In a speech at UN headquarters in Geneva, the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, said: “A fundamental question ought always to be present in our minds.
“Are human rights universal because a majority of countries recognises them, or are they universal because of an ethical claim which is prior to their recognition by states and which comes from the dignity of every person?
“The Holy See firmly believes that human rights should be judged by their reference to the founding principles and objectives enshrined in the basic documents where the nature and innate dignity of the human person are key elements.
“In his 2009 encyclical letter Caritas in Veritate, Pope Benedict XVI rightly observed: ‘A link has often been noted between claims to a right to excess; and even to transgression and vice, within affluent societies, and the lack of food, drinkable water, basic instruction and elementary health care in areas of the underdeveloped world and on the outskirts of large metropolitan centres.
“The link consists in this: individual rights, when detached from a framework of duties which grants them their full meaning, can run wild, leading to an escalation of demands which is effectively unlimited and indiscriminate.’”
Appeal for Church in the Holy Land
Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, the prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for Eastern Churches, has written to all the world’s bishops, urging them to respond generously to the annual Good Friday appeal for the Church in the Holy Land. He described the Church there as “the silent witness and living custodian” of the faith in the land where Jesus walked.
Mgr Sandri noted that Christians in the Middle East are living under heavy pressure and encouraged solidarity with the Christians of that region. He observed: “Lately, this region is also witness to the fact that entire peoples, hungering for dignity and justice, have given wings to the dream of a springtime, the fruits of which are desired at once, as if the great, longed-for transformation could be possible without a renewal of hearts and acceptance of a common responsibility for the poor.”
‘Learn to do without the superfluous’
Archbishop Pedro Barreto Jimeno of Huancayo, a Peruvian Jesuit bishop, has urge Catholics to lead lives of austerity and charity: “In the face of the economic crisis, the Catholic Church in her teaching proposes a life of more sobriety and austerity.
“We must learn to do without the superfluous, and live with more sobriety, sharing with others who we are and what we have. This is what Christ is calling us to do in this season of Lent: Jesus calls us to convert ourselves, to change, and to live out Christian charity which is a witness of the authenticity of our faith.”
Website for conclave
The website www.1conclave.com, entitled United for the Conclave, was launched last Sunday by five Brazilians. Mainly aimed at young people all over the world, it is compiling a ‘spiritual bouquet’ for all cardinal electors. The bouquet offerings include Masses, Eucharistic adoration, fasting and other devotions and sacrifices.
Besides the main goal of encouraging prayer for the cardinals, the initiative also highlights the upcoming World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro.
(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)