OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, OCT 10, 2006 (VIS) - The Holy Father Appointed Archbishop Leopldo Girelli, apostolic nuncio to Indonesia, as apostolic nuncio to East Timor.
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OPENING OF ROMAN NECROPOLIS ON VIA TRIUMPHALIS

VATICAN CITY, OCT 10, 2006 (VIS) - On Thursday, October 12, as part of celebrations marking the fifth centenary of the Vatican Museums, the new section of the Roman necropolis on the Via Triumphalis will be opened. The sector came to light in 2003 during building work on a parking lot within Vatican City.

  Excavation work in this area was undertaken by archaeologists from the Vatican Museums who uncovered a cemetery, part of the same complex that was discovered between 1959 and 1960. The two areas constitute part of a large burial ground along the old Via Triumphalis which led from Rome to Veio (Isola Farnese) over Monte Mario. Thanks to this latest discovery it is now possible to visit two of the most complete and well-documented necropolises of imperial Rome: the one on the old Via Cornelia (which can be visited in the excavations under St. Peter's Basilica) and this one on the Via Triumphalis.

  Archaeologists have found around 40 small and medium-sized mausolea, and more than 200 individual graves on various levels, many with inscriptions. Most of the tombs - which date from the end of the first century BC to the beginning of the fourth century AD - are well preserved, and some have decorations, frescoes and mosaic floors.

  Funerary altars, urns, and sarcophagi with figures in bas-relief have also been brought to light. Of particular interest is the sarcophagus of a young 'equites' (knight), Publius Caesilius Victorinus (270-290 AD), which shows a figure in prayer next to a tree and with a bird above. Some of the tomb inscriptions specify the profession and/or the place of origin of the occupants, while some of the altars have holes to hold flower garlands.

  The archeological site may be visited on Fridays and Saturdays in groups of no more than 25 persons. Reservation is obligatory and may be done by sending a fax to Vatican Museums - Office for Special Visits (no. 0669881573) or by writing to visitespeciali.musei@scv.va.
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HOLY SEE SUPPORT FOR CONVENTIONAL WEAPONS CONTROL

VATICAN CITY, OCT 10, 2006 (VIS) - The work of the 1st committee of the UN General Assembly, being held in New York, includes discussions on a proposed Resolution concerning the international control of the import, export and transfer of conventional weapons, and calling for the creation of a working group charged with preparing a draft of a treaty on the international trade in conventional weapons.

  In this context, Cardinal Raffaele Martino and Bishop Giampaolo Crepaldi, respectively president and secretary of the Pontifical Council "Justice and Peace" today published a declaration, in the name of the Holy See, expressing support for this initiative.

  "Weapons cannot be considered as any other good exchanged," they write in their English-language statement, "their possession, production and trade have deep ethical and social implications and they must be regulated by paying due attention to specific principles of the moral and legal order."

  The two prelates recall John Paul II's call to governments in his 1999 World Peace Day Message for "legally binding measures on trade control of conventional weapons on the global, regional and national level."

  "The Holy See is convinced," the statement concludes, "that such a convention can be an important step towards a true global culture of peace, in which States, civil society and the military industry cooperate, with responsibility and solidarity, for a more peaceful and secure world."
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MESSAGE TO WORLD CONGRESS OF CATHOLIC TELEVISION

VATICAN CITY, OCT 10, 2006 (VIS) - Made public today was a Message from Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B., to Archbishop John P. Foley, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, for the World Congress of Catholic Television, being held in Madrid, Spain, from October 10 to 12.

  In his English-language Message, Cardinal Bertone affirms the need for "great unity between the Holy See and the local hierarchies in order to inspire and support the various television companies, and those that will develop in the future, helping them to remain faithful to their Catholic identity while preserving their diverse styles, sensibilities and cultural characteristics."

  "The new forms of communication offer a highly favorable framework for more active participation of the public together with the media, promoting the inclusion of less fortunate sectors of the public and adapting themselves in a particular way to the experience of communion that is at the very heart of the Church."

  To this end, concludes the cardinal secretary of State, "it is necessary, without fear of technology, with intrepid hope and faith, to promote a joyful, creative and professional presence in television. We must be co-workers of the truth so as to offer the Good News of our Lord in the multiple formats of audiovisual media, while also witnessing to the beauty of creation."
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POPE TO CANONIZE FOUR BLESSEDS ON SUNDAY

VATICAN CITY, OCT 10, 2006 (VIS) - At 10 a.m. on Sunday, October 15, the Holy Father will celebrate the Eucharist in St. Peter's Square and canonize the following Blesseds:

  Rafael Guizar Valencia, bishop of Veracruz, Mexico (1878 - 1938); Filippo Smaldone, diocesan priest, founder of the Congregation of the Salesian Sisters of the Sacred Heart (1848 - 1923); Rosa Venerini, foundress of the Congregation of the "Maestre Pie Venerini" (1656 - 1728); and Theodore Guerin, nee Anna Teresa, foundress of the Congregation of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary of the Woods in the United States. (1798 - 1856).
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