OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, 23 MAY 2008 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

 - Erected the new ecclesiastical province of Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, separating it from the ecclesiastical province of Kuching and raising the diocese of Kota Kinabalu to the status of metropolitan archdiocese with the suffragan dioceses of Keningau and Sandakan . He appointed Bishop John Lee Hiong Fun-Yit Yaw of Kota Kinabalu as first metropolitan archbishop of Kota Kinabalu. The archbishop-elect was born in Kota Kinabalu in 1933, he was ordained a priest in 1964 and consecrated a bishop in 1987.

  On Thursday 22 May, it was made public that he gave his assent to the canonical election carried out by the Synod of Bishops of the Greek-Catholic Ukrainian Church of Fr. Taras Senkiv O.M., spiritual director of the major seminary of Ivano-Frankivsk, as auxiliary of Stryj of the Ukrainians (area 4,100, population 418,000, Catholics 372,307, priests 212, permanent deacons 2, religious 63), Ukraine. The bishop-elect was born in Bilobozhytsia, Ukraine in 1960 and ordained a priest in 1982.
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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, 23 MAY 2008 (VIS) - This evening, the Holy Father is scheduled to receive in audience Cardinal William Joseph Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
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RITES OF BEATIFICATION APPROVED BY THE HOLY FATHER

VATICAN CITY, 23 MAY 2008 (VIS) - The Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff today announced four beatification ceremonies due to take place over coming days:

  Marta Wiecka, virgin, Polish professed sister of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. At 11 a.m. on Saturday 24 May in Lviv, Ukraine.

  Servant of God Maria Giuseppina di Gesu Crocefisso Catanea (nee Giuseppina), virgin, Italian professed nun of the Order of Discalced Carmelites. At 5 p.m. on Sunday 1 June in the cathedral of Naples, Italy.

  James Ghazir Haddad (ne Khalil), Lebanese professed priest of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchins and founder of the Congregation of Franciscan Sisters of the Cross in Lebanon. At 10 a.m. on Sunday 22 June in the Centre Ville of Beirut, Lebanon.

  Josepha (nee Hendrina Stenmanns), virgin, German religious and co-foundress of the Congregation of the Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit At 10.30 a.m. on Sunday 29 June in Steyl Telegen, Netherlands.
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CARDINAL GANTIN: AFFABLE READINESS TO SERVE GOD

VATICAN CITY, 23 MAY 2008 (VIS) - Today, in a homily he pronounced in St. Peter's Basilica following a Mass for the soul of Cardinal Bernardin Gantin, Benedict XVI recalled the figure of the late prelate, dean emeritus of the College of Cardinals, who died on 13 May at the age of 86.

  The Mass was celebrated by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals, and by other members of the college.

  "The truth, of which the Word of God powerfully reminds us, is that nothing and no-one, not even death, can resist the omnipotence of His faithful and merciful love. This is our faith, founded on Christ's resurrection; this is the constant assurance which the Lord repeats, today as always".

  "It is in this perspective of faith and hope in the resurrection that we recall the venerable Cardinal Bernardin Gantin" who "to the end dedicated himself with affable willingness to the service of God and his fellows, maintaining faith in the motto he chose at the moment of his episcopal ordination: 'In tuo sancto servitio'".

  The Holy Father spoke of the character of the cardinal, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Bishops, which he described as "a marvellous blend of the characteristics of the African soul with those of the Christian spirit, of African culture and identify with evangelical values. He was the first African prelate to occupy roles of great responsibility in the Roman Curia".

  Benedict XVI then went on to speak of the experiences he had shared with Cardinal Gantin "which enabled me to gain ever greater appreciation of his prudent wisdom, as well as his solid faith and sincere adherence to Christ and to His Vicar on earth, the Pope. Fifty-seven years of priesthood, 51 years of episcopate and 31 as cardinal: this is the summary of a life spent for the Church".

  The Pope enumerated the various stages of the cardinal's life: his priestly ordination in 1951; his consecration as bishop in 1957 at the age of just 34; the period he spent as archbishop of Cotonou, capital of his native country of Benin, when he was the first metropolitan of Africa. In 1971, called by Pope Paul VI, he came to Rome as adjunct secretary to the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples. A few years later he became secretary of that Congregation and, in 1976, also became president of the Pontifical Council "Justice and Peace". Paul VI made him a cardinal in 1977, and in 1984 John Paul II appointed him as prefect of the Congregation for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.

  "This friend and brother of ours to whom we today pay homage", said Benedict XVI, "was permeated with love for Christ ... which made him affable and ready to listen and talk to everyone". Christ's love "encouraged him to look, as he used to say, always to the essentials of the life that lasts, without losing himself in the side issues which quickly pass". It "made him see his role in the various offices of the Curia as a service devoid of human ambitions".

  "In Cardinal Gantin's pastoral ministry there emerges a constant love for the Eucharist, source of individual sanctity and of solid ecclesial communion, which has its visible foundation in Peter's Successor. And it was in this very basilica, celebrating his last Mass before leaving Rome, that he highlighted the unity the Eucharist creates in the Church. In his homily he quoted the famous phrase of the African bishop St. Cyprian of Carthage: ... 'From here the one faith shines out through the world; from here arises the unity of the priesthood'. This", the Pope concluded, "could be the message we draw from Cardinal Gantin, as his spiritual testament".
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ENCOURAGE A PASSION FOR TRUTH AMONG COMMUNICATORS

VATICAN CITY, 23 MAY 2008 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received participants in a congress promoted by the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, who have been meeting to reflect upon the identity and mission of communications faculties in Catholic universities.

  "It is self-evident that at the heart of any serious reflection on the nature and purpose of human communications there must be an engagement with questions of truth. ... The art of communication is by its nature linked to an ethical value, to the virtues that are the foundation of morality. In the light of that definition, I encourage you, as educators, to nourish and reward that passion for truth and goodness that is always strong in the young".

  Benedict XVI exhorted his listeners "to promote truth in information, bringing our peers to reflect upon events, with the aim of being educators of human beings and builders of a better world. It is also necessary to promote justice and solidarity, and at all times to respect the value and dignity of individuals, who have the right not to be injured in matters concerning their private life".

  "It would be a tragedy for the future of humanity if the new instruments of communication, which allow us to share knowledge and information more rapidly and efficiently, were not to be accessible to people who are already socially and economically marginalised"; or if such instruments were "used to increase the distance that separates those people from the new networks being developed at the service of social life, information and learning".

  "It would also be a serious matter", said the Holy Father "if the globalising tendency in the world of communications were to weaken or eliminate traditional customs and local cultures, especially those that have managed to strengthen family and social values, love, solidarity and respect for life". In this context, he expressed his appreciation to religious communities which, "despite the high financial cost and the vast human resources required, have opened Catholic universities in developing countries".

  Recalling how, during the course of the congress, attention had turned to the matter of the identity of Catholic universities and schools, the Pope pointed out that "such identity is not simply a question of the number of Catholic students; it is above all a question of conviction, of truly believing that only in the mystery of the Word made flesh does the mystery of man become clear".

  "As experts in the theory and practice of communication, and as educators who are training a new generation of communicators, yours is a privileged role, not only in your students' lives, but also in the mission of your local Churches ... to make the Good News of God's love known to everyone".
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