HOLY FATHER'S HOLIDAY IN VALLE D'AOSTA COMES TO AN END

VATICAN CITY, 29 JUL 2009 (VIS) - This evening the Holy Father's holiday at Les Combes near Introd - his third there since the start of his pontificate - is due to come to an end. The Pope travelled to Les Combes in the Italian alpine region of Valle d'Aosta on 13 July.

  Benedict XVI is due to leave his residence at 5 p.m., travelling by helicopter to Caselle airport near the northern Italian city of Turin. From there he will fly by plane to Rome's Ciampino airport.

  From Ciampino he will be taken by car to the Apostolic Palace of Castelgandolfo, where he will spend the rest of the summer and continue treatment of his right wrist which he broke in a fall on 17 July.

  On Saturday 1 August he is scheduled to receive around 100 athletes who are currently participating in the world swimming championships in Rome. On Sunday 2 August he will pray the Angelus from the balcony overlooking the central courtyard of the Apostolic Palace of Castelgandolfo. Weekly general audiences will resume from Wednesday 5 August.
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THEME FOR THE WORLD DAY OF PEACE 2010

VATICAN CITY, 29 JUL 2009 (VIS) - "If you want to cultivate peace, protect the creation" is the theme chosen by Benedict XVI for his Message for the 43rd World Day of Peace, which will be celebrated on 1 January 2010.

  "The theme", says a communique made public today, "aims to raise awareness about the strong bond that exists in our globalised and interconnected world between protecting the creation and cultivating peace.

  "This close and intimate tie", the communique adds, "is further accentuated by the many problems concerning man's natural environment, such as the use of resources, climate change, the application and use of biotechnology, and demographic growth. If the human family is unable to face these new challenges with a renewed sense of social justice and equity, and of international solidarity, we run the risk of sowing seeds of violence among peoples, and between current generations and those to come".

  The communique goes on: "Following the precious guidelines contained in paragraphs 48 to 51 of the Encyclical 'Caritas in veritate', the papal Massage will make it clear that the protection of the environment is a challenge for all humankind. It is shared and universal duty to respect a collective asset destined for everyone".

  The communique concludes by noting that "ecological questions must be faced, not just because of the dreadful prospects that environmental degradation presages; they must be translated, above all, into a strong motivation to cultivate peace".
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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, 29 JUL 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

 - Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the eparchy of Saint Josaphat in Parma of the Ukrainians, U.S.A, presented by Bishop Robert Mikhail Moskal, in accordance with canon 210 para. 1 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches.

 - Appointed Bishop John Bura, auxiliary of the archieparchy of Philadelphia of the Ukrainians, U.S.A., as apostolic administrator "sede vacante" of St. Josaphat in Parma of the Ukrainians, U.S.A.
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BENEDICT XVI TO BECOME HONORARY CITIZEN OF INTROD

VATICAN CITY, 28 JUL 2009 (VIS) - Benedict XVI is to be granted honorary citizenship of Introd, the Italian alpine locality which includes Les Combes, site of the Salesian-owned villa where the Pope is currently spending a holiday.

  The announcement was made by Osvaldo Naudin, mayor of Introd, who explained that the decision was taken unanimously at a meeting of the town council held last week. Benedict XVI has spent his July holiday at Introd on three occasions, in 2005, 2006 and 2009, while the town has hosted holidaying Pontiffs on a total of thirteen occasions. The conferral of citizenship will take place in Rome this winter, probably in December when a delegation from Introd makes a traditional visit to the Vatican to wish the Pope a happy Christmas.

  On a separate front, Holy See Press Office Director Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J. announced on Vatican Radio that the Pope has confirmed his intention to attend the exposition of the Shroud of Turin, due to take place in that Italian city in the spring of 2010. The Holy Father thus accepts the invitation of Cardinal Severino Poletto, archbishop of Turin with whom he had lunch last Sunday, although the exact date of the trip has not yet been settled.
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CARDINAL BERTONE DELIVERS A TALK ON "CARITAS IN VERITATE"

VATICAN CITY, 28 JUL 2009 (VIS) - At midday today Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. pronounced an address on Benedict XVI's recent Encyclical "Caritas in veritate" before the Italian Senate, at the invitation of Renato Schifani, president of that institution.

  Cardinal Bertone highlighted certain anthropological and theological aspects of the text, recalling how in 2004 the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger had given a "lectio magistralis" in the Senate library on the theme: "Europe. Its spiritual roots, yesterday, today and tomorrow". On that occasion, he recalled, the future Pontiff had focused on certain themes that are now contained in his third Encyclical, such as "the affirmation of the profound reasons behind the dignity of individuals and their rights", and marriage and the family as elements that have forged European identity.

  The Secretary of State expressed the view that "over and above differences in formation and in personal convictions", the representatives of the Italian people will "find in the Pope's words an exalted and profound source of inspiration when carrying out their mission, and so be able to respond adequately to the ethical, cultural and social challenges of today".
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