CONSISTORY ON SEVERAL CAUSES OF CANONISATION

VATICAN CITY, 26 FEB 2008 (VIS) - At 11 a.m. on Saturday, 1 March, in the Consistory Hall of the Vatican Apostolic Palace, an Ordinary Public Consistory will be held for the canonisation of the following Blesseds:

- Blessed Gaetano Errico, Italian priest and founder of the Congregation of the Missionaries of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (1791-1860).

 - Blessed Maria Bernarda Butler (nee Verena), Swiss foundress of the Congregation of the Missionary Franciscan Sisters of Mary Help of Christians (1848-1924).

- Blessed Alfonsa of the Immaculate Conception (nee: Anna Muttathupandathu), Indian professed sister of the Congregation of Poor Clares of the Third Order of St. Francis (1910-1946).

- Blessed Narcisa de Jesus Martillo Moran, Ecuadorian lay woman (1833-1869).
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GROWING INTEREST IN POPE'S VISIT TO AUSTRALIA

VATICAN CITY, 26 FEB 2008 (VIS) - The Special Council for Oceania of the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops held its ninth meeting in Rome on 14 and 15 February, according to a communique made public yesterday afternoon.

  Under the presidency of Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, the meeting was attended by two cardinals, five archbishops and one bishop, most of them from the continent of Oceania.

  "The particular Churches on this continent have an unquestionable vitality", says the communique. A vitality "sustained by the 2001 Apostolic Exhortation 'Ecclesia in Oceania' which has been reprinted and translated into various local languages".

  "The entire continent is being mobilised - both in the more socially advanced areas and in less developed regions - to prepare" for World Youth Day 2008, which is due to be held in Sydney, Australia, in July. Various economic initiatives have been organised to help young people from the poorest areas of the continent to participate in the event. "The Day", the communique proceeds, "is considered as one of the most important events in the history of Australia, and interest is growing in the visit of Pope Benedict XVI, as an event of special grace".

  On the subject of the other theme examined during the meeting, that of the inculturation of the Gospel message, the communique recalls how "this is one of the great pastoral concerns of the Church in Oceania. It is a gradual process by which the Gospel enters the various cultures, transforming or purifying certain values so they can find their place within a genuine Christian culture, without undermining due respect either for the Gospel or for the cultures themselves.

  "In this dynamic process", the communique adds in conclusion, "the joint efforts of pastors, priests, deacons and catechists are indispensable. Of particular importance are Catholic schools of all levels, which safeguard Catholic identity and remain as vital instruments of evangelical witness in the modern world, which is so often secularised".
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CARDINAL BERTONE TO VISIT ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN

VATICAN CITY, 26 FEB 2008 (VIS) - At midday today, the Holy See Press Office released the following communique:

  "From 2 to 9 March, Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. will - at the invitation of the religious and civil authorities - make a visit to Armenia and Azerbaijan, in the course of which he will have the opportunity to express the closeness of the Holy Father Benedict XVI to the Catholic faithful in those countries.

  "The cardinal will meet the government authorities of Armenia and Azerbaijan.

  "During his stay in Armenia from 2 to 6 March, Cardinal Bertone will be received by His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, to whom he will consign a Letter signed by Pope Benedict XVI. In the Letter, the Holy Father expresses his regards and his desire for the Catholic Church to continue the ecumenical journey alongside the Armenian Apostolic Church.

  "From 6 to 9 March, Cardinal Bertone will visit Azerbaijan where he will meet Sheikh Allashukur Pashazade, head of Muslims in the Caucasus, and other religious leaders, to tell them of the Catholic Church's desire to collaborate in the joint commitment to peace, harmony between peoples and the good of the human family. In Baku, Cardinal Bertone will attend the inauguration of a new Catholic church built on land donated to Servant of God John Paul II by President Heydar Aliyev, father of the current head of State".
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POPE SENDS ECONOMIC AID FOR FLOOD VICTIMS IN ECUADOR

VATICAN CITY, 26 FEB 2008 (VIS) - The Pontifical Council "Cor Unum" has, in the Holy Father's name, sent a first consignment of emergency economic aid to the 11 Ecuadorian dioceses affected by recent flooding, according to a communique made public at midday today.

  During the Angelus of Sunday 24 February, Benedict XVI launched an appeal for Ecuador "inviting everyone to show fraternal solidarity so that the people of these areas - who are experiencing moments of anguish and tribulation in the wake of devastating floods and the eruption of the Tungurahua volcano - may, as soon a possible, return to the normality of everyday life".
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THE POPE CONDEMNS ALL FORMS OF DIRECT EUTHANASIA

VATICAN CITY, 25 FEB 2008 (VIS) - At midday today, the Holy Father received participants in an international congress entitled: "Close by the Incurable Sick Person and the Dying: Scientific and Ethical Aspects". the even was promoted by the Pontifical Academy for Life for the occasion of their general assembly which will be held in the Vatican over coming days.

  "Death", said the Pope, "concludes the experience of earthly life, but through death there opens for each of us, beyond time, the full and definitive life. ... For the community of believers, this encounter between the dying person and the Source of Life and Love represents a gift that has a universal value, that enriches the communion of the faithful". In this context, he highlighted how all the community should participate alongside close relatives in the last moments of a person's life. "No believer", he said, "should die alone and abandoned".

  All society "is called to respect the life and dignity of the seriously ill and the dying", said the Holy Father. "Though aware of the fact that 'it is not science that redeems man', all society, and in particular the sectors associated with medical science, are duty bound to express the solidarity of love, and to safeguard and respect human life in every moment of its earthly development, especially when it is ill or in its terminal stages.

  "In more concrete terms", he added, "this means ensuring that every person in need finds the necessary support through appropriate treatments and medical procedures - identified and administered using criteria of therapeutic proportionality - while bearing in mind the moral duty to administer (on the part of doctors) and to accept (on the part of patients) those means for preserving life which, in a particular situation, may be considered as 'ordinary'".

  As for forms of treatment "with significant levels of risk or that may reasonably be judged to be 'extraordinary', recourse thereto may be considered as morally acceptable, but optional. Furthermore, it will always be necessary to ensure that everyone has the treatment they require, and that families tried by the sickness of one of their members receive support, especially if the sickness is serious or prolonged".

  Just as when a child is born family members have specific rights to take time off work, said the Pope, in the same way "similar rights must be recognised" to the relatives of the terminally ill. "A greater respect for individual human life inevitably comes through the concrete solidarity of each and all, and constitutes one of the most pressing challenges of our times".

  After noting how it is becoming ever more common for elderly people in large cities to be alone "even in moments of serious illness and when approaching death", the Holy Father noted that such situations increase pressures towards euthanasia, "especially when a utilitarian view of people has become established". In this context, he once again recalled "the firm and constant ethical condemnation of all forms of direct euthanasia, in keeping with the centuries-long teaching of the Church".

  "The synergetic efforts of civil society and of the community of believers must ensure not only that everyone is able to live in a dignified and responsible way, but also that they can face moments of trial and of death in the finest condition of fraternity and solidarity, even where death comes in a poor family or a hospital bed".

  Society, said the Holy Father must "ensure due support to families who undertake to care in the home, sometimes for long periods, sick members who are afflicted with degenerative conditions, ... or who need particularly costly assistance. ... It is above all in this field that synergy between the Church and the institutions can prove particularly important in ensuring the necessary help for human life in moments of frailty".
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