OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, MAR 30, 2005 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

 - Appointed Bishop Jose Francisco Rezende Dias, auxiliary of Pouso Alegre, Brazil, as bishop of Duque de Caxias (area 499, population 1,235,626, Catholics 976,000, priests 34, permanent deacons 3, religious 92), Brazil. He succeeds Bishop Mauro Morelli whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, in accordance with Canon 401, para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law.

 - Appointed Bishop Daniel J. Bohan, auxiliary of Toronto, Canada, as metropolitan archbishop of Regina (area 151,375, population 448,000, Catholics 126,000, priests 100, permanent deacons 3, religious 145), Canada. He succeeds Archbishop Peter Joseph Mallon whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

- Appointed Bishop Gabriel Charles Palmer-Buckle of Koforidua, Ghana, as metropolitan archbishop of Accra (area 3,255, population 3,112,500, Catholics 139,000, priests 105, religious 147), Ghana. He succeeds Archbishop Dominic Kodwo Andoh whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

 - Appointed Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, archivist and librarian of Holy Roman Church, as his special envoy to the central celebrations of the extraordinary Jubilee Year of the diocese of Le Puy-en-Velay, France, which are due to take place on May 29, 2005 in the basilica cathedral of 'Notre Dame du Puy.'

  On Tuesday, March 29, it was made public that he accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Nice, France, presented by Bishop Jean Bonfils S.M.A., upon having reached the age limit. He is succeeded by Coadjutor Bishop Louis Sankale.

  On Thursday, March 24, it was made public that he:

 - Appointed Msgr. Domenico Sigalini of the clergy of the diocese of Brescia, Italy, ecclesiastic vice-assistant general of Italian Catholic Action, as bishop of the suburbicarian diocese of Palestrina (area 418, population 88,000, Catholics 87,000, priests 82, religious 221), Italy. The bishop-elect was born in Dello, Italy, in 1942 and ordained a priest in 1966. He succeeds Bishop Eduardo Davino whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese was accepted by the Holy Father, upon having reached the age limit.

 - Appointed Fr. Joaquim Justino Carreira of the clergy of the diocese of Jundiai, vicar general of the diocese and episcopal vicar for the area of the city of Itu, as auxiliary of the archdiocese of Sao Paulo (area 1,645, population 8,950,800, Catholics 6,713,100, priests 838, permanent deacons 3, religious 3,240), Brazil. The bishop-elect was born in Leiria-Fatima, Portugal, in 1950 and ordained a priest in 1977.
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POPE'S CONVALESENCE SLOW, EATING ASSISTED BY GASTRIC TUBE

VATICAN CITY, MAR 30, 2005 (VIS) - The following declaration concerning the Holy Father's health was made early this afternoon by Holy See Press Office Director Joaquin Navarro-Valls:

  "The Holy Father continues his slow and progressive convalescence.

  "The Pope spends many hours each day in an armchair, celebrates Mass in his private chapel and is in working contact with his collaborators, directly following the activity of the Holy See and the life of the Church.

  "In order to improve the caloric intake and to favor a valid recuperation of strength, enteral nutrition has been started by placing a nasal-gastric probe (tube).

  "All public audiences remain suspended.

  "Health assistance is assured by the personnel of the Health and Hygiene Services of Vatican City under the direction of Dr. Renato Buzzonetti, the Holy Father's personal physician."
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POPE APPEARS AT WINDOW, BLESSES FAITHFUL IN SILENCE

VATICAN CITY, MAR 30, 2005 (VIS) - Thousands of pilgrims who had gathered in St. Peter's Square this morning saw Pope John Paul as he appeared at the window of his study shortly after 11 a.m. for about 4 minutes. Though he did not speak, the Holy Father was enthusiastically greeted by the faithful, many of whom were in Rome hoping to catch a glimpse of the Pope on the day that his weekly general audience is  traditionally held. An aide read brief remarks in Italian, German and Polish for the Pope, who blessed everyone at the end of the greetings.

  "I greet the Italian language pilgrims," said John Paul's message, "especially the boys and girls from the diocese of Milan who came to the tomb of Peter to express their faith in Christ who died and rose from the dead. Dear ones, may friendship with Jesus, our Redeemer, always illuminate your lives! Stay close to Him, through listening to His word and in active participation in the Eucharistic meal. Be His faithful witnesses, especially among your peers. I repeat to everyone with affection my Easter greetings."

  In greetings to German-speaking faithful, he said. "May the peace of the Risen One be always with you!"

  The Pope, through an aide, thanked his fellow Poles "for your presence, for your expressions of benevolence and for accompanying me in prayer. With gratitude I am thinking of all Poles, at home and abroad. I bless you from my heart."
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EASTER: JOHN PAUL'S PRAYER FOR "WORDS AND DEEDS OF PEACE"

VATICAN CITY, MAR 27, 2005 (VIS) - Pope John Paul II appeared at the window of his study shortly after noon today for the traditional "Urbi et orbi" message and blessing, but he did not speak, as hoped for by the estimated 80,000 faithful who filled St. Peter's Square, Via della Conciliazione, the broad avenue leading up to it, and adjacent streets. He waved several times and blessed the pilgrims as they applauded enthusiastically, cheered him and called out his name on a day marked by gray skies, intermittent rain and a splash of sun as the Pope came to his window.

  Also for the first time in his 26-year papacy, the Pope, who is still recovering from his February 24 tracheotomy, did not preside at the Easter Mass of the Resurrection of the Lord in St. Peter's Square, designating instead Cardinal Angelo Sodano, secretary of State, as the principal celebrant at the 10:30 a.m. liturgy in a square which was beautified, as has become traditional, by tens of thousands of multi-colored flowers, shrubs and flowering plants from Holland. The cardinal also read the Pope's Urbi et orbi (to the city and the world) message as John Paul II followed it, seated at the window.

   The theme of the Holy Father's Easter message was taken from the words "Mane nobiscum, Domine" (Stay with us, Lord), the title of his apostolic letter which was published on October 8, 2004 for the start of the Year of the Eucharist. Just as the two disciples on the road to Emmaus asked the "mysterious Wayfarer," whom they did not immediately recognize as the Lord, to stay with them, the Pope today said: "On this Easter day, together with all Christians throughout the world, we too repeat these words: Jesus, Crucified and Risen, stay with us! Stay with us, faithful friend and sure support for humanity on its journey through history!... Bread of eternal life, nourish those who hunger for truth, freedom, justice and peace."

  "Stay with us, Living Word of the Father, and teach us words and deeds of peace: peace for our world consecrated by your blood and drenched in the blood of so many innocent victims: peace for the countries of the Middle East and Africa, where so much blood continues to be shed; peace for all of humanity, still threatened by fratricidal wars. Stay with us, Bread of eternal life, broken and distributed to those at table: give also to us the strength to show generous solidarity towards the multitudes who are even today suffering and dying from poverty and hunger, decimated by fatal epidemics or devastated by immense natural disasters."

  "We, the men and women of the third millennium, we too need you, Risen Lord! Stay with us now, and until the end of time. Grant that the material progress of peoples may never obscure the spiritual values which are the soul of their civilization. Sustain us, we pray, on our journey. In you do we believe, in you do we hope, for you alone have the words of eternal life. Mane nobiscum, Domine! Alleluia!"

  At the end of Mass, a deacon announced that Pope John Paul granted his apostolic blessing and a plenary indulgence to all participants in today's liturgy, given that the usual conditions for such an indulgence are fulfilled. "May the Lord preserve the Pope for a long time as guide for the Church," prayed the deacon, "and grant peace and unity to the Church throughout the world."
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POPE: LIGHT OF THE RISEN CHRIST CONQUERS DARKNESS OF EVIL

VATICAN CITY, MAR 26, 2005 (VIS) - At 8 this evening, in St. Peter's Basilica, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, joined by 24 cardinals, presided the Easter vigil Mass in the name of Pope John Paul. Five catechumens from Italy, Japan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Peru, received the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist during the vigil Mass.

  The celebration started in the darkened atrium of St. Peter's with the blessing of the fire and lighting of the Easter candle, followed by a procession into the basilica, also dark, where participants, one by one, lit the candles they were carrying. Prior to the start of Mass, Cardinal Ratzinger, dean of the College of Cardinals, read a Message from the Holy Father who noted that, "thanks to television, I can follow the evocative Easter vigil in my apartment." He greeted everyone present and had "special thoughts" for the catechumens about to receive the sacraments.

  "This night is truly extraordinary," said the Pope, "a night in which the blazing light of the Risen Christ conquers in a definitive way the power of the darkness of evil and death, and rekindles hope and joy in believers' hearts. Dear ones, guided by the liturgy, let us pray to the Lord Jesus that the world will see and recognize that, thanks to His passion, death and resurrection, what was destroyed was rebuilt, what was old became new and everything returned, more beautiful than before, to its original integrity."

  Cardinal Ratzinger, in his homily, noted that the Easter vigil procession, behind the candle and towards light, symbolizes "the path of humanity who, in the nights of history, seeks light, seeks paradise, seeks true life, reconciliation among peoples, ... and universal peace."

  Referring to the light of the Easter candle, he said "Christ is light; Christ is the way, the truth and the life; following Christ ... we find the just path. ... Following Christ means above all being attentive to His word. ... Man does not live by bread alone or by money or by career, he lives by the word of God, which corrects us, renews us, shows us the true sustaining values of the world and of society. The word of God is the true manna, the bread from heaven which teaches us life, how to be men and women."

   "Following Christ," the cardinal affirmed, "means having compassion for the suffering, a heart for the poor; it means having the courage to defend our faith against ideologies; having trust in the Church and her interpretation and enactment of the divine Word for our current circumstances, Following Christ means loving His Church, His Mystical Body. Going forth in this manner we become little lights in the world, we destroy the darkness of history."
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