PSALM 47, A HYMN TO MOUNT ZION, A SONG OF PRAISE TO GOD

VATICAN CITY, OCT 17, 2001 (VIS) - At today's general audience, held in St. Peter's Square in the presence of 22,000 pilgrims from around the world, Pope John Paul's catechesis focused on Psalm 47, "a hymn in honor of Mount Zion, where the Lord's temple is set in the midst of His people."

Psalm 47, continued the Pope, "is a song of praise to God Who in His mercy and love delivers Zion from her enemies. God's faithful people give thanks to the Lord Who protects them; they recognize that it is He Who strengthens them and leads them."

"This," he remarked, "brings to mind the image of the Good Shepherd, and our thoughts turn to Christ Who is the new and living temple of God. We think of the 'heavenly Jerusalem', our true home, of which Christ is the sole foundation and also the door through which we gain entrance to the holy city of our God. It is Jesus Christ Who ever guides us, leading us to rich green pastures where we shall know the fullness of joy forever."

John Paul II affirmed that "God, shepherd of His people, guides them from age to age, never ceasing to keep alive in them the hope of His liberating intercession. It is in Christ that this hope is definitively achieved."

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, OCT 16, 2001 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Appointed Fr. Robert Le Gall, O.S.B., abbot of the Monastery of Sainte-Anne de Kergonam, France, as bishop of Mende (area 5,180, population 73,500, Catholics 61,000, priests 162, permanent deacons 3, religious 251), France. He succeeds Bishop Paul Bertrand, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted in accordance with the age limit. The bishop-elect was born in Saint Hilaire-du-Harcouet, France, in 1946, and was ordained to the priesthood in 1974.

- Appointed Fr. Jean-Claude Boulanger, of the clergy of the diocese of Arras, France, director of "Les Tourelles" House of Welcome in Condette, as coadjutor of Sees (area 6,103, population 292,337, Catholics 274,000, priests 210, permanent deacons 9, religious 375), France. The bishop-elect was born in Journy, France, in 1945, and was ordained to the priesthood in 1972.

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LANGUAGE GROUPS MEET TO PREPARE PROPOSITIONS

VATICAN CITY, OCT 17, 2001 (VIS) - The 12 language groups (3 English, 3 French, 1 German, 2 Spanish, 1 Spanish-Portuguese, 2 Italian) met this morning to prepare the propositions. These same groups will meet again this afternoon and tomorrow morning and afternoon, at which time the members will present the propositions to the secretary general of the Synod of Bishops.

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, OCT 17, 2001 (VIS) - The Holy Father received today in audience the following participants of the Synod of Bishops:

- Cardinal Desmond Connell, archbishop of Dublin, Ireland.
- Archbishop Joseph Henry Ganda of Freetown and Bo, Sierra Leone.
- Archbishop Joseph Eric D'Arcy, emeritus of Hobart, Australia.
- Archbishop Felix Alaba Adeosin Job of Ibadan, Nigeria.
- Archbishop John Baptist Odama of Gulu, Uganda.
- Archbishop Josaphat Louis Lebulu of Arusha, Tanzania.
- Archbishop Vernon James Weisgerber of Winnipeg, Canada.
- Bishop Gerard-Joseph Deschamps, S.M.M., of Bereina, Papua New Guinea.
- Bishop Oswald Thomas Colman Gomis of Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka.
- Bishop Joseph Theodorus Suwatan, M.S.C., of Manado, Indonesia.
- Bishop Ramon C. Arguelles, military ordinary for the Philippines.
- Bishop Patrick James Dunn of Auckland, New Zealand.
- Bishop Malcolm Patrick McMahon, O.P., of Nottingham, England.

On Tuesday, October 16 he received in audience Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

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APPEAL FOR PEACE IN NIGERIA

VATICAN CITY, OCT 17, 2001 (VIS) - At the end of today's general audience in St. Peter's Square, the Holy Father made the following appeal for peace in Nigeria:

"Another episode of brutal violence has been added to the current tragic world situation: over 200 dead and hundreds wounded, victims of clashes between Muslims and Christians in Nigeria.

"Whoever is behind these unjustifiable acts bears responsibility before God.

"While I express, in your name as well, our spiritual closeness to Bishop Patrick Francis Sheehan of Kano and to those who mourn the loss of their loved ones, I pray that God may help everyone find the way of brotherhood again. Only thus will it be possible to respond to God's wish of making one family of humanity."

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