IN MEMORIAM

VATICAN CITY, FEB 18, 2005 (VIS) - The following prelates died in recent weeks:

- Cardinal Corrado Bafile, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, on February 3, 2005, at the age of 101.

- Cardinal Jan Schotte C.I.C.M., secretary general emeritus of the Synod of Bishops, on January 10, 2005, at the age of 76.

- Bishop Joseph Anthony De Palma S.C.I., emeritus of De Aar, South Africa, on February 3, 2005, at the age of 91.

- Archbishop Benito Gennaro Franceschetti of Fermo, Italy, on February 4, 2005, at the age of 69.

- Bishop Alberto Giglioli, emeritus of Montepulciano-Chiusi-Pienza, Italy, on January 3, 2005, at the age of 80.

- Bishop Manuel Guirao, emeritus of Santiago del Estero, Argentina, on January 2, 2005, at the age of 85.

- Archbishop Jean Hengen, emeritus of Luxembourg, on January 29, 2005, at the age of 92.

- Bishop Karl Heinz Jacoby, auxiliary emeritus of Trier, Germany, on January 29, 2005, at the age of 86.

- Archbishop Paul Karatas of Diarbekir of the Chaldeans, Turkey, on January 15, 2005, at the age of 70.

- Bishop Marc Leclerc, auxiliary of Quebec, Canada, on January 3, 2005, at the age of 71.

- Bishop Charles Paty, emeritus of Lucon, France, on December 31, 2004, at the age of 88.

- Bishop Jackson Berenguer Prado, emeritus of Paulo Alfonso, Brazil, on February 8, 2005, at the age of 86.

- Bishop Pascasio Rettler O.F.M., emeritus of Bacabal, Brazil, on September 16, 2004, at the age of 89.

- Bishop Francis Keiichi Sato O.F.M., emeritus of Niigata, Japan, on January 2, 2005, at the age of 76.

- Archbishop Yacoub Denha Scher of Arbil of the Chaldeans, Iraq, on January 8, 2005, at the age of 70.

- Bishop Ricardo Antonio Surinach Carreras, emeritus of Ponce, Puerto Rico, on January 19, 2005, at the age of 76.

- Bishop Luigi Zanzottera O.S.I., auxiliary emeritus of Huaraz, Peru, on January 18, 2005, at the age of 78.
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MEETING ON THE DIMENSIONS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

VATICAN CITY, FEB 18, 2005 (VIS) - On the afternoon of March 3, at the U.N. headquarters in New York, the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations and its co-sponsors - AVSI (Association of Volunteers in International Service, U.S.A., Inc.), New Humanity and Pax Romana - will participate in a meeting on socio-ethical thought on the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development.

  According to a communique made public today, the presentation will be given by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin, Ireland, former Holy See permanent observer to the Office of the United Nations and Specialized Institutions in Geneva. The second part of the meeting will take place late in the same day in the auditorium of the Church of the Holy Family.
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PAPAL APPEAL FOR AID TO PEOPLES OF SAHEL REGION OF AFRICA

VATICAN CITY, FEB 18, 2005 (VIS) - Made public today was a Letter from Cardinal Angelo Sodano, secretary of State, to Archbishop Seraphin Rouamba of Koupela, Burkina Faso and president of the Administrative Council of the John Paul II Foundation for the Sahel, thanking him on the part of the Pope for the work that he and the Foundation have done since it was founded in 1984, and renewing the Pope's appeal to help the peoples of the Sahel.

  The Letter, written in French and dated February 8, starts with a reference to Pope John Paul's trip to five African nations in 1980 where, on May 10, from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, he issued an appeal to the international community to aid the peoples suffering from severe desertification in the Sahel region of Africa. That appeal led to the institution of the John Paul II Foundation, with a Chirograph by the Holy Father on February 22, 1984.
 
  The Sahel is the sub-Saharan region of Africa, which includes countries on the west coast and central part of the continent.

  Cardinal Sodano expresses the Holy Father's gratitude to "all those who, from diverse parts of the world, responded quickly to his invitation and who generously cooperated with his concern for the many people who found themselves in truly precarious circumstances." The concrete initiatives that answered the Pope's appeal, writes the cardinal, led to the formation of the Foundation for the Sahel, "whose administration is directed by the episcopacies of the nine countries involved, whereas the legal representation is entrusted to the Pontifical Council Cor Unum." The nine countries are: Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali, Guinea Bissau, Cape Verde, Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia and Chad.

  The cardinal notes the "fruits" of the "efficacious and intense work of the Foundation" since the Pope's 1980 Africa trip and appeal. He adds that the Holy Father hopes "that these works will continue with a growing and renewed elan to support the communities that have been its beneficiaries, allowing them to be ever more responsible for their integral and harmonious development."

  Notwithstanding these initiatives, writes the secretary of State, "the situation of these regions continues to be very worrisome. That is why the Holy Father takes this occasion to renew his appeal, encouraging the efforts used to surmount the many problems and the many needs that still persist and which concern available resources, unfortunately insufficient," especially drinkable water.

  Cardinal Sodano concludes by stating that Pope John Paul hopes that "this anniversary will be a propitious occasion for a renewed stimulus of solidarity to assure the worthy Foundation the means which will allow it to pursue its human and Christian mission with success."
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POPE TO VISIT ITALIAN PRESIDENT CIAMPI ON APRIL 29

VATICAN CITY, FEB 18, 2005 (VIS) - According to a Holy See Press Office communique made public today: "His Holiness John Paul II, readily accepting the kind invitation of Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, president of the Italian Republic, will make an official visit to the presidential palace of the Quirinal on Friday April 29, 2005, feast of St Catherine of Siena, patroness of Italy."
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PAPAL TELEGRAM OF CONDOLENCES FOR DEATH OF RAFIK HARIRI

VATICAN CITY, FEB 18, 2005 (VIS) - The following telegram of condolences was sent by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, on behalf of Pope John Paul, to Cardinal Nasrallah Pierre Sfeir, patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites, Lebanon, upon the assassination on February 14 of former Prime Minster Rafik Hariri of Lebanon:

  "Following the terrible attack which cost the life of Rafik Hariri, former president of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Lebanon, as well as of numerous other people, the Holy Father greatly deplores this criminal gesture which offends God and men, created in His image and likeness. While praying ardently for the beloved land of Lebanon, he implores once again God's mercy on the Middle East, which aspires to a just and lasting peace. The Pope invites all the Catholic faithful of Lebanon to a  lasting commitment to peace and collaboration with all men of good will in order to build, through dialogue, a future of harmony in the country and among the peoples of the region."
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