OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, OCT 21, 2002 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed:

- Msgr. Manuel da Rocha Felicio, president of the General Secretariat for Clergy of the diocese of Viseu, Portugal, as auxiliary of the patriarchate of Lisbon (area 3,735, population 2,205,077, Catholics 1,894,315, priests 600, permanent deacons 30, religious 1,788), Portugal. The bishop-elect was born in 1947 in Mamouros, Portugal and was ordained a priest in 1973.

- Msgr. Charles Scicluna as promoter of Justice at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

It was made public on Saturday October 19 that the Holy Father appointed:

- Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, as his special envoy to the solemn celebrations of the 1950th anniversary of the arrival of St. Thomas the Apostle in India and of the 450th anniversary of the beginning of St. Francis Xavier's mission. These celebrations will take place in Ernakulam, India on November 16 and 17, 2002.

- Msgr. Paul Tschang In-Nam, nunciature counsellor, as apostolic nuncio in Bangladesh, elevating him to the dignity of archbishop. The archbishop-elect was born in Seoul, Korea in 1949 and was ordained a priest in 1976.

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, OCT 21, 2002 (VIS) - The Holy Father received today in separate audiences:

- Archbishop Georg Eder of Salzburg, Austria.
- Three prelates from the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (Northeast I-IV) on their "ad limina" visit:
- Archbishop Celso Jose Pinto da Silva of Teresina.
- Bishop Augusto Alves da Rocha of Oeiras-Floriano.
- Bishop Jose Doth de Oliveira of Iguatu.

On Saturday October 19, the Holy Father received in separate audiences:
- Mikhail Sergeevic Gorbaciov.
- Archbishop Fortunato Baldelli, apostolic nuncio in France.
- Pedro Jose Rivera Saavedra, ambassador of Bolivia, on his farewell visit.
- Cardinal Francis Arinze, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of Sacraments.

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ARCHBISHOP MARTINO SPEAKS ON CULTURE, DEVELOPMENT AT U.N.

VATICAN CITY, OCT 21, 2002 (VIS) - On October 17, Archbishop Renato Martino, head of the Holy See Observer Delegation to the United Nations to the 57th session of the General Assembly, spoke before the Second Committee during the debate on Item 88c on Culture and Development.

The archbishop, who is also the president-elect of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, highlighted the Report by the director general of UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, noting that it is part of the ongoing discussions on Item 88c. He said the Report "outlines the principles concerning the impact of culture on the relevance, success and sustainability of development policies. ... These principles must be based upon the recognition of the human dignity, the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms and respect for cultural differences and uniqueness."

"This echoes the statement," Archbishop Martino affirmed, "made by the Holy See during the recent World Summit on Sustainable Development: 'The fact that the earth and all its resources are part of the 'common heritage of all humanity' creates the understanding which fosters interdependence, stresses responsibility and underlines the importance of the principle of global solidarity. This reality becomes the foundation of sustainable development by directing the moral imperatives of justice, international cooperation, peace, security, and the desire to enhance the spiritual and material well-being of present and future generations'."

He asserted that committee discussions "must focus on finding the means to allow culture to complement development as development must complement culture."

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IN MEMORIAM

VATICAN CITY, OCT 21, 2002 (VIS) - In recent weeks the following prelates died:

- Bishop Desiderio Elso Collino, emeritus of Lomas de Zamora, Argentina, on October 4 at age 76.
- Bishop James Collins, C.SS.R., emeritus of Miracema do Tocantins, Brazil, on October 4 at age 81.
- Archbishop Italo Severino Di Stefano, emeritus of San Juan de Cuyo, Argentina, on October 11 at age 79.
- Bishop Jean Huard of Tournai, Belgium on October 4 at age 74.
- Bishop Angelo Kim Nam-Sou, emeritus of Suwon, Korea, on June 1 at age 79.
- Archbishop Philip Francis Smith, O.M.I., emeritus of Cotabato, Philipines on September 30 at age 77.
- Bishop Marcos Zuluaga Arteche, C.M.F., former auxiliary of the apostolic vicariate of Darien, Panama on October 1 at age 83.

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THEOLOGICAL COMMISSION EXCLUDES ORDAINING WOMEN AS DEACONS

VATICAN CITY, OCT 18, 2002 (VIS) - Following is a communique released by the International Theological Commission in response to a media article on women being ordained as deacons:

"The general secretary of the International Theological Commission, Fr. Georges Cottier, O.P., has responded to certain questions about the Commission's study of the diaconate raised in the October 8 issue of 'La Croix'. Fr. Cottier stated that the Commission's study has not concluded that the possibility that women could be ordained to the diaconate remains open, as asserted by La Croix, but rather tends to support the exclusion of this possibility."

"The Commission of theologians ... presented two important indications which emerge from study of the matter. In the first place, the Commission observed that the deaconesses mentioned in the tradition of the early Church cannot simply be assimilated to ordained deacons. In support of this conclusion, Fr. Cottier noted that both the rite of institution and the functions exercised by deaconesses distinguished them from ordained deacons.

"Furthermore, Fr. Cottier noted that the Commission's study reaffirmed the unity of the sacrament of Holy Orders. The distinction between the ministry of bishops and priests, on the one hand, and that of deacons, on the other hand, is nonetheless embraced within the unity of the sacrament of Holy Orders.

"Fr. Cottier stated that 'it belongs to the Magisterium to pronounce with authority on the question, taking into account the historical and theological research presented by the study of the International Theological Commission'. ...

"The International Theological Commission devoted over five years of research to the topic of the history and theology of the diaconate before approving the text of its study at its recently concluded meeting. The study was produced at the request of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith."

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