ZENIT from Roswell, Georgia, United States "Pope Sends Video Message Ahead of Visit to Poland..." for Wednesday, 20 July 2016

ZENIT from Roswell, Georgia, United States "Pope Sends Video Message Ahead of Visit to Poland..." for Wednesday, 20 July 2016
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"Pope Sends Video Message Ahead of Visit to Poland" by ZENIT Staff

Ahead of Pope Francis’ 15th Apostolic Visit abroad and his first trip to Poland, July 27-31, he has sent a video-message to all the young people gathered in Krakow for World Youth Day and to all Polish people. During the Pontiff’s trip, he will participate in events of the 31st WYD, like his predecessors, and will also visit Czestochowa and Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Please find below the full text of the Pope’s video message, courtesy of Vatican Radio:
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Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The 31st World Youth Day is fast approaching. I look forward to meeting the young people from throughout the world gathered in Kraków and having the opportunity to meet the beloved Polish nation. My entire visit will be inspired by Mercy during this Jubilee Year, and by the grateful and blessed memory of Saint John Paul II, who instituted the World Youth Days and was the guide of the Polish people in its recent historic journey towards freedom.
Dear young people of Poland, I know that for some time now you have been preparing, especially with your prayers, for this great encounter in Kraków. I thank you heartily for everything that you have done, and for the love with which you have done it. Even now, I embrace you and I bless you.
Dear young people from throughout Europe, Africa, America, Asia and Oceania! I also bless your countries, your hopes and your journey to Kraków, praying that it will be a pilgrimage of faith and fraternity. May the Lord Jesus grant you the grace to experience personally his words: “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy” (Mt 5:7).
I am very anxious to meet you and to offer the world a new sign of harmony, a mosaic of different faces, from many races, languages, peoples and cultures, but all united in the name of Jesus, who is the Face of Mercy.
I now turn to you, dear sons and daughters of the Polish nation! For me, it is a great gift of the Lord to visit you. You are a nation that throughout its history has experienced so many trials, some particularly difficult, and has persevered through the power of faith, upheld by the maternal hands of the Virgin Mary. I am certain that my pilgrimage to the shrine of Czestochowa will immerse me in this proven faith and do me so much good. I thank you for your prayers in preparation for my visit. I thank the bishops and priests, the men and women religious, and the lay faithful, especially families, to whom I will symbolically bring the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia. The moral and spiritual “health” of a nation is seen in its families. That is why Saint John Paul II showed such great concern for engaged couples, young married couples and families. Continue along this road!
Dear brothers and sisters, I send you this message as a pledge of my affection. Let us keep close to one another in prayer. I look forward to seeing you in Poland![Courtesy of Vatican Radio]
"Pope Francis’ Program for Poland by ZENIT Staff
Below is the Vatican released program, detailing Pope Francis’ apostolic visit to Poland on the occasion of the XXXI World Youth Day, July 27-31:
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Pope’s Program: July 27-31
Wednesday, July 27, 2016
14:00: Departure by plane from Rome’s Fiumicino International Airport to Kraków
16:00: Arrival at the St. John Paul II International Airport of Kraków-Balice
WELCOME CEREMONY in the Military Area of Kraków-Balice International Airport
17:00 MEETING WITH AUTHORITIES, CIVIL SOCIETY AND THE DIPLOMATIC CORPS in the courtyard of the Castle of Wawel (Discourse of the Holy Father)
17:40: COURTESY VISIT TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC in the Hall of birds of the Wawel
18:30: MEETING WITH POLISH BISHOPS at Krakow Cathedral (Discourse of the Holy Father)
Thursday, July 28, 2016
07:40: Transfer to the Airport of Kraków-Balice
Stop at the Convent of the Sisters of the Presentation
08:30: Helicopter transfer to Częstochowa
09:45: Arrival at the Monastery of Jasna Gora and Prayer at the Chapel of the Black Madonna
10:30: Holy Mass on the occasion of the 1050th anniversary of the Baptism of Poland, in the Shrine of Częstochowa (Homily of the Holy Father)
12:45: Helicopter transfer to the airport of Kraków-Balice
17:30: WELCOMING CEREMONY Greets young people in Jordan Park in Kraków (Discourse of the Holy Father)
Friday, July 29, 2016
08:45: Helicopter transfer to Oswięcim
09:30: VISIT TO AUSCHWITZ
10:30: VISIT TO THE CAMP OF BIRKENAU (Discourse of the Holy Father)
11:30: Helicopter transfer to the airport of Kraków-Balice
16:30: VISIT to UNIVERSITY PEDIATRIC HOSPITAL (UCH) in Krakow (Discourse of the Holy Father)
18:00: WAY OF THE CROSS with young people in Jordan Park in Kraków (Discourse of the Holy Father)
Saturday, July 30, 2016
08:30: VISIT TO THE SHRINE OF DIVINE MERCY in Kraków
09:00: Will Pass Through the Door of Divine Mercy
09:15: Rite of Reconciliation of some young people in the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy
10:30: Holy Mass with priests, religious men and women, seminarians and consecrated persons in the Polish Shrine of St. John Paul II in Krakow (Homily of the Holy Father)
12:45: Lunch with young people in the Archbishopric
19:00: Arrival at Campus Misericordiae and crossing the Holy Door with some young people
19:30 PRAYER VIGIL WITH YOUNG Campus Misericordiae (Discourse of the Holy Father)
Sunday, July 31, 2016
10:00: Holy Mass for World Youth Day in Campus Misericordiae
(Homily of the Holy Father, Angelus)
17:00: MEETING WITH WYD VOLUNTEERS and with the Organizing Committee and the Benefactors at Tauron Arena in Kraków (Discourse of the Holy Father)
18:15: FAREWELL CEREMONY at the airport of Kraków-Balice
18:30: Departure by plane to Rome / Ciampino
20:25: Arrival at Rome / Ciampino airport
Time zone
Rome: UTC + 2 hours
Kraków / Częstochowa / Oswięcim: UTC + 2 hours[Program Published by the Holy See Press Office]
"Statistics of the Catholic Church in Poland" by ZENIT Staff

In view of the Pope’s upcoming apostolic trip to Poland (27 to 31 July) for World Youth Day, the Central Church Statistics Office has published the statistics relating to the Catholic Church in this countries, current as of Dec. 31, 2015. The number of bishops is current as of 22 June 2016.
Poland has a surface area of 323,250 km2 and a population of 37,507,000 inhabitants, of whom 36,607,000 are Catholics, representing 97.6 percent of the population. There are 45 ecclesiastical circumscriptions, 10,379 parishes and 786 pastoral centers. There are currently 156 bishops, 30,661 priests, 21,174 men and women religious, 1,075 members of secular institutes and 14,154 catechists. There are 125 minor and 3,388 major seminarians.
The Church has 1,425 centers for Catholic education, at all levels, with 213,940 students, as well as 39 centers for special education. There are also 3,129 charitable and social centers belonging to the Church or directed by ecclesiastics or religious: 54 hospitals, 283 clinics, two leper colonies, 214 homes for the elderly or disabled, 383 orphanages and nurseries, 2,154 family advisory centers and other centers for the protection of life, and 2,190 institutions of other types.[Courtesy of English Bulletin of Vatican Press Office]
"Priest in Aleppo: Situation Is Growing More Hopeless" by Andrea Krogmann

A Syrian proverb says: “Whoever rules over Aleppo, rules over Syria.”
Indeed, whoever has control over Syria’s second-largest city has a hold on “the center of the country up to its borders, from east west,” said a Franciscan Friar. Not surprisingly, the battle for Aleppo has been fierce ever since the country’s civil war started five years ago, Franciscan Father Ibrahim Alsabagh told international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need.
In recent days, fighting between rebel groups and the Syrian army has turned particularly intense again. The Franciscan monastery and the districts in the western part of Aleppo, which is under regime control and is primarily inhabited by Christians have again been targeted. In a single day, about a week ago, “250 rockets fell on the inhabitants of western Aleppo,” Father Alsabagh said, adding that the current situation is going beyond “that which can be endured.”
The priest said that Aleppo is experiencing “the worst moments in its history” and that he is hearing numerous prayers and cries of despair; the people, he said, people praying day and night.
The Syrian army just seized control of the Castello corridor in the northern part of Aleppo, which acts as a supply channel to rebel-held territory. The rebel groups that control the eastern part of the city are getting ready for a siege that will last for months. With this, the worst fears of Aleppo’s Christians have come true. “It means that we no longer have any chance of living. Some believe that it would almost be better to die,” the priest said.
According to the Franciscan, “two-thirds of the Christians, if not more” have already left the city. With approximately 150,000 believers before the conflict, Aleppo was home to one of the largest Christian communities.
Living in a part of the city controlled by the government, Christians “at least have the right to live and the right to believe in our faith,” the priest said, something that would be unthinkable in rebel-held areas, he charged.
Even though the various groups fighting on the side of the rebels are impossible to identify with any accuracy, Father Alsabagh said, “anyone who shoots rockets at residential houses, churches, schools and hospitals is not a ‘moderate rebel’!” The Syrian clergyman strongly appealed to the West: “Close the borders through which the weapons, food and fighters” are coming into Syria. The priest believes Turkey is the most significant conduit of supplies for rebel forces—and he is concerned that a diplomatic solution to complex conflict is practically impossible.
“We cannot remain passive in the face of this evil. Our clear answer must be patience and a positivity of action. This is why we are helping where we can by visiting the sick and praying with the faithful.” In addition to providing pastoral care, the five Franciscans in Aleppo help by distributing food parcels, as well as covering the cost of electricity and medical care, in addition to rent and school fees.
"Details Released About Pope Francis’ Private Visit to Assisi in August" by ZENIT Staff

Pope Francis will make a private visit to the Italian hill town of Assisi next month.
Earlier this month, the Franciscans and Bishop of Assisi, Domenico Sorrentino, announced the that Pope will make an afternoon visit on August 4th to the Porziuncola inside the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels in the Umbrian town.
The reason for Francis’ visit is to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the “Pardon of Assisi.”
Since then, the Franciscans have given a schedule, announcing more details, reports Vatican Radio.
According to the Franciscan order’s local website, Francis will arrive in Assisi by helicopter at 3:40pm. At 4pm, he will arrive at the Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels, inside which the small Porziuncola chapel is located. There, he will take a moment of silent prayer in the chapel, before offering a reflection on the Gospel of Matthew 18:21-35.
Following this reflection, the Pope will meet with Franciscan bishops and superiors, and then will greet pilgrims gathered in the piazza outside the basilica.
At 6 p.m., the Pope will be taken by car to the Migaghelli sports field, before traveling back to the Vatican via helicopter.
Over the course of his short visit, the Pope will be received by several local religious authorities, including Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino of Assisi-Nocera, Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor Fr Michael Anthony Perry, and provincial minister of the Friars Minor of Umbria, Fr Claudio Durighetto.
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On the NET:
Local Website of the Franciscan Order: http://www.assisiofm.it/papa-francesco-alla-porziuncola-72473-1.html
"Archbishop Auza’s Statement to UN on Security Council Working Methods" by ZENIT Staff

Below is the Vatican Radio-provided text of the address of Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, to the United Nations Security Council Open Debate on Security Council Working Methods on Tuesday in New York:
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Archbishop Bernardito Auza
Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations
United Nations Security Council Open Debate on Security Council Working Methods
New York, 19 July 2016
Mr. President,
My delegation wishes to thank Japan’s Presidency for convening this annual Open Debate on the “Security Council Working Methods.”
Without a doubt, this Council deserves our profound gratitude and appreciation for its efforts to preserve nations and peoples from the scourge of war and conflict in the course of its almost seventy-one years of existence. Reform and adaptation to the times is, however, always necessary to make the Council the fittest possible for its purpose. Member States of the United Nations and various sectors of civil society have been increasingly calling for reform to render the Council more transparent, more efficient, more effective, more accountable and more representative.
There are criticisms that national and geopolitical interests override the Council’s primary function to maintain international peace and security. To quell criticisms and suspicions of a self-serving Council, a key feature of a reformed Council would be a commitment by all Member States of the United Nations not to vote, when they are members of the Council, against a credible draft resolution before the Security Council on timely and decisive action to prevent or end the commission of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. This would necessarily include a commitment of the Council’s permanent Members to refrain from casting a veto in situations where such crimes are involved.
In this context, the United Nations in general and this Council in particular would acquire greater legitimacy and authority if they could discern clear and effective criteria for the application of the principle of the “responsibility to protect.” In this regard, my delegation believes that, in situations where evident crimes of genocide, mass atrocities and war crimes are being committed, the action of the international community should not be interpreted as an unwarranted imposition or a limitation of sovereignty of States, provided that it respects the juridical means established in the United Nations Charter and in other international legal instruments.
To maintain and further consolidate the Council’s authoritativeness, it would be opportune to consider seriously the calls of Member States for a Council that is more representative and that better reflects present-day geopolitical realities. While appeals for a more representative Council are not necessarily motivated by selfless altruism, and while an enlarged Council is not a guarantee for greater efficiency, a more representative Security Council is among the “elements of convergence” that the majority of the Member States proposed during the informal meetings of the Intergovernmental Negotiations on Security Council Reform held during the Seventieth Session of the General Assembly. Dismissing or ignoring these “elements of convergence” would not help the Council’s appeal, credibility and authority.
Another element that has constantly emerged from consultations and debates on Security Council reform is the call for greater transparency. This has been getting stronger during these last months, not only in the context of the larger question of the reinvigoration of the work of the United Nations as it turns seventy-one, but also in the more immediate context of the election of this Organization’s next Secretary General.
The call for greater transparency also includes the need to continue to improve the means and methods of dialogue between the Security Council and the General Assembly and other United Nations structures and partners. It likewise suggests a reasonable increase in the number of Council’s open debates, while recognizing the great importance of closed consultations.
The need for greater transparency also extends to the working methods and procedures of the Council’s subsidiary bodies, particularly in the sanctions committees, in order to ensure and strengthen the protection of the fundamental rights of individuals and the rule of law. In this regard, my delegation would like to recall paragraph 109 of the 2005 World Summit Outcome document on the necessity of ensuring a fair and clear procedure for placing individuals and entities on the list of sanctions, for removing them, and for considering humanitarian exemptions.
Mr. President,
The reform of the Security Council will require great prudence, wisdom, magnanimity and resolve on the part of all. At the end of the day, any meaningful reform of the Security Council must be guided by its fundamental mission effectively to ensure international peace and security. When all is said and done and whatever shape and size it may eventually take, a reformed Council must be better equipped than ever to spare us and future generations from the unspeakable horrors of genocide, mass atrocities, war crimes and other grave violations of fundamental human rights and of international humanitarian law.
Thank you, Mr. President.[Original text: English]
"The Pilgrim App Available Today in Google Play, Windows and the App Store" by ZENIT Staff

Just days before thousands of pilgrims arrive in Kraków for World Youth Day 2016, the Local Organizing Committee, LOC, launches a mobile app called “Pilgrim” – a must-have during the event.
The app was designed and produced by a local company, Comarch, in collaboration with the LOC of Krakow 2016. The app is free, and now available on Google Play, Windows and the App Store. Just within an hour of being officially launched, the app reached 5,000 downloads.
“Pilgrim” is offered in WYD’s nine official languages, and serves as a comprehensive source of information for people coming to Krakow from worldwide. The app provides useful information not only for people from abroad (i.e. a polish dictionary, information about consulates and embassies), but also for pilgrims from Poland (i.e. tourist information, maps, etc.). Additionally, “Pilgrim” includes religious content (prayers, songs, meditations), the WYD program, and a small guide to Krakow and Malopolska.
One special function of “Pilgrim” is the user’s ability to personalize and tailor it to their particular needs. Thanks to “Pilgrim,” visitors and guests coming to Krakow will be able to readily access information regarding all WYD events, and tips related to transportation (such as, parking spaces, transport zones, etc.). All events and locations can be searched by the user’s location.
The app places great importance on safety measures. For instance, “Pilgrim” includes contact information for emergency services, medical points, and features a first aid guide. For example, the user will find instructions on how to handle a pilgrim who faints or has a nosebleed.
Users are advised to download the app at home or in their respective accommodations where they have access to internet. Once done, however, the majority of functions are offered offline and can be used without data at any time. In the evening, after returning to the place of residence, users can download updates, and any new information inserted by WYD organizers during the day.
Besides spiritual and logistical components, the app incorporates a further aspect, entertainment (a WYD game, quizzes, etc.), recalling the festive side of this event. There are also several multimedia elements. The app connects automatically to WYD’s official twitter account, is equipped with a movie channel recording the ceremonies, and has built-in radio stations which will be broadcasting the events.
For a full lists of the “Pilgrims” services, see below:
· customizable dashboard
· WYD program of events
· Settings: choice of languages, accommodation
· Data transmission
· Location, integration with
calendar
· Favorite places and events
· WYD news
· Information from twitter WYD
· Information from twitter Police –
ultimately a new account for WYD concerning
safety
· Religious content: prayers, songs,
meditations
· Information about radio stations with
WYD transmissions
· WYD videos
· Maps online and offline
· Krakow and Malopolska Guide
· Weather Forecast
· Small reflections with supplementary reading
· WYD Postcard
· WYD quiz
· Integration with the game Run to WYD,
· emergency contacts: list of embassies and consulates
Innovative Media Inc.
30 Mansell Road, Suite 103
Roswell, Georgia 30076, United States
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