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World Day of Migrants and Refugees – 17 January

16 janvier 2016
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: migrants, misery of the world, planet's resources, Pope Francis, refugees, Year of Mercy

EPA1939668_ArticoloThe 102nd World Day of Migrants and Refugees will be celebrated January 17, 2016. The theme of Pope Francis’ Message is « Migrants and refugees challenge us: The response of the Gospel of mercy ». In his Message, the Holy Father says that « migrants are our brothers and sisters in search of a better life, far away from poverty, hunger, exploitation and the unjust distribution of the planet’s resources which are meant to be equitably shared by all. Don’t we all want a better, more decent and prosperous life to share with our loved ones? »

Source: Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops

Explaining the pope’s choice for the theme, the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travelers said the pope first wants to draw Catholics’ attention to « the dramatic situation of many men and women forced to abandon their homelands. »

In calling a Year of Mercy beginning Dec. 8, Pope Francis said it would be a time to overcome indifference to the needs of others, the council said. « Let us open our eyes and see the misery of the world, the wounds of our brothers and sisters who are denied their dignity, and let us recognize that we are compelled to heed their cry for help, » the pope wrote in the document proclaiming the year. The theme’s reference to « the Gospel of mercy, » aims « explicitly to tie the phenomenon of migration to the response of the world and, especially, of the church. In this context, the Holy Father invites the Christian people to reflect during the jubilee year on the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, which includes welcoming the stranger. »

Source: Catholic Diocese of Kumbo, Bamenda, Cameroon   Pic: EPA Vatican, In a camp, refugees are wading through water

World Day of War Orphans – January 6

5 janvier 2016
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: casualties, child soldiers, conflicts, disease, family, malnutrition, refugees, starvation, war orphans

Civilians bear the brunt of the suffering in war. Of the big number of war victims, the most often neglected are children. Orphans throughout the world face many challenges: Malnutrition, starvation, disease, and decreased social attention. As the most vulnerable population on planet Earth, they have no one to protect them and are most likely to suffer from hunger, disease, and many other problems. In recent decades, the proportion of civilian casualties in armed conflicts has increased dramatically and is now estimated at more than 90 per cent. About half of the victims are children.

An estimated 20 million children have been forced to flee their homes because of conflict and human rights violations and are living as refugees in neighbouring countries or are internally displaced within their own national borders. More than 2 million children have died as a direct result of armed conflict over the last decade.
More than three times that number, at least 6 million children, have been permanently disabled or seriously injured.

war orphans b. ABSFreePic.com

More than 1 million have been orphaned or separated from their families.
Between 8,000 and 10,000 children are killed or maimed by landmines every year.
An estimated 300,000 child soldiers – boys and girls under the age of 18 – are involved in more than 30 conflicts worldwide. Child soldiers are used as combatants, messengers, porters, cooks and to provide sexual services. Some are forcibly recruited or abducted, others are driven to join by poverty, abuse and discrimination, or to seek revenge for violence enacted against themselves and their families.

Sadly, however, they rarely receive the time, attention, and love for optimal social and personal development. Research reveals that children growing up in an orphanage experience emotional, social, and physical handicaps. Without a doubt, the best place for a child to grow up is in a stable family with a loving father and mother.

Source: Text http://buchionline.blogspot.hu/2011/01/world-day-for-war-orphans.html
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/296766/world-day-war-orphans-january-6-2011-highlighting-plight-150-million-children#.UM5YRuSIX-0

Pic: ABSFreePic.com

 

World Day of Migrants and Refugees – 18 December

18 décembre 2015
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: challenge, Church, crisis, human life, Mercy, migrants, Pope Francis, refugees, tragedy, Vatican radio, violence

AFP4577491_Articolo
The theme chosen by Pope Francis for 2016 is “Migrants and Refugees Challenge Us. The Response of the Gospel of Mercy.”
“The tragic stories of millions of men and women daily confront the international community as a result of the outbreak of unacceptable humanitarian crises in different parts of the world,” writes Pope Francis.
“Indifference and silence lead to complicity whenever we stand by as people are dying of suffocation, starvation, violence and shipwreck,” he continues. “Whether large or small in scale, these are always tragedies, even when a single human life is lost.”
“The Church stands at the side of all who work to defend each person’s right to live with dignity, first and foremost by exercising the right not to emigrate and to contribute to the development of one’s country of origin. This process should include, from the outset, the need to assist the countries which migrants and refugees leave.         (Vatican Radio)

The head of the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has urged European leaders to set up a « massive » refugee settlement programme. Antonio Guterres was speaking as a new UN report warned that the number of forcibly displaced people worldwide would « far surpass » a record 60 million this year.     (Source: BBC News email, December 18, 2015)