OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, 27 JUL 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Msgr. Luis R. Zarama, vicar general of the archdiocese of Atlanta, U.S.A., as auxiliary of the same archdiocese (area 55,521, population 6,455,000, Catholics 757,000, priests 279, permanent deacons 202, religious 189). The bishop-elect was born in Pasto, Colombia in 1958 and ordained a priest in 1993.

  On Saturday 25 July it was made public that he:

 - Appointed Bishop Joseph Vu Duy Thong, auxiliary of Thanh-Pho Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, as bishop of Phan Thiet (area 7,828, population 1,595,000, Catholics 155,287, priests 107, religious 482), Vietnam. He succeeds Bishop Paul Nguyen Thanh Hoan, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

 - Appointed Bishop Pierre Nguyen Van De S.D.B., auxiliary of Bui Chu, Vietnam, as bishop of Thai Binh (area 2,301, population 2,948,000, Catholics 121,500, priests 57, religious 123), Vietnam. He succeeds Bishop Francois X. Nguyen Van Sang, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

 - Appointed Fr. Joseph Nguyen Nang, rector of the major seminary of Xuan Loc, Vietnam, as bishop of Phat Diem (area 1,787, population 980,987, Catholics 153,131, priests 54, religious 215), Vietnam. The bishop-elect was born in Phuc Nhac, Vietnam in 1953 and ordained a priest in 1990.

 - Appointed Msgr. Charles Phillip Richard Moth, vicar general of the archdiocese of Southwark, England, as military ordinary for Great Britain. The bishop-elect was born in Chingola, Zambia in 1958 and ordained a priest in 1982.

 - Appointed Archbishop Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo of Semarang, Indonesia, as coadjutor archbishop of Jakarta (area 2,988, population 11,957,000, Catholics 458,369, priests 281, religious 1,049), Indonesia.

 - Appointed Fr. Thomas Vu Dinh Hieu, chancellor of Xuan Loc, Vietnam, as auxiliary of the same diocese (area 5,955, population 2,386,744, Catholics 816,342, priests 343, religious 1,915). The bishop-elect was born in Ninh My, Vietnam in 1954 and ordained a priest in 1999.

 - Appointed as members of the International Theological Commission: Fr. Marco Doldi, professor of moral theology at the Faculty of Theology of Northern Italy in Genoa; Fr. Gilles Emery O.P., professor of systematic theology at the Faculty of Theology of Fribourg, Switzerland; Fr. Mario Angel Flores, professor of systematic theology at the Faculty of Theology of Mexico in Mexico City; Fr. Francis Gustilo S.D.B., professor of theology and spirituality at the Don Bosco Study Centre of Paranaque in Manila, Philippines; Fr. Javier Prades Lopez, professor of systematic theology at the Faculty of Theology of Madrid, Spain; Fr. Michael Schulz, professor of systematic theology at the Faculty of Theology of the University of Bonn, Germany; Fr. Pierangelo Sequeri, professor of fundamental theology at the Theological Faculty of Northern Italy in Milan; Fr. Philippe Vallin, professor of systematic theology at the Faculty of Theology of the University of Strasbourg, France, and Fr. Guillermo Zuleta professor of systematic theology and of canon law at the University of Medellin, Colombia

 - Appointed Cardinal Franc Rode C.M., prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, as his special envoy to celebrations marking the millennium of the archdiocese of Alba Julia, Romania, due to take place on 29 September.
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