OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

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

- Appointed the following people as members of the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum": Fr. Massimo Cenci, P.I.M.E., undersecretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples; Msgr. Frank J. Dewane, undersecretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace; Fr. Salvador Lopez Mora of "Caritas" in Mexico; Fr. Michael Yeung of "Caritas" in Hong Kong; Jose Sanchez Faba, president of "Caritas" in Spain.

- Appointed Fr. Ladislav Hucko, spiritual director of the Major Seminary in Kosice, Slovakia, as apostolic eparch for Catholics of the Byzantine rite resident in the Czech Republic (Catholics 250,000, priests 10, religious 21). The eparchial bishop-elect was born in 1948 in Presov, Slovakia and was ordained a priest in 1996. The Holy Father accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the same apostolic eparchy presented by Bishop Ivan Ljavinec upon having reached the age limit.

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, APR 24, 2003 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in audience Bishop Frantisek Tondra of Spis, Slovakia.

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HOLY THURSDAY: CHRISM MASS AND THE LORD'S SUPPER MASS

VATICAN CITY, APR 17, 2003 (VIS) - Today, Holy Thursday, at 9:30 a.m. in the Vatican Basilica, John Paul II concelebrated Chrism Mass with the cardinals, bishops and priests who are in Rome for Easter. After the renewal of priestly vows, the oils used for catechumens, the sick and confirmation were blessed.

In the homily, the Pope affirmed that every time that the Eucharist is celebrated "the mystery of Christ, the one and only high priest of the new and eternal Covenant, becomes present and effective."

The Holy Father urged priests "not to lose the spiritual enthusiasm of priestly ordination. And you, dear faithful, pray for priests that they may be careful dispensers of the gifts of divine grace, especially of God's mercy in the sacrament of Confession and of the Bread of Life in the Eucharist, living memorial of the death and resurrection of Christ."

"In order to emphasize the reality of the great memorial of the redemption," he concluded, "during the Mass of the Lord's Supper, I will sign the encyclical 'Ecclesia de Eucharistia' which I wanted to direct in a special way to you, dear priests, in place of the usual letter on Holy Thursday. Accept it as a special gift on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of my petrine ministry and make it known to the souls entrusted to your pastoral care."

At 5:30 p.m., John Paul II presided in St. Peter's Basilica at the Eucharistic concelebration of the Lord's Supper during which he signed the encyclical "Ecclesia de Eucharistia." Cardinals Joseph Ratzinger and Angelo Sodano washed the feet of 12 priests as is customary on Holy Thursday. During the presentation of the gifts, the Holy Father received an offering that will be sent to the people affected by the war in Iraq.

The Pope emphasized that "the washing of the feet and the sacrament of the Eucharist are two manifestations of the same mystery of love entrusted to the disciples 'because - Jesus says - you should also do as I have done to you'."

"The Eucharist," he exclaimed, "is a truly great mystery! It is a mystery that is 'incomprehensible' to human reason, but so bright to the eyes of faith! The Lord's Supper in the simplicity of the Eucharistic symbols - the shared bread and wine - is revealed as a supper of concrete fraternity. The message that comes from this supper is too clear to be ignored: those who participate in the Eucharistic celebration cannot remain insensitive to the poor and needy."

"In this context," continued the Holy Father, "I would like the money collected in this celebration to go to alleviate the urgent needs of those who suffer in Iraq due to the war. A heart that has experienced the Lord's love opens up spontaneously to charity toward our brothers and sisters."

John Paul II concluded by affirming that the Eucharist "is a great gift for the Church and for the world. Precisely so that greater attention may be reserved for the sacrament of the Eucharist, I wanted to offer to the entire community of believers an encyclical whose main theme is the Eucharistic mystery."

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GOOD FRIDAY: CONFESSIONS, LORD'S PASSION AND WAY OF THE CROSS

VATICAN CITY, APR 18, 2003 (VIS) - As is customary on Good Friday, John Paul II heard confessions and presided at the celebration of the Lord's Passion in St. Peter's Basilica, and in the evening lead the Way of the Cross in the Colosseum.

Towards noon, the Pope went to St. Peter's Basilica where he heard the confessions of 10 people of different nationalities and afterward greeted the numerous faithful present in the basilica at that hour.

At 5 p.m., he presided at the celebration of the Lord's Passion, during which Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, O.F.M.Cap., preacher of the Papal Household, gave the homily. The liturgy continued with prayers of the faithful, veneration of the Cross and Holy Communion.

Shortly after 9:15 p.m., the Way of the Cross began in the Colosseum. Seated on the Palatine Hill which overlooks this monument, the Pope presided at the celebration in which 30,000 people participated. This year the Pope wrote the meditations on the Way of the Cross on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his pontificate.

During the first 13 stations, Cardinal Camillo Ruini, vicar of Rome, and faithful from Colombia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Egypt, the Holy Land, Italy and Iraq carried the cross. John Paul II carried the cross during the 14th and final station.

At the end, instead of reading a prepared text, the Holy Father spoke to the crowd spontaneously. "'Ecce lignum crucis in quo salus mundi pependit...Venite adoremus'. We heard this word," he said, "in today's liturgy: here is the wood of the cross. This is the key word on Good Friday. ... The day after tomorrow we will sing: 'Surrexit de sepulchro...qui pro nobis pependit in ligno'."
"I hope that everyone lives this Triduum as deeply as possible. We are here, as we are every year, in the Colosseum. It is a symbol. ... It is difficult to find another place where the mystery of the Cross speaks more eloquently than here, in front of the Colosseum."

In the text that he had prepared, the Pope wrote: "How many of our brothers and sisters are re-living the drama of Calvary in the flesh! So many are the forgotten 'ways of the cross'! I think about the tragic images of violence, wars and conflicts, that reach us daily from so many places; the pain and suffering of individuals and peoples of every continent; death due to hunger and the poverty of thousands of innocent adults and children; the offenses against human dignity, unfortunately perpetrated at times in the name of God. Can we remain indifferent to this excruciating cry of distress that is raised from so many parts of the planet?"

"When human beings keep silent, powerless before these distressing questions, faith offers the answer. It is an answer that is found in the same event we commemorate today: the death of Christ. ... The definitive victory does not belong to death. The last word belongs to God, Who will rise on the third day, the only-begotten Son, sacrificed for us."

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, APR 17, 2003 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed:

- Bishop Jerzy Mazur, S.V.D., of St. Joseph in Irkutsk, Russian Federation, as bishop of Elk (area 11,000, population 470,000, Catholics 440,000, priests 297, religious 176), Poland.

- Bishop Cyryl Klimowicz, auxiliary of Minsk-Mohilev, Belarus, as bishop of St. Joseph in Irkutsk (area 9,960,000, population 15,500,000, Catholics 49,000, priests 42, religious 80), Russian Federation.

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