OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, JAN 12, 2005 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed:

 - Frs. Josafa Menezes da Silva, of the clergy of the archdiocese of Sao Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, rector of the minor seminary, and Joao Carlos Petrini of the clergy of the archdiocese of Fermo, Italy, fidei donum priest to Sao Salvador da Bahia and director of the "Joao Paolo II" Pontifical Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family, as auxiliary bishops of the archdiocese of Sao Salvador da Bahia (area 6,334, population 3,373,098, Catholics 2,292,694, priests 255, permanent deacons 48, religious 960), Brazil. Bishop-elect Menezes da Silva was born in Salinas da Margarida, Brazil, in 1959 and ordained a priest in 1989. Bishop-elect Petrini was born in Fermo, Italy, in 1945 and ordained a priest in 1975.

 - Frs. Edney Gouvea Mattoso, of the clergy of the archdiocese of Sao Sebastiao do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, pastor of the "Imaculada Conceicao" parish, and Antonio Augusto Dias Duarte, vicar-secretary of the delegation of the prelature of Opus Dei in Rio de Janeiro, as auxiliary bishops of the archdiocese of Sao Sebastiao do Rio de Janeiro (area 1,261, population 5,857,904, Catholics 4,059,527, priests 582, permanent deacons 34, religious 1,575), Brazil. Bishop-elect Mattoso was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1957 and ordained a priest in 1987. Bishop-elect Dias Duarte was born in Santo Andre, brazil, in 1948 and ordained a priest in 1978.
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ARCHBISHOP FOLEY ADDRESSES COMMUNICATORS IN GHANA

VATICAN CITY, JAN 12, 2005 (VIS) - Archbishop John Foley, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, is in Accra, Ghana, where today he addressed the communicators of Ghana in the Christ the King Parish Hall on "Communication: Telling the Truth."

   In his talk he highlighted elements of a pastoral plan for social communications, saying "they should  include: a) the statement of a vision, based on extensive consultation, which identifies communications strategies for all Church ministries and responds to contemporary issues and conditions; b) an inventory or assessment which describes the media environment in the territory under consideration; c) a proposed structure for Church-related social communications ... including, as far as possible, public relations, press, radio, television, cinema, cassettes, computer networks, facsimile services and related forms of telecommunications; d) media education, with special emphasis on the relationship of media and values; e) pastoral outreach to, and dialogue with, media professionals and f) means of obtaining and maintaining financial support adequate to the carrying-out of the pastoral plan."

  Archbishop Foley also focused on "the process for designing a pastoral plan for social communications," saying "the plan should offer guidelines and suggestions helpful to Church communicators in establishing realistic goals and priorities for their work. It is recommended that a planning team including Church personnel and media professionals be involved in this process, whose two phases are research, and design."

  "Much has already been done in Ghana," he concluded, "but much remains to be done to use all forms of communication to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ and to transform this nation and indeed all of Africa into a society of justice, love and peace."
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POPE SCHEDULED TO TRAVEL TO GERMANY IN 2005

VATICAN CITY, JAN 12, 2005 (VIS) - In answer to questions by journalists, Holy See Press Office Director Joaquin Navarro-Valls today stated that "no trip is scheduled  for the Holy Father this year to Poland, a country where elections will take place in 2005. I can, however, confirm the Holy Father's trip to Cologne, Germany for World Youth Day."
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GENERAL AUDIENCE: GOD'S DOMINION OVER HUMAN EVENTS

VATICAN CITY, JAN 12, 2005 (VIS) - In today's general audience, which was held in the Paul VI Hall, the Pope resumed his reflections on the Liturgy of Evening Prayer speaking about the Canticle from the Book of Revelation (11, 17-18; 12, 10-12) on "the judgment of God".

  John Paul II affirmed how this hymn expresses the "judgment of God over human events. ... God and the Lamb, in other words Christ, surrounded by the divine court, judge the history of the world according to good and evil, showing it the ultimate goal of salvation and glory."

  "The Lord God, omnipotent and eternal, has taken His 'great power, and begun to reign'. His entrance into history has the aim not only of blocking the violent reactions of rebels, but above all of exalting and rewarding the virtuous."

  The second part of the Canticle express the joy induced by the fact that "Satan, the old adversary, ... has been 'cast down' from heaven and no longer has so much power". Moreover, the Pope went on, "the Risen Christ, whose blood is the basis of salvation, ... has received from the Father a royal power over the entire universe. In Him, 'the salvation, the strength and the reign of our God' are accomplished."

  The Holy Father concluded by indicating that Christian martyrs are associated with Christ's victory. They "chose the way of the cross, not giving in to evil and its virulence, but committing themselves to the Father and uniting themselves to the death of Christ with a testimony of devotion and courage that brought them to 'love not their lives even unto death'."
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