Members and substitutes for the 14th General Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops

Vatican City, 16 June 2015 (VIS) – The following is a list of members and substitutes from the competent bodies for the 14th General Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, confirmed by the Holy Father Francis on 22 May 2015. The previous list was published on 25 March.

A) Episcopal Conferences

AFRICA

ANGOLA and SAO TOME

Member: Bishop Emilio Sumbelelo of Uije, Angola

Substitute: Archbishop Jose de Queiros Alves, C.SS.R., of Huambo, Angola

BENIN

Member: Bishop Eugene Cyrille Houndekon of Abomey, vice president of the Episcopal Conference

Substitute: Bishop Antoine Sabi Bio of Natitingou

CAMEROON

Members: Archbishop Joseph Atanga, S.J., of Bertoua

Archbishop Samuel Kleda of Douala, president of the Episcopal Conference

Substitutes: Bishop Barthelemy Yaouda Hourgo of Yagoua

Bishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya of Mamfe

REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

Member: Bishop Urbain Ngassongo of Gamboma, president of the Episcopal Commission for Family Pastoral Ministry

Substitute: Bishop Louis Portella Mbuyu of Kinkala

GABON

Member: Bishop Mathieu Madega Lebouakehan of Mouila, president of the Episcopal Conference

Substitute: Bishop Jean-Vincent Ondo Eyene of Oyem

GAMBIA and SIERRA LEONE

Member: Bishop Charles Allieu Matthew Campbell of Bo, Sierra Leone

Substitute: Bishop Henry Aruna of Makeni, Sierra Leone

MALAWI

Member: Archbishop Thomas Luke Msusa, S.M.M., of Blantyre, president of the Episcopal Conference

Substitute: Bishop Emmanuel Kanyama of Dedza

INDIAN OCEAN (C.E.D.O.I.)

Member: Bishop Maurice Piat, C.S.Sp., of Port-Louis, Mauritius, president of the Episcopal Conference

Substitute: Bishop Gilbert Aubry of Saint-Denis-de-La Reunion, Reunion, France

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

Member: Bishop Cyr-Nestor Yapaupa of Alindao

Substitute: Archbishop Dieudonne Nzapalainga, C.S.Sp., of Bangui, president of the Episcopal Conference

SENEGAL, MAURITANIA, CABO VERDE and GUINEA-BISSAU

Member: Archbishop Benjamin Ndiaye of Dakar, president of the Episcopal Conference, Senegal

Substitute: Bishop Paul Abel Mamba of Ziguinchor, Senegal, vice president of the Episcopal Conference

TANZANIA

Members: Bishop Tarcisius J. M. Ngalalekumtwa of Iringa, president of the Episcopal Conference

Bishop Renatus Leonard Nkwande of Bunda

Substitutes: Bishop Joseph Roman Mlola of Kigoma

Bishop John Chrisostom Ndimbo of Mbinga

ZAMBIA

Member: Bishop Benjamin Phiri, auxiliary of Chipata

Substitute: Bishop Patrick Chisanga, O.F.M. Conv., of Mansa

AMERICA

BRAZIL

Members: Archbishop Sergio Da Rocha of Brasilia, president of the Episcopal Conference

Bishop Joao Carlos Petrini of Camacari

Archbishop Geraldo Lyrio Rocha of Mariana

Cardinal Odilo Pedro Scherer, archbishop of Sao Paulo

Substitutes: Bishop Joao Bosco Barbosa De Sousa, O.F.M., of Osasco

Bishop Leonardo Ulrich Steiner, O.F.M., auxiliary of Brasilia

CANADA

Members: Archbishop Paul-Andre Durocher of Gatineau, president of the Episcopal Conference

Bishop Noel Simard of Valleyfield

Cardinal Thomas Christopher Collins, archbishop of Toronto

Archbishop Richard William Smith of Edmonton

Substitutes: Bishop Lionel Gendron, P.S.S., of Saint-Jean - Longueuil

Archbishop J. Michael MILLER, C.S.B., of Vancouver

COLOMBIA

Members: Bishop Pablo Emiro Salas Anteliz of Armenia

Cardinal Ruben Salazar Gomez, archbishop of Bogota

Archbishop Oscar Urbina Ortega of Villavicencio

Substitute: Archbishop Ricardo Antonio Tobon Restrepo of Medellín

COSTA RICA

Member: Bishop Jose Francisco Ulloa Rojas of Cartago, president of the Episcopal Commission for Family Pastoral Ministry

Substitute: Bishop Oscar Gerardo Fernandez Guillen of Puntarenas, president of the Episcopal Conference

EL SALVADOR

Member: Bishop Constantino Barrera Morales of Sonsonate

Substitute: Bishop Fabio Reynaldo Colindres Abarca, military ordinary of El Salvador

PUERTO RICO

Member: Archbishop Roberto Octavio Gonzalez Nieves, O.F.M., of San Juan de Puerto Rico, president of the Episcopal Conference

Substitute: Bishop Alvaro Corrada Del Rio, S.J. of Mayaguez

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Member: Bishop Gregorio Nicanor Pena Rodriguez of Nuestra Senora de la Altagracia en Higuey, president of the Episcopal Conference

Substitute: Bishop Fausto Ramon Mejia Vallejo of San Francisco de Macorís

ASIA

BANGLADESH

Member: Bishop Paul Ponen Kubi, C.S.C, of Mymensingh, president of the Episcopal Family Life Commission

Substitute: Bishop Sebastian Tudu of Dinajpur

KOREA

Member: Peter Kang U-Il of Cheju

Substitute: Archbishop Hyginus Kim Hee-Joong of Gwangju, president of the Episcopal Conference

JAPAN

Member: Archbishop Joseph Mitsuaki Takami, P.S.S. of Nagasaki, vice president of the Episcopal Conference

Substitute: Bishop Dominic Ryōji Miyahara of Fukuoka

INDIA (C.C.B.I.)

Members: Cardinal Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Bombay, president of the Episcopal Conference

Archbishop Filipe Neri Antonio Sebastiao Do Rosario Ferrao of Goa and Damao

Bishop Selvister Ponnumuthan of Punalur

Archbishop Dominic Jala, S.D.B. of Shillong

Substitute: Bishop Singaroyan Sebastianappan of Salem

SRI LANKA

Member: Bishop Harold Anthony Perera of Kurunegala

Substitute: Bishop Norbert Marshall ANDRADI, O.M.I. of Anuradhapura

EUROPE

BELGIUM

Member: Bishop Johan Jozef Bonny of Antwerpen, Anvers

Substitute: Bishop Lucas Van Looy, S.D.B., of Gent, Gand

BULGARIA

Member: Bishop GheorghiIvanov Jovcev of Sofia and Plovdiv

Substitute: Bishop Christo Proykov, apostolic exarch of Sofia for Catholics of Byzantine-Slav rite resident in Bulgaria, president of the Episcopal Conference

ITALY

Members: Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, archbishop of Genoa, president of the Episcopal Conference

Cardinal Angelo Scola, archbishop of Milan

Bishop Franco Giulio Brambilla of Novara

Bishop Enrico Solmi of Parma, president of the Commission for Life and the Family of the Italian Episcopal Conference

Substitutes: Bishop Gennaro Pascarella of Pozzuoli

Bishop Luciano Monari of Brescia

MALTA

Member: Bishop Mario Grech of Gozo, president of the Episcopal Conference

Substitute: Archbishop Charles Jude Scicluna of Malta

POLAND

Members: Archbishop Stanisław Gadecki, of Poznan, president of the Episcopal Conference

Archbishop-Bishop Henryk Hoser, S.A.C. of Warszawa-Praga

Bishop Jan Franciszek Watroba of Rzeszow

Substitutes: Archbishop Jozef Michalik of Przemysl of the Latins

Archbishop Marek Jedraszewski of Lodz

ROMANIA

Member: Bishop Petru Gherghel of Iasi

Substitute: Bishop Cornel Damian, auxiliary of Bucharest

SLOVAKIA

Member: Archbishop Stanislav Zvolensky of Bratislava, president of the Episcopal Conference

Substitute: Bishop Jozef Hal'Ko, auxiliary of Bratislava

SLOVENIA

Member: Archbishop Stane Zore, O.F.M., of Ljubljana

Substitute: Bishop Andrej Glavan of Novo Mesto, president of the Episcopal Conference

TURKEY

Member: Archbishop Levon Boghos Zekiyan of Istanbul of the Armenians

Substitute: Bishop Louis Pelatre, A.A., apostolic vicar of Istanbul, apostolic administrator of the apostolic exarchate of Istanbul for faithful of Byzantine rite resident in Turkey

UKRAINE

Member: Archbishop Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki of Lviv of the Latins, president of the Episcopal Conference

Substitute: Bishop Radoslaw Zmitrowicz, O.M.I., auxiliary of Kamyanets-Podilskyi of the Latins

HUNGARY

Member: Bishop Andras Veres of Szombathely

Substitute: Bishop Laszlo Biro, military ordinary of Hungary

OCEANIA

PACIFIC (C.E.P.A.C.)

Member: Archbishop Peter Loy Chong of Suva, Fiji Islands

Substitute: Cardinal Soane Patita Paini Mafi, bishop of Tonga, Tonga, president of the Episcopal Conference

B) SUI IURIS ORIENTAL CATHOLIC CHURCHES

SYNOD OF THE MARONITE CHURCH

Members: Bishop Antoine Nabil Andari, auxiliary and syncellus of Joubbe, Sarba and Jounieh of the Maronites, president of the Episcopal Commission for the Family and Life, Lebanon

Bishop Antoine Tarabay, O.L.M. of Saint Maron of Sydney of the Maronites, Australia

Substitutes: Bishop Michel Aoun of Jbeil, Byblos of the Maronites, Lebanon

Bishop Gregory John Mansour of Saint Maron of Brooklyn of the Maronites, U.S.A.

C) UNION OF SUPERIORS GENERAL

Members: Fr. Adolfo Nicolas Pachon, S.J., prepositor general of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits)

Fr. Marco Tasca, O.F.M. Conv., minister general of the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor Conventual

Fr. Mario Aldegani, C.S.I., superior general of the Congregation of St. Joseph (Josephites of Murialdo)

Fr. Richard Kuuia Baawobr, M.Afr., superior general of the Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers)

Fr. Bruno Cadore, O.P., master general of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans)

Fr. Jesus Diaz Alonso, S.F., superior general of the Sons of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

Fr. Michael Brehl, C.SS.R., superior general of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists or Liguorini)

Fr. Javier Alvarez-Ossorio, SS.CC., superior general of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (Picpus)

Fr. Ab. D. Jeremias Schroder, O.S.B., arch-abbot president of the Benedictine Congregation of St. Odile

B. Herve JANSON, P.F.J., prior general of the Little Brothers of Jesus (Foucauld)

Substitutes: Fr. Edmund Jan Michalski, M.S.F., superior general of the Missionaries of the Holy Family

Fr. Gregory Gay, C.M., superior general of the Congregation of the Mission (Lazzarists).

Audiences

Vatican City, 16 June 2015 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father received in audience Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, with Fra' Matthew Festing, prince and grand master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.

Other Pontifical Acts

Vatican City, 16 June 2015 (VIS) – The Holy Father has appointed:

- Cardinal Paul Poupard, president emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Culture, as his special envoy to the celebration of the millennium of the foundation of the Cathedral of Strasbourg, France, to be held on 15 August.

- Cardinal Raul Eduardo Vela Chiriboga, archbishop emeritus of Quito, Peru, as his special envoy to the tenth National Eucharistic Congress of Peru, to be celebrated in Piura, Peru, from 13 to 16 August.

Audience with the president of Colombia: special attention to the reconciliation process and prospects for a peace agreement

Vatican City, 15 June 2015 (VIS) – Today in the Vatican Apostolic Palace the Holy Father received in audience the president of the Republic of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos Calderon, who subsequently met with Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, secretary for Relations with States.

During the cordial discussions the good relations between the Holy See and the Republic of Colombia were evoked, underlining the contribution the Catholic Church has given and continues to guarantee in favour of the human, social and cultural progress of the population. Among the issues considered, special attention was given to the state of the reconciliation process in the country, the complexity of the negotiations that this entails, and the prospects that could open the way to achieving a peace agreement.

Finally, there was an exchange of views on the regional political and social situation, with attention to the efforts made towards promoting stability in the countries of the area, their harmonious and equitable development, and a culture of legality.

Francis to the ROACO: continue your service of Christian charity, condemning all that tramples human dignity

Vatican City, 15 June 2015 (VIS) – The lands of the Middle East, marred by years of conflict, are also “marked by the footprints of those who seek refuge and soaked with the blood of many men and women, including numerous Christians persecuted for their faith”, said the Holy Father as he received in audience the members of the Reunion of Aid Agencies for the Oriental Churches (ROACO), a year after their pilgrimage and Francis' plea for peace in the region, when all hoped that “the seed of reconciliation would have borne greater fruits”.

Recalling the recent trip to Iraq by a delegation of the ROACO, during which they met with displaced persons from the Nineveh Plain and with small groups from Syria, the Pope affirmed, “in those eyes that asked for help and pleaded for peace and to return home there was Jesus Himself Who looked at you, asking for that charity that makes us Christians. Every form of assistance, so as not to fall into the trap of uncompromising efficiency or mere aid that does not promote persons or peoples, must always be reborn from this blessing of the Lord Who reaches us when we have the courage to look at the situations and the brothers before us”.

Nevertheless, “the world seems to have become aware of the tragedy of recent months, and has opened its eyes, taking account of the millennial presence of Christians in the Middle East. Initiatives for raising awareness and offering aid to them to to others unjustly affected by violence have flourished. However, further efforts must be made to eliminate what would appear to be tacit agreements by which the lives of thousands and thousands of families – women, men, children, elderly – in the balance of interests appear to weigh less than petroleum and weapons, and while peace and justice is proclaimed, it is accepted that the traffickers of death act in those lands. I therefore encourage you, as you carry out your service of Christian charity, to condemn all that tramples human dignity”.

The Holy Father mentioned that in these days ROACO is dedicating special attention to Ethiopia, Eritrea and Armenia. “The first two, from this year, canonically constitute two separate realities, inasmuch as they are metropolitan sui generis Churches, but they remain profoundly linked by their common Alexandrian-Gheez tradition”. He urged the ROACO “to help these ancient Christian communities to feel that they are members in the evangelical mission and to offer, especially to the young, prospects of hope and growth. Without this, it will not be possible to stop the migratory flow in which so many sons and daughters of the region set out to reach the Mediterranean coasts, risking their lives”. Armenia, “cradle of the first nation to receive baptism, also has a great history rich in culture, faith and martyrdom. Support for the Church in that land contributes to the path towards the visible unity of all believers in Christ”.

The Pope concluded by dedicating to the Oriental Catholic Churches some words from St. Ephrem's Hymn of Resurrection: “Accept, our King, our offering, and give us in return our salvation. Pacify devastated lands and rebuild the burned-down churches so that, when there will be great peace, we may weave a great crown from flowers from all places, so that the Lord of peace may be crowned”.