Vatican News Update

11.13.2008 - Eighteenth Year - Num. 204

SUMMARY:

- Separating Public Life from Tradition Is a Blind Alley

- Pope Receives President of Brazil

- Religions Carry a Message of Peace and Reconciliation

- Vatican to Commemorate Declaration of Human Rights

- Audiences

- Other Pontifical Acts

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SEPARATING PUBLIC LIFE FROM TRADITION IS A BLIND ALLEY

VATICAN CITY, 13 NOV 2008 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican, the Pope received the Letters of Credence of Sante Canducci, the new ambassador of the Republic of San Marino to the Holy See.

  In his address to the diplomat, the Holy Father pointed out that "the Christian faith has impregnated the life and history of the people and institutions of San Marino", and he expressed the hope that "today's civil and religious community in San Marino proves able to come together to write a chapter of progress and civilisation, recognising the indispensable role each family (as a place of education in peace) is called to play in forming the new generations".

  Benedict XVI affirmed that, despite "the changed environmental and social conditions in which we live today, the final aim of all our daily efforts, both as individuals and as a community, remains unaltered: the search for the true wellbeing of the person and the creation of an open and welcoming society attentive to the real needs of everyone.

  "The values and laws, the shared spiritual 'alphabet', that has made it possible for our peoples to write noble chapters of civil and religious history over the centuries, is a precious heritage that must not be squandered", the Pope added. "A heritage to be augmented with the contribution of modern discoveries in the fields of science technology and communication, which must be placed at the service of the real good of mankind".

  The Holy Father highlighted the fact that "a total separation of public life from any form of value or tradition would, in fact, mean starting down blind alley. This is why it is necessary to redefine the meaning of secularism, a secularism that highlights the real difference and autonomy between the various elements of society but that also protects their specific competencies, in a context of shared responsibility.

  "Certainly this 'healthy' secularism of the State means that all temporal situations must be governed by their own norms; these, nonetheless, must never ignore fundamental ethical requirements the basis of which lies in man's very nature and which, precisely for this reason, lead back in the final analysis to the Creator".

  The Holy Father concluded by recalling that "when the Church, through her legitimate pastors, appeals to the value that certain ethical principles rooted in the Christian heritage of Europe, have for private life, and even more so for public life, she is moved exclusively by the desire to guarantee and promote the inviolable dignity of the person and the authentic good of society".

CD/LETTERS OF CREDENCE/SAN MARINO:CANDUCCI   VIS 081113 (440)

POPE RECEIVES PRESIDENT OF BRAZIL

VATICAN CITY, 13 NOV 2008 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office today released the following declaration:

  "This morning Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, president of the Federative Republic of Brazil, was received in audience by His Holiness Benedict XVI. The president subsequently went on the meet Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B., who was accompanied by Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States.

  "The cordial meeting provided an opportunity for a fruitful exchange of opinions on matters concerning the current situation in the region and in the world.

  "Attention then turned to certain aspects of the situation in Brazil, and in particular to social policies that seek to improve the living conditions of the many people who live in circumstances of distress and marginalisation, and to favour the fundamental role of the family in the struggle against violence and social decay. The discussions also emphasised collaboration between Church and State with a view to promoting moral values and the common good, not only in the country but particularly in favour of Africa. In this context, having recalled the Holy Father's visit to Brazil in May 2007 for the Fifth General Conference of the Episcopate of Latin America and the Caribbean in Aparecida, satisfaction was expressed at the conclusion of an agreement between the Holy See and Brazil. The agreement was later signed in the course of same visit".

  A second communique explains that the new agreement, "which further consolidates the traditional bonds of friendship and collaboration between the two parties, consists of a preamble followed by 20 articles regulating various areas including the juridical status of the Catholic Church in Brazil, the recognition of qualifications, religious teaching in State schools, canonical marriage and the fiscal system".

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RELIGIONS CARRY A MESSAGE OF PEACE AND RECONCILIATION

VATICAN CITY, 13 NOV 2008 (VIS) - Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, yesterday participated in the 63rd session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, with an address dedicated to the theme of the "Culture of Peace".

  "By its nature and mission the United Nations should be a school of peace", he began. Here we must "learn to think and act while always bearing in mind the legitimate interests of all sides". Member States, "in striving to overcome the simplistic logic of the power of force and replace it with the power of law and the wisdom of peoples, become 'builders of peace'", he said.

  The cardinal highlighted how "in this demanding task, individual believers and communities of believers have their place and their role to play. Religions, despite the weaknesses and contradictions of their members, carry a message of reconciliation and peace".

  Cardinal Tauran stressed that believers must be "coherent and credible", pointing out that "they cannot use religion to attack freedom of conscience, justify violence, spread hatred and fanaticism or undermine political and religious authority".

  He went on: "Believers, in contributing to public debate and participating in the societies to which they belong, feel themselves called to co-operate in promoting the common good, which rests on a platform of values shared by everyone, believers and non-believers alike: the sacredness of life and the dignity of human beings, respect for liberty of conscience and of religion, practice of responsible freedom, acceptance of different opinions, correct use of reason, appreciation for democratic life and care for natural resources, to mention but a few".

  "May all of us together - without renouncing our cultural and religious identity - find the path to a safer and more united world", he concluded. "Let us not rest content with mere tolerance and vague commitments, let us make fraternity more than an ideal, a reality!"

.../PEACE CULTURE/U.N.:TAURAN                                           VIS 081113 (330)

VATICAN TO COMMEMORATE DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

VATICAN CITY, 13 NOV 2008 (VIS) - In the Holy See Press Office this morning, Cardinal Renato Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, presented the programme of events planned to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The initiatives, organised by his dicastery, are due to be held in the Vatican on 10 December.

  Cardinal Martino explained that the aim of the initiatives is, "on the one hand, to celebrate that famous United Nations document and, on the other, to highlight its perennial value, underlining once again its importance as an educational tool and a guide for building a more just and united world.

  "The Church", he added, "holds that human rights express the transcendent dignity of human beings, the only creatures to be loved by God for themselves, the end and never the means; and she believes that the 1948 Universal Declaration of the Rights of Man was a moment of fundamental importance in mankind's development of a moral conscience that accords with human dignity".

  The cardinal reiterated the fact that "the Church has made her own contributions, both through reflections on human rights in the light of the Word of God and of human reason (such as the treatment of the subject by Blessed John XXIII in his 'Pacem in Terris'), and though her commitment to announce and denounce which has made her such a tireless paladin of the dignity of mankind and human rights in the sixty years since the 1948 Declaration".

  He continued: "The latest powerful testimony to the value of the Universal Declaration was that of the Holy Father Benedict XVI on 18 April this year when he visited the Untied Nations and declared: ... 'The merit of the Universal Declaration is that it has enabled different cultures, juridical expressions and institutional models to converge around a fundamental nucleus of values, and hence of rights'.

  "On this basis, the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, together with the Prefecture of the Pontifical Household, will organise a celebration to take place in the Paul VI Hall on 10 December. The initiative will be divided into two phases. The first, at 4 p.m., will consist in a commemorative meeting dedicated to reflection and study, attended by heads of dicasteries of the Roman Curia and by members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See. Contributions on the value and importance of the Declaration will be forthcoming from Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B.; Juan Somavia, director general of the World Labour Organisation, and Jacques Diouf, director general of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation.

  At 6 p.m. that evening, Benedict XVI will attend a public concert by the Brandenburrgisches Staatsorchester of Frankfurt, led by the Spanish conductor, Inma Shara.

  Shortly before the concert, the St. Matthew Foundation's annual prizes in memory of Cardinal Van Thuan will be presented. Among this year's winners is Cornelio Sommaruga, former president of the International Red Cross.

OP/HUMAN RIGHTS ANNIVERSARY/MARTINO                      VIS 081113 (510)

AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, 13 NOV 2008 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences five prelates from the Bolivian Episcopal Conference, on their "ad limina" visit:

    - Archbishop Jesus Perez Rodriguez O.F.M. of Sucre.

    - Bishop Walter Perez Villamonte of Potosi, accompanied by Auxiliary Bishop Ricardo Ernesto Centellas Guzman.

    - Bishop Francisco Javier del Rio Sendino of Tarija, accompanied by Bishop emeritus Adhemar Esquivel Kohenque.

AL/.../...                                                                                             VIS 081113 (70)

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, 13 NOV 2008 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed:

 - Bishop Juan Jose Asenjo Pegrina of Cordoba, Spain, as coadjutor archbishop of Seville (area 14,042, population 1,835,077, Catholics 1,825,505, priests 685, permanent deacons 37, religious 2,928), Spain. The archbishop-elect was born in Siguenza, Spain in 1945, he was ordained a priest in 1969 and consecrated a bishop in 1997.

 - Archbishop Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer S.J., secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, as consultor to the Congregation for Bishops.

NEC:NA/.../ASENJO:LADARIA                                                    VIS 081113 (90)

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11.12.2008 - Eighteenth Year - Num. 203

SUMMARY:

- World of Justice Cannot Exist without Christ

- Other Pontifical Acts

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WORLD OF JUSTICE CANNOT EXIST WITHOUT CHRIST

VATICAN CITY, 12 NOV 2008 (VIS) - In his general audience, held this morning in St. Peter's Square, the Pope turned his attention to St. Paul's eschatological teaching.

  In his First Letter to the Thessalonians, said the Holy Father, "St. Paul speaks of the return of Jesus, an event known as the 'parusia' or advent". The saint describes this vividly "using symbolic images that nonetheless transmit a simple and profound message: 'In the end we will be with the Lord forever'. ... Our future is 'to be with the Lord'".

  Benedict XVI pointed out how in his Second Letter to the Thessalonians, the Apostle "changes perspective and speaks of the negative events that will precede the end. We must not allow ourselves to be deceived, he says, as if the Day of the Lord were truly imminent by some chronological calculation. ... The continuation of the Pauline text makes it clear that the coming of the Lord will be preceded by apostasy and by the appearance of a person identified only as 'the lawless one', the 'one destined for destruction', whom tradition came to identify as the Antichrist".

  The Pope examined the fundamental attitudes a Christian must adopt in the face of the ultimate realities of death and the end of the world: "The first attitude", he said, "must be the certainty that Jesus rose and that, with the Father, He remains with us forever. ... Secondly, the certainty that Christ is with me; and since the future world has already begun in Christ, this gives us the certainty of hope. The future is not an area of darkness in which no-one can find their way. ... Without Christ, the future is dark even today. ... Christians know that the light of Christ is stronger and hence they experience a hope that is not vain, a hope that gives certainty and courage to face the future".

  The third attitude, the Pope went on, "is responsibility before Christ for the world and for our fellow man and, at the same time, the certainty of His mercy. ... We have to work to ensure this world opens to Christ, that it is renewed. ...We know that God is the true Judge, we are sure He is good, we know His face, the face of the risen Christ. ... For this reason we can be sure of His goodness and live our lives courageously".

  At the end of his First Letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul "repeats a prayer of the early Christian communities of Palestine, putting it into the mouths of the Corinthians themselves: 'Marana tha! Our Lord, come!' ... which is also how the Book of the Apocalypse ends. ... Can we pray like this today? In our lives, in our world, it is difficult to pray sincerely for this world to perish, for the coming of the New Jerusalem, the Final Judgement, Christ the Judge. ... Nonetheless, like the first Christian community we can say: Come Jesus! Of course we do not want the end of the world to come now. On the other hand, we do want the world of injustice to end, we do want the world to change, the civilisation of love to begin, a world of justice and peace to come, a world without violence and hunger. ... But without the presence of Christ a truly just and renewed world will never come".

  "We can and must cry out urgently in the circumstances of our own time: Come, Lord! Come in Your way, in the ways that You know. Come where there is injustice and violence. Come into the refuge camps of Darfur and North Kivu, in so many parts of the world. Come where drugs dominate. Come also among the rich who have forgotten You and who live for themselves alone. Come where You are known. Come in Your way and renew today's world. Come also into our hearts ... that we too may become light of God, Your presence".

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, 12 NOV 2008 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

 - Appointed Fr. Jose Moreira da Silva of the clergy of the diocese of Porto Nacional, Brazil, pastor of the parish of "Nossa Senhora de Abadia" in Taguatinga, as bishop of Januaria (area 38,187, population 300,000, Catholics 270,000, priests 18, permanent deacons 2, religious 40), Brazil. The bishop-elect was born in Ponte Alta, Brazil in 1953 and ordained a priest in 1982. He succeeds Bishop Anselmo Muller M.S.F., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

 - Appointed Fr. Neri Jose Tondello of the clergy of the diocese of Caxias do Sul, Brazil, "fidei donum" priest in the diocese of Juina and rector of the major seminary of Cuiaba, as bishop of Juina (area 129,078, population 140,800, Catholics 127,963, priests 17, religious 48), Brazil. The bishop-elect was born in Antonio Prado, Brazil in 1964 and ordained a priest in 1993.

NER:RE/.../MOREIRA:MULLER:TONDELLO                             VIS 081112 (170)

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11.11.2008 - Eighteenth Year - Num. 202

SUMMARY:

- Pastoral Care in the Treatment of Sick Children

- Other Pontifical Acts

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PASTORAL CARE IN THE TREATMENT OF SICK CHILDREN

VATICAN CITY, 11 NOV 2008 (VIS) - In the Holy See Press Office this morning, a press conference was held to present the Twenty-third International Conference of the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care, which has as its theme this year: "Pastoral Care in the Treatment of Sick Children". The meeting is due to be held in the Vatican from 13 to 15 November.

  Participating in today's event were Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, Bishop Jose L. Redrado O.H. and Fr. Felice Ruffini M.I, respectively president, secretary and under secretary of the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care; Bruna Costacurta, professor of biblical exegesis in the faculty of theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, and Alberto G. Ugazio, co-ordinator of the department of paediatric medicine at Rome's "Bambino Gesu" Hospital.

  In his remarks, Cardinal Lozano Barragan indicated that "in the last decade more than two million children have been killed in the course of armed conflict, six million have been left handicapped, tens of thousands mutilated by antipersonnel mines and 300,000 recruited as child soldiers. More than 4,300,000 children have died of AIDS.

  "Poverty", he added, "remains the principal cause of childhood sickness. One billion two hundred thousand people live with less than a dollar a day. Even in the richest countries, one child in six lives under the poverty line. ... Two hundred and fifty million children under 15 work, including some 60 million who do so in dangerous conditions", while "many children and adolescents are left to their own devices. ... There are no controls on television programmes or on the Internet where they navigate without any kind of moral guidance. The sex trade, paedophilia, violence in schools, crimes, organised bands, etc., are all growing phenomena. ... Many families have relinquished their duty to educate" their children and "very often school education is reduced to mere information, with authentic formation being abandoned".

  Having provided these statistics, the cardinal turned to focus on the forthcoming meeting's theme of caring for sick children. "In the first part of the conference, entitled 'Situation'", he said, "we will consider the reality and origin of childhood diseases. We will begin with the history of treating sick children in the world, the demographics of the infant population and their mortality rates. We will then study the principal sicknesses to which children are exposed before evaluating whether globalisation represents an opportunity or a risk for the sick. ... We will also examine the question of lifestyle and diet. ... As concerns the political side of the question, we will study .... legislation and healthcare systems. ... In its ecological aspects we will consider initiatives undertaken by the World Health Organisation".

  In the second part of the conference, entitled "Reflection", participants will analyse "what Holy Scripture and the Fathers of the Church have to tell us about the cure of children, examining what those cures were over the course of Church history and the witness of the saints who consecrated their lives to caring for sick children. ... We will conclude our reflection with a dialogue on the great religions: Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism", said the cardinal.

  "The third part of the conference is dedicated to 'Action'", Cardinal Lozano Barragan went on. "What kind of catechesis and formation in the faith do we need in order to face this serious problem? How must we proceed in sacramental terms towards these children? How can we use the psychological sciences in this form of treatment?. ... We will examine research into medicines, nutrition and lifestyle. ... From a socio-political standpoint, we will highlight the role that the social communications media, and national and international healthcare systems must have, ... as well as the problem of migration. ... At a personal level, we will ask ourselves about the role of the diocese, of the parish, of religious orders and congregations, and of volunteers".

  The cardinal concluded by recalling that the conference will be attended "by 41 specialists from various countries, all of them highly qualified in their specific fields".

OP/CONFERENCE SICK CHILDREN/LOZANO                         VIS 081111 (690)

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, 11 NOV 2008 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

 - Accepted the resignation from the diocese of Bathurst, Australia, presented by Bishop Patrick Dougherty, upon having reached the age limit.

 - Appointed Bishop Daniel Nlandu Mayi, auxiliary of the archdiocese of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, as coadjutor of Matadi (area 31,000, population 2,100,000, Catholics 995,000, priests 127, religious 183), Democratic Republic of Congo.

 - Appointed as ordinary members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences: Govind Swarup, professor of astrophysics at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics of Mumbai, India, and Stanislas Dehaene, professor of cognitive experimental psychology at the College de France in Paris and director of the INSERM-CEA Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit in Orsay, France.

RE:NEC:NA/.../...                                                                            VIS 081111 (130)

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11.10.2008 - Eighteenth Year - Num. 201

SUMMARY: 8-10 NOVEMBER

- Republic of China: Contribution to World Stability

- Magisterium of Pius XII, Valuable Heritage for the Church

- Other Pontifical Acts

- Rome Presides over Charity of Catholic Community

- Solidarity with Jews, Peace in Kivu, Problem of Hunger

- Bolivia: Maintaining Hope, Fomenting Unity

- Teaching Memory for a Europe of Freedom

- Audiences

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REPUBLIC OF CHINA: CONTRIBUTION TO WORLD STABILITY

VATICAN CITY, 8 NOV 2008 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican, the Holy Father received the Letters of Credence of Wang Larry Yu-yuan, the new ambassador of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to the Holy See.

  "The Government in Taipei", said the Pope in his English-language remarks to the diplomat, "has a keen sense of belonging to a world community, a global human family. This is expressed in many ways, not least in the generosity with which aid and emergency relief is supplied to poorer nations. In this regard, your country makes a valuable contribution to the building of a more secure and stable world. The Holy See is pleased to work together with all those who seek to promote peace, prosperity and development, and appreciates the Republic of China's commitment to that noble cause".

  Benedict XVI recalled that although Catholics in the country "represent little more than one per cent of the population, they are eager to play their part in building up a society that is humane, just, and marked by genuine concern for the welfare of the weaker members of the community. .... Your government's firm commitment to freedom of religion has made it possible for the Church to carry out her mission of love and service, and to express herself openly through worship and the proclamation of the Gospel".

  "Thanks to their 'innate spiritual insight and moral wisdom', there is great religious vitality and capacity for renewal among the peoples of Asia. Hence the ground is particularly fertile for inter-religious dialogue to take root and grow", he said.

  "How important it is in today's world for different peoples to be able to listen to one another in an atmosphere of respect and dignity, conscious that their shared humanity is a bond far deeper than the cultural variations that seem to divide them!" the Pontiff exclaimed.

  "Frank and constructive dialogue is also the key to the resolution of the conflicts that threaten the stability of our world. In this regard, the Holy See welcomes the recent positive developments in relations between Taiwan and mainland China. Indeed the Catholic Church is eager to promote peaceful solutions to disputes of whatever kind, 'giving attention and encouragement to even the faintest sign of dialogue or desire for reconciliation'. In this way, she wishes to support the efforts of governments to become 'staunch champions of human dignity and courageous builders of peace'".

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MAGISTERIUM OF PIUS XII, VALUABLE HERITAGE FOR THE CHURCH

VATICAN CITY, 8 NOV 2008 (VIS) - This morning the Holy Father received participants in a congress entitled: "The Heritage of Pius XII's Magisterium and Vatican Council II". The event, held from 6 to 8 November, was organised by the Pontifical Gregorian and Lateran Universities.

  The Pope highlighted how the Magisterium of Servant of God Pius XII, the fiftieth anniversary of whose death falls this year, is "a valuable heritage to which the Church has always given, and continues to give, great importance".

  Benedict XVI mentioned the fact that the late Pontiff published more than 40 Encyclicals, "among them 'Mystici Corpis' in which he examined the question of the true and intimate nature of the Church, ... 'Divino afflante Spiritu' on Sacred Scripture, and 'Mediator Dei' on sacred liturgy".

  "Many were the occasions", he said, "on which Pius XII turned his attention to the responsibility of the laity within the Church" and to "the great importance of the modern communications media, ... highlighting journalists' duty to provide factual information respectful of moral norms".

  The Holy Father explained how his predecessor, while admiring the progress of science and technology, did not fail to "caution against the risks that research could bring if inattentive to moral values", and "warned of the need to prevent at all costs the possibility of brilliant scientific advances being used to build deadly arms which could cause immense catastrophes and even the complete destruction of mankind".

  "Equally worthy of mention is Pius XII's Mariological teaching", the Pope continued, "which reached its culmination in the proclamation of the dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, by which the Holy Father intended to highlight the eschatological dimension of our lives, and to exalt the dignity of women".

  After underlining how Pius XII "was a realist, ... immune to the risk of that pessimism which is inappropriate to believers", the Holy Father pointed out how Pope Pius also "abhorred sterile polemics and was profoundly diffident towards fanaticism and sentimentalism".

  Benedict XVI also dwelt upon Pius XII's "continuous efforts and firm desire to give all of himself to God, holding nothing back and unconcerned for his own delicate health. ... Everything in him arose from love for his Lord Jesus Christ, and love for the Church and humanity. He was, in fact, a priest in constant and intimate union with God. ... It was from here that his Magisterium, indeed all his activities, were rooted and drew their strength".

  "His fruitful Magisterium remains priceless for Christians today. ... The heritage of Pius XII's Magisterium was taken up by Vatican Council II and has been re-presented to succeeding Christian generations".

  Benedict XVI concluded by affirming that "in the person of the Supreme Pontiff Pius XII, the Lord gave His Church an exceptional gift for which we must all be grateful".

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, 8 NOV 2008 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Archbishop Rino Passigato, apostolic nuncio to Peru, as apostolic nuncio to Portugal. He succeeds Archbishop Alfio Rapisarda, whose resignation from the same office the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

NN:RE/.../PASSIGATO:RAPISARDA                                          VIS 081110 (50)

ROME PRESIDES OVER CHARITY OF CATHOLIC COMMUNITY

VATICAN CITY, 9 NOV 2008 (VIS) - At midday today, Benedict XVI appeared at the window of his study to pray the Angelus with thousands of faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square.

  The Pope recalled how today's liturgy marks the dedication of the Lateran Basilica, known as "mother and head of all the churches of the City and the World". The basilica was the first to be built following the emperor Constantine's 313 Edict of Milan which granted Christians the freedom to practice their religion. It was consecrated by Pope Sylvester around the year 324. Originally dedicated to the Blessed Saviour, only in the sixth century did it acquire the tiles of St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist.

  "Honouring this sacred building in this way", the Pope explained, "the intention is to express love and veneration for the Roman church which, as St. Ignatius of Antioch says, 'presides over the charity' of the entire Catholic communion.

  "On this solemnity", he added, "the word of God reminds us of an essential truth: the temple of bricks and mortar is a symbol of the living Church, the Christian community. In their Letters the Apostles Peter and Paul understood this as being a 'spiritual edifice' built by God with 'living stones', which are Christians, upon the one foundation which is Jesus Christ, Who in His turn is described as the 'cornerstone'".

  "The beauty and harmony of the churches, which are intended to give praise unto God, also invites us, as limited and sinful human beings, to convert ourselves to form a 'cosmos', a well-ordered construction in close communion with Jesus, Who is the true Saint of saints. This process reaches its culmination in the Eucharistic liturgy in which the 'ecclesia', in other words the community of the baptised, comes together to hear the Word of God and to draw nourishment from the Body and Blood of Christ. Around this dual banquet the Church of living stones is built in truth and charity, and moulded within by the Holy Spirit".

  Today's festivity, the Pope concluded, "celebrates an ever-relevant mystery: the fact that God wants to build Himself a spiritual temple in the world". It also reminds us "of the importance of the real buildings in which the community gathers to celebrate the praises of God. Each community, in fact, has the duty to protect its own sacred buildings, which constitute a precious religious and historical heritage".

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SOLIDARITY WITH JEWS, PEACE IN KIVU, PROBLEM OF HUNGER

VATICAN CITY, 9 NOV 2008 (VIS) - After praying the Angelus this morning, the Pope recalled the fact that today marks the 70th anniversary "of those sad events which befell on the night of 9 to 10 November 1938, when Nazi fury was unleashed against the Jews in Germany.

  "Shops, offices, houses and synagogues were attacked and destroyed", he added, "and many people were killed, thus beginning that violent and systematic persecution of the German Jews which concluded with the Shoah. Even today I still suffer for what happened in those tragic circumstances, the memory of which must serve to ensure that such horrors never happen again and that, at all levels, we undertake to oppose all forms of anti-Semitism and discrimination, educating, especially the young generations, in respect and mutual acceptance. Moreover, I invite people to pray for the victims of that time and to join me in expressing profound solidarity with the Jewish world".

  The Holy Father then went on to launch an appeal for peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo: "Unsettling news continues to arrive from the region of North Kivu", he said. "Bloody armed clashes and systematic atrocities have reaped and are continuing to reap numerous victims among innocent civilians. Destruction, sacking and violence of all kinds have forced further tens of thousands of people to abandon what little they had to survive. It is calculated that the refugees currently number more than one and a half million. I wish to express my special closeness to each and every one of them; at the same time I encourage and bless those who are striving to alleviate their sufferings, among whom I would particularly like to mention the pastoral workers of the local Church. To families deprived of their loved ones I send my condolences and assurances of my prayers. Finally, I renew my fervent appeal for everyone to collaborate in restoring peace to that long-martyred land, while respecting legality and, above all, the dignity of each individual".

  Benedict XVI then went on to refer to today's celebration in Italy of Thanksgiving Day, which has as its theme this year: "I was hungry and you gave me food".

  "I unite my voice", he said, "to that of Italian bishops who, on the basis of these words of Jesus, draw attention to the serious and complex problem of hunger, made even more dramatic by price increases in certain basic foodstuffs. The Church, while reiterating the fundamental ethical principle of the universal destination of goods, puts this into practice following the Lord Jesus' example, with many charitable initiatives. I pray for the rural world, especially for smallholders in developing countries. I encourage and bless those who undertake to unsure that no-one lacks healthy and adequate nourishment: those who help the poor help Christ Himself".

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BOLIVIA: MAINTAINING HOPE, FOMENTING UNITY

VATICAN CITY, 10 NOV 2008 (VIS) - Benedict XVI today received prelates from the Bolivian Episcopal Conference, who have just completed their "ad limina" visit.

  At the beginning of his address to them, the Pope referred to "the difficult circumstances affecting the faithful and citizens" of the country, "which at the current time seem to be becoming even more marked. These certainly cause concern and call for the special pastoral solicitude of the entire Church, which has closely followed Bolivians through difficult situations with the single intention of keeping hope alive, reviving faith, fomenting unity, exhorting reconciliation and safeguarding peace".

  "Nor is there a lack of challenges in your pastoral duties, because the faith sown in Bolivian soil always needs to be nourished and fortified, especially when signs emerge of a certain weakness in Christian life". Such weakness can be "caused by factors of various origins, by incoherence between professed faith and the conduct of personal and social life, or by a superficial formation which leaves the baptised exposed to the influence of dazzling but empty promises".

  In order to face these challenges, said the Holy Father, "the Church in Bolivia has one powerful means at her disposal in the form of popular devotion, a valuable treasure accumulated over the centuries thanks to the work of intrepid missionaries, and upheld with great faithfulness by generations of Bolivian families. It is a gift which certainly has to be safeguarded and promoted today, ... so that its significance may penetrate into the depths of people's hearts, remain illuminated by the Word of God, and transform itself into firm convictions of faith, consolidated by the Sacraments and by faithfulness to moral values".

  To this end, the Pope went on, "systematic, widespread and incisive catechesis is needed, catechesis that teaches the Catholic faith clearly and completely. ... Quality general education, which includes the spiritual and religious dimension of the person, also helps to lay firm foundations for the development of the faith". In this context he recalled how the Church in Bolivia runs many educational institutions, "some highly prestigious, which must continue to enjoy the attention of pastors so as to maintain respect for their particular identity".

  Benedict XVI expressed his appreciation for the prelates' efforts "to offer seminarians a solid human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral formation, ensuring them the attentions of priests able to accompany them in their vocational discernment and to guarantee their suitability and competency. ... It is also necessary", he went on, "to ensure a permanent formation of the clergy and other pastoral workers, in order to nourish their spiritual life and to ensure their work does not become routine or superficial".

  Referring then to the importance of listening to and meditating upon Scripture, the Pope highlighted how "docile listening to the divine Word gives rise to love for others and ... disinterested service to mankind. This is something that occupies a very important position in pastoral activity in Bolivia, in the face of the poverty, marginalisation and helplessness of a large part of the population".

  The Holy Father concluded by encouraging bishops in their mission "as guides of the Church in Bolivia, and in the spirit of communion and harmony they share". This communion is "enriched with special bonds of close fraternity with other particular Churches, some of which are in distant lands but wish to share with you the joys and hopes of evangelisation in your country".

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TEACHING MEMORY FOR A EUROPE OF FREEDOM

VATICAN CITY, 10 NOV 2008 (VIS) - On 6 November Archbishop Jean-Louis Brugues O.P., secretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education, participated as Holy See representative to the Council of Europe's fourth seminar of ministers of education of States signatories to the European Cultural Convention. The meeting had as its theme "teaching memory: living in a Europe of freedom and law" and took place in the German city of Nuremberg-Dachau from 5 to 7 November.

  The archbishop indicated how the site chosen for the meeting is replete with memories that have marked European history: "the great Nazi rallies, but also the trials of those who committed serious crimes against humanity. The events this city witnessed speak to us of the drama of an age in which freedom and justice were denied and the dignity of man was trampled underfoot.

  "Recalling the drama of the victims and paying homage to their memory", he added, "invites everyone to become aware that those dark events are a call to construct the present and future of our continent so that such tragedies are never repeated, either in Europe or anywhere in the world. On this subject, the Holy See appreciates the commitment of States signatories to the European Cultural Convention to ensure that, by teaching memory, a contribution may be made not only to knowledge of the past, but also to mutual understanding, to dialogue, to prevention of crimes against humanity, and to consolidating a Europe of freedom and law

  "Law and freedom are essential if we are to avoid relapses into totalitarianism". Law, however, must be "based on an exalted sense of dignity and justice. ... We risk falling once again into barbarism if we do not have a passion for justice and freedom and if we do not undertake, each in accordance with his or her abilities, to ensure that evil does not prevail over good, as happened for millions of children of the Jewish people".

  Archbishop Brugues went on to say that "we must redouble our efforts to free mankind from the spectres of racism, exclusion, marginalisation, subjection and xenophobia, also extirpating the roots of these evils which insinuate themselves into modern society and undermine the foundations of peaceful human coexistence".

  "The duty of memory must thus continue to move our hearts and minds, bringing reason to recognise evil and reject it, to arouse in us the courage of goodness and of resistance to evil . ... Passing time brings the progressive loss of firsthand witnesses of that tragedy. This must incite us to greater efforts in order to conserve the memory and transmit it to new generations. We must, then, encourage such initiatives as the 'Day of memory and of the prevention of crimes against humanity', which contribute to keeping the memory of those tragic events alive".

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, 10 NOV 2008 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences nine prelates from the Bolivian Episcopal Conference, on their "ad limina" visit:

    - Cardinal Julio Terrazas Sandoval, archbishop of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, accompanied by Auxiliary Bishops Sergio Alfredo Gualberti Calandrina, Stanislaw Dowlaszewicz Billman O.F.M. Conv. and Braulio Saez Garcia O.C.D.

    - Archbishop Tito Solari Capellari S.D.B. of Cochabamba, accompanied by Auxiliary Archbishop Luis Sainz Hinojosa O.F.M.

    - Bishop Jorge Herbas Baderrama O.F.M., coadjutor prelate of Aiquile.

    - Bishop Jesus Juarez Parraga S.D.B. of El Alto.

    - Bishop Carlos Stetter of San Ignacio de Velsaco.

  On Saturday 8 November, he received in separate audiences

 - Archbishop Vernon James Weisgerber of Winnipeg, Bishop Pierre Morissette of Saint-Jerome and Msgr. Mario Paquette P.H., respectively president, vice-president and secretary of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.

 - Five prelates from the Bolivian Episcopal Conference, on their "ad limina" visit:

    - Bishop Gonzalo Ramiro del Castillo Crespo O.C.D., military ordinary.

    - Bishop Julio Maria Elias Montoya O.F.M., apostolic vicar of El Beni, accompanied by Auxiliary Bishop Francisco Focardi O.F.M. and former Auxiliary Bishop Manuel Eguiguren Galarraga O.F.M.

    - Bishop Antonio Bonifacio Reimann Panic O.F.M., apostolic vicar of Nuflo de Chavez.

 - Archbishop Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki of Lviv of the Latins, Ukraine.

 - Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.

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11.07.2008 - Eighteenth Year - Num. 200

SUMMARY:

- Final Declaration of Catholic-Muslim Forum

- Lithuania: Cultivating the Memory of History

- Organ Transplant and Respect for Human Dignity

- Audiences

___________________________________________________________

FINAL DECLARATION OF CATHOLIC-MUSLIM FORUM

VATICAN CITY, 7 NOV 2008 (VIS) - Made public yesterday afternoon was the final declaration of participants in the First Seminar of the Catholic-Muslim Forum, which took place in Rome from 4 to 6 November on the theme: "Love of God, Love of Neighbour".

  Each of the two sides in the meeting was represented by 24 participants and five advisers who discussed the two great themes of "Theological and Spiritual Foundations" and "Human Dignity and Mutual Respect". Points of "similarity and of diversity emerged, reflecting the distinctive specific genius of the two religions" the English-language declaration says.

1. "For Christians the source and example of love of God and neighbour is the love of Christ for His Father, for humanity and for each person" reads the first of the fifteen points of the declaration. "Love of neighbour cannot be separated from love of God, because it is an expression of our love for God. ... Grounded in Christ's sacrificial love, Christian love is forgiving and excludes no-one; it therefore also includes one's enemies".

  "For Muslims ... love is a timeless transcendent power which guides and transforms human mutual regard. This love, as indicated by the Holy and Beloved Prophet Muhammad, is prior to the human love for the One True God".

2. "Human life is a most precious gift of God to each person. It should therefore be preserved and honoured in all its stages".

3. Human dignity is derived from the fact that every human person is created by a loving God and has been endowed with the gifts of reason and free will, and therefore enabled to love God and others. On the firm basis of these principles, the person requires the respect of his or her original dignity and his or her human vocation. Therefore, he or she is entitled to full recognition of his or her identity and freedom by individuals, communities and governments, supported by civil legislation that assures equal rights and full citizenship.

4. "We affirm that God's creation of humanity has two great aspects: the male and the female human person, and we commit ourselves jointly to ensuring that human dignity and respect are extended on an equal basis to both men and women.

5. "Genuine love of neighbour implies respect of the person and her or his choices in matters of conscience and religion. It includes the right of individuals and communities to practice their religion in private and public.

6. "Religious minorities are entitled to be respected in their own religious convictions and practices. They are also entitled to their own places of worship, and their founding figures and symbols they consider sacred should not be subject to any form of mockery or ridicule.

7. "As Catholic and Muslim believers, we are aware of the summons and imperative to bear witness to the transcendent dimension of life, through a spirituality nourished by prayer, in a world which is becoming more and more secularised and materialistic.

8. "We affirm that no religion and its followers should be excluded from society. Each should be able to make its indispensable contribution to the good of society, especially in service to the most needy.

9. "We recognise that God's creation in its plurality of cultures, civilisations, languages and peoples is a source of richness and should therefore never become a cause of tension and conflict.

10. "We are convinced that Catholics and Muslims have the duty to provide a sound education in human, civic, religious and moral values for their respective members and to promote accurate information about each other's religions.

11. "We profess that Catholics and Muslims are called to be instruments of love and harmony among believers, and for humanity as a whole, renouncing any oppression, aggressive violence and terrorism, especially that committed in the name of religion, and upholding the principle of justice for all.

12. "We call upon believers to work for an ethical financial system in which the regulatory mechanisms consider the situation of the poor and disadvantaged, both as individuals, and as indebted nations. We call upon the privileged of the world to consider the plight of those afflicted most severely by the current crisis in food production and distribution, and ask religious believers of all denominations and all people of good will to work together to alleviate the suffering of the hungry, and to eliminate its causes.

13. "Young people are the future of religious communities and of societies as a whole. Increasingly, they will be living in multi-cultural and multi-religious societies. It is essential that they be well formed in their own religious traditions and well informed about other cultures and religions.

14. "We have agreed to explore the possibility of establishing a permanent Catholic-Muslim committee to co-ordinate responses to conflicts and other emergency situations.

15. "We look forward to the second seminar of the Catholic-Muslim Forum to be convened in approximately two years in a Muslim-majority country yet to be determined".

  The declaration concludes by affirming that all the participants "expressed satisfaction with the results of the seminar and their expectation for further productive dialogue".

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LITHUANIA: CULTIVATING THE MEMORY OF HISTORY

VATICAN CITY, 7 NOV 2008 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican, Benedict XVI received the Letters of Credence of Vytautas Alisauskas, the new ambassador of Lithuania to the Holy See.

  Speaking English, the Pope thanked the ambassador for his comments "concerning the need for modern Europe to draw upon the tradition that flows from the teaching of the Gospel", and he recalled how "in recent centuries, the faith of the Lithuanian people has sustained them through periods of foreign domination and oppression, and has helped them to preserve and consolidate their identity.

  "Now that the Republic has regained its independence", he added, "it can offer moving testimony to the values which enabled its people to survive those difficult years. ... Communities that have lived under such circumstances acquire a deep conviction that true happiness is to be found in God alone. They know that any society which denies the Creator inevitably begins to lose its sense of the beauty, truth and goodness of human life".

  The Holy Father noted how a generation has grown up in Eastern Europe "which did not share in that experience of totalitarian government, and tends therefore to take its political freedom for granted. In consequence of this, there is a risk that some of the fruits which matured in testing times may begin to be lost. ...Today's society, although free, suffers increasingly from fragmentation and moral confusion. In this context, it is vitally important that Lithuania, and indeed the whole of Europe, cultivates the memory of the history that shaped it, in order to preserve its true identity and thus to survive and flourish in the world of the 21st century".

  The Holy Father proceeded: "It is both a paradox and a tragedy that in this era of globalisation, when the possibilities of communication and interaction with others have increased to a degree that earlier generations could scarcely have imagined, so many people feel isolated and cut off from one another. This gives rise to many social problems which cannot be resolved on the political plane alone. ... The Church has a vital part to play here" because "she seeks to build a civilisation of love. ... Since 'love of God leads to participation in the justice and generosity of God towards others', the practice of Christianity leads naturally to solidarity. ... It leads to a determination to serve the common good and to take responsibility for the weaker members of society, and it curbs the desire to amass wealth for oneself alone. Our society needs to rise above the allure of material goods, and to focus instead upon values that truly promote the good of the human person".

  Lithuania and the Holy See can work together, said Pope Benedict, "to forge a Europe in which priority is given to the defence of marriage and family life, to the protection of human life from conception to natural death, and to the promotion of sound ethical practices in medical and scientific research: practices which are truly respectful of the dignity of the human person. We can promote effective solidarity with the poor, the sick, the vulnerable, and all those on the margins of society.

  "These values will strike a chord with all those, especially the young, who are seeking answers to their profound questioning about the meaning and purpose of life. They will resonate with all who are anxious to discover the truth that is so often obscured by the superficial messages propagated by post-modern society. They will appeal to all who are discriminating enough to reject the world-view built upon relativism and secularism, and who aspire instead to live in a manner befitting the true nobility of the human spirit".

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ORGAN TRANSPLANT AND RESPECT FOR HUMAN DIGNITY

VATICAN CITY, 7 NOV 2008 (VIS) - At midday today, the Holy Father received participants in an international congress entitled: "A Gift for Life. Considerations on Organ Donation". The meeting is being held in Rome from 6 to 8 November and has been organised by the Pontifical Academy for Life in collaboration with the International Federation of Catholic Medical Associations and the National Transplant Centre.

  In his address the Pope affirmed that "tissue and organ transplants represent a great advance of medical science, and are certainly a sign of hope for many people suffering serious and at times critical illnesses".

  "Unfortunately the problem of the availability of vital organs for transplant is not theoretical but dramatically real, as evinced in the long waiting lists of many sick people whose only hopes of survival are linked to a minimal supply which in no way corresponds to effective need".

  Benedict XVI then recalled how "the body of each individual, along with the spirit which is given individually, constitutes an indivisible unit in which is impressed the image of God Himself". For this reason, "priority must be given to respect for the dignity of the person and protection of his or her individual identity".

  Referring then to the technology of organ transplants, the Pope highlighted the fact that people can only donate "if the health and identity of the individual are never put at serious risk, and always for morally-valid and proportional reasons. Any logic of buying and selling of organs, or the adoption of discriminatory or utilitarian criteria ... is morally unacceptable.

  "Abuses in the transplant and trafficking of organs, which often affect innocent people such as children, must find the scientific and medical community united in a joint refusal. These are unacceptable practices which must be condemned as abominable. The same ethical principle must be reiterated when it is suggested that human embryos be created and destroyed for therapeutic purposes. The very idea of considering the embryo as 'therapeutic material' contradicts the cultural, civil and ethical foundations upon which the dignity of the person rests".

  After highlighting how "informed consent is a precondition of freedom" ensuring "that transplants have the nature of a gift and are not interpreted as acts of coercion or exploitation", the Holy Father recalled that "vital organs must not be removed save from a dead body, which also has a dignity that must be respected. Over recent years science has made further progress in ascertaining the death of a patient. ... In an area such as this, there must be no suspicion of arbitrariness, and where certainty has not been reached the principle of precaution must prevail".

  Recipients of organs, Benedict XVI went on, "should be aware of the value of this gesture. They are recipients of a gift that goes beyond its therapeutic benefit. What they receive, in fact, ... is a testimony of love, and this must arouse an equally generous response so as to enhance the culture of giving and gratuity".

  "Transplants which accord to this ethic of giving", the Pope concluded, "require all sides to invest every possible effort in formation and information, so as increasingly to awaken consciences to a problem that directly affects the lives of so many people. It is important, then, to avoid prejudices and misunderstandings, to overcome diffidence and fear replacing them with certainties and guarantees, so as to create in all people an ever-greater awareness of the great gift of life".

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, 7 NOV 2008 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences four prelates from the Bolivian Episcopal Conference, on their "ad limina" visit:

    - Bishop Krzysztof Bialasik Wawrowska S.V.D. of Oruro.

    - Bishop Leonardo Maria Bernacchi O.F.M., apostolic vicar of Camiri.

    - Bishop Luis Morgan Casey, apostolic vicar of Pando.

    - Bishop Carlos Burgler C.SS.R., apostolic vicar of Reyes.

  This evening he is scheduled to receive in audience Cardinal William Joseph Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

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11.06.2008 - Eighteenth Year - Num. 199

SUMMARY:

- Egypt: Favour Fraternal Relations between Religions

- Catholic-Muslim Forum: Overcome Prejudices of the Past

- Audiences

___________________________________________________________

EGYPT: FAVOUR FRATERNAL RELATIONS BETWEEN RELIGIONS

VATICAN CITY, 6 NOV 2008 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican, the Pope received the Letters of Credence of Lamia Aly Hamada Mekhemar, the new ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt to the Holy See.

  In his address to her the Holy Father spoke of "Egypt's many efforts to favour peace and harmony, and to seek solutions that respect States and persons", indicating that these efforts "concord with those of the Holy See which also strives to favour and promote" such things.

  "Religions", he said, "can and must be factors of peace. Yet despite everything they can be poorly understood and used to provoke violence and death. Respecting the sensibilities and history of each country and of each human or religious community, ... and above all an authentic desire to seek peace, favours the reconciliation of peoples and the peaceful coexistence of everyone".

  After highlighting how Egypt "has always been known as a land of hospitality for countless refuges, both Muslim and Christian, who have sought security and peace in its territory", Benedict XVI expressed the hope that "this noble tradition many continue for the good of everyone".

  Referring then to the reciprocal understanding and respect between Islam and Christianity, the Pope pointed out that although much progress has been made in this field, "there still remains a long way to go".

  "What is important above all", he continued, "is to promote good mutual understanding. This cannot be limited to a restricted group of dialogue but little by little must irradiate out to the people who in their daily lives, in cities and villages, have to develop a mentality of reciprocal respect, one that can lead to mutual esteem".

  The Holy Father indicated that the Catholic community in Egypt, despite being very small, "demonstrates the great diversity that exists in out Church and the possibility of harmonious coexistence between the great Eastern and Western traditions. Their historic social commitment to the people of Egypt in the fields of education, healthcare and charity work, bears witness to a gratuitous love that knows no religious distinction. This is something understood and appreciated by Egyptian society as a whole".

  "In your country, the Catholic Church also wants to enter into contact with the many visiting Catholic tourists who wish to practice their religion. I am convinced that they will soon be given the chance to pray to God in a dignified fashion at appropriate places of worship in the new tourist sites that have come into being in the last few years. It would be a good signal to the world if Egypt were to favour relations of friendship and fraternity among religions and peoples, in accordance with its ancient and noble traditions".

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CATHOLIC-MUSLIM FORUM: OVERCOME PREJUDICES OF THE PAST

VATICAN CITY, 6 NOV 2008 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican, Benedict XVI received participants in the First Seminar of the Catholic-Muslim Forum. The event has been organised by the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue and by the 138 Muslim representatives who, on 13 October 2007, sent an open letter to the Pope and to other heads of Christian Churches and ecclesial Communities.

  In his English-language remarks to them, the Pope noted that the open letter "has received numerous responses, and has given rise to dialogue, specific initiatives and meetings, aimed at helping us to know one another more deeply and to grow in esteem for our shared values. The great interest which the present seminar has awakened is an incentive for us to ensure that the reflections and the positive developments which emerge from Muslim-Christian dialogue are not limited to a small group of experts and scholars, but are passed on as a precious legacy to be placed at the service of all, to bear fruit in the way we live each day".

  The Holy Father pointed out that the theme chosen for the meeting, "Love of God, Love of Neighbour: The Dignity of the Human Person and Mutual Respect", highlights "even more clearly the theological and spiritual foundations of a central teaching of our respective religions. ... Our calling and mission is to share freely with others the love which God lavishes upon us without any merit of our own".

  "I was pleased to learn that you were able at this meeting to adopt a common position on the need to worship God totally and to love our fellow men and women disinterestedly, especially those in distress and need. God calls us to work together on behalf of the victims of disease, hunger, poverty, injustice and violence.

  "For Christians", he added, "the love of God is inseparably bound to the love ... of all men and women, without distinction of race and culture. ... The Muslim tradition is also quite clear in encouraging practical commitment in serving the most needy. ... We should thus work together in promoting genuine respect for the dignity of the human person and fundamental human rights, even though our anthropological visions and our theologies justify this in different ways. There is a great and vast field in which we can act together in defending and promoting the moral values which are part of our common heritage".

  The Pope continued: "Only by starting with the recognition of the centrality of the person and the dignity of each human being, respecting and defending life which is the gift of God, and is thus sacred for Christians and for Muslims alike - only on the basis of this recognition, can we find a common ground for building a more fraternal world, a world in which confrontations and differences are peacefully settled, and the devastating power of ideologies is neutralised.

  "My hope", he went on, " is that these fundamental human rights will be protected for all people everywhere. Political and religious leaders have the duty of ensuring the free exercise of these rights in full respect for each individual's freedom of conscience and freedom of religion. The discrimination and violence which even today religious people experience throughout the world, and the often violent persecutions to which they are subject, represent unacceptable and unjustifiable acts, all the more grave and deplorable when they are carried out in the name of God.

  "God's name can only be a name of peace and fraternity, justice and love. We are challenged to demonstrate, by our words and above all by our deeds, that the message of our religions is unfailingly a message of harmony and mutual understanding. It is essential that we do so, lest we weaken the credibility and the effectiveness not only of our dialogue, but also of our religions themselves".

  "Let us unite our efforts, animated by good will, in order to overcome all misunderstanding and disagreements", Pope Benedict concluded. "Let us resolve to overcome past prejudices and to correct the often distorted images of the other which even today can create difficulties in our relations; let us work with one another to educate all people, especially the young, to build a common future".

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, 6 NOV 2008 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences five prelates from the Bolivian Episcopal Conference, on their "ad limina" visit:

    - Archbishop Edmundo Luis Flavio Abastoflor Montero of la Paz, accompanied by Auxiliary Bishop Oscar Omar Aparicio Cespedes.

    - Bishop Juan Vargas Aruquipa of Coroico.

    - Bishop Toribio Ticona Porco, prelate of the territorial prelature of Corocoro, accompanied by Bishop Jesus Agustin Lopez de Lama C.P., prelate emeritus.

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11.05.2008 - Eighteenth Year - Num. 198

SUMMARY:

- Importance of the Resurrection in Pauline Christology

- In Memoriam

___________________________________________________________

IMPORTANCE OF THE RESURRECTION IN PAULINE CHRISTOLOGY

VATICAN CITY, 5 NOV 2008 (VIS) - Continuing his series of catecheses on Pauline Christology, in today's general audience Benedict XVI considered the importance given by the Apostle to the resurrection of Jesus, as evinced in his First Letter to the Corinthians.

  In the resurrection "is the solution to the problem posed by the drama of the Cross", said the Pope. "The Cross cannot of itself explain the Christian faith. The Paschal mystery consists in the fact that the crucified One 'was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures'. ... This is the key to Pauline Christology, everything revolves around this centre of gravity. ... He Who was crucified - and who thus expressed God's immense love for man - rose and lives among us".

  "The originality of this Christology never comes at the expense of faithfulness to tradition. The 'kerygma' of the Apostles precedes Paul's individual re-elaboration. All his arguments are rooted in the shared tradition in which the faith of all the Churches is expressed. In this way St. Paul offers us a universally-valid model for theology and preaching. Theologians and preachers do not create new visions of the world or of life but remain at the service of transmitted truth, ... of the real fact of Christ, of the Cross, of the resurrection. Their task is to help us understand today, behind the ancient words, the reality of God-with-us, and thus the reality of true life".

  "In announcing the resurrection St. Paul is not concerned with presenting a comprehensive doctrinal exposition, but approaches the subject by responding to the concrete doubts and queries that were put to him by the faithful". He concentrated "on essentials: we have been 'justified' - that its made just, saved - by Christ Who died and rose for us. What emerges above all is the fact of the resurrection, without which Christian life would be simply absurd.

  "On that Easter morning", the Holy Father added, "something extraordinary yet at the same time very real happened, something marked by specific signs recorded by numerous witnesses. For Paul, as for other authors of the New Testament, the resurrection is linked to the testimony of those who had direct experience of the Risen One. This involved seeing and feeling, not just with the eyes or with the senses, but also with an inner light that compels us to recognise what the exterior senses record as objective fact. Paul, then, gives ... fundamental importance to the apparitions, which are a condition for faith in the Risen One. ... Thus that chain of tradition came into being which, through the testimony of the Apostles and the first disciples, reached down to later generations and to us".

  "The first way to express such testimony is to preach the resurrection of Christ as a summary of the announcement of the Gospel, as the culmination of an itinerary of salvation". For the Apostle, the resurrection is of fundamental importance because "it consists in the fact that Jesus, elevated from the humility of His earthly existence, was declared to be Son of God 'with power'".

  "With the resurrection begins the announcement of the Gospel of Christ to all peoples, the Kingdom of Christ begins ... which has no other power other than that of truth and love. The resurrection, then, definitively reveals the true identity and extraordinary stature of the Crucified One. ... Jesus is God, ... Lord of the living and the dead".

  "The theology of the Cross is not a theory, it is the reality of Christian life. Living in faith in Jesus Christ, living truth and love, involves daily sacrifices, it involves suffering. Christianity is not the easy path, rather it is a demanding climb illuminated by the light of Christ and His great hope".

  "True believers obtain salvation by professing with their mouths that Jesus is the Lord and believing with their hearts that God raised Him from the dead. In this way they become part of the process by which the first Adam, worldly and subject to corruption and death, is transformed into the ultimate Adam, celestial and incorruptible. This process began with the resurrection of Christ, on which is founded the hope that we too may one day enter with Christ into our true homeland in heaven".

AG/ST. PAUL/...                                                                              VIS 081105 (730)

IN MEMORIAM

VATICAN CITY, 5 NOV 2008 (VIS) - The following prelates died in recent weeks:

 - Bishop Salvatore Boccaccio of Frosinone-Veroli-Ferentino, Italy, on 18 October at the age of 70.

 - Bishop Ernest Kombo S.J. of Owando, Republic of Congo, on 22 October at the age of 67.

 - Archbishop Santo Bartolomeo Quadri, emeritus of Modena-Nonantola, Italy, on 17 October at the age of 98.

 - Bishop Augusto Petro, emeritus of Uruguaiana, Brazil, on 28 October at the age of 90.

 - Archbishop Venedictos Printesis, emeritus of Athenai, Greece, on 21 October at the age of 91.

.../DEATHS/...                                                                                  VIS 081105 (100)

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11.04.2008 - Eighteenth Year - Num. 197

SUMMARY:

- First Seminar of the Catholic-Muslim Forum

- Diplomatic Relations Holy See - Botswana

- Environmental Protection: Review Lifestyle, Consumption

- Other Pontifical Acts

___________________________________________________________

FIRST SEMINAR OF THE CATHOLIC-MUSLIM FORUM

VATICAN CITY, 4 NOV 2008 (VIS) - The First Seminar organised by the Catholic-Muslim Forum will begin this morning in the Vatican. The Forum was established by the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue and by Muslim representatives in the wake of the Open Letter sent on 13 October 2007 to His Holiness Benedict XVI and to other heads of Churches and ecclesial Communities by 138 Muslim leaders, and of the reply, sent by the Cardinal Secretary of State in the Holy Father's name on 19 November 2007.

  According to a communique released by the Holy See Press Office, the theme of the Seminar - "Love of God, Love of Neighbour" - will be tackled from two main standpoints: "theological and spiritual fundamentals" and "the dignity of the human person and mutual respect". The Catholic and Muslim sides will both deliver reports on each of these sub-themes, and their statements will then be the basis for the subsequent debates. Each of the two sides in the meeting will be composed of 29 people, including experts, religious authorities and advisers.

  On the third day the participants in the Seminar are scheduled to be received in audience by the Holy Father. At 4.30 p.m. that afternoon a public session will be held in the Pontifical Gregorian University for the presentation of the Joint Declaration approved during the course of meeting. A Muslim and a Catholic representative will be present to answer any questions concerning the Seminar.

CON-DIR/MUSLIM CATHOLIC FORUM/...                                 VIS 081104 (260)

DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS HOLY SEE - BOTSWANA

VATICAN CITY, 4 NOV 2008 (VIS) - The Holy See and the Republic of Botswana, "being desirous of promoting bonds of mutual friendship and of strengthening international co-operation", have decided by common accord to establish diplomatic relations at the level of apostolic nunciature on the part of the Holy See and at the ambassadorial level on the part of the Republic of Botswana, conforming to the rules fixed by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 18 April 1961.

  A communique made public today announces that on 4 November, at the headquarters of the pontifical representation in Pretoria, South Africa, "notes verbale" will be exchanged and a communique signed for the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the Republic of Botswana.

  Botswana is a presidential republic, part of the Commonwealth, and independent since 30 September 1966. The current president is Seretse Khama Ian Khama, who has been in office since 1 April 2008. The country has a surface area of 581,730 square kilometres and a population of 1,586,000. The Kalahari Desert covers some 70 percent of the land, while in the north-west is the Okavango Delta, the world's largest inland delta.

  The Catholic Church in Botswana is very young and small in numerical terms. Only five percent of the population are Catholic. The first missionaries reached what was then the Bechuanaland Protectorate in 1850 but only in 1928 did the Oblates of Mary Immaculate manage to found a mission and a primary school. A mission was opened in Lobate in 1930, and another in Ramotwsa in 1935. The Irish Passionist Fathers arrived after World War II. There are currently 84,000 Catholics divided between two ecclesiastical circumscriptions: the diocese of Gaborone and the apostolic vicariate of Francistown. There are 27 diocesan priests, 38 parishes, 40 regular priests, 4 unordained male religious, 77 female religious and around 300 catechists.

  Relations between Church and State are good. During the work of the assembly of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, held in Rome in October 2005, the then president of Botswana, Festus Mogae, told Cardinal Angelo Sodano, then secretary of State, of his desire to establish regular diplomatic relations with the Holy See. Thus began the process which is coming to a conclusion today.

OP/DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS/BOTSWANA                             VIS 081104 (390)

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION: REVIEW LIFESTYLE, CONSUMPTION

VATICAN CITY, 4 NOV 2008 (VIS) - On 28 October Archbishop Celestino Migliore, permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations in New York, participated in the second committee of the 63rd session of the U.N. General Assembly, which is examining the theme: "Protection of global climate for present and future generations of mankind".

  Speaking English, the archbishop affirmed that "not only is there no opposition between the human being and the environment, but there is an established and inseparable alliance, in which the environment essentially conditions the human being's existence and development, while the latter perfects and ennobles the environment by his creative activity".

  "The responsibility to protect the climate requires us to further deepen the interactions between food security and climate change, focusing on the centrality of the human person, in particular on the most vulnerable populations, often located in rural areas of developing countries".

  Moreover, "the responsibility to protect the climate should be based on the alliance between the principles of subsidiarity and global solidarity. In a world as interconnected as today, we are witnessing the rapid expansion of a series of challenges in many areas of human life, from food crisis to financial turmoil".

  The permanent observer went on to indicate that "it should be borne in mind that the environmental question cannot be considered separately from other issues, like energy and economy, peace and justice, national interests and international solidarity".

  "Today's society cannot respond adequately to the duty connected with the responsibility to protect the environment if it does not seriously review its lifestyle, its patterns of consumption and production. There is, therefore, an urgent need to educate in ecological responsibility, based on the fact that many ethical values, fundamental for developing a peaceful society, have a direct relationship to the environmental question".

DELSS/ENVIRONMENT/U.N.:MIGLIORE                                   VIS 081104 (310)

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, 4 NOV 2008 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed:

 - Bishop Carlos Suarez Cazares, emeritus of Zamora, Mexico, as auxiliary of the archdiocese of Morelia (area 18,000, population 2,630,000, Catholics 2,498,500, priests 510, religious 1,295), Mexico.

 - Fr. Pedro Ossandon Buljevic of the clergy of the archdiocese of Santiago de Chile, Chile, episcopal vicar for the "Zona Norte", as auxiliary of the archdiocese of Concepcion (area 11,330, population 1,189,000, Catholics 619,000, priests 127, permanent deacons 29, religious 291), Chile. The bishop-elect was born in Santiago de Chile in 1957 and ordained a priest in 1986.

NEA/.../ SUAREZ:OSSANDON                                                    VIS 081104 (110)

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11.03.2008 - Eighteenth Year - Num. 196

SUMMARY: 1-3 NOVEMBER

- All Saints: Desire for Union with the Heavenly Family

- All Souls: Praying for Souls in Purgatory

- Mass for Deceased Cardinals and Bishops

- Migrants: a Gift for Our Societies

___________________________________________________________

ALL SAINTS: DESIRE FOR UNION WITH THE HEAVENLY FAMILY

VATICAN CITY, 1 NOV 2008 (VIS) - In remarks he made to pilgrims before praying the Angelus on today's Solemnity of All Saints, Benedict XVI invited them to consider "the panorama of saintliness. The world", he said, "appears to us as a 'garden', where the Spirit of God, with marvellous ingenuity, created a multitude of male and female saints, from every age and social condition, of every language, people and culture.

  "Each is different from the others in the uniqueness of his or her own human personality and spiritual charism. All, however, are marked by the 'seal' of Jesus, the imprint of His love".

  The Pope explained how the Solemnity of All Saints "came into being during the course of the first Christian millennium as a collective celebration of the martyrs. ... We can, in fact, interpret such martyrdom in a broader sense, that of unreserved love for Christ, a love expressed in the total gift of self to God and to one's brothers and sisters. This spiritual goal, to which all the baptised are called, is achieved by following the path of the evangelical beatitudes. ... This is the same path traced by Jesus and that the saints strove to follow, always aware of their human limits. In their earthly existence, in fact, they were poor in spirit, pained by their sins, mild, starved of and thirsting for justice, merciful, pure of heart, peacemakers, persecuted for righteousness' sake. And God himself gave them a share in His own happiness. ... Now they are consoled. ... They see the God Whose children they are. In a word: 'theirs is the Kingdom of heaven'.

  "On this day", the Holy Father concluded, "We feel our hearts aflame with the desire for everlasting union with the family of saints, of which we already have the grace to be a part. ... May this beautiful aspiration burn in all Christians and help them to overcome all difficulties, fears and tribulations".

ANG/ALL SAINTS/...                                                                      VIS 081103 (340)

ALL SOULS: PRAYING FOR SOULS IN PURGATORY

VATICAN CITY, 2 NOV 2008 (VIS) - At midday today, the Pope appeared at the window of his private study overlooking St. Peter's Square, to pray the Angelus with the faithful gathered below.

  On the day in which the Church commemorates the departed faithful, the Holy Father highlighted the importance of Christians living "our relationship with the dead in the truth of faith, and looking to death and the afterlife in the light of Revelation".

  "Today too it is necessary to spread the message of the reality of death and eternal life - a reality particularly subject to superstition and syncretism - so that Christian truth does not risk being confused with mythologies of various kinds", he said.

  After recalling the words of St. Augustine to the effect that "everyone seeks 'blessed life' and happiness", Benedict XVI affirmed that "we don't know what this is or what it is like, but we feel ourselves attracted to it. It is a universal hope, shared by people of all times and places. The expression 'eternal life' is an attempt to give a name to this unquenchable hope: not an endless succession, but an immersion in the ocean of infinite love, where time, before and after, exist no more. Fullness of life and of joy is what we hope and expect from being with Christ.

  "Today we renew our hope in eternal life, a hope truly founded in the death and resurrection of Christ", the Pope added. "Christian hope is never something merely individual, it is always a hope for others. Our lives are deeply linked to one another, and the good and bad each of us does always touches other people".

  The Holy Father concluded: "The prayer of a pilgrim soul in the world can help another soul that continues purifying itself after death. This is why today the Church invites us to pray for our deceased loved ones and to spend time at their tombs in cemeteries"

  This afternoon, as is traditional on All Souls Day, the Holy Father went down to the Vatican Grottoes to pray privately for the Popes buried there, and for all the deceased.

ANG/ALL SOULS/...                                                                         VIS 081103 (370)

MASS FOR DECEASED CARDINALS AND BISHOPS

VATICAN CITY, 3 NOV 2008 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican Basilica, the Pope presided at the traditional November Mass for the souls of cardinals and bishops who died over the course of the year. Members of the College of Cardinals concelebrated with the Holy Father.

  At the beginning of his homily, Benedict XVI recalled the names of the ten cardinals who passed away during the last 12 months: Stephen Fumio Hamao, Alfons Maria Stickler S.D.B., Aloísio Lorscheider O.F.M., Peter Porekuu Dery, Adolfo Antonio Suarez Rivera, Ernesto Corripio Ahumada, Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, Bernardin Gantin, Antonio Innocenti and Antonio Jose Gonzalez Zumarraga.

  "God", he said continuing his homily, "is the true wisdom that never ages, He is the authentic wealth that does not decay, He is the joy to which the depth of each human heart aspires. This truth, which runs through the Books of Wisdom and re-emerges in the New Testament, reaches fulfilment in the life and teaching of Jesus. From the perspective of evangelical wisdom, death itself brings beneficial guidance because it forces us to look reality in the face, it compels us to recognise the transience of what appears so great and strong to the eyes of the world. In the face of death all reasons for human pride fall away, and what is really worthwhile emerges".

  "All of us in this world are passing through, because all of us are creatures. In a word, none of us is God. To recognise this difference between us and Him is the primary condition for being with Him and in Him. It is also a condition for becoming like Him, but only by welcoming the grace of His free gift".

  "If God", the Holy Father went on, "loved us freely, we too can (and therefore must) allow ourselves to be involved in this oblatory movement, and make of ourselves a free gift for others. In this way we know God as we are known by Him, ... and we pass from death to life like Jesus Christ, Who defeated death with His resurrection thanks to the heavenly Father's glorious power of love".

  "This Word of life and hope is of great comfort to us as we face the mystery of death, especially when it strikes people who are dear to us. The Lord today assures us that our lamented brethren, for whom we are praying in a special way in this Mass, passed from death to life because they chose Christ ... and consecrated themselves to the service of others. And therefore, even if they have to accept their share of redress due to human frailty - which marks us all, helping to keep us humble - their faithfulness to Christ allows them to enter into the freedom of the children of God".

  "Let us pray that we, pilgrims upon the earth, always keep our hearts and eyes turned towards the final goal to which we all aspire, the House of the Father, Heaven".

HML/DECEASED CARDINALS BISHOPS/...                            VIS 081103 (510)

MIGRANTS: A GIFT FOR OUR SOCIETIES

VATICAN CITY, 3 NOV 2008 (VIS) - Archbishop Agostino Marchetto, secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant peoples, participated in the Second Global Forum on Migration and Development, which was held in Manila, Philippines, from 27 to 30 October.

  In his English-language address, delivered on 29 October and made public today, the head of the Holy See delegation affirmed that "any form of temporary and circular migration should never be taken as a pretext for avoiding full respect of migrants' rights, and specifically their right to family reunification, their right to the recognition of their contribution to development both by their work and by means of their savings sent home. Failings in this area would point to a lack of integration and co-operation policies in host countries, as well as of national development policies in the countries of origin".

  "Governments should continue to create conditions where migration will never be the only option left to persons in order to find a job and a safe and dignified life. More opportunities for work should be created at home and all migration policies that undermine the foundations of society, especially the family which is its basic nucleus, should be avoided. The possible advantages of emigration are defeated by the problems that emerge, notable in families at risk of disintegration".

  Archbishop Marchetto indicated that "in host countries family reunification is the best way to promote the integration of immigrants and to eliminate many problems, especially those related to security and public order.

  "Migrants", he concluded, "are not only a problem, but also a gift for our societies. They help us in our work, oblige us to open our minds, economies and policies and stimulate us in the search for new models. Only together we can win this challenge and open our present world to the future which we all wish to enjoy".

DELSS/MIGRATION/MANILA:MARCHETTO                             VIS 081103 (330)

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