CARDINALS LANGLOIS AND BASSETTI TAKE POSSESSION OF THEIR TITULAR CHURCHES

Vatican City, 3 June 2014 (VIS) – The Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff today announced that on Saturday 7 June, at 5.30 p.m., Cardinal Chibly Langlois, bishop of Les Cayes, Haiti, will take possession of the title of San Giacomo in Augusta (Via del Corso, 499), and on Sunday 8 June, Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti, archbishop of Perugia-Citta della Pieve, Italy, will take possession of the title of Santa Cecilia (Piazza di Santa Cecilia, 22).

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

Vatican City, 3 June 2014 (VIS) – The Holy Father has:

- accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the archdiocese of Pontianak (area 39,840, population 726,000, Catholics 570,368, priests 90, religious 526), Indonesia, presented by Archbishop Hieronymus Herculanus Bumbun, O.F.M. Cap., upon reaching the age limit, and appointed Bishop Augustinius Agus of Sintang, Indonesa as metropolitan archbishop of the same archdiocese.

- appointed Fr. Antonius Subianto Bunyamin, O.S.C., as bishop of Bandung (area 23,447, population 29,000,000, Catholics 90,000, priests 100, religious 145), Indonesia. The bishop-elect was born in Bandung, Indonesia in 1968 and was ordained a priest in 1996. He holds a licentiate in philosophy from the Catholic University of Lovanio, Belgium, and a degree in philosophy from the Pontifical Lateran University, Rome. He has served in the following pastoral and academic roles: lecturer in philosophy at the Catholic University of Bandung; vice provincial O.S.C. of Bandung; executive director of the Holy Cross Foundation for Catholic school in Bandung; president of the managing board of the Parahyangan Foundation; secretary of the Marga Asah Talenta foundation, and president of the legal institute of Parahyangan University. He is currently provincial prior O.S.C. of Bandung.

- appointed Msgr. Nazzareno Marconi as bishop of the diocese of Macerata-Tolentino-Recanati-Cingoli-Treia (area 745, population 146,783, Catholics 140,283, priests 76, religious 52), Italy. The bishop-elect was born in Citta di Castello, Italy in 1958 and was ordained a priest in 1983. He holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy from the Pontifical Lateran University, Rome, and in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome; a licentiate in sacred scriptures from the Pontifical Biblical Institute, Rome, and a doctorate in biblical theology from the Pontifical Urbaniana University, Rome. He has held several pastoral roles, including deputy priest at San Giustino, priest of the parish of St. Michael Archangel in Citerna, director of the diocesan catechistic office and religious and biblical advisor for cinematographic and multimedia productions of the RAI (Radiotelevisione Italiana). He is currently priest of the “San Donato” parish in Trestina and lecturer in Old Testament exegesis at the theological institute of Assisi.

- appointed Fr. Daniel Patrick Y. Parcon as bishop of Talibon (area 2,243, population 737,938, Catholics 677,309, priests 76, religious 52), Philippines. The bishop-elect was born in Vallehermoso, Philippines in 1962 and was ordained a priest in 1994. He holds Masters degrees from the St. Rita College, San Carlos City, Philippines, and the Fordham University, New York City, U.S.A. He has held a number of pastoral roles, including: spiritual director and dean of studies at the St. John Mary philosophy seminary in San Carlos City, parish administrator of the Ascension Church, Hurricane, West Virginia, U.S.A., parish administrator of the Immaculate Conception Church, Liberty, Texas, U.S.A., and parish vicar at the Blessed Sacrament Church, Valley Stream, New York. He is currently rector of the St. John Mary philosophy seminary of San Carlos City and head of the Marriage and Family Life Apostolate in the diocese of San Carlos. He succeeds Bishop Christian Vicente F. Noel, whose resignation upon reaching the age limit was accepted by the Holy Father.

IN MEMORIAM

Vatican City, 3 June 2014 (VIS) – The following prelates died in recent weeks:

- Bishop Livio Maritano, emeritus of Acqui, Italy on 6 May at the age of 88.

- Bishop Homero Leite Meira, emeritus of Irece, Baia, Brazil on 8 May at the age of 82.

- Bishop Gerard Drainville, emeritus of Amos, Quebec, Canada, on 11 May at the age of 84.

- Bishop Celso Pereira de Almeida, O.P. emeritus of Itumbiara, Goias, Brazil, on 11 May at the age of 86.

- Cardinal Marco Ce, patriarch emeritus of Venice, Italy, on 12 May at the age of 88.

- Bishop Ruben T. Profugo, emeritus of Lucena, Philippines, on 12 May at the age of 76.

- Archbishop Altamiro Rossato, C.SS.R, emeritus of Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil on 3 May at the age of 88.

- Archbishop Eurico Dias Nogueira, emeritus of Braga, Portugal on 19 May, at the age of 91.

- Bishop Paul-Emile Charbonneau, emeritus of Hull, Quebec, Canada, on 21 May, at the age of 92.

- Bishop Elmer Osmar Ramon Miani, emeritus of Catamarca, Argentina, on 25 May at the age of 81.

- Bishop Heinrich Fasching, auxiliary emeritus of Sankt Polten, Austria, on 1 June at the age of 85.

- Cardinal Duraisamy Simon Lourdusamy, prefect emeritus of the Congregqation for the Oriental Churches on 2 June at the age of 90.

TO THE BISHOPS OF ZIMBABWE: GUIDE YOUR PEOPLE TOWARDS UNITY AND RECONCILATION

Vatican City, 2 June 2014 (VIS) – “The Church in your country has stood fast with her people both before and after independence, now also in the years of overwhelming suffering as millions have left the country in frustration and desperation, as many lives have been lost, so many tears shed”, writes Pope Francis in the address he handed to the prelates of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference this morning, at the end of their “ad limina” visit.

The Holy Father writes about the growth of the Church in the country, comparing it to a young, strong tree, full of life and bearing fruit, and mentions that “generations of Zimbabweans – including many political leaders – have been educated in Church schools. He then goes on to praise the prelates for the exercise of their prophetic ministry, in which they have given voice to all the struggling people of their country, especially to the downtrodden and refugees. He refers to their 2007 Pastoral Letter, “God Hears the Cry of the Oppressed”, which describes “the origins of the spiritual and moral crisis, stretching from colonial times through the present moment”, and how the “structures of sin” embedded in the social order “are ultimately rooted in personal sin, requiring of all a profound personal conversion”.

“Christians find themselves on all sides of the conflict in Zimbabwe, and so I urge you to guide everyone with great tenderness towards unity and healing”, he continues. “This is a people both black and white, some richer but most exceedingly poorer, of numerous tribes; the followers of Christ belong to all political parties, some in positions of authority, many not. But together as the one pilgrim People of God, they need conversion and healing, in order to become ever more fully 'one Body, one Spirit in Christ'. Through preaching and works of the apostolate, may your local Churches demonstrate that 'reconciliation is not an isolated act but a lengthy process by which all parties are re-established in love – a love that heals through the working of God’s word'”.

“While Zimbabweans’ faithfulness is already a balm on some of these national wounds, I know that many people have reached their human limit, and do not know where to turn. In the midst of all this, I ask you to encourage the faithful never to lose sight of the ways in which God is hearing their supplications and answering their prayers, for, as you have written, he cannot fail to hear the cry of the poor. In this Easter season, as the Church throughout the world celebrates the victory of Christ over the power of sin and death, the Gospel of the resurrection which you are entrusted to proclaim must be clearly preached and lived in Zimbabwe. Let us never forget the lesson of the resurrection: 'on razed land life breaks through, stubbornly yet invincibly. However dark things are, goodness always re-emerges and spreads”. Pope Francis concluded by quoting from his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium: “Each day in our world beauty is born anew, it rises transformed through the storms of history”.

TELEGRAM FOR THE DEATH OF CARDINAL LOURDUSAMY

Vatican City, 2 June 2014 (VIS) – The Holy Father has sent a telegram of condolences to Archbishop Anthony Anandarayar of Ponticherry and Cuddalore, India, for the death last night in Rome of Cardinal Simon D. Lourdusamy, aged 90, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches and archbishop emeritus of Bangalore, India. In his text, the Pope expresses his gratitude for the cardinal's “priestly life spent in spreading the Gospel first in India and subsequently in service to the Universal Church” and commends his noble soul to the Lord.

Cardinal Lourdusamy's funeral will be held on 5 June at 11.30 a.m. at the altar of the Vatican Basilica, and will be presided by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals. At the end of the Eucharist, Pope Francis will administer the rites of “Ultima Commendatio” and “Valedictio”.