OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, JUL 18, 2007 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

 - Accepted the resignation from the office of auxiliary of the diocese of Munster, Germany, presented by Bishop Friedrich Ostermann, upon having reached the age limit.

 - Appointed Fr. Franz-Josef Overbeck of the clergy of the diocese of Munster, Germany, director of the institute for the diaconate and pastoral ministry, as auxiliary of the same diocese (area 15,265, population 4,269,448, Catholics 2,042,159, priests 1,256, permanent deacons 248, religious 3,150). The bishop-elect was born in Marl, Germany in 1964 and ordained a priest in 1989.

 - Appointed Bishop David A. Zubik of Green Bay, U.S.A., as bishop of Pittsburgh (area 9,722, population 1,956,597, Catholics 781,811, priests 531, permanent deacons 37, religious 1,455), U.S.A.

 - Appointed Fr. Gaetano Galbusera S.D.B., rector of the major seminary of Pumallucay, Peru, as coadjutor of the apostolic vicariate of Pucallpa (area 52,168, population 500,000, Catholics 390,000, priests 20, religious 45), Peru. The bishop-elect was born in Marasso-Missaglia, Italy in 1940 and ordained a priest in 1967.
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POPE TO ATTEND A CONCERT AND TO MEET WITH LOCAL CLERGY

VATICAN CITY, JUL 18, 2007 (VIS) - At 8 p.m. on Friday July 20, the Holy Father is due to attend a concert offered in his honor by Bishop Giuseppe Andrich of Belluno-Feltre, Italy, at the Castle of Mirabello in Lorenzago di Cadore, the alpine resort in which the Pope is currently spending his holiday. The concert will be given by seven alpine choirs.

  At 11 a.m. on Tuesday, July 24, Benedict will meet with clergy from the dioceses of Belluno-Feltre and Treviso in the church of St. Justina, Martyr in Auronzo.
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TELEGRAM FOR VICTIMS OF BRAZILIAN AIR DISASTER

VATICAN CITY, JUL 18, 2007 (VIS) - Given below is the text of a telegram sent by Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. to Archbishop Odilo Pedro Scherer of Sao Paulo, Brazil, for yesterday afternoon's air accident at the airport of Congonhas, which cost the lives of more than 200 people.

  "The Holy Father, distressed by the hundreds of victims of the air disaster in Sao Paulo, which he visited not long ago, wishes to give his most heartfelt condolences to all their relatives. He gives assurances of his prayers for the dead and invokes the strength and consolation of God for the injured and for all those affected by this tragedy, granting everyone, as a sign of his spiritual closeness, his consoling apostolic blessing."
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IN MEMORIAM

VATICAN CITY, JUL 17, 2007 (VIS) - Bishop Pedro Sbalchiero Neto M.S. of Vacaria, Brazil, died on July 3 at the age of 53.
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POPE WORKING ON BOOK AND REFLECTING ON NEXT ENCYCLICAL

VATICAN CITY, JUL 17, 2007 (VIS) - Holy See Press Office Director Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J. has affirmed that the Pope is dedicating part of the holiday he is spending in the Italian alpine resort of Lorenzago de Cardore to writing the second part of his book "Jesus of Nazareth," and to reflecting upon his next encyclical "which will have a social theme."

  During a brief interview given at Lorenzago de Cardore on Sunday July 15, Fr. Lombardi said that the Holy Father "is working mainly upon the continuation of his book on Jesus of Nazareth, while as far as his second encyclical is concerned, it is still at the initial stages of ideas and reflection."

  The Holy See Press Office Director recalled that on September 1 and 2, the Pope is due to go to Loreto, Italy to participate in a meeting of Italian youth, and that on the 7 and 8 of that month he will make an apostolic trip to Austria to visit the Shrine of Mariazell.

  In the year 2008, said Fr. Lombardi, apart from visiting Sydney, Australia, in July for World Youth Day, it is highly probable that Benedict XVI will make a trip to the United Nations headquarters in New York, and a pilgrimage to Lourdes for the 150th anniversary of the apparition of the Virgin there. In this context, the Holy See Press Office Director recalled that John Paul II went to Lourdes in August 2004 on his last international trip.
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