OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

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

 - Appointed Bishop Pierre Burcher, auxiliary of Lausanne, Geneve et Fribourg, Switzerland, as bishop of Reykjavik (area 103,000, population 299,407, Catholics 6,451, priests 15, religious 48), Iceland. He succeeds Joannes Baptist Matthijs Gijsen, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

 - Appointed Fr. Hermenegildo Torres Asanza of the clergy of the diocese of Machala, Ecuador, episcopal vicar for the "Zona Alta," as auxiliary of the same diocese (area 5,819, population 527,000, Catholics 499,000, priests 38, religious 94). The bishop-elect was born in San Roque, Ecuador in 1966 and ordained a priest in 1992.

 - Appointed Fr. William Patrick Callahan O.F.M. Conv., spiritual director of the Pontifical North American College in Rome, as auxiliary of the archdiocese of Milwaukee (area 12,323, population 2,271,840, Catholics 707,688, priests 703, permanent deacons 167, religious 2,856), U.S.A. The bishop-elect was born in Chicago, U.S.A. in 1950 and ordained a priest in 1977.

 - Appointed Fr. Herve Gaschignard of the clergy of the diocese of Nantes, France, pastor of Notre-Dame la Blanche in Guerande, as auxiliary of Toulouse (area 6,372, population 1,126,000, Catholics 743,160, priests 384, permanent deacons 18, religious 768), France. The bishop-elect was born in Saint-Nazaire, France in 1959 and ordained a priest in 1989.
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IN BRIEF

ARCHBISHOP CELESTINO MAGGIORE, permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, spoke yesterday in New York before the second committee of the 62nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly on the theme of sustainable development. Speaking English, Archbishop Migliore highlighted the "underlying moral imperative that all, without exception, have a grave responsibility to protect the environment." This, he said, means we must "examine how we use and share the goods of the earth and what we pass on to future generations. It exhorts us to live in harmony with our environment."

AT THE ALTAR OF THE CATHEDRA in St., Peter's Basilica at 11.30 a.m. on Monday, November 5, the Holy Father will preside at a Mass concelebrated with members of the College of Cardinals for the souls of cardinals and bishops who died during the course of the year.

"THE MEDIA: AT THE CROSSROADS BETWEEN ACTIVISM AND SERVICE. Seeking the Truth in order to share it with others" is the theme chosen by Benedict XVI for the 42nd World Communications Day, due to be celebrated on May 4, 2008. In a communique released today Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, writes that such a theme "calls on us to reflect on the role played by the media and especially the increasing risk of their becoming self-absorbed and no longer tools at the service of truth - something which is meant to be sought and shared."
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