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Press Release
3 April 2005
Road Crash Victims Worldwide Pay Tribute to Pope John Paul II -
the first church leader to remember road crash victims and their
families, and call for respect and careful and responsible
driving.
The tributes flooding in on the Pope's passing, mention in
particular his pioneering work in many areas of world affairs and
affecting people of all faiths and beliefs.
This pioneering work extended to an area, which had been largely
ignored for a whole century, namely death and injury through road
crashes. The Church too had been strangely silent on this
continuing yet preventable mass disaster, that brought premature
deaths and untold suffering to families and communities
worldwide.
Road crash victims under the umbrella of the European Federation
of Road Traffic Victims, FEVR, had established in 1993 a Day of
Remembrance for Road Crash Victims on the 3rd Sunday of November,
which is now World Day of Remembrance for Road Crash
Victims. From 2000 onwards, on every 3rd Sunday in November,
the Pope began to give a special mention to road crash victims
after his Angelus, calling also on motorists to show respect and
responsibility.
Here is a message from the Remembrance Day in 2001:
"This Sunday is the World Remembrance Day for Road Traffic
Victims. I invoke the compassion of the Lord for all those who have
tragically lost their lives on the road. I ask God to support the
injured, often suffering for life, as well as their families, who
help them in their trials. I call once more on the motorists for
carefulness and responsibility, so that all drivers will always
respect others." Pope John Paul II - translation
Brigitte Chaudhry MBE, President of FEVR, said
"We are grateful to Pope John Paul II for his
immediate positive response to the appeal by Prof Marcel Haegi,
founder and first president of FEVR until his death last year, to
raise the issue of road carnage onto the Church's agenda. This
support played an important part in having our Remembrance Day
observed in more countries and on more continents every year. He
would be pleased to know that this Day is now also supported by the
WHO and UN."
Ends
Contacts:
Brigitte Chaudhry telephone/fax: 0044 (0)20 8964 1800
e-mail: brigitte.chaudhry@roadpeace.org
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