VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXIV - N° 71
DATE 15-04-2014

Summary:
- TELEGRAM OF CONDOLENCES FOR THE VICTIMS OF VALPARAISO
- PRESENTATION OF THE HOLY SEE'S REPORT ON THE CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE
- DURING HOLY WEEK THE POPE WILL DISTRIBUTE POCKET-SIZED GOSPELS IN A ROMAN PRISON
- CARDINAL ORLANDO B. QUEVEDO TAKES POSSESSION OF HIS TITULAR CHURCH
- AUDIENCES
- OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

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 TELEGRAM OF CONDOLENCES FOR THE VICTIMS OF VALPARAISO
 Vatican City, 15 April 2014 (VIS) – Yesterday afternoon Cardinal Secretary
of State Pietro Parolin, on behalf of the Holy Father, sent a telegram of
condolences to Bishop Gonzalo Duarte Garcia de Cortazar of Valparaiso,
Chile, for the fire that over the last 48 hours has devastated the nearby
forest, spreading to various zones of the city. It has so far claimed
twelve victims and over 10,000 people have had to be evacuated from their
homes.
 “Upon hearing the sad news of the fire that is affecting the city of
Valparaiso, Pope Francis wishes to express his spiritual closeness to all
the inhabitants, raising prayers for the eternal repose of the souls of the
victims of this grave disaster, and sharing in the sorrow of those who have
lost their homes and property.
 “Likewise, offering the support of prayer for the efforts of the emergency
services, the Holy Father urges the authorities and all the people to stay
firm in the face of adversity, so that through the spirit of fraternal
solidarity and charity, the necessary help may reach all those affected”.
 At the end of the telegram Cardinal Parolin asks the bishop to transmit
his most heartfelt condolences to the families of the departed and
expresses his paternal care for those afflicted.

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 PRESENTATION OF THE HOLY SEE'S REPORT ON THE CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE
 Vatican City, 15 April 2014 (VIS) – The director of the Holy See Press
Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., responding to questions from
journalists, today declared that next May, the Holy See – along with
Cyprus, Lithuania, Guinea, Montenegro, Sierra Leone, Thailand and Uruguay –
will present its Initial Report on the Convention Against Torture (CAT) to
the relevant Committee.
 “It is a standard procedure adhered to by all States party to the
Convention”, said Fr. Lombardi. “Considering the types of obligations
included in the Convention, the Holy See signed the Convention in 2002
exclusively in the name of and on the part of Vatican City State. For this
reason, the Holy See continues to fulfil its obligations on the part of
Vatican City State and to present periodical reports, in accordance with
the procedures set forth in the Convention”.

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 DURING HOLY WEEK THE POPE WILL DISTRIBUTE POCKET-SIZED GOSPELS IN A ROMAN PRISON
 Vatican City, 15 April 2014 (VIS) – Tomorrow, Holy Wednesday, the
detainees in the Roman prison of “Regina Coeli” will receive, as an Easter
gift from the Pope, 1200 pocket-sized copies of the Gospel .It is the same
volume, also containing the Acts of the Apostles, that the Pope handed out
to the participants in the Angelus of Sunday 6 April in St. Peter's Square,
and to the faithful who on the same day attended Mass celebrated by the
Pope in the church of St. Gregory the Great. Archbishop Konrad Krajewski,
Almoner of His Holiness, will be responsible for distributing the Gospels
during a visit to the prison.
 On Holy Thursday, 17 April, Archbishop Krajewski will celebrated Mass “In
Cena Domini” at the “Isola dell'Amore Fraterno”, a voluntary association
founded in 1996 that works to provide preventative measures, solidarity and
assistance for detainees, ex-convicts and those who are socially
marginalised or estranged from their families.

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 CARDINAL ORLANDO B. QUEVEDO TAKES POSSESSION OF HIS TITULAR CHURCH
 Vatican City, 15 April 2014 (VIS) – The Office of Liturgical Celebrations
of the Supreme Pontiff today announced that on Thursday, 24 April, at 6.00
a.m., Cardinal Orlando B. Quevedo, O.M.I., archbishop of Cotabato,
Philippines, will take possession of the title of St. Mary “Regina Mundi”
in Torre Spaccata (Via Alessandro Barbosi, 6).

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 AUDIENCES
 Vatican City, 15 April 2014 (VIS) – Today the Holy Father received in audience:
 - Bishop Charbel Georges Merhi of the Congregation of Lebanese Maronite
Missionaries, emeritus of Buenos Aires.
 - Bishop Marcello Semeraro of Albano and secretary of the Council of Cardinals.

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 OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
 Vatican City, 15 April 2014 (VIS) – The Holy Father has:
 - appointed Rev. Acquirino Francis Kibira as bishop of Kasese (area 3,205,
population 610,000, Catholics 292,106, priests 39, religious 66), Uganda.
The bishop-elect was born in Kigoto-Bulyansungwe, Uganda in 1958, and was
ordained a priest in 1984. He studied sacred scriptures at the Pontifical
Biblical Institute, Rome, and has served in a number of pastoral and
academic roles, including: lecturer at the Katigondo National major
seminary, Masaka; head of permanent formation of the clergy; lecturer and
dean of studies at St. Paul's National Seminary Kinyamasika, Fort Portal.
He is currently rector of the same national seminary. He succeeds Bishop
Egidio Nkaijanabwo, whose resignation upon reaching the age limit was
accepted by the Holy Father.
 - appointed Msgr. Peter Kayode Odetoyinbo as bishop of Abeokuta (area
10,562, population 2,570,000, Catholics 70,125, priest 61, religious 40),
Nigeria. The bishop-elect was born in Ibadan, Nigeria in 1964. He holds a
licentiate and a doctorate in history of the Church from the Pontifical
Gregorian University, Rome, has served in a number of pastoral and academic
roles: lecturer at the minor seminary of the parishes of St. Patrick and
St. Ignatius of Loyola; resident priest in St. Mary's Cathedral of Ibadan;
priest of the Church of the Assumption at Bodija; lecturer in history of
the Church at the Sts. Peter and Paul seminary and the Dominican Institute;
president of the Ibadan Diocesan Priests Association and secretary of the
Diocesan Priests of All Yorubaland. He is currently vicar general of the
archdiocese of Ibadan.

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