HOLY FATHER RECALLS ECUMENICAL INITIATIVES OF PATRIARCH ATHENAGORAS, AND OF POPES JOHN XXIII AND PAUL VI

Vatican City,  (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican, in a traditional meeting for the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul Apostles, Benedict XVI received a delegation sent by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I. The Church of Rome and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople traditionally exchange visits for the feasts of their respective patrons.

The delegation, which delivered a message to the Holy Father on behalf of the Patriarch, was made up of His Eminence Emmanuel (Adenakis), metropolitan of France and director of the office of the Orthodox Church to the European Union; His Grace Ilias Katre, bishop of Philomelion, U.S.A., and Rev. Paisios Kokkinakis of the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

Benedict XVI told the group that the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul "gives us an opportunity to thank the Lord for the extraordinary works He has achieved and continues to achieve through the Apostles in the life of the Church. Their preaching, sealed by the witness of martyrdom, is the solid and durable base upon which the Church rests. By remaining faithful to the deposit of faith they have handed down to us, we discover our own shared roots".

"In our meeting - as we entrust to the intercession of the glorious Apostles and Martyrs Peter and Paul our prayer that the Lord ... may soon grant us that blessed day in which we can share the Eucharistic bread - we thank God for the journey of peace and reconciliation He has caused us to travel together. This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of Vatican Council II. ... It was during that Council - attended, as you well know, by certain representatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate as fraternal delegates - that a new and important phase in relations between our Churches began. Let us praise the Lord above all for the rediscovery of the profound brotherhood which unites us, and for the distance covered over these years by the Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches, also in the hope that it will continue to progress in the current phase".

"As we remember the anniversary of Vatican Council II, I think it right to recall the person and works of the unforgettable Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras who, together with Blessed John XXIII and Servant of God Paul VI, moved by that passion for Church unity which arises from faith in Christ the Lord, promoted important initiatives which paved the way to renewed relations between the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Catholic Church. I am profoundly glad that His Holiness Bartholomew I, with renewed faithfulness and fruitful creativity, is continuing along the path laid down by his predecessors Athenagoras and Demetrios, and is known throughout the world for his openness to dialogue among Christians and his commitment to announcing the Gospel in the modern world", the Holy Father concluded.

DECREES OF THE CONGREGATION FOR THE CAUSES OF SAINTS

Vatican City,  (VIS) - Today, during a private audience with Cardinal Angelo Amato S.D.B., prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, the Pope authorised the Congregation to promulgate the following decrees:

MIRACLES

- Servant of God Luca Passi, Italian diocesan priest and founder of the Congregation of the Teaching Sisters of St. Dorothy (1789-1866).

- Servant of God Francesca de Paula de Jesus, known as Nha Chica, Brazilian laywoman (1808-1895).

MARTYRDOM

- Servants of God Manuel Borras Ferre, auxiliary bishop of Tarragona, Spain, Agapito Modesto (ne Modesto Pamplona Falguera) of the Institute of Brothers of Christian Schools, and 145 companions, killed in hatred of the faith in Spain between 1936 and 1939.

- Servant of God Giuseppe Puglisi, Italian diocesan priest (1937-1993), killed in hatred of the faith in Palermo, Italy in 1993.

- Servants of God Ermenegildo of the Assumption (ne Ermenegildo Iza y Aregita) and five companions of the Order of the Blessed Trinity, killed in hatred of the faith in Spain in 1936.

- Servant of God Victoria de Jesus (nee Francesca Valverde Gonzalez), Spanish religious of the "Instituto Calasancio de Hijas de la Divina Pastora" (1888-1937), killed in hatred of the faith in Spain in 1937.

- Servant of God Devasahayam (Lazarus) Pillai, Indian layman (1712-1752), killed in hatred of the faith in India in 1752.

HEROIC VIRTUES

- Servant of God Sisto Riario Sforza, Italian archbishop of Naples and cardinal of Holy Roman Church (1810-1877).

- Servant of God Fulton Sheen, American archbishop, and former bishop of Rochester (1895-1979).

- Servant of God Alvaro del Portillo y Diez de Sollano, Spanish prelate of the Personal Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei (1914-1994).

- Servant of God Ludwig Tijssen, Dutch diocesan priest (1865-1929).

- Servant of God Cristobal of St. Catherine (ne: Cristobal Fernando Valladolid), Spanish priest and founder of the Congregation and the Hospital of Jesus of Nazareth in Cordoba (1638-1690).

- Servant of God Marie of the Sacred Heart (nee Marie Josephte Fitzbach), Canadian widow and founder of the Handmaidens of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, known as the Good Shepherd Sisters of Quebec (1806-1885).

- Servant of God Mary Angeline Teresa (nee Bridget Teresa McCrory), founder of the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm (1893-1984).

- Servant of God Maria Margit (nee Adelaide Bogner), Hungarian professed nun of the Order of the Visitation (1905-1933).

- Servant of God Ferdinanda Riva, Italian professed sister of the Institute of Daughters of Charity (1920-1956).

On 10 May the Holy Father authorised the Congregation to promulgate the decree concerning the martyrdom of Servant of God Juan Huguet y Cardona, Spanish diocesan priest (1913-1936), killed in hatred of the faith in Spain in 1936.

BENEDICT XVI'S PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR JULY

Vatican City,  (VIS) - Pope Benedict's general prayer intention for July is: "That everyone may have work in safe and secure conditions".

His mission intention is: "That Christian volunteers in mission territories may witness to the love of Christ".

AUDIENCES

Vatican City,  (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in audience:

- Mordechay Levy, ambassador of Israel, on his farewell visit.

- Lamia Mekhemar, ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt, on her farewell visit.

- Cardinal Angelo Amato S.D.B., prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

Vatican City,  (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Appointed Bishop Carlo Roberto Maria Redaelli, auxiliary of Milan, Italy, as metropolitan archbishop of Gorizia (area 1,030, population 186,627, Catholics 181,027, priests 122, permanent deacons 13, religious 309), Italy. He succeeds Archbishop Dino De Antoni, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

- Appointed Fr. Marcel Damphousse of the clergy of the archdiocese of Saint-Boniface, Canada, rector of the cathedral and member of the diocesan council for economic affairs, as bishop of Alexandria-Cornwall (area 1,290, population 90,100, Catholics 56.042, priests 40, permanent deacons 19, religious 35), Canada. The bishop-elect was born in Saint-Joseph, Canada in 1963 and ordained a priest in 1991. He studied in Rome and has worked as a parish priest, diocesan director for vocations and chaplain of the local high school.

- Appointed Archbishop Henryk Jozef Nowacki, apostolic nuncio to Nicaragua, as apostolic nuncio to Sweden and Iceland.

NOTICE

Vatican City,  (VIS) - The Vatican Information Service informs it readers that no VIS bulletin will be issued tomorrow Friday 29 June, Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul Apostles and a holiday in the Vatican. Service will resume on Monday 2 July.