OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, NOV 23, 2005 (VIS) - The Holy Father, with the aim of reorganizing the ecclesiastical hierarchy in Albania, appointed:

 - Msgr. Dode Gjergji, apostolic administrator of Sape, as bishop of the same diocese. The bishop-elect was born in Stublla, Kosovo in 1963 and ordained a priest in 1989.

- Fr. Ottavio Vitale R.C.I., apostolic administrator of Lezhe, as bishop of the same diocese. The bishop-elect was born in Grottaglie, Italy in 1959 and ordained a priest in 1992.

- Fr. Cristoforo Palmieri, apostolic administrator of Rreshen, as bishop of the same diocese. The bishop-elect was born in Bitonto, Italy in 1939 and ordained a priest in 1967.
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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, NOV 23, 2005 (VIS) - Following today's general audience, the Holy Father received in separate audiences:

 - Archbishop Diego Causero, apostolic nuncio to the Czech Republic.

 - Archbishop Giovanni d'Aniello, apostolic nuncio to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

 - Archbishop Martin Vidovic, apostolic nuncio to Belarus.
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ARCHBISHOP FOLEY: CINEMA AT THE SERVICE OF MANKIND

VATICAN CITY, NOV 23, 2005 (VIS) - Yesterday evening, Archbishop John P. Foley, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, inaugurated the 9th International Congress on Cinema and Spirituality, which is being held in Rome's "Roma Tre" University on November 22 and 23.

  Referring to the theme of this year's gathering, "the temptation to believe," the archbishop said that submitting to such temptation "means starting along the road of the difficult search for Truth in a world such as today's which swings from religious indifference to religious extremism; it means responding to God despite human incredulity, which can never be completely overcome, it means undertaking an act of courage, a leap of quality at the existential level."

  The president of the Pontifical Council recalled how in various films "the temptation to believe ... has given rise to a dialogue between human beings and God, a dialogue capable of stimulating spectators to profound reflection, bringing them face to face with their own intimate identity and with their fellow men."

  "The great film directors," the archbishop continued, "know how to tell the stories of men and women of all times and cultures to the men and women of today, echoing personal experiences of great intensity. And it is precisely this valuable potential of cinema that leads me to hope that it will continue to place itself at the service of mankind, guiding man to a spiritual understanding of his own essence."

  Archbishop Foley highlighted the fact that "cinema has traversed more than one hundred years," yet it "continues to amaze us, to make us think and question ourselves through the masterful art of those artists who have chosen to share their spiritual experience with the spectator."
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LETTER TO THE EPHESIANS: GOD THE SAVIOR

VATICAN CITY, NOV 23, 2005 (VIS) - In the general audience held this morning in St. Peter's Square, Benedict XVI dedicated his catechesis to the opening canticle of the Letter to the Ephesians, "God the Savior." It belongs, he said, to the category of "blessings that appear in the Old Testament and that were further spread by the Jewish tradition."

  It is, said the Pope, "a constant stream of praise rising up to God, Who in the Christian faith is celebrated as 'Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.' It is for this reason that, in our hymn of praise, the central figure is that of Christ, in Whom the work of God the Father is revealed and accomplished."

  The Holy Father went on to refer to the verbs used in St. Paul's hymn, the first of which is "to choose." God "'chose us in Him,' this is our vocation to sanctity, to the status of adoptive children, and hence to fraternity with Christ. ... The second verb ... designates the gift of grace. ... The grace the Father gives us in the only begotten Son is, then, the epiphany of His love which envelops and transforms us.

  "Thus we come to the third fundamental verb of the Pauline hymn. It too has as its object in divine grace which is 'lavished upon us.' What we have, then, is a verb of fullness, we could say (keeping to its original sense) of excess, of giving without limit or reserve."

  "And so we reach the infinite and glorious depths of the mystery of God, opened and revealed by grace to those who were called through grace and love. ... The mystery of divine will has a center that is destined to coordinate all existence and all history, leading them to the fullness desired by God. This is the 'plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things' in Christ."

  "We are looking at the great fresco of the history of creation and of salvation, which we may consider more deeply through the words of St. Irenaeus who recognized that since the Word of God truly becomes man, sin and death are defeated and all people are renewed in Christ."

  Following the audience, the Pope addressed a special greeting to representatives of the Italian National Anti-Usury Consultancy, which is celebrating the tenth anniversary of its creation. "Your presence in such large numbers," he told them, "gives me the opportunity to express my heartfelt appreciation for the courageous and generous activity you carry out in support of the families of people hit by the deplorable social plague of usury. I hope that many people will stand alongside you to support your worthy commitment in the field of prevention, solidarity and education."

  The Holy Father also spoke to Polish pilgrims, recalling the recent celebration of the day dedicated to communities of contemplative life. "They represent a great wealth for the Church," he said, "let us thank the nuns and monks for their prayers and for their silent accompaniment of a restless world."
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