PRESIDENT OF PAKISTAN MEETS THE HOLY FATHER

VATICAN CITY, 1 OCT 2009 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office released the following communique at midday today:

  "Today, 1 October 2009, in the Apostolic Palace of Castelgandolfo, the Holy Father Benedict XVI received in audience Asif Ali Zardari, president of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. President Zardari subsequently went on to meet Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. accompanied by Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States.

  "The cordial discussions provided an opportunity to examine the current situation in Pakistan, with particular reference to the fight against terrorism and the commitment to create a society more tolerant and harmonious in all its aspects.

  "Talk then turned to the positive role played by the Catholic Church in the social life of the country through her educational, healthcare and aid activities. Evoking recent episodes of violence against Christian communities in some localities, and the elements that have favoured such serious incidents, emphasis was given to the need to overcome all forms of discrimination based on religious affiliation, with the aim of promoting respect for the rights of all citizens".
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BENEDICT XVI BIDS FAREWELL TO CASTELGANDOLFO

VATICAN CITY, 1 OCT 2009 (VIS) - Benedict XVI today bid farewell to Bishop Marcello Semeraro of Albano (the diocese in which Castelgandolfo is located), local religious communities, the civil authorities and the personnel in charge of security during his stay at the summer residence.

  After thanking everyone for their service during the last two months the Pope - who is due to return to the Vatican on Saturday - recalled the fact that today marks the Feast of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, a Carmelite nun of the convent of Lisieux.

  "Her witness", he said, "shows that only the Word of God, accepted and understood in its concrete requirements, can become the source for renewed live. To our society, often permeated by a rationalist culture and widespread materialism, St. Theresa of Lisieux shows, as a response to the great questions of life, the 'little way' which looks to the essence of things. It is the humble path of love, capable of enveloping and giving meaning and value to all human affairs".

  This evening Benedict XVI is due to bid farewell to the staff of the Pontifical Villas at Castelgandolfo.
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HOLY FATHER TO CANONISE FIVE BLESSEDS ON 11 OCTOBER

VATICAN CITY, 1 OCT 2009 (VIS) - At 10 a.m. on Sunday 11 October the Holy Father will celebrate Mass in St. Peter's Square, during which he will canonise five blesseds, according to a communique released today by the Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff.

  The five future saints are: Zygmunt Szczesny Felinski (1822-1895), Polish former archbishop of Warsaw and founder of the Congregation of Franciscan Sisters of the Family of Mary; Francesc Coll y Guitart (1812-1875), Spanish professed priest of the Order of Friars Preachers and founder of the Congregation of the Dominican Sisters of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary; Jozef Damian de Veuster (1840-1889), Belgian professed priest of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, and of the Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar (PICPUS); Blessed Rafael Arnaiz Baron (1911-1938), Spanish oblate friar of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, and Mary of the Cross Jugan (nee Jeanne) (1792-1879), French virgin and foundress of the Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Poor.
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CARDINAL BERTONE TO TAKE POSSESSION OF HIS TITULAR CHURCH

VATICAN CITY, 1 OCT 2009 (VIS) - A communique published today by the Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff announces that at 5 p.m. on Saturday 3 October, Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. will take possession of the suburbicarian Church of Frascati.
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RATIFICATION OF TREATIES ON NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT

VATICAN CITY, 1 OCT 2009 (VIS) - Between 22 and 26 September Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, Holy See secretary for Relations with States, participated in a number of meetings held at the United Nations in New York.

  On 24 September he addressed participants in the UN Security Council summit on nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament. Speaking English, the archbishop said that "the Holy See urges concerned States to adopt clear and firm decisions and commitments, and strive for a progressive and concerted nuclear disarmament".

  Likewise, the Holy See encourages "the nuclear-weapon States and those which possess such weapons to ratify all the protocols to the Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone treaties and strongly supports efforts to establish such a zone in the Middle East".

  Also on 24 September, Archbishop Mamberti participated in the sixth conference for the facilitation of the implementation of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). He invited all States that do still not form part of the CTBT to adhere to it as soon as possible, and those "whose ratification is necessary in order for it to come into force" to do likewise.

  "For these States, the present moment is a unique opportunity to show the entire human family valiant leadership and an exalted sense of political responsibility", he said. "The conference due to examine the non-proliferation of nuclear arms and the process of universalisation of the CTBT will generate important guidelines for creating a climate of confidence for multilateral dialogue, through coherent and responsible co-operation among all members of the international community".
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POPE TO ATTEND A CONCERT FOR WORLD WAR II ANNIVERSARY

VATICAN CITY, 1 OCT 2009 (VIS) - At 6.30 p.m. on Thursday 8 October Benedict XVI is due to attend a concert at the Auditorium on Via della Conciliazione in Rome. The event, entitled "Young people against war (1939-2009)", is being held to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II.

  The concert, by an orchestra of young musicians from ten countries, has been organised by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Commission for Religious Relations with Judaism, the German embassy to the Holy See and the European "KulturForum" of Mainau. The International Jewish Committee for Inter-religious Consultations is sponsoring the event, which has been financed by ten German and Italian organisations.

  The programme includes pieces by Gustav Mahler and Felix Mendelsshon, Jewish composers who were later baptised becoming, respectively, Catholic and Protestant. "Both of them", notes a communique on the concert released today, "experienced strong anti-Semitism during their lives, ... and their music was banned during the Nazi period".
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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, 1 OCT 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:

 - Cardinal William Joseph Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

 - Cardinal Franc Rode C.M., prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.
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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, 1 OCT 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed:

 - Bishop Bernard Longley, auxiliary of Westminster, England, as metropolitan archbishop of Birmingham (area 9,936 , population 5,333,791, Catholics 275,621, priests 391, permanent deacons 76, religious 669), England. The archbishop-elect was born in Manchester, England in 1955, he was ordained a priest in 1981 and consecrated a bishop in 2003.

 - Bishop Felipe Padilla Cardona of Tehuantepec, Mexico, as bishop of Ciudad Obregon (area 88,350, population 1,051,000, Catholics 906,000, priests 124, permanent deacons 1, religious 182), Mexico.

 - Bishop Joel Zamudio Baylon of Masbate, Philippines, as bishop of Legazpi (area 2,552, population 1,263,000, Catholics 1,176,000, priests 133, religious 153), Philippines.
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