OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, JAN 30, 2007 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

 - Appointed Bishop George V. Murry S.J., of Saint Thomas in the Virgin Islands, U.S.A., as bishop of Youngstown (area 8,813, population 1,220,447, Catholics 233,999, priests 173, permanent deacons 66, religious 242), U.S.A.

 - Archbishop Leo Boccardi, apostolic nuncio to Sudan, also as apostolic nuncio to Eritrea.

 - Archbishop Charles Daniel Balvo, apostolic nuncio to New Zealand, Cook Islands, Fiji Islands, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, and apostolic delegate to the Pacific Ocean, also as apostolic nuncio to Nauru.
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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, JAN 30, 2007 (VIS) - Yesterday afternoon, the Holy Father received in audience Cardinal Jorge Arturo Medina Estevez, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
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MEETING OF THEOLOGICAL DIALOGUE COMMISSION

VATICAN CITY, JAN 30, 2007 (VIS) - The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity this morning released a communique announcing that the annual meeting of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between Catholics and Orthodox is being held in Rome from January 30, to February 3.

  The meeting is to be presided by Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the pontifical council, and by Metropolitan Anba Bishoy of the Coptic Orthodox Church. The Orthodox delegation includes representatives from seven local Churches that are part of the family of the Eastern Orthodox Churches: the Coptic Orthodox, the Syrian Orthodox, the Armenian Apostolic (represented by the two catholicosates of Etchmiadzin and Cilicia), the Ethiopian Orthodox, the Eritrean Orthodox and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian.

  The Catholic delegation includes representatives of the Latin tradition and from the various Eastern Catholic traditions (Coptic Catholic, Syrian Catholic, Armenian Catholic, Maronite, Syro-Malabarese, and Ethiopian).

  Since its creation in 2003, the commission has concentrated its attention above all on two ecclesiological questions: structures of communion, and the exercise of apostolic ministry in the Church.
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TELEGRAM FOR VICTIMS OF FLOODS IN ANGOLA

VATICAN CITY, JAN 30, 2007 (VIS) - The Holy Father sent a telegram of condolence, through Cardinal Secretary of State Tarciso Bertone S.D.B., to Archbishop Giovanni Angelo Becciu, apostolic nuncio to Angola, for the victims of floods that have struck that country in the course of recent days. The complete text of the telegram is given below:

  "The Supreme Pontiff has followed with dismay the drama of the Angolan people affected by the torrential rains that have brought mourning and devastation, and provoked serious damage. He gives assurances of his closeness to those people, entrusting the victims to the mercy of God and appealing for consolation and support for their families and for those who have lost their worldly goods. Benedict XVI implores divine blessings upon everyone affected by this drama, not forgetting those who participate in the immense aid and reconstruction operations."
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DISCOVER THE BEAUTY OF THE "TRUTH OF MARRIAGE"

VATICAN CITY, JAN 27, 2007 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican, Benedict XVI received the dean, judges, promoters of justice, defenders of the bond, officials and lawyers of the Tribunal of the Roman Rota, for the occasion of the inauguration of the judicial year.

  At the beginning of his address to them, the Holy Father pointed out that "the expression 'truth of marriage' loses all existential significance in a cultural context marked by the relativism and juridical positivism that consider marriage as a mere social formalization of the ties of affection. Thus, marriage not only becomes contingent, as human affections can be contingent, but appears as a superimposed legal structure which human will can manipulate at will, even denying its heterosexual character."

  The Pope warned against those who believe that "the conciliar doctrine on marriage - and in particular the description of that institution as 'intima communitas vitae et amoris' - necessarily leads to denying the existence of an indissoluble conjugal bond," on the grounds that this is "an 'ideal' which not all 'normal Christians' can be 'obliged' to follow."

  "The anthropological and salvific truth of marriage - also in its juridical dimension - is already present in Holy Scripture," said the Pope, and he quoted: "[He] made them male and female, and said, for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one. ... What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder." The Book of Genesis, he continued, also "presents the truth of marriage at the 'beginning'," a truth that achieves fullness "in the union of Christ with the Church."

  "Each marriage is certainly the fruit of the free will of a man and a woman, but their freedom puts into effect the natural capacity inherent to their masculinity and femininity. ... The indissolubility of marriage does not derive from the definitive commitment of the two parties involved; rather it is intrinsic to the nature of the 'potent bond established by the Creator.' The contracting parties must make a definitive commitment because such is the nature of marriage in the plan of creation and redemption."

  "Against the subjective and libertarian realization of sexual experience," said Benedict XVI, "the tradition of the Church clearly affirms the naturally juridical nature of marriage, in other words the fact that, by its very character, it pertains to the field of justice in interpersonal relationships." In this context, he went on, "the law interweaves with life and love. ... Love [between husband and wife] is the fruit of their freely seeking the good of the other and of the children."

  Referring to the danger of the erroneous interpretation of current canonical norms, the Holy Father encouraged his audience to react "with courage and trust, ... without allowing yourselves to be seduced by interpretations that entail a break with the tradition of the Church."

  "The contribution of ecclesial tribunals to overcoming the crisis in the significance of marriage, both in the Church and in civil society, may seem to be some somewhat secondary," he said. However, "precisely because marriage has an intrinsically juridical dimension," it is of fundamental importance to be "wise and convinced servants of justice in this delicate and important field. ... You, dear prelate auditors, are committed to a task in which responsibility for truth is especially felt. ... Remaining faithful to that task, seek to ensure that your activities become a harmonious part of a global rediscovery of the beauty of the 'truth of marriage' - the truth of the 'beginning' - that Jesus taught us, and of which the Holy Spirit reminds us continually in the Church today."
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