OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, APR 11, 2003 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Msgr. Antonio Marino, spiritual director of the Major Seminary in Buenos Aires, Argentina, as auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese of La Plata (area 4,652, population 763,115, Catholics 648,647, priests 142, permanent deacons 5, religious 476), Argentina. The bishop-elect was born in Buenos Aires in 1942 and was ordained a priest in 1971.

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, APR 10, 2003 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:

- Rev. Christian Krause, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany and president of the World Lutheran Federation, accompanied by his wife and an entourage.

- Bishop Elio Sgreccia, vice-president of the Pontifical Academy for Life.

- Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

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HOLY FATHER TO TRAVEL TO CROATIA FROM JUNE 5 TO 9

VATICAN CITY, APR 11, 2003 (VIS) - Joaquin Navarro-Valls, director of the Holy See Press Office, stated today at noon that "The Holy Father John Paul II will make an apostolic trip to Croatia from June 5 to 9 and will visit the cities of Rijeka, Dubrovnik, Osijek and Djakovo, and Zadar."

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SECRETARIAT OF STATE HOLDS HOPE FOR FUTURE OF IRAQ

VATICAN CITY, APR 10, 2003 (VIS) - The following declaration was released early this afternoon:

"The Secretariat of State, having been informed of the latest developments in Baghdad, which mark an important turning point in the Iraqi conflict and a significant opportunity for the future of the people, hopes that the military operations underway in the rest of the country will soon end, with the aim of sparing further victims, civilian or military, and further suffering for those populations.

"Given that the material, political and social reconstruction of the country are on the horizon, the Catholic Church is ready, through her social and charitable institutions, to lend the necessary assistance. The dioceses of Iraq are likewise available to offer their structures to contribute to an equitable distribution of humanitarian aid.

"The Secretariat of State hopes once again that, with the silencing of weapons, the Iraqis and the international community will know how to meet the compelling present challenge which is to definitively bring an era of peace to the Middle East."

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, APRIL 10, 2003 (VIS) - Today the Holy Father received in separate audiences:

- Giuliano Urbani, Italian minister for Cultural Affairs, and an entourage.

- Archbishop Antonio Canizares Llovera of Toledo, Spain.

- Bishop Tommaso Ghirelli of Imola, Italy.

- Bishop Milan Sasik, apostolic administrator "ad nutum Sanctae Sedis" of Mukacheve of the Byzantine Rite, Ukraine, and an entourage.

- Cardinal Camillo Ruini, vicar general for the diocese of Rome and president of the Italian Episcopal Conference, with Bishop Giuseppe Betori, secretary general of the same conference.

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