OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, JAN 9, 2002 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Appointed Bishop Marcelo Angiolo Melani S.D.B., of Viedma, Argentina, as bishop of Neuquen (area 94,078, population 540,384, Catholics 486,046, priests 54, permanent deacons 7, religious 125), Argentina.

- Erected the diocese of Tanjung Selor (area 96,630, population 756,250, Catholics 25,384, priests 16, religious 14), Indonesia with territory taken from the diocese of Samarinda, making it a suffragan of the metropolitan church of Pontianak. He appointed Fr. Justinus Harjosusanto M.S.F., former provincial in Java of the Missionaries of the Holy Family, as first bishop of the new diocese. The bishop-elect was born in Muntilan, Indonesia, in 1953 and ordained a priest in 1982.

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AUDIENCE

VATICAN CITY, JAN 9, 2002 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in audience Cardinal Francois Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, accompanied by Bishop Giampaolo Crepaldi and Msgr. Frank J. Dewane, respectively secretary and under-secretary of the same pontifical council.

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"LET EVERYTHING THAT BREATHES PRAISE THE LORD"

VATICAN CITY, JAN 9, 2002 (VIS) - The theme of the catechesis of today's general audience, held in the Paul VI Hall, was Psalm 150, "let everything that breathes praise the Lord," which is part of Sunday Lauds of the second and fourth week.

The opening lines of the Psalm, said the Pope, speak of the "sanctuary," the "'sacred,' pure and transcendent place where God dwells. This, then, is a reference to the celestial and heavenly horizon where ... the eternal and perfect liturgy of the Lamb is celebrated."

He continued: "From the heavens, our thoughts pass implicitly to earth with the emphasis upon the 'prodigies' worked by God which demonstrate 'His exceeding greatness .' ... Praise becomes profession of faith in God, Creator and Redeemer, a festive celebration of divine love that unfolds, creating and saving, giving life and freedom."

The Holy Father affirmed that in the last part of the Psalm, "through the human being, spokesperson of all creation, all living things praise the Lord. Our breath of life ... becomes a song and prayer of all the life that beats in the universe."

"United with the Son, the perfect voice of all the world that He created, we too become an incessant prayer before the throne of God."

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