Presentation of the book Ordres et décorations du Saint-Siège (“Orders and Decorations of the Holy See”)

Next Tuesday, 29 October, the book Ordres et décorations du Saint-Siège by Dominique Henneresse, a compendium of all the equestrian orders, awards, medals and recognitions that the Supreme Pontiffs have granted since the beginning of the Christian Cavalry, will be presented in the Sala Regia of the Apostolic Palace. This system of rewards is analyzed by the author with meticulousness and precision through precise historical contextualization and careful technical description, accompanied by a series of unique illustrations. The prologue of the volume, in French, is by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of His Holiness.

The speakers will be: His Eminence Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin; Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, substitute for General Affairs; Professor Fabio Cassani Pironti, specialist in phaleristics, and the author of the book, Dominique Henneresse. The meeting will be moderated by Cecilia Seppia, a Vatican News journalist.

Pope Francis' laundry room arrives in Genoa

The papal almoner, His Eminence Cardinal Konrad Krajewski will inaugurate today in Genoa, Italy, Pope Francis’ laundry room and showers, a service offered free of charge to the poorest, especially to those with no fixed abode. From today, in the premises of Piazza Durazzo 12, managed by the Sant’Egidio Community in Liguria, they will be able to wash, dry and iron their clothes and blankets, and to take a shower.

The initiative comes from the Holy Father’s invitation to make tangible the experience of grace of the Jubilee Year of Mercy, which the Almoner of His Holiness and the Sant’Egidio Community have translated into an activity that restores dignity to a group of underprivileged people.

In the premises used for this service, detergents and softeners such as Dash and Lenor, and personal detergents such as Pantene and Head & Shoulders, will be provided, as well as washing machines, dryers and irons, donated by the multinational companies Procter & Gamble and the Whirlpool Corporation, which in 2017 contributed to the inauguration of “Pope Francis’ Laundry” in Rome.

This project is promoted and coordinated by the industrial group Procter & Gamble Italia, which since 2015 has donated Gillette razors and shaving foam and other products to the barbershop for the poor located under the Colonnade of Saint Peter’s.

Summit of Amazonian governors at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences

“Paths and commitments for sustainable development of the Amazon” is the theme of the meeting that, as an initiative of the Interstate Consortium for Sustainable Development of the Legal Amazon, Brazil, the Amazon Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN-A), and the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, will take place on 28 October in the Vatican’s Casina Pio IV, to be attended by the governors of the Amazon countries, so as to achieve a broad perspective of the different realities that make up the region.

A small group of guests will also take part in the meeting, including researchers, representatives of civil society and of the legislative and judicial institutions of the region. The theme of the meeting, “Paths and commitments for sustainable development of the Amazon”, has as its conceptual framework the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and, in particular, the message of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato si’ and the results of the Synod on Amazonia.

The organizers affirm that, knowing the Synod working document, they are convinced that Pope Francis’ word will be of great importance for the future of the region. The idea is to give governors an opportunity to present to the Pope and the Pontifical Academy of Sciences their commitments to the sustainable development of the Amazon. At the same time, the intention is to open a debate with the international community to find innovative solutions and financing mechanisms to meet the demands for achieving the SDG by 2030.

The session will be opened by Bishop Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo, chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Antônio Waldez Goés, governor of Amapá and president of the Interstate Consortium for Sustainable Development of the Legal Amazon, and Virgilio Viana, director general of the Sustainable Amazon Foundation, who will talk about the background, objectives and perspectives of the meeting.

His Eminence Cardinal Cláudio Hummes, president of the Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network (REPAM), His Eminence Cardinal Pedro R. Barreto, vice president of REPAM, Ricardo José Lozano, minister of the Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia, Carlos René Ortuño, minister of the Environment and Water of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, and Gabriel Quijandría, deputy minister for Strategic Development of Natural Resources of the Ministry of the Environment of Peru.

Next, Thomas Lovejoy, conservation biologist and professor at George Mason University will discuss the message of science on scenarios for the future of the Amazon.

This will be followed by “The Perspective of the Amazonian Governors”, on which Gladson Cameli (Government of Acre), Helder Zahluth Barbalho (Government of Parà), Wilson Lima (Government of Amazonas), Flávio Dino (Government of Piauí/Representing the Northeast Consortium), Welligton Dias (Government of Maranhão), Josué Neto (Legislative Assembly, President of ALEAM) and Daniel Barbosa Santos (Legislative Assembly, President of ALEPA) will speak.

The same argument will be addressed in the afternoon session by Colleen Scanlan-Lyons, (GCF - Task Force), Juan Manuel Alvarado Cornelio (governor of Iquitos), Luis Guillermo Hidalgo Okimura, (regional governor of Madre de Dios), Pedro Bogarin Vargas (governor of Mayobamba) Francisco Antonio Pezo Torres (governor of Cajamarca) and Joana Darc (Legislative Assembly of Amazon - ALEAM).

Finally, the role of networks, platforms and social organizations in the sustainable development agenda in Amazonia will be discussed. The speakers will be Alfredo Sirki (Brazil Climate Centre) André Guimarães (IPAM - Brazil), Rosa Lemos de Sá (FUNBIO - Brazil), Mauricio Bianco (Conservation International Brazil), Charles Ian McNeill (senior advisor, Forests & Climate UN Environment).

The event will conclude with the presentation, reading and signing of the Pan-Amazonian Declaration by Waldez Goés (governor of Amapá and president of the Interstate Consortium for the Sustainable Development of the Legal Amazon) and Bishop Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo, chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.