SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING OF SYNOD FOR MIDDLE EAST

VATICAN CITY, 27 MAY 2011 (VIS) - This past 17 and 18 May, at the head office of the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops, the fourth meeting of the Special Council for the Middle East was held.

  A statement issued today noted that "Secretary General Archbishop Nikola Eterovic presided over the work, which was attended by all members of the Council". In his opening speech he particularly mentioned His Beatitude Bechara Boutros Rai, O.M.M., who was recently elected Maronite Patriarch of Antioch, Lebanon.

  The Council members stressed that "the coexistence of religions is essential for the development of mutual understanding and tolerance, to promote peaceful and fruitful relations in collaboration for the common good".

  There are also, reads the statement, "the increasingly demanding requirements of ecumenical and religious dialogue, which stimulate the search for communion and the witness on the part of the Lord's disciples to live the faith in charity, with the hope for better times".

  "Special attention has been given to the drafting of a summary of the synodal documents, especially the propositions, in light of the wording of the post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation that, as in other special Assemblies, will be published in due course by the Pope".
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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, 27 MAY 2011 (VIS) - Today the Holy Father received in separate audiences:

-Seven prelates from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India on their ad limina visit:

  - Archbishop Maria Callist Soosa Pakiam of Trivandrum of the Latins,

  - Bishop Innayya Chinna Addagatla of Srikakulam,

  - Bishop Prakash Mallavarapu of Vijayawada,

  - Bishop Joseph Kariyil of Cochin,

  - Bishop Varghese Chakkalakal of Kannur,

  - Bishop Joseph Karikkassery of Kottapuram, and

  - Fr. Vincent Arackal, apostolic administrator of Calicut.

  This afternoon, the Pope is going to receive the President of the Republic of Hungary, Pal Schmitt, who offers a concert to the Pontiff in the Paul VI Hall.
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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, 27 MAY 2011 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Fr. Raymond Wickramasinghe, professor of Moral Theology at the National Seminary of Our Lady of Lanka, as bishop of Galle (area 5,493, population 2,580,000, Catholics 9,511, priests 33, religious 97), Sri Lanka. The bishop-elect was born in 1962 in Uthuwankanda, Mawanella, Sri Lanka and was ordained in 1989.
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PAPAL TELEGRAM TO TORNADO VICTIMS IN JOPLIN

VATICAN CITY, 26 MAY 2011 (VIS) - Yesterday afternoon, Benedict XVI sent a telegram through Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone, S.D.B., to Bishop James Vann Johnston of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, USA after receiving news last Sunday of the tornado that devastated the city of Joplin, Missouri, killing more than 120 persons and wounding over 750 others.

  The text reads that "the Holy Father has followed with deep concern the aftermath of the catastrophic tornado which struck Joplin on Sunday and he asks you to convey to the entire community the assurance of his closeness in prayer. Conscious of the tragic loss of life and the immensity of the work of rebuilding that lies ahead, he asks God, the Father of Mercies, to grant eternal rest to the departed, consolation to the grieving, and strength and hope to the homeless and the injured. Upon the local civil and religious leaders, and upon all involved in the relief efforts, his holiness invokes the divine gifts of wisdom, fortitude, and perseverance in every good".

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, 26 MAY 2011 (VIS) - Today the Holy Father received in separate audiences:

  -Archbishop Fernando Filoni, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

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

-Seven prelates from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India on their ad limina visit:

  -Archbishop Francis Kallarakal of Verapoly,

  -Bishop Prasad Gallela of Cuddapah,

  -Bishop Paul Maipan of Khammam,

  - Bishop Anthony Poola of Kurnool,

  - Bishop Joji Govindu of Nalgonda,

  - Bishop Bali Gali of Guntur, and

  - Bishop Moses Doraboina Prakasam of Nellore.
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