POPE RECEIVES GOVERNOR OF THE SOLOMON ISLANDS

VATICAN CITY, 3 JUL 2008 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office released the following communique at midday today:

  "Today in the Apostolic Palace of Castelgandolfo today, the Holy Father received in audience Sir Nathaniel Rahumaea Waena, governor general of the Solomon Islands, who subsequently went on to meet Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States.

  "In the course of the cordial meeting, discussions focused on the current political and social situation of the country, and on the significant contribution of the Catholic Church, especially in the fields of education, healthcare and human promotion. In the name of the Holy See, the secretary for Relations with States thanked the governor general and the authorities of the Solomon Islands for their generous outreach to young people who wish to participate in the forthcoming celebration of World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia, recognising the formative importance of the event".
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DECREES OF THE CONGREGATION FOR THE CAUSES OF SAINTS

VATICAN CITY, 3 JUL 2008 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in private audience Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins C.M.F., prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, and authorised the promulgation of decrees concerning the following causes:

MIRACLES

 - Blessed, Fr. Damian de Veuster, Belgian professed priest of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (1840-1889).

 - Blessed Bernardo Tolomei, Italian founder of the Olivetan Benedictine Congregation (1272-1348).

 - Blessed Nuno di Santa Maria Alvares Pereira (ne: Nuno), Portuguese professed layman of the Order of Friars of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (1360-1431).

 - Servant of God Ludovico Martin, French lay man (1823-1894) and Servant of God Maria Zelia Guerin Martin, French lay woman (1831-1877).

MARTYRDOM

 - Servant of God Francesco Giovanni Bonifacio, Italian, killed in hatred of the faith at Villa Gardossi, Italy (1912-1946).

HEROIC VIRTUES

 - Blessed Nuno di Santa Maria Alvares Pereira (ne: Nuno), Portuguese professed layman of the Order of Friars of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (1360-1431).

 - Servant of God Stephen Douayhy, Lebanese patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites (1630-1704).

 - Servant of God Bernardino Dal Vago da Portogruaro (ne: Giuseppe), Italian archbishop of the Order of Friars Minor (1822-1895).

 - Servant of God Giuseppe Di Donna, Italian bishop of Andria, of the Order of the Blessed Trinity (1901-1952).

 - Servant of God Maria Barbara of the Blessed Trinity Maix (nee: Barbara), Austrian foundress of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (1818-1873).

 - Servant of God Pius Keller (ne: Hans), German professed priest of the Order of St. Augustine (1825-1904).

 - Servant of God Andres Hibernon Garmendia (ne: Francisco Andres), Spanish professed brother of the Institute of Brothers of Christian Schools (1880-1969).

 - Servant of God Chiara Badano, young Italian lay woman (1971-1990).
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JOY AT LIBERATION OF INGRID BETANCOURT AND OTHER HOSTAGES

VATICAN CITY, 3 JUL 2008 (VIS) - Yesterday evening, Holy See Press Office Director Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J. expressed the Holy See's contentment at the liberation of 15 hostages held by the FARC group in Colombia, among them former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt.

  "This is good news", Fr. Lombardi affirmed, "that creates much satisfaction and gives reasons for hope for the country".

  "It is", he went on, "a sign of hope for so many other people" and for "the pacification of a country that has suffered from so much violence".

  The liberation of the hostages, he concluded, "is also a positive response to the hopes expressed by the Pope, by the bishops and by the Church".

  The director of the Holy See Press Office also recalled how Benedict XVI has made numerous calls for the liberation of all hostages held by the FARC guerrillas.

  In a Message sent yesterday to Colombian bishops to mark the first centenary of their episcopal conference, the Holy Father highlighted the care with which the country's prelates seek to be "men of harmony", and their "continual exhortations for an end to the violence, kidnapping, and extortion which affect so many sons and daughters of that beloved land". In this context the Pope concluded his Message by asking God "for an end to these situations which have caused so much suffering, and for a stable and just peace in Colombia, in a climate of hope and prosperity".
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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, 3 JUL 2008 (VIS) - Today in the Apostolic Palace of Castelgandolfo, the Holy Father received in separate audiences:

 - Donald W. Smith, ambassador of Canada, on his farewell visit.

 - Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins C.M.F., prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, 3 JUL 2008 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

 - Accepted the resignation from the pastoral carte of the diocese of Le Mans, France, presented by Bishop Jacques Faivre, in accordance with canon 401 para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law.

 - Appointed Bishop Pierre-Andre Fournier, auxiliary of Quebec, Canada, as metropolitan archbishop of Rimouski (area 20,225, population 147,508, Catholics 142,832, priests 107, permanent deacons 13, religious 668), Canada. The archbishop-elect was born in Plessisville, Canada in 1943 he was ordained a priest in 1967 and consecrated a bishop in 2005. He succeeds Archbishop Bertrand Blanchet, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

 - Appointed Bishop Pierre Morissette of Baie-Comeau, Canada, as bishop of Saint-Jerome (area 2,156, population 426,000, Catholics 415,000, priests 145, permanent deacons 18, religious 251), Canada. He succeeds Gilles Cazabon O.M.I., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

 - Appointed Msgr. Gualtiero Sigismondi, vicar general of Perugia - Citta della Pieve, Italy, as bishop of Foligno (area 350, population 67,950, Catholics 65,450, priests 78, permanent deacons 12, religious 157), Italy. The bishop-elect was born in Ospedalicchio di Bastia Umbra, Italy in 1961 and ordained a priest in 1986. He succeeds Bishop Arduino Bertoldo, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

 - Appointed Fr. Mauro Parmeggiani of the clergy of the diocese of Rome, secretary general of the Vicariate of Rome, as bishop of Tivoli (area 892, population 182,864, Catholics 175,907, priests 120, permanent deacons 4, religious 231), Italy. The bishop-elect was born in Reggio Emilia, Italy in 1961 and ordained a priest in 1985.

 - Appointed Msgr. Ambrogio Spreafico of the clergy of the diocese of Rome, rector of the Pontifical Urban University, as coadjutor of Frosinone - Veroli - Ferentino (area 804, population 190,300, Catholics 189,000, priests 142, permanent deacons 1, religious 282), Italy. The bishop-elect was born in Garbagnate Monastero, Italy in 1950 and ordained a priest in 1975.
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IN MEMORIAM

VATICAN CITY, 3 JUL 2008 (VIS) - The following prelates died in recent weeks:

 - Archbishop Adalberto Almeida Merino, emeritus of Chihuahua, Mexico, on 21 June at the age of 92.

 - Bishop Louis Kuehn, emeritus of Meaux, France, on 25 June at the age of 86.

 - Archbishop Gregory Yong Sooi Ngean, emeritus of Singapore, on 28 June at the age of 83.
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