OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, DEC 14, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Fr. Benoit Riviere, epsicopal vicar of Marseille (area 650, population 1,000,000, Catholics 669,000, priests 341, permanent deacons 15, religious 990), France, as auxiliary of the same archdiocese. The bishop-elect was born in Brive, France, in 1954 and ordained a priest in 1983.

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, DEC 14, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:

- Bishop Javier Echevarria Rodriguez, prelate of the personal prelature of Opus Dei.
- Carl A. Anderson, supreme knight of the Knights of Columbus, accompanied by his wife and an entourage.

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DECLARATION ON VISIT OF JORG HAIDER TO THE VATICAN

VATICAN CITY, DEC 14, 2000 (VIS) - The following declaration was released this afternoon by Holy See Press Office Director Joaquin Navarro-Valls:

"On December 16, a delegation from Carinthia, Austria, led by Governor Jorg Haider and by Bishop Egon Kapellari of Gurk, will officially give the Holy Father the gift of a Christmas tree which has been set up in St. Peter's Square, next to the nativity scene, as has been traditional since 1982.

"The offer of this tree was made official on December 3, 1997 with the then Governor of Carinthia, Christof Zernatto.

"As occurred in all preceding years, the delegation from Carinthia, a region of deep religiousness, will be received in the morning by the Holy Father.

"As is well known, pontifical audiences cannot be compared to the usual meetings between heads of State and political figures. They follow uniquely pastoral criteria. This allows the Roman Pontiffs the full liberty to encourage their guests to respect human and Christian values, following a line of conduct marked by constructive and productive dialogue."

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AUDIENCE: THE VALUE OF COMMITMENT IN TEMPORAL REALITIES

VATICAN CITY, DEC 13, 2000 (VIS) - In today's general audience, which was held in St. Peter's Square in the presence of 35,000 people, John Paul II spoke on "The value of commitment in temporal realities."

The Pope said that "biblical revelation and the finest philosophical wisdom agree in their emphasis that humanity is, on the one hand, drawn towards the infinite and the eternal and, on the other, firmly rooted on earth within the coordinates of time and space."

Genesis indicates that the alliance between the Creator and man comes about in the latter's commitment to stewardship over earthly realities and to the service of God. "Unfortunately," continued the Pope, "man often accomplishes the mission with which God has entrusted him, not as a wise architect but as an arrogant tyrant. In the end, he finds himself in a devastated and hostile world, in a shattered and wounded society. Genesis also shows us this ... in describing the rift in man's harmony with his fellows, with the earth and with the Creator Himself. This is the fruit of original sin."

"We must, then, with the grace of Christ the Redeemer, make ours once more the plan of peace and development, of justice and solidarity, of transformation and evaluation of earthly and temporal realities. ... By means of the economy, commerce and social life, we must cultivate well-being and knowledge and seek victory over misery and over all forms of humiliation of human dignity."

The Holy Father emphasized that "the work of creation is, in a certain sense, delegated by God to man in order that it may continue in the extraordinary feats of science and technology, ... with the aim of 'cultivating and protecting' the earth and making men and women more united."

"Christians," he concluded, "are called to collaborate with the Creator in order to build on earth a 'house for man' more in keeping with his dignity and the divine plan."

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, DEC 13, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Appointed Fr. Luigi Martella of the clergy of Otranto, Italy, spiritual director of the pontifical seminary of Molfetta and professor of moral theology at the theological institute of Molfetta, as bishop of Molfetta-Ruvo-Giovinazzo-Terlizzi (area 422, population 138,269, Catholics 137,105, priests 99, permanent deacons 6, religious 162), Italy. The bishop-elect was born in Depressa, Italy, in 1948 and ordained a priest in 1977.

- Appointed Msgr. Alfonso Badini Confalonieri of the clergy of Susa, Italy, delegate of the ordinary section of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See, as bishop of Susa (area 1,062, population 62,000, Catholics 60,000, priests 75, permanent deacons 1, religious 159). The bishop-elect was born in Valenza, Italy, in 1944 and ordained a priest in 1978. He succeeds Bishop Vittorio Bernardetto, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

- Appointed Msgr. Tommaso Stenico, study assistant at the Congregation for the Clergy, as bureau chief of the same congregation.

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