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    The Pope institutes the Secretariat for Communication   
    Vatican City, 27 June 2015 (VIS) - The following is the full text of the   
   apostolic letter in the form of a Motu Proprio by which the Holy Father has   
   instituted the Secretariat for Communication:   
    "The current communications context, characterised by the presence and   
   development of digital media, and by factors of convergence and interactivity,   
   requires a re-evaluation of the information system of the Holy See and   
   commitment to reorganisation that, taking into consideration what has developed   
   historically within the communication structures of the Apostolic See, proceeds   
   decisively towards integration and unified management.   
    For these reasons, I consider that all those bodies that have until now been   
   occupied in different ways with communication be brought together in a new   
   dicastery of the Roman Curia, which will be entitled Secretariat for   
   Communication. In this way the communication system of the Holy See will be   
   able   
   to respond better to the needs of the Church's mission.   
    Therefore, after having examined reports and studies, received the feasibility   
   study and heard the unanimous opinion of the Council of Cardinals, I hereby   
   institute the Secretariat for Communication and establish the following.   
    Art. 1   
    The following bodies will merge into the dicastery, as presented by the   
   Commission for Vatican Media instituted on 30 April 2015, at the established   
   times: Pontifical Council for Social Communications; Holy See Press Office,   
   Vatican Internet Service; Vatican Radio; Vatican Television Centre;   
   L'Osservatore Romano; Vatican Typography; Photographic Service; Vatican   
   Publishing House.   
    Art. 2   
    These bodies, from the date of publication of the present Motu Proprio, will   
   continue to carry out their activities, in accordance, however, with   
   indications   
   given by the Secretariat for Communication.   
    Art. 3   
    The new dicastery, in agreement with the Secretariat of State, will take on   
   the   
   institutional web site of the Holy See:   
   www.vatican.va and the Twitter service of the Supreme Pontiff: @pontifex Art. 4   
    The Secretariat for Communication will begin its functions on 29 June 2015,   
   and   
   will be based provisionally in Palazzo Pio, Piazza Pia 3, 00120 Vatican City.   
    I order that all that I have set forth in this Apostolic Letter issued Motu   
   Proprio is to be fully observed, anything to the contrary notwithstanding,   
   albeit deserving of special mention, and I hereby decree that it be promulgated   
   by publication in the daily newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, and subsequently in   
   the Acta Apostolicae Sedis.   
    Given in Rome, at St. Peter's, on 27 June of the year 2015, third of my   
   Pontificate".   
    The Holy Father, following the Apostolic Letter issued Motu Proprio, "The   
   current communications context" of 27 June 2015, by which he instituted the   
   Secretariat for Communication, appointed:   
    - Msgr. Dario Edoardo Vigano, director of the Vatican Television Centre, as   
   prefect of the Secretariat for Communication;   
    - Msgr. Lucio Adrian Ruiz, head of the Vatican Internet Service, as secretary;   
    - Paolo Nusiner, director general of Avvenire, Nuova Editoriale Italiana, as   
   director general; and   
    - Giacomo Ghisani, head of the Office for International Relations and Legal   
   Affairs of Vatican Radio and member of the managing board of the Vatican   
   Television Centre, as deputy director general.   
      
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    Francis receives a delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of   
   Constantinople   
    Vatican City, 27 June 2015 (VIS) - A delegation from the Ecumenical   
   Patriarchate of Constantinople is present in Rome for the customary visit on   
   the   
   Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, patrons of the Church of Rome, bearing   
   witness   
   to the profound relationship between the two Churches foreshadowed by the bond   
   uniting their respective patrons, the apostles Peter and Andrew, "brothers in   
   blood and faith, united in apostolic service and martyrdom", as Pope Francis   
   affirmed.   
    A Holy See delegation reciprocates every year with a visit to Istanbul, Turkey   
   on 30 November, St. Andrew's Day, and the Holy Father recalled the warm welcome   
   he received on this occasion last year from Patriarch Bartholomew and the   
   clergy   
   and faithful of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. "The ecumenical prayer on the   
   vigil   
   of the feast, and then the Divine Liturgy in the Patriarchal Church of Saint   
   George, offered us the possibility of together praising the Lord and asking him   
   with one voice for that day to draw nearer when full, visible communion between   
   Orthodox and Catholics may be re-established", he said.   
    "Attaining that goal, towards which we have set out together in trust,   
   represents one of my main concerns, for which I do not cease to pray to God",   
   he   
   added. "I hope, therefore, that opportunities may increase for meeting each   
   other, for exchange and cooperation among Catholic and Orthodox faithful, in   
   such a way that as we deepen our knowledge and esteem for one another, we may   
   be   
   able to overcome any prejudice and misunderstanding that may remain as a result   
   of our long separation. It is my desire that we may be able to face, in truth   
   but also with a fraternal spirit, the difficulties which still exist". In this   
   regard, Francis reiterated his support for the valuable work of the Joint   
   International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church   
   and the Orthodox Church, emphasising that the problems that may arise during   
   the   
   course of theological dialogue must not lead to discouragement or resignation.   
   "The careful examination of how in the Church the principle of synodality and   
   the service of the one who presides are articulated, will make a significant   
   contribution to the progress of relations between our Churches".   
    The Pope gave the assurance of his prayers and those of many Catholics for the   
   upcoming Pan-Orthodox Synod, and asked in turn for prayers for the Ordinary   
   Assembly of the Synod of Bishops of the Catholic Church dedicated to the   
   family,   
   to be held in the Vatican this coming October, "at which we are looking forward   
   also to the participation of a fraternal delegate from the Ecumenical   
   Patriarchate".   
      
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    Pope's video message on the eve of his trip to Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay   
    Vatican City, 27 June 2015 (VIS) - Yesterday afternoon Pope Francis sent a   
   video message, transmitted simultaneously in Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay, for   
   his upcoming apostolic trip to the three Latin American countries from 5 to 12   
   July. The following is the full text of the message:   
    "The trip is almost upon us. With this greeting I would like to express my   
   closeness, my cordiality, and my good will. My desire is to be with you, to   
   share your concerns, to show my affection and nearness and also to celebrate   
   with you.   
    I would like to be a witness to this joy of the Gospel and to bring the   
   tenderness and caress of God, our Father, especially to his children who are   
   most in need, to the elderly, the sick, the imprisoned, the poor, those who are   
   victims of this culture of waste. The Father's love, so merciful, enables us   
   without measure to discover the face of His Son Jesus in every brother and   
   every   
   sister of ours, in our neighbour. It is necessary only to be near, to make   
   ourselves neighbours. As Jesus said to that young doctor of the law when he   
   asked Him, who is my neighbour? Do as the good Samaritan did, go and do the   
   same, do not walk on by.   
    On this trip I will visit three sister nations in these lands of the American   
   continent. The faith we all share is a source of fraternity and solidarity: it   
   builds peoples, forms a family of families, fosters harmony and encourages the   
   desire for and commitment to peace.   
    In these days before our meeting, I thank God for you, and ask you to be   
   steadfast in your faith that carries the flame of love and charity, and to hold   
   fast to the hope that never disappoints. I ask you to join your prayers with   
   mine, so that the announcement of the Gospel reaches the most remote   
   peripheries, and that the values of the Kingdom of God may continue to be a   
   leaven for the earth in our days too.   
    May the Blessed Virgin, Mother of America, protect you, and may the Lord bless   
   you. Thank you, we will see each other soon, and please, do not forget to pray   
   for me".   
      
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    Cardinal Vlk, Pope's special envoy to the commemoration of Jan Hus   
    Vatican City, 27 June 2015 (VIS) - In a letter published today, written in   
   Latin and dated 9 April 2015, the Holy Father has appointed Cardinal Miloslav   
   Vlk, archbishop emeritus of Prague, Czech Republic, as his special envoy to the   
   commemoration of the 600th anniversary of the death of Jan Hus, to be held in   
   Prague on 5 and 6 July 2015.   
    The mission accompanying the cardinal will be composed of: Rev. Michael   
   Nimeeek, episcopal vicar for pastoral ministry, and Miroslav Simaeek,   
   archdeacon   
   of the parish of Usti. nadLabem and canon of the Chapter of the St. Stephen's   
   Cathedral, at Litomerice.   
      
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    The Catholic Church in Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay   
    Vatican City, 30 June 2015 (VIS) - As previously announced, the Pope will make   
   an apostolic trip to Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay from 5 to 12 July. The   
   following are some statistics regarding the presence of the Catholic Church in   
   the three countries:   
    Ecuador has a surface area of 283,561 square kilometres and 15,775,000   
   inhabitants of whom 13,978,000 are Catholics (87.4%). The Church consists of 25   
   ecclesiastical circumscriptions, 1,250 parishes and 4.369 pastoral centres,   
   with   
   52 bishops, 2,198 priests, 973 seminarians, 5,261 men and women religious and   
   49,489 catechists. The Church runs 1,469 schools and educational institutes at   
   all levels and 173 hospitals and clinics, 56 rest homes and 167 orphanages or   
   nurseries, 32 family support centres and 626 other social structures.   
    Bolivia has a surface area of 1,098,581 square kilometres and 11,280,000   
   inhabitants of whom 9,301,000 are Catholics (82.5%). The Church consists of 18   
   ecclesiastical circumscriptions, 600 parishes and 210 pastoral centres, with 38   
   bishops, 1,208 priests, 599 seminarians, 2,869 men and women religious, and   
   17,768 catechists. The Church runs 1,791 schools and educational institutes at   
   all levels and 183 hospitals and clinics, 48 rest homes and 186 orphanages and   
   nurseries, 49 family support centres and 293 other social structures.   
    Paraguay has a surface area of 406,752 square kilometres and 6,783,000   
   inhabitants of whom 6,318,000 are Catholics (93.2%). The Church consists of 15   
   ecclesiastical circumscriptions, 372 parishes and 1,451 pastoral centres, with   
   23 bishops, 804 priests, 684 seminarians, 180 men and women religious, and   
   53,738 catechists. The Church runs 684 schools and teaching institutes at all   
   levels and 38 hospitals and clinics, 14 rest homes and 26 orphanages and   
   nurseries, 56 family support centres, and 46 other social structures.   
      
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    Audiences   
    Vatican City, 30 June 2015 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father received in audience   
   Jean-Claude Michel, ambassador of the Principality of Monaco, on his farewell   
   visit.   
    On Saturday 27 June the Holy Father received in audience Cardinal Marc   
   Ouellet,   
   P.S.S., prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.   
    In the afternoon of Friday 26 June, the Holy Father received in audience   
   Archbishop Blase J. Cupich of Chicago, U.S.A.   
    In the afternoon of Thursday 25 June the Holy Father received in audience:   
    - Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, prefect of the Congregation for the Institutes   
   of   
   Consecrated Life and the Societies of Apostolic Life, accompanied by the   
   secretary of the same dicastery, Archbishop Jose Rodriguez Carballo;   
    - Archbishop Eduardo Eliseo Martin of Rosario, Argentina;   
    - Bishop Gustavo Oscar Zanchetta of Oran, Argentina.   
      
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    Other Pontifical Acts   
    Vatican City, 30 June 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father has accepted the   
   resignation   
   from the office of auxiliary of the diocese of Lausanne, Geneve et Fribourg,   
   presented by Bishop Pierre Farine, upon reaching the age limit.   
    On Saturday 27 June, the Holy Father appointed the following members of the   
   Congregation for the Oriental Churches: Cardinal Peter Erdo, archbishop of   
   Esztergom-Budapest, Hungary; Cardinal Thomas Christopher Collins, archbishop of   
   Toronto, Canada; Cardinal Ricardo Blazquez Perez, archbishop of Valladolid,   
   Spain; Archbishop Menghesteab Tesfamariam of Asmara, Eritrea; and Archbishop   
   Fulop Kocsis of Hajdugorog for Catholics of Byzantine Rite, Hungary.   
      
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   For more information and to search for documents refer to the site:   
   www.visnews.org and www.vatican.va   
      
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