POPE DECRIES ABORTION, EUTHANASIA, AND DEATH PENALTY

VATICAN CITY, JAN 27, 1999 (VIS) - Pope John Paul II presided at a concelebrated votive Mass of the Sacred Heart of Jesus this morning in St. Louis' Trans World Dome, one of the largest covered stadiums in the United States, in the presence of a capacity crowd of 100,000 faithful.

The Pope highlighted that "through Jesus Christ we know how much the Father loves us. In Jesus Christ, by the gift of the Holy Spirit, each one of us can share in the love that is the life of the Blessed Trinity." God's love, he said, "is a love that saves. This is the love we find in the Heart of Jesus."

"St. Louis," he stated, "has been the Gateway to the West, but it also has been the gateway of great Christian witness and evangelical service." And the Pope cited the numerous religious congregations which "have labored for the Gospel," the work of the lay apostolate, "the charitable activities of every kind (which) have been a vibrant part of Catholic life," the "outstanding Catholic health care services" and the "Catholic schools (which) have proven to be of priceless value to generations of children."

From "this immense heritage of holiness and service ... you must draw inspiration and strength for the new evangelization so urgently needed at the approach of the Third Christian Millennium."

"As the new evangelization unfolds," John Paul II affirmed, "it must include special emphasis on the family and the renewal of Christian marriage. ... (It) must bring a fuller appreciation of the family as the primary and most vital foundation of society. ... As the family goes, so goes the nation!"

Today we celebrate the Gospel of God's love, he declared. "As believers, how can we fail to see that abortion, euthanasia and assisted suicide are a terrible rejection of God's gift of life and love?"

"The new evangelization calls for followers of Christ who are unconditionally pro-life. ... A sign of hope is the increasing recognition that the dignity of human life must never be taken away, even in the case of someone who has done great evil. Modern society has the means of protecting itself, without definitively denying criminals the chance to reform. I renew the appeal I made most recently at Christmas for a consensus to end the death penalty, which is both cruel and unnecessary."

He then highlighted another challenge facing the country: the need "to put an end to every form of racism, a plague which your bishops have called one of the most persistent and destructive evils of the nation."

John Paul II said in closing that "our Christian life can be seen as a great pilgrimage to the house of the Father, which passes through the door that is Jesus Christ. The key to that door is repentance and conversion. The strength to pass through that door comes from our faith and hope and love."

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