POPE JOHN PAUL'S MESSAGE FOR WORLD YOUTH DAY 2000

VATICAN CITY, JUL 1, 1999 (VIS) - Made public today was the Holy Father's Message for the 15th World Youth Day, to be held in Rome in August 2000, during the year of the Great Jubilee. It was John Paul II who established this world day in 1984, the Holy Year of the Redemption, as he recalls in this letter, dated June 29, solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles.

The Pope starts the Message, published in Italian, Spanish. French and English, by referring not only to the first World Youth Day 15 years ago, but to the great wooden Cross which he has invited the world's young people to carry throughout the world. "After spanning the continents," he writes, "this Cross now returns to Rome, bringing with it the prayers and commitment of millions of young people who have recognized it as a simple and sacred sign of God's love for humanity."

"Dear young people," says John Paul II, "I invite you to undertake with joy this pilgrimage to Rome for this important ecclesial appointment which will be, and rightly so, the 'Jubilee of Youth'." He announces that the theme he has chosen for World Youth Day 2000 is the phrase of the Apostle John: "And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us."

"On the eve of the new millennium," continues the Pope, "I renew to you my pressing appeal to open wide the doors to Christ. ... Receiving Christ means ... loving Him and our brothers and sisters, showing solidarity to everyone, without distinction."

God sent His Son, states the Pope, to share in mankind's condition in all but sin and to obtain reconciliation and redemption for humanity through His death on the Cross. "The Cross, which seems to rise out of the earth, in reality reaches down from heaven, enfolding the universe in a divine embrace."

"Dear young people, may it be your holy ambition to be holy as He is holy. You will ask me: But is it possible today to be saints? If we had to rely only on human strength the undertaking would be truly impossible. ... However, everything is possible with the One Who is our Redeemer."

"Young people of every continent, don't be afraid of being the saints of the new millennium! ... The Lord wants you to be intrepid apostles of His Gospel and builders of a new humanity. In fact, how could you say you believe in God made man without taking a firm position against all that destroys the human person and the family? If you believe that Christ has revealed the Father's love for every person, you cannot fail to strive to contribute to the building of a new world, founded on the power of love and forgiveness, on the struggle against injustice and all physical, moral and spiritual distress, on the orientation of politics, economy, culture and technology to the service of man and his integral development."

"I sincerely wish that the Jubilee, now at the door, may be an opportune time for courageous spiritual renewal and an exceptional celebration of God's love for humanity. ... The mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God and that of the Redemption He worked for all men, constitute the central message of our faith. ... You too, dear young people, are the receivers and the trustees of this heritage. ... We will proclaim it together on the occasion of the next World Youth Day in Rome, in which I hope very many of you take part."

Pope John Paul concludes: "Let us now turn our eyes to the Virgin Mother of God, of whom the city of Rome treasures one of the earliest and most honored monuments which the devotion of the Christian people has dedicated to her: the basilica of St. Mary Major. ... Mary is the dawn which precedes the rising of the Sun of justice, Christ our Redeemer. ... To Mary, ... I entrust with confidence the preparation of the 15th World Youth Day."

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