POPE CALLS FOR END TO WAR IN YUGOSLAVIA AS SOON AS POSSIBLEPOPE CALLS FOR END TO WAR IN YUGOSLAVIA AS SOON AS POSSIBLE

VATICAN CITY, MAR 26, 1999 (VIS) - John Paul II yesterday evening called for an end "as soon as possible" to the war in Yugoslavia and for a just and lasting peace. The Pope made this plea during a meeting with young people from the diocese of Rome in the Paul VI Hall.

As is traditional every year before the World Youth Day on Palm Sunday, the Pope took part in a time of celebration and reflection with the youth of Rome. Those who could not enter the hall followed the event on a big screen outside.

He answered three questions asked by the young people. The first was: How could the love of God the Father be understood in the face of hate, violence and war? The Holy Father referred to the current conflict in Yugoslavia and said: "I hope with all my heart that arms are silenced as soon as possible and that dialogue and negotiation are resumed so that with the participation of all, a just and lasting peace may reign throughout this region." He explained that evil "has its root in sin," and that in spite of all, "the Father's love is not lacking for us because God Himself wanted to share suffering and death with us."

Then, in reference to his Message this year for World Youth Day, in which "there is a strong invitation to conversion and to come to the Sacrament of Confession," he was asked: "Where should our desire for conversion come from?"

The Pope said that "only thanks to a constant process of conversion and renewal, will the person move forward on the path of self-knowledge, the control of their will and the capacity to avoid evil and do good. ... In Confession, we live at first hand the essence of the love of God. He comes to meet us in the most fitting way, which is that of mercy. By this, I do not mean that the way of conversion is easy."

In the third question, the youth asked the Pope how the Church knows how to love and pardon. "The most important sign of the capacity to love like God," responded the Pope, "is forgiveness. God loves us and for this he forgives us constantly."

Before the end of the encounter, John Paul II invited the young people to World Youth Day 2000, which will take place in Rome from August 15 to 20. He also encouraged them to invite their friends who are indifferent to the faith, and to generously welcome those who come from far away.

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, MAR 26, 1999 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:

- Mr. Olusegun Obasanjo, president-elect of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and his entourage.
- Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco Varela, archbishop of Madrid, Spain.
- Archbishop Jose Saraiva Martins, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
- Cardinal Joachim Meisner, archbishop of Cologne, Germany.

He is scheduled to receive later this evening, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

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PROMULGATION OF DECREES BY CONGREGATION FOR CAUSES OF SAINTS

VATICAN CITY, MAR 26, 1999 (VIS) - Today in the Consistory Hall, the following decrees were promulgated in the presence of John Paul II and members of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and postulators of the respective causes:
- Three decrees regarding miracles attributed to the intercession of Blesseds:
- Tommaso da Cori (ne Francesco Antonio Placidi), Italian, priest of the Order of Friars Minor (1655-1729).
- Benedetto (ne Angelo Menni Figini), Italian, priest of the Hospitaller Order of St. John of God, and founder of the Hospital Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (1841-1914).
- Maria de Jesus Sacramento (nee Maria Venegas de la Torre), Mexican, foundress of the Congregation of the Daughters of the Heart of Jesus (1868-1959).

- One decree regarding a miracle attributed to the intercession of Servant of God Mariano de Jesus Euse Hoyos, Colombian, diocesan priest (1845-1926).

- Three decrees regarding the martyrdom of Servants of God:
- Anton Julian Nowowiejski, archbishop-bishop of Plock, Henrick Kaczorowski and Anicet Koplinski, diocesan priests, Maria Anna Biernacka, lay woman, and 104 companions, Polish, martyred for the faith during the Nazi persecution of the Church from 1939-1945.
- Stefan Vincenz Frelichowksi, Polish, diocesan priest, (1913-1945), died "ex aerumnis carceris" in 1945 at Dachau concentration camp, Germany.
- Alfonso Lopez and five companions, Spanish, of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual, who were martyred for the faith on July 27 and 31, and August 3, 1936, during the religious persecution of the Second Spanish Republic, in Salamus, Spain.

- Five decrees regarding the heroic virtue of Servants of God:
- Lino da Parma (ne Linus Maupas), Croatian, of the Order of Friars Minor (1866-1924).
- Egidio Giuseppe Dei Sacri Cuori (ne Severino Malacarne), Italian, priest of the Congregation of the Passionists (1877-1953).
- Aureliano del Santisimo Sacramento (ne Pedro Landeta y Azcueta), Spanish, priest of the Order of Discalced Carmelites (1887-1963).
- Isabel del Sagrado Corazon de Jesus (nee Isabel Larranga Ramirez), Filipino, founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (1836-1899).
- Marie Elizabeth Hesselblad, Swedish, foundress of the Order of the Most Holy Savior and of St. Brigid (1870-1957).

Among those present were Archbishop Jose Saraiva Martins, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Archbishop Edward Nowak, secretary, a group of cardinals and members of dicasteries.

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, MAR 26, 1999 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Bishop Roberto Octavio Gonzalez, O.F.M., of Corpus Christi as metropolitan archbishop of San Juan de Puerto Rico (area 1,051, population 1,233,743, Catholics 1,002,080, priests 300, religious 552), Puerto Rico. The archbishop-elect was born in Elizabeth, United States of America, in 1950, was ordained a priest in 1977 and a bishop in 1988. He succeeds Cardinal Luis Aponte Martinez, whose resignation from the pastoral care of this archdiocese was accepted by the Holy Father on having reached the age limit.

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