"ILLUSTRATIVE NOTE" ISSUED ON POPE'S LETTER TO GERMAN BISHOPS

VATICAN CITY, JUN 23, 1999 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office this afternoon published an "Illustrative Note" in German and in Italian on Pope John Paul's Letter to German bishops, dated June 3 and made public yesterday, on the question of the position of Catholic family consultors in their country. Following are excerpts:

"This letter of June 3, 1999 must be read in the context of the two previous papal interventions. Earlier, in his September 21, 1995 letter, the Pope took a position with regard to the new legislative regulation on abortion. He expressed serious perplexity with regard to the involvement of ecclesial consultors in the decriminalization of abortion and invited the bishops to redefine the ecclesial commitment in the consulting offices. In the two successive years, in an intense dialogue between the Holy See and the German Episcopal Conference, a solution was sought to this thorny issue.

"In his Letter of January 11, 1998 the Holy Father again turned to his brother bishops in Germany. With insistence he invited them to remain present in an efficacious manner in consulting with women who are seeking assistance, but also to see to it that no certificate is released which, according to the law, constitutes the necessary presupposition for decriminalized abortion."

"(In the June 3 Letter), the Pope ... manifested ... his hope that the decision adopted by him will help to recover unity in the episcopal conference on this important problem and to overcome the tensions which have arisen in Catholic public opinion."

"The decision communicated by John Paul II had as its starting point the wide recognition of the 'plan of consulting and assistance' ... which joins consulting aimed at life to a series of offers of assistance."

"The certificate, which is given to women according to 'the plan of consulting and assistance' is nonetheless still marked by a serious ambiguity. It certainly documents the consultors' orientation towards life and constitutes a guarantee for allocating the promised assistance, but at the same time it can also be used for carrying out decriminalized abortions according to the penal code para 218a(1)."

"So that the certificate will not be used as access to abortion, the Holy Father orders ... the following annotation to be added: 'This certificate cannot be used to carry out decriminalized abortions'.

"John Paul II asks the German bishops to unanimously welcome his decision and to translate it into practice by the end of the year."

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