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    PONTIFICAL COMMISSION FOR THE PROTECTION OF MINORS: THE BEST INTERESTS OF A   
   CHILD OR VULNERABLE ADULT ARE PRIMARY IN ANY DECISION   
    Vatican City, 3 May 2014 (VIS) - The members of the Pontifical Commission for   
   the Protection of Minors held their inaugural meeting from 1-3 May at the   
   Domus Sanctae Marthae. As was previously announced, the purpose of the meeting   
   was to make recommendations to the Holy Father regarding the Commission's   
   functions and to propose additional members from different parts of the world.   
   The members who took part in the meeting are Catherine Bonnet, France; Marie   
   Collins, Ireland; Sheila Baroness Hollins, United Kingdom; Cardinal Sean   
   Patrick O'Malley O.F.M. Cap., United States; Claudio Papale, Italy; Hanna   
   Suchocka, Poland; Humberto Miguel Yanez, S.J., Argentina; and Hans Zollner,   
   S.J., Germany.   
    At the end of the meeting, during a briefing at the Holy See Press Office,   
   the following statement was issued on behalf of the Commission:   
    "As we begin our service together, we wish to express our heartfelt   
   solidarity with all victims/survivors of sexual abuse as children and   
   vulnerable adults and to share that, from the very beginning of our work, we   
   have adopted the principle that the best interests of a child or vulnerable   
   adult are primary when any decision is made.   
    During our meetings, each of us has been able to share our thoughts,   
   experiences, and our aspirations for this Pontifical Commission. Responding to   
   our Holy Father's requests, these discussions focused on the Commission's   
   nature and purpose and on expanding the membership to include people from   
   other geographical areas and other areas of expertise. Our conversations   
   included many proposals for ways in which the Commission might collaborate   
   with experts from different areas related to safeguarding minors and   
   vulnerable adults. We also met with some people from the Roman Curia regarding   
   areas for future cooperation, including representatives from the Secretariat   
   of State, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Congregation for   
   the Clergy, the Vatican Press Office, and the Vatican Gendarmerie.   
    As an advisory commission to the Holy Father, the fruit of our work will be   
   communicated to Pope Francis. In time, we will propose initiatives to   
   encourage local responsibility around the world and the mutual sharing of   
   "best practices" for the protection of all minors, including programs for   
   training, education, formation, and responses to abuse. We have also shared   
   with Pope Francis how important certain areas are to us in our future work. We   
   see ensuring accountability in the Church as especially important, including   
   developing means for effective and transparent protocols and processes.   
    We will propose Statutes to the Holy Father to express more precisely the   
   Commission's nature, structure, activity, and the goals. It is clear, for   
   example, that the Commission will not deal with individual cases of abuse, but   
   we can make recommendations regarding policies for assuring accountability and   
   best practice. In the Statutes, we plan to make specific proposals regarding   
   the importance of emphasizing ways for raising the awareness of all people   
   regarding the tragic consequences of sexual abuse and of the devastating   
   consequences of not listening, not reporting suspicion of abuse, and failing   
   to support victims/survivors and their families.   
    As the Catholic people make our parishes, schools, and institutions safe for   
   all children, we join with people of good will in our endeavour to ensure that   
   children and vulnerable adults are protected from abuse. We request the   
   prayers of all who wish to support the work of the Commission".   
      
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    INFORMATIVE NOTE ON THE MEETING OF THE COUNCIL FOR THE ECONOMY   
    Vatican City, 3 May 2014 (VIS) - The Council for the Economy, established by   
   the Holy Father by the Motu proprio "Fidelis et dispensator prudens" of 24   
   February, held its first meeting on Friday, 2 May. It took place in the Sala   
   Bologna of the Apostolic Palace, during the morning and afternoon, and   
   finished at 6 p.m. The sessions were chaired by Cardinal Coordinator of the   
   Council, Reinhard Marx, and in addition to the fifteen members, were also   
   attended by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, Cardinal George Pell,   
   President of the Secretariat for the Economy, and the Prelate Secretary of the   
   Council, Msgr. Brian Ferme.   
    The Holy Father received the Council and addressed a brief but important   
   discourse to its members on Friday morning. The text of his discourse and a   
   summary in Italian of Cardinal Marx's address to the Pope have already been   
   published (Osservatore Romano, 2-3 May, p.8).   
    As both the Holy Father and the Cardinal Coordinator were keen to emphasise   
   in their discourses, the clerical and lay members of the Council are on the   
   same level, with equal rights and responsibilities. This was made clear during   
   the meeting itself by the fact that clergy and laypersons were seated in   
   alternate positions at the table, rather than in two separate groups.   
    The work of the Council, which took place in a positive and constructive   
   context, focused first on the draft Statutes of the Council itself, an   
   examination of which will be continued at the next meeting so that they can be   
   submitted for approval by the Holy Father. The work carried out by the   
   Commission for the organisation of the economic-administrative structure of   
   the Holy See (COSEA, instituted by the Holy Father on 18 July 2013) was   
   presented to the Council. The information and continuity of the work are   
   guaranteed by the fact that the President and two other members of COSEA are   
   now members of the Council for the Economy.   
    The next meeting has been scheduled for 5 July. Two more meetings are planned   
   to take place during the course of this year, one in September and one in   
   December.   
      
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    90TH DAY FOR THE CATHOLIC SACRED HEART UNIVERSITY   
    Vatican City, 3 May 2014 (VIS) - Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin   
   has sent a letter to Cardinal Angelo Scola, president of the G. Toniolo   
   Institute of Higher Education to commemorate the 90 th day of the Catholic   
   Sacred Heart University which was celebrated on 4 May, with the theme "with   
   the young, protagonists of the future".   
    In his letter, Parolin emphasises that this year's theme "expresses well the   
   closeness of the Athenaeum to the world of youth, and its commitment to   
   offering students the necessary tools for answering to their vocation and to   
   the demands of a qualifed professional formation". On behalf of the Holy   
   Father, the cardinal encouraged the Catholic Sacred Heart University to   
   continue to be a living and effective witness to the Church's commitment   
   towards the new generations", and urges its members to "collaborate for the   
   growth and strengthening" of this university. The Pope entrusted the Athenaeum   
   to the celestial protection of the Mother of God "Sedes Sapientiae", and asked   
   for prayers for him and for his service to the Church.   
      
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    AUDIENCES   
    Vatican City, 5 May 2014 (VIS) - Today the Holy Father received in audience:   
    - Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne, archbishop of Lima, Peru.   
    - Archbishop Marek Solczynski, apostolic nuncio in Georgia, Armenia and   
   Azerbaijan.   
    - Ten prelates of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Burundi, on their "ad   
   limina" visit:   
    Archbishop Simon Ntamwana of Gitenga;   
    Bishop Joachim Ntahondereye of Muyinga;   
    Bishop Gervais Banshimiyubusa of Ngozi, with Bishop emeritus Stanislas   
   Kaburungu;   
    Bishop Bonaventure Nahimana of Rutana;   
    Bishop Blaise Nzeyimana of Ruyigi;   
    Archbishop Evariste Ngoyagoye of Bujumbura;   
    Bishop Jean Ntagwarara of Bubanza, with his coadjutor Bishop Georges Bizimana;   
    Bishop Vanant Bacinoni of Bururi.   
    - Cardinal Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino, archbishop of San Cristobal de La   
   Habana, Cuba.   
    On Saturday, 3 May the Holy Father received in audience:   
    - Cardinal Reinhard Marx, archbishop of Munchen und Freising, Federal   
   Republic of Germany, coordinator of the Council for the Economy.   
    - Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.   
    - Fourteen prelates from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Sri Lanka on   
   their "ad limina" visit:   
    Cardinal Albert Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige Don, archbishop of Colombo, with   
   his auxiliaries, Bishop Fidelis Lionel Emmanuel Fernando and Bishop   
   Sampathawaduge Maxwell Grenville Silva;   
    Bishop Norbert Marshall Andradi of Anuradhapura;   
    Bishop Julian Winston Sebastian Fernando of Badulla;   
    Bishop Joseph Ponniah of Batticaloa;   
    Bishop Warnakulasurya Wadumestrige Devsritha Valence Mendis of Chilaw;   
    Bishop Raymond Kingsley Wickramasinghe of Galle;   
    Bishop Thomas Savundaranayagam Emmanuel of Jaffna;   
    Bishop Joseph Vianney Fernando of Kandy;   
    Bishop Harold Anthony Perera of Kurunegala;   
    Bishop Rayappu Joseph of Mannar;   
    Bishop Cletus Chandrasiri Perera of Ratnapura;   
    Bishop Joseph Kingsley Swampillai of Trincomalee.   
      
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    OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS   
    Vatican City, 5 May 2014 (VIS) - Today the Holy Father appointed Msgr.   
   Francesco Oliva as bishop of Locri-Gerace (area 1,248, population 133,000,   
   Catholics 122,000, priests 99, permanent deacons 7, religious 144), Italy. The   
   bishop-elect was born in Avena di Papasidero, Italy in 1951 and was ordained a   
   priest in 1976. He holds a doctorate in Utroque Jure from the Pontifical   
   Lateran University, as well as an archivist's diploma from the Vatican Secret   
   Archive and a degree in pedagogy from the LUMSA (Libera Universita Maria   
   Santissima Assunta), and is a lawyer of the Roman Rota. He has served in a   
   number of pastoral, administrative and academic roles, including vicar in the   
   parishes of Santa Gemma Galgani in Rome and Santa Maria del Piano in   
   Verbicaro, canon of the Cathedral chapter of Cassano dell'Jonio; defender of   
   the bond and subsequently ecclesiastical judge at the regional ecclesiastical   
   tribunal of Calabria; pro-rector of the diocesan seminary; spiritual father of   
   the diocesan seminary; president of the diocesan institute for the support of   
   the clergy; priest of the parish of San Girolamo a Castrovillari; lecturer in   
   canon law at the Catanzaro theological institute; visiting lecturer at the   
   "Magna Grecia" University of Catanzaro; visiting lecturer at the "Pastor   
   Bonus" institute of Dipodi; judicial vicar of the diocese of Cassano   
   all'Jonio; vicar forane of Castrovillari; vicar general of Cassano all'Jonio;   
   and diocesan administrator of the same diocese. He is currently vicar general   
   of Cassano dell'Jonio. He was named prelate of honour by his Holiness in 2008.   
    On Saturday, 3 May, the Holy Father:   
    - accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the eparchy of St.   
   Thomas the Apostle of Detroit of the Chaldeans, (Catholics 105,500, priests   
   22, permanent deacons 150, religious 1), U.S.A., presented by Bishop Ibrahim   
   Namo Ibrahim. He is succeeded by Fr. Frank Kalabat, who was born in Kuwait in   
   1970 and ordained a priest in 1995. The bishop-elect has served as deputy   
   priest in of the "Mother of God in Southfield" church in Michigan, and is   
   currently priest of the parish of "St. Thomas" in Detroit and director of the   
   Eparchial Centre for Vocations.   
    - accepted the resignation from the pastoral governance of the eparchy of Mar   
   Addai of Toronto of the Chaldeans (Catholics 18,668, priests 7, permanent   
   deacons 40) presented by Bishop Hanna Zora, and appointed Fr. Daoud Baffro as   
   apostolic administrator "sede vacante ed at nutum Sanctae Sedis" of the same   
   eparchy.   
    - appointed Archbishop Martin Krebs, apostolic nuncio in New Zealand, Cook   
   Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Palau, Samoa, Federated States of Micronesia, Tonga,   
   Vanuatu, and apostolic delegate in the Pacific Ocean, as apostolic nuncio in   
   the Marshall Islands.   
      
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   For more information and to search for documents refer to the site:   
   www.visnews.org and www.vatican.va   
      
   Copyright (VIS):  the news contained in the services of the Vatican   
   Information Service may be reproduced wholly or partially quoting the   
   source:  V. I. S. - Vatican Information Service.   
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   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)