HOLY SEE POSITION ON KOSOVO CRISIS

VATICAN CITY, FEB 23, 1999 (VIS) - In response to journalists' questions on the Holy See position concerning the current crisis in Kosovo, the Holy See Press Office made the following declaration yesterday afternoon:

"1. The Holy See has always been close to the people of Kosovo who have been suffering greatly for more than a year now. Pope John Paul II has publicly spoken many times to ask the parties concerned to commit themselves to sincere dialogue, also encouraging the international community to help them (the parties concerned) to find a solution to their legitimate aspirations.

"2. For this reason, the Holy See deeply appreciates the commitment on the part of the international community, particularly of European countries, shown in these days at Rambouillet to help all to walk the path of sincere dialogue. She hopes that a lasting and peaceful solution to the contention will be found, respecting the principles of international law and in the conviction that recourse to arms always brings serious risks and deep suffering to civilians.

"3. The Holy Father's call of January 20, 1999 still holds: 'We ask God with renewed trust that where there is hate, there may be an outpouring of the Father's mercy, reawakening the consciences of all those who guide the future of the peoples and encouraging all souls to work for peace.'"

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IN MEMORIAM

VATICAN CITY, FEB 23, 1999 (VIS) - The following prelates died in recent weeks:

- Bishop Benjamin Barrera y Reyes S.S.I., emeritus of Santa Ana, El Salvador, on February 4, aged 96.
- Archbishop Bartolome Carrasco Briseno, emeritus of Antequera, Mexico, on January 7, aged 80.
- Bishop Patrick Joseph Casey, emeritus of Brentwood, Great Britain, on January 26, aged 85.
- Bishop Carlo Cavalla, emeritus of Casale Monferrato, Italy, on January 4, aged 79.
- Bishop Jan Czerniak, former auxiliary of Gniezno, Poland, on February 3, aged 92.
- Bishop George E. Dion, O.M.I., former apostolic vicar of Jolo, the Philippines, on February 12, aged 87.
- Bishop Andre Duirat, S.M.A., emeritus of Bouake, Ivory Coast, on December 29, aged 90.
- Bishop Settimio Arturo Ferrazzetta O.F.M., of Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, on January 26, aged 74.
- Bishop Jules Harle, former auxiliary of Arras, on January 24, aged 82.
- Archbishop Youhannan Semaan Issayi of Teheran of the Chaldeans, on February 7, aged 84.
- Bishop Joseph Kureethara of Cochin, India, on January 6, aged 69.
- Bishop Daniel Enrique Nunez Nunez of David, Panama, on January 11, aged 71.
- Bishop Fernando Prego Casal of Santa Clara, Cuba, on January 9, aged 71.
- Archbishop Nicola Rotunno, bishop emeritus of Sabina-Poggio Mirteto, Italy, on February 8, aged 70.
- Bishop Lawrence Harold Welsh, former auxiliary of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, on January 13, aged 63.

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, FEB 23, 1999 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Fr. Juda Thade Ruwa'ichi, O.F.M. Cap., as bishop of Mbulu (area 16,057, population 798,000, Catholics 201,200, priests 52, religious 96), Tanzania. The bishop-elect was born in Mulo-Kilena, Tanzania, in 1954, made his perpetual vows and was ordained a priest in 1981, and is currently member of the General Council of the Capuchin Friars Minor.

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SEMINAR FOR AVIATION CHAPLAINS OPENS TODAY IN HUNGARY

VATICAN CITY, FEB 23, 1999 (VIS) - The Second European Seminar for Catholic Chaplains and Pastoral Workers in Civil Aviation, promoted by the Hungarian Episcopal Conference, starts today in Budapest, Hungary, on the theme "Catholic Airport Chaplaincies of Europe on the Threshold of the Third Millennium."

Also collaborating in this four-day seminar are the European Secretariat of Catholic Chaplains in Civil Aviation and the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People. Twenty chaplains from ten European nations are scheduled to attend, as is Cardinal Laszlo Paskai, O.F.M., archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest and primate of Hungary.

This meeting is subsequent to the first such seminar which took place in Warsaw in 1996. At that time it was proposed to create the European Association of Catholic Chaplains, a proposal which became a reality in 1997. A communique announcing the seminar notes that chaplaincies have been opened in recent years in several Central European countries, including Hungary. It also states that "a greater opening towards Eastern countries, especially those of the former USSR, would be desirable."

"The seminar will above all deal with the theme of preparation in airports for the Great Jubilee," says the communique. "The discussion will turn to various aspects of this great event: the pilgrimage of airport workers themselves, collaboration with tour guides and pilgrimages, receiving and welcoming pilgrims in airports and the involvement and participation of the mass-media in preparing personnel and passengers."

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