OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, SEP 1, 2006 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

 - Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Tacna y Moquegua, Peru, presented by Bishop Jose Hugo Garaycoa Hawkins, upon having reached the age limit. He is succeeded by Coadjutor Bishop Marco Antonio Cortez Lara.

 - Appointed Pier Carlo Cuscianna, vice-director of Technical Services of the Governorate of Vatican City State, as director of the same office and as "ad interim" director of the Department of Telecommunications of Vatican City State, for a five-year period.
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POPE VISITS ITALIAN SHRINE OF MANOPPELLO

VATICAN CITY, SEP 1, 2006 (VIS) - This morning, Benedict XVI travelled by helicopter from his summer residence of Castelgandolfo to the Shrine of the Holy Face at Manoppello in the Italian region of Abruzzi.

  In the year 1506, exactly 500 years ago, an unknown pilgrim brought the Face to Manoppello and gave it to one of the town notables who kept it in his family home. Years later it passed to another family who, in 1638, donated it to the shrine of the Friars Minor Capuchins where it is displayed in an ostensory over the main altar.

  The Holy Face is a cloth veil protected between two sheets of glass. It measures 17 x 24 cm and bears the effigy of a long-haired man. His cheeks are dissimilar: one, rounder than the other, appears considerably swollen. His eyes look very intensely upward so the whites are visible under the iris. The pupils are completely open, but in an irregular way, and the gaze is at once questioning and loving.

  The Holy Father entered the shrine in the company of Archbishop Bruno Forte of Chieti-Vasto. Following a moment of adoration before the Most Holy Sacrament and a prayer before the relic of the Holy Face, the Pope addressed some words to those present.

  "Those who meet Jesus," he said, "those who let themselves be attracted by Him and are ready to follow Him even unto the sacrifice of their lives, personally experience, as He did on the cross, how only the 'grain of wheat' that falls to earth and dies brings 'much fruit'."

  "This is the way of Christ, the way of total love that triumphs over death," said Pope Benedict, adding: "This is the experience enjoyed by those true friends of God, the saints, who have recognized and loved in their brethren, especially in the poorest and most needy, the face of God long contemplated with love and prayer. They are encouraging examples for us to follow."

  "In order to enter into communion with Christ and contemplate His face," the Pope went on, our lives must be "illuminated by the truth of love which overcomes indifference, doubt, lies and egoism."

  Turning to address priests, the Pope said that if the saintliness of Christ's face remains impressed within them "the faithful entrusted to your care will be affected and transformed." He asked seminarians not to allow themselves to be attracted "by anything other than Jesus and the desire to serve His Church." Finally, the Pope exhorted male and female religious to ensure that all their activities become "a reflection of divine goodness and mercy. ... Searching for the face of Christ must be the desire of all Christians."

  May the Virgin Mary, said Benedict XVI, "in whose face more than in any other creature the features of the incarnate Word are visible, watch over families and parishes, over cities and nations of the whole world. May the Mother of the Creator also help us to respect nature, that great gift of God. ... A gift which, nonetheless, is ever more exposed to risk of degradation, and must therefore be protected and secured."

  Following a brief visit to the religious community of the convent of Friars Minor Capuchins, the Holy Father returned to Castelgandolfo.
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NOTICE

VATICAN CITY, JUL 31, 2006 (VIS) - As previously advised, VIS will be closed during the entire month of August. Service will resume on Friday, September 1.
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HOLY FATHER'S PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR AUGUST

VATICAN CITY, JUL 31, 2006 (VIS) - The Holy Father's general prayer intention for the month of August is: "That orphans may not lack the care necessary for their human and Christian formation."

  His mission intention is: "That the Christian faithful may be aware of their own missionary vocation in every environment and circumstance."
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ANGELUS: ALL SIDES IN MID EAST CONFLICT, LAY DOWN YOUR ARMS

VATICAN CITY, JUL 30, 2006 (VIS) - At midday today, Benedict XVI greeted pilgrims gathered in the internal courtyard of the Apostolic Palace at Castelgandolfo and prayed the Angelus with them.

  The Pope recalled that, apart from a brief apostolic trip to Germany in September, he will stay at Castelgandolfo until the end of the summer. He then went on to express his thanks to the pilgrims who "with the warmth of their presence help to underline, even in the family atmosphere of my summer residence, the universal ecclesial horizon of this our [regular] appointment with the Marian prayer.

  "At these moments," the Holy Father added, "I cannot fail to think of the ever more serious and tragic situation of the Middle East: hundreds of dead, many injured, a vast mass of homeless and displaced people, cities and infrastructures destroyed, while hatred and thirst for revenge seem to be growing in the hearts of many.

  "These facts clearly demonstrate that it is not possible to re-establish justice, create a new order and build real peace when there is recourse to ... violence. More than ever, we see how much the Church's voice is at once prophetic and realistic when, in the face of war and conflicts of all kinds, she indicates the path of truth, justice, love and freedom. This is the path that humanity today must also follow in order to achieve the desired good of real peace."

  "In the name of God," the Pope cried out, "I address all those responsible for this spiral of violence, that all sides immediately lay down their arms! To political leaders and international institutions I ask that no efforts be spared in order to obtain the necessary cessation of hostilities and thus to begin to build, through dialogue, a lasting and stable coexistence of all the people of the Middle East. I ask men and women of good will to continue and to intensify the sending of humanitarian aid to those needy and much tried peoples. But above all, may faithful prayers to the good and merciful God continue to be raised from all hearts, that He may concede His peace to that region and to the world entire.

  "I entrust this heartfelt appeal," Benedict XVI concluded, "to the intercession of Mary, Mother of the Prince of Peace and Queen of Peace, who is so venerated in the countries of the Middle East, where we soon hope to see the reign of that reconciliation for which the Lord Jesus offered His precious Blood."
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