Global Ceasefire

Pope Francis has supported a U.N. Security Council resolution that calls for a global ceasefire. “The resolution calls on parties to armed conflicts to immediately in a ‘durable humanitarian phase’ provide aid to countries to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic.”

#PopeFrancis expresses support for a UN Security Council resolution calling for a global #ceasefire, to provide aid for peoples suffering the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. #coronavirus https://t.co/Xtw50Je08U

— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) July 5, 2020

The Pope on World Environment Day 2020

On today's observance Pope Francis wrote, “We cannot pretend to be healthy in a world that is sick.” As members of the environment human efforts for its health go hand in hand to foster “a more humane society.“

#PopeFrancis calls for a change in attitudes, so that we may leave a better and healthier planet to later generations. #WorldEnvironmentDayhttps://t.co/Jm4HsWqavG

— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) June 5, 2020

World Environment Day 2020

Its theme is biodiversity. Many individuals issue a call to “wake up” and help the environment grow health again.

International Day of Families

Today is the 24th UN-proclaimed day focusing attention on the family. Its theme this year is “Families, education and well-being.” Jesuit Nicholas Austin noted that Pope Francis’ exhortation, Amoris Laetitia, is “a word of encouragement…and above all another example of the discerning way of proceeding that the pope has modelled.’    

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Wiki-image by takato marui of Šternberg Family Tree CC BY-SA 2.0

Geneva and Rome

Because the Vatican had signed the U.N. Convention for the Rights of the Child, it was compelled to appear before a U.N. committee and give an account of the “scale of abuse [of children by clergy] and what it was doing to prevent it.” A brief AP story appeared in newspapers. Mr. John L. Allen Jr. offers more details in his All Things Catholic post today.

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Wiki-mage of U.N. office, Geneva PD-Release