OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, OCT 5, 2006 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father appointed Monsignor Lucas Martinez Lara, of the clergy of the archdiocese of San Luis Potosi, as Bishop of Matehuala (area 26,912, population 255,923, Catholics 219,148, priests 29, religious 45) Mexico. The bishop elect was born in 1943 in a small town in the Archdiocese of San Luis Potosi and ordained in 1968. At the time, he was Episcopal Vicar of the "Medina Zone" and parish priest for Santa Catalina of Rioverde.
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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, OCT 5, 2006 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father received the following in separate audiences:

- Heinz Fischer, President of the Republic of Austria, his wife and following.

- Five Prelates from the Assembly of Western Catholic Bishops, Canada, on their "ad limina" visit:

  - Archbishop Raymond Roussin, S.M., of Vancouver.

  - Bishop David John James Monroe, of Kamloops.

  - Archbishop Emilius Goulet, P.S.S., of Saint-Boniface.

  - Bishop Albert LeGatt, of Saskatoon.

  - Bishop Blaise-Ernest Morand, of Prince-Albert.

  This evening he is scheduled to receive in audience Cardinal Ivan Dias, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
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THE POPE RECEIVES THE AUSTRIAN PRESIDENT

VATICAN CITY, OCT 5, 2006 (VIS) - This morning, the Holy See Press Office published the following notice:

  "Benedict XVI received Mr. Heinz Fischer, the President of the Federal Republic of Austria, in an audience today. After, the President met with Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Secretary of State of His Holiness".

  "In an atmosphere of great cordiality, the activities of the Catholic Church in Austrian society was discussed during the meetings, and joy was expressed on the good bilateral relations between the Holy See and Austria, as well as on the mutual harmony on the theme of the cultural and spiritual identity of Europe. Certain topics of great importance to today's world context  were then taken into consideration: the promotion of dialogue between cultures and religions, in particular between Christianity and Islam, and refuting any sort of terrorism".

  "The Holy Father gladly accepted the renewed invitation to visit the Marian Sanctuary of Mariazell next year, extended by the Austrian Federal President".
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IN MEMORIAM

VATICAN CITY, OCT 4, 2006 (VIS) - The following prelates died in recent weeks:

- Cardinal Louis-Albert Vachon, Archbishop emeritus of Quebec, Canada, on September 29, at the age of 94.

- Bishop Louis Cornet, emeritus of Meaux, France, on September 11, at the age of 82.

- Archbishop Domenico De Luca, Apostolic Nuncio, on September 16, at the age of 78.

- Bishop Benedict Charles Franzetta, former auxiliary of Youngstown, USA, on September 26, at the age of 85.

- Bishop Mario Teixeira Gurgel, S.D.S., emeritus of Itabira-Fabriciano, Brazil, on September 11, at the age of 84.

- Bishop Gianfranco Masserdotti, M.C.C.I., of Balsas, Brazil, on September 17, at the age of 65.

- Archbishop Cataldo Naro, of Monreale, Italy, on September 30, at the age of 55.

- Archbishop Vital Komenan Yao, of Bouake, Ivory Coast, on September 23, at the age of 68.
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JUSTICE AND PEACE DOCUMENT: THE FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION

VATICAN CITY, OCT 4, 2006 (VIS) - Today, the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace published a note entitled "The Fight Against Corruption", which synthesizes the main points of the conference held by this dicastery on this theme this past month of June, with the participation of international officials, diplomats and experts on this phenomenon.
 
  According to a summary on the booklet, it emphasizes that "corruption crosses all social sectors (...) and cannot be attributed only to those who work in the economic sector or only to public officials" and is favored, among other things, "by the disparity between the level at which corruption is fought, often limited to the  level of single states, while its range of action is (...) international".

   According to the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, corruption distorts the role of the governing institutions, using them as grounds of political exchange between private requests and governmental actions. This way, political choices promote the limited objectives of those having the means to influence them and create obstacles to the realization of common good for all the citizens. Also, corruption is one of the causes contributing to underdevelopment and poverty, depriving the peoples of the fundamental common good that is legality".

  To overcome corruption, according to the note, "a positive factor is the passage from an authoritarian society to a democratic society, (...) from centralized to participating society", and warns that this process of social aperture may "demolish the solidity of moral convictions" and "facilitate the exportation of corruption".

  The note specifies that the Church "can have an evermore relevant role in the prevention of corruption, efficiently contributing to the moral education and formation of citizens, especially with the fundamental principles of her social doctrine: the dignity of the human person, the common good, solidarity, subsidiarity, a preferential option towards the poor, the universal destination of goods".

  As stated in the International Conference in June, the Note by this Dicastery repeats that "the fight against corruption is a value, but also a need; corruption is an evil, but also a cost; refusing corruption is a good, but also an advantage; abandoning corrupt actions may generate development and well-being; honest attitudes should be promoted, the dishonest ones punished".

  Therefore on the international level, "since organized crime knows no boundaries, collaboration between governments must be increased, even with agreements on the procedures for confiscating and recuperating what has been illegally gained".
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