Pope Meets King and Queen of Jordan

Peace, Stability in Middle East Central Theme of Discussions

 

Vatican City, August 29, 2013 (Zenit.org) Ann Schneible

The king and queen of Jordan met with Pope Francis in the Vatican today, speaking with him about the need for peace and stability in the Middle East.

Although Pope Francis is still on what's been called his summer working-vacation, the meeting was arranged due to rising tensions throughout the region, particularly in Syria. Jordan, which shares a border with Syria, recently declared it will refuse to serve as a launch pad for attacks from other nations against the already war-torn country where the two-year civil war has left more than 100,000 dead.

Upon their arrival this morning, Pope Francis greeted King Abdullah II and his wife, Queen Rania, saying to the king in English, "Welcome, your majesty."

King Abdullah told the Holy Father: "I have tremendous respect for what you are doing and for what the Catholic Church does."

Pope Francis then had a private meeting with the king and queen for about 20 minutes, after which he greeting [sic] the seven other members of the delegation.

Following his meeting with Pope Francis, King Abdullah, along with several delegates, met with Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Pope's secretary of state, and Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States.

The Vatican released a statement indicating that a broad range of topics were touched upon, including the negotiations that have resumed between Israelis and Palestinians, as well as the question of Jerusalem.

According to the Vatican's press statement, a subject that was given special attention was the crisis in Syria. One point that was reiterated in the meetings, said the statement, was that "dialogue and negotiation between all components of Syrian society, with the support of the international community, is the only option to put an end to the conflict and to the violence that every day causes the loss of so many human lives, especially amongst the helpless civilian population."

King Abdullah was commended for his commitment to interreligious dialogue, the statement continued.

In September, a conference will be hosted in Amman which will focus on the challenges Christians are going to have to face, especially at a  time of socio-political upheaval.

The Vatican statement also said recognition was given to the "positive contribution" Christian communities offer to the local society, "of which they play an integral part".

Source: http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/pope-meets-king-and-queen-of-jordan

Vatican's U.N. Observer: Do Not Jump to Conclusions Without Facts

Catholic Aid Agency Spokesman Sheds Light on Latest in Syrian Crisis

 

Rome, August 23, 2013 (Zenit.org) Ann Schneible

In the wake of allegations that chemical weapons were used outside the Syrian city of Damascus, the Vatican's permanent observer to the United Nations offices in Geneva, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, cautioned against rushing to judgment before all evidence has been gathered.

Speaking with Vatican Radio, Archbishop Tomasi said, "We must not rush to judgment without having sufficient evidence," and that "the international community, through the U.N. observers who are already present in Syria, can shed light on this new tragedy."

The archbishop went on to speak on the importance of dialogue, rather than violence, is confronting the conflict.

"As the Holy Father already has underlined," he said, "violence will not bring a solution and, therefore, a dialogue must begin so that we can arrive at Geneva II (Middle East peace conference on Syria), where representatives of all parts of Syrian society can be present, explain their thinking and try to create some kind of transitional government."

Hundreds of people, including children, were allegedly killed Aug. 21 by an assault that opposition groups claim was made by government forces. The reports coincide with a visit from U.N. weapons inspectors to Syria who have come to investigate claims of chemical weapons having been used in the country over the course of the two-year conflict. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon is calling for a "thorough investigation" into the alleged attack. Meanwhile, various details that have emerged from the alleged attack, including videos circulating online, have not been verified.

In June, the U.N. announced that at least 100,000 had died in the conflict, while millions have fled to refugee camps in neighboring countries. Today, the U.N.'s refugee agency, UNHCR, and its children's fund, UNICEF, announced that the number of child refugees has reached the one million mark.

John Newton is the press officer for the Catholic humanitarian agency, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). He spoke with ZENIT about the latest developments in the Syrian conflict:

ZENIT: Archbishop Tomasi spoke regarding the reports that chemical weapons have been used in Syria. Specific points included the need for caution in giving credence to reports, and how countries should seek dialogue and peace. Could you share your thoughts on this statement, in light of the information that ACN continues to receive out of Syria?

Newton: I would begin by agreeing with Archbishop Tomasi's words that: "We must not rush to judgment without having sufficient evidence." With the details of exactly what happened in Damascus on Aug. 21 and who is responsible still unclear, it is only prudent not to jump to any conclusions. Only yesterday, US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said: "At this time, right now, we are unable to conclusively determine CW [ie chemical weapon] use" adding that they were "doing everything possible within our power to nail down the facts". Until the facts are nailed down, as Ms Psaki put it, speculation only inflames passions and does not help to move the peace process forward.

In the cases of chemical-weapon attacks, facts are sparse. If we cast our minds back to the first attacks – when rockets were fired at Khan al-Assal on March 19th – the Syrian state media, who first reported the events, accused the opposition and the opposition accused the army. The media throughout the world debated who may have been responsible, with different commentators coming to different conclusions, but while such speculations make good copy they don't help to get closer to the truth. This time the report comes from the opposition and again both sides are denying responsibility for the attack. Again it is not possible to independently verify these events, even the numbers killed are disputed – and certainly we've received no information from our contacts in Syria that would cast any light on these events either way.

Archbishop Tomasi is right, what we need to advance the peace process is dialogue rather than speculation. Speculation does not engender a climate which brings us closer to the Geneva II – the UN backed conference designed to resolve the conflict. Pope Francis said on the morning of the day that the attacks took place: "All the wars, all the strife, all the unsolved problems over which we clash are due to the lack of dialogue". Only dialogue can resolve a situation which is making life misery for so many innocent people in Syria.

ZENIT: Turning to Christian communities in Syria: what are some of the ongoing challenges for Christians in the region as a result of the conflict?

Newton: For those who remain in the country life is extremely hard. A report ACN received from a priest ministering in Homs, in the west of the country, described some of the daily challenges Christians face. One of the biggest problems they face is that normal life has all but ceased: factories have closed and most businesses have shut – and without jobs there is little or no money for food, medicine, or rent. It seems almost surreal to me that in the middle of a conflict like this people would still be demanding rent, but they are and it has to be paid.

Then, of course, Christians get caught up in the fighting. As Patriarch Gregorios III, the Head of the Melkite Church that has its headquarters in Syria, said: "There is no safe place left in Syria. You may think that it is safe here or unsafe there, but at any moment, you may be killed by a bomb, missile or bullet, not to mention being kidnapped or taken hostage for ransom, or murdered… Chaos threatens everyone, everywhere, at every moment."

Christians are also being targeted by radical jihadists within the opposition forces. Christians in Homs experienced that last March, when it was estimated that some 90% of the faithful fled the city. One report we received from a priest working with displaced families who had fled was that prior to the exodus members of the Faruq Brigade – which is part of the Free Syrian Army – went door to door in two neighbourhoods of Homs, demanding that all Christians leave. There are similar stories from other parts of the country, and only earlier this month it was reported that at least a third of Christians in north-eastern Syria had left their homes. Again there are reports that the faithful in Hasakah Province were targeted by radical Islamist elements among the opposition forces.

Now in all these cases it's hard to determine to what degree Christians fled because of the general fighting and to what degree it was because of Islamic fundamentalists, but we can say that Christian communities in many parts of Syria are living with the fear of violence from extremists hanging over them.

ZENIT: Is it possible that this conflict could affect the future of Christianity in Syria?

Newton: Patriarch Gregorios III put the problem in a wider perspective, pointing out that the future of all the Middle East's Christians is closely bound up with the fate of Syria's Christian communities. He said: "Many Christians from Lebanon fled to Syria between 1975 and 1992 and again in 2006. Similarly, the majority of Iraq's Christians fled to Syria, where many still are."

At ACN we are very aware of the scale of Christians from Iraq who sought refuge in Syria. In Aleppo before the conflict broke out the charity was providing help for Chaldean Christian refugees including basic supplies like food and clothing, catechetical formation for 600 children and medical care for those with chronic conditions. Now many of those Christians who fled Iraq have had to flee Syria as well. It's part of a process of hemorrhaging which could see the Christian presence in the region substantially reduced.

If Christianity is to have a future in the region we need to pray for Syria, to pray for an end to the conflict and pray for a start to dialogue and peace.

Source: http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/vatican-s-u-n-observer-do-not-jump-to-conclusions-without-facts

A Statement by the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches concerning the situation in Egypt- August 2013

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A Statement by the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches concerning the situation in Egypt- August 2013

“Blessed be Egypt my people…” (Isaiah 19:25)

We, the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem, follow with great concern the dreadful situation in Egypt, which suffers from internal divisions, deliberate violence and terroristic acts against innocent people, both Muslims and Christians.  Government institutions were attacked, a great number of Egyptian soldiers and policemen have been killed, public property was destroyed, and Christian Churches were desecrated. 

The desecration and burning of churches is an unprecedented scandal and goes against the values of tolerance, lived in Egypt for centuries. We appreciate the fact that many Muslim compatriots have stood by the side of Christians in defending churches and institutions.

We strongly condemn these acts of vandalism carried out by some extremists, and call upon all parties to stop violence and killing and to work towards national unity, without which Egypt will risk a civil war.

We stand with the Egyptian people in their strife against terrorism and militant groups, both locally and internationally. We offer our condolences and sympathy to all victims and casualties and pray for healing of the wounded and afflicted.

We call upon the International Community to stand against violence and terrorism, to help the people of Egypt to overcome this cycle of violence and bloodshed, and to help to get the country back on track.

We pray the One Lord to enlighten the Egyptian leaders to save the values of democracy, dignity and religious freedom.

+Patriarch Theophilos III, Greek Orthodox Patriarchate

+Patriarch Fouad Twal, Latin Patriarchate

+Patriarch Nourhan Manougian, The Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Patriarchate

+Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, ofm, Custos of the Holy Land

+Archbishop Anba Abraham, Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate, Jerusalem

+Archbishop Swerios Malki Murad, Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate

+Archbishop Abouna Daniel, Ethiopian Orthodox Patriarchate

+Archbishop Joseph-Jules Zerey, Greek-Melkite-Catholic Patriarchate

+Archbishop Mosa El-Hage, Maronite Patriarchal Exarchate

+Bishop Suheil Dawani, Episcopal Church of Jerusalem and the Middle East

+Bishop Munib Younan, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land

+Bishop Pierre Malki, Syrian Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate

+Msgr. Yoseph Antoine Kelekian, Armenian Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate

Kerry's Mideast Gamble

Stakes are high in revival of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks

 

by Kevin Clarke

 

Secretary of State John Kerry and the U.S. State Department significantly raised the bar both on the ambitions and expectations for upcoming negotiations between West Bank Palestinians and the State of Israel. The wild card left out of the new discussions, which have set the laudable but so far elusive goal of a comprehensive Middle East peace deal, will be the attitude of Palestinians in Gaza and the strip’s political leadership, Hamas which has already rejected the proposed negotiations. According to Robert M. Danin, the Eni Enrico Mattei Senior Fellow for Middle East and Africa Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, finding some way to meaningfully involve Palestinians in Gaza in the process, while breaking them away from Hamas and politiically isolating Hamas deadenders, will be crucial to the long-term prospects for peace. No peace agreement can be truly comprehensive if it leaves out Gaza, Danin stressed during a discussion of the implications of the renewed negotiations yesterday.

Palestinian and Israeli representatives finished an initial two days of talks yesterday at the State Department after a prolonged shuttle diplomacy by Secretary John Kerry brought them back together for the first time since 2010 when an expansion of illegal Israeli settlements led to the breakdown of the peace process. Speaking from Washington yesterday, Kerry said, “The parties have agreed here today that all of the final status issues, all of the core issues and all other issues are all on the table for negotiation. And they are on the table with one simple goal: a view to ending the conflict.

“Our objective will be to achieve a final status agreement over the course of the next nine months.” The secretary said Israel and the Palestinians were committed to “sustained, continuous and substantive negotiations on the core issues” that divide them. The next round of negotiations will take place in either Israel or the Palestinian territories at an as yet-unspecified date before mid-August.

Danin, who has had firsthand experience with the difficulties involved in Mideast negotiations during a two-decade career at the State Department, was generally approving of Secretary Kerry’s strategy so far. It has been a notable success, he said, just to get empowered representatives from the offices of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu back to the same negotiating table. “He convinced them that he wouldn’t go away,” said Danin, referring to the secretary’s persistent efforts over recent weeks, “and he convinced them that the price of saying, 'No,' was just too high.”

Danin believes the tight ship and diplomatic ambiguity maintained thus far by Kerry and his staff should prove valuable assets to negotiations. According to Danin, the most productive final status discussions can only be conducted in secrecy so that both sides can frankly explore strategies for compromise on neuralgic issues, such as the fate of Palestinian refugees and the disposition of East Jerusalem, that would provoke howls of outrage from hardliners in Ramallah or Jerusalem. Netanyahu has asserted that Jerusalem—united by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War and claimed as its capital—will never be divided. Abbas has said there can be no agreement and no end to the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis without a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem, a neighborhood that includes the Al-Aqsa Mosque, but also the last remnants of the Jews’ Second Temple and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Danin was impressed at how high Kerry had set the bar for the Obama administration and how much trust and authority President Obama had placed in Kerry’s hands. “Yet again Secretary Kerry has shifted the goal,” he said, noting the outcome Kerry hoped to achieve would represent a comprehensive agreement that was “conflict ending, [with] no claims” remaining. Negotiators will be trying to resolve not only the conflict of 1967, but also the “existential” conflict of the 1948 war, Danin said. “That’s a more ambitious goal [than an agreement on borders and security], but the only one that will end the conflict in all ways.”

Danin thought Kerry’s insistence on secrecy and deft use of deliberately vague diplomatic language had been key to returning both sides to discussions. Israelis were able to assert at home that they were restarting negotiations without preconditions, and Palestinians were able to proceed with whatever private assurances they had received from Secretary Kerry about respecting the 1967 borders. About the only misstep Kerry has made in creating the environment for negotiations and setting the agenda, Danin suggests, is his public depiction of the upcoming talks as a last chance gambit for both sides. "There is a danger here in setting up an ambitious agenda," Danin said,  "[That's] 'all or nothing, now or never.' If you wind up without an agreement, now you really cause harm."

Danin suggested that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, not a notable supporter of peace talks with Palestinians, may have been motivated to return to negotiations by two factors: a realization that Israel’s growing international isolation because of its continuing occupation and settler expansion on the West Bank had reached a critical point and perhaps a desire, as he finishes a third term in office, to leave power with a “legacy” achievement. A comprehensive peace deal with the Palestinians would be a diplomatic success unmatched by his predecessors. Also the time is coming closer, he worries, when supporters of Israel in America will have to seriously ponder the effects of its occupation and settler policy on the nature of the State of Israel. "We also have an interest in Israel," Danin said. "What kind of Israel do we want? An occupying state is not the kind of Israel we want; it's not the kind of Israel Israelis want."

For Abbas, the motivations are clear: He needs to prove to an increasingly restive Palestinian population that a peaceful engagement with Israelis can produce results, according to Danin. The recent release of 104 Palestinians from Israeli incarceration is a rare marker of that potential delivered by the Israelis, a diplomatic success for his administration demonstrating that talking can be substantially more effective than the course of confrontation and violence advocated by Hamas in Gaza. Whether these two leaders are the ones tempermentally or ideologically amenable to the compromises that a comprehensive agreement will demand is irrelevant, said Danin. "You go to the negotiations with the leaders you have, not the leaders you wish you have," he quipped.

Beyond the diplomatic devilment of unraveling so far intractable issues such as the right of return for Palestinians driven into refugee camps over decades of conflict and the Palestinian claim on East Jerusalem as their own national capital, two other volatile forces threaten the success of negotiations: the possibility of violence aimed at collapsing negotiations and the reaction of Israel’s powerful settler community to the peace talks.

Settler representatives within Netanyahu’s Likud-led coalition are already resisting the minor progress made thus far. A comprehensive agreement could potentially mean that thousands of Israeli settlers would be forced to leave the West Bank. Beyond settler's continued resistance to territorial givebacks, "there are going to be forces," Danin said, "that are going to resort to violence to undermue the political process, and that is going to one of the major dangers."

From an international perspective, according to Danin, the return to negotiation should serve to freeze further efforts to economically and politically isolate Israel for at least the duration of the discussions. What will be crucial is if the State of Israel will indicate its good will by a significant reduction—or even a complete halt—to further settler expansion on the West Bank as talks begin.

Source: America, The National Catholic Review, published by the US Jesuits http://americamagazine.org/issue/kerrys-mideast-gamble

Was a Jesuit Priest Kidnapped in Syria?

Father Paolo Dall'Oglio's whereabouts unknown, nuncio says

The war in Syria is like a factory churning out nothing but death, destruction and suffering, said Archbishop Mario Zenari, Vatican nuncio to Syria. Even though the Vatican was unable to confirm on July 30 news reports that a Jesuit priest had been kidnapped in Syria, the nuncio said hundreds of innocent people there find themselves abducted for political leverage or economic extortion.

Kidnappings in Syria represent "a very, very painful wound that deeply harms the nation and the Syrian people," he said. Italian Jesuit Father Paolo Dall'Oglio, 59, who had spent more than 30 years promoting Muslim-Christian dialogue in Syria, was reportedly missing. News reports said acquaintances had been unable to reach him by phone, and Reuters reported that militants with links to al-Qaida kidnapped the priest July 29 while he was walking in the northern Syrian city of al-Raqqah.

Archbishop Zenari said in an interview with Vatican Radio on July 30 that sometimes the priest would inform him of his whereabouts, but that this time he had heard nothing. "First of all, I'd want to know if he really was in Syria the last few days, and then I would wait to have information that was more definitive," he said.
The Jesuit province in Italy told the Vatican press hall it was unable to confirm whether Father Dall'Oglio had been kidnapped. "It's too soon to say," Passionist Father Ciro Benedettini, vice director of the press hall, told journalists on July 30. The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs was looking into the matter, he added.

Father Dall'Oglio was well-known and very well-respected in Syria, even though he may have held "positions that not everyone shared," Archbishop Zenari said.

The priest reportedly supported the rebel insurrection against President Bashar Assad. The priest was expelled by Syrian authorities last year for reportedly helping people injured by government crackdowns.
Twenty years ago, Father Dall'Oglio turned a dilapidated sixth-century monastery in the desert of western Syria into a center for Muslim-Christian interfaith dialogue; it was staffed by Catholic and Orthodox nuns and priests. "He is truly a man of virtue, a Jesuit of great talent and a person who loves Syria," Archbishop Zenari said.

The archbishop said the latest U.N. figures estimate the two-year civil war creates some 5,000 victims a month, and about 6,000 people flee the country every day. Those unable to leave face skyrocketing prices, unemployment and continued suffering, he said. The conflict, "besides bringing death and destruction, has truly become a manufacturing plant of countless miseries," he said. He urged the world's nations to help end "this infernal cycle" of violence, kidnappings and casualties.

Source: Catholic News Service in America Magazine: http://americamagazine.org/issue/was-jesuit-priest-kidnapped-syria

Jesuit Provincial Expresses Grief Over Kidnapping of Priest

Contact with Fr. Paolo DallOglio and Captors Has Proven "Impossible"

 

Rome, August 05, 2013 (Zenit.org) Junno Arocho Esteves

 

Fr. Victor Assouad, SJ, provincial of the Middle East province of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) expressed his grief on the kidnapping of fellow Jesuit priest, Fr. Paolo Dall’Oglio.

Fr. Dall’Oglio, an Italian priest who has worked in Syria for the past 30 years, was kidnapped in July by the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant, a militant rebel group that has ties to Al-Qaeda. During last week’s Mass on the Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Pope Francis expressed his concern for Fr. Dall’Oglio during his homily, saying that he was “thinking of our brother in Syria."

In his statement, Fr. Assouad said that as of yet, contact with Fr. Paolo or his captors has proven impossible to establish at the moment. The Jesuit priest expressed his gratitude on behalf of the Jesuits to all who are assisting in locating Fr. Dall’Oglio. [The Society of Jesus] eagerly hope that this ordeal will come to an end soon, so that Fr. Paolo can be reunited with his companions as soon as possible,” Fr. Assouad stated.

The Jesuit provincial also expressed concern for Dutch Jesuit Fr. Frans van der Lugt who along with several companions are living in a Jesuit residence in the city of Homs, which has been the victim of bombings by the current Syrian regime. He expressed the Society’s desire “that no effort be spared to protect his life as well as that of all his companions.”

Concluding his statement, Fr. Assouad affirmed the Society of Jesus in the Middle East’s solidarity with the people of Syria who are suffering from the conflict, while renewing its call in favor “of peace and reconciliation in Syria.”

Source: http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/jesuit-provincial-expresses-grief-over-kidnapping-of-priest?utm_campaign=dailyhtml&utm_medium=email&utm_source=dispatch

Francis' Message to Muslims for End of Ramadan

Promoting Mutual Respect Through Education

 Here is the Pope's message to Muslims for the end of Ramadan. The Vatican released the text today.

* * *

To Muslims throughout the World

It gives me great pleasure to greet you as you celebrate ‘Id al-Fitr, so concluding the month of Ramadan, dedicated mainly to fasting, prayer and almsgiving.

It is a tradition by now that, on this occasion, the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue sends you a message of good wishes, together with a proposed theme for common reflection. This year, the first of my Pontificate, I have decided to sign this traditional message myself and to send it to you, dear friends, as an expression of esteem and friendship for all Muslims, especially those who are religious leaders.

As you all know, when the Cardinals elected me as Bishop of Rome and Universal Pastor of the Catholic Church, I chose the name of “Francis”, a very famous saint who loved God and every human being deeply, to the point of being called “universal brother”. He loved, helped and served the needy, the sick and the poor; he also cared greatly for creation.

I am aware that family and social dimensions enjoy a particular prominence for Muslims during this period, and it is worth noting that there are certain parallels in each of these areas with Christian faith and practice.
This year, the theme on which I would like to reflect with you and with all who will read this message is one that concerns both Muslims and Christians: Promoting Mutual Respect through Education.

This year’s theme is intended to underline the importance of education in the way we understand each other, built upon the foundation of mutual respect. “Respect” means an attitude of kindness towards people for whom we have consideration and esteem. “Mutual” means that this is not a one-way process, but something shared by both sides.

What we are called to respect in each person is first of all his life, his physical integrity, his dignity and the rights deriving from that dignity, his reputation, his property, his ethnic and cultural identity, his ideas and his political choices. We are therefore called to think, speak and write respectfully of the other, not only in his presence, but always and everywhere, avoiding unfair criticism or defamation. Families, schools, religious teaching and all forms of media have a role to play in achieving this goal.

Turning to mutual respect in interreligious relations, especially between Christians and Muslims, we are called to respect the religion of the other, its teachings, its symbols, its values. Particular respect is due to religious leaders and to places of worship. How painful are attacks on one or other of these!

It is clear that, when we show respect for the religion of our neighbours or when we offer them our good wishes on the occasion of a religious celebration, we simply seek to share their joy, without making reference to the content of their religious convictions.

Regarding the education of Muslim and Christian youth, we have to bring up our young people to think and speak respectfully of other religions and their followers, and to avoid ridiculing or denigrating their convictions and practices.

We all know that mutual respect is fundamental in any human relationship, especially among people who profess religious belief. In this way, sincere and lasting friendship can grow.

When I received the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See on 22 March 2013, I said: “It is not possible to establish true links with God, while ignoring other people. Hence it is important to intensify dialogue among the various religions, and I am thinking particularly of dialogue with Islam. At the Mass marking the beginning of my ministry, I greatly appreciated the presence of so many civil and religious leaders from the Islamic world.” With these words, I wished to emphasize once more the great importance of dialogue and cooperation among believers, in particular Christians and Muslims, and the need for it to be enhanced.

With these sentiments, I reiterate my hope that all Christians and Muslims may be true promoters of mutual respect and friendship, in particular through education.

Finally, I send you my prayerful good wishes, that your lives may glorify the Almighty and give joy to those around you.

Happy Feast to you all!

From the Vatican, 10 July 2013

FRANCISCUS