BENEDICT XVI RECEIVES THE PRESIDENT OF LEBANON

VATICAN CITY, 24 FEB 2011 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office released the following communique at midday today:

  "Today in the Apostolic Palace the Holy Father Benedict XVI received in audience Michel Sleiman, president of the Republic of Lebanon. The president subsequently went on to meet with Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. who was accompanied by Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States.

  "The cordial discussions served to highlight how Lebanon, because of the presence of various Christian and Muslim communities there, stands as a message of freedom and respectful coexistence, not only for the region but for the whole world. In this context, it is increasingly necessary to promote collaboration and dialogue between religious confessions.

  "Attention then turned to the importance of civil and religious authorities being committed to educating consciences in peace and reconciliation, and the hope was expressed that the formation of the new government may favour the desired stability of the nation, which is called to face important internal and international challenges.

  "The talks then dwelt on the situation in the Middle East, with particular reference to recent events in certain Arab States, with the parties expressing their shared conviction that it is vital to resolve the ongoing conflicts in the region.

  "Finally, particular attention was given to the delicate situation of Christians in the entire region, and to the contribution they can make for the good of society as a whole".
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PROGRAMME OF THE POPE'S PASTORAL VISIT TO SAN MARINO

VATICAN CITY, 24 FEB 2011 (VIS) - The programme of Benedict XVI's forthcoming pastoral visit to the diocese of San Marino - Montefeltro has been published. The event is due to take place on Sunday 19 June.

  The Pope will depart from the Vatican by helicopter at 8 a.m., landing at Torraccia airport in the Republic of San Marino at 9.15 a.m. At 10 a.m. he will preside at a concelebration of the Eucharist then pray the Angelus in the Olympic stadium of Serravalle.

  The Holy Father will then travel to Valdragone where he will have lunch with the organisers of his visit and with members of the "John Paul II" International Foundation.

  That afternoon he will begin his official visit to the Republic, travelling to San Marino's Piazza della Liberta where he will be greeted by Captains Regent Giovanni Francesco Ugolini and Andrea Zafferani.

  He will then go on to meet with members of the government, the congress and the diplomatic corps, to whom he will deliver an address. Finally the Pope will visit the basilica of San Marino to venerate the relics of St. Marinus.

  At 6.30 p.m. the Holy Father will travel by helicopter to Pennabilli in the Italian province of Rimini where he will visit the cathedral and meet with young people of the diocese.

  Finally, the Pope will return by helicopter to the Vatican, where he is due to land at 9 p.m.
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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, 24 FEB 2011 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences seven prelates from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines on their "ad limina" visit:

    - Bishop Reynaldo G. Evangelista of Boac.

    - Bishop Buenaventura M. Famadico of Gumaca.

    - Bishop Rolando Joven T. Tirona O.C.D., prelate of Infanta.

    - Bishop Julius S. Tonel of Ipil.

    - Bishop Martin S. Jumoad, prelate of Isabela.

    - Bishop Elenito R. Galido of Iligan.

    - Bishop Emilio Z. Marquez of Lucena.
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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, 24 FEB 2011 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

 - Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the archdiocese of Berlin, Germany, presented by Cardinal Georg Maximilian Sterzinsky, upon having reached the age limit.

 - Appointed Bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck of Essen, Germany, also as military ordinary for Germany.

 - Appointed Fr. Helmut Dieser of the clergy of the diocese of Trier, Germany, pastor of Adenau, Dumpelfeld, Kaltenborn and Kaltenborn-Herschbach, as auxiliary of Trier (area 12,870, population 2,484,000, Catholics 1,525,000, priests 1005, permanent deacons 166, religious 2,302). The bishop-elect was born in Neuwied, Germany in 1962 and ordained a priest in 1989.

 - Appointed Fr. Eugenio Andres Lira Rugarcia of the clergy of the archdiocese of Puebla, Mexico, president of the archdiocesan commission for the pastoral care of communications; and Fr. Dagoberto Sosa Arriaga, episcopal vicar for pastoral care, as auxiliaries of Puebla (area 20,932, population 4,664,000, Catholics 4,339,000, priests 585, permanent deacons 1, religious 1,121). Bishop-elect Lira Rugarcia was born in Puebla in 1965 and ordained a priest in 1991. Bishop-elect Sosa Arriaga was born in La Loma, Mexico in 1955 and ordained a priest in 1983.
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ROBERT BELLARMINE, A VALID AUTHORITY FOR ECCLESIOLOGY

VATICAN CITY, 23 FEB 2011 (VIS) - Benedict XVI dedicated his catechesis during this morning's general audience, held in the Paul VI Hall in the presence of 7,500 people, to St. Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621), an outstanding figure of a troubled age in which "a serious political and religious crisis provoked a split between entire nations and the Holy See".

  St. Robert Bellarmine, following an excellent cultural and humanistic education, entered the Society of Jesus in 1560. He studied in Rome, Padua and Leuven and was later made cardinal and archbishop of Capua, Italy. He held high office in the service of the Pope as a member of several congregations and head of Holy See diplomatic missions to Venice and England. During his final years he wrote a number of books on spirituality in which he condensed the fruits of his annual spiritual exercises. He was beatified and canonised by Pope Pius XI, who also declared him a Doctor of the Church.

  "His 'Controversial Works' or 'Disputationes' are still a valid point of reference for Catholic ecclesiology", said the Holy Father. "They emphasise the institutional aspect of the Church, in response to the errors then circulating on that topic. Yet Bellarmine also threw light on invisible aspects of the Church as Mystical Body, which he explained using the analogy of the body and soul, in order to describe the relationship between the interior richness of the Church and her visible exterior features.

  "In this monumental work, which seeks to categorise the various theological controversies of the age, he avoids polemical and aggressive tones towards the ideas of the Reformation but, using the arguments of reason and of Church Tradition, clearly and effectively illustrates Catholic doctrine.

  "Nonetheless", the Pope added, "his true heritage lies in the way in which he conceived his work. His burden of office did not, in fact, prevent him from striving daily after sanctity through faithfulness to the requirements of his condition as religious, priest and bishop. ... His preaching and catechesis reveal that same stamp of essentiality which he learned from his Jesuit education, being entirely focused on concentrating the power of the soul on the Lord Jesus, intensely known, loved and imitated".

  In another of his books, "De gemitu columbae" in which the Church is represented as a dove, Robert Bellarmine "forcefully calls clergy and faithful to a personal and concrete reform of their lives, in accordance with the teachings of Scripture and the saints. ... With great clarity and the example of his own life, he clearly teaches that there can be no true reform of the Church unless this is first preceded by personal reform and conversion of heart on our part".

  "If you are wise, then understand that you were created for the glory of God and for your eternal salvation", said the Pope quoting from one of the saint's works. "Favourable or adverse circumstances, wealth and poverty, health and sickness, honour and offence, life and death, the wise must neither seek these things, nor seek to avoid them per se. They are good and desirable only if they contribute to the glory of God and to your eternal happiness, they are bad and to be avoided if they hinder this".

  The Pope concluded: "These words have not gone out of fashion, but should be meditated upon at length in order to guide our journey on this earth. They remind us that the goal of our life is the Lord. ... They remind us of the importance of trusting in God, of living a life faithful to the Gospel, and of accepting all the circumstances and all actions of our lives, illuminating them with faith and prayer".

  Before today's audience, the Holy Father blessed a statue of St. Maron, founder of the Maronite Church which is particularly widespread in Lebanon and Syria. The 4.5-metre high Carrara-marble statue, which has been placed in the last empty niche on the outside wall of the Vatican Basilica, is the work of Spanish sculptor Marco Augusto Duenas.

  Among those present at the ceremony were His Beatitude Cardinal Nasrallah Pierre Sfeir, patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites; Michel Sleiman, president of the Republic of Lebanon, and various religious and civil authorities.
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