AUDIENCE FOR WRITERS AT "LA CIVILTA CATTOLICA" MAGAZINE

VATICAN CITY, APR 22, 1999 (VIS) - The Pope received at midday today the writers of the Jesuit-run Italian magazine, "La Civilta Cattolica" (Catholic Civilization), who are commemorating the 150th anniversary of the magazine's founding.

John Paul II highlighted its "total adherence, even if it is sometimes difficult, to Holy See teaching and directives, and the love and veneration for the Pope" during these years.

"Among the magazine's merits, I would like to point out the promptness with which it welcomed the renewal of the Church undertaken by the Second Vatican Council, and the commitment to make known to a vast readership the (Council's) events, the questions discussed and its documents."

The Holy Father encouraged the writers to be interpreters of the Council teachings, "particularly on subjects such as Christology, Ecclesiology and the Magisterium of the Church, the role of the laity and the specificity of Christianity in inter-religious dialogue, religious freedom, the relationship between cultures and ecumenism, instruments of mass communication and their problematic impact on the mentality and behavior of people today."

The "great transformations" of the present day require "a courageous commitment to educate (people) in a strong adult faith, able to give meaning to life, and which resists attacks of an often secularized culture."

The Pope highlighted that "'La Civilta Cattolica' is called to contribute to the overcoming of the separation of faith and modern culture, and between faith and moral behavior."

Having referred to "social injustice" and the "power of money and an uncontrolled global economy," which put difficulties in the way of "welcoming the Gospel message," the Pontiff encouraged the magazine to continue in its role of "spreading the social doctrine of the Church, which the changes in society and the world of work made ever more current and urgent."

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