HOLY FATHER RECEIVES THE PRESIDENT OF HONDURAS VATICAN CITY, 13 OCT 2011 (VIS) - "This morning the Holy Father Benedict XVI received in audience Porfirio Lobo Sosa, president of the Republic of Honduras. The president subsequently went on to meet with Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. who was accompanied by Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States", according to a communique released at midday today by the Holy See Press Office. (IMAGE RADIO VATICANA) "During the cordial discussions appreciation was expressed for the great contribution the Church makes to development in Honduras, especially in the fields of education and healthcare. Emphasis was also given to the importance of continuing to foment reconciliation, mutual understanding, solidarity and peace in the country, in a persistent search for the common good. "The parties went on to take note of the improved situation of Honduras' international relations, as well as giving attention to other questions regarding the international scene". OP/ VIS 20111013 (160) PAPAL MASS FOR THE PEOPLE OF LATIN AMERICA VATICAN CITY, 13 OCT 2011 (VIS) - The Holy Father is due to celebrate Mass for the people of Latin America for the bicentenary of their independence, according to a communique released by the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. The celebration will take place in St. Peter's Basilica at 5.30 p.m. on 12 December, Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patron of Latin America. The communique explains that "this initiative is a gesture of the concern, affection and solidarity felt by the Holy Father towards the peoples and nations of the 'Continent of Hope', as it has been called by Roman Pontiffs from Paul VI to Benedict XVI. It is a clear expression of the pastoral solicitude with which Benedict XVI embraces those peoples, among whom the Gospel of Jesus Christ was sown and brought forth precious fruit. They represent 40 percent of the baptised of the Catholic Church, united in filial devotion to Most Holy Mary, while their local Churches remain in faithful communion with the See of Peter". "The initiative is indicative of the original contribution the Catholic Church wishes to make to the commemoration of this bicentenary, in the light of historical truth, so as to throw light on the current situation in Latin America and nourish hope in a future of peace and justice". The 12 December Mass will be attended by the Roman Curia, the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See and to the Italian government, Latin American priests religious and citizens who study or reside in Rome, and public figures from the Latin American continent. COM-AL/ VIS 20111013 (270) THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RELIGION, NATURE AND ART VATICAN CITY, 13 OCT 2011 (VIS) - The relationship between religion, nature and art is being examined in a conference which began today at the Vatican Museums, organised by the Museums and by the International Society for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture. The conference, which comes to an end tomorrow, will focus on the concern for nature felt in the Catholic world, also highlighting the presence of ecological awareness, as expressed in art, in other religions and cultures. The initiative is entitled "Religion, Nature and Art" and is being held under the patronage of Archbishop Giuseppe Bertello, president of the Governorate of Vatican City State. It is being attended by experts from all over the world, fromFinland to Japan, and has been organised by Laura Hobgood-Oster, a professor at Southwestern University, U.S.A., for the International Society for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture, and by Fr. Nicola Malpelli and Katherine Aigner for the Vatican Missionary Ethnological Museum. The papers being delivered over the two days of the conference will focus on such subjects as "The Entanglement of Religion and Art: Joseph Beuys, Shamanism and Ritual"; "Representation and Conceptions of Nature"; "Global Indigenous Perceptions and the Sacred World"; "Reading Religion and Resistance in Earth Art and the Book of Nature", and "Spirituality-based Environmental Activism, Nature, Art". The programme of events also includes a visit to the exhibition "Rituals of Life: the Culture and Spirituality of Aboriginal Australians", which was inaugurated last year at the Missionary Ethnological Museum of the Vatican Museums. .../ VIS 20111013 (270) AUDIENCES VATICAN CITY, 13 OCT 2011 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences: - Porfirio Lobo Sosa, president of the Republic of Honduras, accompanied by an entourage. - His Beatitude Fouad Twal, patriarch of Jerusalem of the Latins. - Five prelates from the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference, on their "ad limina" visit: - Cardinal George Pell, archbishop of Sydney, accompanied by Auxiliary Bishops Julian Charles Porteous, Terence John Gerard Brady and Peter Andrew Comensoli. - Archbishop Philip Edward Wilson of Adelaide. AP:AL/ VIS 20111013 (90) OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS VATICAN CITY, 13 OCT 2011 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Bishop Luis Antonio Tagle of Imus, Philippines, as metropolitan archbishop of Manila (area 117, population 3,296,000, Catholics 2,884,000, priests 642, permanent deacons 3, religious 1,481), Philippines. He succeeds Cardinal Gaudencio B. Rosales, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit. NER/ VIS 20111013 (70) | 
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