OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, APRIL 22, 2002 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed the following as members of the Pontifical Council of Justice and Peace: Archbishops George Pell of Sydney, Australia, and Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya of Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo; Bishops Amedee Grap of Chur, Switzerland, Reinhard Marx of Trier, Germany, Olivier de Berrauger of Saint-Denis, France, Leon Tharmaraj of Kottar, India, and Antonio Ledesma of Ipil, the Phillipines; Silvio Marcus Helmons of Belgium, Tomas Raga Gil of Spain, Raymond Ranjeva of Madagascar, Onno Ruding of the Netherlands, Andrea Riccardi of Italy, Maria E. Diaz de Pfennich of Mexico, and Mary Yuen Mee-Yin of Hong Kong.

On Saturday April 20, it was made public that the Holy Father erected the apostolic exarchate for the Catholic Greek-Melkites living in Argentina with its see in Cordoba. He also appointed Fr. Georges Haddad S.M.S.P. as first exarch of the newly-erected exarchate, assigning him the titular see of Mira of the Greek-Melkites. The bishop-elect was born in 1957 in Beirut, Lebanon and was ordained a priest in 1983.

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, APR 22, 2002 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:

- Four prelates from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria, on their "ad limina" visit:
- Archbishop John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan of Abuya.
- Bishop Athanasius Atule Usuh of Makurdi.
- Bishop Vincent Valentine Egwuchukwu Ezeonyia of Aba.
- Bishop John Moore, apostolic vicar of Bauchi.
- Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, archbishop major of Lviv of the Ukrainians, with Auxiliary Bishops Stanislaw Padewski, O.F.M.Cap., Ihor Vozniak, C.SS.R., and Hlib Lonchyna, M.S.U.

On Saturday April 20, the Holy Father received in separate audiences:

- Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski, apostolic nuncio in Kazakhstan and Tadjikistan.
- Two prelates from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria, on their "ad limina" visit:
- Bishop Hilary Paul Odili Okeke of Nnewi.
- Bishop Joseph Egerega, apostolic vicar of Bomadi.
- Bishop Joseph Edra Ukpo of Ogoja.
- Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, APR 19, 2002 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:

- Nine prelates from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria on their "ad limina" visit:
- Bishop Joseph Effiong Ekuwem of Uyo.
- Bishop Emmanuel Otteh of Issele-Uku.
- Bishop Francis Emmanuel Ogbonna Okobo of Nsukka.
- Bishop Simon Akwali Okafor of Awka, accompanied by Auxiliary Bishop Solomon Amanchukwu Amatu.
- Bishop Gabriel Leke Abegunrin of Osogbo.
- Bishop Richard Anthony Burke of Warri, accompanied by Auxiliary Bishop John 'Oke Afareha.
- Bishop Alfred Adewale Martins of Abeokuta.
- Fr. Giacomo Bini O.F.M., general minister of the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor.

This after he will receive Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

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PRESENT PRIESTLY VOCATION IN ITS ENTIRETY

VATICAN CITY, APR 19, 2002 (VIS) - The Holy Father sent a letter to Cardinal Jean-Claude Turcotte, archbishop of Montreal, Canada, on the occasion of the congress concerning the pastoral care of vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life which is taking place from April 18 to 22 in Rome.

In the letter made public today and dated April 12, the Pope recalls that "the theme of the congress - 'Vocation: Gift from God' - expresses well the fundamental dimension of the priestly or religious vocation, and inspires all the participants to live the days of the congress in a fervent climate, invoking the light and strength of the Holy Spirit."

"The census of apostolic efforts in Canada" shows that "some seminaries are being filled with candidates for the priesthood, and that certain religious congregations have many vocations, thanks to, among other things, the vocational fecundity of more recent communities and ecclesial movements."

"Apropos of the call to the priestly ministry, I want to underline that it cannot be considered a call among many others; in fact, the fulfillment and development of all other vocations depends on it. A priest represents Christ in his roles as Master, Shepherd, Priest and Spouse."

John Paul II affirms that the Lord's voice "is frequently drown out by other calls that unfortunately distract the spirit of the youth, and also by some ideas about the priesthood and priestly ministry that do not conform to the faith and Church tradition. In the face of this, capillary pastoral action is necessary, capable of presenting this vocation in its entirety and of offering useful help to those who are the object of the Lord's invitation."

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, APR 19, 2002 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Appointed Msgr. Joseph (Joy) Kalathiparambil, vicar general of the archdiocese of Verapoly, India as bishop of Calicut (area 12,505, population 8,770,634, Catholics 23,526, priests 96, religious 707), India. The bishop-elect was born in 1952 in Vaduthala, India and was ordained a priest in 1978. The Holy Father also accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese presented by Bishop Maxwell Valentine Noronha, upon having reached the age limit.

- Appointed Archbishop Jules Mikhael Al-Jamil, apostolic visitor of the Syrian faithful resident in Western Europe, as the procurator general of the Syrian Patriarchate in Rome.

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