OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, JAN 16, 2002 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Erected the ecclesiastical province of Feira de Santana (area 16,878, population 1,125,151, Catholics 979,906, priests 65, permanent deacons 5, religious 149), Brazil, elevating the diocese of Feira de Santana to the rank of metropolitan church and assigning to it as suffragans the dioceses of: Barra, Barreiras, Bonfim, Irece, Juazeiro, Paulo Afonso and Ruy Barbosa. He appointed Bishop Itamar Vian O.F.M. Cap. of Feira de Santana as the first metropolitan archbishop of the new ecclesiastical province. The archbishop-elect was born in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 1940, ordained a priest in 1968 and consecrated bishop in 1983.

- Erected the ecclesiastical province of Vitoria da Conquista (area 24,709, population 750,000, Catholics 600,000, priests 26, permanent deacons 2, religious 72), Brazil, elevating the diocese of Vitoria da Conquista to the rank of metropolitan church and assigning to it as suffragans the dioceses of: Bom Jesus da Lapa, Caetite, Jequie and Livramento de Nossa Senhora. He appointed Bishop Geraldo Lyrio Rocha of Colatina, Brazil, as the first metropolitan archbishop of the new ecclesiastical province. The archbishop-elect was born in Fundao, Brazil, in 1942, ordained a priest in 1967 and consecrated bishop in 1984.

- Appointed Fr. Alessio Saccardo S.J., director of the St. Francis of Sales college in the archdiocese of Teresina, as bishop of Ponta de Pedras (area 14,283, population 106,504, Catholics 97,700, priests 11, religious 17), Brazil. The bishop-elect was born in Marano Vicentino, Italy, in 1940, and ordained a priest in 1970. He succeeds Bishop Angelo Maria Rivato S.J., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

- Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the archdiocese of Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, presented by Auxiliary Bishop John Mendes, upon having reached the age limit.

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GENERAL AUDIENCE: INVOKE THE LORD WITH CONFIDENCE

VATICAN CITY, JAN 16, 2002 (VIS) - In today's general audience, which was held in the Paul VI Hall, the Holy Father spoke on Psalm 41 which contains the image of the deer longing for cooling streams to quench its thirst. This, he said, symbolizes: "the person in prayer who tends with all his being, body and soul, towards the Lord Who is felt to be distant yet, at the same time, necessary."

"The opening scene of the Psalm is an expression of the profound nostalgia generated by a past rendered joyful by wonderful liturgical celebrations that are now unattainable. ... The festive prayer of the past, raised to the Lord during worship in the Temple, is substituted by tears, lamentation and imploration."

Alas, the Pope went on, "the Psalmist is now far from Zion." He is in Galilee near the cataracts of the Jordan River. "However, these waters do not quench the thirst as do those of Zion. In the eyes of the psalmist they are similar to the turbulent waters of the flood that destroy all before them. He feels them overwhelm him like a raging torrent that annihilates life."

John Paul II explained that this deluge symbolizes "the corrupt, the enemy, perhaps even the pagans who live in the remote region where the faithful Psalmist has been relegated. They despise the just man and deride his faith, asking him ironically 'where is your God?' While he raises the anguished question to the Lord: 'Why have you forgotten me?' ... Faced by this tormented soul, can God remain silent? Of course not!" The following Psalm, number 42, contains "a faithful invocation to God: 'Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy'."

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