Vatican City - US news magazine Time has left out Pope Benedict XVI from

Vatican City  - Pope Benedict XVI will visit Australia from July 12 to 21 the Vatican said Wednesday.

The dates for the pastoral visit for the Roman Catholic Church's World Youth Days in Sydney, were included in a calendar of events issued by the Vatican.

No further details were provided on the 81-year-old German pontiff's trip, the third scheduled for abroad this year.

Earlier this week the French Bishops' Conference announced that Benedict will travel to France from September 12-15 for the 150th anniversary of the apparitions of the Virgin Mary that Catholics believe took place in Lourdes.

Vatican City - The Vatican issued Tuesday "warm greetings" to Buddhists for their festival of Vesakh which this year is celebrated between May 12 and 18.

In the message, the Vatican's top inter-faith dialogue official, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, also called on Christians and Buddhists to work closely to preserve nature and the environment.

"Christianity and Buddhism have always upheld a great respect for nature and taught that we should be grateful stewards of the earth.