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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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