PONTIFICIUM OPUS A SANCTA INFANTIA
GENERAL ASSEMBLY NOVEMBER 2003
REPORT BY GENERAL SECRETARY OF THE Rome, 5 - 6 November 2003 Once again we have the opportunity to meet at our restricted November meeting of the Pontifical Mission Societies. I warmly welcome the delegates who are present at the meeting and I greet all our National Directors throughout the world. Each one will receive a copy of this report. I would like to share with you now some facts and statistics on which I have been reflecting in these last few weeks. During the 20th century world population increased at a spectacular rate and its distribution fundamentally shifted away from Europe. By the beginning of the 21st century, world population exceeded 6 billion – more than double what it had been 50 years earlier and over 3 times what it had been a 100 years earlier. The most dramatic growth of population took place in Africa. The total population of Africa exceeded that of Europe in 2000. Only 50 years before, Europe’s population had been more than twice as large as Africa’s. Church statistics for the year 2000 indicate that the Americas are 63% Catholic and Europe is 41% Catholic. Catholics comprise about 16% of all Africans. Only 3% of all Asians are Catholic. In sparsely populated Oceania, Catholics make up about 26% of the population. HIV/AIDS afflicts 28 million Africans. The overwhelming majority of HIV infections are in sub-Saharan Africa, where women account for 58% of cases. The disease is contributing to food shortages by reducing the number of agricultural workers and threatening economic collapse. Of the 42 million HIV-infected people worldwide, from 5 to 6 million urgently need treatment because their illness has advanced to AIDS. But 99% of the HIV positive people who need HIV treatment today in sub Saharan Africa do not have access to it. Without an expanded response, the United Nations estimates than an additional 45 million people will become infected with the virus by 2010. Referring to these figures, the American Secretary of State, Colin Powell, told the United Nations on Monday, September 22nd that “AIDS was more devastating than any weapon of mass destruction”. I went to the Diocese of Davenport, USA, from May 20th to 27th, where there is very active support for Holy Childhood. I visited seven schools to thank the children and their teachers for their financial and moral help. Several meetings were arranged with groups of benefactors and I preached at the Sunday Masses in St. Anthony’s Parish, Davenport. On Friday, May 30th I travelled to Paris with His Exc. Monsignor Ranjith, and Sister Maria Teresa Crescini of the International Secretariat, to take part in the celebration of the 160 years of Holy Childhood. There was a celebration in Nancy where our founder, Msgr. Charles de Forbin Janson had been bishop, on Saturday May 31st.. Then on June 1st we celebrated with about 1000 children in the Basilica of Lisieux. On June 14th we were blessed to have 7.000 Italian children in Rome from all over Italy for a special Audience with Pope John Paul II. I wish to thank our Prefect, Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, for his help in arranging the audience and Monsignor Giuseppe Andreozzi and the National Office of Italy for organizing the day’s events. I was in Indonesia from July 2nd – 16th. From the 4th-6th in Jakarta we celebrated the First National Congress of Holy Childhood in Indonesia with the presence of 1000 children from all the dioceses of the country. Afterwards I visited our projects in Bali, Kupang, Atambua, Maumere and Ende. Let us have a look now at our project proposals for this November meeting.
Thank you for your kind attention Fr. Patricio Byrne SVD
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||