BEATIFICATION OF DE MICHELI, PRAYERS FOR CYPRUS TRIP

VATICAN CITY, 30 MAY 2010 (VIS) - After praying the Angelus today, the Pope recalled how this morning in the Roman basilica of St. Mary Major, the beatification took place of Maria Pierina De Micheli, religious of the Daughters of the Immaculate Conception in Buenos Aires.

  "Giuseppina, the name with which she was baptised, was born in Milan, Italy, in 1890", said the Pope, noting that "hers was a profoundly religious family which brought forth various vocations to the priesthood and the consecrated life. At the age of twenty-three she too started down this path dedicating herself passionately to education, in Argentina and in Italy. The Lord gave her an extraordinary devotion to His Holy Face, which supported her always, even through trials and sickness. She died in 1945 and her remains lie at the Holy Spirit Institute in Rome".

  Turning then to address English-speaking faithful, Benedict XVI recalled how later this week, from 4 to 6 June, he will visit Cyprus "to meet and pray with the Catholic and Orthodox faithful there and to consign the 'Instrumentum laboris' for the upcoming Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the Middle East. I ask for your prayers for the peace and prosperity of all the people of Cyprus, as well as for the preparations for the Special Assembly", he said.

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BENEDICT XVI'S PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR JUNE

VATICAN CITY, 31 MAY 2010 (VIS) - Pope Benedict's general prayer intention for June is: "That every national and trans-national institution may strive to guarantee respect for human life from conception to natural death".

  His mission intention is: "That the Churches in Asia, which constitute a 'little flock' among non-Christina populations, may know how to communicate the Gospel and give joyful witness to their adherence to Christ".
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APOSTOLIC VISITATION OF IRELAND TO BEGIN THIS AUTUMN

VATICAN CITY, 31 MAY 2010 (VIS) - This morning the Holy See Press Office released the following English-language communique concerning the apostolic visitation of Ireland as announced in the Holy Father's 19 March Letter to the Catholics of Ireland:

  "Following the Holy Father's Letter to the Catholics of Ireland, the apostolic visitation of certain Irish dioceses, seminaries and religious congregations will begin in autumn of this year.

  "Through this visitation, the Holy See intends to offer assistance to the bishops, clergy, religious and lay faithful as they seek to respond adequately to the situation caused by the tragic cases of abuse perpetrated by priests and religious upon minors. It is also intended to contribute to the desired spiritual and moral renewal that is already being vigorously pursued by the Church in Ireland.

  "The apostolic visitors will set out to explore more deeply questions concerning the handling of cases of abuse and the assistance owed to the victims; they will monitor the effectiveness of and seek possible improvements to the current procedures for preventing abuse, taking as their points of reference the Pontifical 'Motu Proprio' 'Sacramentorum Sanctitatis Tutela' and the norms contained in 'Safeguarding Children: Standards and Guidance Document for the Catholic Church in Ireland', commissioned and produced by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church.

  "The visitation will begin in the four metropolitan archdioceses of Ireland (Armagh, Dublin, Cashel and Emly, and Tuam) and will then be extended to some other dioceses.

  "The visitors named by the Holy Father for the dioceses are: Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, archbishop emeritus of Westminster, England, for the archdiocese of Armagh; Cardinal Sean Patrick O'Malley O.F.M. Cap., archbishop of Boston, U.S.A., for the archdiocese of Dublin; Archbishop Thomas Christopher Collins of Toronto, Canada, for the archdiocese of Cashel and Emly, and Archbishop Terrence Thomas Prendergast S.J. of Ottawa, Canada, for the archdiocese of Tuam.

  "In its desire to accompany the process of renewal of houses of formation for the future priests of the Church in Ireland, the Congregation for Catholic Education will co-ordinate the visitation of the Irish seminaries, including the Pontifical Irish College in Rome. While special attention will be given to the matters that occasioned the apostolic visitation, in the case of the seminaries it will cover all aspects of priestly formation. Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, U.S.A., has been named apostolic visitor.

  "For its part, the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life will organise the visitation of religious houses in two phases. Firstly it will conduct an enquiry by means of a questionnaire to be sent to all the superiors of religious institutes present in Ireland, with a view to providing an accurate picture of the current situation and formulating plans for the observance and improvement of the norms contained in the 'guidelines'. In the second phase, the apostolic visitors will be: Fr. Joseph Tobin C.Ss.R. and Fr. Gero McLaughlin S.J. for institutes of men; Sr. Sharon Holland I.H.M. and Sr. Mairin McDonagh R.J.M. for institutes of women. They will carry out a careful study, evaluating the results obtained from the questionnaire and the possible steps to be taken in the future in order to usher in a season of spiritual rebirth for religious life on the Island.

  "His Holiness invites all the members of the Irish Catholic community to support this fraternal initiative with their prayers. He invokes God's blessings upon the visitors, and upon all the bishops, clergy, religious and lay faithful of Ireland, that the visitation may be for them an occasion of renewed fervour in the Christian life, and that it may deepen their faith and strengthen their hope in Christ our Saviour".

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, 31 MAY 2010 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

 - Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the archdiocese of Benin City, Nigeria, presented by Archbishop Richard Anthony Burke S.P.S., in accordance with canon 401 para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law.

 - Appointed Bishop Matthias Kobena Nketsiah, auxiliary of Cape Coast, Ghana, as metropolitan archbishop of the same archdiocese (area 9,788, population 1,745,214, Catholics 318,419, priests 121, religious 152). The archbishop-elect was born in Kakomdo, Ghana in 1942, he was ordained a priest in 1970 and consecrated a bishop in 2007.

 - Appointed Bishop Remy Victor Vancottem, auxiliary of Mechelen-Brussels, Belgium, as bishop of Namur (area 8,100, population 734,000, Catholics 556,000, priests 726, permanent deacons 63, religious 1,367), Belgium.

 - Accepted the resignation from the office of auxiliary of the diocese of Munster, Germany, presented by Bishop Heinrich Janssen, in accordance with canons 411 and 401 para. 1 of the Code of Canon Law.

 - Appointed Fr. Dieter Geerlings of the clergy of the archdiocese of Munster, Germany, president of diocesan Caritas and canon of the cathedral chapter; Fr. Christoph Hegge of the clergy of the archdiocese of Munster, pro vicar general, head of the office for consecrated life and canon the cathedral chapter, and Fr. Wilfried Theising of the clergy of the archdiocese of Munster, provost and dean at Borken, as auxiliaries of the archdiocese of Munster (area 15,265, population 4,335,600, Catholics 2,007,335, priests 1,165, permanent deacons 270, religious 2,827). Bishop-elect Geerlings was born in Emmerich, Germany in 1947 and ordained a priest in 1973. Bishop-elect Hegge was born in Rheine, Germany in 1962 and ordained a priest in 1988. Bishop-elect was born in Wettringen, Germany in 1962 and ordained a priest in 1989.

  On Saturday 29 May it was made public that he appointed:

 - Fr. Michael Didi Adgum Mangoria of the clergy of Khartoum, Sudan, rector of St. Paul's National Seminary of Khartoum, as coadjutor of the diocese of El-Obeid (area 888,939, population 8,900,000, Catholics 140,000, priests 38, religious 28), Sudan. The bishop-elect was born in Engoth, Sudan in 1959 and ordained a priest in 1992.

 - Cardinal Marc Ouellet P.S.S., archbishop of Quebec, Canada, as his special envoy to celebrations marking the fourth centenary of the baptism of Grand Chief Henri Membertou, due to be held on Chapel Island, Nova Scotia, Canada, on 1 August.
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BENIN: JUSTICE ALWAYS ACCOMPANIES FRATERNITY

VATICAN CITY, 28 MAY 2010 (VIS) - Theodore Loko, the first resident ambassador of Benin to the Holy See, today presented his Letters of Credence to the Holy Father.

  In his speech the diplomat mentioned the Beninese Cardinal Bernardin Gantin, former prefect of the Congregation for Bishops who died two years ago, and this theme was taken up by the Pope in his address, who described Cardinal Gantin as "an authentic builder of bridges between cultures and continents", affirming that his example will help the men and women of the Church in Benin "to perform ever more generous and responsible service for their nation, which celebrates the 150th anniversary of its evangelisation next year".

  Benedict XVI then went on to consider the importance of Benin's "Conference of the Nation's Living Forces", which was celebrated twenty years ago. "That was not only a political event", he said, "but also bore witness to the close relationship between the faith and its expression in Beninese public life; it determined your future and continues to inspire your present. I ask God to bless the efforts of those who work to build a society founded on justice and peace, which recognises the rights of all its members".

  "Architects of their own destiny, the Beninese are called to promote true fraternity. This is an essential precondition for social peace and a factor of integral human promotion", said the Pope exhorting the people of Benin to refer back to values rooted in their own tradition, such as "respect for the sacredness of life". He also called on them "to behave coherently with this commitment, especially as regards factors that attack life and particularly in the context of the law".

  Benedict XVI also mentioned fraternity which, he said, "must also lead to the search for justice, the absence of which is always a cause of social tension and leads to dire consequences".

  "The search for personal advantage to the detriment of the common good is an evil which little by little undermines public institutions and prevents the full development of human beings. A country's political, economic and social leaders are its 'social conscience', guaranteeing the transparency of its structures and the ethics that animate the life of society. They must be just. Justice always accompanies fraternity", the Pope reiterated.

  "Work occupies a priority place in the development of a society", he went on. "Thanks to work, human beings can satisfy their basic needs and contribute to building a prosperous, just and fraternal society. Benin's motto 'Fraternity, Justice, Work' is the compendium of the charter of a nation with noble human ideals. Its application contributes to solidarity with other nations", said Benedict XVI, in this context thanking the Beninese for "the active fraternity they showed towards the people of Haiti during the recent earthquake".

  Finally, the Pope greeted members of the Catholic community of Benin, whom he encouraged to be "increasingly authentic witnesses of the faith and fraternal love that Christ teaches us".

  "I also wish to express my appreciation", he concluded, "for the efforts being made by everyone, especially the authorities, to strengthen relations of respect and esteem among the country's religious groups. Freedom of religion helps to enrich democracy and promote development".

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