By the Instruction of 23 February 1967, the Congregation for the Doctrine of
the Faith, on behalf of Blessed Pope Paul VI, had asked the Episcopal
Conferences to institute an internal Doctrinal Commission, as a advisory organ
for the same Episcopal Conferences and for the individual bishops in their
concern for matters of doctrine of the faith.
 To strengthen collaboration between the Congregation for the Doctrine of the
Faith and the Doctrinal Commissions, in 1982 it was decided to periodically
gather together the presidents of the aforementioned Commissions at a
continental level. One of the original characteristics of these meetings was
the fact that the superiors of the Congregation travel to the various
continents, thus underlining the importance of local and regional issues and
their responsibility in facing doctrinal questions. The first of these
meetings, during the prefecture of the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, took
place in Latin America, in Bogota, (1984); it was followed by meetings in
Kinshasa, Africa (1987); Vienna, Europa (1989); Hong Kong, Asia (1993);
Guadalajara, Latin America (1996); and San Francisco, North America (1999).
During the prefecture of Cardinal William Levada another encounter took place
in Dar es Salaam (2009).
 Now, Cardinal Peter Erdo, archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest and president of
the Council of Episcopal Conferences of Europe (CCEE), has accepted the
request made by Cardinal Gerhard L. Muller, prefect of the Congregation for
the Doctrine of the Faith for a new meeting with the presidents of the
European Doctrinal Commissions in Esztergom. Such an encounter demonstrates
the will on the part of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to
support the local episcopates - as Pope Francis emphasises - in their
commitment to the promotion and protection of the doctrine of the faith,
taking into consideration the specific challenges to be faced in Europe today.

___________________________________________________________

 Note on security in the Vatican
 Vatican City, 12 January 2014 (VIS) - The director of the Holy See Press
Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., gave the following declaration to
journalists today:
 "Contrary to the claims made by some organs of the media, the Holy See has
not been informed of specific risks by the security services of other
Countries.
 The Holy See maintains its usual, appropriate contacts with the security
services, and in view of the current situation advises a reasonable level of
attention and prudence, but concrete and specific risks have not been
indicated.
 There is therefore no reason to arouse concerns that may needlessly affect
both those who live and work in the Vatican and the many pilgrims and tourists
who visit on a daily basis".

___________________________________________________________

 Audiences
 Vatican City, 10 January 2014 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father received in
audience Cardinal Marc Ouellet, P.S.S., prefect of the Congregation for
Bishops.

___________________________________________________________

 Other Pontifical Acts
 Vatican City, 12 January 2014 (VIS) - The Holy Father has appointed:
 - Fr. Fernand J. Cheri, O.F.M., as auxiliary of the archdiocese of New
Orleans (area 10,898, population 1,238,228, Catholics 520,056, priests 352,
permanent deacons 211, religious 664), U.S.A. The bishop-elect was born in New
Orleans in 1952, was ordained a priest in 1978 and gave his solemn vows in
1996. He holds a master's degree in theology from Xavier University, New
Orleans, and has served in a number of pastoral roles, including administrator
of the "St. Joseph the Worker" parish; parish priest of the "St. Francis de
Sales" parish, New Orleans; administrator of the "St. Theresa of the Child
Jesus" parish, New Orleans; chaplain and teacher at the "Hales Franciscan High
School", Chicago; parish priest of the "St. Vincent de Paul" parish,
Nashville; teacher at the Althoff Catholic High School, Belleville; director
of the O.F.M. Office of Friar Life, vocation minister of the O.F.M. Vocation
Office and deputy director of the university chaplaincy of Xavier University,
New Orleans. He is currently director of campus ministry at Quincy University,
Quincy.
 - Msgr. Janusz Urbanczyk, nunciature counsellor at the Holy See Permanent
Mission at the United Nations, New York, as Holy See Permanent Representative
at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Organisation for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the Preparatory Commission for
the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO), and as Holy
See Permanent Observer at the United Nations Industrial Development
Organisation (UNIDO) and at the United Nations in Vienna.
 On Saturday, 10 January, the Holy Father appointed:
 - Bishop Juan Barros Madrid, military ordinary for Chile, as bishop of Osorno
(area 9,236, population 241,000, Catholics 125,000, priests 204, permanent
deacons 23, religious 97), Chile.
 - Msgr. Nicolo Anselmi as auxiliary of the metropolitan archdiocese of Genoa
(area 966, population 812,246, Catholics 690,409, priests 553, permanent
deacons 31, religious 1,402), Italy. The bishop-elect was born in Genoa, Italy
in 1961 and was ordained a priest in 1992. He holds a bachelor's degree in
theology from the theological faculty of Genoa and has served in a number of
pastoral and administrative roles, including parish vicar of the "Santi Pietro
e Bernardo alla Foce" parish in Genoa, head of the youth pastoral service for
the archdiocese of Genoa, regional head of youth pastoral care for the Liguria
Episcopal Conference, administrator of the parish of "San Giovanni Bosco della
Rimessa", lecturer at the major seminary of Genoa and head of the national
youth pastoral service. He is currently episcopal vicar for university, youth
and sport pastoral ministry; director of the office for youth pastoral
ministry; provost of the parish-basilica of Santa Maria delle Vigne; member of
the presbyteral council and member of the college of consultors. In 2012 he
was named Chaplain of His Holiness.
 - Bishop Guglielmo Borghetti of Pitigliano-Sovana-Orbetello, Italy, as
coadjutor bishop of the diocese of Albenga-Imperia (area 979, population
170,010, Catholics 157,000, priests 181, permanent deacons 22, religious 388),
Italy.
 - Archbishop Eugene Martin Nugent as apostolic nuncio in Haiti. Archbishop
Nugent was formerly apostolic nuncio in Madagascar, Mauritius and the
Seychelles, and apostolic delegate in the Cormoros Islands, with the function
of apostolic delegate in La Reunion, France.

___________________________________________________________

 In Memoriam
 Vatican City, 12 January 2014 (VIS) - The following prelates died in recent
months:
 - Bishop Sofron Stefan Wasyl Mudry, O.S.B.M., emeritus of Ivano-Frankivsk,
Ukraine, on 31 October 2014 at the age of 90.
 - Bishop Alberto Johannes Först, O. Carm. emeritus of Dourados, Mato Grosso
do Sul, Brazil, on 1 November 2014 at the age of 87.
 - Archbishop James Mwewa Spaita, emeritus of Kasama, Zambia, on 4 November
2014 at the age of 80.
 - Archbishop Juan Antonio Flores Santana, emeritus of Santiago de los
Caballeros, Dominican Republic, on 9 November 2014 at the age of 87.
 - Bishop Caetano Antonio Lima dos Santos, O.F.M. Cap., emeritus of Ilheus,
Bahia, Brazil, on 11 November 2014 at the age of 98.
 - Bishop Henri Marie Raoul Brincard, C.R.S.A, of Le Puy-en-Velay, France, on
14 November 2014 at the age of 74.
 - Bishop Javier Azagra Labiano, emeritus of Cartagena, Spain, on 16 November
2014 at the age of 91.
 - Bishop Jeremiah Joseph Coffey, emeritus of Sale, Australia, on 19 November
2014 at the age of 81.
 - Bishop Leonard James Olivier, S.V.D, auxiliary emeritus of Washington,
U.S.A., on 19 November 2014 at the age of 91.
 - Bishop Sebelio Peralta Alvarez, of San Lorenzo, Paraguay, on 19 November
2014 at the age of 75.
 -Cardinal Fiorenzo Angelini, president emeritus of the Pontifical Council for
the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers (for Health Care Pastoral), on 22
November 2014 at the age of 98.
 - Bishop Joseph Francis Maguire, emeritus of Springfield, U.S.A., on 23
November 2014 at the age of 95.
 - Archbishop Joseph Thomas Dimino, military ordinary emeritus of the U.S.A.,
on 25 November 2014 at the age of 91.
 - Bishop Alfredo Ernest Novak, C.SS.R. emeritus of Paranagua, Brazil, on 3
December 2014, at the age of 84.
 - Bishop Patrick Edward O'Connor, emeritus of Tokelau, New Zealand, on 3
December 2014, at the age of 82.
 - Cardinal Jorge Maria Mejia, archivist and librarian emeritus of the Holy
Roman Church, on 9 December 2014 at the age of 91.
 - Bishop Georges Lagrange, emeritus of Gap, France, on 11 December 2014 at
the age of 85.
 - Bishop Anthony Edward Pevec, auxiliary emeritus of Cleveland, U.S.A., on 14
December 2014 at the age of 89.
 - Bishop Stephen Hector Youssef Doueihi, emeritus of St. Maron of Brooklyn
(Maronites), U.S.A., on 17 December 2014 at the age of 87.
 - Bishop Claude Henri Edouard Frikart, C.I.M., auxiliary emeritus of Paris,
France, on 18 December 2014, at the age of 92.
 - Archbishop Giuseppe Pittau, S.J. secretary emeritus of la Congregation for
Catholic Education, on 26 December 2014, at the age of 86.
 - Bishop Gery-Jacques-Charles Leuliet, emeritus of Amiens, France, on 1
January 2015, at the age of 104.
 - Archbishop Paulinus Costa, emeritus of Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 3 January 2015
at the age of 78.
 - Bishop Natalino Pescarolo, emeritus of Cuneo, Italy, on 4 January 2015 at
the age of 85.
 - Bishop Bernard Joseph McLaughlin, auxiliary emeritus of Buffalo, U.S.A., on
5 January 2015, at the age of 102.
 - Bishop Joseph Djida, O.M.I., of Ngaoundere, Cameroon, on 6 January 2015 at
the age of 69.

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