CARDINAL RAFFAELE FARINA, SPECIAL ENVOY TO FIRST CENTENARY OF SOPHIA UNIVERSITY, TOKYO

Vatican City, 26 October 2013 (VIS) - A letter from the Pope was published today, dated 7 October and written in Latin, in which he appoints Cardinal Raffaele Farina, S.D.B., archivist and librarian emeritus of the Holy Roman Church, as his special envoy to the celebration of first centenary of the Sophia University of Tokyo, Japan, scheduled for 1 November 2013.

The mission accompanying the cardinal will be composed of Fr. Juan Haidar, S.J., Argentine, associate professor of the faculty of theology and director of the Catholic Centre of the Sophia University; Fr. Celestino Cavagna, Italian, previously vicar general and secretary general of the archdiocese of Tokyo and currently parish priest of Tachikawa, Tokyo; and Fr. Nobukuni Suzuki, S.J., lecturer at the faculty of theology of the Sophia University.

AUDIENCES

Vatican City, 28 October 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father received in audience:

- Teruaki Nagasaki, the new ambassador of Japan to the Holy See, presenting his letters of credence.

- Cardinal William Joseph Levada, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

- Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank.

- Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel Peace Prize laureate 1991.

- Rrok Logu, ambassador of Albania to the Holy See, on his farewell visit.

On Saturday, 26 October the Holy Father received in audience:

- Cardinal Marc Ouellet, P.S.S., prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

Vatican City, 28 October 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father:

- appointed Bishop Richard Joseph Gagnon as archbishop of Winnipeg (area 116,405, population 723,000, Catholics 169,000, priests 82, permanent deacons 19, religious 135), Canada. Archbishop Gagnon, previously bishop of Victoria, was born in Lethbridge, Canada in 1948, was ordained to the priesthood in 1983, and received episcopal ordination in 2004. He succeeds Archbishop James Weisgerber, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese, upon having reached the age limit, was accepted by the Holy Father.

- accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of El Obeid, Sudan, presented by Bishop Macram Max Gassis, M.C.C.J., upon having reached the age limit. He is succeeded by Coadjutor Bishop Michael Didi Adgum Mangoria.

On Saturday, 26 October the Holy Father:

- accepted the resignation from the office of auxiliary of the archdiocese of Luanda, Angola, presented by Bishop Anastacio Kahango O.F.M. Cap., upon having reached the age limit.

- appointed Fr. Giovanni Battista Piccioli of the clergy of Portoviejo, Ecuador, and Fr. Bertram Victor Wick Enzler, episcopal vicar and member of the clergy of Guayaquil, Ecuador, as auxiliaries of Guayaquil (area 12,446, population 2,916,000, Catholics 2,657,000, priests 317, permanent deacons 21, religious 621), Ecuador.

Bishop-elect Piccioli was born in Erbusco, Italy in 1957 and ordained a priest in 1982. He holds a licentiate in theology from the theological faculty of Emilia-Romagna, Bologna. He was sent to Ecuador as a “fidei donum” missionary in 1995. He has served in the following pastoral roles and academic roles: in Italy, parish vicar of two parishes in Brescia and parish priest of San Vito di Bedizzole; in Ecuador, parish priest of “Santa Ana” in Manabi and “Santisima Trinidad del Floron” in Portoviejo, professor of theology in the major seminary of Portoviejo, and parish priest of “Santa Rosa de Lima” in San Vicente.

Bishop-elect Wick Enzler was born in Waldkirch, Switzerland in 1955, and was ordained a priest in 1991. He was sent to Portoviejo, Ecuador as a missionary in 1990, entering the “Santa Maria del fiat” Institute. He has served in the following pastoral roles: parish vicar in Guayaquil, parish priest in the peninsula Santa Elena and in the parishes of “Gesu Buon Pastor”, “Santa Madre de la Iglesia”, and “Santa Elena”; he currently holds the office of episcopal vicar.

- appointed Msgr. Aldo Giordano as apostolic nuncio to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, at the same time elevating him to the dignity of archbishop. Archbishop-elect Giordano was previously special envoy and permanent observer of the Holy See to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.

POPE FRANCIS RECEIVES IN AUDIENCE THE PRESIDENT OF EQUATORIAL GUINEA

Vatican City, 25 October 2013 (VIS) – This morning the Holy Father Francis received in audience the president of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who subsequently met with Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States.

During the cordial discussions, mention was made of the Catholic Church's positive contribution in favour of the human, social and cultural development of the country, particularly in the fields of education and welfare, as well as the collaboration of the state in improving the quality of life for the population.

At the end of the visit, in the Sala dei Trattati of the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the president of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea and the secretary for Relations with States exchanged the instruments for the ratification of the Agreement between the Holy See and the Republic of Equatorial Guinea on relations between the Catholic Church and the State, signed in the city of Mongomo on 13 October 2012.

The Agreement, which seals the existing good bilateral relations, recognises the legal personality of the Church and her Institutions. It also relates to canonical marriage, places of worship, educational institutions, and spiritual assistance to Catholic faithful in hospitals and in prisons. By solemn act the Agreement, composed of nineteen articles and an Additional Protocol, came into effect on today's date in accordance with article 18.1.

POPE FRANCIS: LET US BE CLOSE TO ALL FAMILIES, ESPECIALLY THOSE IN DIFFICULTY

Vatican City, 25 October 2013 (VIS) - “The family is a community of life with its own consistency. It is not the sum of the persons by whom it is constituted, but rather a 'community of persons'”, said Pope Francis, quoting Blessed John Paul II's encyclical “Familiaris consortio”, in an address to participants in the twenty-first plenary assembly of the Pontifical Council for the Family taking place in Rome during these days, whom he received in audience this morning.

The family, continued the Pontiff, is “the place where we learn to love, the natural centre of human life”. … Each one of us builds his or her own personality within the family. … It is there that we learn the art of dialogue and interpersonal communication”. For this reason “the community-family … asks to be recognised as such, even more nowadays, when the protection of individual rights prevails”.

“The family is based on marriage. Through an act of free and faithful love, Christian couples give witness that marriage, as a sacrament, is the foundation upon which they base their family and strengthens the conjugal union and mutual self-giving. … Conjugal and familiar love also clearly demonstrate the vocation of the person to love in a unique and everlasting way, and show that the trials, sacrifices and crises in the lives of couples, as in the family as a whole, represent stages of growth in goodness, truth and beauty. … It is an experience of faith in God and of reciprocal trust, profound freedom, and holiness, because holiness presupposes self-giving with trust and sacrifice every day throughout life!”.

The Holy Father continued by placing special emphasis on two phases of family life, childhood and old age, commenting that, “Children and the elderly represent the two poles of life and are also the most vulnerable and often the most forgotten group. A society that abandons its children or marginalises its elderly members not only carries out an act of injustice but also sanctions the failure of that society. Taking care of the young and the elderly is the choice of civilisation”.

Pope Francis expressed his approval of the new icon of the family, created by the Pontifical Council, which depicts the scene of the Presentation of Jesus at the temple with Mary and Joseph who bring the Child, as required by the law, and the two elderly figures of Simeon and Anna who, moved by the Spirit, welcome him as the Saviour. The title of the icon is 'His mercy extends from generation to generation'”.

“The 'Good News' of the family”, he concluded, “is a very important part of evangelisation, that Christians can communicate to everyone through the witness of their lives; and they already do so – this is evident in secularised societies. … We therefore propose to all, with respect and courage, the beauty of marriage and the family, illuminated by the Gospel! And for this reason we draw close, with attention and affection, to families in difficulty, to those who are compelled to leave their homeland, who are divided, who do not have homes or work, or who suffer for many reasons; to couples in crisis or those who have separated. We wish to be close to all of them”.