Category: World Touch

The Disease’s Map

Leprosy is a very contagious infectious disease and manifests itself through skin lesions and lesions of peripheral nerves. If undiagnosed in its advanced stages, it can lead to paralysis and death. A cure has existed for some years, but, for it to be effective, it must be administered before the stage of paralysis. However, in poor countries, the population is uninformed and often seek the help of the health services when it is already too late. This renders the drugs useless and untreated patients may infect others, contributing to the spread of leprosy. According to members of the Italian Association Amici di Raoul Follereau (Aifo), to eradicate the disease, research is required into early diagnosis, training of health personnel in most countries affected by the disease and, especially, effective public awareness campaigns. The Church operates 521 leprosy colonies in the world: Africa: 186; America: 38 (total), Central/North America: 4, Central America Antilles: 7, South America: 27; Asia: 293; Europe: 3; Oceania: 1.

www.asianews.it and www.fides.org

210,000 New Cases Of Leprosy Every Year

In the text, addressed to the presidents of Bishops’ Conferences and bishops responsible for pastoral care in health, he reminds: “The disease is an ‘ancient’ disease, but not for this is it less devastating physically and often also morally. In all epochs and all civilizations, the fate of people with leprosy has been that of being marginalized, deprived of any kind of social life, condemned to seeing their own bodies disintegrate until death arrives. Unfortunately, still today those who suffer from it or – although they have been cured of it – bear its unmistakable mutilations, are far too often condemned to loneliness and fear, to live as though they were invisible to the eyes of other people, of society and of public opinion.” Msgr. Zygmunt Zimowski notes: “Amongst the factors that favor its perpetuation, there is certainly individual and collective acute poverty which far too often involves a lack of hygiene, the presence of debilitating illnesses, insufficient alimentation if not chronic hunger, and a lack of rapid access to medical care and treatment. At a social level, there persist, at the same time, fears which, usually generated by ignorance, add a heavy stigma to the already terrible burden which leprosy involves, even after a person has been cured of it. I thus appeal to the international community and to the authorities of each individual State and invite them to develop and strengthen the strategies that are needed in the fight against leprosy, making them more effective and capillary, above all, where the number of new cases is still high. All of this should be done without neglecting campaigns of education and sensitization that are able to help the people who are afflicted and their families to move out of exclusion and obtain the treatment that is necessary.”

www.asianews.it and www.fides.org

Blasphemy Law To Be Revised

Bhatti, a longtime Catholic activist whose position was given full-cabinet status for the first time, said he was speaking with political parties to present revisions to the blasphemy law by the end of 2010. “This is a democratic government which has a commitment to repeal all the discriminatory laws affecting the rights of minorities,” Bhatti told AFP in an interview in Washington. “We are using military action to fight terrorism and we are using economic opportunities, but another thing which is important is that we are pursuing interfaith harmony,” he said. The Minority Affairs Minister affirmed that, while he did not envision an immediate repeal of blasphemy laws, the revision would require judges to investigate cases before they are registered – creating oversight of the police, who are often accused of abuse. The revised law would also assign punishment equivalent to that under the blasphemy laws for anyone who makes a false complaint, he said.

War Is Irrational And Inhuman

An official from the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Tommaso Di Ruzza, told the Conference participants that disarmament is an ethical question that involves everyone, not just governments. Though each person must cooperate according to his role and responsibilities, the Vatican aide encouraged the faithful to work for peace, in a world where arms expenditures in 2008 were almost $1.5 billion, and where there are some 16 to 20 medium- to high-intensity conflicts ongoing around the globe. Bishop Giovanni Giudici of Pavia, president of Pax Christi-Italy, cited Pope John XXIII in affirming the basic tenet of the situation: “War goes against reason and against humanity.” And, as the Holy See constantly encourages, disarmament is fundamental, he recalled. The Holy See, in fact, will take up its exhortation again at the conference for the revision of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which will be held in New York next May. This effort, Bishop Giudici observed, goes beyond a fight to eliminate nuclear and chemical weapons. “There must be another strong ‘no’ to conventional and light arms,” he contended, due to the large number of people killed with these weapons. What the Italian Episcopal Conference, Caritas-Italy and Pax Christi proposed, ultimately, is a serious reflection on Christian nonviolence: not a giving in to evil – according to a false interpretation of ‘turning the other cheek’ – but rather responding to evil with good. Conference contributors called for rejecting the logic of armament, and choosing nonviolence as a social and political project. A spirit of reconciliation can have concrete consequences in, for example, investing or banking only with institutions that do not benefit from the arms trade. Pastors, too, must become involved in a spirit of peace, the Conference contributors asserted. They suggested dedicating resources and time to the elaboration of precise educational itineraries that give space to the witness of prophets of nonviolence, and invigorating Justice and Peace Commissions at the national, diocesan and local levels. “Peace is the new martyrdom to which the Church is called today,” Bishop Giudici reflected. “The arena of the trial is the scene of the global village that runs the risk of burning in a holocaust without precedents. And as in the early times of Christianity, the martyrs astounded the world with their courage, so today the Church should silence the powerful of the earth with the pride with which, despite persecution, she proclaims – without toning down gradually as in Gregorian chant – the Gospel of peace and the practice of nonviolence. It is clear that, if instead of silencing the powerful, she is silent, she would be a resigned accomplice to an atrocious ‘war crime.’”

www.zenit.org

Bishops Criticize Four Rivers Project

According to Bishop Kang, “the damage which could result from this rash development, born of greed, will be a burden to ourselves and future generations, who will have to live with the consequences.” And he added: “We should avoid actions that could destroy the creative work of God which took tens of thousands of years to achieve.” The Four Rivers Project is being relentlessly pursued by the Korean government without any real discussion about the massive damage which will inflict on an environment that is already under severe threat. Before South Korea was industrialized in the years following the Korean War, its rivers cascaded down mountains, through gullies into fast running rivers before flowing through the wetlands, coastal plains and into the oceans. This natural relationship between mountains, rivers and wetlands no longer exists. By the later part of the 20th century, almost every river in the country has been dammed and forced into concrete channels. Even though it is a small country, there are already over 18,000 dams in Korea. China holds the world record in terms of the numbers of dams at 87,000, but China is roughly 100 times larger than Korea. The Korean government responded to the recent recession by investing at least $18 billion in new construction projects designed to re-engineer four important rivers – the Han, Nakdong, Keumand and Youngsan. The scale of the plan is truly massive. It involves constructing 16 new dams, rebuilding 87 existing dams, reinforcing 209 miles of river banks, dredging 570 million cubic meters of sediment from the rivers. The government’s rationale for the project is that it will prevent water shortages, bolster flood control and create ‘eco-friendly’ space for tourism. Little thought has been given to the ecological consequences of this enormous engineering venture. The project is the brainchild of the current president of Korea, Myung-bak Lee. Before he entered politics, he was the chief executive officer of Hyundai Construction Corporation. Many critics claim that Hyundai will benefit substantially from this investment. The president argues that construction will create an estimated 960,000 jobs, but since the vast majority of these jobs are in construction, they are only temporary. One way in which Catholics are expressing their opposition to the project is by celebrating Mass on the banks of the threatened rivers, but they are not the only ones opposed to the Four Rivers Project. The Abbot of the renowned Palgong-san Seonbonsa Gathawi Temple said that many Buddhist monks were also opposed to the project and that 10,000 of them had met at a prayer service. Even government employees, such as Nam Kwang-Hee, the Director-General of the Deagu Regional Environment Office, admit their surprise that the work is being carried out at such a frenetic pace, involving three, eight-hour shifts. His rationale is that they need to complete the bulk of the work before the rains arrive in June. Others are more skeptical and believe that the president wants to push through with the project as quickly as possible before

Fr. Seán McDonagh, SSC

G(Irls)20 Summit In Toronto

On June 26 and 27, G20 leaders will gather in Toronto to discuss measures to promote global financial stability and ways to achieve a sustainable economic growth and development. All organizations and businesses striving for economic growth and development understand the need to utilize all resources – financial, material and human. Similarly, world leaders must recognize the importance of leveraging the world’s 3.3 billion girls and women in the search for innovative, sustainable and socially responsible solutions to global challenges. That’s why, from June 16 to 18, twenty girls from the G20 countries will come together in Toronto to present, discuss and promote tangible, innovative and scalable solutions that will put girls and women in front and in the centre of the G20 leaders’ agenda.

Patents On Human Genes Invalidated

The case to strike down the patent had been brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Public Patent Foundation at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York, medical organizations across the U.S. and a number of individuals who objected vigorously to the concept of patenting living organisms. They argued that genes are a product of nature and, therefore, should not be patentable. One of the criteria for patenting anything is that it must be new. The coalition argued that genes were not new and that all the geneticist did was identify the gene. The decision is very good news, especially for women who may have these genes and a history of breast cancer in their family. They will no longer have to pay royalties to Myriad Genetics, the company which holds the gene, for either diagnostic or therapeutic procedures. These groups also argued that, since the controversial judgment of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Diamond versus Chakravarty case in 1980, patent have hindered and stifled research in both the medical and biological areas. Researchers were more interested in patenting their discoveries than in sharing their ideas with other scientists for the benefit of everyone. In fact, many scientists were often reluctant to research a particular area since they may have to pay royalties to a number of companies which had taken out patents on the organism. Myriad Genetics, the company that holds the patents in conjunction with the University of Utah Research Foundation, had petitioned the court to dismiss the case. They argued that, “the work of isolating the DNA from the body, transformed it and made it patentable. In his judgment, Judge Robert W. Sweet, argued that patents have been improperly granted because they involved the laws of nature. He continued, “many critics of gene patents consider the idea that isolating a gene made it patentable, ‘a lawyer’s tick’ that circumvents the prohibition on the direct patenting of the DNA in our bodies but which, in practice, reaches the same results.” This ruling will have enormous implications. Very few people realize and are shocked and outraged when they learn that about 20% of human genes have already been patented. A multibillion-dollar industry has been built on the royalties which accrue from the intellectual property rights that patents grant to corporations. Because patenting presented biotech companies, such as Monsanto Syngenta, with an easy, inexpensive milking cow which generated billions of dollars, one can be sure that the biotech corporations will do all in their power to overturn Judge Sweet’s judgment. They have already begun spinning a justification for patenting life. Kenneth Chahine, a visiting law professor from the University of Utah, who filed a brief on behalf of Myriad Genetics, said that, “if a decision like this were upheld, it would have a pretty significant impact on the future of medicine.” He didn’t, of course, provide any evidence to support this claim, since the bulk of research supports the other side.

Fr. Seán McDonagh, SSC

Is Humanitarianism Genetic?

The suicidal defenders of food stores and the sterile workers of the social insect world are the “extreme altruists.” But the lineage of a colony means everyone is related. So, the authors conclude, nature’s altruists are actually boosting the chances of passing on their genes – either directly or indirectly – by being selfless, and ensuring the growth of the nest. Is the altruism of humanitarians a genetically programmed function to preserve our global hive? “By asking if humanitarianism is genetic, you assume aid work is attached to altruism, which I do not believe to be the case for all aid workers by any stretch,” commented one aid worker, who has been in the field for a decade, and asked to remain anonymous. Genetics cannot explain all behaviors, Stuart West, co-author of the report commented. “There does seem to be some evidence that genes directly influence the level of helping in humans. However, this is relatively negligible when compared to other factors such as environmental conditions [and] learnt behaviors.”

www.irinnews.org

Numbers Of Unsafe Water Crisis

− Around 90% of diarrhea cases, which kill some 2.2 million people every year, are caused by unsafe drinking water and poor hygiene. − Over 50% of malnutrition cases globally are associated with diarrhea or intestinal worm infections. − Over half the world’s hospital beds are occupied by people suffering from illnesses linked to contaminated water. − Almost 900 million people lack access to safe drinking water, and an estimated 2.6 billion people lack access to basic sanitation. South Asia (around 221 million) and sub-Saharan Africa (330 million) have the highest proportion of people living without basic sanitation. − Ninety percent of wastewater discharged daily in developing countries is untreated. Eighty percent of all marine pollution originates on land – most of it wastewater – damaging coral reefs and fishing grounds. − People in developed countries generate five times more wastewater per person than those in developing countries, but treat over 90% of their wastewater, compared to only a few percent in developing countries. − Agriculture accounts for 70 to 90% of all water consumed, mainly for irrigation, but large amounts return to rivers as run-off; nearly half of all organic matter in wastewater comes from agriculture. − Industrial wastes, pesticides from agriculture, and tailings from mining also create serious health risks and threats to water resources, costing billions of dollars to monitor, much more to clean. − Use of bottled water is increasing, but it takes three liters of water to produce one liter of bottled water. In the USA alone, an additional 17 million barrels of oil per year are used to make plastic containers. Worldwide, 200 billion liters of bottled water are produced every year, creating an enormous problem of how used plastic bottles could be disposed of. − Wastewater generates methane, a greenhouse gas 21 times more powerful than carbon dioxide (CO2). It also generates nitrous oxide, which is 310 times more powerful than CO2. − It is estimated that, in just a decade, wastewater-linked emissions of methane will rise by 25% and that of nitrous oxide, by 50%. − Increased flooding, as a result of climate change, can overwhelm ageing sewage infrastructure in cities and towns.

Poverty Reduction Is An Urgent Priority

“What is also very alarming is the amount of phosphate and nitrogen that is lost as agricultural refuse; projections show that we can run out of phosphate very soon,” he warned. Nearly half the agricultural phosphate applied each season is washed away and ends up in rivers and oceans, where it contributes to triggering algae blooms that could damage ecosystems and fish stocks, Nelleman said. Wastewater treatment plants should be sophisticated enough to harvest the phosphates. The report urged countries to draw up national and local strategies to cope with the wastewater production and invest in infrastructure to manage it.

www.irinnews.org

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