OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, MAY 15, 2006 (VIS) - Major Archbishop Cyril Mar Baselios Malancharuvil O.I.C. of Trivandrum of the Syro-Malankars, India, with the consent of the Synod of Bishops and after having consulted the Holy See, erected, in accordance with canon 85, para. 1, of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, the ecclesiastical province of Tiruvalla of the Syro-Malankars, elevating the eparchy of Tiruvalla to the status of metropolitan see and giving it as suffragans the eparchies of Bathery and Muvattupuzha. By this provision, Bishop Isaac Mar Cleemis Thottunkal of Tiruvalla becomes the first metropolitan archbishop of Tiruvalla of the Syro-Malankars. The archbishop-elect was born in Mukkoor, India in 1959, he was ordained a priest in 1986 and consecrated a bishop in 2001.

  On Saturday, May 13, it was made public that the Holy Father:

 - Appointed Fr. Joseph Chau Ngoc Tri, pastor of Tra Kieu and member of the diocesan council, as bishop of Da Nang (area 11,690, population 2,215,000, Catholics 59,170, priests 61, religious 460), Vietnam. The bishop-elect was born in Phuoc Am, Vietnam in 1956 and ordained a priest in 1989. He succeeds Bishop Paul Nguyen Binh Tinh P.S.S., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese, the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

 - Erected the new diocese of Moramanga, (area 12,064, population 348,170, Catholics 110,000, priests 17, religious 72) Madagascar, with territory taken from the diocese of Ambatondrazaka, making it a suffragan of the metropolitan church of Antananarivo. He appointed Bishop Gaetano Di Pierro S.C.I., auxiliary of Ambatondrazaka, as first bishop of the new diocese.

 - Appointed Fr. Arturo Aiello of the clergy of the archdiocese of Sorrento-Castellammare di Stabia, pastor, spiritual director of the diocesan seminary and episcopal delegate for institutes of consecrated life, as bishop of Teano-Calvi (area 663, population 80,000, Catholics 80,000, priests 46, permanent deacons 8, religious 85), Italy. The bishop-elect was born in Vico Equense, Italy in 1955 and ordained a priest in 1979.

 - Appointed Fr. Victor Rene Rodriguez Gomez, pro-vicar general and episcopal vicar for pastoral care of the diocese of Texcoco, Mexico as auxiliary of the same diocese (area 2,000, population 2,373,446, Catholics 2,088,633, priests 170, permanent deacons 23, religious 284). The bishop-elect was born in San Martin de las Piramides, Mexico in 1950 and ordained a priest in 1976.

 - Appointed Augustine Loorthusamy, president of SIGNIS, Malaysia, as a member of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications and, as consultors of the same pontifical council, Marc Aellen, secretary general of SIGNIS, Switzerland, and Emilio Acerna, Italy.
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