OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, MAR 3, 2003 (VIS) - The Holy Father accepted the resignation from the office of Auxiliary Bishop of the archdiocese of Santiago de Chile, Chile, presented by Bishop Sergio Valech Aldunate upon having reached the age limit.

It was made public on Saturday March 1 that the Holy Father appointed Msgr. Bernard A. Hebda, official of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, as under-secretary of the same council.

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, MAR 3, 2003 (VIS) - Today the Holy Father received in audience seven prelates from the Bishops' Conference of Scotland on their "ad limina" visit:

- Archbishop Mario Joseph Conti of Glasgow.

- Archbishop Keith Michael Patrick O'Brien of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh.

- Bishop Joseph Devine of Motherwell.

- Bishop Vincent Logan of Dunkeld.

- Bishop John Aloysius Mone of Paisley.

- Bishop Ian Murray of Argyll and The Isles.

- Msgr. Peter Moran, diocesan administrator of Aberdeen.

On Saturday March 1, the Holy Father received in separate audiences:

- Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski, apostolic nuncio in Kazakhstan, Tadjikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.

- Bishop Benito Stanislao Andreotti, O.S.B., ordinary abbot of Subiaco, Italy, accompanied by Fr. Dom Mauro Meacci, O.S.B., abbot of the territorial abbey of Subiaco.

- Prof. Lorenzo Ornaghi, rector of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart.

- Dr. Vitalij Ignatenko, president of the Russian News Agency ITAR-TASS, accompanied by Ara Abramjan, president of the Federal Organization "Union of Armenians in Russia".

- Cardinal Giovanni Batttista Re, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.

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RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY OFFICIAL VISITS VATICAN

VATICAN CITY, MAR 3, 2003 (VIS) - The following declaration was made this afternoon by Joaquin Navarro-Valls, director of the Holy See Press Office:

"The under-secretary for Relations with States, Msgr. Pietro Parolin, received this morning in the Vatican Aleksej Meskov, under-secretary of the Foreign Affairs Ministry of the Russian Federation.

"Minister Meskov wished to inform the Holy See about the position of the Russian government on the international situation at the present moment. During the talks, a convergence with the Holy See position was noted."

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IN MEMORIAM

VATICAN CITY, MAR 3, 2003 (VIS) - The following prelates died in recent weeks:

- Bishop Elizeu De Morais Pimentel, coadjutor of Paranavai, Brazil, on February 27 at age 50.

- Bishop Jacques Le Cordier, emeritus of Saint-Denis, France, on February 17 at age 98.

- Bishop Bernardo Valfredo Tepe O.F.M, emeritus of Ilheus, Brazil, on February 14 at age 84.

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PAPAL MESSAGE, GIFT TO NEW ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY

VATICAN CITY, FEB 28, 2003 (VIS) - Yesterday afternoon in the cathedral of Canterbury, His Grace Rowan Douglas Williams, was solemnly enthroned as the new archbishop of Canterbury. Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity represented the Holy See at this ceremony for the new primate of All England and president of the Anglican Communion.

Also in attendance were Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, archbishop of Westminster, and the Catholic co-presidents of the two official organisms of dialogue with the Anglican Communion: The Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) and the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission (IARCCUM).

A meeting was held today between Archbishop Williams of Canterbury and Cardinal Kasper, who presented the former with a Message from Pope John Paul II as well as a pectoral cross from the Pope to mark this occasion.

The Holy Father, in his Message, offered "sentiments of joy and cordial esteem" to Archbishop Williams as well as "prayerful best wishes" on the occasion of his enthronement.

"You begin your ministry as Archbishop of Canterbury," notes the Pope, "at a painful and tense moment in history, a moment nonetheless marked by hope and promise. Marred by long-standing and seemingly relentless conflicts, the world stands on the brink of yet another war. The dignity of the human person is being threatened and undermined in various ways. Whole populations, especially the most vulnerable, are living amidst fear and danger. At times the ardent and legitimate human longing for freedom and security manifests itself through the wrong means, means which themselves are violent and destructive. It is precisely amidst these tensions and difficulties of our world that we are called to serve."

"In recent decades," John Paul II observed, "our predecessors have developed an increasingly close relationship, even bonds of affection, through constructive dialogue and close communication. ... Despite disagreements and obstacles, we are still on that path, and irrevocably committed to it."

He concludes his Message by affirming that "we are both aware that overcoming divisions is no easy task, and that full communion will come as a gift of the Holy Spirit. That same Spirit prods and guides us even now to continue to seek a resolution in remaining areas of doctrinal disagreement, and to engage more profoundly in common witness and mission."

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