CARITAS, A WITNESS TO CHRIST'S LOVE FOR THE POOR

VATICAN CITY, JUN 19, 1999 (VIS) - Made public today was a Message from the Holy Father to the members of Caritas Internationalis, which is celebrating both the 50th anniversary of its foundation and its 16th general assembly. The meeting, which concludes today, began June 14 in the Vatican's Synod Hall on the theme "Reconciliation and Charity."

In the Message, dated June 2 and written in French, the Pope says he rejoices with "the members who, throughout the world, witness to the love of Christ and His Church for the poorest." He thanks Caritas for its "generous commitment," particularly during "the last four years, with your special concern for those who are living in increasingly trying situations of poverty, especially refugees and displaced persons, or wherever there is an urgent need, such as in North Korean, ... the Balkans and African nations touched by war."

He also expresses his gratitude to Caritas for echoing the appeal he made in "Tertio Millennio Adveniente" to make "the Jubilee ... an appropriate time to give thought, among other things, to reducing substantially, if not cancelling outright, the international debt which seriously threatens the future of many nations."

The Holy Father highlights the attention paid by Caritas to "reconciliation, one of the most authentic forms of charity. In a world which knows so many divisions and lacerations, among persons and human communities, I ardently hope that all of Christ's disciples ... may be artisans of peace and reconciliation so that mankind might become ever more a land of fraternity and solidarity."

"The realization of this ideal calls for a conversion of hearts and also changes, sometimes radical, in society," the Pope writes. "I invite you," he says, "to multiply your efforts for educating to justice and solidarity, founded on the Church's social doctrine."

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