence of prosecution and punishment at the local level, he said that, “the International Criminal Court must play its full role.”
Conflicts in the Middle East
In a separate address to the Security Council Open Debate on the situation in the Middle East on April 26, Archbishop Auza addressed the ongoing conflicts in that region.
Syria
Archbishop Auza reiterated Pope Francis’ appeal to negotiation in Syria as the only way “that can bring about peace and not death and destruction.” It is the UN Security Council, he said, that is the “key actor” ensuring that all efforts to end the conflict in Syria are guided by international law.
Yemen
He concurred with the Secretary General’s definition of the war in Yemen as a “stupid war,” calling it the world’s largest humanitarian, entirely man-made catastrophe. He called on the international community to “give much greater attention to this conflict, where civilians are paying a huge price in a senseless war that has been overshadowed by other conflicts in the region.”
Israel and Palestine
Calling for “a renewed commitment” for completely violence-free peace talks leading toward a Two-State solution, the archbishop reiterated the Holy See’s position. He stated that it is the only “viable way of fulfilling the aspirations for peaceful co-existence among Israelis and Palestinians alike.” Regarding Jerusalem, he stated that the Holy See sees it as an “obligation of all Nations to respect the historical status quo of the Holy City.”
Joan's Rome 