ACTIVITIES OF POPE JOHN PAUL II

VATICAN CITY, SEP 4, 2002 - Following is a list of Pope John Paul's activities during the month of August. It includes the Angelus, general and private audiences, Other Pontifical Acts, telegrams, messages and other news. All activities are presented in chronological order under their respective headings.

ANGELUS

- 3: The Pope spoke of Europe, emphasizing the deep roots of Christianity in its history and culture. He noted the need for a recommitment to faith given the crisis of values in and the secularization of European society. He urged Christians to safeguard the value of Sunday, the Lord's Day, saying Sunday is the symbol par excellence of Christianity for Europe and the world.

- 10: The focus of today's meditations was the Church's mission in Europe to serve the Gospel of hope, to do so in charity and to nourish a culture of solidarity, especially with the poorest and most marginalized. Society must promote a culture of life and the Church must preach the Gospel of life.

- 17: The Holy Father spoke of the August 15 feast of the Assumption of Mary and once again highlighted the role of Christianity in the history of Europe, saying that the Christian faith inspired the concepts in modern Europe of both democracy and human rights.

- 24: Again the Pope spoke of Europe and its institutions, European integration and the future European constitution. He said that "the Catholic Church is convinced that the Gospel of Christ, which constituted the unifying element of European peoples over many centuries, continues to remain today an inexhaustible font of spirituality and fraternity."

- 31: Expressing the hope that Europe become a symphony of nations working to build together a civilization of love and peace, the Pope then turned to the many Marian shrines on the continent and especially observed that the Shrine of Our Lady of Tears of Siracusa, Italy is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

WEDNESDAY GENERAL AUDIENCE

- 6: John Paul II noted the 100th anniversary of the election of Saint Pius X on August 4. He also remarked that Paul VI died at Castelgandolfo exactly 25 years ago today, saying "he continues to challenge us to search for the truth."

- 13: Today's catechesis focussed on the Canticle of Tobit which gives praise to God for the purification of His Chosen People through the experience of the Exile and for the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem. All people are called to journey towards the heavenly city, the new Jerusalem.

- 20: Psalm 147, the rebuilt Jerusalem, is the center of today's audience catechesis. The Pope said this Psalm is an invitation to give praise to God for his role in history and creation and it evokes God's gift of Revelation and the Law.

- 27: The Pope today spoke of his predecessor, John Paul I, who was elected to the See of Peter 25 years ago this month and was a man of deep spirituality. He said that "from the beginning of his short pontificate he won the hearts of the people with his smile and his simplicity."

LETTERS, MESSAGES AND TELEGRAMS

- 4: Message to the Association of Italian Catholic Guides and Scouts (AGESCI) on the occasion of the national camp taking place in Avellino, Cagliari, Perugia and Turin.

- 7: Message on the occasion of the Seventh European gathering of the International Union of European Guides and Scouts which takes place August 1-12 in Poland.

- 8: Discourse to participants in the 12th Study Seminar on the theme "Science, Religion, History," celebrated August 5-7 in the Apostolic Palace at Castelgandolfo.

- 11: Message for the 750th annversary of the death of St. Clare of Assisi, foundress of the Order of Poor Ladies or Clares.
- 18: Telegram to Bishop Denis Kiwanuka Lote of Kotido, Uganda for the murder of Fr. Mario Mantovani and Brother Godfrey Kiryowa, Combonian missionaries, on August 14 in his country.

- 20: Telegram of condolences sent through Archbishop Celestino Migliore, permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, to the secretary general of the same organization, Kofi Annan, for yesterday's explosion at the U.N. Headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq.

- 23: Letter to Cardinal Salvatore De Giorgi, archbishop of Palermo, Italy, special envoy to the closing celebration of the Marian Year in Siracusa, Italy which will take place at the Shrine of Our Lady of Tears on September 1.

- 24: Message to participants in the 24th Meeting for Friendship Among Peoples in Rimini (August 24-31) on the theme "Are there human beings who want life and desire happy days?"

- 27: Message to the Ursuline Sisters of Immaculate Mary on the occasion of their general chapter taking place in Rome. Telegram of condolence to Archbishop Ivan Dias of Bombay for the victims of the attack perpetrated in the same city.

- 29: Message to Cardinal Cresenzio Sepe, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, on the occasion of his trip to Mongolia, August 24-31, to visit the Christian community.

- 30: Telegram of condolences to Cardinal Michele Giordano, archbishop of Naples, Italy, for the death yesterday of Cardinal Corrado Ursi, archbishop emeritus of the same archdiocese, at the age of 95.

OTHER NEWS

- 6: Mass in the private chapel in the Apostolic Palace at Castelgandolfo in memory of his predecessor, Servant of God Paul VI, on the 25th anniversary of his death.

- 9: Address to participants in the Third International Congress, "Young people toward Assisi."

- 23: Speech to young people in Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Miane, Italy, young people in the Salesian Youth Movement of Triveneto, Italy and young people of the diocese of Solsona, Spain.

- 30: Discourse to prelates of the Episcopal Conference of Egypt at the conclusion of their "ad limina" visit.

AUDIENCES

- 25: Five prelates from the Episcopal Conference of Egypt on their "ad limina" visit: Bishop Kyrillos William of the Coptics; Bishop Youhannes Zakaria of Luqsor of the Coptics; Bishop Makarios Tewfik of Ismayliah of the Coptics; Bishop Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak of Minya of the Coptics, accompanied by Bishop emeritus Antonios Naguib.

- 27: Archbishop Celestino Migliore, apostolic nuncio and permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations. Archbishop Giovanni Bulaitis, apostolic nuncio in Albania. Archbishop Adolfo Tito Yllana, apostolic nuncio in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.

- 30: Five prelates from the Episcopal Conference of Egypt on their "ad limina visit": His Beatitude Cardinal Stephanos II Ghattas, patriarch of Alexandria of the Coptics, accompanied by Auxiliary Bishops Youhanna Colta, Antonios Aziz Mina, Andraos Salama, eparch of Guizeh of the Coptics and Giuseppe Bausardo, S.D.B., apostolic vicar of Alexandria. Group of Bishops from Egypt.

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

- 1: Resignation of Bishop Thomas V. Daily of Brooklyn, U.S.A., upon having reached the age limit. Appointment of his successor, Bishop Nicholas A. DiMarzio of Camden, U.S.A. Appointment of Fr. Peter Joseph Jugis, judicial vicar and pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Monroe, U.S.A., as bishop of Charlotte, U.S.A. Appointment of Bishop Sam Gallip Jacobs of Alexandria, U.S.A., as bishop of Houma-Thibodaux, U.S.A.

- 2: Resignation of Bishop Alfredo Maria Garsia of Caltanissetta, Italy upon having reached the age limit. Appointment of his successor, Msgr. Mario Russotto, director of the regional Center for the Permanent Formation of the Mother of the Good Shepherd Clergy and secretary of the Sicilian Episcopal Conference. Resignation of Bishop Andrzej Sliwinski of Elblag, Poland in accordance with canon 401, para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law. Appointment of his successor, Bishop Jan Styrna, auxiliary of the diocese of Tarnow, Poland. Appointment of Archbishop-Bishop Francesco Pio Tamburrino, O.S.B., emeritus of Teggiano-Policastro, Italy and secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of Sacraments, as metropolitan archbishop of Foggia-Bovina, Italy. Elevation of Fr. Venceslao Padilla, C.I.C.M., apostolic prefect of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, to episcopal dignity. Appointment of Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino, prelate of Pompei and Pontifical Delegate for the Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of the Holy Rosary, as secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of Sacraments. He will continue as the apostolic administrator of the same prelature as well as pontifical delegate for the shrine.

- 4: Resignation of Archbishop Giulio Einaudi as apostolic nuncio in Croatia upon having reached the age limit. Appointment of Archbishop Francisco-Javier Lozano, apostolic nuncio in service to the Section for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State, as his successor.

- 5: Appointment of Fr. Antoine Vu Huy Chuong, professor of Dogmatic Theology at the Major Interdiocesan Seminary of Can Tho, Vietnam, as bishop of Hung Hoa, Vietnam. Appointment of Archbishop Eliseo Antonio Ariotti, apostolic nuncio in Cameroon, as apostolic nuncio in Equatorial Guinea.
- 6: Erection of the diocese of Fontibon, Colombia, with territory taken from the archdiocese of Bogota, Colombia, making it a suffragan of the Metropolitan Church of Bogota. Appointment of Bishop Enrique Sarmiento Angulo, auxiliary of Bogota, Colombia, as bishop of the same diocese. Erection of the diocese of Engativa, Colombia, with territory taken from the archdiocese of Bogota, making it a suffragan of the Metropolitan Church of Bogota. Appointment of Bishop Hector Luis Gutierrez Pabon of Chiquinquira, Colombia as bishop of the same diocese. Erection of the diocese of Soacha, Colombia, with territory taken from the archdiocese of Bogota, making it a suffragan of the Metropolitan Church of Bogota. Appointment of Bishop Daniel Caro Borda, auxiliary of Bogota, as bishop of the same diocese. Appointment of Bishop Douglas Crosby, O.M.I., as bishop of Saint-George's, Canada. He continues to govern "in persona Episcopi" the diocese of Labrador City Schefferville, Canada. Appointment of Bishop Jose Maria Pinheiro, auxiliary of the diocese of Guajara-Mirim, Brazil, as auxiliary of the archdiocese of San Paolo, Brazil.
- 9: Resignation of Bishop Aloysius Ferdinandus Zichem, C.SS.R., from the pastoral care of the diocese of Paramaribo, Suriname, in accordance with Canon 401, para. 2, of the Code of Canon Law. Appointment of Fr. Enrique Perez Lavado, spiritual director of the Major Seminary of Maracaibo, Venezuela, as bishop of Maturin, Venezuela. The Holy Father approved of the election of Fr. Youssef Aboul-Kheir, pastor of the Holy Virgin Mary Parish in Gergia, Egypt, canonically undertaken by the Synod of Bishops of the Coptic Church, as bishop of Sohag of the Coptic Catholics. He succeeds Bishop Markos Hakim, O.F.M., who resigned from the pastoral care of the eparchy in accordance with Canon 201 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. Appointment of Cardinal Angelo Sodano, secretariat of State, as pontifical legate for the 700th anniversary of Pope Boniface VIII in Anagni, Italy on October 12, 2003. The Holy Father appoints Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor, archbishop of Westminister, England, as his special envoy to the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the diocese of Stockholm, Sweden which will take place on October 12, 2003.

- 13: The Holy Father accepts the resignation of Archbishop Lucien Daloz of Besancon, France, in accordance with Canon 401, para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law, and appoints Bishop Andre Lacrampe of Ajaccio, France, to succeed him.

- 14: Resignation of Bishop Emery Kabongo Kanundowi of Luebo, Democratic Republic of Congo, in accordance with Canon 401, para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law. The Holy Father appoints Fr. Jean-Baptiste Gourion, O.S.B. Oliv., abbott of St. Mary of the Resurrection Monastery in Abu-Gosh, Israel, as auxiliary bishop of the Latin patriarchate of Jerusalem, Israel.

- 18: John Paul II accepts the resignation of Bishop Paulius Antanas Baltakis, O.F.M., from the office in charge of the spiritual assistance of Lithuanian Catholics living abroad, upon having reached the age limit.

- 28: Resignation of Bishop William C. Newman from the office of auxiliary of the archdiocese of Baltimore, U.S.A., upon having reached the age limit. The Holy Father erects the apostolic exarchate of Serbia and Montenegro for Catholics of the Byzantine Rite and appoints Bishop Djura Dzudzar, auxiliary of Mukacheve of the Byzantine Rite, Ukraine as bishop.

- 29: Appointment of Bishop Matthew Moolakkatt, O.S.B., auxiliary of Kottayam of the Siro-Malabars, India as coadjutor bishop of the same eparchy.

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, SEP 2, 2003 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Bishop Jean-Michel di Falco, auxiliary of Paris, France, as auxiliary bishop of Gap (area 5,653, population 121,253, Catholics 100,000, priests 86, permanent deacons 4, religious 171), France.

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, SEP 2, 2003 (VIS) - Today the Holy Father received in separate audience:

- Four prelates from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India on their "ad limina" visit:

- Bishop Anthony Fernandes of Bareilly.

- Bishop Albert D'Souza of Lucknow.

- Archbishop Paschal Topno, S.J., of Bhopal.

- Bishop George M. Anathil, S.V.D., of Indore.

- Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, apostolic nuncio in Ukraine.

- Archbishop Antonio Mennini, representative of the Holy See in the Russian Federation.

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HOLY SEE-RELATED ACTIVITIES

VATICAN CITY, SEP 2, 2003 (VIS) - Following is a chronological presentation of Holy See-related activities during the month of August, according to information provided by the various dicasteries:

- 9: Communique from the "Populorum Progressio" Foundation on their administration's annual board meeting which took place July 8-12 in Guadalajara, Mexico. Of the 259 projects examined, the Council approved 221, for a total of $1,843,250 in aid.

- 26: Declaration from Holy See Press Office Director Joaquin Navarro-Valls in which he announces that the Holy See has accepted the invitation to participate in the Inter-religious Congress that will take place in Astana, Kazakistan September 23-24. The Holy See Delegation will be headed by Cardinal Jozef Tomko, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

- 29: Letter by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, secretary of State, to Bishop Adriano Caprioli, president of the Episcopal Commission of the Italian Episcopal Conference for the Liturgy, on the occasion of the celebration of National Liturgy Week (August 25-29) in Acireale, Italy.

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