HOLY FATHER'S FIRST MEETING WITH VOLUNTEER ASSOCIATIONS

VATICAN CITY, APR 21, 1999 (VIS) - Today in the Holy See Press Office, Msgr. Francesco Azcona, under-secretary for the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum," presented the program of the Pope's May 16 meeting with volunteers and members of associations who work in the sectors of social and charity work. The heads of thirteen of these organizations also attended the presentation.

Msgr. Azcona said that the Holy Father will preside at a solemn Mass in St. Peter's Square, where "people who have lived very different experiences and situations" will take part for the first time. Before Mass, a group of volunteers from Rwanda, Northern Ireland and the Holy Land will give witness to their experiences.

"Volunteer work," explained Cor Unum's under-secretary, "is an emerging sector of society: it covers various areas, from aid in hospitals to formation, and involves a growing number of people."

The meeting, whose theme is "Witnesses of Charity with the Pope," will be preceded by the World Meeting on Charity, which will be held in Rome from May 12 to 15.

Following Msgr. Azcona, there was an intervention by Gianpietro Cavazza, coordinator of the working group which drafted the document "Many Forms of Poverty, A Single Response: Points for Reflecting on Charity, Volunteerism and Service to People."

The aim of the six-page document is "to offer a break for reflection on the virtue of charity in relation to the mission of the Church," said Cavazza. It was drawn up by various volunteer associations from a number of countries in preparation for the May 16 meeting.

"The key to reading it," concluded Cavazza, "is the following: Christian charity, which has its origin and fulfillment in Christ, goes beyond doing good and providing assistance. ... The person can only become mature and truly fulfill themselves when there is someone who loves them. ... Charity overcomes the legalistic concept of justice: if this (justice) gives each person what is due to them, then charity does likewise. The time spent at the service of one's neighbor is the reference point for which the rest of the time will be spent, on how to use what we possess (culture, money, goods) and causes a change in relationships with family, friends and work."

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