Parolin: for the Pope, negotiating is not surrender, but a condition for a just and lasting peace
- Main Category: News
After Pope Francis' words on Ukraine on Swiss Radio and Television, Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin intervenes on the issue in an interview with Corriere della Sera: "The world risks a nuclear escalation".
We publish some answers from the interview given to Gian Guido Vecchi by the Cardinal Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, published today on Corriere della Sera.
World Children's Day, two "days of purity" for peace
- Main Category: News
The first GMB, which will take place on May 25th and 26th, was presented at the Olympic Stadium in Rome. The first day will be dedicated to testimonies and shows. The Pope will also participate and will celebrate Mass in St. Peter's Square the following day. Coordinator Father Fortunato: we are receiving a storm of love. Received more than 57 thousand subscriptions in just over three weeks
Two days of events which were presented in the press room of the Olympic Stadium in Rome, which will also be the venue for the first day's party, with artists from all over the world and the presence of Pope Francis.
Objective one hundred thousand attendance
“There are many emails that are arriving,” explains Father Enzo Fortunato, coordinator of the event. In fact, three weeks after the opening of the official website, there have been over 57 thousand registrations. It is "a storm of love" for what will be "two days of purity", he reiterated, confident that the goal is to reach one hundred thousand attendances. “In establishing this day the Pope was prophetic”, underlined Father Fortunato, struck by the testimonies coming from all over the world, such as that of a volunteer who has been in Uganda for 54 years and who expressed the joy of being able bring four eight-year-old children to Rome.
Children for peace
So far there are 60 countries of origin of the children, underlined the head of foreign relations of the GMB, Stella Cervogni, but the number is destined to rise. These include Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Syria. A delegation will arrive from northern Mozambique, plagued by jihadist groups. The children send drawings and testimonies, Cervogni says, and they are all messages of peace and dialogue. For this reason, children from Ukraine and Russia and from the Holy Land will be present.
The GMB programme
The World Day will begin on Saturday 25 May at the Olympic Stadium from 15pm to 18pm. The first two hours will see many testimonies and artists from all over the world. There will be priests from Buenos Aires and Ibrahima Balde, the migrant boy who wrote the book Little brother mentioned several times by the Pope. Among the Italian artists, confirmed the deputy coordinator Aldo Cagnoli, the actor Lino Banfi, the presenter Carlo Conti and the singers Gianni Morandi and Mr. Rain will also be present. On Sunday 26 May the appointment is in St. Peter's Square, where at 10.30 Pope Francis will preside over the Mass.
(Michele Raviart - Vatican City)
