CARDINALS ARE DEFENDERS OF THE TRUTH, GUARDIANS OF THE FAITH

VATICAN CITY, FEB 21, 2001 (VIS) - During a ceremony held in St. Peter's Square in the presence of tens of thousands of faithful, Pope John Paul created 44 new cardinals from 27 countries in what is the eighth such consistory of his pontificate.

The Pope greeted the cardinals, archbishops, bishops, lay faithful and official delegations from the different countries represented, as well as fraternal delegations from several Churches and ecclesial communities. Of the latter he said: "I send a cordial greeting to you, in the certainty that even this delicate gesture of theirs will not fail to favor the ever better reciprocal understanding and progress towards full communion."

"Each Christian," affirmed the Holy Father, "knows he is called to a fidelity without compromises, which can even require the ultimate sacrifice. And this you know most especially, dear brothers elected to the dignity of cardinal. You commit yourselves to faithfully following Christ, the Martyr par excellence and the faithful Witness."

He recalled that "cardinals must assist and collaborate with the Successor of Peter to alleviate the burdens of a ministry which extends to the four corners of the earth. Together with him you must be strenuous defenders of the truth and custodians of the patrimony of faith and customs which has its origin in the Bible. You will thus be sure guides for everyone and, in the first place, for priests, consecrated persons and committed lay persons."

"As of today," continued John Paul II, "a special bond links you to the Successor of Peter. ... This tie makes you an eloquent sign of communion. You will be promoters of communion, and the entire Church will be the beneficiary." The Pope underlined that "today you have been proclaimed and created cardinals so that you will commit yourselves, in your respective fields of competence, to making sure that the spirituality of communion grows in the Church."

The Pope stated that "to be able to validly face the new duties it is necessary to cultivate an ever more intimate communion with the Lord. The very color of scarlet of the vestments you wear reminds you of this urgency. Is that color not perhaps a symbol of a passionate love for Christ? Do we not see indicated in that bright red the burning fire of love for the Church which should nourish in you the willingness, if necessary, to give the supreme witness of blood?"

Observing that the new cardinals come from 27 countries, Pope John Paul asked: "Is there not perhaps in this fact a sign of the Church's capacity ... to understand peoples with different languages and traditions, to bring to everyone the proclamation of Christ? In Him, and in Him alone, is it possible to find salvation. This is the truth that today we wish to reaffirm. Christ walks with us and guides our steps."

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, FEB 21, 2001 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Appointed Bishop Celso Jose Pinto da Silva of Vitoria da Conquista, as metropolitan archbishop of Teresina (area 26,995, population 1,183,327, Catholics 986,108, priests 86, permanent deacons 1, religious 209), Brazil. The archbishop-elect was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1933, ordained to the priesthood in 1959, and elevated to the dignity of bishop in 1978. He succeeds Archbishop Miguel Fenelon Camara Filho, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, in accordance with the age limit.
- Accepted the resignation of Bishop Joaquim Rufino do Rego from the pastoral care of Parnaiba (area 20,565, population 590,000, Catholics 530,000, priests 32, religious 74), Brazil, in accordance with the age limit. He is succeeded by Coadjutor Bishop Alfredo Schaffler.

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DECLARATION OF HOLY SEE PRESS OFFICE DIRECTOR

VATICAN CITY, FEB 21, 2001 (VIS) - The following declaration was made public late yesterday by Holy See Press Office Director Joaquin Navarro-Valls:

"In the framework of the announced meetings with political figures, Cardinal Secretary of State Angelo Sodano this afternoon received Silvio Berlusconi, (president of Forza Italia).

"Today's meeting, as the others, has served to set forth the expectations of the Holy See regarding the questions relative to collaboration between Church and State at the present time."

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TITULAR AND DIACONATE CHURCHES ASSIGNED TO NEW CARDINALS

VATICAN CITY, FEB 21, 2001 (VIS) - Following are the names of the 44 new cardinals created by Pope John Paul II in this morning's consistory as well as the titular or diaconate churches he assigned to them:

1. Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops: Title of Most Holy Twelve Apostles.

2. Cardinal Francois Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace: Diaconate of Holy Mary of the Stairs.

3. Cardinal Agostino Cacciavillan, president of APSA (Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See): Diaconate of the Holy Guardian Angels at Citta Giardino.

4. Cardinal Sergio Sebastiani, president of the Prefecture of the Economic Affairs of the Holy See: Diaconate of St. Eustache.

5. Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education: Diaconate of St. Nicholas in Prison.

6. Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, C.F.M., prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints: Diaconate of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart.

7. Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, secretary general of the Committee of the Great Jubilee: Diaconate of the Most Merciful Father.

8. Cardinal Jorge Maria Mejia, archivist and librarian of Holy Roman Church: Diaconate of St. Jerome of Charity.

9. His Beatitude Ignace Moussa I Daoud, prefect of the Congregation for Oriental Churches: Patriarchal See of Antioch of the Syrians.

10. Cardinal Mario Francesco Pompedda, prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signature: Diaconate of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Via Ardeatina.

11. Bishop Walter Kasper, emeritus of Rottenburg-Stuttgart, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity: Diaconate of All Saints in Via Appia Nuova.

12. Cardinal Antonio Jose Gonzalez Zumarraga of Quito, Ecuador: Title of Our Lady "in via".

13. Cardinal Ivan Dias of Bombay, India: Title of Holy Spirit at Ferratella.

14. Cardinal Geraldo Majella Agnelo of Sao Salvador da Bahia, Brazil: Title of St. Gregory the Great at Magliana Nuova.

15. Cardinal Pedro Rubiano Saenz of Bogota, Colombia: Title of the Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
16. Cardinal Theodore Edgar McCarrick of Washington, U.S.A.: Title of Saints Nereus and Achilleus.

17. Cardinal Desmond Connell of Dublin, Ireland: Title of St. Sylvester in Capite.

18. Cardinal Audrys Juozas Backis of Vilnius, Lithuania: Title of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ in Via Gallia.

19. Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz Ossa of Santiago de Chile, Chile: Title of Our Lady of Peace.

20. Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga, S.D.B., of Tegucigalpa, Honduras: Title of Our Lady of Hope.

21. Cardinal Bernard Agre of Abidjan, Ivory Coast: Title of St. John Chrysostom in Monte Sacro Alto.

22. Cardinal Louis-Marie Bille of Lyon, France: Title of St. Peter's in Chains.

23. Cardinal Ignacio Antonio Velasco Garcia, S.D.B., of Caracas, Venezuela: Title of Santa Maria Domenica Mazzarella.

24. Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne of Lima, Peru: Title of St. Camillus de Lellis.

25. Cardinal Francisco Alvarez Martinez of Toledo, Spain: Title of Holy Mary, Queen of Peace in Monte Verde.

26. Cardinal Claudio Hummes, O.F.M., of Sao Paulo, Brazil: Title of St. Anthony of Padua in Via Merulana.

27. Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil, C.SS.R, archbishop major of Ernakulam-Angamaly of the Syro-Malabars, India: Title of St. Bernard at the Baths.

28. Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, S.J., of Buenos Aires, Argentina: Title of St. Robert Bellarmine.

29. Cardinal Jose da Cruz Policarpo, patriarch of Lisbon, Portugal: Title of St. Anthony in Campo Marzio.

30. Cardinal Severino Poletto of Turin, Italy: Title of St. Joseph in Via Trionfale, pro hac vice titolo presbiterale.

31. Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor of Westminster, Great Britain: Title of Holy Mary above Minerva.

32. Cardinal Edward Michael Egan of New York, U.S.A.: Title of Sts. John and Paul.

33. His Beatitude Stephanos II Ghattas, C.M., patriarch of Alexandria of the Copts.

34. Cardinal Jean Honore, emeritus of Tours: Title of Holy Mary of Health at Primavalle.

35. Cardinal Roberto Tucci, president of the Administrative Committee of Vatican Radio: Diaconate of St. Ignatius of Loyola at Campo Marzio.

36. Cardinal Leo Scheffczyk of the archdiocese of Munchen und Freising: Diaconate of St. Francis Xavier at Garbatella.

37. Cardinal Avery Dulles, S.J., professor emeritus of Fordham University of New York, U.S.A.: Diaconate of the Most Holy Names of Jesus and Mary in Via Lata.

38. Cardinal Marian Jaworski of Lviv of the Latins, Ukraine. 39. Cardinal Janis Pujats of Riga, Latvia: Title of St. Sixtus.

40. Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, major archbishop of Lviv of the Ukrainians: Title of St. Sophia in Via Boccea.

41. Cardinal Johannes Joachim Degenhart of Paderborn, Germany: Title of St. Liborius.

42. Cardinal Julio Terrazas Sandoval, C.SS.R., of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia: Title of St. John the Baptist of Rossi.

43. Cardinal Wilfrid Fox Napier, O.F.M., of Durban, South Africa: Title of St. Brancis of Assisi in Acilia.

44. Cardinal Karl Lehmann of Mainz, Germany: Title of St. Leo I.

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IN MEMORIAM

VATICAN CITY, FEB 21, 2001 (VIS) - The following prelates died in recent weeks:

- Cardinal Giuseppe Casoria, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of Sacraments, on February 8, 2001, aged 92.
- Bishop Robert Francis Garner, former auxiliary of Newark, U.S.A., on December 25, 2000, aged 80.
- Bishop Wolfgang Grosse, auxiliary of Essen, Germany, on February 15, 2001, aged 72.
- Bishop Mark Joseph Hurley, emeritus of Santa Rosa, U.S.A., on February 5, 2001, aged 81.
- Bishop John Joseph Sullivan, emeritus of Kansas City-Saint Joseph, U.S.A., February 8, 2001, aged 80.

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FEAST OF THE CHAIR OF PETER

VATICAN CITY, FEB 22, 2001 (VIS) - Today is the annual feast of the "Cathedra Petri," the Chair of St. Peter, a celebration dating back to the 4th century and one which honors the primacy and authority of St. Peter.

Cathedra, from both the Greek and Latin words for chair or throne, is the root of the word cathedral, the official church of a bishop where his chair is placed and from which he preaches: It is thus a symbol of his authority to teach. Another word for chair is "sedes," from which we get the word "see," that is, the place from which a bishop governs his diocese. The Holy See, for example, is the see or seat of the bishop of Rome, the Pope.

The Chair of Peter, which is commemorated today, was thought for centuries to be the episcopal seat, or cathedra, of St. Peter. It is actually a throne that Charles the Bald, grandson of the Emperor Charlemagne, gave to Pope John VIII on Christmas Day 875 when the pontiff crowned him as emperor. The chair has been ensconced since 1666 above an altar in the apse of the Vatican Basilica specifically designed for it by Bernini.

A combination of tradition, legend and belief maintained that this was a double chair, parts of which dated back to the early days of Christianity and the first Pope, St. Peter. However, when it was removed from its niche in the Bernini altar for study and restoration during a six-year period (1968 to 1974), it was revealed that there was only a single chair, predominantly of acacia wood, whose oldest parts dated to the 6th century. What appeared to be an outer or second chair was a covering which served both to protect the throne and to carry it in procession.

Following this restoration Msgr. Michele Maccarrone, a Vatican expert on the Chair of St. Peter and president emeritus of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences, wrote a paper on the cathedra. He said that, among the interesting facts discovered during these six years, two stand out: the back panels of the throne, which replaced early columns and arches, depict the Labors of Hercules; and previously-used ivory was also incorporated into the chair.

Throughout its history, he wrote, the Chair of St. Peter has been considered under two perspectives: the chair-symbol (the symbol of Peter's primacy: in ancient times the chair or cathedra was the sign of teaching authority) and the chair-object (that is, the throne of Charles the Bald, used by John VIII and many of his successors for liturgical events).

It is customary for the Bernini monument to be lit by numerous candles throughout its February 22 feast day.

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