OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, SEP 27, 2004 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Fr. Jean-Pierre Grallet, O.F.M., superior of the Convent of Franciscan Friars Minor of Strasbourg, France, as auxiliary of the same archdiocese (area 8,280, population 1,713,416, Catholics 1,300,000, priests 907, permanent deacons 50, religious 2,146).  The bishop-elect was born in Rozelieures in Lorena, France in 1941 and was ordained a priest in 1969.

  On Saturday, September 25, it was announced that the Holy Father appointed Msgrs. Kenneth E. Boccafola and Josef Huber and Fr. Giuseppe Urru, O.P., as judges for the Court of Appeals of  Vatican City State.
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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, SEP 27, 2004 (VIS) - Today the Holy Father received in separate audiences two prelates of the Episcopal Conference of Colombia on their "ad limina" visit:

 - Archbishop Luis Augusto Castro Quiroga of Tunga.

 - Bishop Jorge Enrique Jimenez Carvajal of Cartagena.

  On Saturday September 25, the Holy Father received in audience six prelates from the Episcopal Conference of Colombia on their "ad limina" visit:

 - Archbishop Victor Manuel Lopez Forero of Bucaramanga, accompanied by Bishop Juan Vicente Cordoba Villota.

- Bishop Jaime Prieto Amaya of Barrancabermeja.

- Bishop Dario de Jesus Monsalve Mejia of Malaga-Soata.

- Bishop Ismael Rueda Sierra of Socorro y San Gil.

- Bishop Luis Albero Cortes Rendon of Velez.
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IN BRIEF

CARDINAL JEAN-LOUIS TAURAN, LIBRARAN and Archivist of Holy Roman Church, delivered the homily at a solemn Mass in St. Stephen's Cathedral In Vienna, Austria on September 17 on the occasion of the 48th International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference. In that homily, published today, the cardinal told the representatives and members of the specialized agencies of the United Nations Organization in Vienna, that they "have a special vocation - namely, to proclaim that peace is possible! ... As Christians and by vocation we witness to peace by condemning all types of violence; by disavowing the ideologies that sustain it and the political systems that promote it; by eliminating violence from all walks of life. Violence is the imposition of one's own judgment, not tempering one's own right with charity. Violence is the exclusion of the weakest and the least gifted, as well as the promotion of a vindictive spirit. ... In the merciless world we have constructed, Christians are called to exercise what I dare to call 'the power of the heart'. ... In this enormous task, Christians can count on the help of believers of other religions. More than ever, especially in today's international context, it is extremely urgent to give witness, through concrete gestures, that the great religions are factors of and for peace, and not war."

MSGR. LEO BOCCARDI, RESIDENT REPRESENTATIVE AT THE 48TH IAEA General Conference, which took place in Vienna September 20 to 24, addressed the assembly on September 22. In his address in English, published today, the Holy See representative said "the acts of violence recently perpetrated in Russia and in other parts of the world gravely offend all humanity. The continued violations of human dignity and the innocent victims of terrorism draw the attention of all to the need to face the causes which underlie such a modern form of barbarism and to deal with them effectively. We must also continue to believe in dialogue as essential to establishing peace and security." He underscored the "continued threats to peace and stability due to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction," or WMD. He also noted the warnings that nuclear proliferation is on the rise, that there are countries interested in the illicit acquisition of WMD and the "risk that terrorists will gain access to such materials and technology." Highlighting the rising insecurity in the Middle East, especially in the Holy Land and Iraq, he stressed the need to promote "the peaceful applications of nuclear technologies" as they "can make a significant contribution to responding to the most urgent concerns" such as managing drinking water supplies, crops, fighting malnutrition, treating disease and giving a greater salt tolerance in arid climates.
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TREAT PRISONERS WITH UNDERSTANDING, HUMANITY, CHARITY

VATICAN CITY, SEP 27, 2004 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received officials of the Department of Prison Administration, the inspector general of chaplains and a number of female police officers assigned to women's prisons who have just concluded a year of formation.

  "I have learned with delight," he told the new agents, "that during the course you demonstrated a laudable commitment, achieving encouraging results. I congratulate you and take this occasion to make a suggestion: Always take care of your spiritual life. In fact, your work calls for a solid human maturity that allows you to wed firmness with attention to the individual. To this end, being women certainly helps you, as you have those qualities proper to women that have such a positive effect on interpersonal relations."

  John Paul II noted that "by a happy coincidence today, September 27 is the liturgical memory of St. Vincent de Paul, the great saint of charity. He personally suffered the harshness of prison, and he taught the 'Dames' and then the Daughters of Charity to pay special attention to that category of poor people called 'convicts'. He asked them to show understanding and to demand human treatment for prisoners."

  "The primary value of the human person," concluded the Pope, "must be the basis for all civil and professional ethics and of all relative formation. I am therefore happy to place your work under the protection of St. Vincent de Paul."
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CARDINAL SWIATEK, FAITHFUL WITNESS TO CHRIST AND HIS GOSPEL

VATICAN CITY, SEP 27, 2004 (VIS) - This morning the Holy Father gave the "Fidei testis" Award to Cardinal Kazimierz Swiatek, archbishop of Minsk-Mohilev, Belarus, upon whom, several days earlier the Paul VI Institute in Brescia, Italy had conferred the prize during a symposium held on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of its founding.

  The Pope said that this prize "is the most suitable for a Christian; and even more so for a pastor who is a cardinal, and one who gave faithful and brave testimony to Christ and His Gospel during the difficult years of the persecution of the Catholic Church in Eastern Europe."

  Shortly after your priestly ordination, continued the Pope, "Providence called you to take up the 'via crucis' of persecution, united to the passion of the Christian people entrusted to you, personally carrying the cross of prison, unjust condemnation and work camps with their burden of fatigue, cold and hunger." 

  Recalling the cardinal's words "I could only survive with the faith," John Paul II said, "The Lord gave you a strong and courageous faith in order to overcome that long and harsh trial, after which you returned to the ecclesiastic community as an even more credible witness of the Gospel: 'Fidei testis'."

  "With word and example," the Pope concluded, "you have announced to everybody, believers and non-believers alike, the truth of Christ, the light which illuminates every man."
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