How to Cover the Catholic Church

How to Cover the Catholic Church

and sponsors many such meetings itself. It issues documents on the moral and

ethical dimensions of current issues such as international debt, racism, the

arms trade and land distribution.

The council’s president is Cardinal Renato Martino. Bishop Giampaolo

Crepaldi is secretary. There is no current undersecretary. Phone 06-6987-9911.

E-mail

Pontifical Council

Cor Unum

Cor Unum

—Latin for “one heart”—is the Vatican’s charity arm, assisting the

pope with disaster relief and other humanitarian aid. It is also responsible

for promoting and coordinating Catholic charitable activity. The council dis-

burses donations from the faithful, which in 2006 totaled about $8 million.

Operating under the auspices of

Cor Unum

Caritas Internationalis

, an

international confederation of Catholic Charities agencies and international

relief organizations, such as Catholic Relief Services.

Cor Unum

also oversees

two foundations begun by Pope John Paul II: the Foundation for the Sahel,

which funds projects to combat drought and desertification in Africa; and

the

Populorum Progressio

Foundation, for farmworkers and the indigenous

peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean. The latter gets its name from the

Latin title of Pope Paul VI’s 1967 social encyclical,

The Progress of Peoples

The presidency is currently vacant. Phone 06-6988-9411. E-mail

Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care ofMigrants and Itinerants

This council primarily occupies itself with migrants and refugees, but circus

and carnival workers, tourists, pilgrims, and nomadic people like the Rom

(Gypsies) are also part of its mission. In 2007 the council hosted the Vatican’s

first international conference addressing the pastoral needs of the homeless.

The president is Cardinal AntonioMaria Veglio. The secretary is Bishop Joseph

(Joy) Kalathiparambil. Phone 06-6988-7193 or 7242. E-mail

Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health CareWorkers

The health care council is entrusted with a range of functions. It not only

encourages the work of hospital chaplains and Catholics working in the

health care industry, but also provides guidance on technological advances

and policy positions, defends the right of Catholic medical personnel to object

to participation in procedures they find immoral, and lobbies pharmaceutical