AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, MAY 16, 2005 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences four prelates from the Conference of Catholic bishops of Rwanda, on their "ad limina" visit:

    - Archbishop Thaddee Ntihinyurwa of Kigali.

    - Bishop Philippe Rukamba of Butare.

    - Bishop Servilien Nzakamwita of Byumba.

    - Bishop Jean Damascene Bimenyimana of Cyangugu.

  On Saturday, May 14, he received in separate audiences:

 - Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy.

 - Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins C.M.F., prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

 - Archbishop Stanislaw Rylko, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity

 - Cardinal Eduardo Martinez Somalo, camerlengo of Holy Roman Church.

 - Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.
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COUNCIL PUBLISHES MESSAGE FOR BUDDHIST FEAST OF VESAKH

VATICAN CITY, MAY 16, 2005 (VIS) - Made public today was the annual Message  sent by the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue to Buddhists on the occasion of the feast of Vesakh 2005. The Message, written in English, is signed by Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, president of the pontifical council. Vesakh is a moveable feast which marks important events in the life of Gautama Buddha.

  Archbishop Fitzgerald points to this year's 40th anniversary of "Nostra Aetate," the Vatican Council II document on the relationship of the Church to other religions, which states that 'the Catholic Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these religions'. Accordingly, Buddhists and Catholics are able to meet together, in a spirit of openness, sincerity and mutual respect, engaging in many different forms of dialogue."
 
  Where they live and work side by side, says the Message, "the resulting 'dialogue of life' allows them, while witnessing to their own beliefs, to deepen their understanding of one another, to foster goodwill and to promote a spirit of neighbourliness. In fact, a particular bond has developed between many Buddhist and Catholic monks and nuns."

  Archbishop Fitzgerald underscores that "nowhere has the need for collaboration been felt more keenly than in the countries of South and Southeast Asia which were affected by the earthquake and the ensuing tsunami of December 26, 2004. ... The long-term requirements of reconstruction call, however, for a continuation of these inter-religious expressions of solidarity" as do "many other situations which require cooperation among people of good will."
 
  "This year's feast of Vesakh," he concludes, "will find many families missing some of their members. I wish to assure them that their loved ones will not be forgotten but will be remembered in our prayers."
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LETTER TO CARDINAL RUINI, ENVOY TO EUCHARISTIC CONGRESS

VATICAN CITY, MAY 16, 2005 (VIS) - Made public today was a Letter from Benedict XVI to Cardinal Camillo Ruini, vicar of Rome and president of the Italian Episcopal Conference, confirming his nomination by John Paul II in January as special envoy to the 24th Italian Eucharistic Congress to be held in Bari, Italy from May 21 to 29. The Pontifical Letter was dated May 13, 2005.

  The Holy Father, noting that his "venerated predecessor John Paul II" had received a pressing invitation last October to preside at the concluding celebrations of the Congress, called this "a very significant event for the Italian Church which takes place within the special context of the Year of the Eucharist, during which Catholics throughout the world are stimulated to have a renewed awareness of the great gift left by Christ at the Last Supper." The Pope also noted that the theme of the Congress, whose closing celebrations he will preside on May 29,  is "Without Sundays, We Cannot Live."

  Made public with the Letter were the names of the Pontifical Mission that will accompany Cardinal Ruini: Msgrs. Domenico Ciavarella, vicar general of the archdiocese of Bari-Bitonte and Piergiuseppe Vacchelli, under-secretary of the Italian Episcopal Conference.
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NEW BLESSEDS, EXEMPLARY WITNESSES OF CHRIST'S CHARITY

VATICAN CITY, MAY 16, 2005 (VIS) - This morning, the Pope received pilgrims who participated in Saturday's ceremony for the beatification of Mothers Ascension del Corazon de Jesus Nicol Goni, and Marianne Cope. "Exemplary witnesses of Christ's charity," said the Holy Father, "these two new Blesseds help us to better understand the meaning and the value of our Christian vocation."

  Addressing himself particularly to the Dominican Missionary Sisters of the Rosary "who, following the example of their Blessed Foundress help us to experience, in our own time, the spirit of St. Dominic," the Pope said: "Keep alive the experience of the closeness of God in missionary life - 'how close God feels,' Mother Ascension used to say. And keep alive the spirit of fraternity in your communities, always ready to go where the Church most needs you, with the same pioneering spirit that took Mother Ascension to the wild lands of the Vicariate of Puerto Maldonado."

  The Holy Father then greeted pilgrims from that apostolic vicariate and from other areas of Peru, "who saw a precious fruit of genuine evangelization come into bloom, cultivated with special care by female hands." He also greeted pilgrims from Navarre, the area of Spain in which the new Blessed was born, and from other parts of Spain.

  Speaking about Blessed Marianne Cope, he recalled how "in 1862 she entered the Congregation of the Franciscan Sisters of Syracuse where she imbibed the particular spirituality of St. Francis of Assisi, dedicating herself wholeheartedly to spiritual and corporal works of mercy."

  After explaining how Mother Cope accepted an invitation from the bishop of Honolulu, Hawaii, to work among lepers, Benedict XVI affirmed: "For 35 years, until her death in 1918, our new Blessed dedicated her life to the love and service of lepers on the islands of Maui and Molokai."

  "Undoubtedly the generosity of Mother Marianne was, humanly speaking, exemplary," said the Pope. "Good intentions and selflessness alone, however, do not adequately explain her vocation. It is only the perspective of faith which enables us to understand her witness - as a Christian and as a religious - to that sacrificial love which reaches its fullness in Jesus Christ. All that she achieved was inspired by her personal love of the Lord which she in turn expressed through her love of  those abandoned and rejected by society in a most wretched way."
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TWENTY-ONE NEW PRIESTS, A "FESTIVE DAY" FOR CHURCH OF ROME

VATICAN CITY, MAY 15, 2005 (VIS) - Appearing at his study window almost 20 minutes late for the noon Regina Coeli prayer, Pope Benedict, in unscripted remarks, asked the estimated 40,000 faithful in St. Peter's Square "to please excuse me for the great delay. I had the grace to ordain 21 priests and such a harvest for God lasts quite a bit of time, therefore, thank you for your understanding."

  He went on to say that the ordination Mass "marks a moment of important growth for our community. It receives life, in fact, from these ordained ministers, above all through the service of  the Word of God and the Sacraments. This therefore is a festive day for the Church of Rome And for the new priests this is in a special way their Pentecost: I repeat my greetings to them and pray that the Holy Spirit will always accompany their ministry."

  The Holy Father noted that "the happy coincidence between Pentecost and the priestly ordinations invites me to underscore the indissoluble tie that exists, in the Church, between the Spirit and the institution. I referred to this last Saturday when I took possession of the chair of the bishop of Rome at St. John Lateran. The chair and the Spirit are intimately linked in reality, as are the charism and the ordained ministry. Without the Holy Spirit the Church would be reduced to a merely human organization, weighed down by her very structures. But in turn, in the plans of God, the Spirit habitually uses human mediation to act in history. Precisely for this reason, Christ, Who constituted His Church on the foundation of the Apostles gathered around Peter, also enriched her with the gift of His Spirit so that, over the centuries. He could comfort her and lead her to the full truth.

  "May the ecclesial community," he said in closing remarks, "remain always open and docile to the action of the Holy Spirit in order to be among men a credible sign and effective instrument of God's action!"

  After the Regina Coeli prayer, Benedict XVI made brief remarks in German and Italian to the pilgrims in the square.
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