OPEN THE HEART OF HUMANITY TO THE NEWNESS OF CHRIST

VATICAN CITY, JAN 25, 1999 (VIS) - The Pope this morning celebrated a private Mass at the nunciature in Mexico City and then at noon met and ate lunch with the cardinals and presidents of the 24 American episcopal conferences, and with his entourage.

At 4:30 p.m. he went by popemobile to Azteca Stadium, one of the largest in the world, with a capacity of 114,000 people. There he held a "meeting with generations." The Pope, surrounded by 13 cardinals from Latin America, was on a podium on a 360-degree rotating platform in the center of the stadium, thus allowing all present to have a frontal view of the papal stage.

The Pontiff gave a homily in two parts, alternating it with live link-ups from Honduras, the Dominican Republic, the United States, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela and Peru.

In the first part of his homily, "The End of a Century and a Millennium in the Light of the Second Vatican Council," the Pope referred to the theme of this pastoral visit: "A Millennium is Approaching, Let's Reaffirm the Faith." He said: "The new era which is close at hand should lead to a strengthening of America's faith in Jesus Christ. ... Only faith in Christ brings about a culture opposed to selfishness and death."

"To you parents and grandparents here present, it is your duty to pass on well-rooted convictions of faith, Christian practices and healthy moral traditions to the new generations. In this way, the teachings of the last Council will help you."

The Pope said that our century "shows itself to be powerless in the face of millions of starving human beings; ... forsakes the promotion of moral values; ... passively contemplates the growing abyss between poor countries in debt and others which are strong and wealthy; it continues to ignore the intrinsic perversion and the terrible consequences of the 'culture of death'; it promotes ecology but ignores that the deep roots of all threats to nature are moral disorder and man's contempt for man."

"America, the land of Christ and Mary! You have the important role of building the new world that the Second Vatican Council wished to promote. You must commit yourselves so that truth prevails over all forms of lies, so that good overcomes evil, justice overcomes injustice and that honesty overcomes corruption."

In the second part of his speech, entitled "The 21st Century, Century of the New Evangelization and the Great Challenge of Young Christians," the Pontiff stated that "the person who has the Gospel as their guide and norm of life cannot remain passive, but must share and spread the light of Christ, even with their own sacrifices."

"You," he added, "have the mission of working so that new generations receive a solid Christian formation during their intellectual and cultural preparation (for life), in order to avoid that forceful progress closes them to the transcendent."

In this era of information technology and "powerful means of communication," the Pope presented especially to young people the challenge of "opening the minds and heart of humanity to the newness of Christ and the gratuity of God. It is only in this way that the risk of a world and a history without a soul will be distanced."

"In the Lord's name," he ended, "may you go decisively to evangelize your own surrondings so that they are more human and fraternal, in solidarity (with others) and more respectful of nature which has been entrusted to us. May the faith and ideals of life spread to all peoples of this continent, not with useless confrontation, but rather with the witness of your own lives."

Before concluding the meeting, the Pope said: "I learned today that an earthquake has caused many victims and numerous injured in Colombia. Let us show our love in solidarity with these brothers and sisters who suffer at this time. From here I wish to encourage all who are helping the victims. We are praying as well for the repose of the souls of those who lost ther lives."

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