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Last Updated: 19 February 2013

VATICAN CITY, MAY 23, 2007 (VIS) - Benedict XVI's recent apostolic trip to Brazil was the theme of his general audience, held this morning in St. Peter's Square in the presence of 25,000 people.

"My journey," said the Pope, "was primarily an act of praise to God for the 'wonders' worked among the people of Latin America, and for the faith that has animated their lives and culture over more than 500 years."

The Holy Father recalled how "the relationship between faith and culture" was always something dear to the hearts of his predecessors Paul VI and John Paul II. "I have sought to follow their example," he said, "confirming the Church in Latin America and the Caribbean on her journey in a faith that has become living history, popular piety and art, in dialogue with the rich pre- Colombian traditions and with the many influences from Europe and other continents.

"Of course," he added, "remembrance of a glorious past cannot ignore the shadows that accompanied the work of evangelization on the Latin American continent: ... the suffering and injustices inflicted by the colonizers on the indigenous peoples whose fundamental human rights were often trampled underfoot. But the obligatory mention of those unjustifiable crimes, condemned even at the time by missionaries like Bartolomeo de las Casas and theologians such as Francisco de Vitoria, ... must not prevent us from recognizing with gratitude the marvelous work achieved by divine grace among those peoples over the course of the centuries."

On the Latin American continent, the Holy Father continued, "the Gospel has become ... the mainstay of a dynamic synthesis that has different aspects in the different nations but everywhere expresses the identity of the Latin American people."

Returning to the subject of his trip, Benedict XVI observed that "Brazil is a great country that upholds profoundly rooted Christian values, but it also suffers enormous social and economic problems. In order to help solve them, the Church must mobilize all the spiritual and moral strength of her communities, seeking suitable points of agreement with other wholesome forces in the country."

"Brazil is also a country capable of offering the world a new model of development. In fact, Christian culture can encourage a 'reconciliation' between mankind and the creation on the basis of the restoration of personal dignity in the relationship with God the Father." In this context, the Holy Father mentioned his visit to the "Fazenda da Esperanca" association for the rehabilitation of people with problems of drug and alcohol abuse, which also incorporates a community of Poor Clares. "I felt that this," he said, "is emblematic for the world today, which certainly needs psychological and social 'rehabilitation,' but even more so spiritual rehabilitation."

Another important moment of the Pope's Brazil visit was the canonization of Frei Antonio de Santa Ana Galvao, "a man of peace and charity whose witness is a further confirmation that sanctity is the true revolution capable of promoting authentic reform of the Church and society."

Commenting on his meeting in Sao Paulo cathedral with Brazilian bishops - "the largest episcopal conference in the world" - the Pope recalled how "I encouraged my confreres to advance and reinforce their commitment to the new evangelization, urging them to further ... the diffusion of the Word of God, so that the innate and widespread religiosity of the people may deepen and become a mature faith, an individual and community adherence to the God of Jesus Christ."

"I recognize the dedication of these faithful servants who wish to present the Gospel, without reduction or confusion, safeguarding the deposit of faith. ... Their constant concern is to promote social development, especially through the formation of the laity who are called to take on roles of responsibility in the political and economic fields."

The Pope then turned to consider his meeting with young people, whom he encouraged "take advantage of the great 'richness' of youth in order to become the young face of the Church."

Finally, he recalled the culminating point of his trip to Brazil, the inauguration of the Fifth General Conference of the Episcopate of Latin America and the Caribbean at the Shrine of Our Lady in the Brazilian city of Aparecida. The theme of the conference is "Disciples and missionaries in Jesus Christ, that in Him our peoples may have life ('I am the Way and the Truth and the Life')."

"The word 'disciple'," said the Pope, "suggests the idea of formation and of following [a master], the term 'missionary' expresses the fruit of discipleship, in other words bearing witness to and communicating a real experience: the truth known and assimilated. ... Joyfully renewing the will to be disciples of Jesus ... is the fundamental condition for being His missionaries who 'start again from Christ,' to use the words of Pope John Paul II to the entire Church following the Jubilee 2000."

"With my apostolic trip," Pope Benedict concluded, "I wished to exhort people to continue along this path, presenting the unifying perspective of the Encyclical 'Deus caritas est,' a perspective that is inextricably social and theological and that can be summed up in this expression: 'it is love that gives life'."

Before the audience, the Pope blessed a statue of St. Jose Manyanet (1833- 1901) which has been placed in a niche on the exterior of the apse of St. Peter's Basilica. This Spanish saint promoted the building of the cathedral of the Holy Family in Barcelona, Spain and founded the "Sons of the Holy Family" and the "Missionary Daughters of the Holy Family of Nazareth" to support the Christian education of children and adolescents.

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VATICAN CITY, MAY 23, 2007 (VIS) - Yesterday, Archbishop Celestino Migliore, permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations in New York, delivered an address to the 61st session of the UN General Assembly which is meeting to consider the theme: "Implementation of the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS."

Speaking English, Archbishop Migliore referred to the "detailed and comprehensive report of the secretary general" which "lists the greatest challenges: caring for the 39.5 million people presently living with HIV; reducing the number of people dying annually from AIDS, which in 2006 was 2.9 million; preventing new infections, which currently run at some 4 million per year; and taking special care of young people, who accounted for 40 percent of new infections last year."

"The Holy See," he went on, "seizes this occasion to re-affirm its commitment to intensify its response to this disease, through its ongoing support for a world-wide network of some 1,600 hospitals, 6,000 clinics, and 12,000 initiatives of a charitable and social nature in developing countries."

The Holy See, said the permanent observer, "believes that providing information and opportunities for an education respectful of naturally based values is essential both in the development of scientific advancement and for personal prevention."

Archbishop Migliore concluded by encouraging all States "to be more forthcoming in providing accurate numbers with respect to monitoring and evaluation, however difficult this may be. A factual understanding as to where the world community stands on this matter will serve us well as we attempt to address all the problems associated with HIV/AIDS and to care for all."

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Beirut, May. 22, 2007 (CWNews.com) - Lebanon's leading Catholic prelate has charged that Syrian influence remains the main obstacle to peace in that country.

“All the country’s bishops are in agreement that the Syrian occupation, which is the cause of conflict in Lebanon, must end," the Maronite Catholic Patriarch Nasrallah Pierre Sfeir said in a May 22 interview with Vatican Radio.

The Maronite leader spoke to Vatican Radio as violence flared in Lebanon, with car bombings in Beirut and heavy government shelling of a refuge camp near Tripoli that is the stronghold of a Syrian-based militia group.

Cardinal Sfeir, who has long been critical of Syrian influence in Lebanon, called for international leadership to help the country escape from foreign domination. "New initiatives are necessary" to break Syria's control over Lebanon, he said.

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Jerusalem, May. 22, 2007 (CWNews.com) - Jerusalem's Latin-rite Patriarch Michel Sabbah has echoed the recent appeal by Pope Benedict XVI for international leaders to promote peace talks between Israel and Palestine.

"There is a need for new initiatives by the international community to end the violence in the Holy Land," said the Patriarch, speaking to a Vatican Radio audience on May 22. "One does not see the possibility for dialogue" between the conflicting parties now, he said. Without some help from abroad, he said, "we are in a hopeless situation."

Patriarch Sabbah said that the Pope's words to world leaders, issued during his Sunday public audience on May 20, "help us not to lose hope." He said that he hoped the Pope's appeal for international leadership would be answered, "because this is not a local but an international conflict."

The Patriarch said that the Catholic Church in the Middle East is building peace through inter-religious dialogue and by promoting the dignity of every man, regardless of nationality or creed.

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Vienna, May. 22, 2007 (CWNews.com) - Orthodox Bishop Hilarion of Vienna is pressing the government of Austria to grant official legal status to his Russian Orthodox diocese.

In a meeting with Australian parliamentary speaker Barbara Prammer, Bishop Hilarion noted that the absence of formal recognition hampers the Russian Orthodox Church in efforts to set up new parishes. Although the government recognizes several Orthodox groups, Austrian law currently offers full legal status only to the representative of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

In Eastern Europe, representatives of the Moscow patriarchate have frequently complained about efforts by Catholics to make inroads in societies that are traditionally Orthodox.

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"The Great Mobility of Peoples Is Interweaving Us in One Cloth of Faith"

APARECIDA, Brazil, MAY 22, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the report Bishop William Skylstad of Washington, president of the U.S. episcopal conference, delivered last week at the 5th General Conference of the Episcopate of Latin America and the Caribbean.

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Dear brothers in the episcopate of Latin America, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, receive my cordial greeting on behalf of all the bishops of the episcopal conference of the United States. For my brother bishops from the delegation of the United States and myself, it is an honor to be able to participate in this 5th General Conference of the Episcopate of Latin America and the Caribbean and benefit from the abundance of grace that we are receiving during these three weeks of prayer, study and commitment. We want to have solidarity in the task of evangelizing this entire continent.

How could we fail to recall with profound gratitude the collaboration and closeness there has been between our peoples throughout our history? In many key moments, we have made of our continent, one America, one Church, as the Servant of God John Paul II reminded us. Many of our first parishes and some of the cathedrals of the United States were built with help coming from countries like Mexico, Cuba and Argentina.

In 1965, during the last session of the Second Vatican Council, the prelates of the United States agreed to carry out, through the bishops, an annual national collection to offer economic support to the Church's pastoral projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. The committee offers help to the Church's projects especially related to the application of the conclusions from Vatican II, from the 2nd general conferences of Latin American bishops in Medellin and from the 3rd general conference of Latin American bishops in Puebla. It gives special priority to the pastoral programs and projects that offer the Church in Latin America a base on which to plan its actions efficiently. In the same way, it will be at the service of the initiatives and priorities that arise from our conference in Aparecida.

In 2003, the bishops of the United States and Mexico approved the historic declaration "Together on the Journey of Hope," in which both episcopates joined to examine the impact of migration on the social, political and spiritual life of the two countries. Motivated by the call of the Holy Father for a "new evangelization" and a greater unity among the Catholics of this hemisphere, the bishops offered a detailed guide to all of those who minister to immigrants, and concrete steps for improving pastoral experiences. The declaration also offered a political recommendation to the two nations for respecting the dignity of the immigrant.

Since 2004, we have cooperated with CELAM [the Latin American bishops' council] in the project of translating the Bible of the Church in America; the bishops' council of the Unites States has committed itself to funding for the next 10 years -- using the funds from the collection for the Church in Latin America -- the preparation of a Bible for pastoral and liturgical use for the entire American continent.

Together with the bishops of Latin America, the bishops of the United States share a pastoral concern for young people. In June of 2006, in Notre Dame University, the first encounter for Latin American youth was held. This encounter showed the vigor and quality of the Catholic faith that immigrant youth have brought to this country. We were pleased that a delegation from CELAM honored us with their presence.

In these moments, we are concerned about the immigration reform that is being considered in the United States Congress. I ask your prayers as we continue fighting for a just and broad immigration reform that respects the dignity of the human being and promotes the integrity of immigrant families.

I echo the words of the Holy Father Benedict XVI in his message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees: "Dear friends, the reality of immigration should never be seen as just a problem, but rather also and above all as a great resource for the journey of humanity." The great mobility of peoples is interweaving us in one cloth of faith, rich in diversity and culture. Those who go in search of paths of hope and life demand from their pastors that we are in fraternal communion and committed to giving an answer in solidarity with them.

[Translation by ZENIT]

Code: ZE07052218

Date: 2007-05-22