IF YOU WANT PEACE, SEEK JUSTICE, DEFEND LIFE, EMBRACE THE TRUTH

VATICAN CITY, JAN 27, 1999 (VIS) - At 4:30 p.m., Pope John Paul presided at an evening prayer service with Catholics, the faithful of other Christian denominations, and Jews and Muslims in the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, a Romanesque-Byzantine church which houses the world's largest collection of mosaics, 4,000 square meters incorporating 41 million individual pieces.

On "the eve of a new millennium," said the Holy Father in his homily, and "as we look at the century we are leaving behind, we see that ... in order to be able to sing God's praises we must relearn the language of humility and trust, the language of moral integrity and of sincere commitment to all that is truly good in the sight of the Lord."

"At the end of this century, at once marked by unprecedented progress and by a tragic toll of human suffering," he stated, "radical changes in world politics leave America with a heightened responsibility to be for the world an example of a genuinely free, democratic, just and human society."

John Paul II affirmed that "from salvation history we learn that power is responsibility: it is service, not privilege. Its exercise is morally justifiable when it is used for the good of all, when it is sensitive to the needs of the poor and defenseless.

"There is another lesson here: God has given us a moral law to guide us and protect us from falling back into the slavery of sin and falsehood. ... The Ten Commandments are the charter of true freedom, for individuals as well as for society as whole."

He proclaimed that "America will remain a beacon of freedom for the world as long as it stands by those moral truths which are at the very heart of its historical experience. And so America: if you want peace, work for justice. If you want justice, defend life. If you want life, embrace the truth - the truth revealed by God."

At the end of the liturgy, the Holy Father crossed the basilica's central nave and went to the Holy Door, placing a seal on it which will be removed at the opening of the Jubilee Year 2000 celebrations.

Then, prior to leaving the cathedral for St. Louis Airport, John Paul II made concluding remarks of gratitude and appreciation to religious and civil officials, including U.S. Vice President Al Gore: "A few months ago a pilgrimage from St. Louis came to Rome. We met on the steps of St. Peter's where they sang to me 'Meet Me in St. Louis... meet me at the dome!' With God's help, we have done it."

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POPE DECRIES ABORTION, EUTHANASIA, AND DEATH PENALTY

VATICAN CITY, JAN 27, 1999 (VIS) - Pope John Paul II presided at a concelebrated votive Mass of the Sacred Heart of Jesus this morning in St. Louis' Trans World Dome, one of the largest covered stadiums in the United States, in the presence of a capacity crowd of 100,000 faithful.

The Pope highlighted that "through Jesus Christ we know how much the Father loves us. In Jesus Christ, by the gift of the Holy Spirit, each one of us can share in the love that is the life of the Blessed Trinity." God's love, he said, "is a love that saves. This is the love we find in the Heart of Jesus."

"St. Louis," he stated, "has been the Gateway to the West, but it also has been the gateway of great Christian witness and evangelical service." And the Pope cited the numerous religious congregations which "have labored for the Gospel," the work of the lay apostolate, "the charitable activities of every kind (which) have been a vibrant part of Catholic life," the "outstanding Catholic health care services" and the "Catholic schools (which) have proven to be of priceless value to generations of children."

From "this immense heritage of holiness and service ... you must draw inspiration and strength for the new evangelization so urgently needed at the approach of the Third Christian Millennium."

"As the new evangelization unfolds," John Paul II affirmed, "it must include special emphasis on the family and the renewal of Christian marriage. ... (It) must bring a fuller appreciation of the family as the primary and most vital foundation of society. ... As the family goes, so goes the nation!"

Today we celebrate the Gospel of God's love, he declared. "As believers, how can we fail to see that abortion, euthanasia and assisted suicide are a terrible rejection of God's gift of life and love?"

"The new evangelization calls for followers of Christ who are unconditionally pro-life. ... A sign of hope is the increasing recognition that the dignity of human life must never be taken away, even in the case of someone who has done great evil. Modern society has the means of protecting itself, without definitively denying criminals the chance to reform. I renew the appeal I made most recently at Christmas for a consensus to end the death penalty, which is both cruel and unnecessary."

He then highlighted another challenge facing the country: the need "to put an end to every form of racism, a plague which your bishops have called one of the most persistent and destructive evils of the nation."

John Paul II said in closing that "our Christian life can be seen as a great pilgrimage to the house of the Father, which passes through the door that is Jesus Christ. The key to that door is repentance and conversion. The strength to pass through that door comes from our faith and hope and love."

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JOHN PAUL II CONCLUDES 85TH FOREIGN PASTORAL TRIP

VATICAN CITY, JAN 28, 1999 (VIS) - The Holy Father arrived at St. Louis' Lambert International Airport at 6:30 last evening, where he was met by religious and civil authorities, including U.S. Vice President Al Gore and his wife, who were present for the farewell ceremony concluding the Pope's 85th foreign pastoral visit.

After greeting those present, John Paul II boarded a TWA Boeing 767 for the nine-hour, 8,324 kilometer trip back to Rome, where he arrived at 12:15 p.m. today.

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, JAN 28, 1999 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Fr. Raul Antonio Martinez Paredes as bishop of Solola-Chimaltenango (area 2,372, population 675,300, Catholics 603,000, priests 51, religious 104), Guatemala. The bishop-elect was born in San Martin Jilotepeque, Guatemala, in 1943, was ordained a priest in 1987 and since 1997 has been diocesan administrator of Solola-Chimaltenango.

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