VATICAN LIBRARY: HISTORICAL MEMORY OF UNIVERSAL CHURCH

VATICAN CITY, 11 NOV 2010 (VIS) - The Holy Father has written a Letter to Cardinal Raffaele Farina S.D.B., archivist and librarian of Holy Roman Church, to mark the reopening of the Vatican Apostolic Library and the inauguration of an exhibition entitled: "Knowing the Vatican Library. A History Open to the Future".

  "Pre-eminent location of the universal Church's historical memory, home to venerable examples of the manuscript tradition of the Bible, the Vatican Library yet has another reason justifying the attention and concern of Popes. Since its origins it has always shown an unmistakeable openness, truly 'Catholic' and universal, to all the beauty and goodness ... which humankind has produced over the course of the centuries".

  "Nothing of what is truly human is foreign to the Church which, for this reason, has always sought, gathered and conserved - with a continuity that knows few equals - the finest results of man's efforts to raise himself above the purely material plane as he searches, either consciously or unconsciously, for the Truth".

  "The Vatican Library is not, then, a theological or prevalently religious library. Faithful to is humanistic origins it is, by vocation, open to all things human, and thus it is remains at the service of culture. ... Also through the efforts of this institution, the Church intends today - as she did five centuries ago - to serve all mankind, inscribing this particular ministry into the broader picture of the essential ministry that makes her Church: the community that evangelises and saves".
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POPE WRITES TO KOREAN PRESIDENT FOR G20 MEETING

VATICAN CITY, 11 NOV 2010 (VIS) - The Holy Father has sent a Message to Lee Myung-bak, president of The Republic of Korea, for the occasion of the meeting of heads of State and government of the world's most industrialised countries (G20), which begins today in Seoul.

  The meeting, writes the Pope in his English-language Letter, "is not only of global importance but also clearly expresses the significance and responsibility which Asia has acquired on the international scene at the beginning of the twenty-first century".

  "The Catholic Church, in accordance with her specific nature, regards herself as involved and shares the concerns of the leaders who will take part in the Seoul Summit. I therefore encourage you to tackle the numerous serious problems facing you - and which, in a sense, face every human person today - bearing in mind the deeper reasons for the economic and financial crisis and giving due consideration to the consequences of the measures adopted to overcome the crisis itself, and to seek lasting, sustainable and just solutions.

  "In doing so", the Holy Father adds, "it is my hope that there will be a keen awareness that the solutions adopted, as such, will work only if, in the final analysis, they are aimed at reaching the same goal: the authentic and integral development of man. The world's attention focuses on you and it expects that appropriate solutions will be adopted to overcome the crisis, with common agreements which will not favour some countries at the expense of others".
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LETTER FROM THE HOLY FATHER TO THE PRESIDENT OF IRAN

VATICAN CITY, 11 NOV 2010 (VIS) - Made public today was a Letter from Benedict XVI addressed to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, president of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Letter was delivered by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, during a meeting with President Ahmadinejad on 9 November in Tehran.

  In his Letter, written in response to a message sent to him by the vice president of Iran, the Pope expresses his "profound conviction that respect for the transcendent dimension of the human person is an indispensable condition for the construction of a just social order and a stable peace. Indeed, the relationship with God is the ultimate foundation for the inalienable dignity and sacred character of every human life.

  "When the promotion of the dignity of the human person is the primary inspiration of political and social activity that is committed to search for the common good, solid and enduring foundations are created for building peace and harmony between peoples", the Pope adds.

  "The Catholics present in Iran and those around the world make efforts to collaborate with their fellow citizens to contribute loyally and honestly to the common good of the respective societies in which they live, becoming builders of peace and reconciliation".
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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, 11 NOV 2010 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:

 - Thirteen prelates from the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil, on their "ad limina" visit:

    - Bishop Volodemer Koubetch O.S.B.M. of Sao Joao Batista em Curitiba of the Ukrainians.

    - Bishop Antonio Braz Benevente of Jacarezinho.

    - Archbishop Anuar Battisti of Maringa.

    - Bishop Francisco Javier Del Valle Paredes of Campo Mourao.

    - Fr. Ilson Luiz Da Graca, diocesan administrator of Paranavai.

    - Bishop Sergio Aparecido Colombo of Braganca Paulista.

    - Msgr. Jose Dantas De Sousa, diocesan administrator of Umuarama.

    - Bishop Vicente Costa of Jundiai.

    - Archbishop Mauro Aparecido dos Santos of Cascavel.

    - Bishop Laurindo Guizzardi C.S., emeritus of Foz do Iguacu.

    - Bishop Jose Anonio Peruzzo of Palmas - Francisco Beltrao.

    - Bishop Francisco Carlos Bach of Toledo.

    - Bishop Giovanni Zerbini S.D.B., emeritus of Guarapuava.

 - Bishop Gerhard Ludwig Muller of Regensburg, Germany.
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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, 11 NOV 2010 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Bishop Lourdes Daniel of Amravati, India, apostolic administrator of Nashik, India, as bishop of Nashik (area 57,532, population 21,020,000, Catholics 93,300, priests 105, religious 422).
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