OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, FEB 15, 2001 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Appointed Bishop Tarsizio Gervazio Ziyaye of Lilongwe as metropolitan archbishop of Blantyre (area 9,161, population 3,900,000, Catholics 744,965, priests 87, religious 233), Malawi. He succeeds Archbishop James Chiona, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same metropolitan archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, having reached the age limit.

- Appointed Bishop Felix Eugenio Mkhori of Chikwawa as bishop of Lilongwe (area 24,025, population 4,000,000 Catholics 446,488, priests 93, religious 272), Malawi.

- Appointed Bishop Francesco Lambiasi of Anagni-Alatri as general ecclesiastical assistant of Italian Catholic Action.

- Raised Fr. Tomasz Peta, apostolic administrator of Astana, Kazakhstan, to the dignity of bishop. The bishop-elect was born in Inowroclaw, Poland, in 1951, and ordained to the priesthood in 1976.

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, FEB 15, 2001 (VIS) - The Holy Father received today in separate audiences:

- Four prelates of the Episcopal Conference of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, on the occasion of their "ad limina" visit.
- Bishop Laszlo Huzsvar of Zrenjanin.
- Bishop Janos Penzes of Subotica.
- Bishop Ilija Janjic of Kotor.
- Bishop Marko Sopi, apostolic administrator of Prizren.

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ECUMENICAL CONSULTATIONS HELD ON INDULGENCES

VATICAN CITY, FEB 15, 2001 (VIS) - A communique published yesterday announced that, "for the first time since the Reformation, Catholics, Lutherans and Reformed held an ecumenical theological consultation on the theme of indulgences. The meeting involving the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, the Lutheran World Federation and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches took place in Rome on February 9 and 10, upon the invitation of the pontifical council.

"The purpose was to clarify historical, theological and pastoral issues related to indulgences in order to come to a better understanding of each other. It did not aim at an agreement on indulgences - an issue on which there have been longstanding differences between the Roman Catholic Church and the churches of the reformation.

"The consultation took place in a positive atmosphere which lent itself to honest and constructive discussion. There were common prayers at the beginning of each day and at the end of the consultation."

Presentations on the Catholic understanding of indulgences included addresses on "Historical Aspects of the Indulgence" and "Towards Understanding Indulgences: 'Veterea et Nova'." Lutheran and Reformed responses included addresses on "The Jubilee Indulgence and the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification" and "A Reformed View of Indulgences."

Bishop Walter Kasper, secretary of the pontifical council, Rev. Dr. Ishmael Noko, secretary general of the Lutheran World Federation, and Rev. Dr. Setri Nyomi, secretary general of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, took turns chairing the meetings. Cardinal Edward Cassidy, president of the pontifical council, took part in several sessions of the consultations.

It is intended that the papers from this consultation will be published as a contribution to further discussion.

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GENERAL AUDIENCE: THE "UNITING" OF ALL THINGS IN CHRIST

VATICAN CITY, FEB 14, 2001 (VIS) - The theme of John Paul II's catechesis for today's general audience, held in the Paul VI Hall, was: "The 'uniting' of all things in Christ."

The Pope affirmed that "the salvific design of God, 'the mystery of His will' concerning every creature, is expressed in the Letter to the Ephesians with a characteristic term: 'to unite' all things, heavenly and earthly, in Christ." Thus, "Christ confers a unifying meaning to all syllables, words, and works of creation and of history."

"In the expression 'all things'," affirms Irenaeus, "is included man, touched by the mystery of the Incarnation. ... Christ is the new Adam, that is, the First-born of the human faithful," who cancels the sin "which Adam in rebellion sowed in the secular affairs of humanity and in the horizon of creation. With His full obedience to the Father, Christ opens the era of peace with God and among men, reconciling scattered humanity in Himself."

The Holy Father continued the catechesis affirming: "This work will reach fulfillment in the fullness of time, when," as Paul also recalls, "'God may be everything to everyone'. ... Christ will 'deliver the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power ... The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For God has put all things in subjection under the feet' of His Son."

"The Church, bride in love with the Lamb," the Holy Father concluded, "with her gaze fixed on that day of light, raises the ardent invocation: 'Maranatha', 'Come, Lord Jesus!'"

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, FEB 14, 2001 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in audience Cardinal Edmund Casimir Szoka and Bishop Gianni Danzi, respectively president and secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, accompanied by Giulio Sachetti, special delegate of the same commission and president of the State Council, and Msgr. Giorgio Corbellini, secretary of the State Council.

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