As I write, an inter-religious prayer service is taking place at the Ground Zero Memorial in New York. The Pope placed flowers at the site and met with 20 family members of first responders killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Pope and Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York, will visit the Memorial Museum.
Just before 4 pm local time today, the Holy Father will visit Our Lady Queen of Angels school in Brooklyn, an elementary school for students from low income families, most of whom receive scholarships to attend this school. Pope Francis will meet children and families of immigrants. At 6 pm Friday he celebrates Mass at Madison Square Garden.
Saturday and Sunday, Pope Francis will be in Philadelphia for the long-awaited World Meeting of Families under the leadership of Abp. Charles Chaput of Philadelphia. The weekend includes Mass with bishops, clergy and religious of Pennsylvania and, at Independence National Historical Park, an encounter for religious freedom with the Hispanic community and other immigrants. Afterwards the Pope transfers to Benjamin Franklin Parkway for the Festival of Families and prayer vigil for the World Meeting of Families.
Sunday the Pope meets with bishops, visits a correctional facility and, at 4 pm, celebrates Mass for the 8th World Meeting of Families. His plane for Rome departs Philadelphia at 8 pm Sunday.
VATICAN INSIDER PRESENTS JULIANA BIONDO AND “PATRUM”
I urge you this week not to miss “Vatican Insider” and my fascinating conversation with Juliana Biondo, creator of the app called PATRUM for the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican. A native of Baltimore, Juliana is a young, enthusiastic, dedicated member of the Patrons team with a great love for art and also for modern technology. You will not want to miss a minute of this conversation! It truly would be your loss!
It is such fun to be around young people today! The ones I know – and now I add Juliana to that list! – seem to be ultra-talented, intelligent, exuberant youths, far-sighted young people with a passion for life and all the newness it brings every day – and technology is certainly a part of that! And you will see this when Juliana explains PATRUM and how the idea for this app came about and what she anticipates bringing to it on a daily basis. It is available now only for Apple products but the Android app is under development.
As you know, in the United States, you can listen to Vatican Insider on a Catholic radio station near you (there is a list of U.S. stations at www.ewtn.com) or on Sirius-XM satellite radio. If you live 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 9:30 am (Eastern time) and re-airs Sundays at 4:30 pm (ET). Check for your time zone. Past shows are found in Vatican Insider archives: http://www.ewtn.com/vondemand/audio/file_index.asp?SeriesId=7096&pgnu=
POPE ADDRESSES U.N. AS IT MARKS ITS 70TH ANNIVERSARY
In a highly anticipated speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Pope Francis Friday afternoon spoke of the protection of the environment, the protection of man, in particular, the poor, marginalized, excluded and victims of war and violence, today’s “culture of waste,” and the effects of a globalized economy that runs rampant, which too often leads to social exclusion with, “its baneful consequences: human trafficking, the marketing of human organs and tissues, the sexual exploitation of boys and girls, slave labour, including prostitution, the drug and weapons trade, terrorism and international organized crime.”
The Holy Father’s Spanish-language talk was 3,700 words in length. Translations were on the Vatican website, news.va and simultaneous interpretation was offered at U.N. headquarters.
His entire address in English can be found here: http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-addresses-the-un-general-assembly
Following are some of the salient paragraphs:
“…the experience of the past seventy years has made it clear that reform and adaptation to the times is always necessary in the pursuit of the ultimate goal of granting all countries, without exception, a share in, and a genuine and equitable influence on, decision-making processes. The need for greater equity is especially true in the case of those bodies with effective executive capability, such as the Security Council, the Financial Agencies and the groups or mechanisms specifically created to deal with economic crises. This will help limit every kind of abuse or usury, especially where developing countries are concerned. The International Financial Agencies are should care for the sustainable development of countries and should ensure that they are not subjected to oppressive lending systems which, far from promoting progress, subject people to mechanisms which generate greater poverty, exclusion and dependence.”
“The work of the United Nations, according to the principles set forth in the Preamble and the first Articles of its founding Charter, can be seen as the development and promotion of the rule of law, based on the realization that justice is an essential condition for achieving the ideal of universal fraternity. In this context, it is helpful to recall that the limitation of power is an idea implicit in the concept of law itself. To give to each his own, to cite the classic definition of justice, means that no human individual or group can consider itself absolute, permitted to bypass the dignity and the rights of other individuals or their social groupings. The effective distribution of power (political, economic, defense-related, technological, etc.) among a plurality of subjects, and the creation of a juridical system for regulating claims and interests, are one concrete way of limiting power.”
“First, it must be stated that a true ‘right of the environment’ does exist, for two reasons. First, because we human beings are part of the environment. We live in communion with it, since the environment itself entails ethical limits which human activity must acknowledge and respect. … Second, because every creature, particularly a living creature, has an intrinsic value, in its existence, its life, its beauty and its interdependence with other creatures. We Christians, together with the other monotheistic religions, believe that the universe is the fruit of a loving decision by the Creator, who permits man respectfully to use creation for the good of his fellow men and for the glory of the Creator; he is not authorized to abuse it, much less to destroy it. In all religions, the environment is a fundamental good (cf. ibid.).
“The misuse and destruction of the environment are also accompanied by a relentless process of exclusion. In effect, a selfish and boundless thirst for power and material prosperity leads both to the misuse of available natural resources and to the exclusion of the weak and disadvantaged, either because they are differently abled (handicapped), or because they lack adequate information and technical expertise, or are incapable of decisive political action. Economic and social exclusion is a complete denial of human fraternity and a grave offense against human rights and the environment. The poorest are those who suffer most from such offenses, for three serious reasons: they are cast off by society, forced to live off what is discarded and suffer unjustly from the abuse of the environment. They are part of today’s widespread and quietly growing “culture of waste.”
“…The classic definition of justice which I mentioned earlier contains as one of its essential elements a constant and perpetual will: Iustitia est constans et perpetua voluntas ius sum cuique tribuendi. Our world demands of all government leaders a will which is effective, practical and constant, concrete steps and immediate measures for preserving and improving the natural environment and thus putting an end as quickly as possible to the phenomenon of social and economic exclusion, with its baneful consequences: human trafficking, the marketing of human organs and tissues, the sexual exploitation of boys and girls, slave labour, including prostitution, the drug and weapons trade, terrorism and international organized crime. Such is the magnitude of these situations and their toll in innocent lives, that we must avoid every temptation to fall into a declarationist nominalism which would assuage our consciences. We need to ensure that our institutions are truly effective in the struggle against all these scourges.”
“… It must never be forgotten that political and economic activity is only effective when it is understood as a prudential activity, guided by a perennial concept of justice and constantly conscious of the fact that, above and beyond our plans and programmes, we are dealing with real men and women who live, struggle and suffer, and are often forced to live in great poverty, deprived of all rights.
“To enable these real men and women to escape from extreme poverty, we must allow them to be dignified agents of their own destiny. Integral human development and the full exercise of human dignity cannot be imposed. They must be built up and allowed to unfold for each individual, for every family, in communion with others, and in a right relationship with all those areas in which human social life develops – friends, communities, towns and cities, schools, businesses and unions, provinces, nations, etc. This presupposes and requires the right to education – also for girls (excluded in certain places) – which is ensured first and foremost by respecting and reinforcing the primary right of the family to educate its children, as well as the right of churches and social groups to support and assist families in the education of their children. Education conceived in this way is the basis for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and for reclaiming the environment.
“At the same time, government leaders must do everything possible to ensure that all can have the minimum spiritual and material means needed to live in dignity and to create and support a family, which is the primary cell of any social development. In practical terms, this absolute minimum has three names: lodging, labour, and land; and one spiritual name: spiritual freedom, which includes religious freedom, the right to education and other civil rights.”
“Without the recognition of certain incontestable natural ethical limits and without the immediate implementation of those pillars of integral human development, the ideal of “saving succeeding generations from the scourge of war” (Charter of the United Nations, Preamble), and “promoting social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom” (ibid.), risks becoming an unattainable illusion, or, even worse, idle chatter which serves as a cover for all kinds of abuse and corruption, or for carrying out an ideological colonization by the imposition of anomalous models and lifestyles which are alien to people’s identity and, in the end, irresponsible.
“War is the negation of all rights and a dramatic assault on the environment. If we want true integral human development for all, we must work tirelessly to avoid war between nations and between peoples.
To this end, there is a need to ensure the uncontested rule of law and tireless recourse to negotiation, mediation and arbitration, as proposed by the Charter of the United Nations, which constitutes truly a fundamental juridical norm….”
“ … Strongly opposed to such statements, and in practice denying them, is the constant tendency to the proliferation of arms, especially weapons of mass distraction, such as nuclear weapons. An ethics and a law based on the threat of mutual destruction – and possibly the destruction of all mankind – are self-contradictory and an affront to the entire framework of the United Nations, which would end up as “nations united by fear and distrust.
“The recent agreement reached on the nuclear question in a sensitive region of Asia and the Middle East is proof of the potential of political good will and of law, exercised with sincerity, patience and constancy. I express my hope that this agreement will be lasting and efficacious, and bring forth the desired fruits with the cooperation of all the parties involved.
“… While regretting to have to do so, I must renew my repeated appeals regarding to the painful situation of the entire Middle East, North Africa and other African countries, where Christians, together with other cultural or ethnic groups, and even members of the majority religion who have no desire to be caught up in hatred and folly, have been forced to witness the destruction of their places of worship, their cultural and religious heritage, their houses and property, and have faced the alternative either of fleeing or of paying for their adhesion to good and to peace by their own lives, or by enslavement.
“These realities should serve as a grave summons to an examination of conscience on the part of those charged with the conduct of international affairs. Not only in cases of religious or cultural persecution, but in every situation of conflict, as in Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, Libya, South Sudan and the Great Lakes region, real human beings take precedence over partisan interests, however legitimate the latter may be. In wars and conflicts there are individual persons, our brothers and sisters, men and women, young and old, boys and girls who weep, suffer and die. Human beings who are easily discarded when our only response is to draw up lists of problems, strategies and disagreements.”
“Along the same lines I would mention another kind of conflict which is not always so open, yet is silently killing millions of people. Another kind of war experienced by many of our societies as a result of the narcotics trade. A war which is taken for granted and poorly fought. Drug trafficking is by its very nature accompanied by trafficking in persons, money laundering, the arms trade, child exploitation and other forms of corruption.”
“The common home of all men and women must continue to rise on the foundations of a right understanding of universal fraternity and respect for the sacredness of every human life, of every man and every woman, the poor, the elderly, children, the infirm, the unborn, the unemployed, the abandoned, those considered disposable because they are only considered as part of a statistic. This common home of all men and women must also be built on the understanding of a certain sacredness of created nature.
“Such understanding and respect call for a higher degree of wisdom, one which accepts transcendence, rejects the creation of an all-powerful élite, and recognizes that the full meaning of individual and collective life is found in selfless service to others and in the sage and respectful use of creation for the common good.”
PAPAL PORTRAIT UNVEILED IN WASHINGTON
Internationally known portrait artist, Igor Babailov, officially unveiled his portrait of Pope Francis yesterday afternoon at the apostolic nunciature, the Vatican embassy, in Washington. The painting commemorates the historic visit of the Holy Father to the United States. Babailov has painted the official portraits of some of the most important leaders in our century including presidents, prime ministers, royalty and celebrities and three Popes.
In a press release about the unveiling, Babailov says, “My painting of Pope Francis which I called ‘The Holy Cross,’ is more than a portrait in the traditional sense. It is a story of the Pope told through symbols with the Pontiff’s figure in the center. It tells of His Holiness’s mission of love, faith and devotion to help the needy and bring people of the world together. During the unveiling of the painting, the Holy Father said to me ‘It is inspirational, it touches me!’”
In this photo, Igor is explaining the symbolism to Pope Francis: They are joined by Msgr. Mark Miles, who has been the papal translator throughout the trip so far and Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, the apostolic nuncio. Behind Igor is Alberto Gasbarri, the papal trip advance man.
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His portrait of St. John Paul II hangs in the Vatican in Castelgandolfo and his portrait of Pope Benedict XVI hangs in the Vatican in Rome. Pope emeritus Benedict XVI personally selected Babailov’s portrait to represent his papacy in the Vatican Splendor’s museum tour in the US, where more than 200 artifacts that had never left the Vatican Museums, were displayed. Igor Babailov was the only living artist to exhibit alongside Michelangelo.
Pope Francis’ portrait –
I have known Mary and Igor for many years and we get together each time they come to Rome. The last time Mary and Igor were in Rome, as a matter of fact, Igor sat close to Pope Francis during a Wednesday general audience so he could capture the Pope’s expressions, movements, etc.
Igor has told me he relies on his hand drawings, on sketches done in the presence of the person whose portrait he will do. He said he cannot work from photographs because he feels he cannot capture the essence the spirit, the soul of his subject through a photo, And yet, one of his most famous portraits, such as that of George Washington, have been done based on previous paintings. (Here is his website: www.babailov.com).
Mary said in an email to me with the two photos, “Words cannot communicate yesterday, only love could.”
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Joan's Rome 