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Towards climate-neutral aviation: Blending mandate for the European Union

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Towards climate-neutral aviation: Blending mandate for the European Union

Aviation is the fastest growing transport sector, and it will continue to grow despite the current COVID-19 crisis. Regulatory support is needed to achieve the sector’s emission reduction targets.

Thorsten Lange is the Executive Vice President, Renewable Aviation of Neste.

With a view to the EU’s short- and long-term climate targets, the aviation sector needs solutions for decarbonisation today. The ambition level needs to be high to achieve the EU’s climate neutrality by 2050. Existing solutions, sustainable aviation fuels, can help the sector to get there, if necessary regulatory decisions are made.

The EU needs to make sure that its aviation industry is not left behind by providing requirements that create a credible long-term market with intermediate targets, and attract the needed investments. Additionally, incentives for the development of new technologies are needed.

Sustainable Aviation Fuel – The only viable alternative to fossil liquid fuels for powering commercial aircraft

Neste’s sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) provides a cleaner alternative to fossil fuels, achieving up to 80% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to fossil jet fuels, over the lifecycle and in its neat form. In addition, SAF also provides additional climate and public health benefits through substantially reduced particulate emissions. According to recent research, the non-CO2 effects of aviation can have equal or even higher climate impact than carbon emissions.

Neste’s biofuel for aviation – Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel™ (SAF) – is made from 100% renewable waste and residue raw materials. It is a fully compliant drop-in solution for existing jet engines and can be blended with conventional fossil jet fuels up to a maximum level of 50% according to present standards. There are no large-scale alternatives to liquid hydrocarbons, i.e. sustainable aviation fuels, in aviation in the foreseen future.

Airports and airlines agree that SAF is the only available way for the aviation industry to reduce its net carbon emissions, together with more efficient aircraft and operational improvements. It is key to work together to offer the private consumer and corporate passengers a way to actively choose to reduce their carbon footprint and thereby cover the higher cost of SAF. However, regulatory support is required to stimulate both the demand and supply of SAF. 

Why do we need a blending mandate?

SAF is still at least 3-5 times more expensive than fossil fuel, depending on the technology pathway used. Therefore, incentives are needed for airlines to be able to take this step. A blending mandate for the EU would support this development and create a credible market to attract investments. 

The ramping up of global and European SAF production has already started and can continue rapidly, provided that the necessary regulatory decisions are made. Lead times for new biofuel plants are long. Thus, a mandate (1) needs to be decided as soon as possible, (2) ramp-up trajectory needs to be gradual, and (3) be designed for the long-term to provide the certainty needed to trigger investments and give enough time to accumulate returns.

A SAF blending mandate of a minimum of 10% is needed by 2030 to get the aviation sector along in contributing to the climate neutrality goal. If decided soon enough, this ambition level corresponding to the amount of 5-6 Mton of SAF in 2030 (uptake of the European jet fuel) can realistically be achieved. In addition, new plant oils (e.g. intermediate crops and crops from contaminated and degraded land) could bring more availability.    

Wide feedstock pool is key 

Sustainable feedstocks are available, but their eligibility in the EU legislation cannot be limited only to a narrow pool of ‘advanced biofuels’ as defined by the Renewable Energy Directive (RED II). All sustainable waste and residue feedstocks under the RED II need to be accepted for SAF; there are e.g. plenty of sustainable waste and residue feedstocks which are not explicitly listed in Annex IX of the RED II. For the uptake of sustainable aviation fuels and the decarbonisation of the sector, the sustainability criteria of the RED II need to be the basis for all SAF specific regulations in Europe.    

Experience from on-road is clearly demonstrating that a mandate ensures most efficiently the desired uptake, while being market-based and thus cost-efficient. A stable policy framework over a sufficient time horizon would also provide airlines to pursue an efficient and more climate-friendly fuels policy.    

Research and Development support and additional incentives are also needed for the future, but they alone cannot decarbonise the aviation sector soon enough nor trigger the SAF production investments needed. For example, power-to-liquid (PtL), i.e. using renewable electricity to produce liquid hydrocarbons from CO₂ and hydrogen, is a good solution, but meaningful volumes are going to be available earliest towards the end of the decade. We need to both start reducing emissions today, while also investing in new technologies for the future. Doing one but not the other is not enough.

EU4Health: MEPs pave the way for an effective EU health programme | News | European Parliament

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officialinstitutions
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EU4Health: MEPs pave the way for an effective EU health programme | News | European Parliament

, https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20201109IPR91115/

Green Deal: How MEPs wish to channel EU investment to sustainable activities | News | European Parliament

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officialinstitutions
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Green Deal: How MEPs wish to channel EU investment to sustainable activities | News | European Parliament

, https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20201109IPR91117/

COMECE calls for a people-centred, sustainable and multilateral EU Arctic policy

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COMECE
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COMECE calls for a people-centred, sustainable and multilateral EU Arctic policy

 

COMECE calls for a people-centred, sustainable and multilateral EU Arctic policy 

 

COMECE contributed to the EU public consultation  on the future EU Arctic policy, highlighting the EU’s responsibility to ensure a sustainable and peaceful  Arctic  that puts its  people  in the foc. The contribution was jointly elaborated with Justice & Peace Europe in dialogue with regional Church actors.

 

ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw== COMECE calls for a people-centred, sustainable and multilateral EU Arctic policy

 

In the context of the current developments impacting the Artic region, the European Union is reviewing its 2016 policy framework to address the interconnected ecological, socio-economic, human rights and geopolitical challenges. 

 

Participating in a recent EU public consultation, COMECE and Justice & Peace Europe highlight that the future EU Artic policy should promote a partnership for sustainable and integral development of persons, families and local communities, while respecting their natural environment. 

 

In this regard, the joint document suggests that “the human dimension should have a stronger articulation in the future policy, including health, safety and socio-economic empowerment of local communities and migrant workers present in the region”. 

 

Along with strengthening the protection and promotion of human rights, including land, social, cultural, religious and linguistic rights of indigenous communities, the EU is encouraged to prioritse the fostering of resilience of local communities in view of the necessary adaptations induced by climate change and its ramifications. 

 

The wealth of natural resources present in the Arctic region and their increased accessibility due to melting ice, fuels the potential for predatory practices that exploit the environment and impoverish local populations. 

 

Echoing Pope Francis’ call for an integral ecology, safeguarding Creation and building a truly just and equitable social and economic order, in its contribution COMECE stresses for the future EU Arctic policy framework to include “a binding mechanism for corporate social responsibility, requiring companies to fully comply with internationally recognised human rights, social and environmental standards”.  

 

In order to address the risk of a fragmentation of the region, the EU should promote new inclusive ways of multilateral engagement with all regional and local actors, including indigenous communities. 

 

Churches, religious communities and faith-based actors, as promoters of sustainable human development and peace at the grassroots, and multipliers of awareness raising efforts, could, according to COMECE, be recognised as natural partners of the EU in jointly addressing the challenges pertinent to the Arctic region.

 

Download the contribution

 

Photo: Sergey Anisimov/Anadolu Agency

Government restrictions on religion worldwide at record levels

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Government restrictions on religion worldwide at record levels



                <figure class="center"> <figcaption class="caption"> Sri Lankan military officials stand guard in front of the St. Anthony's Shrine, Kochchikade church after an explosion in Colombo, Sri Lanka April 21, 2019.<span class="credit">(Photo: Reuters/Dinuka Liyanawatte)</span></figcaption></figure>

Newly released data from an ongoing Pew Research Center study shows that government restrictions on religion around the world have risen to a record level amid increases in government restrictions on religion in Asia and Pacific countries, most notably.

The nonpartisan polling organization published on Tuesday results from its 11th annual study of restrictions on religion. The series of annual reports are part of the Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures project and analyze the extent that societies worldwide infringe on religious beliefs and practices.

The most recent data available is from 2018 through a study that rates 198 countries and territories by the levels of government restrictions on religion and also the levels of social hostilities toward religion in those countries. All the studies over the last decade-plus have been based on the same 10-point index.

“In 2018, the global median level of government restrictions on religion — that is, laws, policies and actions by officials that impinge on religious beliefs and practices — continued to climb, reaching an all-time high since Pew Research Center began tracking these trends in 2007,” the authors of the new report wrote.

The report was authored by Pew Research Associate Samirah Majumdar and Pew Director of Religion Research Virginia Villa.

The study’s government restrictions index (GRI) measures laws, policies and actions that restrict religious beliefs and practices. The GRI features 20 measures of restrictions that include anything from efforts by governments to ban particular faiths to prohibiting conversion and providing preferential treatment to one or more religious groups.

Pew researchers combed through more than 12 publicly available and widely cited sources of information, such as the U.S. State Department’s annual reports on international religious freedom as well as annual reports from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Also, researchers referred to reports from several European and United Nations bodies. They also combed through reports from “several independent, nongovernmental organizations.”

According to Pew, the increase from 2017 to 2018 was “relatively modest” but did help contribute to the “substantial rise in government restrictions on religion over more than a decade.”

“In 2007, the first year of the study, the global median score on the Government Restrictions Index was 1.8,” the report adds. “After some fluctuation in the early years, the median score has risen steadily since 2011 and now stands at 2.9 for 2018, the most recent full year for which data is available.”

The authors contend that the increase in government restrictions globally reflects a variety of events and trends, including a rise from 2017 to 2018 in the number of governments using force to coerce religious groups. Uses of force include things like detentions and physical abuse.

Pew found that 28% of countries (56) have “high or very high” government restrictions on religion.

According to the study, 25 countries with “high or very high” government restrictions on religion are in the Asia-Pacific region, meaning that half of the countries in the region have high or very high levels of government restrictions on religion.

In the Middle East and North Africa, 90% of the countries in the region (18) have high or very high levels of government restrictions on religion.

“Out of the five regions examined in the study, the Middle East and North Africa continued to have the highest median level of government restrictions in 2018 (6.2 out of 10),” the study found. “However, Asia and the Pacific had the largest increase in its median government restrictions score, rising from 3.8 in 2017 to 4.4 in 2018, partly because a greater number of governments in the region used force against religious groups, including property damage, detention, displacement, abuse and killings.”

The data found that 62% of countries — 31 out of 50 — in Asia and the Pacific “experienced government use of force related to religion.” The tally of 31 is up from 26 in 2017.

While the increase is largely due to concentrations of low-level government restrictions on religion in places like Armenia and the Philippines, the report stresses that the region also saw “several instances of widespread use of government force against religious groups.

The report calls out Myanmar for its mass displacement of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities, such as Christians, who were displaced by fighting between the Burmese military and ethnic groups.

The Pew report also called out Uzbekistan, which has an estimated 1,500 Muslim religious prisoners in prison on charges of religious extremism or for membership in banned groups.

The authors note that other countries like China “saw all-time highs in their overall government restrictions scores.” According to Pew, China continues to have “the highest score on the Government Restrictions Index out of all 198 countries and territories in the study.”

“China has been near the top of the list of most restrictive governments in each year since the inception of the study, and in 2018 it reached a new peak in its score (9.3 out of 10),” the report states. “The Chinese government restricts religion in a variety of ways, including banning entire religious groups (such as the Falun Gong movement and several Christian groups), prohibiting certain religious practices, raiding places of worship and detaining and torturing individuals.”

China is also said to be holding at least 800,000 and possibly up to 2 million Uighur and other ethnic Muslims in the western Xinjiang province at detention camps “designed to erase religious and ethnic identities.”

India is among the countries that reached an all-time high on its GRI score in 2018, scoring 5.9 out of 10. India has received increased pressure from international human rights groups in recent years as there has been a rise of Hindu nationalism that has led to the persecution of Christians and other religious minorities. Additionally, anti-conversion laws in some states have been used to imprison Christians.

“In India, anti-conversion laws affected minority religious groups,” Pew explained. “For example, in the state of Uttar Pradesh in September, police charged 271 Christians with attempting to convert people by drugging them and ‘spreading lies about Hinduism.’ Furthermore, throughout the year, politicians made comments targeting religious minorities.”

In 2018, Tajikistan registered an all-time high with a GRI score of 7.9 out of 10 as 2018 was the year that the “Tajik government amended its religion law, increasing control over religious education domestically and over those who travel abroad for religious education.” The new law required religious groups to report activities to government officials and get state approval to appoint imams.

“Throughout the year, the Tajik government continued to deny minority religious groups, such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, official recognition,” the report stated. “In January, Jehovah’s Witnesses reported that more than a dozen members were interrogated by police and pressured to renounce their faith.”

Thailand also registered an all-time high on the GRI in 2018 as the government instituted immigration raids targeting and arresting hundreds of immigrants and refugees who did not have legal status, including Christians and Ahmadi Muslims from Pakistan and Christian Montagnards from Vietnam.

In addition to the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa was the only other region in the world to experience an increase in its median level of government restrictions in 2018. Pew notes that the region also reached new highs after years of “steady rise.”

“While government use of force against religious groups decreased in the region, both harassment of religious groups and physical violence against minority groups went up,” the authors explained.

According to Pew’s data, 40 out of 48 countries in sub-Saharan Africa experienced some form of government harassment of religious groups, while 14 countries had “reports of governments using physical coercion against religious minorities.”

In Christian majority Mozambique, government officials were said to have arbitrarily detained people who appeared to be Muslim in response to a rising Islamic extremist insurgency in the country.

According to the analysis, Europe showed a small decline in its median level of government restrictions on religion while the Americas “remained stable” between 2017 and 2018. The Americas continue to experience the lowest levels of government restrictions on religion compared to other regions.

Courtesy of The Christian Post

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Report on the risk assessment of N,N-diethyl-2- [[4-(1-methylethoxy)phenyl]methyl]-5-nitro-1Hbenzimidazole- 1-ethanamine (isotonitazene) in accordance with Article 5c of Regulation (EC) No 1920/2006 (as amended)

By
European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction
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Report on the risk assessment of N,N-diethyl-2- [[4-(1-methylethoxy)phenyl]methyl]-5-nitro-1Hbenzimidazole- 1-ethanamine (isotonitazene) in accordance with Article 5c of Regulation (EC) No 1920/2006 (as amended)
<em class="pub-author">EMCDDA,</em>
<em class="pub-local">Lisbon,</em>
<em class="pub-date"><span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2020-11-13T00:00:00+00:00">November 2020</span></em>


                    <div class="summary">
        <h2 class="publications-summary">Summary</h2>
        <div class="field field-name-field-summary field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items" readability="10.5"><div class="field-item even" readability="16">This publication presents the data and findings of the risk assessment on <em>N,N</em>-diethyl-2-[[4-(1-methylethoxy)phenyl]methyl]-5-nitro-1<em>H</em>-benzimidazole-1- ethanamine (isotonitazene), carried out by the extended Scientific Committee of the EMCDDA on 26 May 2020. On the basis of the Risk Assessment Report, on 2 September 2020, the Commission decided that isotonitazene should be included in the definition of 'drug', in the Annex to Framework Decision 2004/757/JHA. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2020/1687 by 3 June 2021.

        <div class="publication-attachments pdf">
            <strong>Download as PDF</strong>                                                                                                    </div>






                        <div>
                <div class="publication-toc"><h2>Table of contents</h2><ul><li>Statement regarding the United Kingdom</li>
<li>Foreword</li>
<li>EMCDDA Initial Report on isotonitazene</li>
<li>Risk Assessment Report on a new psychoactive substance: isotonitazene</li>
<li>Technical report on isotonitazene</li>
<li>Participants of the risk assessment meeting, 26 May 2020</li>

            <div class="main-subject"><h3 class="field-label"><i class="fa fa-tag"/> Main subject: </h3><p class="field-items"><span class="field-item">NPS</span></p></div>

ESMA identifies costs and performance and data quality as new Union Strategic Supervisory Priorities

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officialinstitutions
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ESMA identifies costs and performance and data quality as new Union Strategic Supervisory Priorities

Under these Priorities, the specific topics on which NCAs will undertake supervisory action in 2021, coordinated by ESMA, are:

  1. costs and fees charged by fund managers; and
  2. improving the quality of transparency data reported under MiFIR.

Under its revised Regulation, ESMA is now responsible for identifying supervisory Priorities to address key market risks impacting Member States. In this context, ESMA will coordinate supervisory action with NCAs on specific topics, the aim being to provide a structured and comprehensive response to such key risks. NCAs will incorporate these Priorities into their supervisory work programmes.

Steven Maijoor, Chair, said:

“The new powers represent an important part of the new supervisory convergence toolkit to address market risks that require specific attention and concerted supervisory action in the EU.”

“The selection of costs and performance and data quality will ensure that risks and problems in these two areas are addressed simultaneously by NCAs across the European Union and thereby ensuring greater protection for investors and the orderly functioning of markets.”

The reasons for selecting these two Priorities are the following:

Costs and Performance

The area of costs and performance is a key part of investor protection. ESMA considers that problems linked to cost and performance are multifaceted due to the lack of transparency and undue costs or differences observed in the application of certain MiFID requirements across Member States.

Unfair and disproportionate costs and fees can increase investor detriment and affect investors’ trust in financial markets. Investment firms and fund managers should have their clients’ best interests at heart and ensure that costs and charges are reasonable and disclosed in a transparent and non-complex manner.

Data Quality

Data is now a core element of securities markets regulation and it is a vital component of NCAs’ data-driven approaches to supervision. The reporting datasets and requirements have grown exponentially since the 2008 financial crisis and data quality is improving.

A better understanding of the requirements by market participants could avoid poor and late reporting. Making progress in improving data quality is important to investors, market participants and regulators as reliable and timely data is needed to deter and detect market abuse, provide transparency calculations and identify systemic and counterparty risk building up in jurisdictions.

Tanzania: Missionaries’ appreciation but also fear of authoritarian leader – Vatican News

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Tanzania: Missionaries’ appreciation but also fear of authoritarian leader - Vatican News

Agenzia Fides -Dar es Salaam

“In the first mandate,” missionaries who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Agenzia Fides, “the President (Magufuli) stood out for his commitment to building infrastructure. With the help of China, a historical ally of Tanzania, roads and railways have been built, internal and international connections have improved. There is no comparison with the past,” said the missionaries in their assessment.

Improved education and a robust fight against corruption

President Magufuli demonstrated commitment to improving education.

“On this point”, the missionaries continue, “we can only praise the commitment of the government. It reorganised the teaching staff by choosing the most qualified teachers and offering training to the least trained. (The government) also insisted on the fact that all children must have at least a basic education. The measures affected the entire national territory. It has been a very important step forward,” they complimented.

Another element judged positively is in the fight against corruption.

“President Magufuli,” they add, “has been relentless towards the corrupt and corruption. He has launched stringent policies that have drastically reduced the phenomenon throughout the country and at all levels,” they said. 

This is something that has had a positive effect on investments (in the country). It has favoured an expansion of the economy. The economy has continued to grow in 2020, despite the coronavirus pandemic. The state budget for the 2020 – 2021 financial year envisages growth of 5.5%, although the World Bank estimates growth will likely only be around 2.5%.

Deterioration of human rights and authoritarianism

However, there are also downsides.

“What scares us,” the missionaries say, “is this President’s style of action: A tough, decisive style, which at times is dictatorial.” According to Freedom House, an organisation that monitors respect for human rights and democratic values in the world, “the authorities (in Tanzania) have intensified their efforts to contain Opposition parties in recent years. In 2016, the government banned all political demonstrations and rallies, drastically limiting Opposition parties’ ability to mobilise public support. In January 2019, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), (the ruling party in power for 50 years) used its parliamentary majority to approve amendments to the law on political parties that further restricted the rights of Opposition groups,” said the missionaries.

Arrests of Opposition leaders

The government has arrested several high-profile Opposition figures in 2019 and 2020, thus continuing a campaign of repression.

“Anyone who criticises the president,” the missionaries observe, “runs the risk of being stopped by the police and ending up in prison. Opposition politicians, journalists, (some) members of Non-Governmental Organisations were arrested during the election period. Democratic principles are in question. The President himself is trying to break the two-term limitation in order to run for a third time,” suggest the missionaries spoken to.

Discussion of COVID-19 not tolerated

“In the country,” the missionaries conclude, “there is no mention of the Covid-19 emergency or the threats posed by Jihadists in the southern districts of the country. The President assures that these dangers are being addressed, but there is no public debate on them. Tanzanians are forced to trust the President, and many do, relying entirely on President Magufuli and his policies.”

WHO/Europe is focusing on eye screening for people with diabetes

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Newsdesk
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WHO/Europe is helping countries to prevent vision loss and impairment in people with diabetes. World Diabetes Day, observed on 14 November 2020, marks a week of focus in the WHO European Region on preventing blindness and vision impairment among people with diabetes.

About 64 million people, or about 7% of the population of the Region, have diabetes, and almost a third of them have vision impairment or blindness because of a condition called diabetic retinopathy. Diabetic retinopathy screening can identify patients at higher risk so that early treatment or intervention can be offered.

Across the Region, countries are building and improving their diabetic retinopathy screening programmes, as three case studies illustrate. On 18 November 2020 WHO/Europe will host a webinar for policy-makers, senior clinicians and public health leaders at which a new guide will be launched.

Diabetic retinopathy screening: a short guide is an operational handbook on how to design an effective and systematic diabetic retinopathy screening programme. Diabetic retinopathy is a condition caused by raised blood glucose that damages the blood vessels in the retina and can result in vision impairment and blindness.

This condition is common. A high-quality, equitable and systematic screening service is essential to reach everyone with diabetes before their vision is affected.

“We know that diabetic retinopathy is a leading cause of preventable vision impairment and blindness in the European Region”, said Dr Jill Farrington. “We encourage countries to introduce a new diabetic retinopathy screening programme, or revisit and improve their current approach. Well-planned screening programmes are cost-effective and can save thousands of people with diabetes from vision impairment.”

The situation is currently patchy. Many countries already have a form of eye exams for people with diabetes, but these are often not organized systematically with a screening pathway for everyone with diabetes, and they are not adequately resourced. The most effective screening method involves digital retinal photography, but if this is not affordable, trained and skilled practitioners can screen patients using other methods. Many countries do not even maintain a list or register of people with diabetes, which means some may not be invited for a screening. Sometimes systems are fragmented and there is no established pathway, so even in high-income countries people with diabetes fall through the cracks of the network of family doctors, endocrinology/diabetology, ophthalmology and hospital care, at different levels and localities.

Screening works. It helps detect early changes in the eye, at a stage when treatment can be effective as part of a screening pathway. Preventing and slowing the progression of diabetic retinopathy depends on good diabetes management, including patient education, supporting self-care, and facilitating the control of blood sugar, blood pressure and blood lipids through healthy lifestyles and appropriate treatment. If the retinopathy does progress to an advanced form, treatment can be provided with laser and, if available, intraocular drug injections.

More about the guide:

The guide supports policy-makers, public health leaders and senior clinicians to critically examine their current approach to diabetic retinopathy screening, and challenges them, irrespective of their current position, to take steps to improve their approach and make diabetic retinopathy screening systematic, more effective and ultimately equitable for all people with diabetes.

The guide covers principles and essential background information on screening, designing an effective screening programme, developing an improvement strategy, resources and infrastructure and designing a model, strengthening the pathway, operating a high-quality programme, addressing equity of access, managing the change process and identifying those who should be screened. It answers questions on issues ranging from diagnosis, who should be screened, which tests to use, what staff can conduct them, what protocols to follow, where the screening should be performed and what technology to use, to governance, financing, follow-up, and reporting. It also provides common country scenarios and specific examples of good practice.

Order of Malta serving the poor amid the pandemic – Vatican News

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officialinstitutions
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Order of Malta serving the poor amid the pandemic - Vatican News

By Linda Bordoni

Fra’ Marco Luzzago, the new Lieutenant of the Grand Master of the Sovereign Order of Malta, has taken office and commenced his work following weekend elections in one of the Order of Malta’s Magistral Villas in Rome.

Immediately after the election, Fra’ Luzzago swore his oath before the members of the Council Complete of State and the Pope’s Special Delegate, Cardinal-Designate Silvano Maria Tomasi.

As Lieutenant of the Grand Master, Luzzago will serve a term of one year with all of the prerogatives of the Grand Master until the next election. This will allow the Order of Malta to continue its ongoing process of constitutional reforms.

In an interview with Vatican Radio, the Order’s Grand Chancellor, Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager, talks about the main challenges facing the Sovereign Order and about how the coronavirus pandemic is impacting its humanitarian activities across the globe:

Listen to the interview with Albrecht von Boeselager

Hospitals and Homes 

Boeselager explained that the Order’s major priorities at the moment concern how best to cope with the challenges posed by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic in hospitals and in homes for the elderly and for the disabled: “That’s the great challenge all over the world.”

He spoke of the difficulties and pain of having to limit the visits of families and relatives, noting that “nothing can replace the personal contact” of loved-ones.

Feeding the poor

Among the humanitarian activities and assistance provided by the Order of Malta is the running of thousands of soup kitchens for the homeless. Boeselager says these centres have had to close, and the Order of Malta has been engaged in trying to substitute them with open-air distribution places.

In Africa, he explained, where millions of children receive their only substantial meal in school, the situation is very difficult because most schools have been closed. “It’s very difficult to reach these children, if not impossible,” he said.

“So that’s the range of the challenges we are facing, but we are very encouraged by the determination of our volunteers and members who are trying to tackle and to solve the problems,” he added.

Constitutional Reform

The Grand Chancellor also pointed to the ongoing challenge posed by the Order of Malta’s Constitutional Reform and said that since Pope Francis named his new Special Delegate, Cardinal-Elect Silvano Maria Tomasi, the process has started again.

“Cardinal-elect Tomasi is meeting with the Canon Lawyers that Cardinal Becciu had assembled – to get the information from them regarding how far are they with checking our drafts,” he said, expressing confidence that the process will gain new speed.

“He knows the Order, he knows many of the actors, so I’m very confident that in the coming months we can come to final results,” he said.

On a steady path

Asked whether he thought this moment in time could prove to be a “turning-point” for the Sovereign Order of Malta, Boeselager said “I think we are doing our best not to need a turning point but to keep the direction that we have, and I am very confident that with the reform we will ensure the Order is ready to face the future.”

He said he is confident the new Lieutenant, Fra’ Marco Luzzago, is determined to go on with reform and that the first contacts with Cardinal-Designate Tomasi has underlined this confidence.

“So I hope we can have a Chapter General in the middle of next year to decide on the necessary reforms for the Constitution and Code if the pandemic allows,” he said.

Support for the Middle East

Before concluding Boeselager wanted to highlight the Order’s activities in the Middle East.

He said the aid programmes the Order of Malta is implementing in Palestine, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon are more and more important. He said they are becoming more difficult but the Order has increased its efforts to help in this difficult region: “especially in Lebanon, where after the blast in the harbor the situation has deteriorated terribly.”

More mobile clinics are being set up in the country where the Order of Malta’s medical services are being expanded, he said, and “we are also starting a new farming project for little farmers, helping them to modernize their little farms and to give them more formation, and in return they should give 10% of the harvest for programs of the Order, to feed the poor.”

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