Vatican Spokesman Denies Disease as Motive for Pope’s Resignation
The Vatican spokesman, Federico Lombardi, stated today that no disease has led Pope Benedict XVI to resign from the ministry of the Bishop of Rome that was entrusted to him through the Cardinal’s election in April 2005.
“There is no current disease that influences this decision, even though the pope himself has clearly said that in recent months he realized he does not have the necessary strength,” expressed the spokesman.
According to Lombardi, the Pontiff did not resign due to difficulties with his papacy and the decision took them by surprise, in a sign that even his closest advisers were unaware of his position.
Benedict XVI will turn 86 years old next April 16, and a reduction of physical strength is normal for people of that age.
The pope’s office will be vacant starting February 28 and from that moment on the question will be irreversible, as required by canon law.
Ban Ki-moon Calls to Protect and Make Rational Use of Water
The United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon called today to strengthen the protection and careful management of water, which he described as a fragile and finite resource under increasing pressure.
In a message for the inauguration of the International Year of Water Cooperation (2013), Ban recalled that water is at the center of well-being, health, food and economic progress.
He said that water is the key to sustainable development and noted that one-third of the world’s population still lives in countries with moderate to high stress regarding that element.
Among the factors threatening water, Ban Ki-moon mentioned climate change, population growth and the increasing competition between ranchers and farmers, agriculture and industry, and towns and cities.
In this regard, he urged cooperation for water now and in the future, and to use the best technologies and practices to achieve more crops per drop.
The official opening of the International Year of Water Cooperation was held Monday at the Paris headquarters of the UN Organization for Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
According to official data, there are 770 million people without access to safe drinking water and 2.5 billion are deprived of adequate sanitation worldwide.
Philippines Government Takes Steps Toward Peace
Monday’s visit by President Benigno Aquino to the main bastion of Muslim insurgency in the Philippines, is the most serious attempt by the government to pacify the country.
Aquino and the leadership of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have agreed on a work plan to seal a definitive peace agreement in 2016, the last year of the presidential term with no possibility of reelection.
As far as the latter is concerned, there are doubts about whether the next president will honor what was agreed by the previous one.
The MILF began in the 1970s with the aim of establishing an independent Muslim Republic within the archipelago, in Mindanao province, one third of the total territory of the Philippines.
It is estimated that about 150,000 people have died in the conflict despite a ceasefire in effect since 2003.
According to the letter and spirit of the agreement with the Government, the MILF promised to give up the armed struggle in exchange for political power and an equitable distribution of wealth in a new autonomous region covering part of Mindanao.