MEETING OF ORDINARY COUNCIL OF THE SYNOD OF BISHOPS

VATICAN CITY, JUN 20, 2002 (VIS) - Made public today was a communique on the 3rd meeting of the tenth ordinary council of the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops which took place in Rome on June 13 and 14.

In addition to the secretary general of the Synod, Cardinal Jan P. Schotte, C.I.C.M., six cardinals, four archbishops and four members of the general secretariat took part in the meeting.

During the work sessions, a report on the activity of the general secretariat after the second meeting of the council was presented and the future apostolic exhortation of the tenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which was held in October of 2001, was debated.

Furthermore, continues the communique, the results of a general study on the subject of the next Ordinary General Synod were examined. Proposals from the episcopal conferences, Roman Curia and all those who have the right to express an opinion, have made the selection of designated topics possible, which were presented to the Pope for a final decision.

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, JUN 20, 2002 (VIS) - Today the Holy Father received in audience:
- Ferenc Madl, president of the Republic of Hungary, accompanied by his wife and an entourage.
- Cardinal Paul Poupard, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, special envoy to the closing celebrations of the Millennium of the birth of Pope St. Leo IX at Eguisheim, France.
- Three prelates from the Episcopal Conference of Peru on their "ad limina" visit:
- Archbishop Luis Abilio Sebastiani Aguirre of Ayacucho.
- Archbishop Jose Paulino Rios Reynoso of Huancayo.
- Bishop Lorenzo Leon Alvarado of Huacho.
- Har Seung-Soo, president of the 56th session of the General Assembly of the Organization of the United Nations and an entourage.

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PRIME MINISTER OF BULGARIA RECEIVES 2002 PATH TO PEACE AWARD

VATICAN CITY, JUN 20, 2002 (VIS) - Yesterday in New York the prime minister of the Republic of Bulgaria, Simeon Saxe-Coburg Gotha, received the "Path to Peace" Award which the foundation of the same name bestows annually in recognition of an individual's outstanding leadership in the international community. The foundation's founder and president is Archbishop Renato Martino, apostolic nuncio and Holy See permanent observer to the United Nations.

According to a communique from the foundation, the designation of the prime minister of Bulgaria as this year's honoree is attributed to his "unrelenting and selfless service to the people of Bulgaria and to the cause of peace throughout the world."

The Path to Peace Foundation, established in 1991 is a non-profit foundation providing support for the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations, in fulfilling its further humanitarian mandate of keeping the moral standards and message of the Gospel before the universal community and of assisting the Holy Father in encouraging all towards the path to peace. The foundation, independent from but in collaboration with the Holy See Mission, directs its activities primarily, albeit not exclusively, to the international stage of the United Nations.

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IN MEMORIAM

VATICAN CITY, JUN 20, 2002 (VIS) - The following prelates died recent weeks:

- Bishop Antonio Soares Costa of Caruaru, Brazil, on June 7, 2002 at the age of 71.
- Archbishop Teodulfo S. Domingo, emeritus of Tuguegarao, Phillipines, on June 3, 2002 at the age of 91.
- Archbishop Bonifatius Haushiku, emeritus of Windhoek, Namibia, on June 12, 2002 at the age of 67.
- Bishop James Patrick Mahoney, auxiliary of the archdiocese of New York, on June 1, 2002 at the age of 76.
- Bishop Michel Ntuyahaga, emeritus of Bujumbura, Burundi, on June 6, 2002 at the age of 89.

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