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Newsletter: Winter Issue 2006

From the President's Desk . . .

Dear friends of Path to Peace Foundation,

I take this opportunity to thank you for your friendship and support during this past year. Inside this edition you will see some of the highlights since our last issue as well as some of our ambitious goals for the new year. I hope you enjoy it.

On behalf of my colleagues and staff I extend to you and your families our very best wishes for a Merry Christmas and prosperous New Year!

Sincerely,

+ Celestino Migliore

Path to Peace Events

CONFERENCE ON WOMEN

On September 13, the Holy See Mission co-sponsored a side-event at the United Nations on Migration and Development, titled: “The Human Dignity of Women in Contemporary Society – Issues and best Practices in Migration and Refugee Services.” Among the distinguished panelists were: Anastasia K. Brown, Director of Refugee Programs for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops; Mary Delorey, M.A., M.S.W., Strategic Issues Advisor with Catholic Relief Services, and Helene Hayes, RGS, Ph.D., from the International Research Project, who spoke on trafficked women in southeast Asia, Europe, and the USA.

This side event, the first in a series, sought to identify the key contemporary social, economic and legal issues impacting women migrants and refugees within home and host countries. The conference was well attended by various ambassadors and NGO’s. Those in attendance were moved by the heart-wrenching personal accounts that were read about women in desperate situations.

THE HOLY SEE AT THE GENERAL DEBATE WITHIN THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

On September 27th, Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, President of the Governatorate of the Vatican City State and former Secretary of the Section for Relations with States, participated in the General Debate of the Sixty-first session of the General Assembly of the United Nations. In his address he spoke of how “the world is divided by culture, faith, wealth and levels of material advancement, and even more by attitudes towards power, authority and cooperation.” The Archbishop went on to speak on three fundamental human rights: the right to life, the right to religious freedom, and the right to freedom of thought and expression. He reiterated the Holy See’s advocacy of the UN as an instrument in promoting peace, while also acknowledging the Organization’s need for reform. You can read the entire text of his address by visiting our website: www.holyseemission.org

Projects

This summer the Path to Peace Foundation made a contribution to the Oblates of Mater Orphanorum, who work with poor children, to purchase new school desks and other supplies for a school they run in Santa Ana in El Salvador.

Seminary in China: Recently Archbishop Migliore was approached by Bishop Peter Xinmao Feng, Bishop of the Diocese of Hengshui, who requested financial aid for his diocesan seminary. He noted that it costs $40,000 per year to pay the professors’ salary. Archbishop Migliore promised to assist him in this worthy cause in support of the formation of future priests in China. Please consult the enclosed

Where are They Now?

You may be wondering where some of our former colleagues have gone, here is an update. Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, who served as a Counsellor at this Mission from 1993-1996, was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as the new Secretary of the Section for Relations with States. Monsignor Francis Chullikatt, former Counsellor from 2000-2004, was ordained Archbishop on June 29th and appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Iraq. Monsignor Ruben Dimaculangan is now working in the Secretariat of State in Rome. He has been replaced by another Phillipino, Monsignor Barney Auza. We wish them all the best in their new assignments.

Upcoming

CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING SEMINAR

Due to the success of this year’s seminar on Catholic Social Teaching for college students, we have scheduled another one for next year. The seminar, titled “Catholic College Students and the Common Good: Building a Better World,” will be held May 20-25, 2007. Given the great interest in this seminar we seek to double the size of the participants to 50 students. More information will be forthcoming on how you can help with sponsoring a student to attend.

2007 PATH TO PEACE GALA SAVE THE DATE!!

We’re happy to announce that the 2007 Path to Peace Gala Award Dinner will be held on Tuesday, June 12th at the United Nations. The recipient of the Award is Her Excellency Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa, President of the Sixty-first session of the United Nations General Assembly. Invitations will be mailed in the spring.

BOOKLAUNCHES

THEOLOGY OF THE BODY

The Holy See Mission was pleased to host the official launch of the new translation of Pope John Paul II’s, Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology of the Body. The event took place on October 13. In attendance were numerous friends of the Path to Peace Foundation, representatives from the Daughters of Saint Paul, who published the book, and the translator of the new edition, Dr. Michael Waldenstein – Director of the International Theological Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family in Austria. This new edition is based on the late Holy Father’s personal notes in Polish and provides new chapter headings, a new introduction, and new footnotes.

CHRISTIANITY AND THE CRISIS OF CULTURES

Following the example of Pope Benedict XVI in taking our dialogue with Islam a step further, the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See in conjunction with the Path to Peace Foundation organized two debates at the UN. First, on November 20th, the Holy See Mission co-sponsored a conference at the United Nations on “Relativism and the Crisis of Cultures in the Writings of Pope Benedict XVI,” on the occasion of the launch of the book, Christianity and the Crisis of Cultures, by the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. Speakers included Professor George Weigel, Senior Fellow, Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, DC, and Professor Marcello Pera, Senator of the Italian Republic. Archbishop Migliore gave his greetings and the event was moderated by Mr. Marco Bardazzi, US Correspondent of ANSA news agency.

OASIS MAGAZINE

Second, the launch of Oasis in English. OASIS is a biennial magazine of the Oasis International Studies and Research Centre, located in Venice, Italy, which treats of ecclesial issues and interreligious dialogue in the Muslim world. The magazine is sent gratis to all bishops in Muslim nations. The editors of OASIS publish the magazine in different bi-lingual versions, Italian-Arabic and French-Arabic. Recognizing that the timely topics covered in the magazine would be of interest to those in the English speaking countries, given the tensions that exist between cultures, they will launch an English edition of OASIS on January 17, 2007, at the United Nations. The Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See is happy to co-sponsor this event. For more information on OASIS or to subscribe, please visit their website www.cisro.org