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Pope Calls for Commission to Study Possibiliy of Women Deacons by Salvatore Cernuzio on 12 May, 2016
Today during an audience with some 900 women religious belonging to the International Union of Superiors General (UISG), Pope Francis said it would be good to establish a commission to study if it is possible to have female deacons.
Responding off-the-cuff to the sisters’ questions, Francis said it would be “useful to have a commission that clarifies well” the practice of the early Church in this regard. “It’s a page that is somewhat obscure,” noted the Pope, saying that to “constitute an official commission could be a way to answer these questions.”
Moreover, Francis underscored, “to clarify this point would do good to the Church.”
“I will do this. I accept,” he said to the Sisters. “It seems to me useful to have a commission that clarifies this role.”
Pope’s Morning Homily: No Witness Where Christians Aren’t United by Deborah Castellano Lubov on 12 May, 2016
Christians seek unity; those who “sow weeds” divide.
According to Vatican Radio, the Holy Father stressed this during his daily morning Mass today at Casa Santa Marta, as he discussed how Jesus wanted Christians to be in harmony, not warring.
The Pontiff drew his inspiration from when Jesus, before the Passion, prays for “the unity of believers, of the Christian community,” so that they might be one—as He and the Father are one—that the world might believe.
“The unity of the Christian community, of the Christian family, is a witness: a witness to the fact that the Father has sent the Son,” yet, the Pope lamented, “our Church history makes us ashamed so often.”
Where “Christians make war among themselves,” Pope Francis said, “there is no witness.”
“We have to ask, very often, for forgiveness from the Lord for this history! A history so many times of division—but not just in the past… Also today!”
“And the world sees that we are divided and says: “But let them come to an agreement among themselves, then we’ll see… How, if Jesus is Risen and alive, are these, His disciples, not in accord with one another?”
The Pope then recalled a conversation in which a Latin-rite Catholic asks another Catholic from the East.“My Christ rises the day after tomorrow. When does yours rise?”
“We are not even united in Easter!” the Pope lamented, “And this in the whole world. And the world does not believe.”
‘Weed-sowers’
It was through “the envy of the devil,” the Pope explained, “that death entered the world.”
Also, in the Christian community, selfishness, jealousy, envy, divisions are “almost habitual,” the Pope lamented, noting this leads to people speaking about one another behind their backs.
In Argentina, he shared, “these people are called ‘weed-sowers.’” (It: “zizzaniere”).
“They sow weeds, they divide. And here divisions begin with the tongue. Through envy, jealousy, and also being closed! ‘No! The doctrine is this!’” Words, Francis said, “are capable of destroying a family, a community, a society; of sowing hatred and war.”
Rather than seek clarification, “it is easier to talk behind people’s backs” and to destroy “the reputation of the other.”
“Speaking about others behind their back is like this: it dirties the other. The one who does so makes things dirty! He destroys! He destroys the reputation, he destroys the life, and so many times—so many times!—without reason, contrary to the truth. Jesus has prayed for us, for all of us, that we might remain here, and for our communities, for our parishes, for our dioceses: ‘That they might be one.'”
Since the strength of the devil and of sin pushing us to disunity is so great, the Pope invited those present to pray for the Holy Spirit to grant harmony. Pope Francis concluded, praying for Christian unity and the grace”to bite our tongues!”
—
Readings provided by the US bishops’ conference:
Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter
Lectionary: 300
Reading 1 ACTS 22:30; 23:6-11
Wishing to determine the truth
about why Paul was being accused by the Jews,
the commander freed him
and ordered the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin to convene.
Then he brought Paul down and made him stand before them.
Paul was aware that some were Sadducees and some Pharisees,
so he called out before the Sanhedrin,
“My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees;
I am on trial for hope in the resurrection of the dead.”
When he said this,
a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees,
and the group became divided.
For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection
or angels or spirits,
while the Pharisees acknowledge all three.
A great uproar occurred,
and some scribes belonging to the Pharisee party
stood up and sharply argued,
“We find nothing wrong with this man.
Suppose a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”
The dispute was so serious that the commander,
afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them,
ordered his troops to go down and rescue Paul from their midst
and take him into the compound.
The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage.
For just as you have borne witness to my cause in Jerusalem,
so you must also bear witness in Rome.”
Responsorial Psalm PS 16:1-2A AND 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11
R. (1) Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge;
I say to the LORD, “My Lord are you.”
O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,
you it is who hold fast my lot.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I bless the LORD who counsels me;
even in the night my heart exhorts me.
I set the LORD ever before me;
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices,
my body, too, abides in confidence;
Because you will not abandon my soul to the nether world,
nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.
You will show me the path to life,
fullness of joys in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Alleluia JN 17:21
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
May they all be one as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
that the world may believe that you sent me, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel JN 17:20-26
Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying:
“I pray not only for these,
but also for those who will believe in me through their word,
so that they may all be one,
as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
that they also may be in us,
that the world may believe that you sent me.
And I have given them the glory you gave me,
so that they may be one, as we are one,
I in them and you in me,
that they may be brought to perfection as one,
that the world may know that you sent me,
and that you loved them even as you loved me.
Father, they are your gift to me.
I wish that where I am they also may be with me,
that they may see my glory that you gave me,
because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
Righteous Father, the world also does not know you,
but I know you, and they know that you sent me.
I made known to them your name and I will make it known,
that the love with which you loved me
may be in them and I in them.”
John Paul II’s Words in the Ambulance, 35 Year Ago by ZENIT Staff
In the book “Stories about John Paul II. Told by his close friends and co-workers” (Ignatius Press, San Francisco), there is the testimony of the Pope’s personal physician, Dr. Renato Buzzonetti, about May 13, 1981. Here’s what Dr. Buzzonetti responds to the question of Włodzimierz Redzioch about the assassination attack:
The chronology of May 13, 1981, has already been recounted a thousand times, from every angle. To this day, however, the direct testimony of the victim has been missing, which we can try to reconstruct just from a few fragments of what he experienced during those tragic hours.
In the ambulance, in which I accompanied him to the Gemelli Polyclinic Hospital, he ceaselessly pronounced these words in Polish: “Jesus .\.\. my Mother .\.\.”, and nothing else. In the text of the Angelus message, which he laboriously read from his bed in the intensive care unit the following Sunday, he added on his own initiative the word “brother” when he pardoned the assassin. Perhaps that is the eloquent summary of those hours of struggling to survive.
For my part, I never asked the pope anything about those truly terrible days. He spoke of them a few times with me, half-smiling: “That man wanted to find out the third secret of Fatima by force,” he said, alluding to Ali Agca.
I can recall, however, that, at the Gemelli, as he awoke from the anesthesia after the surgery, which lasted five hours, he commented: “Like Bachelet.” Then I objected: “No, Your Holiness, because you are alive and are going to live, but Bachelet is not.”
I think that he mentioned that name because the assassination of Judge Bachelet the year before had left a deep impression on him. That was the vice president of the Superior Council of Magistrates, who was killed by the Red Brigades in 1980. The pope knew him well because, as ex-president of Catholic Action in Italy, he was a member of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, in which Cardinal Wojtyła had participated. And he decided to celebrate a Solemn Mass in Saint Peter’s for the repose of the soul of Vittorio Bachelet a few days after his death.
Report Card on Religious Freedom: Serious and Sustained Assault by Fr. John Flynn
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recently released its 2016 Annual Report. “By any measure, religious freedom abroad has been under serious and sustained assault since the release of our commission’s last Annual Report in 2015,” it stated in the opening paragraph.
The report said that the number of those held as prisoners of conscience, those imprisoned for reasons of religion, “remains astonishingly widespread.”
Religious freedom, the report explained, “deserves a seat at the table when nations discuss humanitarian, security, and other pressing issues.”
The report particularly focused its attention on violations of religious freedom in a series of countries with the worst offences. These were divided into three categories, with the most serious violations occurring in the “countries of particular concern (CPC).”
USCIRF recommends that the Secretary of State re-designate nine countries that had previously already been on the CPC list: Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
USCIRF also recommended that another eight other countries should be added to the CPC category: Central African Republic, Egypt, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Syria, Tajikistan, and Vietnam.
Then, there is a “tier 2” list that covers governments that engage in or tolerate violations that are serious, but which do not reach the level of severity of what happens in a CPC. Ten countries are on the USCIRF list in the 2016 report: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Cuba, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Laos, Malaysia, Russia, and Turkey.
Lastly, there are nations that while not arriving at the first two levels also give cause for concern regarding religious freedom. They are Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Horn of Africa, Kyrgyzstan, and the entire region of Western Europe.
Human rights challenges
Turning to the country reports, the first ones examined were on the CPC list. Regarding Burma USCIRF acknowledged the positive developments with a peaceful election and transition to a civilian government. Nevertheless, the report stated that the new government faces “myriad human rights challenges.”
Serious violations of religious freedom continue to occur, both at the hands of government and non-government organizations. The report drew particular attention to the situation of the Rohingya Muslims. As well, at least 100,000 Kachin, primarily Christians, remain internally displaced in camps due to ongoing conflicts with Burma’s military, the report observed.
In general there is widespread intolerance towards minority groups, which is officially codified in a series of “race and religion bills.”
In China the report noted there continue to be severe religious freedom violations.
“While the Chinese government sought to further assert itself on the global stage, at home it pursued policies to diminish the voices of individuals and organizations advocating for human rights and genuine rule of law,” said the report.
Among the actions cited in the report was the widespread removal of crosses and the demolition of churches, violent repression of minority Muslim and Buddhist groups, and the incarceration of those defending both human rights in general and also religious freedom.
By some estimates, the report said, the number of cross removals and church demolitions totaled at least 1,500, with many of those who opposed these acts being arrested
Although, the report explained, more than half of China’s population is unaffiliated with any religion or belief this still leaves a large number who are actively religious. According to USCIRF there are nearly 300 million Chinese who practice some form of folk religion; more than 246 million Buddhists; at least 68 million Christians; nearly 25 million Muslims; and less than 3.6 million apiece practice Hinduism, Judaism, or Taoism.
In Iran the condition of religious freedom continued to deteriorate in the past year, especially for Baha’is, Christian converts, and Sunni Muslims, according to the report.
Systematic violations
Iran has been designated as a CPC by the State Department since 1999, but in spite of international protests the “government of Iran continues to engage in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom, including prolonged detention, torture, and executions based primarily or entirely upon the religion of the accused,” said USCIRF.
Regarding the situation of Christians the report explained that since 2010, authorities have arbitrarily arrested and detained more than 550 Christians throughout the country. As of February 2016, approximately 90 Christians were either in prison, detained, or awaiting trial because of their religious beliefs and activities.
Another of the worst cases examined in the report was that of North Korea, which has, the report said, a “deplorable human rights record.”
Reliable data is hard to obtain but the report put the number of Christians at somewhere between 200,000 to 400,000. Information on the number of adherents to other faiths is unobtainable, the report said.
Christianity is the religious group that is most severely treated by the government and once imprisoned, Christians face harsher conditions than other prisoners.
“Given the high cost to themselves and their families if caught, many North Koreans likely self-suppress their own consciences, creating a multiplier effect of the government’s repressive policies,” the report commented.
These few examples from the latest USCIRF report of the violations of religious freedom only begin to describe the harsh conditions faced by many millions of believers around the world. It can only be hoped this topic will indeed receive the attention it deserves in international forums.
There Is Only One Way to Find Out by Bishop James Conley
Here is the latest column from Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, Nebraska, reprinted from the Southern Nebraska Register.
__
One of the best scenes in C.S. Lewis’ classic seven volume children’s novel, The Chronicles of Narnia, takes place in the second book, Prince Caspian.
In Prince Caspian, the Pevensie children return to Narnia, summoned while waiting for a train, at a railway station. The children return only a year after leaving Narnia, but because time works differently in that world, 1,300 years have passed.
Narnia has been overtaken by the barbarous Telmarines, and the days of the Aslan and Cair Paravel have long passed. In fact, many Narnians believe that Aslan and the epic stories of old are only fairy tales.
The children fall in with a network of freedom fighters, led by the true king, Caspian. They’re trying to bring goodness back to Narnia; they’re fighting for truth, but they’re fighting alone, and with little success. As the children travel, they become hopelessly lost. Young Lucy sees the sight—just a glimmer really—of Aslan, walking through the woods. She tries to follow him, but no one believes what she has seen, and they tease her and go on their own way.
That night, Aslan calls to Lucy. She wakes from her sleep and talks with him. And he tells her that he came to guide her on a true path, and that she and the others must wake up, and follow after him. Lucy is hesitant to wake the others and tell them to follow a lion they don’t even all believe in. She wants assurance from Aslan that if she follows his command, all will be well.
Aslan won’t give assurances. But he tells her this: “anyone can find out what will happen. If you go back to the others now, and wake them up; and tell them you have seen me again; and that you must all get up at once and follow me—what will happen? There is only one way of finding out.”
In Lewis’ work, Aslan represents the Lord, who comes to guide us in the way of truth, and to make fruitful the good works we undertake. C.S. Lewis’ point is this: we do not know what will come of following the Lord. We do not know how things will turn out. We have no guarantee of success, no assurance that all will be easy, or comfortable. We are called to trust and follow the Lord because he is good, and because he has bidden us to follow him. We cannot expect to know the outcome; we can only be obedient.
Lewis also makes this point: apart from following the Lord, we cannot hope to know success at all. The path to holiness is a somewhat hidden path; like looking through a glass darkly, as St. Paul puts it, and we follow where God has called us, without knowing where that will lead.
Our time is not unlike the time in Narnia, in which the truest things in the world seemed like a fairy tale. Today, in our country, faith in Jesus Christ—the incarnational God who knows and loves us—is being replaced with a vague, vacuous, self-focused kind of deism. Today, even as evil abounds, faith in what is real is set adrift amid a sea of relativism, and confusion.
We are called to follow as the Lord calls, and to bid others to do the same. We are called to be missionary disciples, so that we might form others who will also walk in the way of truth.
The Church is now in a novena of prayer between the Ascension and Pentecost. We spend this period with Mary, the true spouse of the Holy Spirit, who strengthens the Church in faith, just as she did with the early disciples, as they awaited the coming of the Holy Spirit. There were not a few who doubted Jesus’s promise that he would send the Holy Spirit. Mary helped the early apostles to stay focused, to have hope and to trust in the promises of her Son, even after our Lord departed from this earth in his physical form. She helped them walk in faith.
Mary helps us, too, to walk in faith.
In St. John’s Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples to ask, and they will receive. Of course the Lord does not mean that he will answer our prayers as we imagine they might be answered. Instead he means that every good and perfect gift comes from God, and that every worthwhile endeavor we undertake will only be fruitful if we ask the Lord to bless it, to make it bear fruit, to bring it to completion.
The Lord says that if we ask we will receive, so that “our joy may be complete.” Our joy is complete not because God gives us things exactly as we ask for them, nor as we expect them to be, but because the life of asking the Lord’s blessing, and following him as he bids us, and depending on his Providence, and seeing him answer prayer in unexpected ways—that life, in itself, is a life of pure joy.
In the fifth century, St. Leo the Great said that “our Redeemer’s visible presence has passed into the sacraments. Our faith is nobler and stronger because sight has been replaced by a doctrine whose authority is accepted by believing hearts, enlightened from on high. This faith was increased by the Lord’s ascension and strengthened by the gift of the Spirit; it would remain unshaken by fetters and imprisonment, exile and hunger, fire and ravening beasts, and the most refined tortures ever devised by brutal persecutors. Throughout the world, women no less than men, tender girls as well as boys, have given their life’s blood in the struggle for faith that has driven out devils, healed the sick and raised the dead!”
God asks us to have faith in things unseen. He asks us to trust that he gives as he promises, leads as he promises, and guides, as he promises. He asks us to trust, and ask, for all that we need. We should expect the Lord to do the unexpected. We should expect the Lord to act in mysterious and beautiful ways.
God calls us to trust in him who, through the Father, gives us every good thing. He calls on us to be missionaries of the new evangelization, even without knowing what will come of our efforts.
To paraphrase Aslan, speaking to Lucy Pevensie: “What will happen if we follow Christ, and bid others to do the same? What will happen if we depend on the Lord’s Providence? What will happen if we form others to walk in the way of the truth? There is only one way to find out.”
From Paraguay to the Colosseum Via Crucis by Anita Bourdin
“We see in the Holy Father’s words lively and continuous attention to the presence of us, laity,” said Nieves Carrillo, who took part in this year’s Good Friday Via Crucis at the Colosseum and is preparing to live the Celebration of Peoples at the Lateran. With her husband Cesare, she is committed to the service of mercy with expatriates of Paraguay at Rome and in their parish.
ZENIT spoke with them about their pastoral work and mission.
ZENIT: Nieves, you carried the cross for the Via Crucis of the Colosseum on Good Friday: how were you chosen?
Nieves: Yes, I carried the cross in the seventh station of the Via Crucis on Good Friday, March 25, 2016. The Office of Papal Liturgical Celebrations asked the Ambassador of Paraguay to the Holy See, for the participation of a Paraguayan woman to carry the cross. The Ambassador addressed the invitation to me as I have been the co-ordinator of pastoral care and a catechist, together with my husband, for more than 25 years, in the “Virgin of Caacupe” Catholic community of Paraguayan residents of Rome and its surroundings.
ZENIT: How did you prepare for and live this moment?
Nieves: I was very happy to represent all the people of my nation, remembering the very beautiful visit that Pope Francis made to my country, in which he praised the Paraguayan women that saved the homeland, which was in a situation of great difficulty after the War of the Triple Alliance. This thought encouraged me greatly.
I prepared myself spiritually by praying in the family. In particular, I had three prayer intentions: 1. For the Holy Father and for all the Pastors of the universal Church and, in a special way, for the Pastors of Paraguay. 2. For the families of the whole world, especially for those that live in difficult situations. 3. For the sick in body and spirit, in particular for those who do not have adequate help.
It was a great grace for me and a great gift of the Lord, which I lived with profound faith and great emotion.
ZENIT: How do you live your commitment in Rome?
Nieves: In addition to the service in the Paraguayan community, of which I spoke earlier, we take part actively in the life of our parish of the Holy Guardian Angels at Monte Sacro, entrusted to the Caracciolini Fathers. In particular, we are Extraordinary Ministers of Communion. This service enables us to assist many sick brothers who cannot participate in Holy Mass and in the celebrations of the community. This is also a very great gift that the Lord has given us, to be able to share the mercy and love of Jesus.
ZENIT: There was the earthquake in Ecuador. How did you react?
Nieves: The event grieved us profoundly thinking of the many people who died and those who suddenly lost everything. The first act of mercy was fervent prayer to the Lord, that He grant eternal peace to the deceased and inspire in men of good will concrete actions of help and solidarity. Then we contributed to the offerings that the diocesan Caritas promoted. In any case, we continue to pray to the merciful Father.
ZENIT: In his letter to Cardinal Ouellet, Pope Francis emphasized the role of the laity committed in the Church. How did you receive this message?
Nieves: With great joy and appreciation because we see in the Holy Father’s words lively and continuous attention to the presence of us laity and to our active participation in the ecclesial communities. We, lay people, are called to take concretely the Lord’s message to families, in the realities of work, in social activities where a priest often cannot be, or is not well accepted. Therefore, we hold that the evangelizing action of the laity is fundamental and valuable and is supported and fostered by the Pastors.
ZENIT: You will also be present at the 25th “Celebration of Peoples” on May 15 at the Lateran …
Nieves: The “Celebration of Peoples” is the manifestation that the Scalabrini Missionaries organize with the Diocese of Rome every year, to gather all the Catholic communities of migrants present in the city in a great celebration, which begins at 9:00 am and ends at 7:00 pm. This year it celebrates 25 years of life with the motto “Unbounded Mercy,” a particularly topical expression in this historic moment, in which millions of brothers and sisters are fleeing from war, from persecution, and from hunger and knock at our doors.
The celebration is held in Saint John’s Square in the Lateran. Every community expresses its faith with joy, participating in the celebration of Holy Mass with songs and prayers in their own language. The Holy Mass is presided over by Monsignor Guerrino Di Tora, Auxiliary Bishop of Rome, President of the Episcopal Commission for Migrations and of the Migrants Foundation. The communities make their traditions known and the craftsmanship of their nations setting up an apposite stand, preparing typical dishes and performing dances and songs of their folklore.
Pope Meets Youth Who Are 3D Printing Prosthetic Limbs by ZENIT Staff
Pope Francis on Wednesday met with a group of high school students who are using 3D printers to create prosthetic limbs for child amputees in Africa.
The students attend “L’Istituto Massimo” in Rome, which offers courses on 3D printing. The “Crowd4Africa” project uses bottle caps and other recycled material to create the prosthetics. The project was entirely created by children aged 7 to 19.
The “Crowd4Africa” project has plans to open two “mini-factories” for creating limbs in hospitals in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
(from Vatican Radio)
Sport Surmounts Limitations and in Para-Olympics, the Challenge Is Even Greater, Says Cardinal Ravasi by Sergio Mora
In the lead-up to the Para-Olympic Games, which will be held in Rio de Janeiro from September 7-18, the Italian Para-Olympic House was presented today in the Holy See Press Office, attended by representatives of the Pontifical Council for Culture and personalities of the Para-Olympic world.
Speaking were Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, President of the Pontifical Council for Culture; Luca Pangali, President of the Italian Para-Olympic Committee; Marco Giunio, head of the Games’ Mission in Rio; Monsignor Melchor Sanchez de Toca, Under-Secretary of the Dicastery, and Father Lenin Silva Tavares of the Archdiocese of Rio.
The Cardinal said that “it is significant that these Olympics are called in sport ‘Para,’ a Greek preposition that does not mean inferior but different, therefore a different beauty, not an inferior component.” And quoting the work “Wine and Bread” of Ignacio Silone, he recalled the phrase “Man does not exist truly except in the struggle against his own limitations,” namely, the effort to surmount the contingent, and if in sport there is much intention to go beyond, this is even truer in the Para-Olympics, pointed out the Cardinal. “And they can become a greater symbol of what takes us beyond our horizon, including the Divine.”
For his part, President Pangali said: “it was decided this year that the Italian athletes should follow a different way, less attentive to the form and more to the substance.” And he added that this is why “we decided to hold ‘Italian Para-Olympic House’ in a parish of Rio, that of the Immaculate Conception,” with a series of initiatives that include, for instance, events of Italian gastronomy, and involving two other parishes.
“This idea, born of the desire to leave a tangible sign in the territory, has been warmly welcomed and, above all, that of collaboration with the Holy See.” Therefore, he thanked Cardinal Orani Joao Tempesta, Archbishop of Rio, and Father Silva Tavares for the collaboration.
For his part, the head of the Italian delegation, Giunio de Sanctis, mentioned that in the 15th edition of the Para-Olympic Games in Rio, 4300 athletes of 180 nations are taking part in 22 sport’s disciplines and in 21 structures. “Italy will participate with 95 athletes, 90% with physical disabilities, 9% with sensorial disabilities, and 1% with intellectual disability.” He concluded, recalling that in London in 2012, Italy won 28 medals and was 13th in the general classification.
“This is the greatest sports event of all times and Brazil is the first South American country to receive these Games,” explained Brazilian Father Silva Tavares, adding: “the Archdiocese of Rio considers this context of celebration as an opportune moment for evangelization, to proclaim Christian values, Olympic values and human development.” Also taking part are volunteers of other religions. There will be religious functions of different creeds for the athletes, he noted.
In his intervention, Monsignor Melchor Sanchez de Toca y Alameda recalled that “the stories of the Para-Olympic athletes are moving; they are stories of surmounting our limitations, therefore it will be important to have time to tell them, because one example speaks more than a thousand ideas.” In conclusion, he said that a new relation is being created between the Vatican and Para-Olympic sport.
The hash-tag chosen for the event is: #joinus4rio2016
IOR Releases Annual Report 2015 by ZENIT Staff
IOR releases Annual Report 2015
1. Key changes to IOR operating framework : 2015 saw the adoption of the new Holy See regulatory framework pertaining to financial activities, the end of the KYC* and AML* remediation process, addressing past tax uncertainties and the strengthening of IOR’s governance and control functions.
2. Customer first: Management has worked during 2015 to rebuild trust and bring stability to the IOR client base. This has included particular management focus and investments to the benefit of customer service, products and overall offerings.
3. Financial results: 2015 net profit of Euro 16.1 million despite lower interest rate environment high volatility, and uncertainties in financial markets. ____________________________________________________
The Istituto per le Opere di Religione (IOR) today released its 2015 Annual Report.
Building on the Holy Father’s reaffirmation of the importance of the IOR’s mission, the Institute has continued to serve with prudence and provide specialized financial services to the Catholic Church worldwide and the Vatican City State. IOR has thus continued in 2015 to assist the Holy Father in His mission as universal Pastor. While visiting the IOR on November 24, 2015 the Holy Father insisted on the need to adhere to “Ethical principles that are non-negotiable for the Church, the Holy See and the Pope”. His Holiness went on stating that “IOR needs to base its operations on principles that are compatible with standards of morality, consistent efficiency and practices that respect the specificity of IOR’s nature and the example it is required to set through its activities”, as to “combine, harmoniously, operational effectiveness and the essential pastoral nature of all actions”.
1. Key changes to IOR’s operating framework:
The Vatican City State has taken in the last few years major steps in requiring all financial institutions to comply with a new legal and regulatory framework (Law XVIII). In 2015, AIF issued a prudential regulation, Regolamento N. 1 and the Institute has diligently worked towards adherence to the new rules issued. Between June 2013 and December of 2015, 4935 accounts were closed, effectively terminating the thorough remediation process of past accounts. Procedures in place are diligently applied to all new customer and related activities.
*AML : Anti Money Laundering KYC : Know Your Customer – 1 – In the same year international tax agreements were signed by the Holy See, leading to enhanced transparency.
2015 has also seen key steps taken to strengthen IOR governance. It includes the creation of an Audit and Risk committee as well as an HR and Remuneration committee to help the Board. In accordance to the Statutes governing the Institute, a new Director General was appointed, Gian Franco Mammì supported by Giulio Mattietti as aggiunto al Direttore Generale, as well as 2 new members of the Board of Auditors (Collegio dei Revisori), Giovanni Barbara and Luca Del Pico.
2. Customer first
In 2015 IOR has worked to strengthen its values, rebuild trust and bring stability to its client base. Management undertook a full review of its customer service function and various steps were taken to respond to customers’ requests. IOR’s investment process for its asset management products was strengthened. Information and communication to customers was increased and improved: more than 1500 customers attended one of our seminars held on a quarterly basis at IOR premises. A process of significantly enhancing the IOR portfolio management system started and is due to finish in 2016. Overall investment performance at the end of the year reflected the difficult environment that has characterized 2015 and reflected the low risk approach of IOR’s customers.
3. 2015 financial results
IOR’s operating result is Euro 42.8 million. It positively reflects the investment strategy initiated in late 2014 to de-risk and rationalize IOR’s proprietary portfolio in a low rate environment. It has been achieved despite financial market volatility heightened by economic and geopolitical uncertainty. This environment persisted during most of the year but was particularly intense in the second half of the year and ultimately affected the net trading results, having led to a decrease in the net interest income.
2015 saw a positive reduction year-on-year in operating expenses (through a reduction of third party consultants costs), and in impairment losses. IOR’s 2015 net result includes a provision for tax remediation and the settlement of an investment legacy issue.
For 2015, IOR will pay a dividend of Euro 16.1 million, representing its net profit. Its equity remains untouched as per its Statutes. As of 31 December 2015, IOR’s equity net of distribution is Euro 654 million. This includes the new Capital Euro 300 million that was defined as per Regolamento N.1 and approved by the Cardinals’ Commission.
Summary Income Statement (EUR/000) 2015/ 2014
Net interest result 43,891 /50,660 Net fee and commission result 15,228/14,632 Dividend income 1,954/ 2,781 Net trading result (18,231)/ 36,717 Operating Result 42,842/ 104,520 Operating expenses (24,004)/ (28,880) Impairment losses (866)/ (7,157) Other net income (expense) (1,845)/ 850 Net Profit for the year 16,127/ 69,333
Summary Balance Sheet (EUR/000) 2015/ 2014
Cash and Bank deposits 733,397/ 567,358 Trading securities 1,667,966/ 1,718,136 Held to maturity securities 614,818/ 645,054 Remaining other assets 188,077/ 280,227 Total assets 3,204,258/ 3,210,775 Due to depositors 2,371,669/ 2,361,863 Remaining other liabilities (incl. post-employment benefit plans) 162,311/153,918 Net equity 670,278/ 694,994Total liabilities and equity 3,204,258/3,210,775
The total value of assets entrusted by customers to the IOR decreased marginally to Eur 5.8 bn in 2015 (Eur 6 bn in 2014). These assets consisted of Eur 1.9 bn (Eur 2.1bn in 2014) in customer deposits, Eur 3.2 bn (unchanged from 2014) held in managed portfolios and Eur 0.7 bn (unchanged from 2014) held for customers under custody agreements.
On 31 December 2015, the IOR served 14,801 customers.
The Financial Statements 2015 has been audited by Deloitte & Touche S.p.A.
About the Istituto per le Opere di Religione (IOR):
The Istituto per le Opere di Religione, is an institute of the Holy See, founded on 27 June 1942 by Chirograph of His Holiness Pius XII as a charitable foundation under canonical law. Its origins date back to the “Commissione ad Pias Causas” established by Pope Leo XIII in 1887. IOR’s purpose, set out in its Statutes, annexed to the Chirograph dated 1 March 1990 of His Holiness John Paul II, is “to provide for the custody and administration of goods transferred or entrusted to the Institute by legal or natural persons, designated for religious works or charity. The Institute can accept deposits of assets from entities or persons of the Holy See and of the Vatican City State”. This means that IOR’s key activities are to provide payment services as well as wealth management solutions (interest bearing accounts and asset management products) for its customers. IOR is located in the sovereign territory of the Vatican City State. It is subject to regulations and legislations applicable in the Vatican City State under the supervision of “Autorità di Informazione Finanziaria” (AIF), the financial regulatory body for the Vatican City State and the Holy See. IOR’s 14801 customers are made up of the Holy See and related entities, religious orders, other Catholic institutions, clergy, employees of the Holy See, and the accredited diplomatic corps. Today, approximately 75 % of the number of IOR customers are based in Italy and the Vatican, 15 % in Europe ex Italy and the Vatican and 10 % global ex Europe.
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