MEETING OF THE COUNCIL OF CARDINALS

Vatican City, 2 July 2014 (VIS) – The Council of Cardinals met on the morning of Tuesday, 1 July at the Domus Sanctae Marthae, as planned. The Pope is participating in all the meetings; today, Wednesday morning, he participated in the entire meeting, as the general Audiences have been suspended. Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin is regularly present at the meetings, and the Holy Father has established that he will participate fully like the other members of the Council, of whom at present there are nine.

On Tuesday and on Wednesday morning three main themes were considered. There was a presentation by Cardinal Bertello of matters relating to the Governorate, and a presentation relating to the Secretariat of State by Cardinal Parolin.

The issue of the structure of the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR) was discussed in depth. The meetings, held in two sessions, were also attended by members of the Supervisory Commission of Cardinals present in Rome, Cardinals Santos Abril y Castelló, Thomas Collins and Jean-Louis Tauran, as well as Pietro Parolin.

With regard to the news and questions circulating in the press in recent days, the Director of the Holy See Press Office made the following declaration:

“The IOR is in a time of natural and peaceful transition. The contribution of Ernst von Freyberg continues to be deeply appreciated and highly valued, and further clarifications are possible, indeed likely, next week after the meeting of the Council for the Economy on Saturday”.

The Director then gave a concise explanation of the agenda of the next meeting of the Council for the Economy, which will focus on the Statutes and programme for future work, and will be informed on developments relating to the IOR and – by the Prefecture for Economic Affairs – on the 2013 budget and the provisional budget for 2014.

The Director also announced that a major press conference is expected to be held next week on various matters, including the IOR, linked to the sphere of competence of the Council and the Secretariat for the Economy.

The Council is now continuing its meetings, again taking into consideration and systematically developing the reflections already formulated in the first round of study and review of the different bodies of the Roman Curia.

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

Vatican City, 2 July 2014 (VIS) – Yesterday the Holy Father appointed Archbishop Bernardito C. Auza, apostolic nuncio in Haiti, as the Holy See permanent observer to the United Nations.

POPE FRANCIS JOINS IN THE SUFFERING OF THE FAMILIES OF THREE MURDERED ISRAELI TEENAGERS

Vatican City, 1 July 2014 (VIS) – “The news of the killing of the three young abducted Israelis is terrible and dramatic”, declared the director of the Holy See Press Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., late yesterday afternoon. “The assassination of innocent people is always an execrable and unacceptable crime, and a very serious obstacle on the path towards the peace for which we must tirelessly continue to strive and pray. Violence begets violence, and feeds the vicious circle of hatred. Pope France participates in the unspeakable suffering of the families struck by this homicidal violence and the pain of all persons afflicted by the consequences of hatred, and prays that God might inspire all with thoughts of compassion and peace”.

STATISTICS ON THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA

Vatican City, 1 July 2014 (VIS) – The Holy Father will make an apostolic trip to the Republic of Korea from 13 to 18 August, on the occasion of the 6th Asian Youth Day. The following statistics relate to the Catholic Church in Korea, dating from 31 December 2013, and are provided by the Central Office of Church Statistics.

The Republic of Korea has an area of 99,268 square kilometres and a population of 50,220,000, of whom 5,393,000 are Catholics, corresponding to 10.7% of the population. There are 16 ecclesiastical circumscriptions, 1,673 parishes and 843 pastoral centres. The apostolate is carried out by 35 bishops, 4,261 priests, 516 male religious and 9,016 female religious, 123 lay missionaries and 14,195 catechists. There are 395 minor and 1,489 major seminarians.

There are 328 educational centres of all levels directed or owned by the Catholic Church throughout the Republic of Korea, in which there are 221,020 students, as well as 49 special centres. There are also 200 health and welfare centres belonging to or directed by the Church: 40 hospitals, 4 clinics, 9 leper colonies, 513 rest homes for the elderly and disabled, 277 orphanages and nurseries, and 83 centres for family counselling and the protection of life.

IN MEMORIAM

Vatican City, 1 July 2014 (VIS) – The following prelates died in recent weeks:

- Bishop Joseph Befe Ateba of Kribi, Cameroon, on 4 June at the age of 52.

- Bishop Alejandro Antonio Buccolini, S.D.B, emeritus of Rio Gallegos, Argentina, on 6 June at the age of 84.

- Bishop Juan Maria Leonardi Villasmil of Punto Fijo, Venezuela, on 7 June at the age of 67.

-Cardinal Bernard Agre, archbishop emeritus of Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, on 9 June at the age of 88.

- Bishop Vital Joao Geraldo Wilderink, O. Carm., emeritus of Itaguai, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 11 June at the age of 82.

- Archbishop Moacyr Jose Vitti, C.S.S. of Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, on 26 June at the age of 73.

- Bishop Bernard Ferdinand Popp, emeritus of San Antonio, Texas, U.S.A., on 27 June at the age of 96.

- Archbishop Petero Mataca, emeritus of Suva, Fiji, on 30 June at the age of 81.