OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, APR 7, 2003 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Fr. Vitaliy Skomarovskyi, vice-rector of the Major Seminary of the diocese of Kyiv-Zhytomyr, Ukraine, as auxiliary bishop of the same diocese (area 222,300, population 17,407,500, Catholics 300,000, priests 108, religious 245). The bishop-elect was born in Berdychiv, Ukraine in 1963 and was ordained a priest in 1990.

It was made public on Saturday April 5 that the Holy Father appointed:

- Bishop Raymond John Lahey of Saint George's, Canada as bishop of Antigonish (area 18,800, population 247,900, Catholic 106,818, priests 17, permanent deacons 1, religious 347), Canada.

- Hilario Da Cruz Massinga, O.F.M., guardian of the "Santa Clara" Guard of Mozambique, as bishop of Lichinga (area 129,362, population 802,212, Catholics 197,557, priests 23, religious 97), Mozambique. The bishop-elect was born in Banze, Mozambique in 1958 and was ordained a priest in 1994.

- Cardinal Jan Pieter Schotte, C.I.C.M., secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, as his special envoy to the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the reestablishment of the Catholic hierarchy in the Netherlands. This celebration will take place in Utrecht on June 7, 2003.

- Professor Vittorio Possenti, ordinary of political philosophy at the University of Venice, Italy, as an ordinary member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.

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