TELEGRAM FOR THE DEATH OF CARDINAL SWIATEK

VATICAN CITY, 22 JUL 2011 (VIS) - The Holy Father has sent a telegram of condolence to Bishop Aleksander Kaszkiewicz, president of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Belarus, for the death of Cardinal Kazimierz Swiatek, archbishop emeritus of Minsk-Mohilev and former apostolic administrator "sede vacante et ad nutum Sanctae Sedis" of the diocese of Pinsk. The cardinal died yesterday at the age of 96.

  In his telegram the Pope recalls the late cardinal's "courageous witness to Christ and His Church during particularly difficult times, as well as the enthusiasm he later showed in contributing to the spiritual rebirth of his country. While expressing my deepest condolences to Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz of Minsk-Mohilev, apostolic administrator "sede vacante et ad nutum Sanctae Sedis" of Pinsk, to the episcopate of Belarus, to priests and religious communities, and to all the faithful of the churches the late cardinal loved and served, I impart the comfort of a heartfelt apostolic blessing as a sign of faith and Christian hope in the risen Lord".

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HOLY SEE WILL RESPOND TO THE REPORT ON IRISH DIOCESE

VATICAN CITY, 22 JUL 2011 (VIS) - Replying to journalists' questions concerning the current debate in Ireland about a report on abuse in the diocese of Cloyne, Holy See Press Office Director Federico Lombardi S.J. declared:

  "I can confirm that the Holy See will respond appropriately to the questions raised by the Irish government about the report on the diocese of Cloyne. In any case, it is to be hoped that debate about such dramatic matters may continue with the necessary objectivity, so as to contribute to the cause which must be closest to everyone's heart: the protection of children and young people and, to that end, the restoration of an atmosphere of trust and collaboration in the Church and in society, as the Pope himself said in his Pastoral Letter to the Catholics of Ireland".

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MSGR. GEORG RATZINGER WRITES A BOOK ABOUT HIS BROTHER

VATICAN CITY, 22 JUL 2011 (VIS) - Benedict XVI's elder brother Msgr. Georg Ratzinger, who until 1994 was director of the famous cathedral choir of Regensburg, has completed a book entitled "Mein Bruder, der Papst" (My Brother the Pope), written in collaboration with the German journalist Michael Hesemann.

  The 256-page volume, illustrated with forty photographs, contains the memories of the Holy Father's brother, as recounted to Hesemann in Regensburg earlier this year. It has been published by the German publishing house Herbig and will go on sale in bookshops on 12 September, the eve of Benedict XVI's visit to Germany.

  The culminating moment of the narrative is the sixtieth anniversary of the priestly ordination of Georg and Joseph Ratzinger. The two brothers were ordained in Freising on 29 June 1951 and this year celebrated their anniversary together in St. Peter's Basilica. The memories of Msgr. Ratzinger, the Holy Father's closest relative, go back to the brothers' childhood as he narrates, among other things, the flowering of Joseph's priestly vocation in the bosom of the family and his subsequent years of service to the Church before being elected to the Papacy.
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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, 22 JUL 2011 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

 - Appointed Archbishop Ivan Jurkovic, apostolic nuncio to the Russian Federation, also as apostolic nuncio to Uzbekistan.

 - Appointed Bishop Vincent Jordy, auxiliary of Strasbourg, France, as bishop of Saint-Claude (area 4,499, population 258,000, Catholics 183,000, priests 122, permanent deacons 15, religious 157), France.

 - Appointed Fr. Eduards Pavlovskis of the clergy of the archdiocese of Riga, Latvia, pastor of the parish of Christ the King, as bishop of Jelgava (area 13,620, population 329,724, Catholics 80,520, priests 27, religious 6), Latvia. The bishop-elect was born in Bresne, Latvia in 1950 and ordained a priest in 1975. He succeeds Bishop Antons Justs, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.
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STATISTICS FOR THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN SPAIN

VATICAN CITY, 29 OCT 2010 (VIS) - For the occasion of Benedict XVI's apostolic trip to the Spanish capital Madrid to preside at twenty-sixth World Youth Day, statistics have been published concerning the Catholic Church in that country. The information, updated to 31 December 2010, comes from the Central Statistical Office of the Church. The Pope's journey is due to take place from 18 to 21 August.

  Spain has a surface area of 505,992 square kilometres and a population of 46,073,000 of whom 42,470,000 (92.2 percent) are Catholic. There are 70 ecclesiastical circumscriptions and 22,890 parishes. Currently there are 126 bishops, 24,778 priests, 54,184 religious, 2,826 lay members of secular institutes and 99,581 catechists. Minor seminarians number 1,258 and major seminarians 1,866.

  A total of 1,461,899 students attend 5,535 centres of Catholic education, from kindergartens to universities. Other institutions belonging to the Church or run by priests or religious in Spain include 77 hospitals, 54 clinics, 1 leper colony, 803 homes for the elderly or disabled, 391 orphanages and nurseries, 293 family counselling centres and other pro-life centres, 3,323 centres for education and social rehabilitation, and 632 institutions of other kinds.
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