Reflections on charity

On Thursday and Friday, February 25 and 26, 2016, an international conference will take place in the New Synod Hall at the Vatican entitled: Love never fails.  Perspectives ten years after Deus Caritas Est.  This conference, organized by the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, is part of the program of events for the Jubilee of Mercy and intends to examine and deepen the theological and pastoral perspectives of the Encyclical for the modern-day world, particularly in relation to the efforts of those working in the Church's ministry of charity.

Participants who will be present for this meeting include especially representatives of the Episcopal Conferences and various international Catholic charitable organizations.

On the first day, at 9:00am, following a word of welcome offered by Monsignor Giampietro Dal Toso, Secretary of Cor Unum, Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith will speak on the topic: The Encyclical Deus Caritas Est: a theological lecture.  Then there will be a presentation by Michel Thio, President of the Saint Vincent de Paul International Confederation, and testimonials by Marina Almeida Costa, Director of Caritas Cabo Verde; and Roy Moussalli, Executive Director of the Syrian Society for Social Development.  In the afternoon, after lunch, a lecture on the significance of love within the three mono-theistic religions will be presented by Rabbi David Shlomo Rosen, Director of the Department of Religious Affairs at the American Jewish committee of Jerusalem; Professor Saeed Ahmed Khan, lecturer at the Wayne State University of Detroit (USA); and philosopher Fabrice Hadjadj, Director of the Philanthropic Institute of Friburg (Switzerland).

The second day will begin with reports from Cardinal Luis Antonio G. Tagle, Archbishop of Manila and President of Caritas Internationalis, entitled: The importance of Deus Caritas Est for the Church's charitable work today; followed by testimonials by Alejandro Marius, President of the Asociación Civil Trabajo y Persona (Venezuela), and Eduardo M. Almeida, Representative in Paraguay of the Inter-American Development Bank.  At 12:00 noon, participants will be received in audience by Pope Francis at the Apostolic Palace.  In the afternoon, some space will be allowed for interventions by Reverend Professor Paolo Asolan, a lecturer at the Pontifical Lateran University and Professor Rainer Gehrig, a lecturer at the Catholic University of Murcia (Spain).

Martina Pastorelli, President of Catholic Voices Italia will act as moderator during the morning sessions, and the afternoon sessions will be moderated by Professor Luca Tuninetti, a lecturer at the Pontifical Urbaniana University.

At the conclusion of each of the two days, Eucharistic celebrations will be held at 6:00pm at the Church of Santa Maria della Pietà in Camposanto dei Teutonici, situated within Vatican City: on February 25, Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes, President emeritus of Cor Unum will preside, and on February 26, Cardinal Robert Sarah, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments will preside.

The entire convention will be broadcast via live streaming on the website of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum.