OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, APR 15, 1999 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Fr. Paul Bui Van Doc as bishop of My Tho (area 10,122, population 3,940,000, Catholics 98,750, priests 66, religious 186), Vietnam. The bishop-elect was born in Dalat, Vietnam, in 1944, was ordained a priest in 1970, and in 1994 was appointed vicar general. He succeeds Bishop Andre Nguyen Van Nam, whose resignation from the pastoral care of this diocese was accepted by the Holy Father on having reached the age limit.

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, APR 15, 1999 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audience:

- Archbishop Benigno Luigi Papa, O.F.M. Cap., of Taranto, Italy, on his "ad limina" visit.
- Seven prelates from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, Quebec, on their "ad limina" visit:
- Archbishop Maurice Couture, R.S.V., of Quebec, accompanied by his auxiliaries, Bishops Jean-Pierre Blais, Eugene Tremblay, and Jean Gagnon.
- Bishop Gerard Drainville of Amos.
- Bishop Jean Gratton of Mont-Laurier.
- Bishop Raymond Saint-Gelais of Nicolet.
- Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco Varela, archbishop of Madrid, president of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, accompanied by Cardinal Ricardo Maria Carles Gordo, archbishop of Barcelona, vice-president; and Bishop Juan Jose Asenjo Pelegrina, auxiliary of Toledo, general secretary.
- Dino Vierin, president of the junta of the autonomous region of Valle d'Aosta, Italy, and his entourage.
- Archbishop Cosmo Francesco Ruppi of Lecce, Italy, and his entourage.
- A group of eight prelates from the Italian Episcopal Conference (Puglia region) on their "ad limina" visit:
- Archbishop Settimio Todisco of Brindisi-Ostuni.
- Archbishop Francesco Cacucci of Otranto.
- Bishop Martino Scarafile of Castellaneta.
- Bishop Giovanni Battista Pichierri of Cerignola-Ascoli Satriano.
- Bishop Mario Paciello of Altamura-Gravina-Acquaviva delle Fonti.
- Bishop Domenico Caliandro of Ugento-Santa Maria di Leuca.
- Bishop Donato Negro of Molfetta-Ruvo-Giovinazzo-Terlizzi.
- Bishop Vittorio Fusco of Nardo-Gallipoli.

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HOLY FATHER THANKS PAPAL FOUNDATION FOR ANNUAL GIFT

VATICAN CITY, APR 14, 1999 (VIS) - Made public today was the Holy Father's written Message which he gave yesterday to the cardinal members and trustees of the U.S.-based Papal Foundation during their audience with him in the Vatican.

The Pope expressed his "gratitude for the support which the Foundation has given again this year to the Successor of Peter in his apostolic ministry of 'concern for all the Churches'."

"In the years since its establishment," the Message says, "the Papal Foundation has demonstrated a particular concern for the needs of the Church in developing countries. I deeply appreciate this commitment of effective solidarity with our brothers and sisters throughout the world who look in hope to the Church's witness to the Gospel and her efforts to promote justice, reconciliation and fraternal cooperation among the members of the human family."

The Papal Foundation is a multimillion dollar investment fund established to provide a source of steady income for the Holy See. It annually presents the Pope with a check which represents interest earned by the fund.

A fact sheet made public today on the Foundation's grants states that in 1999 it gave $2.450 million to 25 various projects, including $300,000 to the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum" to help the victims of Hurricane Mitch in Central America, and $135,000 to the Pontifical Council for Social Communications for a new Vatican Film Library. Other grants include aid for the building or renovation of churches, seminaries and hospitals, for the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family and for a shelter for the homeless in Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia.

Since 1990 it has earmarked $12,735,500 for 115 humanitarian and ecclesial projects.

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HOLY SEE INTERVENTION AT HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION

VATICAN CITY, APR 14, 1999 (VIS) - Made public today was Archbishop Giuseppe Bertello's intervention on April 8 at the 55th session of the Human Rights Commission, currently underway in Geneva, Switzerland. The Holy See permanent observer to the Office of the United Nations and Specialized Institutions in Geneva spoke at the assembly dedicated to economic, social and cultural rights.

Speaking French, the archbishop highlighted the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and said such rights "are no longer considered only as an enunciation of principles, sometimes abstract, but as a concrete aim to achieve. What is more, post-colonialism and socialization have helped peoples to come close together and to make them aware of the injustice that a part of humanity inflicts on the other part." He also remarked how the mass media continues to furnish "upsetting images" of the suffering populations in under-developed areas of the world. "Putting economic and social rights into practice thus remains a dream for the greater part of humanity."

Archbishop Bertello stressed that "the establishment of a just economic and social order is an inescapable condition for the security and prosperity of the human person." He also emphasized a truth which, he said, "is also dear to the Christian social doctrine: all men are members of the same family and must form a true community. If they are equal in their dignity, they are also equal vis-a-vis the means which are necessary to realize their vocation in a relation based on equality, beyond all temptation of domination or paternalism."

He spoke of international debt, "which only drives people deeper into their mass poverty, paralyzing every effort to bring them out of it. ... International cooperation must not be limited to better the material conditions of life of populations, it must also reinforce their social structures."

In conclusion, he stated that "the eradication of poverty will only be achieved when the poor themselves will be able to take their destiny in hand, linking them to the concept and the putting into place of programs which respect their values and traditions."

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MULTILINGUAL GREETINGS: POPE CALLS FOR END TO USURY

VATICAN CITY, APR 14, 1999 (VIS) - In his multilingual greetings to pilgrims present today in St. Peter's Square for the weekly general audience, Pope John Paul extended "a special welcome to Cardinal William Keeler and to the American Catholic and Jewish leaders involved in the Interreligious Information Center in Baltimore."

Using their native languages, he spoke of the Easter season and the Resurrection of Christ to the faithful from the Netherlands, Belgium, Lithuania, the Czech and Slovak Republics and Croatia. "I hope," he said in Dutch, "that you can personally experience the love and grace of the Risen Christ in this Easter time, and rediscover your Christian vocation." In Lithuanian he said: "May today's encounter be for everyone a special moment of grace to discover Christ again, the light and hope of the world, and to proclaim him with generous works of fraternal charity."

In Italian, the Holy Father welcomed the members of the National Council of Anti-usury Foundations and their regional delegations "who came to call the public's attention to the worrisome and, unfortunately, widespread phenomenon of usury, which often brings with it dramatic social consequences.

"I know well, dear friends, the difficulties that you face. But I know that you are determined and united in fighting this serious social evil. Continue to combat usury, giving hope to individuals and families who are its victims. The Pope encourages you to pursue your generous work to build a more just society, one of solidarity, and more attentive to the demands of the needy."

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