AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, FEB 16, 2006 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:

 - Fouad Siniora, prime minister of Lebanon, accompanied by his wife and an entourage.

 - Six prelates from the Conference of Bishops of Senegal, Mauritania, Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau, on their "ad limina" visit:

    - Archbishop Theodore-Adrien Sarr of Dakar.

    - Bishop Benjamin Ndiaye of Kaolack.

    - Bishop Jean-Pierre Bassene of Kolda.

    - Bishop Ernest Sambou of Saint-Louis du Senegal.

    - Bishop Jean-Noel Diouf of Tambacounda.

    - Bishop Jacques Sarr of Thies.

  This evening, he is scheduled to meet Archbishop Fortunato Baldelli, apostolic nuncio to France.
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VATICAN RADIO: NEW WAYS TO SERVE THE CHURCH

VATICAN CITY, FEB 16, 2006 (VIS) - In the Holy See Press Office at 11.30 a.m. on Tuesday, February 21, a press conference will be held to mark the 75th anniversary of Vatican Radio. The conference is entitled "Vatican Radio at 75. New ways to serve the Church and future prospects."

  Participating in the event will be Frs. Federico Lombardi S.J. and Andrzej Koprowski S.J., respectively director general and director of programs; Sandro Piervenanzi, technical vice-director, and Pietro Cocco, head of the Vatican Radio Web Team.
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LEBANESE PEOPLE CONFIRM THEIR DEVOTION TO THE POPE

VATICAN CITY, FEB 16, 2006 (VIS) - Given below is the text of a communique released by the Holy See Press Office following today's visit to the Vatican by Fouad Siniora, prime minister of Lebanon:

  "Today, February 16, 2006, the Holy Father Benedict XVI received in audience Fouad Siniora, prime minister of Lebanon. The prime minister subsequently went on the meet with Cardinal Secretary of State Angelo Sodano.

  "The visit of the head of the Lebanese government and of the official delegation accompanying him, had the aim of confirming the great devotion of the Lebanese people towards the Roman Pontiff, and towards the Holy See in general, which has always remained close to that noble country.

  "In the course of the discussions, opinions were exchanged concerning the current situation in Lebanon and in the Middle East in general, highlighting the joint commitment to work towards educating people in reconciliation and peace, while respecting human rights, especially that of religious freedom.

  "Particular attention was reserved for the situation of Christians and for the contribution they intend to make to the progress of the country, in keeping with the guidelines laid down, prior to the Jubilee 2000, by the Apostolic Exhortation "A new hope for Lebanon," of Pope John Paul II, of blessed memory."
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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, FEB 15, 2006 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Archbishop Michael Louis Fitzgerald M. Afr., president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, as apostolic nuncio to the Arab Republic of Egypt and delegate to the Organization of the League of Arab States.
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MESSAGE TO CUBANS: OPEN YOUR HEARTS TO GOD AND THE WORLD

VATICAN CITY, FEB 15, 2006 (VIS) - Made public today was a Message from the Pope to Cardinal Jaime Ortega y Alamino, archbishop of San Cristobal de La Habana and president of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Cuba, for the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Cuban National Ecclesial Encounter.

  In his Message, dated February 2, Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, the Holy Father sends affectionate greetings to the bishops, priests, consecrated people and laity of Cuba, expressing his "spiritual closeness" and "encouragement for their evangelizing tasks."

  On this anniversary, writes Benedict XVI, it would be particularly appropriate to recall the words used by John Paul II on his visit to Cuba in 1998: "May Cuba open to the world, and may the world open to Cuba." Such openness, the Pope says, "requires us first of all to consider how to open heart and understanding to the things of God; how those who coexist can open to one another, believing and trusting in each another though with different ways of thinking and believing; and finally, how to open to the world, with its challenges, its possibilities and its difficulties."

  "Only through the gaze of God, a loving gaze, will it be possible to arrive at the truth of each individual, of each group and of those who live together in one land. On this journey, ... much help may be gained from each Christian's experience of prayer, in the silence and humility of daily work, in faithfulness to professed faith, in the implicit or explicit announcement of the Gospel. Much help is also to be had from the love of majority of Cubans for the 'Madre de la Cardida del Cobre," patroness of this land for so long, who accompanies its inhabitants with motherly tenderness."
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