between Jesus and various Pharisees. We run the risk, he states, of considering   
   ourselves to be better than others for the mere fact of following rules and   
   customs, even if we love our neighbour. The literal fulfilment of precepts is   
   fruitless if it does not change our heart and does not translate into concrete   
   acts: opening ourselves up to the encounter with God and His Word, seeking   
   justice and peace, and assisting the poor, the weak and the oppressed".   
    After reciting the Angelus prayer, the Pope mentioned that yesterday in   
   Harissa, Lebanon, the Syro-Catholic bishop Flaviano Michele Melki, martyred   
   during a terrible persecution of Christians, was declared blessed. "Today too,   
   in the Middle East and in other parts of the world, Christians are persecuted.   
   May the beatification of this bishop martyr instil in them comfort, courage and   
   hope".   
    Finally, he denounced the tragic humanitarian crisis of migrants, many of whom   
   recently lost their lives in Austria and in the Mediterranean, and he   
   underlined   
   the need to prevent these crimes, an affront to the entire human family.   
    LETTERS, MESSAGES AND TELEGRAMS   
    4. Publication of the letter, written in Latin and dated 21 May, in which the   
   Holy Father appoints Cardinal Raul Eduardo Vela Chiriboga, archbishop emeritus   
   of Quito, Ecuador, as his special envoy in the Tenth National Eucharistic   
   Congress of Peru (Piura, 13-16 August).   
    6. Publication of the Pope's letter to Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro   
   Parolin, dated 25 July, in which the latter is appointed as papal legate to the   
   celebration of the fifth centenary of the evangelisation of the Democratic   
   Republic of East Timor (15 August).   
    The Holy Father writes to Bishop Maroun Lahham, auxiliary of Jerusalem of the   
   Latins and patriarchal vicar for Jordan, on the situation faced by refugees   
   from   
   these countries.   
    7. Publication of the letter, dated 2 June, in which Pope Francis appoints   
   Cardinal Paul Poupard, president emeritus of the Pontifical Council for   
   Culture,   
   as his special envoy to the celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the   
   founding of the Cathedral of Strasbourg, France (15 August).   
    8. Publication of the letter, dated 20 May, in which the Holy Father appoints   
   Cardinal Josip Bozanic, archbishop of Zagreb, Croatia, as his special envoy to   
   the celebration of the third centenary of the Shrine of Our Lady of Miracles   
   held in Sinj, Croatia (15 August).   
    10. Message to Cardinal Ricardo Blazquez Perez, archbishop of Vallidolid,   
   Spain, and president of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, for the European   
   Youth   
   Meeting (Avila, 5-9 August) on the theme "In troubled times, strong friends of   
   God", commemorating the fifth centenary of the birth of St. Teresa of Avila.   
    With a letter to Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, president of the   
   Pontifical Council "Justice and Peace", and Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of   
   the   
   Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, the Pope institutes the World   
   Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation.   
    18. Telegram of condolences to Cardinal Peter Erdo, archbishop of   
   Esztergom-Budapest, Hungary, for the death on 17 August of Cardinal Laszlo   
   Paskai, O.F.M. Cap., archbishop emeritus of the same archdiocese.   
    19. Message to Brother Alois and the Taize Community for the 75th anniversary   
   of the founding of the Community on 20 August, in the year of the centenary of   
   the birth of founder Brother Roger Schutz and the tenth anniversary of his   
   death.   
    Message to Bishop Francesco Lambiasi of Rimini for the 36th Meeting for   
   friendship between peoples, held in Rimini from 20 to 26 August.   
    20. Telegram from Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, on behalf of the   
   Holy Father, to His Majesty Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand, following the   
   terrorist attacks on the Hindu Erawan shrine and the Sathorn district of   
   Bangkok.   
    22. Publication of the letter, dated 25 July, in which the Holy Father   
   designates Cardinal Angelo Scola, archbishop of Milan, as his special envoy to   
   the Mass in Bobbio, Italy on 30 August for the 18th International Meeting of   
   Columbanian Communities, on the 1400th anniversary of the death of St.   
   Columbanus.   
    23. Message to Bishop Pier Giorgio Debernardi of Pinerolo, Italy, on the   
   occasion of the Synod of the Methodist and Waldensian Churches, in Torre   
   Pellice, Italy, from 23 to 28 August.   
    29. Publication of the letter dated 11 July in which the Holy Father appoints   
   Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz Ossa, archbishop emeritus of Santiago del   
   Chile, Chile, as his special envoy to the Sixth National Eucharistic Conference   
   of Mexico (Monterrey, 9-13 September).   
    OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS   
    1: The Holy Father appoints Msgr. Alberto Ortega as apostolic nuncio in Jordan   
   and Iraq, at the same time elevating him to the dignity of archbishop.   
    He also appoints Professor Alfredo Pontecorvi director of the Department of   
   Health and Hygiene of the Governorate of Vatican City State. The new director   
   is   
   professor of Endocrinology and director of the School of Specialisation in   
   Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases at the Agostino Gemelli Teaching Hospital.   
    4. Bishop Fernando Jose Castro Aguayo, auxiliary of Caracas, Venezuela, is   
   appointed as bishop of Margarita in Venezuela.   
    6. The Pope accepts the resignation of Bishop Joseph Kunnath, C.M.I., from the   
   pastoral care of the eparchy of Adilabad of the Syro-Malabars, India. Bishop   
   Kunnath is succeeded by Fr. Anthony Prince Panengaden, former protosyncellus   
   and   
   parish priest in the same eparchy.   
    He erects the apostolic exarchate for the Syro-Malabars in Canada and appoints   
   Fr. Jose Kalluvelil as the first exarch, elevating him to the dignity of   
   bishop.   
    8. Appointment of Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois, archbishop of Paris, France, as   
   the Holy Father's special envoy to the consecration of the new cathedral of the   
   diocese of Creteil, France, to be held on 20 September 2015.   
    The Pope appoints Professor Fabrizio Soccorsi, former head physician of   
   hepatology at San Camillo Hospital, Rome, as his personal doctor.   
    10. The Holy Father appoints Fr. Juan Carlos Bravo Salazar, parish priest of   
   Nuestra Senora de Belen en Guasipati, as bishop of Acarigua-Araure, Venezuela.   
    Cardinal Sean Patrick O'Malley, O.F.M. Cap., archbishop of Boston, U.S.A., is   
   appointed as the Holy Father's special envoy to the ceremony for the 450th   
   anniversary of the first founding mass of the city of St. Augustine, Florida,   
   U.S.A.   
    14. The Holy Father appoints Fr. Paolo Bizzetti, S.J., as apostolic vicar in   
   Anatolia, Turkey, elevating him to episcopal rank. The new apostolic vicar was   
   formerly rector of the Patavina Residentia Antonianum.   
    15. The Pope appoints Bishop Michael Didi Adgum of El Obeid, Sudan, as   
   coadjutor archbishop of Jartum, Sudan, and apostolic administrator of El Obeid.   
    22. Cardinal Daniel Fernando Sturla Berhouet, S.D.B., archbishop of   
   Montevideo,   
   Uruguay, is appointed as the Holy Father's special envoy to the Fifth   
   Eucharistic Congress of Bolivia (Traija, 16-20 September).   
    The Pope appoints Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes, president emeritus of the   
   Pontifical Council "Cor Unum" as his special envoy to the concluding ceremony   
   of   
   the First National Eucharistic Congress of the Czech Republic (Brno, 17   
   October).   
    24. The Holy Father accepts the resignation presented by Bishop Gilberto Delio   
   Goncalves Canavarro dos Reis from the pastoral ministry of the diocese of   
   Setubal, Portugal, upon reaching the age limit, and appoints Fr. Jose Ornelas   
   Carvalho, S.C.I., superior general of the Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus   
   (Dehonians) as the new bishop of Setubal.   
    26. The Holy Father extended the eparchy of Mandya of the Syro-Malabars,   
   India,   
   to include the six civil districts around Bangalore in which Syro-Malabar   
   faithful are resident: Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, Chickballapur, Kolar,   
   Ramnagara and Tumkur.   
    The Pope gave his assent to the election by the Synod of the Syro-Malabar   
   Major   
   Archiepiscopal Church of Fr. Antony Kariyil C.M.I., former director of the   
   Rajagiri School of Engineering and Technology, Cochin, India, as eparchal vicar   
   of Mandya of the Syro-Malabars.   
    28. Appointment of Fr. Jean-Pierre Cottanceau, S.S.C.C., as apostolic   
   administrator of the archdiocese of Papeete, French Polynesia.   
    AUDIENCES   
    5. Audience with the ambassador of Nigeria, Francis Chukwuemeka Okeke, on his   
   farewell visit.   
    7. The Pope receives in the Paul VI Hall the members of the Eucharistic Youth   
   Movement.   
    8. Audience with Cardinal Angelo Amato S.D.B., prefect of the Congregation for   
   the Causes of Saints, during which Pope Francis authorises the promulgation of   
   the decree regarding the martyrdom of Servant of God Flaviano Miguel Melki,   
   born   
   in 1858 in Kalaat Mara, present-day Turkey, and bishop of Gazireth of the   
   Syrians, killed in hatred of the faith in Gazireth, present-day Turkey, in   
   1915.   
    12. Audience with the ambassador of Hungary, Gabor Gyorivanyi, on his farewell   
   visit.   
    29. Audience with Cardinal Marc Ouellet, P.S.S., prefect of the Congregation   
   for Bishops.   
    31. The Pope receives in separate audiences:   
    - Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti, archbishop of Perugia-Citta della Pieve, Italy;   
    - Cardinal Giuseppe Betori, archbishop of Florence, Italy;   
    - Archbishop Piero Pioppo, apostolic nuncio in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea;   
    - Archbishop Rino Passigato, apostolic nuncio in Portugal;   
    - Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, apostolic nuncio in Colombia;   
    - Archbishop Giacinto Berloco, apostolic nuncio in Belgium and Luxembourg;   
    - Fr. Pascal Burri, chaplain of the Swiss Guard Corps, on his farewell visit.   
    OTHER ACTIVITIES OF THE HOLY FATHER   
    4. The Pope meets with several thousand altar servers from more than twenty   
   countries, participating in an international pilgrimage to Rome on the theme   
   "Here I am! Send me".   
    11. The Pontifical Council "Justice and Peace" makes public the theme chosen   
   by   
   the Holy Father for the 49th World Day of Peace (1 January 2016): "Overcome   
   indifference and win peace".   
    20. The Holy Father chooses the theme for the 102nd World Day of Migrants and   
   Refugees (17 January 2016): "Migrants and refugees challenge us. The response   
   of   
   the Gospel of Mercy".   
    OTHER NEWS   
    14. The Holy See and the Democratic Republic of East Timor sign an agreement   
   defining the legal status of the Catholic Church and regulating various matters   
   including Catholic marriage, places of worship, religious education.   
    28. Press release regarding the raising of flags of Observer States in the   
   central headquarters and offices of the United Nations.   
    28. The Holy See Press Office issues a communique on the death at home, by   
   natural causes, of Msgr. Josef Wesolowski, former apostolic nuncio. 29. The   
   Holy   
   See Press Office announces that, following the death of former nuncio Josef   
   Wesolowski in the evening of 27 August, the Office of the Promoter of Justice,   
   in the fulfilment of its required functions, has ordered that a post-mortem   
   examination take place, and has appointed a commission of three experts to   
   perform the task, coordinated by the Giovanni Arcudi, professor of forensic   
   medicine. The first conclusions of the autopsy, carried out in the afternoon of   
   28 August, confirm the natural cause of death, due to cardiac failure. In the   
   forthcoming days, the Office of the Promoter of Justice will obtain the results   
   of the laboratory tests performed by the Commission.   
    30. Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin sends a letter on behalf of the   
   Holy Father to Bishop Gianni Ambrosio of Piacenza-Bobbio, Italy, on the   
   occasion   
   of the 18th International Meeting of the Columbanian Communities on the 1400th   
   anniversary of the death of St. Columbanus.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
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