POPE URGES DEFENSE OF PURITY OF HEART

VATICAN CITY, JUN 12, 1999 (VIS) - At 8:30 a.m., the Holy Father travelled by helicopter from the apostolic nunciature in Warsaw to the city of Sandomierz, a distance of 175 kilometers. There, at 10.30 a.m., he celebrated the Mass of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the open area of Blonia Rybitwy.

Commenting in his homily on the beatitude, "Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God," the Pope said: "These words bring us to the heart of the Gospel truth about man. ... Yes, man does indeed seek God; he seeks Him with his mind, his heart and all his being."

He continued by saying that Holy Scripture teaches "what conditions we need to fulfil in order to encounter this God, to know Him and to be united with Him. One of these conditions is purity of heart. ... Having a pure heart means being a new person. ... Purity of heart is thus given to man as a task. He must constantly struggle to oppose the forces of evil, those which press upon him from without and those at work within him, and which would distract him from God."

"Today this message about purity of heart is very timely. The culture of death wants to destroy purity of heart. One of its strategies is deliberately to create doubt about the value of the human attitude which we call the virtue of chastity. This is something particularly dangerous when the attack is aimed at the sensitive consciences of children and young people. A culture which in this way impairs or even destroys a correct relationship between individuals, is a culture of death, for man cannot live without true love."

Addressing the young, the Pope said: "Today the culture of death sets before you, among other things, so-called 'free-love.' In this sort of disfigurement of love we reach the profanation of one of the most cherished and sacred values, for promiscuity is neither love nor freedom. ... Do not be afraid to live in a way contrary to fashionable opinions and ways of life in conflict with God's law. The courage of faith is costly, but you cannot lose love! Do not let anyone enslave you! Do not let yourselves be seduced by illusions of happiness for which you will have to pay a price that is too high, the price of often incurable wounds or even of a life destroyed!"

John Paul II concluded by asking Polish families to defend the dignity of each person. "Guard your families against pornography, which nowadays under various forms affects people's minds, especially those of children and young people. Defend the purity of morals in your homes and in society."

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