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                             Vatican Information Service.   
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                                  VIS-Press releases   
      
   PREPARATORY MEETING FOR APOSTOLIC VISITATION TO IRELAND   
      
   VATICAN CITY, 7 OCT 2010 (VIS) - At midday today the Holy See Press Office   
   published the following English-language communique:   
      
   "On 5 October the prefect and the secretary of the Congregation for Bishops and   
   representatives from the Holy See held a preparatory meeting in Rome with the   
   apostolic visitators named by the Holy Father for the Apostolic Visitation to   
   the four metropolitan archdioceses of Ireland: Cardinal Cormac Murphy-   
   O'Connor, archbishop emeritus of Westminster, England; Cardinal Sean P.   
   O'Malley O.F.M. Cap., archbishop of Boston, U.S.A.; Archbishop Thomas C.   
   Collins of Toronto, Canada, and Archbishop Terrence T. Prendergast S.J. of   
   Ottawa, Canada.   
      
   "Mindful of the tragic abuse of children that has taken place in Ireland, the   
   participants discussed the particular aspects of this important Visitation.   
   Pastoral in nature, the Visitation 'is intended to assist the local Church on   
   her path of renewal' and is a sign of the Holy Father's desire, as the   
   Successor of Peter, to offer his pastoral solicitude to the Church in Ireland.   
   The visitators will give particular attention to victims of abuse and their   
   families, but will also meet with and listen to a variety of people, including   
   ecclesiastical authorities, lay faithful and those involved with the crucial   
   work of safeguarding of children.   
      
   "On 6 October, as had been previously planned, Cardinal Sean B. Brady,   
   archbishop of Armagh, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin, Archbishop Dermot   
   Clifford of Cashel and Emly, and Archbishop Michael Neary of Tuam, celebrated   
   the Mass of the Holy Spirit together with the visitators and superiors from the   
   Congregation for Bishops and the Secretariat of State. The meeting that   
   followed, marked by fraternal warmth and mutual collaboration, summarised the   
   discussions from the previous day and focused on the organisation of the   
   Apostolic Visitation and the archdioceses involved.   
      
   "All participants are hopeful that this significant endeavour will be an   
   instrument of purification and healing for the Church in Ireland and help to   
   restore the trust and hope of the faithful there".   
   OP/VIS 20101007 (340)   
      
   SUMMARY   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS =Meridian, MS= bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)