IN MEMORIAM

VATICAN CITY, DEC 5, 2006 (VIS) - The following prelates died in recent weeks:

- Bishop Joseph D'Silva of Bellary, India, on November 17, at the age of 74.

- Bishop Paul Vincent Dudley, emeritus of Sioux Falls, U.S.A., on November 20, at the age of 79.

- Archbishop-bishop Michel Hakim B.S., emeritus of Saint-Sauveur de Montreal of the Greek-Melkites, Canada, on November 22, at the age of 85.

- Archbishop Jean Mansour, auxiliary emeritus of Antioch of the Greek-Melkites, Syria, on November 17, at the age of 78.

- Archbishop Santiago Martinez Acebes, emeritus of Burgos, Spain, on November 25, at the age of 80.

- Bishop Manuel D. Moreno, emeritus of Tucson, U.S.A., on November 17, at the age of 75.

- Bishop Augusto Jose Zini Filho of Limeira, Brazil, on November 15, at the age of 73.
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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, DEC 5, 2006 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed:

 - Fr. Alberto Serrano I.E.M.E., diocesan administrator and former vicar general of the diocese of Hwange, Zimbabwe, as bishop of the same diocese (area 43,427, population 345,265, Catholics 41,118, priests 34, religious 58). The bishop-elect was born in Zaragoza, Spain in 1942 and ordained a priest in 1966.

 - Bishop Sergio Alfredo Fenoy, auxiliary of Rosario, Argentina, as bishop of San Miguel (area 206, population 845,000, Catholics 810,000, priests 95, permanent deacons 7, religious 335), Argentina.

 - Msgr. Hugo Santiago, episcopal vicar of Rafaela, Argentina, and pastor of San Guillermo, as bishop of Santo Tome (area 29,011, population 152,700, Catholics 137,800, priests 18, religious 32), Argentina. The bishop-elect was born in Maria Juana, Argentina in 1954 and ordained a priest in 1985.

 - As consultors of the Extraordinary Section of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See: Carlo Gilardi, Italy; Peter D. Sutherland, Ireland; and Robert J, McCann, U.S.A.
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EDUCATION, A TASK FOR PARENTS, TEACHERS AND PASTORS

VATICAN CITY, DEC 5, 2006 (VIS) - Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. sent a message to Luciano Corradini, national president of the Italian Catholic Union of Middle School Teachers (UCIIM), and to participants in that association's 22nd national congress. The congress was held in Rome recently on the theme: "Education in schools. New scenarios, new responsibilities."

  In his message, the cardinal gives assurances of Benedict XVI's appreciation for the activities of the UCIIM which, he recalls, was founded by Gesualdo Nosengo in 1944 and "works actively in schools, promoting initiatives for the cultural and didactic aggiornamento of teachers, showing particular concern for their religious and spiritual growth, and supporting all initiatives that effectively seek to promote the education of youth. [The Pope] encourages you to continue along this path, facing the challenges of the modern age with farsighted courage."

  Cardinal Bertone continues: "The formation of new generations, as never before in history, calls for much shared reflection, and for the preparation of educational and pastoral strategies aimed at meeting the expectations of the world of youth in the third millennium. It is necessary to transmit to young people an appreciation of the positive value of life, arousing in them the desire to spend their own lives in the service of Good. And this requires a responsible contribution on everyone's part: teachers, parents, pastors and all people who truly have the future of humanity at heart."
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DECLARATION OF CARDINAL HUMMES ON PRIESTLY CELIBACY

VATICAN CITY, DEC 4, 2006 (VIS) - Given below is the text of a declaration made today by Cardinal Claudio Hummes O.F.M., prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, concerning his comments on priestly celibacy that appeared on the pages of "Estado de Sao Paolo," a Brazilian newspaper.

  "On the subject of the echoes provoked by my words as reported by the newspaper 'Estado de Sao Paulo,' I would like to specify the following:

  "In the Church it has always been clear that priests' obligation to celibacy is not a dogma but a disciplinary norm. Indeed, it is valid for the Latin Church but not for the oriental rites where, even in communities united to the Catholic Church, it is normal for there to be married priests.

  "Yet it is also clear that the norm prescribing celibacy for priests in the Latin Church is very ancient and is founded upon consolidated tradition and upon strong motivations, both theological-spiritual and practical-pastoral, as reiterated also by Popes.

  "Even during the recent Synod on priests, the most widespread opinion among the fathers was that a relaxation of the rule of celibacy would not be a solution even to the problem of the lack of vocations, which is, rather, to be linked to other causes, in the first place the modern culture of secularization. This is clear also from the experience of other Christian confessions that have married priests and pastors.

  "This question is not, then, currently on the order of the day for the ecclesial authorities, as was recently reiterated following the latest meeting of heads of dicastery with the Holy Father."
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FIRST OFFICIAL VISIT OF ARCHBISHOP CHRISTODOULOS TO POPE

VATICAN CITY, DEC 4, 2006 (VIS) - His Beatitude Christodoulos, archbishop of Athens and of all Greece, is to visit the Holy Father and the Church of Rome from December 13 to 16, according to a communique released by the Holy See Press Office today.

  "The archbishop was in Rome for the funeral of His Holiness John Paul II," says the communique, "but this is the first time that the primate of the Greek Orthodox Church makes an official visit to the Pope and to the Church of Rome."

  The Holy Father will receive His Beatitude Christodoulos and his entourage on the morning of December 14. At a ceremony in the basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls, the archbishop of Athens and of all Greece will be given part of a chain - kept in that basilica - with which St. Paul was held prisoner. Later, the communique continues, "Rome's Pontifical Lateran University will confer an 'honoris causa' degree upon the illustrious guest." During his stay in Rome, the archbishop and his entourage will also visit some of the holy sites of the city such as the basilicas and catacombs.

  The communique points out how on November 3, the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Greece expressed its "joy at this visit, the fruits of which will be positive."

  In his 2001 pilgrimage in the footsteps of St. Paul, John Paul II visited the Areopagus of Athens where he signed a joint declaration with His Beatitude Christodoulos, and was received by the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Greece. In subsequent years, visits have been exchanged between delegations from the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Greece, which came to Rome, and from the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, which went to Athens. These initiatives were followed by "fraternal and intense" contacts between the Catholic Church of Rome and the Orthodox Church of Greece.
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