SYNOD FATHERS OF THE THIRTEENTH ORDINARY GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE SYNOD OF BISHOPS

Vatican City,  (VIS) - The Holy Father has appointed the following prelates as Synod Fathers for the forthcoming Thirteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, due to take place from 7 to 28 October on the theme: "The New Evangelisation for the Transmission of the Christian Faith".

- Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals.

- Cardinal Joachim Meisner, archbishop of Cologne, Germany.

- Cardinal Vinko Puljic, archbishop of Vrhbosna-Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

- Cardinal Polycarp Pengo, archbishop of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania and president of SECAM/SCEAM (Symposium of the Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar).

- Cardinal Christoph Schonborn O.P., archbishop of Vienna, Austria.

- Cardinal George Pell, archbishop of Sydney, Australia.

- Cardinal Josip Bozanic, archbishop of Zagreb, Croatia.

- Cardinal Peter Erdo, archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, Hungary and president of CCEE (Council of European Episcopal Conferences).

- Cardinal Agostino Vallini, His Holiness' vicar general for the diocese of Rome.

- Cardinal Lluis Martinez Sistach, archbishop of Barcelona, Spain.

- Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois, archbishop of Paris, France.

- Cardinal Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Bombay, India and secretary general of FABC (Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences).

- Patriarch Francesco Moraglia of Venice, Italy.

- Archbishop John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan of Abuja, Nigeria.

- Archbishop Hector Ruben Aguer of La Plata, Argentina.

- Archbishop Antonio Arregui Yarza of Guayaquil, Ecuador, president of the Ecuadorian Episcopal Conference.

- Archbishop John Atcherley Dew of Wellington, New Zealand, president of FCBCO (Federation of Catholic Bishops' Conferences of Oceania).

- Archbishop Jose Octavio Ruiz Arenas, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelisation.

- Archbishop Jose Horacio Gomez of Los Angeles, U.S.A.

- Archbishop Carlos Aguiar Retes of Tlalnepantla, president of CELAM (Latin American Episcopal Council).

- Archbishop Bernard Longley of Birmingham, England.

- Archbishop Ricardo Antonio Tobon Restrepo of Medellin, Colombia.

- Archbishop Luis Antonio G. Tagle of Manila, Philippines.

- Archbishop Filippo Santoro of Taranto, Italy.

- Bishop Javier Echevarria Rodriguez, prelate of the Personal Prelature of Opus Dei.

- Bishop Dominique Rey of Frejus-Toulon, France.

- Bishop Menghisteab Tesfamariam M.C.C.J., eparch of Asmara, Eritrea.

- Bishop Benedito Beni dos Santos of Lorena, Brazil.

- Bishop Santiago Jaime Silva Retamales, auxiliary of Valparaiso, Chile and secretary general of CELAM.

- Bishop Luigi Negri of San Marino-Montefeltro, Italy.

- Bishop Alberto Francisco Sanguinetti Montero of Canelones, Uruguay.

- Bishop Enrico Dal Covolo S.D.B., rector of the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome.

- Fr. Julian Carron, president of the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation.

- Fr. Renato Salvatore M.I., superior general of the Clerks Regular Ministers to the Sick (Camillians).

- Fr. Heinrich Walter, superior general of the Schoenstatt Fathers.

- Fr. Jose Panthaplamthottiyil C.M.I., prior general of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate.

EUROPEAN HERITAGE DAYS: 30 SEPTEMBER

Vatican City,  (VIS) - The Holy See will once again take part in the celebration of European Heritage Days, an initiative of the Council of Europe in which more than fifty countries on the continent participate. The celebrations this year will take place on Sunday 30 September and have as their theme: "The Image of the Faith in European Heritage". The Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Patrimony of the Church and the Vatican Museums are both collaborating in the event and, on 30 September, entrance to the Vatican Museums will be free of charge.

IN MEMORIAM

Vatican City,  (VIS) - The following prelates died in recent weeks:

- Bishop Joseph Banchong Aribarg, emeritus of Nakhon Sawan, Thailand, on 1 September at the age of 85.

- Bishop Xavier Baronnet S.J., emeritus of Port Victoria, Seychelles, on 8 September at the age of 85.

- Bishop Luis D'Andrea O.F.M. Conv., emeritus of Caxias do Maranhao, Brazil, on 8 September at the age of 78.

- Bishop Lucas Luis Donnelly O. de M., prelate emeritus of Dean Funes, Argentina, on 31 August at the age of 91.

- Bishop Jose Foralosso S.D.B., emeritus of Maraba, Brazil, on 22 August at the age of 74.

- Bishop Helio Goncalves Heleno, emeritus of Caratinga, Brazil, on 4 September at the age of 77.

CHRIST’S DISCIPLES MUST GIVE AUTHENTIC WITNESS OF THEIR UNITY

Vatican City,  (VIS) - Yesterday evening the Holy Father met with Orthodox Patriarchs, representatives of Protestant communities and Catholic Patriarchs of Lebanon. The encounter took place at the Syrian Catholic Patriarchate in Charfet, Beirut, famous for its library which contains more than 3,000 manuscripts in Syriac and Arabic.

Having listened to some welcome remarks addressed to him by His Beatitude Ignace Youssif III Younan, Patriarch of Antioch of the Syrians, the Holy Father expressed his thanks to those present who, he said, "represent the diversity of the Church in the East. ... My thoughts also go to the Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt and to the Ethiopian Orthodox who have had the recent sadness of losing their respective Patriarchs. I wish to assure them of my fraternal closeness and of my prayers".

Benedict XVI continued: "Allow me to acknowledge here the testimony of faith shown by the Syrian Antiochene Church in the course of its glorious history, a testimony to an ardent love for Christ, which has caused it to write some heroic pages of this history, right up to the present, by remaining committed to the faith even to the point of martyrdom. I encourage this Church to be for the peoples of the region a sign of the peace that comes from God as well as a light that keeps their hope alive. I extend this encouragement to all the Churches and ecclesial communities present in the region".

"Our encounter this evening", he went on, "is an eloquent sign of our profound desire to respond to the call of Christ, 'that all may be one'. In these unstable times, so inclined to the violence which your region knows so well, it is even more necessary that Christ’s disciples give an authentic witness to their unity, so that the world may believe in their message of love, peace and reconciliation. This is a message that all Christians, and we in particular, have been commissioned to hand on to the world, a message of inestimable value in the present context of the Middle East.

"Let us work without ceasing so that the love of Christ may lead us little by little into full communion with each other", the Pope added. "In this regard, by means of common prayer and mutual commitment, we must constantly return to our one Lord and Saviour. For, as I wrote in the Apostolic Exhortation 'Ecclesia in Medio Oriente' which I have the pleasure of consigning to you, 'Jesus draws into unity those who believe in and love Him; He gives them the Spirit of His Father as well as Mary, His mother'".

The Holy Father concluded his remarks by entrusting the members of the various Churches and communities to the Blessed Virgin. "May she intercede with her Son for us, so that we may be delivered from every evil and from all forms of violence, and so that the Middle East may at last know a time of reconciliation and peace. May the words of Jesus that I have so often cited during this journey - My peace I give to you - be for all of us the common sign that we will give in the name of Christ to the peoples of this beloved region, which longs to see those words fulfilled!"

COURAGEOUSLY RESIST ANYTHING THAT COULD DESTROY OR UNDERMINE PEACE

Vatican City,  (VIS) - The Holy Father's apostolic trip to Lebanon came to an end yesterday afternoon with the departure ceremony at the international airport of Beirut. Among those present to bid him farewell were Michel Sleiman, president of Lebanon, the country's four Catholic Patriarchs, various Lebanese bishops and representatives of the civil and religious authorities.

In his address, the Pope expressed his thanks "to the entire Lebanese people who form a beautiful and rich mosaic and who have shown the Successor of Peter their enthusiasm by the efforts, both general and specific, of each community. I cordially thank our venerable sister Churches and the Protestant communities. I thank in particular representatives of the Muslim communities. Through my stay here, I have noticed how much your presence has contributed to the success of my journey. In these troubled times, the Arab world and indeed the entire world will have seen Christians and Muslims united in celebrating peace.

"It is a tradition in the Middle East to receive a guest with consideration and respect as you have done", he added. "I thank you all. But, to that consideration and respect, you added something else, which can be compared to one of those renowned oriental spices which enriches the taste of food: your warmth and your affection, which make me wish to return. I thank you for that especially".

"In his wisdom, Solomon asked Hiram of Tyre to build a house for the name of God, a sanctuary for all eternity. And Hiram ... sent wood taken from the cedars of Lebanon. ... Lebanon was present in the sanctuary of God. May the Lebanon of today, and her inhabitants, also dwell in the sanctuary of God! May Lebanon continue to be a place where men and women can live in harmony and peace with each other, in order to give the world not only a witness to the presence of God, ... but also a witness to the communion between people, ... whatever their political, social, or religious standpoint".

The Pope continued: "I pray to God for Lebanon, that she may live in peace and courageously resist all that could destroy or undermine that peace. I hope that Lebanon will continue to permit the plurality of religious traditions and not listen to the voices of those who wish to prevent it. I hope that Lebanon will fortify the communion among all her inhabitants, whatever their community or religion, that she will resolutely reject all that could lead to disunity, and with determination choose brotherhood".

"The Virgin Mary, venerated with devotion and tenderness by the faithful of the religious confessions here present, is a sure model for going forward in hope along the path of a lived and authentic brotherhood. Lebanon understood this well when, some time ago, she proclaimed 25 March as a holiday, thus allowing everyone to live more deeply their unity in serenity. May the Virgin Mary, whose ancient shrines are so numerous in your country, continue to accompany and inspire you!

"May God bless Lebanon and all the Lebanese! May He never cease to draw them to Himself so as to offer them a share in His eternal life! May he fill them with His joy, His peace and His light! May God bless all the Middle East!"

Having completed his farewell address, the Pope boarded his flight for Rome, landing at 9.40 p.m. at Ciampino airport whence he travelled to the Apostolic Palace at Castelgandolfo.