OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, OCT 24, 2007 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Fr. Pablo Emiro Salas Anteliz of the clergy of Valledupar, Colombia, diocesan vicar for pastoral care, as bishop of Espinal (area 14,000, population 439,000, Catholics 331,000, priests 98, religious 39), Colombia. The bishop-elect was born in Valledupar in 1957 and ordained a priest in 1984.
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AMBROSE: CATECHESIS INSEPARABLE FROM LIFE WITNESS

VATICAN CITY, OCT 24, 2007 (VIS) - During today's general audience, Benedict XVI continued his series of catecheses dedicated to Fathers of the Church, turning his attention to the figure of St. Ambrose, bishop of Milan. The audience, held in St. Peter's Square, was attended by more than 30,000 people.

  It was from Origen that Ambrose (ca. 340-397), considered to be one of the four greatest Doctors of the Church, learnt to know and comment the Bible. It was Ambrose, the Pope explained, who "brought meditation upon the Scriptures into the Latin world, ... introducing the practice of 'lectio divina' to the West." This practice "guided all his own preaching and writing which flow, in fact, from his listening ... to the Word of God."

  With him catechumens "learnt first the art of correct living" in order "to be prepared for the great Mysteries of Christ." His preaching was founded on "the reading of Sacred Scripture" with the aim of "living in conformity with divine Revelation.

  "It is evident," the Pope added, "that the preacher's personal witness and the exemplary nature of the Christian community influence the effectiveness of preaching. ... From this point of view, one decisive factor is life context, the reality of how the Word is lived."

  Benedict XVI recalled the fact that St. Augustine in his Confessions recounts how his own conversion was not due "chiefly to the beautiful homilies" of Ambrose, whom he knew in Milan, but above all "to the witness of the bishop and of his Milanese Church, who sang and prayed together like one single body." Augustine also tells of his surprise at seeing how Ambrose, when he was alone, would read the Scriptures without moving his lips, because at that time reading was considered as something to be proclaimed out loud in order to facilitate its comprehension.

  It is "in such reading, ... when the heart seeks to achieve an understanding of the Word of God, that we catch a glimpse of Ambrosian catechesis," said the Holy Father. "Scripture intimately assimilated suggests what must be announced to convert people's hearts. ... Thus catechesis is inseparable from life witness."

  "Who educates in the faith," he continued, "cannot run to the risk of appearing like a clown who plays a role, ... rather he must be like the beloved disciple who rested his head on the Master's heart and there learnt how to think, speak and act."

  St. Ambrose died on Good Friday, his arms open in the form of the cross. "Thus," the Pope concluded, "he expressed his mystical participation in the death and resurrection of the Lord. This was his final catechesis. In the silence of words, he spoke still with the testimony of his life."
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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, OCT 23, 2007 (VIS) - Yesterday, the Holy Father received in audience Archbishop Piero Marini, president of the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses.
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COMMITMENT NEEDED TO ELIMINATE UNEXPLODED ORDNANCE

VATICAN CITY, OCT 23, 2007 (VIS) - Cardinal Renato Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, has issued a call for the elimination of unexploded ordnance (UXO) in countries that have been involved in armed conflicts.

  According to a communique issued by the pontifical council, on October 18 Cardinal Martino met with Heidi Kuhn, founder of the international Roots of Peace organization, which is based in the U.S. and concerns itself with the "Mines for Vines" campaign, an undertaking that aims to transform minefields into farmland.

  "Every 30 minutes," the communique reads, "a person is killed or maimed by UXO in countries that have been theaters of war. Every year 20,000 civilians are killed or injured because of the explosion of mines or cluster munitions. This cruel type of weaponry does not discriminate between civilians and combatants; it is designed to inflict maximum suffering and not always to kill."

  UXO, the communique goes on, "prolongs fear among the civilian population and often accentuates their dependence on aid from the international community. According to estimates, planting a mine costs 3 dollars, while removing it costs 1,000 dollars. There are some 70 million mines in areas of some 70 countries of the world."

  In the meeting, Cardinal Martino underlined the need "to increase commitment, particularly at the local level, to free the world from the dangers of UXO, which causes so much suffering and death in countries that seek to reestablish an order of justice and peace following the atrocities of a conflict."
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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, OCT 22, 2007 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Fr. Valentin Reynoso Hidalgo M.S.C., pastor of the parish of "Nuestra Senora de la Altagracia," as auxiliary of the archdiocese of Santiago de los Caballeros (area 3,691, population 1,187,000, Catholics 969,000, priests 99, permanent deacons 116, religious 241), Dominican Republic. The bishop-elect was born in Nagua, Dominican Republic in 1942 and ordained a priest in 1975.

  On Saturday, October 20, it was made public that he appointed Luis Ernesto Derbez Bautista, professor of the Center for Globalization and Democracy of the Technological Institute of Monterrey in Mexico City, Mexico, as an ordinary member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.
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