OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, JAN 30, 2007 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

 - Appointed Bishop George V. Murry S.J., of Saint Thomas in the Virgin Islands, U.S.A., as bishop of Youngstown (area 8,813, population 1,220,447, Catholics 233,999, priests 173, permanent deacons 66, religious 242), U.S.A.

 - Archbishop Leo Boccardi, apostolic nuncio to Sudan, also as apostolic nuncio to Eritrea.

 - Archbishop Charles Daniel Balvo, apostolic nuncio to New Zealand, Cook Islands, Fiji Islands, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, and apostolic delegate to the Pacific Ocean, also as apostolic nuncio to Nauru.
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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, JAN 30, 2007 (VIS) - Yesterday afternoon, the Holy Father received in audience Cardinal Jorge Arturo Medina Estevez, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
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MEETING OF THEOLOGICAL DIALOGUE COMMISSION

VATICAN CITY, JAN 30, 2007 (VIS) - The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity this morning released a communique announcing that the annual meeting of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between Catholics and Orthodox is being held in Rome from January 30, to February 3.

  The meeting is to be presided by Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the pontifical council, and by Metropolitan Anba Bishoy of the Coptic Orthodox Church. The Orthodox delegation includes representatives from seven local Churches that are part of the family of the Eastern Orthodox Churches: the Coptic Orthodox, the Syrian Orthodox, the Armenian Apostolic (represented by the two catholicosates of Etchmiadzin and Cilicia), the Ethiopian Orthodox, the Eritrean Orthodox and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian.

  The Catholic delegation includes representatives of the Latin tradition and from the various Eastern Catholic traditions (Coptic Catholic, Syrian Catholic, Armenian Catholic, Maronite, Syro-Malabarese, and Ethiopian).

  Since its creation in 2003, the commission has concentrated its attention above all on two ecclesiological questions: structures of communion, and the exercise of apostolic ministry in the Church.
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TELEGRAM FOR VICTIMS OF FLOODS IN ANGOLA

VATICAN CITY, JAN 30, 2007 (VIS) - The Holy Father sent a telegram of condolence, through Cardinal Secretary of State Tarciso Bertone S.D.B., to Archbishop Giovanni Angelo Becciu, apostolic nuncio to Angola, for the victims of floods that have struck that country in the course of recent days. The complete text of the telegram is given below:

  "The Supreme Pontiff has followed with dismay the drama of the Angolan people affected by the torrential rains that have brought mourning and devastation, and provoked serious damage. He gives assurances of his closeness to those people, entrusting the victims to the mercy of God and appealing for consolation and support for their families and for those who have lost their worldly goods. Benedict XVI implores divine blessings upon everyone affected by this drama, not forgetting those who participate in the immense aid and reconstruction operations."
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