“The Golden Goose” by the Brothers Grimm (translated into English)

There was a man who had three sons, the youngest of whom was called Dummling, and was despised, mocked, and put down on every occasion.

            It happened that the eldest wanted to go into the forest to hew wood, and before he went his mother gave him a beautiful sweet cake and a bottle of wine in order that he might not suffer from hunger or thirst.

            When he entered the forest there met him a little grey-haired old man who bade him good-day, and said, "Do give me a piece of cake out of your pocket, and let me have a draught of your wine; I am so hungry and thirsty." But the prudent youth answered, "If I give you my cake and wine, I shall have none for myself; be off with you," and he left the little man standing and went on.

            But when he began to hew down a tree, it was not long before he made a false stroke, and the axe cut him in the arm, so that he had to go home and have it bound up. And this was the little grey man's doing.

            After this the second son went into the forest, and his mother gave him, like the eldest, a cake and a bottle of wine. The little old grey man met him likewise, and asked him for a piece of cake and a drink of wine. But the second son, too, said with much reason, "What I give you will be taken away from myself; be off!" and he left the little man standing and went on. His punishment, however, was not delayed; when he had made a few strokes at the tree he struck himself in the leg, so that he had to be carried home.

            Then Dummling said, "Father, do let me go and cut wood." The father answered, "Your brothers have hurt themselves with it, leave it alone, you do not understand anything about it." But Dummling begged so long that at last he said, "Just go then, you will get wiser by hurting yourself." His mother gave him a cake made with water and baked in the cinders, and with it a bottle of sour beer.

            When he came to the forest the little old grey man met him likewise, and greeting him, said, "Give me a piece of your cake and a drink out of your bottle; I am so hungry and thirsty." Dummling answered, "I have only cinder-cake and sour beer; if that pleases you, we will sit down and eat." So they sat down, and when Dummling pulled out his cinder-cake, it was a fine sweet cake, and the sour beer had become good wine. So they ate and drank, and after that the little man said, "Since you have a good heart, and are willing to divide what you have, I will give you good luck. There stands an old tree, cut it down, and you will find something at the roots." Then the little man took leave of him.

            Dummling went and cut down the tree, and when it fell there was a goose sitting in the roots with feathers of pure gold. He lifted her up, and taking her with him, went to an inn where he thought he would stay the night. Now the host had three daughters, who saw the goose and were curious to know what such a wonderful bird might be, and would have liked to have one of its golden feathers.

            The eldest thought, "I shall soon find an opportunity of pulling out a feather," and as soon as Dummling had gone out she seized the goose by the wing, but her finger and hand remained sticking fast to it.

            The second came soon afterwards, thinking only of how she might get a feather for herself, but she had scarcely touched her sister than she was held fast.

            At last the third also came with the like intent, and the others screamed out, "Keep away; for goodness' sake keep away!" But she did not understand why she was to keep away. "The others are there," she thought, "I may as well be there too," and ran to them; but as soon as she had touched her sister, she remained sticking fast to her. So they had to spend the night with the goose.

            The next morning Dummling took the goose under his arm and set out, without troubling himself about the three girls who were hanging on to it. They were obliged to run after him continually, now left, now right, just as he was inclined to go.

            In the middle of the fields the parson met them, and when he saw the procession he said, "For shame, you good-for-nothing girls, why are you running across the fields after this young man? is that seemly?" At the same time he seized the youngest by the hand in order to pull her away, but as soon as he touched her he likewise stuck fast, and was himself obliged to run behind.

            Before long the sexton came by and saw his master, the parson, running behind three girls. He was astonished at this and called out, "Hi, your reverence, whither away so quickly? do not forget that we have a christening to-day!" and running after him he took him by the sleeve, but was also held fast to it.

            Whilst the five were trotting thus one behind the other, two labourers came with their hoes from the fields; the parson called out to them and begged that they would set him and the sexton free. But they had scarcely touched the sexton when they were held fast, and now there were seven of them running behind Dummling and the goose.

            Soon afterwards he came to a city, where a king ruled who had a daughter who was so serious that no one could make her laugh. So he had put forth a decree that whosoever should be able to make her laugh should marry her. When Dummling heard this, he went with his goose and all her train before the King's daughter, and as soon as she saw the seven people running on and on, one behind the other, she began to laugh quite loudly, and as if she would never leave off. Thereupon Dummling asked to have her for his wife, and the wedding was celebrated. After the King's death, Dummling inherited the kingdom and lived a long time contentedly with his wife.

“Festa de Rua” by Dorival Caymmi (in Portuguese)

Cem barquinhos brancos

Nas ondas do mar

Uma galeota a Jesus levar

Meu Senhor dos Navegantes

Venha me valer (4x)

A Conceição da Praia está embandeirada

De tudo quanto é canto muita gente vem

De toda parte vem um baticum de samba

Batuque, capoeira e também candomblé

O sol está queimando mas ninguém dá fé.

“Festa de Rua” sung by Dorival Caymmi.

"In the Coils of the Python Queen" by Unknown Writer (in English)

art by Jim McLaughlin - The Beyond #23 - Ace, November 1953.

"Sublimis Deus" by Pope Paul III (Translated into French)

Le Pape Paul III, à tous les Chrétiens fidèles auxquels parviendra cet écrit, santé dans le Christ notre Seigneur et bénédiction apostolique.

                Le Dieu sublime a tant aimé le genre humain, qu'Il créa l'homme dans une telle sagesse que non seulement il puisse participer aux bienfaits dont jouissent les autres créatures, mais encore qu'il soit doté de la capacité d'atteindre le Dieu inaccessible et invisible et de le contempler face à face; et puisque l'homme, selon le témoignage des Ecritures Sacrées, a été créé pour goûter la vie éternelle et la joie, que nul ne peut atteindre et conserver qu'à travers la foi en Notre-Seigneur Jésus-Christ, il est nécessaire qu'il possède la nature et les facultés qui le rendent capable de recevoir cette foi et que quiconque est affecté de ces dons doit être capable de recevoir cette même foi.

                Ainsi, il n'est pas concevable que quiconque possède si peu d'entendement que, désirant la foi, il soit pourtant dénué de la faculté nécessaire qui lui permette de la recevoir. D'où il vient que le Christ, qui est la Vérité elle-même, qui n'a jamais failli et ne faillira jamais, a dit aux prédicateurs de la foi qu'il choisit pour cet office «Allez enseigner toutes les nations». Il a dit toutes, sans exception, car toutes sont capables de recevoir les doctrines de la foi.

                L'Ennemi du genre humain, qui s'oppose à toutes les bonnes actions en vue de mener les hommes à leur perte, voyant et enviant cela, inventa un moyen nouveau par lequel il pourrait entraver la prédication de la parole de Dieu pour le salut des peuples: Il inspira ses auxiliaires qui, pour lui plaire, n'ont pas hésité à publier à l'étranger que les Indiens de l'Occident et du Sud, et d'autres peuples dont Nous avons eu récemment connaissance, devraient être traités comme des bêtes de somme créées pour nous servir, prétendant qu'ils sont incapables de recevoir la Foi Catholique.

                Nous qui, bien qu'indigne de cet honneur, exerçons sur terre le pouvoir de Notre-Seigneur et cherchons de toutes nos forces à ramener les brebis placées au-dehors de son troupeau dans le bercail dont nous avons la charge, considérons quoi qu'il en soit, que les Indiens sont véritablement des hommes et qu'ils sont non seulement capables de comprendre la Foi Catholique, mais que, selon nos informations, ils sont très désireux de la recevoir. Souhaitant fournir à ces maux les remèdes appropriés, Nous définissons et déclarons par cette lettre apostolique, ou par toute traduction qui puisse en être signée par un notaire public et scellée du sceau de tout dignitaire ecclésiastique, à laquelle le même crédit sera donné qu'à l'original, que quoi qu'il puisse avoir été dit ou être dit de contraire, les dits Indiens et tous les autres peuples qui peuvent être plus tard découverts par les Chrétiens, ne peuvent en aucun cas être privés de leur liberté ou de la possession de leurs biens, même s'ils demeurent en dehors de la foi de Jésus-Christ; et qu'ils peuvent et devraient, librement et légitimement, jouir de la liberté et de la possession de leurs biens, et qu'ils ne devraient en aucun cas être réduits en esclavage; si cela arrivait malgré tout, cet esclavage serait considéré nul et non avenu.

                Par la vertu de notre autorité apostolique, Nous définissons et déclarons par la présente lettre, ou par toute traduction signée par un notaire public et scellée du sceau de la dignité ecclésiastique, qui imposera la même obéissance que l'original, que les dits Indiens et autres peuples soient convertis à la foi de Jésus Christ par la prédication de la parole de Dieu et par l'exemple d'une vie bonne et sainte.

                Donné à Rome, le 29 mai de l'année 1537, la troisième de Notre Pontificat.

Statement of Archbishop Bernardino Auza at United Nations (in English)

The Archbishop Bernardino Auza is the Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations and pronounced his speech in the context of a 8 June 2016 explaining the position of the Holy See on the Political Declaration, “On the Fast-Track to accelerate the fight against HIV and to End the AIDS Epidemic by 2030.”

Mr. President,

My delegation is wholeheartedly in support of efforts to intensify our collective commitment to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030 and to accelerate and scale up the fight against HIV internationally, which is the primary aim of this declaration. We recognize that this goal will not be achieved without meeting the needs of those most vulnerable to infection and especially of those that continue to lack access to prevention, treatment and health care services due to discrimination, stigmatization, and poverty.

           However, while discrimination and stigmatization must be combatted, it is of vital importance to distinguish between policies that discriminate and stigmatize unjustly and those put in place to discourage risk-taking behaviors and to encourage responsible and healthy relationships, especially among youth. In this regard, the Holy See continues to call attention to the undeniable fact that the only safe and completely reliable method of preventing the sexual transmission of HIV is abstinence before marriage and respect and mutual fidelity within marriage.

           The Holy See, in conformity with its nature and particular mission, especially keeping in mind the work of the Catholic Church in the field confronting HIV and the AIDS epidemic, wishes to make the following reservations on some of the concepts used in this Political Declaration:

          Regarding the terms “sexual and reproductive health”, “sexual and reproductive health-care services”, and “reproductive rights”, the Holy See considers these terms as applying to a holistic concept of health. The Holy See does not consider abortion, access to abortion, or access to abortifacients as a dimension of these terms.

With reference to the terms “contraception”, “commodities”, “condom use” and any other terms regarding family-planning services and regulation of fertility concepts in the document, the Holy See reaffirms its well-known position concerning those family-planning methods which the Catholic Church considers morally acceptable and, on the other hand, family-planning services which do not respect the freedom of spouses, human dignity and the human rights of those concerned.

In relation to paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Statement of Position, the Holy See reiterates its statement and reservations as set out clearly and more fully in the Report of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, and the Report of the 1995 Fourth World Conference and their respective follow-up Conferences. In particular, my delegation understands, in accordance with the ICPD 1.15, that no new rights or human rights were created, that recourse to abortion may never to be had for purposes of family planning (7.24), and that abortion is a matter to be determined in accordance with national legislation (8.25).

With reference to “gender”, the Holy See understands the term to be grounded in the biological sexual identity and difference that is male or female. Regarding the concept of “gender norms” the Holy See does not recognize the idea that gender is socially constructed, rather gender recognizes the objective identity of the human person as born male or female.

With respect to “comprehensive education” or “information” on sexual and reproductive health, the Holy See reiterates the “primary responsibility” and the “prior rights” of parents when it comes to the education and upbringing of their children, as enshrined, inter alia, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In that sense, the Holy See wishes to underline the centrality of the family, as well as the role and rights and duties of parents to educate their children.

               

The Holy See would kindly request that these reservations be made particularly in relation to paragraphs 14, 15, 33, 39, 41, 47, 60 (e) and (f), 61(c), (d), (j), and (l), 62 (a) and (c).