Pope Francis appointed Cardinal Kevin Farrell as President of the Commission for Confidential Matters, and Archbishop Filippo Iannone as Secretary. He also named Bishop Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, Bishop Nunzio Galantino, and Father Juan Antonio Guerrero, SJ, as Members of the Commission.
The Holy See Press Office released the news on Monday, saying the Holy Father made the appointments on 29 September.
The Commission was provided for in the new Procurement Code, in order to “supervise” certain contracts which, due to their characteristics, go beyond the rules of the Code itself.
Its task will be to establish on a case-by-case basis which acts of an economic nature require a degree of confidentiality.
In order to understand the meaning of the decision, it is necessary to return to what is read in the “Rules on transparency, control and competition in the procedures for awarding public contracts of the Holy See and Vatican City State”, which was published in June.
Article 4 of the document, which was approved by the Pope and defined as the Procurement Code, specifies that the application of the law was to be applied to all public contracts with the exception of certain cases.
Cases to which the law does not apply – stated in point “d” of the same article – include “contracts entered into directly by the Secretariat of State and the Governorate, if their competence concerns the following”:
– “They are necessary to fulfill international obligations, if the same instrument directly dictates the rules for awarding contracts”;
– “They are financed in whole or in part by an international organization or an international financial institution, and the contracting parties have agreed on the applicable award procedures”;
– “They deal with matters covered by the obligation of secrecy set forth in article 39 of the Motu Proprio La Cura Vigilantessima“;
– “They are concerned with the Office and security of the Roman Pontiff, the Holy See and the Universal Church, or are necessary or essential to ensure the Church’s mission in the world and guarantee the sovereignty and independence of the Holy See or the Vatican City State.”
Article 4 of the Procurement Code concludes with a brief paragraph (paragraph 2), in which it was specified that “An oversight Committee appointed by the Superior Authority shall supervise the Contracts referred to in paragraph 1, point “d” above.”
The Commission set up in recent days therefore assumes these oversight and supervisory tasks.
Pope Francis published his third Encyclical Letter Fratelli tutti on Fraternity and Social Friendship on Sunday.
Welcoming the Encyclical, Archbishop Mark Coleridge, the President of the Australian Bishops’ Conference, said in a statement on Sunday that a world that looks beyond a global pandemic with no roadmap can find one in the new Encyclical which “is not just for believers but for the entire human family.”
He added that it is “a vision of the dignity of every human being from which flows the call to build a new culture of fraternity and dialogue.”
Archbishop Coleridge pointed out that the Pope’s latest encyclical differs from the 2015 Laudato si in which he spoke of care of our common home. In Fratelli tutti he speaks of care for each other and the family that dwells together in our common home.
He noted that the Pope expresses his desire that, by acknowledging the dignity of each person, we might contribute to the rebirth of a universal aspiration to fraternity. The Holy Father also enjoins everyone to dream “as a single human family… each of us bringing the richness of his or her beliefs and convictions, each of us with his or her own voice, brothers and sisters all.”
Need for solidarity
The Archbishop said the Pope had started work on the Encyclical before the Covid-19 pandemic, which has highlighted the important need for solidarity even more, as it has created in many a “sense of interdependence of communities and the fragility of human beings left to themselves.”
Reiterating Pope Francis’s words, he pointed out that our worst response after the health crisis passes would be to plunge into “feverish consumerism and new forms of egotistic self-preservation.”
He added that the “current divisions and conflicts are a road to nowhere”, and enjoined that after this we no longer think in terms of “them” and “those”, but only “us.”
Unity, not division
Archbishop Coleridge also underscored the Pope’s call against ideologies that seek to divide rather than unite, and policies or economic systems that priorities profit over people and the planet.
In particular, he pointed out that those that the Pope describes certain people as often undervalued or treated inequitably – women, older people, unborn children, indigenous peoples, and migrants. The Archbishop said these are people who are also left on the margins in Australia. He therefore warns against thinking that the Pope’s message only regards other parts of the world.
Concluding, Archbishop Coleridge said that in the Encyclical, Pope Francis gives a “grand yet simple vision of human interconnectedness” as we are all connected in ways we can scarcely imagine.
“Our task now is to work out what this means in practice as we look beyond the pandemic,” Archbishop Coleridge said.
US Bishops
In the same vein, Archbishop José H. Gomez, president of the US Bishops’ Conference issued a statement on Sunday welcoming the new Encyclical.
“On behalf of the Catholic Church in the United States, I welcome the Holy Father’s new encyclical letter on human fraternity. Like Laudato si before it, Fratelli tutti is an important contribution to the Church’s rich tradition of social doctrine.”
He said the Pope’s teaching in the encyclical is “profound and beautiful;” highlighting that God has created every human being with “equal sanctity and dignity, equal rights and duties” and that God calls us to “form a single human family in which we live as brothers and sisters.”
Implications for Church and society
Archbishop Gomez highlighted that the Pope’s message reminds us of God’s plan for humanity which has implications for every aspect of our lives, including our personal relationships and how we organize our societies and economies.
Thus, in analyzing conditions in the world today, the Pope gives a “powerful and urgent vision for the moral renewal of politics and political and economic institutions”, which call us to build a common future that serves the good of the human person.
He also pointed out that for the Church, the Pope challenges us to overcome “individualism in our culture and to serve our neighbors in love, seeing Jesus Christ in every person, and seeking a society of Justice and mercy, compassion and mutual concern.”
Concluding, he prayed that Catholics and all people of goodwill may reflect on the Pope’s words and “enter into a new commitment to seek the unity of the human family.”
Vatican News English Africa Service – Vatican City
Livingstone Diocese Youth Chaplain, Fr. Bruno Hamukali has commended young people of the Diocese who came together from the various parishes for a Day of Reflection to celebrate the “Season of Creation.” The young people organised the day as a way to respond to the call of the Holy Father, Pope Francis based on the encyclical, Laudato sì. The idea was to encourage young people to discover the importance of implementing the core values of Laudato sì.
The young people themselves led the reflections, sharing and presentations. Innocent Malambo of Livingstone’s Our Lady of Angels Parish and Bupe Chongo of St Peter’s Parish -Airport, made the key presentations.
Innocent’s presentation focused on the contents of Laudato sì. He summarised and highlighted significant sections of the encyclical and demonstrated how the message was just as relevant to what happens in the area. It was not entirely an alien message. He encouraged his fellow young people to come up with ways through which they could reduce the negative impacts of climate change.
Do not forget to pray for the earth
For her part, Bupe Chongo addressed the specific issues of the “Season of Creation.” The earth, emphasised Bupe, was our Common Home. As young people, they should not shy away from presenting ideas on how to manage waste disposal which was a growing problem in the Livingstone area. At the end of it all, young people, said Bupe, should not forget to turn to prayer. Praying and sharing the encyclical, Laudato sì, was just as important as practical action.
Later during the Mass, Fr. Hamukali, challenged the young people, of the diocese, to resolve to do better in repairing the harm done to mother earth. He appealed to all young people to take personal responsibility and ‘care for our common home’ -planet earth.
Clean your surroundings; plant flowers
“We need to deliberately develop a culture needed to confront the negative and indifferent attitude exhibited towards the destruction of our planet,” he said. Father Bruno further appealed to the youth to live by good example. “To start with, begin by caring for the surroundings of your homes. Clean your surroundings, plant flowers, dispose of garbage in designated places, start a garden. Do small practical things,” said the Diocesan Chaplain.
Trees to be planted in respective parishes
As the day came to an end, the young people engaged in the ceremony of planting trees around the parish. They shared and distributed more trees to other young people for them to plant at their respective parishes.
Announcing the findings on Monday, the UN health agency also said that the pandemic has increased the need for the vital services.
“COVID-19 has interrupted essential mental health services around the world just when they’re needed most,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, calling on world leaders to “move fast and decisively to invest more in life-saving mental health programmes – during the pandemic and beyond.”
COVID-19 has interrupted essential mental health services around the world just when they’re needed most – WHO Director-General
“Good mental health is absolutely fundamental to overall health and well-being,” he added.
Bereavement, isolation, loss of income and fear are triggering mental health conditions or exacerbating existing ones. Many people may be facing increased levels of alcohol and drug use, insomnia, and anxiety, according to WHO.
COVID-19 itself can lead to neurological and mental complications, such as delirium, agitation, and stroke. People with pre-existing mental, neurological or substance use disorders are also more vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 infection – they may stand a higher risk of severe outcomes and even death.
The survey – conducted between June and August 2020, covering 130 countries – evaluated how the provision of mental, neurological and substance use services changed due to COVID-19, the types of services disrupted, and how the countries are adapting.
It showed that while many countries (70 per cent) adopted telemedicine or teletherapy to overcome disruptions to in-person services, there were significant disparities among them. More than 80 per cent of high-income countries reported deploying such measures to bridge gaps, compared with less than 50 per cent of low-income countries, said WHO.
Findings also showed that counselling and psychotherapy were disrupted in 67 per cent of the countries, 65 per cent reported impact on critical harm reduction services, and 45 per cent on treatment for opioid dependence.
More than a third (35 per cent) reported disruptions to emergency interventions, including those for people experiencing prolonged seizures, severe substance use withdrawal syndromes, and delirium, often a sign of a serious underlying medical condition. Three in ten countries also reported disrupted access for medications for mental, neurological and substance use disorders.
The results were released ahead of the UN health agency’s Big Event for Mental Health – a global online advocacy event on 10 October, which will highlight the need for increased investments in mental health in the wake of COVID-19.
Ensure resources for essential services
Recalling its guidance on maintaining essential services – including mental health services – during COVID-19, WHO urged countries to allocate resources to mental health as an integral component of their response and recovery plans.
According to the survey results, while 89 per cent of countries reported that mental health and psychosocial support is part of their national COVID-19 response plans, only 17 per cent among them reported having full additional funding to cover these activities.
“This all highlights the need for more money for mental health,” said WHO, noting that as the pandemic continues, even greater demand will be placed on national and international mental health programmes that have suffered from years of chronic underfunding.
Prior to the pandemic, countries were spending less than 2 per cent of their national health budgets on mental health, and struggling to meet their populations’ needs, the UN agency added, calling for greater resources for the sector, including from international partners as mental health receives less than 1 per cent of international aid earmarked for health.
Virtual ribbon cutting ceremony to open the new WHO European Centre for Preparedness for Humanitarian and Health Emergencies in Istanbul. WHO Regional Director for Europe Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge and Turkey’s Minister of Health, Dr Fahrettin Koca.
On 10 September 2020, the WHO European Centre for Preparedness for Humanitarian and Health Emergencies was formally inaugurated at a colourful ribbon-cutting ceremony, led online by Dr Fahrettin Koca, Minister of Health of Turkey, in Istanbul, and Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, in Copenhagen. Also participating in the ceremony were Dr Dorit Nitzan, WHO/Europe’s Regional Emergency Director, and dignitaries and senior officials from WHO/Europe, the WHO Country Office in Turkey, the United Nations family and the Government of Turkey. Dr Irshad Shaikh, WHO Representative to Turkey (ad interim), moderated the ceremony from the new premises in Istanbul.
“We are opening this centre at a time when the world is facing an unprecedented pandemic. But in the face of this challenge, the birth of this new GDO [geographically dispersed office] also serves as a symbol of equally significant human endurance and hope that together, with global and regional solidarity, we can and we will prevail and defeat this virus,” said Dr Kluge.
“Turkey is a country at significant risk of earthquakes and other natural disasters, and one that has made strong disaster management and community resilience its mission, which gives special significance to its hosting of this GDO on emergency preparedness,” he added. Dr Kluge thanked His Excellency President Erdogan and the Minister of Health, Dr Koca, for their leadership and support.
“Our relations with WHO, our closest partner in the field of health, continue to develop in a more layered and multifaceted way than ever before. This new office will operate in areas such as response to humanitarian crises in the European Region, prevention of and response to emergencies, risk management and capacity-building, especially for COVID-19, which affects the whole world,” said Dr Koca at the opening.
WHO European centre on humanitarian and health emergencies
This newest addition to the WHO/Europe family is the 6th GDO in the Region. Hosted by the Government of Turkey, this GDO in Istanbul will serve as the regional centre of excellence for emergency preparedness and provide technical expertise to improve capacity-building and operationalize selected International Health Regulations (2005) core capacity areas.
Working together with governments and other partners, including academic and research institutions across the Region, the centre will also seek to strengthen intergovernmental partnerships and community resilience, and facilitate institutionalization of state-of-the-art evidence and best practices within and between Member States. This will be achieved through trainings, simulations and conducting applied research in the area of health emergencies and disaster risk management, aligned with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015–2030).
“Turkey’s diverse expertise and hands-on experience responding to acute and protracted health emergencies, coupled with her spirit of global solidarity, will be invaluable in driving forward this centre’s work, together with Turkish experts assigned to it by the Ministry of Health,” concluded Dr Shaikh.
1 billion people live in overcrowded settlements with inadequate housing.
Action is needed now to provide low-income families & vulnerable populations with affordable housing and easy access to water, sanitation & other basic services.#WorldHabitatDaypic.twitter.com/CmP4gRyOfA
“Access to clean water and sanitation, along with social distancing, are key responses to the pandemic. Yet in slums it has proved difficult to implement these measures”, said Mr. Guterres.
“This means an increased risk of infection, not only within slums, but in whole cities, many of which are largely serviced by low-income informal sector workers living in informal settlements”, he said.
Globally, more than a billion people live in overcrowded settlements with inadequate housing, and the number is expected to reach 1.6 billion by 2030.
To meet that demand, more than 96,000 housing units will need to be completed every day – and they must be part of the green transition, said the Secretary-General, urging greater partnerships, pro-poor policies, and regulations needed to improve housing in cities.
“As we strive to overcome the pandemic, address the fragilities and inequalities it has exposed, and combat climate change, now is the time to harness the transformative potential of urbanization for the benefit of people and planet,” he added.
Marked annually on the first Monday of October, World Habitat Day focuses attention on the state of the world’s towns and cities, and the right to adequate shelter. This year’s observance highlights the centrality of housing as a driver for sustainable urban development.
The World Day was established by the UN General Assembly in 1985.
‘Frontline defence’ against COVID-19
According to the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), with urban areas accounting for 95 per cent of all confirmed COVID-19 cases, housing is now widely recognised as a frontline defence against the disease, with residents across the world being told to stay at home and wash their hands.
However, these simple measures are “impossible” for over a billion people, Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Executive Director of UN-Habitat, said in a separate message.
“We have seen hospitals overflowing, jobs disappearing, schools closed and movement restricted. But we can, and we will recover, and use our experiences to build back better and greener,” she added.
Noting that towns and cities moved quickly to provide emergency housing solutions and shelter for the homeless, quarantine spaces, truck in water and postponed evictions, Ms. Sharif urged that these achievements must not be reversed, once the pandemic is over.
“These temporary measures need to lead to long term policy changes,” she said.
“Otherwise, poverty and inequalities will be further exacerbated, and millions of people are at risk of losing their homes, once temporary bans on evictions are lifted, or when the lack of the stable income results in missed rent or mortgage payments.”
The European Parliament is to discuss today, October 5, the ongoing anti-corruption protests in Bulgaria demanding the resignation of the Bulgarian government and prosecutor general Ivan Geshev, BNR’s correspondent in Brussels Angelina Piskova reported.
The debates are related to a vote on a resolution for Bulgaria, which is expected to take place on Thursday. The document states that in Bulgaria there is a significant deterioration of the principles of the rule of law, democracy and fundamental civil rights. Concerns have also been expressed about media freedom, the working conditions of journalists over the past 10 years.
Before the debates, Prof. Velislav Minekov from the so-called “Toxic Trio” which is the organizer of the protests, together with other Bulgarian citizens, will be heard before the European Parliament.
The United States Has Repatriated 27 Americans from Syria and Iraq Including Ten Charged with Terrorism-Related Offenses for Their Support to ISIS
Washington, DC – With the recent transfer of custody of four defendants, the United States has successfully repatriated all Americans held by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against whom criminal charges have been lodged for offenses relating to their support for ISIS. The Department of Justice will review the facts and circumstances relating to any future detainees and, where warranted, bring additional charges against others.
“With this week’s repatriations, the United States has brought back every American supporter of ISIS known to be held by the Syrian Democratic Forces against whom we have charges,” said John C. Demers, Assistant Attorney General for National Security. “The Department of Justice has worked tirelessly over the years to prevent individuals from leaving America to fight for ISIS and other terrorist groups in Syria and to investigate, repatriate and charge people who willingly left to support these organizations. This was our moral responsibility to the American people and to the people of the countries to which these terrorists traveled. The Department has also supported the efforts of other responsible nations to do the same, including by sharing evidence and know-how. We will continue to do so for any country that takes responsibility for their citizens who left to take up arms in support of ISIS’s reign of hate and intolerance.”
“Preventing terrorism remains the FBI’s top priority. Through the hard work and dedication of countless men and women across the FBI and the U.S. government, nearly a dozen citizens have been repatriated from Iraq and Syria over the past several years to face the American justice system,” said John Brown, FBI Executive Assistant Director for National Security. “This announcement should serve as a warning to those who travel, or attempt to travel, to join and fight with ISIS. We remain vigilant in our efforts to prevent terrorism as well as hold terrorists, and those who provide support to terrorist organizations, accountable for their actions. We will continue to work closely with our U.S. government and international partners to present a united front against global terrorism.”
“The United States continues to lead by example by working with the Syrian Democratic Forces to repatriate American citizens accused of supporting ISIS and, where appropriate, prosecuting their alleged crimes in American courts,” said Ambassador Nathan Sales, State Department Coordinator for Counterterrorism. “We call on other nations, particularly in Western Europe, to take responsibility for their citizens, and we thank the FBI and the Department of Justice for their continued commitment to keeping alleged terrorists off of the battlefield.”
The Recently Repatriated
Emraan Ali and Jihad Ali: On Sept. 30, 2020, Emraan Ali and Jihad Ali made their initial appearance in the Southern District of Florida. Emraan Ali is charged in a complaint with providing and attempting to provide material support to ISIS. Jihad Ali is charged in a complaint with conspiracy to provide material support to ISIS. According to the criminal complaints, in March 2015, Emraan Ali traveled to Syria with his family, including his son, Jihad Ali, to join ISIS. Both Emraan Ali and Jihad Ali received military and religious training and served as fighters in support of the terrorist organization. Emraan and Jihad Ali finally surrendered to the SDF near Baghuz in March 2019, during the last sustained ISIS battles to maintain territory in Syria.
Abdelhamid Al-Madioum: On Sept. 16, 2020, Abdelhamid Al-Madioum, made his initial appearance in the District of Minnesota on an indictment charging him with providing material support to ISIS. According to the allegations in the indictment and a law enforcement affidavit, from July 8, 2015, through March 15, 2019, Al-Madioum knowingly provided material support and resources, including personnel (namely himself) and services to ISIS. On June 23, 2015, Al-Madioum, a native of Morocco and naturalized U.S. citizen, and his family traveled from St. Louis Park, Minnesota, to Casablanca, Morocco, to visit their extended family. On July 8, 2015, Al-Madioum left Morocco and traveled to Istanbul, Turkey, and then on to Iraq and Syria, where he joined ISIS. In March of 2019, Al-Madioum was captured and detained by the SDF.
Lirim Sylejmani: On Sept. 16, 2020, an indictment was unsealed in the federal district court of the District of Columbia charging Lirim Sylejmani, a Kosovo-born naturalized U.S. citizen, with conspiring to provide, providing, and attempting to provide material support to ISIS, and receiving training from ISIS. According to the allegations in the indictment, from November 2015 through February 2019, Sylejmani conspired to provide and provided material support and resources, including personnel and services, to ISIS in Syria and received military training from the terrorist organization. The defendant was captured by the SDF in 2019 and has spoken to a number of media outlets about his time with ISIS.
Those Previously Repatriated From Syria and Iraq
Prior press releases relating to the six other defendants who were repatriated from Syria and Iraq are included below. For the latest updates on the cases, please check PACER or contact the relevant U.S. Attorney’s office.
Samantha Marie Elhassani – Northern District of Indiana:
Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association (PNBA) members tuned into the fall trade show’s final virtual panel on Friday, a practical discussion about how to keep activism front and center at bookstores—even as the Covid-19 crisis limits physical interaction and community events.
Annie Carl, the owner of The Neverending Bookshop in Edmonds, Wash., spoke about how activism begins with a bookstore’s selection. During the national quarantine in March, she reconfigured her store’s offerings after realizing her shelves had been dominated by white male authors. “I started putting my money where my ethics and morals are,” she said. “Bringing in titles by people of color, LGBTQ+, and disabled voices. I would say right now my shop, including the kids section, is 95% not white dude.”
Bookstores can also partner with local activists and express solidarity during key moments of national protest. King’s Books in Tacoma, Wash. is currently closed to the public, but is offering online orders and curbside pickup during quarantine. Nevertheless, owner sweet pea Flaherty said his store has promoted local activists and Black booksellers in the region by “amplifying voices” through social media and online campaigns.
The bookstore fully closed on June 12 to support the Black Lives Matters’s movement’s call for a statewide general strike. In addition, bookstore patrons can purchase books on a special online wishlist and donate books by people of color to young readers in the community. Teenage Tacoma-based activists called Seeds of Peace Scholars sanitize and hand-deliver and distribute these books to Little Free Libraries around the city. “This is a fully student-led thing,” he said, “but a lot of our customers have jumped in with order after order.”
Sho Roberts, the owner of Maggie Mae’s Kids Bookshop in Gresham, Ore., stressed that children’s bookstores can also play an important role. “We donate a lot of books,” said Roberts, as part of her effort to share diverse books with all readers. Her bookstore occasionally hosts free book days, and makes sure everyone has access to reading materials. “So that way, people who might not be able to always afford a book will still be able to have something to read, and for their kids to read,” she said.
Any kind of activism will always earn what Annie Carl called “pushback” from some customers. When she radically reconfigured her bookshelves to reflect a spirit of feminism and activism, one former patron expressed displeasure at the changes and angrily hurled two books at the owner. “I’m sure he’s found another used bookstore to cater to his particular brand of reading,” Carl said. “And I am totally cool with that. I had to be okay with losing those dollars, I had to be okay with the idea that I was losing customers. But I was also gaining customers.”
“We haven’t had much political pushback at all,” said King’s Books owner Flaherty. “We’re a very political bookstore, but we don’t endorse candidates and we don’t talk about politics at the store. The books kind of talk for us. If someone wants to talk politics at the counter with us, we don’t engage in that.” His bookstore, however, hosts civil conversations around 11 now-virtual book clubs that push boundaries and encourage greater inclusivity, including Feminist Utopia Book Club, the Banned Book Club, and the Queerest Book Club Ever.
The panelists agreed that bookstores need to be inclusive and responsive to all kinds of customers, even when faced with pushback. At Maggie Mae’s Kids Bookshop, Roberts faced her most dramatic community pushback when the bookstore hosted its first Drag Queen Story Hour events for kids. Employees received phone calls, emails, social media comments, and in-store visits from people complaining about the event.
Roberts trained her employees to answer critics with an even-handed response. “It’s not political, it’s humanity. We want to help others,” she said, sharing language her team used in these tricky situations. “You don’t have to shop here. You can feel angry and your feelings are valid, but that doesn’t change our values,” she said.
