OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, MAR 18, 2005 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed:

 - Fr. Fulgence Muteba Mugalu of the clergy of Kongolo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, secretary general of the National Episcopal Conference of the Congo, as bishop of Kilwa-Kasenga (area 54,000, population 441,716, Catholics 130,200, priests 26, religious 38), Democratic Republic of the Congo. The bishop-elect was born in Kongolo in 1962 and ordained a priest in 1990.

 - Fr. Vincent De Paul Kwanga Njubu of the clergy of Kongolo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, national director of the Pontifical Missionary Works in that country, as bishop of Manono (area 45,000, population 296,850, Catholics 152,158, priests 44, religious 1), Democratic Republic of the Congo. The bishop-elect was born in Budi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, in 1956 and ordained a priest in 1985.

 - Fr. John Bosco Panya Kritcharoen, pastor of Chombung and director of the evangelization center, as bishop of Ratchaburi (area 31,362, population 2,237,381, Catholics 15,730, priests 71, religious 88), Thailand. The bishop-elect was born in Bangtan-Banpong, Thailand, in 1949 and ordained a priest in 1976.

 - Fr. Marco Antonio Cortez Lara of the clergy of Chiclayo, Peru, pastor of the parish of Santa Lucia in Ferrenafe, as coadjutor bishop of Tacna y Moquegua (area 30,539, population 914,300, Catholics 804,854, priests 68, permanent deacons 4, religious 121), Peru. The bishop-elect was born in Chiclayo in 1957 and ordained a priest in 1985.

 - Fr Luis Sole Fa C.M., pastor and episcopal vicar of Mosquitia, Honduras, as bishop of Trujillo (area 25,500, population 280,000, priests 17, religious 23), Honduras. The bishop-elect was born in Tarragona, Spain, in 1946 and ordained a priest in 1973.
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POST-SYNOD COUNCIL FOR EUROPE MEETS IN ROME

VATICAN CITY, MAR 18, 2005 (VIS) - Made public today was a communique from the Synod of Bishops on the March 7, 2005, meeting in Rome of the council of the General  Secretariat for the Second Special Assembly for Europe under the presidency of Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, secretary general. This was the fifth such post-synod meeting.

  The meeting included a report on the secretariat's activity since the fourth post-synodal meeting, a summary of the results of the consultation on the application of the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation "Ecclesia in Europa" and a discussion on the Christian roots and spiritual vocation of Europe according to the doctrine laid out in the exhortation.

  The debate on the post-synodal exhortation underscored the fact that several European episcopal conferences have used this document in planning pastoral programs and ministries, often using single chapters as a plan for single years of pastoral activities. The document has been the focus of congresses, conferences, studies, books and articles.

  Participants also discussed Pope John Paul's Book, "Memory and Identity," with special focus on the passages where he speaks about the "convincing theme of the Christian roots of Europe" where the Pope talks of the baptism of the inhabitants of his native Poland in 966, how Christianity spread to central European countries and how, "in a like fashion, Christianity contributed in a decisive way to the formation of countries in western Europe. Notwithstanding the omission in the Constitutional Treaty of the European Union, the idea of Christian roots in Europe has been imposed on public opinion, gathering great consensus among Christians, Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants."

  The communique noted how "ecumenical relations are making progress but the efforts of the Catholic Church do not always find fruit, nor are they corresponded to in the diverse Churches. Following the Holy Father's example, Catholics continue to pray and to work in the ecumenical spirit."
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PRIESTS MUST GIVE THEIR LIVES ENTIRELY TO GOD'S PEOPLE

VATICAN CITY, MAR 18, 2005 (VIS) - In the Holy See Press Office this morning, Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, presented the Pope's Letter to Priests for Holy Thursday 2005. Also present at the press conference were Archbishop Csaba Ternyak and Msgr. Giovanni Carru, respectively secretary and under-secretary of the congregation.

  The eleven-page document, dated March 13, has been published in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Polish.

  Cardinal Castrillon affirmed that this year's Letter has a special resonance because it was signed in "a place marked by the Cross of Christ," Rome's Gemelli Hospital.

  "In the silence of his suffering," said the cardinal, "the Pope, with the example of a life given 'to the end', repeats the Pauline affirmation: 'we preach Christ crucified, ... the power of God and the wisdom of God,' loving all men with Christ's charity and completing in his own body what is lacking in the passion of the one Savior and Redeemer," these last words a reference to Colossians 1, 24.

  The cardinal went on: "From his own cross, the Pope indicates to each priest the unfathomable dignity, conferred upon him by ordination, of being able to pronounce, 'in persona Christi,' the words that instituted the Eucharistic mystery, and of receiving the capacity to transform his own priestly existence into a radical gift for the Church and for humanity."

  "Conformed to Christ, we priests are called by the Pope to transform ourselves into Eucharistic bread, giving thanks to God with our own lives, for the work of salvation achieved by His only begotten Son."

  The prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy indicated that the Holy Father "reminds us of 'the obedience of love,' that grateful obligation with which we have been entrusted, to give ourselves entirely to the People of God, an obligation that we assumed on the day of our priestly ordination and that finds expression, as an example for all the faithful, in following the authoritative discernment of bishops, imitating Christ Who at the last Supper entrusted Himself to the Church. What we are giving is our autonomy, even our legitimate autonomy, a giving against which modern culture rebels as it seeks self-realization in reason unfettered by any limitation."

  "Once more, in this year of the Eucharist, the Holy Father introduces us with love to the 'mysterium Paschae' which is the great mystery of faith. ... With the gentleness of faith, we are invited by the Pope to reverently safeguard the liturgical norms that not only protect the sacredness of the Rite but give it luster. We priests will accept his words in order to be custodians of the Eucharist, in a continuous vigil and in all corners of the earth, and on our knees before the Tabernacle we will place all our solitude."

  Cardinal Castrillon concluded by highlighting the fact that "despite the passing of the years, strengthened by the Pope's words, we will spread the youthfulness of God Who is in us and irradiate it to those we meet on our way. ... The Holy Father assures us that from priestly sanctity will grow new life for the Church, with vocations that will guarantee the ardor of new evangelization, nourished by the bread of eternal life."

  To read the full text of the Pope's Letter, click here.
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HOLY FATHER, IN VIDEO LINKUP, BLESSES YOUTH IN ROME MEETING

VATICAN CITY, MAR 18, 2005 (VIS) - Thousands of young people gathered last evening at St. John Lateran Basilica in Rome for a prayer encounter and Eucharistic adoration in preparation for the 20th World Youth Day to be held in Cologne, Germany in August. They were welcomed by Cardinal Camillo Ruini who read a message to them from Pope John Paul who, through a video linkup with his private study, greeted the young people in silence and blessed them. The youth reciprocated with long and enthusiastic applause.

  "I wish to spiritually join you," said the Pope in his message, "and to express all my affection for you: I know that you are always close to me and you never tire of praying for me. I greet you and thank you from the bottom of my heart."

  The Pope then prayed: "We raise together our eyes to Jesus the Eucharist. ... Jesus, we adore You hidden in the host! In a time marked by hatred, egoism, the desire for false happiness, decadent behavior, the absence of paternal and maternal figures, instability in so many young families and the fragility and uneasiness of which young people are victims, we look to You, Jesus Eucharist with renewed hope. Notwithstanding our sins, we trust in Your Divine Mercy. ... The heavenly Father created us in His image and likeness; from Him we have received the gift of life that, the more we recognize it as precious from the moment of its beginning to death, the more threatened and manipulated it becomes."

  The message continued: "We adore You, Jesus Eucharist. We adore Your body and blood given for us and for all in the remission of sins. ... As we adore You, how can we not think about the many things we should do to give You glory? ... Help us, Jesus, to understand that 'to do' in Your Church, .... it is important above all 'to be', that is, to stay with You in adoration, in Your gentle company."

  John Paul II prayed that each young person present place Jesus at the center of their lives, commit to building "a civilization of love, and participate in Sunday, and even daily, Mass." He said he hoped that many vocations to the consecrated life and to the priesthood would be born as well as "generous vocations to holiness, which is the high measure of ordinary Christian life, especially in families: It is this which the Church and society most needs today."
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