POPE RECEIVES LUTHERAN EVANGELICAL DELEGATION FROM FINLAND

VATICAN CITY, JAN 19, 2001 (VIS) - An ecumenical delegation from the Lutheran Evangelical Church of Finland was welcomed to the Vatican this morning by Pope John Paul, who told them that he had "vivid memories of the great ecumenical liturgies and gatherings which we celebrated during the Holy Year." He highlighted the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which began with the opening of the Holy Door of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls, and the Commemoration of Witnesses to the Faith at the Colosseum.

The Holy Father pointed out that Christians in Finland celebrated the Jubilee on the theme "Millennium 2000 - Year of Hope." He said that "the Jubilee was also the occasion to ensure that issues of justice for the poor and marginalized become more central not only to Christians in Finland but to Finnish society as a whole, and this too was an area in which Christians in your land worked together effectively."

In concluding remarks, the Pope said that "as we enter the Third Millennium, we are conscious of the need to commit ourselves ever more deeply to the task of restoring full and visible unity among all the disciples of Our Lord Jesus Christ."

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, JAN 19, 2001 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:

- Alwi Shihab, foreign minister of Indonesia, accompanied by his entourage.
- Archbishop Domenico De Luca, apostolic nuncio in Morocco.

This evening he is scheduled to receive Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

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POPE TO PRESIDE AT ECUMENICAL CELEBRATION ON JANUARY 25

VATICAN CITY, JAN 19, 2001 (VIS) - Pope John Paul will preside at the ecumenical celebration of the Word in the basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls at 11 a.m. on Thursday, January 25, with representatives of other Churches and ecclesial communities for the conclusion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which began yesterday on the theme "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life."

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90TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE PONTIFICAL INSTITUTE OF SACRED MUSIC

VATICAN CITY, JAN 19, 2001 (VIS) - The Holy Father this morning received in audience 200 professors and students from the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music, in honor of the 90th anniversary of its founding by Pope Saint Pius X, together with a delegation from Catalonia.

John Paul II was personally greeted by five individuals from Poland, Switzerland, Lebanon, Italy, and Spain, each of whom yesterday received an "honoris causa" degree for their achievements in the field of sacred music.

In his address, the Pope recalled the affirmation of Vatican Council II that sacred music is "a treasure of inestimable value, which excels among the other artistic expressions. The main reason for this pre-eminence is that, as a combination of sacred music and words, it forms a necessary and integral part of the solemn liturgy."

"The criterion which must inspire all composition and performance of songs and sacred music," the Holy Father continued, "is that of a beauty which encourages prayer. When song and music reveal the presence and action of the Holy Spirit, they favor, in a certain way, communion with the Trinity."

In addressing the teachers and students of the Institute of Sacred Music, John Paul II affirmed: "Each of you is called to rigorous academic study, united with constant attention to the liturgy and to pastoral care. You, teachers and students, are asked to make the most of your artistic gifts, conserving and promoting the study and the practice of music and song in those areas and with those instruments which Vatican Council II has especially noted: Gregorian chant, sacred polyphony, and the organ. Only thus," the Pope concluded, "can liturgical music worthily perform its role in the celebration of the Sacraments, and, in a special way, of the Holy Mass."

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, JAN 19, 2001 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Appointed Bishop Hernan Giraldo Jaramillo of Malaga-Soata, as bishop of Buga (area 3,997, population 558,069, Catholics 474,358, priests 106, permanent deacons 6, religious 175), Colombia. He succeeds Bishop Rodrigo Arango Velasquez, P.S.S., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

- Appointed Bishop Ramon Dario Molina Jaramillo, O.F.M., of Monteria, as bishop of Neiva (area 10,523, population 481,000, Catholics 468,000, priests 59, religious 70), Colombia. He succeeds Bishop Hernando Rojas Ramirez, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

- Appointed Bishop Fabio Suescun Mutis of Pereira, as military ordinary of Colombia. He succeeds Bishop Alvaro Raul Jarro Tobos, whose resignation from the same office the Holy Father accepted, in accordance with Canon 401, para. 2, of the Code of Canon Law.

- Appointed Fr. Mathew Arackal, director of the 'Peermade Development Society,' as bishop of Kanjirapally of the Syro-Malabars, (area 1,980, population 1,857,661, Catholics 162,675, priests 218, religious 1,503), India. The bishop-elect was born in Erumely, India in 1944, and ordained a priest in 1971. He succeeds Bishop Mathew Vattackuzhy, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same eparchy the Holy Father accepted, in accordance with Canon 210, para. 1, of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches.

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