THE POPE WILL BE THERE,
VATICAN ASSURES
VATICAN CITY, Jan. 14 (Apcom) - "No change in the program. The Pope's visit to La Sapienza on Thursday will take place."
Vatican sources responded thus to Apcom's question on whether the Pope would proceed in the face of the programmed protests.
"The Pope was invited. The visit will take place," the sources said tersely.
LET PRODI GUARANTEE
SECURITY FOR THE POPE
ROME, Jan. 13 (Apcom) - "The mere thought that a visit by the Pope could be contested at a university in Rome gives a worse idea of Italy many times more terrible than the moutnains of uncollected garbage in Naples," said Francesco Storace, national secretary of La Destra, a coalition of rightist parties.
"I hope Prime Minister Prodi will not say once again that the Pope's security is a problem for the Swiss Guard [as he did before the Pope's visit to Turkey in 2006]. The government should guarantee meximum security to the head of the Catholic Church and a head of state when he travels in Italy outside the Vatican."
FERRARA DEFENDS POPE'S RIGHT TO SPEAK
MILAN, Jan. 14 (Apcom) - Giuliano Ferrara, editor of Il Foglio, had some harsh words today for the protesters against the Pope's visit to Rome's La Sapienza University on Thursday.
Ferrara was in Milan promoting his Christmas vigil initiative for a worldwide moratorium on abortion similar to the the UN-sponsored international moratorium on the death denalty.
"Do we want our universities to be like this pitiful one in Rome where they would like to muzzle Professor Ratzinger?", he asked at his public meeting, where his words were in behalf of the Pope were greeted by thunderous applause. "Do we really want our universities to fall into a state of neo-confessional conformism?"
Ferrara confirmed that his newspaper has organized as round-table discussion Wednesday evening, eve of the Pope's visit to La Sapienza, on the specific issue of the attempt by Italian liebral and secular elements to silence the Church and the Pope.
From the website of:
INAUGURATION OF THE ACADEMIC YEAR 2007 – 2008
Thursday, Jan. 17, 9:15
Aula Magna
Piazzale Aldo Moro
PROGRAM
0930 Opening speech by Rector Renato Guarini.
0950 Intervention by Gianluca Senatore, representing the students
0955 Intervenntion by Dina Bei Schmid, representing
the administrative and technical personnel.
1000 Lectio magistralis on the death penalty, by Mario Caravale,
professor of the history of Italian law
1020 Intervention by - Walter Veltroni, Mayor of Rome
1030 Intervention by Fabio Mussi, Minister for Universities and Research.
1040 The community of La apeinza welcomes the Pope
1100 Greeting by the Rector
Greeting by Christian Bonafede for the student body
1115 Address by His Holiness Benedict XV
At the end of the ceremony, Benedict XVI
visit the recently-restored university chapel.
VISIT OF THE HOLY FATHER
TO THE UNIVERSITY CHAPEL
Thursday, 12:15 p.m.
1215 Arrival at the chapel
- Meeting with the chaplains and workers
in the pastoral ministry of the university
- Greetings
- Prayer in front of the Blessed Sacramet
- Address by a chaplain
- Address by the Holy Father
- Departure
==================================================================
ANTI-POPE GRAFFITI AT LA SAPIENZA
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 15/01/2008 00:21]