CCEE DECLARATION ON SYRIA: FINDING SPACE FOR A DIALOGUE OF PEACE

Vatican City,  (VIS) - "For many months now the Church and the entire international community have been looking with great apprehension and profound sadness at the escalating violence in Syria, where arms seem to have taken the place of dialogue".

These are the opening words of a declaration concerning the situation in Syria, issued yesterday afternoon by the Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE) and signed by Cardinal Peter Erdo, archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, Hungary; Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, archbishop of Genoa, Italy, and Archbishop Jozef Michalik of Przemysl of the Latins, Poland, respectively president and vice presidents of the CCEE.

"We hope that the authorities in the country, the population and all believers of whatever religion may look to God and find the way to put an end to hostilities, set aside their arms and start down the path of dialogue, reconciliation and peace. The conflict cannot but lead to mourning, destruction and serious consequences for the noble people of Syria. War is a dead end. Happiness can be achieved only by acting together, never by the abusive exercise of power of one side against another", the text reads.

"The coming days could prove decisive for the outcome of this crisis. Therefore we exhort all the Christians of Europe to redouble their prayers for peace in that region. Our faith leads us to hope that a constructive solution to the crisis is possible, one which respects the interests of all sides. It is important to rediscover space for a dialogue of peace; and it is never too late to understand one another, to negotiate and to build a shared future together.

"We are certain that, with God's help, good sense may prevail and lead to peaceful coexistence in truth, justice, love and freedom, and in respect for all monitories, particularly the Christians in the country".

THE "OSSERVATORE ROMANO" TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE UNITED STATES

Vatican City,  (VIS) - Beginning in August, the "Osservatore Romano" newspaper will be distributed in the United States of America. It will be published by the "Our Sunday Visitor" Catholic publishing house, based in Indiana, which also publishes the "Our Sunday Visitor" weekly newspaper, the largest selling Catholic periodical in the U.S.

The publishing house will also supervise the subscription service and marketing strategies to promote the circulation of the "Osservatore Romano". Thanks to this initiative, news concerning the Pope and the Vatican will now be more accessible to families in the United States.

COMMUNIQUE CONCERNING PRIESTLY SOCIETY OF ST. PIUS X

Vatican City,  (VIS) - Early this afternoon, the Holy See Press Office released the following English-language communique concerning the declaration which emerged from the General Chapter of the Priestly Society of St. Pius X.

"The recently concluded General Chapter of the Priestly Society of St. Pius X has addressed a declaration regarding the possibility of a canonical normalisation in the relationship of the Society and the Holy See. While it has been made public, the declaration remains primarily an internal document for study and discussion among the members of the Society.

"The Holy See has taken note of this declaration, but awaits the forthcoming official communication of the Priestly Society as their dialogue with the Pontifical Commission 'Ecclesia Dei' continues".

POPE TELLS DIRECTORS OF AFRICAN AMERICAN PASTORAL CARE TO ACCOMPANY THOSE BELOVED BUT MARGINALISED PEOPLES

Vatican City,  (VIS) - Benedict XVI has sent a message, through Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B., to Bishop Pablo Varela Server, auxiliary of Panama and president of the department for education and culture of the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM), for the occasion of the twelfth Meeting on African American Pastoral Care. The meeting is due to come to an end tomorrow, 20 July, in Guayaquil, Ecuador.

The Holy Father encourages the bishops participating in the event "to examine the cultural values, history and traditions of African Americans, with a view to improving the Church's ability to present Jesus Christ as the authentic response to the most profound questions of mankind". In doing this they should allow themselves to be "led by the impulse of the Holy Spirit which came to make all cultures fruitful, 'purifying them, germinating the many seeds which the incarnate Word placed therein, and thus guiding them along the paths of the Gospel". The Pope also invites the bishops and their collaborators "to continue to accompany those beloved peoples, who are often marginalised and ignored".

The theme of the twelfth Meeting on African American Pastoral Care is "African American and Caribbean Pastoral Care and the Aparecida Document. Challenges and Hopes in the Church and in Society". The event is being attended by 250 delegates from Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, Argentina, Panama, Bolivia, Haiti. Dominican Republic, Paraguay, Chile, Uruguay, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala and Jamaica.

The meeting, which opened on 16 July, aims to revitalise the processes whereby African American peoples participate in the Church and in society; to foment unity and the human, social and religious development of the peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean, and to continue the process of building black Christian communities with a specific identity.

Also in Guayaquil and in the context of the same event, the third Meeting of Bishops with African American Peoples in Latin America and the Caribbean was held from 13 to 15 July. The participants revised and extended the African American pastoral guidelines, the tenth anniversary of the publication of which falls in 2013.

"Above all", according to a note issued by CELAM, "with the United Nations International Year for People of African Descent in 2011, and the recent call for an International Decade for People of African Descent, the Church in Latin America is seeking to focus particular attention on people of African descent, and their presence and participation in the Church and in society".

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

Vatican City,  (VIS) - The Holy Father accepted the resignation from the office of auxiliary of the archdiocese of Guadalajara, Mexico, presented by Bishop Rafael Francisco Martinez Sainz, upon having reached the age limit.