AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, JUN 14, 2007 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:

 - Ten prelates from the Slovak Episcopal Conference, on their "ad limina" visit:

    - Archbishop Alojz Trac of Kosice, accompanied by Auxiliary Bishops Bernard Bober and Stanisalv Stolarik.

    - Bishop Eduard Kojnok of Roznava, accompanied by Coadjutor Bishop Vladimir Filo.

    - Bishop Frantisek Tondra of Spis accompanied by Auxiliary Bishops Andrej Imrich and Stefan Secka.

    - Bishop Milan Chautur C.SS.R., apostolic exarch of Kosice for Catholics of Byzantine Rite.

    - Bishop Frantisek Rabek, military ordinary,

  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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LACK OF HOPE IS THE REAL POVERTY

VATICAN CITY, JUN 14, 2007 (VIS) - Today in the Vatican, the Pope received members of the administrative council of the "Populorum Progressio" Foundation, for the occasion of their annual assembly. The foundation serves poor rural communities in Latin America and the Caribbean.

  When John Paul II established the foundation in 1992 and made it part of the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum," said the Holy Father, he was thinking "of peoples whose ancestral customs are threatened by postmodern culture, and who risk seeing the destruction of their traditions which are so ready to accept the truth of the Gospel. ... The work begun 15 years ago must continue, following the principles that have distinguished its commitment in support of the dignity of all human beings, and of the fight against poverty."

  Benedict XVI then went on to consider some of the characteristics of the foundation. "In the first place," he said, "the development of peoples must maintain, as a pastoral principle, a comprehensive anthropological view of human beings, something the second article of the foundation's Statues calls 'integral promotion'," which "takes the social and material aspect of life into account, as well as the announcement of faith which gives full meaning to man's life, Often, man's real poverty is his lack of hope, the absence of a Father to give meaning to his existence."

  "The second characteristic," the Pope continued, "is the exemplary working method employed by the foundation, a model for all aid organizations. Projects are studied and evaluated by an administrative council made up of bishops from various parts of Latin America. Thus, the decision rests in the hands of people who well know the problems and concrete needs of those peoples."

  "In this way," said the Holy Father, "on the one hand, we avoid a certain form of paternalism that is always humiliating for the poor and that curbs their own initiatives and, on the other, the funds in their entirety reach the most needy without getting lost in large bureaucratic systems.

  "Latin America," he added, "is a part of the world rich in natural resources where differences in standards of living must give way to the spirit of sharing wealth."

  The Holy Father concluded by highlighting how, "in the face of secularization, the proliferation of sects and the extreme poverty of so many brothers and sisters, there is a pressing need to form communities united in faith, like the Holy Family of Nazareth, in which the joyful witness of those who have met the Lord may be a light to illuminate the way of people seeking a more dignified life."
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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, JUN 13, 2007 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

 - Appointed Bishop Jose Lanza Neto, auxiliary of Londrina, Brazil as bishop of Guaxupe (area 13,953, population 867,000, Catholics 608,000, priests 96, religious 166), Brazil.

 - Appointed Fr. Vilson Dias de Oliveira D.C., pastor of the parish of "Nossa Senhora d'Ajuda," as bishop of Limeira (area 4,997, population 870,000, Catholics 580,000, priests 87, religious 162), Brazil. The bishop-elect was born in Guaira, Brazil in 1958 and ordained a priest in 1984.
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EUSEBIUS OF CAESAREA: BEFORE GOD INERTIA IS IMPOSSIBLE

VATICAN CITY, JUN 13, 2007 (VIS) - Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea in Palestine was the subject of Benedict XVI's catechesis during his general audience, held this morning in St. Peter's Square in the presence of more than 30,000 pilgrims.

  Pope Benedict explained that this Father of the Church was born around the year 260, and that he was known above all as "the first historian of Christianity" and "the greatest philologist of the ancient Church." He also participated in the Council of Nicaea in 325 during which the Creed was defined and the full divinity of the Son of God affirmed.

  "Eusebius' perpetual fame is primarily associated with the ten books of his Church History, with which he managed to save many events, figures and literary works of the early Church from certain oblivion," said the Pope.

  Yet the fundamental aspect of Eusebius' work is that his "is a 'Christocentric' history which progressively reveals the mystery of God's love for mankind." It also follows another of the constants of ancient ecclesiastical history, said the Holy Father, namely "the 'moral intention' running through the account. Historical analysis is never an end unto itself; rather it points decisively at conversion, and at an authentic witness of Christian life on the part of the faithful."

  "Eusebius addresses a spirited appeal to believers of all times concerning the way they consider the events of history and of the Church in particular. He also appeals to us: What is our approach to the history of the Church?

  "Is it," the Pope asked, "the approach of one interested out of simple curiosity, perhaps seeking the scandalous and sensational at any cost? Or is it the approach full of love and open to mystery of people who, through faith, know that in the history of the Church they can discover the signs of God's love and of the great works of salvation He has achieved? If this is our approach, we cannot but be stimulated to a more coherent and generous response, to a more Christian witness of life."

  In this context, Pope Benedict quoted "that eminent scholar of the Fathers," Cardinal Jean Danielou who wrote: "There is a hidden component in history. ... The mystery is that of God's works which, in time, constitute authentic reality hidden behind appearances. ... But God creates this history for man, he does not create it without him."

  "After so many centuries," the Pope concluded, "even today Eusebius of Caesarea invites believers to feel wonder, to contemplate God's great works in history for the salvation of mankind. And, with the same amount of energy, he calls us to convert our lives. Indeed, faced with a God Who loved us so much, we cannot remain inert. The requirement of love is that all of life be oriented towards imitation of the Loved One."
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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, JUN 12, 2007 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

 - Appointed Bishop Joseph Edward Kurtz of Knoxville, U.S.A, as metropolitan archbishop of Louisville (area 21,041, population 1,190,000, Catholics 210,000, priests 205, permanent deacons 104, religious 929), U.S.A. The archbishop-elect was born in Shenandoah, U.S.A. in 1946, he was ordained a priest in 1972 and consecrated a bishop in 1999. He succeeds Archbishop Thomas Cajetan Kelly O.P., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese, the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

 - Erected the new apostolic prefecture of Donkorkrom (area 4,285, population 136,000, Catholics 12,000, priests 7, religious 6) Ghana, with territory taken from the diocese of Koforidua. He appointed Fr. Gabriel Edoe Kumordji S.V.D., provincial superior of the Verbite Fathers in Ghana and president of the local conference of superiors major, as first apostolic prefect of the new diocese.

 - Appointed Msgr. Vito Rallo, special envoy and permanent observer of the Holy See to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, as apostolic nuncio to Burkina Faso and Niger, at the same time elevating him to the dignity of archbishop. The archbishop-elect was born in Mazara del Vallo, Italy in 1953 and ordained a priest in 1979.
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