OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, JUL 19, 2002 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Florencia, Colombia, presented by Bishop Fabian Marulanda Lopez, in accordance with Canon 401, para. 2, of the Code of Canon Law.

- Appointed Bishop Cristian Enrique Contreras Molina, O.M., prelate of Calama, Chile, as bishop of San Felipe (area 10,223, population 310,000, Catholics 248,000, priests 55, permanent deacons 7, religious 154), Chile.

- Erected the diocese of Chingleput (area 4,888, population 1,605,129, Catholics 130,000, priests 65, religious 645), India, with territory taken from the archdiocese of Madras and Mylapore, making it a suffragan of the same metropolitan church. He appointed Fr. Anthonisamy Neethinathan, professor and vice-rector of the Sacred Heart Seminary, as the first bishop of the new diocese. The bishop-elect was born in 1955 in Kakkanur, India and was ordained a priest in 1987.

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