AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, JAN 27, 2003 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:

- Cardinal Joachim Meisner, archbishop of Cologne, Germany, accompanied by Bishop Anton Schlembach of Speyer, Germany.

- Five prelates from the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (Southern Region I) on their "ad limina" visit:

- Archbishop-Bishop Fares Maakaroun of Nossa Senhora do Paraiso em Sao Paulo of the Greek Melkites.

- Bishop Paulo Antonino Mascarenhas Roxo of Mogi das Cruzes.

- Bishop Fernando Mason, O.F.M. Conv., of Caraguatatuba.

- Bishop Luciano Bergamin, C.R.L., of Nova Iguacu.

- Mons. Otavio Dorigon, diocesan administrator of Limeira.

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EXCOMMUNICATION OF 7 WOMEN "ORDAINED" IN AUSTRIA IS CONFIRMED

VATICAN CITY, JAN 27, 2003 (VIS) - The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith published the following decree today in Italian, English and German. The decree was dated December 21, 2002 and was approved by Pope John Paul II in an audience granted to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the congregation, on December 20, 2002. Following are highlights:

"On June 29, 2002, Romulo Antonio Braschi, founder of a schismatic community, attempted to ordain the following Catholic women to the priesthood: Christine Mayr-Lumetzberger, Adelinde Roitinger, Gisela Forster, Iris Muller, Ida Raming, Pia Brunner and Dagmar Braun Celeste, who on that occasion identified herself as Angela White.

"Citing the previous interventions of the Bishop of Linz and of the Austrian Episcopal Conference, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith published a statement on July 10, 2002, warning the above-mentioned persons that they would be punished with excommunication if by July 22, 2002, they had not acknowledged the nullity of their 'ordination' and asked forgiveness for the scandal caused to the faithful. As they gave no indication of amendment, this Congregation punished the aforementioned persons with excommunication, reserved to the Apostolic See, in the Decree dated August 5, 2002, expressing the hope that they might be moved to conversion. The Decree also confirmed that the 'ordaining' bishop was already excommunicated insofar as he is a schismatic.

"In a letter dated August 14, 2002, they asked that the Decree of Excommunication be revoked, and then, on September 27, 2002, with reference to canons 1732-1739 CIC, they made recourse against the Decree."

"The request for revocation and the recourse were examined by the 'Sessione Ordinaria' of the Congregation on the 4th and 18th of December 2002. ... In the course of these meetings the Members arrived at the collegial decision to confirm the Decree of Excommunication. In the case under consideration, in fact, hierarchical recourse is not possible, as it concerns a Decree of Excommunication issued by a Dicastery of the Holy See acting in the name of the Supreme Pontiff."

" ... The case under consideration does not involve a 'latae sententiae' penalty, which is incurred 'ipso facto' when a delict expressly established by the law is committed. It concerns instead a 'ferendae sententiae' penalty, imposed after the guilty party has been duly warned (cf. cann. 1314; 1347 1 CIC)."

"The particular gravity of the offenses committed is evident, which can be seen from various aspects.

"a) There is first of all the issue of schism: the above-mentioned women were 'ordained' by a schismatic bishop ... and thereby made themselves accomplices in schism."
"b) In addition there is the doctrinal aspect, namely, that they formally and obstinately reject a doctrine which the Church has always taught and lived, and which was definitively proposed by Pope John Paul II, namely, 'that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women' (Apostolic Letter 'Ordinatio sacerdotalis', n. 4)."

"Moreover, by denying this doctrine, ... they are at odds with the doctrine on the Magisterium of the Successor of Peter, ... and they thereby fail to recognize that the teachings of the Supreme Pontiff on doctrines to be held definitively by all the faithful are irreformable.

"The refusal to comply with the penal precept established by this Congregation is further aggravated by the fact that some of the above-mentioned women have been gathering round them members of the faithful, in open and divisive disobedience to the Roman Pontiff and diocesan bishops. In view of the gravity of this contumacy (cf. can. 1347 CIC), the penalty imposed is not only just, but also necessary, in order to protect true doctrine, to safeguard the communion and unity of the Church and to guide the consciences of the faithful.

"The above-mentioned Members of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith therefore confirm the Decree of Excommunication issued on August 5, 2002, specifying once again that the attempted priestly ordination of the aforementioned women is null and invalid (cf. can. 1024 CIC) and therefore all those actions proper to the Order of Priesthood performed by them are also null and invalid (cf. cann. 124; 841 CIC). In consequence of the excommunication, they are forbidden to celebrate sacraments or sacramentals, to receive the sacraments and to exercise any function in an ecclesiastical office, ministry or assignment (cf. can. 1331 1 CIC)."

"At the same time, it is hoped that, sustained by the grace of the Holy Spirit, they might discover the path to conversion and so return to the unity of faith and to communion with the Church, a communion broken by their action."

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, JAN 27, 2003 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Fr. Pascal Roland, professor at the St. Sulpice Seminary in Issy-les-Moulineaux, France as bishop of Moulins (area 7,381, population 344,721, Catholics 284,000, priests 114, permanent deacons 19, religious 397), France. The bishop-elect was born in Chatou, France in 1951 and was ordained a priest in 1979.

On Saturday January 25 it was made public that the Holy Father:

- Appointed Bishop Francisco Robles Ortega of Toluca, Mexico as metropolitan archbishop of Monterrey (area 17,886, population 4,720,00, Catholics 4,500,000, priests 455, permanent deacons 6, religious 957), Mexico. The archbishop-elect was born in Mascota, Mexico in 1949 and was ordained a priest in 1976. The Holy Father accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese presented by Cardinal Adolfo Antonio Suarez Rivera upon having reached the age limit.

- Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Lichinga, Mozambique, presented by Bishop Louis Gonzaga Fereira da Silva, S.J. upon having reached the age limit.

- Appointed Bishop Michel Christian Cartateguy, S.M.A., auxiliary of Niamey, Niger as bishop of the same diocese (area 200,000, population 5,000,000, Catholics 18,500, priests 30, religious 87). He accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Niamey, Niger presented by Bishop Guy Romano, C.SS.R., in accordance with Canon 401, para. 2, of the Code of Canon Law.

- Appointed Fr. John Hsane Hgyi, rector of the National Theological Major Seminary in Yangon, Myanmar as auxiliary of the diocese of Pathein (area 25,328, population 4,572,766, Catholics 66,946, priests 54, religious 158), Myanmar. The bishop-elect was born in 1953 in Pyingadoe Mayanchaung, Myanmar and was ordained a priest in 1982.

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WORLD COMMUNICATIONS DAY: THE MEDIA AT THE SERVICE OF PEACE

VATICAN CITY, JAN 24, 2003 (VIS) - Made public today was Pope John Paul's Message for the 37th World Communications Day which will be celebrated on June 1, 2003 on the theme: "The Communications Media at the Service of Authentic Peace in the Light of 'Pacem in Terris'." The Message, dated today, the feast of St. Francis de Sales, patron of journalists, was published in English, Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and German.

Following are excerpts:

"In the dark days of the Cold War, Blessed Pope John XXIII's Encyclical Letter 'Pacem in Terris' came as a beacon of hope to men and women of good will. Declaring that authentic peace requires 'diligent observance of the divinely established order (Pacem in Terris, 1), the Holy Father pointed to truth, justice, charity and freedom as the pillars of a peaceful society.

"Pope John XXIII had the media especially in mind when he called for 'fairness and impartiality' in the use of 'instruments for the promotion and spread of mutual understanding between nations' afforded by science and technology."

"Today, ... peace, justice and social stability are still lacking in many parts of the world. Terrorism, conflict in the Middle East and other regions, threats and counter-threats, injustice, exploitation, and assaults upon the dignity and sanctity of human life, both before and after birth, are dismaying realities of our times. Meanwhile, the power of the media to shape human relationships and influence political and social life, both for good and for ill, has enormously increased."

"Media and Truth. The fundamental moral requirement of all communication is respect for and service of the truth. ... The mass media have an inescapable responsibility in this sense, since they constitute the modern arena in which ideas are shared and people can grow in mutual understanding and solidarity. This is why Pope John XXIII defended the right 'to freedom in investigating the truth and - within the limits of the moral order and the common good - to freedom of speech and publication' as necessary conditions for social peace.

"In fact, the media often do render courageous service to the truth; but sometimes they function as agents of propaganda and disinformation in the service of narrow interests, national, ethnic, racial, and religious prejudices, material greed and false ideologies of various kinds. It is imperative that the pressures brought to bear on the media to err in such ways be resisted first of all by the men and women of the media themselves, but also by the Church and other concerned groups.

"Media and Justice. ... The global outreach of the media carries with it special responsibilities in this regard. While it is true that the media often belong to particular interest groups, private and public, the very nature of their impact on life requires that they must not serve to set one group against another - for example, in the name of class conflict, exaggerated nationalism, racial supremacy, ethnic cleansing, and the like. Setting some against others in the name of religion is a particularly serious failure against truth and justice, as is discriminatory treatment of religious beliefs, since these belong to the deepest realm of the human person's dignity and freedom."

"Media and Freedom. Freedom is a precondition of true peace as well as one of its most precious fruits. The media serve freedom by serving truth: they obstruct freedom to the extent that they depart from what is true by disseminating falsehoods or creating a climate of unsound emotional reaction to events. Only when people have free access to true and sufficient information can they pursue the common good and hold public authority accountable. If the media are to serve freedom, they themselves must be free and correctly use that freedom. Their privileged status obliges the media to rise above purely commercial concerns and serve society's true needs and interests. Although some public regulation of the media in the interests of the common good is appropriate, government control is not. Reporters and commentators in particular have a grave duty to follow the demands of their moral conscience and to resist pressures to 'adapt' the truth to satisfy the demands of wealth or political power."

"Media and Love. ... Blessed Pope John XXIII expressed this simple but profound thought ... 'True peace among nations must depend not on the possession of an equal supply of weapons, but solely upon mutual trust'.

"The communications media are key actors in today's world, and they have an immense role to play in building that trust. Their power is such that in a few short days they can create the positive or negative public reaction to events which suits their purposes. Reasonable people will realize that such enormous power calls for the highest standards of commitment to truth and goodness. In this sense the men and women of the media are especially bound to contribute to peace in all parts of the world by breaking down the barriers of mistrust, fostering consideration of the point of view of others, and striving always to bring peoples and nations together in mutual understanding and respect - and beyond understanding and respect, to reconciliation and mercy!"

"Challenging as all this is, it is by no means asking too much of the men and women of the media. For by vocation as well as by profession they are called to be agents of truth, justice, freedom, and love, contributing by their important work to a social order 'founded on truth, built up on justice, nurtured and animated by charity, and brought into effect under the auspices of freedom'."

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, JAN 24, 2003 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Appointed the following as auxiliaries of the archdiocese of Chicago (area 3,653, population 5,803,000, Catholics 2,394,000, priests 1,693, permanent deacons 618, religious 4,673), U.S.A:

- Fr. Francis J. Kane, of the clergy of the same archdiocese and pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Wilmette, U.S.A. Bishop-elect Kane was born in 1942 in Chicago and was ordained a priest in 1969.

- Fr. Thomas J. Paprocki, of the clergy of the same archdiocese and pastor of St. Constance Parish in Chicago. Bishop-elect Paprocki was born in 1952 in Chicago and was ordained a priest in 1978.

- Fr. Gustavo Garcia-Siller, M.Sp.S., superior of the Christ the Priest Vicariate of the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit in California. Bishop-elect Garcia was born in San Luis Potosi, Mexico in 1956 and was ordained a priest in 1984.

- Accepted the resignation from the office of auxiliary of the archdiocese of Chicago, U.S.A., presented by the following prelates upon having reached the age limit: Bishop Raymond E. Goedert, Bishop John R. Gorman and Bishop Thaddeus J. Jakubowski.

- Appointed Bishop Javier Lozano Barragan, president of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Ministry, as his special envoy to the celebration of the 11th World Day of the Sick which will take place on February 11, 2003 in Washington, D.C.

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