With regard to the second theme, the Pope underlined that in Genesis man is
called not only to cultivate the land, but also to take care of it. These two
aspects "are closely linked: every agriculturalist is well aware of how
difficult it has become to cultivate the land in a time of accelerated climate
change and increasingly widespread extreme meteorological events. How can we
continue to produce good food for the lives of all when climate stability is
at risk, when the air, water and the earth itself lose their purity as a
result of pollution? We are truly realising the importance of timely action to
safeguard Creation; it is urgent that nations succeed in collaborating for
this fundamental purpose. The challenge is to achieve a form of agriculture
with a low environmental impact. How can we ensure we safeguard the earth as
well as cultivating it? Indeed, only in this way will future generations be
able to continue to inhabit and cultivate our earth".
 The Holy Father concluded with an invitation to "rediscover love for the
earth as the 'mother', as St. Francis would say, from which we come and to
which we are constantly called upon to return. And this leads to a proposal:
to protect the earth, to make an alliance with her, so that she many continue
to be, as God intends, the source of life for the entire human family".

___________________________________________________________

 Members and substitutes from the Episcopal Conferences for the 14th Ordinary
General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops
 Vatican City, 31 January 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father has ratified the
appointment of the following prelates as members and substitutes, elected by
their respective Episcopal Conferences, for the 14th Ordinary General Assembly
of the Synod of Bishops, which will take place in the Vatican from 4 to 25
October 2015 on the theme "The vocation and mission of the family in the
Church and in the contemporary world":
 AFRICA
 BURUNDI
 Member: Bishop Gervais Bashimiyubusa, of Ngozi, president of the Episcopal
Conference.
 Substitute: Bishop Joachim Ntahondereye of Muyinga.
 ETHIOPIA and ERITREA
 Member: Bishop Tsegaye Keneni Derera, apostolic vicar of Soddo, Ethiopia.
 Substitute: Bishop Markos Gebremedhin, C.M., apostolic vicar of Jimma-Bonga,
Ethiopia.
 GHANA
 Member: Archbishop Gabriel Charles Palmer-Buckle, of Accra.
 Substitute: Bishop Anthony Kwami Adanuty of Keta-katsi.
 KENYA
 Members: Cardinal John Njue, archbishop of Nairobi, president of the
Episcopal Conference.
 Bishop James Maria Wainaina Kungu of Muranga.
 Substitute: Bishop Emanuel Barbara, O.F.M. Cap. of Malindi.
 MADAGASCAR
 Member: Bishop Desire Tsarahazana of Toamasina, president of the Episcopal
Conference.
 Substitute: Bishop Jean de Dieu Raoelison, auxiliary of Antananarivo.
 RWANDA
 Member: Bishop Antoine Kambanda of Kibungo.
 Substitute: Bishop Smaragde Mbonyintege of Kabgayi, president of the
Episcopal Conference.
 AMERICA
 ARGENTINA
 Members: Bishop Pedro María Laxague, auxiliary of Bahia Blanca.
 Archbishop Jose Maria Arancedo of Santa Fe de la Vera Cruz, president of the
Episcopal Conference.
 Cardinal Mario Aurelio Poli, archbishop of Buenos Aires.
 Substitutes: Archbishop Andres Stanovnik, O.F.M. Cap. of Corrientes.
 Archbishop Hector Ruben Aguer of La Plata.
 CHILE
 Members: Bishop Bernardo Miguel Bastres Florence, S.D.B. of Punta Arenas.
 Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati Andrello, S.D.B., archbishop of Santiago de Chile,
president of the Episcopal Conference.
 Substitute: Bishop Cristian Contreras Villarroel of Melipilla, general
secretary of the Episcopal Conference.
 CUBA
 Member: Archbishop Juan de la Caridad Garcia Rodriguez of Camaguey.
 Substitute: Bishop Marcelo Arturo Gonzalez Amador of Santa Clara.
 ECUADOR
 Members: Archbishop Antonio Arregui Yarza of Guayaquil.
 Archbishop Luis Gerardo Cabrera Herrera, O.F.M. of Cuenca.
 Substitutes: Bishop Julio Parrilla Diaz of Riobamba.
 Bishop Marcos Aurelio Perez Caicedo of Babahoyo, vice president of the
Episcopal Conference.
 HONDURAS
 Member: Bishop Luis Sole Fa, C.M. of Trujillo.
 Substitute: Bishop Angel Garachana Perez, C.M.F. of San Pedro Sula.
 MEXICO
 Members: Bishop Rodrigo Aguilar Martinez of Tehuacan.
 Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera, archbishop of Mexico.
 Bishop Francisco Javier Chavolla Ramos of Toluca.
 Cardinal Francisco Robles Ortega, archbishop of Guadalajara, president of the
Episcopal Conference.
 Substitutes: Bishop Alfonso Gerardo Miranda Guardiola, auxiliary of Monterrey.
 Bishop Jose Francisco Gonzalez Gonzalez of Campeche.
 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
 Members: Archbishop Joseph Edward Kurtz of Louisville, president of the
Episcopal Conference.
 Archbishop Charles Joseph Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. of Philadelphia.
 Cardinal Daniel N. Di Nardo, archbishop of Galveston-Houston, vice president
of the Episcopal Conference.
 Archbishop Jose Horacio Gomez of Los Angeles.
 Substitutes: Bishop Blase J. Cupich of Spokane.
 Archbishop Salvatore Joseph Cordileone of San Francisco.
 URUGUAY
 Member: Bishop Jaime Rafael Fuentes Martin of Minas.
 Substitute:Bishop Rodolfo Pedro Wirz Kraemer of Maldonado-Punta del Este,
president of the Episcopal Conference.
 ASIA
 PAKISTAN
 Member: Bishop Joseph Arshad of Faisalabad.
 Substitute: Archbishop Sebastian Francis Shaw of Lahore.
 VIETNAM
 Members: Archbishop Paul Bui Van Doc of Thanh-Pho Ho Chi Minh, Hochiminh
Ville, president of the Episcopal Conference.
 Bishop Joseph Dinh Duc Dao, auxiliary of Xuan Loc.
 Substitute: Bishop Pierre Nguyen Van Kham of My Tho.
 EUROPA
 ALBANIA
 Member: Bishop George Frendo, O.P. Auxiliary of Tirane-Durres.
 Substitute: Bishop Ottavio Vitale, R.C.I. of Lezhe, Lesh.
 AUSTRIA
 Member: Bishop Benno Elbs of Feldkirch.
 Substitute: Bishop Kalus Kung of Sankt Polten.
 BOSNIA and HERZEGOVINA
 Member: Bishop Tomo Vuksic, military ordinary of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
 Substitute: Bishop Marko Semren, O.F.M. auxiliary of Banja Luka.
 FRANCE
 Members: Archbishop Georges Pontier of Marseille, president of the Episcopal
Conference.
 Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois, archbishop Paris.
 Bishop Jean-Luc Brunin of Le Havre.
 Bishop Jean-Paul James of Nantes.
 Substitutes: Bishop Olivier de Germay of Ajaccio.
 Bishop Bruno Feillet, auxiliary of Reims.
 GREAT BRITAIN (ENGLAND AND WALES)
 Members: Cardinal Vincent Gerard Nichols, archbishop of Westminster,
president of the Episcopal Conference.
 Bishop Peter John Haworth Doyle of Northampton.
 Substitute: Bishop Philip Anthony Egan of Portsmouth.
 GREECE
 Member: Bishop Fragkiskos Papamanolis, O.F.M. Cap. emeritus of Syros,
president of the Episcopal Conference.
 Substitute: Archbishop Nikolaos Foskolos, emeritus of Athenai.
 IRELAND
 Members: Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin.
 Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh, president of the Episcopal Conference.
 Substitute: Archbishop Kieran O'Reilly, S.M.A. of Cashel.
 LITHUANIA
 Members: Cardinal Audrys Jouzas Backis, archbishop emeritus of Vilnius.
 Substitute: Bishop Rimantas Norvila of Vilkaviskis.
 NETHERLANDS
 Member: Cardinal Willem Jacobus Eijk, archbishop of Utrecht.
 Substitute: Bishop Johannes Wilhelmus Maria Liesen of Breda.
 SPAIN
 Members: Cardinal Ricardo Blazquez Perez, archbishop of Valladolid, president
of the Episcopal Conference.
 Bishop Mario Iceta Gavicagogeascoa of Bilbao.
 Archbishop Carlos Osoro Sierra of Madrid.
 Substitute: Bishop Juan Antonio Reig Pla of Alcala de Henares.
 OCEANIA
 AUSTRALIA
 Members: Bishop Daniel Eugene Hurley of Darwin.
 Archbishop Mark Benedict Coleridge of Brisbane.
 Substitute: Archbishop Philip Edward Wilson of Adelaide.
 NEW ZEALAND
 Member: Bishop Charles Edward Drennan of Palmerston North.
 Substitute: Cardinal John Atcherley Dew, archbishop of Wellington, president
of the Episcopal Conference.

___________________________________________________________

 Assembly on "Women's cultures"
 Vatican City, 2 February 2015 (VIS) - A press conference was held in the Holy
See Press Office this morning to present the Plenary Assembly of the
Pontifical Council for Culture on the theme "Women's Cultures: between
equality and difference", which will be held in Rome from 4 to 7 February. The
speakers were Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council
for Culture; Anna Maria Tarantola, president of RAI (Radiotelevisione
Italiana); Monica Maggioni, director of RAI News, and Nancy Brilli, actor.
 The Assembly will be divided into four sessions in which the following themes
will be considered: "Between equality and difference: the quest for
equilibrium", "Generativity as a symbolic code", "The female body: between
culture and biology" and "Women and religion: flight or new forms of
participation in the life of the Church?". The Congress will be attended only
by members and consultors of the Pontifical Council by pontifical appointment,
with the exception of the session on Wednesday 4 February, when there will be
a moment of public participation at the Teatro Argentina in Rome. For a period
of 50 minutes there will be a series of videos, brief interviews, readings and
images, and live music. Entry will be free, subject to capacity.

___________________________________________________________

 Audiences
 Vatican City, 2 February 2015 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father received in
audience:
 - Cardinal Agostino Vallini, vicar general of His Holiness for the diocese of
Rome;
 - Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, archbishop of Vienna, Austria;
 - Eleven prelates of the Lithuanian Bishops' Conference, on their "ad limina"
visit:
 -Archbishop Sigitas Tamkevicius of Kaunas, with his auxiliary, Bishop
Kestutis Kevalas;
 - Bishop Eugenijus Bartulis of Siauliai;
 - Bishop Jonas Boruta of Telsia, with his auxiliary, Bishop Linas
Vodopjanovas;
 - Bishop Rimantas Norvila of Vilkaviskis;
 - Archbishop Gintaras Grusas of Vilnius, with his auxiliary, Bishop Arunas
Poniskaitis and the archbishop emeritus, Cardinal Audrys Juozas Backis;
 - Bishop Jonas Ivanauskas of Kaisiadoris; and
 - Bishop Lionginas Virbalas of Panevezys.
 On Saturday, 31 January the Holy Father received in audience:
 - Cardinal Marc Ouellet, P.S.S., prefect of the Congregation for Bishops;
 - Cardinal Willem Jacobus Eijk, archbishop of Utrecht, Netherlands;
 - Archbishop Yaser Rasmi Hanna Al-Ayyash of Petra and Philadelphia of the
Greek-Melkites, Jordan;
 - Don Notker Wolf, abbot primate of the Benedictine Confederation of
Congregations;
 - Cardinal George Pell, prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy.

___________________________________________________________

 Other Pontifical Acts
 Vatican City, 2 February 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father has appointed:
 - Msgr. Francisco Eduardo Cervantes Merino as bishop of Orizaba (area 2,012,
population 663,000, Catholics 589,000, priests 89, religious 136), Mexico. The
bishop-elect was born in Ocatan Merino Palafox, Mexico in 1953, and was
ordained a priest in 1979. He holds a licentiate in pastoral theology from the
Pontifical Lateran University, Rome, and a licentiate in educational
psychology from the Normal Superior School of Mexico. He has held a number of
pastoral roles in the diocese of Tuxpan, including parish vicar, parish priest
of the "Corpus Christi" parish, professor at the diocesan seminary, diocesan
coordinator of youth pastoral ministry, and member of the presbyteral council.
He is currently parish priest of the Cathedral and vicar for pastoral ministry.
 - Msgr. Liberatus Sangu as bishop of Shinyanga (area 50,000, population
2,440,000, Catholics 745,000, priests 55, religious 58), Tanzania. The
bishop-elect was born in Mwazye, Tanzania in 1963 and ordained a priest in
1994. He studied sacramental theology at the St. Anselm Pontifical Athenaeum
in Rome, and has held a number of pastoral and administrative roles, including
formator in the minor seminary of Kaengesa, Sumbawanga; parish priest in
Matai; director for vocations; formator at the preparatory seminary and head
of youth pastoral ministry, and parish priest "ad tempus" in Sopa. He
currently serves as an official of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of
Peoples.
 - Fr. Alphonsus Cullinan as bishop of Waterford and Lismore (area 2,542,
population 157,358, Catholics 146,215, priests 134, religious 353), Ireland.
The bishop-elect was born in County Clare in 1959 and was ordained a priest in
1994. He taught in schools in Castleconnell, Limerick and Valladolid, Spain
for ten years before preparing for the priesthood in the national seminary at
Maynooth. He studied moral theology at the Alphonsianum Academy, Rome, where
he obtained a doctorate in Christian anthropology and utilitarianism. He has
served as parish vicar at St. Munchin, chaplain of the Mid-Western Regional
Hospital in Limerick, and chaplain at the Limerick Institute of Technology. He
is currently parish priest in the parish of Rathkeale, Limerick.
 On Saturday, 31 January the Holy Father appointed:
 - Bishop Adelio Dell'Oro as bishop of Karaganda (area 711,208, population
3,590,000, Catholics 31,300, priests 18, religious 41), Kazakhstan, conserving
"donec aliter provideatur" the role of apostolic administrator of Atyrau,
Kazakhstan.
 - Fr. Pietro Bovati, S.J., secretary of the Pontifical Biblical Commission,
as consultor of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

___________________________________________________________

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