News Briefs

Vatican City, May 8, 2018 / 11:15 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life published updated statutes Tuesday, reconfirming their connection with the re-formed Pontifical John Paul II Theological Institute, established by Pope Francis in September 2017.

The statutes say the dicastery “is directly linked to the ‘Pontifical John Paul II Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences,’ both with headquarters and affiliated institutes, to promote a common direction in marriage, family and life studies.”

The new statutes also state a required minimum of only two lay under-secretaries, rather than the previously required three – one to head each of the three sections on laity, family and life – suggesting that the awaited appointment of a third under-secretary may be on hold.

The dicastery had two under-secretaries, Dr. Gabriella Gambino for the section on laity and Dr. Linda Ghisoni for the section on life, appointed late last year.

An additional update is the dicastery’s work to “deepen the reflection on the relationship between men and women in their respective specificity, reciprocity, complementarity and equal dignity” and to promote the participation of women in the Church and society, through valuing the “feminine genius.”

Regarding youth, the dicastery also highlighted the “particular concern of the Church for the young… in the midst of the challenges of today’s world” and stated its support for the pope’s initiatives in the area of youth ministry.

Pope Francis approved the statutes ad experimentum, which could possibly be until the completion of a new apostolic constitution outlining the structure and duties of the Roman Curia, which is being drafted by the Council of Cardinals.

The dicastery, which replaced separate pontifical councils on the family and on the laity, was established Sept. 1, 2016. It is headed by Prefect Cardinal Kevin Farrell and Secretary Fr. Alexandre Awi Mello, who was appointed in May 2017.

Cardinal Farrell has said, in reference to controversy over Pope Francis’ writings on family life, that “we need to say what our teaching is, and that’s not a yes and no answer.”

According to the statutes, which go into effect May 13, the dicastery has the task of dealing with projects related to the broad topics of the apostolate of the laity, the institution of marriage, and the family within the life of the Church, including the organization of events and the support of theological studies related to these areas.

The dicastery is responsible for the World Meeting of Families and World Youth Day.

It is to promote pastoral care of the family “in the light of the papal Magisterium”, protecting its dignity and wellbeing “based on the sacrament of marriage” and fostering “its rights and responsibility in the Church and in civil society, so that the family institution can always better fulfil its functions both in the ecclesial and in the social sphere.”

The disastery will “discern the signs of the times to value opportunities in favour of the family, take on with trust and evangelical wisdom the challenges that relate to it, and apply in today’s society and in history the plan of God for marriage and the family,” which the statutes link in particular to the World Meeting of Families.

It also “monitors the activity of Catholic institutes, associations, movements and organizations … whose purpose is to serve the good of the family.”

Regarding life issues, it promotes and supports “responsible procreation” and organizations “which help women and families to welcome and cherish life, especially in the case of difficult pregnancies and to prevent abortion.” It also supports organizations which help post-abortive women.

The dicastery supports “the protection of human life from conception to its natural end, bearing in mind the needs of the person in the various stages of evolution.”

It also studies and promotes formation in biomedicine and law based on Catholic moral doctrine and the Magisterium.

Other projects will include formation of engaged and newly married couples, and the promotion of openness to the adoption and fostering of children.

Referencing paragraphs 296-306 of Pope Francis’ 2016 apostolic exhortation on love in the family, Amoris laetitia, the statutes say the dicastery “expresses the pastoral care of the Church also in relation to so-called ‘irregular’ situations.”

The statutes also make reference to the Second Vatican Council’s constitutions Lumen gentium, on the Church, and Gaudium et spes, on the Church in the modern world.

The Pontifical Academy for Life is also connected to the dicastery, as it relates to issues connected with its competency.

Pope Francis re-founded what was previously the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family Sept. 19, 2017, making it a theological institute charged with studying marriage and the family from a scientific perspective.

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Vatican City, May 7, 2018 / 10:18 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The ongoing crisis in Venezuela has produced a tremendous flow of emigration, with thousands fleeing the instability and hyperinflation under Nicolas Maduro’s socialist government to seek refuge in neighboring countries.

Venezuelans who choose to leave their country, as with any migrant, face a plethora of obstacles, risks, and unknowns, including an increased number of neighboring nations closing their doors, as well as the danger of falling victim to traffickers.

In a bid to help host countries support the influx of their Venezuelan neighbors and provide migrants the resources they need to integrate into their new countries, the Vatican’s office for migrants and refugees has partnered with eight South American bishops’ conferences in launching a project aimed at providing this support.

Titled “Bridges of Solidarity,” the project was presented May 7 by the two undersecretaries of the Vatican’s migrant office – part of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and is overseen by Pope Francis directly – Fr. Michael Czerny, SJ, and Fr. Fabio Baggio, as well as Fr. Arturo Sosa, father general of the Society of Jesus and himself a Venezuelan.

The office is partnering with the bishops of Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Argentina.

The project is in line with the 20 actions points drafted by the Vatican’s migrant section as part of Pope Francis’ 4-step plan for assisting migrants and refugees: to welcome, protect, promote and integrate.

Services offered through the project, which is designed to run for 24 months, include the building of centers and shelters for migrants; assistance finding housing and jobs; the facilitation of access to education and healthcare; advocacy and legal assistance; professional training of pastoral workers and awareness campaigns aimed at sensitizing local communities to the needs of migrants and the risks they face.

Funding, according to Fr. Baggio, happens partially at a local level, but the dicastery also helps in seeking support from private donors and partnerships.

Fr. Czerny said the department’s mission is to “assist the Church wherever needed, wherever possible, in accompanying migrants, refugees and victims of human trafficking.”

As a refugee himself, Czerny said one of the biggest areas they want to address helping migrants to have access to good information, thus lowering the risks they face along the way.

The looming questions for any migrant, Czerny said, are “what awaits you? What lies ahead? What do you need to know now that’s going to happen that you can be a bit better prepared? Or are you always arriving shocked, surprised and disappointed?”

“I don’t think there’s a better example of where the Church, throughout [the continent] can cooperate so that as people undertake these difficult journeys and that they are supplied with good information all along the way,” he said, referring to the new project.

Providing the right information, he said, plays a key role in the prevention of trafficking, “because people are trafficked when they lack the necessary information in order to make good decisions.”

In comments to CNA, Czerny said migrants generally lack two key areas information, the first being the practical “what do you do when…” info, as well as answers to questions about what a migrant should do when they arrive to a bus station or shelter, and what to say and not to say.

The other area is a lack of correct information, he said, noting there is often an abundance of false information that reaches migrants, and “false information is the beginning of the trafficking problem…people are oriented in the wrong direction and they end up trapped.”

Compounding the issue is the fact that many see the issue as something chaotic, assuming that it would be difficult to get the right information to migrants in the first place.

However, “when we look at it practically it’s not chaotic, it’s practical. It’s people, and people are coming and if you have good information you can share it,” Czerny said, adding that cell phones and other digital tools make it easy to share information, “but it has to be good information.”

Pope Francis has often been outspoken about the issue of trafficking. He addressed the topic again, speaking specifically about the problem of false information, in a video message to the Second International Forum on Modern Slavery, taking place May 5-8 in Argentina, published May 7.

The pope said slavery is not something of the past, but is a grim reality for many men, women and children throughout the world.

Confronted with this “tragic reality,” the pope said “no one can wash their hands who does not want to be, in some way, complicit in this crime against humanity.”

He spoke of the need to overcome “the veil of indifference” covering this issue, and said it often times appears as if “many don’t want to understand the scope of the problem.”

“There are those who, being directly involved in criminal organizations, don’t want this to be talked about simply because they get high profits thanks to the new forms of slavery,” he said, noting that there are also those who know about the problem, but don’t want to talk about it “because they find themselves at the end of the chain of consumption.”

According to Fr. Czerny, the problem of prostitution, to which the pope was likely referring, is the biggest area of trafficking that migrants fall victim to.

Pope Francis said that enforcing stricter laws are not enough, but the root causes must also be addressed, such as poverty, violence, and corruption.

The response to this issue, he said, must be based on creating opportunities for a true integral human development, beginning with education, which he said is “the key point.”

Francis closed his message noting that the task is a difficult one which requires both patience and perseverance, but which will help in building “a society that is renewed and oriented toward freedom, justice and peace.”

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