SYNOD FOR THE MIDDLE EAST TO BEGIN ON SUNDAY

VATICAN CITY, 8 OCT 2010 (VIS) - Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, today held a briefing in the Holy See Press Office to inform journalists of the significance and of certain organisational aspects of the Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops, due to be held in the Vatican from 10 to 24 October.

  The theme of the forthcoming synodal assembly is: "The Catholic Church in the Middle East. Communion and Witness. Now the company of those who believed were of one heart and soul".

  Archbishop Eterovic explained that "what we mean by Middle East are the following countries: Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Palestinian Territories, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Syria, Turkey and Yemen. This vast region of 7,180,912 square kilometres is home to 356,174,000 people, of whom 5,707,000 are Catholic, representing 1.6 percent of the population. The number of Christians stands at about 20,000,000; that is, 5.62 percent of the population".

  "Apart from the Church of the Latin tradition, since earliest times there have been six 'sui iuris' Eastern Catholic Churches, each with its own patriarch, father and head of the Church: the Coptic Church, the Syrian Church, the Greek-Melkite Church, the Maronite Church, the Chaldean Church and the Armenian Church. ... The variety of traditions, spirituality, liturgy and disciplines is a great treasure to be conserved not only for the Eastern Catholic Churches, but for the whole Catholic Church presided over in charity by the Bishop of Rome, Universal Pastor of the Church".

  The Special Assembly for the Middle East, Archbishop Eterovic continued, will be attended by 185 Synod Fathers including 101 ordinaries from the ecclesiastical circumscriptions of the area, and twenty-three from the diaspora who have responsibility for faithful of the Eastern Catholic Churches who have emigrated from the Middle East to all corners of the world. Also present will be thirty-six experts and thirty-four auditors, both men and women.

  The sittings of the synodal assembly will also be attended by a number of fraternal delegates representing fourteen Churches and ecclesial communities with deep roots in the Middle East. The Synod Fathers will be addressed by three special guests invited by the Holy Father: Rabbi David Rosen, director for inter-religious affairs of the American Jewish Committee and the Heilbrunn Institute for International Inter-religious Understanding, Israel; Muhammad al-Sammak, political counsellor to the Grand Mufti of Lebanon, for Sunni Islam, and Ayatollah Seyed Mostafa Mohaghegh Ahmadabadi, professor at the Faculty of Law at the Shahid Beheshti University of Tehran and Member of the Iranian Academy of Sciences, for Shia Islam.

  The secretary general then went on to explain some specific characteristics of this Synod. "For the first time", he said, "almost all the ordinaries of the Middle East will meet with the Bishop of Rome"; moreover it "will be the shortest ever synodal assembly, lasting only fourteen days". This, he explained, "is the result of the relatively lower number of participants, which during the Ordinary General Assemblies can include as many as 250 Synod Fathers", and because the "complex situation in Middle Eastern countries means we do not want to keep the pastors from their flocks for too long".

  Arabic will be one of the official languages of this Synod, along with French, English and Italian, said Archbishop Eterovic.

  "The aims of the Special Assembly for the Middle East are mainly of a pastoral nature" and can be divided into two main points: "reviving communion between the venerable 'sui iuris' Eastern Catholic Churches that they may offer an authentic, joyful and attractive witness of Christian life", and "strengthening Christian identity through the Word of God and the celebration of the Sacraments".

  The Synod, the archbishop concluded, is "a joyous occasion to present the riches of the Eastern Catholic Churches to the entire world, especially to Christians, that they may offer greater spiritual and material support to their brothers and sisters in the Middle East, in particular those who live in difficult situations because of violence, terrorism, emigration and discrimination".
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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, 8 OCT 2010 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences seven prelates from the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil, on their "ad limina" visit:

    - Bishop Bruno Pedron S.D.B. of Ji-Parana.

    - Bishop Joaquin Pertinez Fernandez O.A.R. of Rio Branco.

    - Bishop Eloi Roggia S.A.C., prelate of Borba.

    - Bishop Carillo Gritti I.M.C., prelate of Itacoatiara.

    - Bishop Sergio Eduardo Castriani C.S.Sp., prelate of Tefe.

    - Bishop Jesus Moraza Ruiz de Azua O.A.R., prelate of Labrea.

    - Bishop Gutemberg Freire Regis C.SS.R., apostolic administrator of the prelature of Coari.

  This evening he is scheduled to receive in audience Cardinal William Joseph Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, 8 OCT 2010 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Msgr. Douglas Regattieri, vicar general of Carpi, Italy, as bishop of Cesena-Sarsina (area 1,530, population 166,500, Catholics 159,500, priests 167, permanent deacons 32, religious 133), Italy. The bishop-elect was born in Vallata di Concordia, Italy in 1949 and ordained a priest in 1973.
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REAPPRAISING THE SPIRITUAL AND HUMAN HERITAGE OF CHILE

VATICAN CITY, 7 OCT 2010 (VIS) - Benedict XVI today received the Letters of Credence of Fernando Zegers Santa Cruz, the new ambassador of Chile to the Holy See. He began his address to the diplomat by expressing his closeness to the Chilean people following February's earthquake, and he recalled "the immense efforts being made by the Chilean Catholic Church, many of whose communities were also badly affected by the quake, to help people most in need. ... Nor can I forget", he continued, "the miners of the Atacama region and their loved ones, for whom I continue to pray fervently".

  Going on then to observe that the new ambassador is beginning his mission in the year in which Chile celebrates the bicentenary of its independence, the Pope said: "Many are the fruits the Gospel has produced in that blessed land: abundant fruits of sanctity, charity, human promotion, and of constant striving for peace and coexistence". In this context he also recalled last year's celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship with Argentina which, "with pontifical mediation, put an end to that dispute in the southern hemisphere", he said.

  "That historical agreement", the Holy Father proceeded, "will remain for future generations as a shining example of the immense benefits that peace brings, and of the importance of preserving and encouraging the moral and religious values that constitute the most intimate fabric of a people's soul. We cannot hope to explain the triumph of this longing for peace, harmony and understanding without bearing in mind how deep the seed of the Gospel has taken root in the hearts of Chileans".

  "It is very important, and even more so in present circumstances in which so many challenges threaten cultural identity, to encourage, especially among the young, a healthy pride and a renewed appreciation and reappraisal for their faith, history, culture, traditions and artistic heritage, and for everything that constitutes the best and richest spiritual and human patrimony of Chile".

  At this point Benedict XVI also noted how, "although Church and State are independent and autonomous, each in its own field, they are both called to loyal and respectful collaboration in order to serve the personal and social vocation of the same people. In carrying out her specific mission to announce the good news of Jesus Christ, the Church seeks to respond to man's expectations and doubts, while at the same time drawing on those ethical and anthropological values and principles which are inscribed in the nature of human beings".

  "When the Church raises her voice on the great challenges and problems of the present time - such as wars, hunger, widespread extreme poverty, the defence of human life from conception until natural end, or the promotion of the family founded on marriage between a man and woman, primary educator of children - she is not acting out of special interest or of principles perceptible only to people who profess a particular religious faith. Respecting the rules of democratic coexistence, the Church does this for the good of all society, and in the name of values that everyone can share", the Holy Father concluded.

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DAILY COMMITMENT TO FOLLOWING THE PATH OF TRUTH

VATICAN CITY, 7 OCT 2010 (VIS) - At midday today the Holy Father received participants in a congress on the Catholic press promoted by the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. The congress has been taking place this week in Rome.

  Addressing the participants, who come from eighty-five different countries, the Pope referred to two specific aspects of the role of the Catholic press. On the one hand, he said, "there is the specific nature of the medium: the press; i.e., the written word and its importance and effectiveness in a society which has seen the burgeoning of dish antennae and satellites. ... On the other hand, the 'Catholic' connotation with all its attendant responsibility of remaining explicitly and substantially faithful, through daily commitment to following the path of truth.

  "Catholic journalists must seek the truth with impassioned minds and hearts", he added, "but also with the professionalism of competent workers equipped with adequate and efficient means".

  After then highlighting "the ever increasing importance of image in the world", Benedict XVI noted that, "although this undoubtedly has positive aspects, image can also become detached from reality and give rise to a virtual world. This has various consequences, the first of them being the risk of indifference towards what is real".

  "Moreover, the transmission of an event, be it happy or sad, can be presented as a mere spectacle and not as an occasion for reflection. ... These aspects ... invite us to consider the danger that the virtual world may distance us from the real world and not stimulate us to seek reality, to seek the truth".

  The Pope went on: "In this context, the Catholic press is called ... to give full expression to its potential and, day by day, to give the reasons for its indispensable mission. ... The Christian faith shares a fundamental structure with communication: the fact that the means and the message coincide. Indeed the Son of God, the Word incarnate, is, at one and the same time, the message of salvation and the means though which salvation is achieved. This is not a mere concept but a reality accessible to everyone".

  "The Word of God came to man and was handed down to us though a book: the Bible. The word remains the fundamental and, in a certain sense, the essential instrument of communication. It is used in various forms today, and even in our image-driven society' it still maintains all its value".

  "Christians cannot ignore the crisis of faith that has invested society, or simply hope that the heritage of values handed down over past centuries may continue to inspire and mould the future of the human family. The idea of living 'as if God does not exist' has revealed itself to be harmful. Rather, the world needs to live 'as if God does exist', ... otherwise all it produces is 'inhuman humanism'".

  Recalling then how people who work in the communications media must "always put God at the top of their scale of values", Benedict XVI concluded by affirming that the task of the Catholic press is "to help modern man to turn to Christ, the one Saviour, and to keep the flame of hope alight in the world, so as worthily to live today and adequately to build the future. For this reason I exhort you constantly to renew your personal choice for Christ, drawing on those spiritual resources which, though undervalued by the modern mentality, remain valuable, indeed, indispensable".
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