AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, DEC 4, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father received today in audience Cardinal Edward Idris Cassidy and Bishop Walter Kasper, emeritus of Rottenburg-Stuttgart, respectively president and secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

On Saturday, December 2, he received in separate audiences:

- Archbishop Jozef Michalik of Przemysl of the Latins, Poland.
- Bishop Jerzy Mazur S.V.D., apostolic administrator of Eastern Siberia of the Latins.
- Archbishop Giovanni Battista Re, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, DEC 4, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father received today in audience Cardinal Edward Idris Cassidy and Bishop Walter Kasper, emeritus of Rottenburg-Stuttgart, respectively president and secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

On Saturday, December 2, he received in separate audiences:

- Archbishop Jozef Michalik of Przemysl of the Latins, Poland.
- Bishop Jerzy Mazur S.V.D., apostolic administrator of Eastern Siberia of the Latins.
- Archbishop Giovanni Battista Re, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, DEC 4, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Bishop Brendan Michael O'Brien of Pembroke, Canada, as metropolitan archbishop of Saint John's, Newfoundland (area 16,641, population 208,056, Catholics 115,857, priests 56, religious 283), Canada. The archbishop-elect was born in Ottawa, Canada, in 1943, ordained a priest in 1968 and consecrated a bishop in 1987. He succeeds Archbishop James Hector MacDonald C.S.C., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

On Saturday, December 2, it was made public that he:

- Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the archdiocese of Bombay, India, presented by Auxiliary Bishop Ferdinand Joseph Fonseca upon having reached the age limit.

- Erected the ecclesiastical province of Catania, Italy, elevating the archdiocese of Catania to the status of metropolitan church and assigning it as suffragans the dioceses of Acireale, up until now 'immediate subjecta Sanctae Sedi,' and of Caltagirone. He appointed Archbishop Luigi Bommarito of Catania as metropolitan archbishop of the new ecclesiastical province.

- Erected the ecclesiastical province of Agrigento, Italy, elevating the diocese of Agrigento to the status of archdiocese and metropolitan church and assigning it as suffragans the dioceses of Caltanissetta and Piazza Armerina. He appointed Bishop Carmelo Ferraro of Agrigento as metropolitan archbishop of the new ecclesiastical province.

- Assigned the archdiocese of Monreale, Italy, up until now a metropolitan church, as a suffragan of the ecclesiastical province of Palermo.

- Appointed Fr. John S. Pazak C.Ss.R., pastor of the parish of St. Joseph in Winnipeg, Canada, as bishop of Saints Cyril and Methodius of Toronto of the Slovaks of Byzantine Rite (Catholics 20,000, priests 8, religious 3), Canada. The bishop-elect was born in Gary, U.S.A., in 1946 and ordained a priest in 1972.

- Appointed Fr. Teodoro Enrique Pino Miranda, pastor of the cathedral in the archdiocese of Hermosillo, Mexico, as bishop of Huajuapan de Leon (area 26,000, population 613,000, Catholics 608,000, priests 100, religious 150), Mexico. The bishop-elect was born in Cucurpe, Mexico in 1946 and ordained a priest in 1972.

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AUDIENCE WITH THE PONTIFICAL SPANISH COLLEGE IN ROME

VATICAN CITY, DEC 1, 2000 (VIS) - At midday today in the Vatican's Clementine Hall, the Pope received the rector, staff and associates of the Pontifical Spanish College of St. Joseph in Rome.

In his address, the Holy Father highlighted that "broader academic formation and a more universal experience of the Church" are "extremely important aspects for priests today, who are called to proclaim the Gospel in environments that are ever more multi-faceted, variable and, at the same time, interrelated."

"By your academic education and the experience of these years passed in Rome, you will be able to bring new force to the efforts of so many of your countrymen and women in order that, in Spanish society, the spirit of the world does not prevail over the Word of God."

John Paul II assured them that, in this task, they would be helped by "the ever pertinent example of St. John of Avila," patron of Spanish diocesan clergy. "He condensed his ideas into one simple counsel: 'pray, meditate, study.' Indeed, meditation and an intense spiritual life make it possible to transmit with conviction the mystery of Christ, which fills the existence of priests and which is so sorely needed by a generation that frequently suffers from a life vacuum and a lack of meaning. In turn, study favors a correct understanding of doctrine and, consequently, fosters the ability to teach that doctrine correctly in all concrete situations."

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POPE GREETS BISHOPS OF BYZANTINE-UKRAINIAN RITE

VATICAN CITY, DEC 1, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father this morning welcomed 22 bishops of the Catholic Church of the Byzantine-Ukrainian rite, including Cardinal Myroslav Ivan Lubachivsky, archbishop major of Lviv of the Ukrainians. He told the bishops that he hoped "to soon be among you, on Ukrainian soil," adding that he awaited his coming trip "as a true spiritual gift."

The Pope observed that "the millennium of the baptism of your people, celebrated in 1988, was the start of a new era, involving for you important changes of a social and moral nature which aimed at recognizing the right to religious freedom for Catholics of oriental rite and for their Church which has been united with the See of Peter for 400 years.

"In this way," he continued, "the community of the People of God, which in 1946 was outlawed, came out of the catacombs. Your Church ... knew sufferings and the cross, when the cruel atheist regime decreed its suppression. But now we must look to the future: The grace of God drives us to use well our time for it is the time of salvation."

"We have come out of the painful experience of the catacombs," stated the Holy Father. "We must overcome this first phase of reorganization and work to create a pastoral project for your Church. ... This will take into account the primary exigency of catechesis and theological formation in line with your oriental ecclesial tradition. I know that educational institutions of high quality are already working to this end."

The Pope told them not to forget the "active role of a spiritually and culturally well-formed laity" in this pastoral project, as well as the role to be played by religious and, in a special way, by those in the monastic life.

In concluding remarks, John Paul II told the bishops: "You are called to live an impetus of growth and generosity which is also at the service of our Orthodox brothers and sisters with a view to recomposing full unity as Jesus wishes it; you will seek, together with their pastors, new ways to give common witness, avoiding the sterile counter-positions, well aware that the Father calls us all to charity in order that the world may believe."

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