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Washington D.C., June 2014 Editor-in-Chief: Fr. Ezio Marchetto, C.S. Executive Editor: Francesco Isgrò Editorial Board: Pino Cicala, Enrico
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“The world has grown too small to forgive us any big mistakes” Pope Francis, Presidents, Pray for Peace in Holy Land It seems that every day in the news to the neglect of Haiti and many other there are images of nature’s destructive Caribbean, South American, African and power. The occurrences are becoming Asian countries. Perhaps the immediate more and more frequent and multiplying solidarity that followed the earthquake, with an increasing intensity with expressed, among other things, a sense of devastating floods, tornados, terrible guilt on the part of countries at the peak storms, earthquakes, extreme cold and of progress. It was a way to compensate heat, excess rain, snow and landslides. and remove the indifference of the In light of this, we should then ask past; hence the rush, the race and often ourselves: Are they simply natural the chaos in organizing humanitarian disasters or are they the violent reactions relief. The seismic movements of nature to the equally violent action earthquakes, revolutions, technological of humanity against or political, cultural It is urgent to develop the very same nature? or social - lay bare the The sad reality is that, scars of a forgotten a coexistence with most of the time, the people, but they also victims are thousands our planet, and all its teach us a lesson. or even millions of Disasters tend to life forms, that is just, lay waste the most people who are killed, injured, maimed, or united, peaceful and disadvantaged sectors left homeless. Cities of society, the neglected sustainable. are devastated and and the defenseless entire countries are population. gripped with suffering. In this perspective, In direct proportion to disasters, wealth and poverty are not two phases we see an increase of the so-called of development, but two sides of same “climate refugees,” a new and coin. One is the origin and cause of the increasingly present group in the world other. The accumulation of a sector is of human mobility.Lonely, lost and borne by the misery of another. The homeless. Where to go? Where to flee? paranoia of growth as a panacea for International organizations such as all ills should be replaced by a broader CARE International and the UN have and better distribution of international predicted that by 2050, climate change income and the benefits of progress. will force 50 million people to leave It is, then, urgent to develop a their homeland, refugees from drought coexistence with our planet and all its and floods that will alter the geography life forms that is just, united, peaceful of the earth. and sustainable. Only then will people A few years ago, Haiti was the like those in Haiti, and many other victim of a terrifying earthquake and, Caribbean, African, Asian and Latin fortunately, global solidarity directed American countries be protected its attention to this small poor country against the deadly wrath of certain in the Caribbean. In Haiti, poor health, tragedies, which are the source of so housing and public transportation and much international migration today. the minimum consumption of caloric To repeat: by 2050, climate change intake was well known -- known, but will force 50 million people to leave also historically ignored! The truth is their homeland, refugees from drought that the world at large, and especially and floods that will alter the geography rich countries have continued to march of the earth. –Fr. Ezio Marchetto towards progress completely indifferent
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Pope Francis called on God to act where human efforts have failed, to end violence in the Holy Land. “More than once we have been on the verge of peace, but the evil one, employing a variety of means, has succeeded in blocking it,” the Pope said at a recent ceremony in the Vatican Gardens.” That is why we are here, because we know and we believe that we need the help of God.” The Pope addressed his remarks to Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during an “invocation for peace,” to which he had invited the leaders during his earlier
in each other's presence at the event, perhaps the first of its kind at the Vatican. Joining the leaders were Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, Franciscan Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, coordinator of the event, and various Muslim, Jewish and Druze religious figures. Members of the Palestinian and Israeli delegations and guests of Pope Francis read a selection of Jewish, Christian and Muslim prayers. Each set of prayers praised God for creation, begged forgiveness of sins and asked for peace in the Holy Land. Patriarch Bartholomew read from
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President Mahmoud Abbas, Pope Francis, President Shimon Peres visit in the Holy Land. “I was young, now I am old. I experienced war, I tasted peace,” Peres said. “Never will I forget the bereaved families, parents and children, who paid the cost of war. And all my life I shall never stop to act for peace for the generations to come. Let's all of us join hands and make it happen.” The Palestinian president said, “We want peace for us and for our neighbors. We seek prosperity and peace of mind for ourselves and for others alike.” Christians, Muslims and Jews prayed
the Book of Isaiah, “The wolf and the lamb shall feed together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox; but the serpent – its food shall be dust.” At the end of the ceremony, which lasted nearly two hours, the Pope, Patriarch and the two Presidents kissed each other on both cheeks, then took up shovels and placed dirt at the base of a newly planted olive tree. They then met privately at the nearby Casina Pio IV, a 16th-century villa that houses several pontifical academies. –CNS and other news reports.