THE SHRINE, A PLACE OF INTERIOR RENEWAL

VATICAN CITY, MAY 25, 1999 (VIS) - Archbishops Stephen Fumio Hamao, Francesco Gioia and Crescenzio Sepe, respectively president and secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples, and general secretary of the Central Committee for the Great Jubilee Year 2000, today presented the document: "The Shrine, Memorial, Presence and Prophecy of the Living God."

Archbishop Hamao spoke of the importance of shrines, both because of the large numbers of pilgrims who visit them, as well as for the "renewal of life that they are capable of generating. In shrines, the sacramental life of the faithful becomes more profound, especially in the celebration of the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist."

He went on to say that the document is, above all, directed to priests, religious and lay persons who greet and accompany the pilgrims who visit the shrines and is "an aid in their pastoral work and a mark of gratitude for their efforts."

Archbishop Gioia presented a list of the sites of the world's most famous shrine: Guadalupe, Mexico; San Giovanni Rotondo, Padua, Assisi, Pompeii, Loreto and San Gabriele (Teramo), all in Italy; Aparecida, Brazil; Montmartre and Lourdes, both in France; Czestochowa, Poland; Lujan, Argentina; Fatima, Portugal; Santiago de Compostela, Spain; the Holy Land; Mariatzell, Austria; Knock, Ireland; San Juan del Valle and Immaculate Conception, both in the U.S.A.; Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast; Walsingham, UK.

For his part, Archbishop Sepe highlighted that "those who work in the service of the shrines and those who spiritually accompany the pilgrims must zealously and attentively prepare for the spiritual and pastoral celebration of the Jubilee."

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MAYOR OF MOSCOW RECEIVED BY HOLY FATHER

VATICAN CITY, MAY 25, 1999 (VIS) - A communique published this afternoon states that "this morning, May 25, the Holy Father received in audience Yuri Mikhailovic Luzhkov, mayor of Moscow. The mayor then visited Cardinal Secretary of State Angelo Sodano. The conversations allowed for a useful exchange of information, with a view to a better collaboration for the material and spiritual progress of the city of Moscow."

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1999 WORLD MISSION DAY MESSAGE FOCUSSES ON THE "OUR FATHER"

VATICAN CITY, MAY 25, 1999 (VIS) - Pope John Paul's Message for the 73rd World Mission Day, which will fall on Sunday, October 24, 1999 was published today. It focusses on the "Our Father," and analyzes, line by line, how this prayer helps us "to understand more easily the source of the apostolic commitment of the Church and the basic motives which make it missionary 'unto the ends of the earth'."

World Mission Day is traditionally the third Sunday of October. The Pope's annual message is usually published in May, and dated Pentecost Sunday.

The Pope writes is his 1999 Message, dated May 23, that "World Mission Day offers each of us the opportunity to better underscore (the) common missionary vocation. ... The mission of salvation is universal; for each person and for all people. It is the duty of the entire people of God, of all the faithful. The missionary calling should thus be a passion for every Christian, a passion for the salvation of the world and an ardent commitment to bring about the kingdom of the Father."

For this to happen, writes the Holy Father, there must be "ceaseless prayer, ... the offering up of one's sufferings ... and a personal commitment to support those agencies which cooperate in missionary work."

In his analysis of the prayer, John Paul II says that the opening line, "Our Father who art in heaven," reveals that "every human being and all peoples seek ... the mysterious face of God ... 'who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth'."

"Hallowed be thy name," the Pope writes, tells us that God must be made known to peoples, cultures and nations. It is man's "awareness that his encounter with God promotes and exalts the dignity of man" that brings him to pray these words.

With the words, "'Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done', believers invoke the coming of the divine kingdom and the glorious return of Christ. ... The Church proclaims that this kingdom of justice, peace and love ... is mysteriously achieved ... thanks to individuals, families and communities who choose to live in a radical fashion the teachings of Christ."

In his examination of the words, "Give us this day our daily bread," Pope John Paul writes: "In our times there is a very strong awareness that all have a right to 'daily bread', that is, to what is necessary to live. What is equally felt is the need for rightful justice and a sharing marked by solidarity. ... Notwithstanding this, a great many people still live in a way not consonant with their human dignity."

The Pope underlines God's love and "merciful goodness" in the face of sin and sinners when he meditates on the lines, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us."
With the words, "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil," says the Holy Father, "we are asking God to not allow us to take the path of sin and to free us from an evil which is often inspired by a personal being, Satan, who wishes to hinder God's plan and the work of salvation fulfilled by Him in Christ. ... In social contexts strongly dominated by the logic of power and violence, the Church's mission is to witness to God's love and the strength of the Gospel, which break up hatred and vendetta, egoism and indiffernce."

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PROCEEDS FROM VATICAN STAMP SALES TO GO TO VICTIMS OF BALKAN WAR

VATICAN CITY, MAY 25, 1999 (VIS) - The Vatican's Philatelic and Numismatic Office today is issuing a special stamp called "Kosovo 1999," which features a drawing of refugees fleeing their land and the words of Pope John Paul II: "The Pope is with the people who suffer, and cries out to everyone: It is always time for peace!" The entire proceeds from the sales will go to the populations which have been afflicted by the Balkan conflict.

A note from the Governorate of Vatican City, which oversees the philatelic office, states that "once again, at the end of this century, Europe is marked by a conflict," by a war which has given us tragic images of men, women and children, defenseless, terrorized, and forced to flee their homes. "These are images which trouble the consciences of all persons of good will, images which scream out and which enjoin us not to remain indifferent."

The note also explains that the stamp, which costs 3,600 lire, "will be an extraordinary issue with the face value of a special delivery letter, and is called 'a special delivery for Kosovo'." It added that the Swiss Printing House "Helio Courvoisier" printed the 450,000 stamps free of charge.

The Vatican Post Office is also issuing a special postmark. It will be valid from today through June 9 and may be used only on mail bearing the Kosovo stamp.

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THE SHRINE: MEMORIAL, PRESENCE AND PROPHECY OF THE LIVING GOD

VATICAN CITY, MAY 25, 1999 (VIS) - In the Holy See Press Office today, Archbishops Stephen Fumio Hamao and Francesco Gioia, respectively president and secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples, presented the document: "The Shrine, Memorial, Presence and Prophecy of the Living God."

Published in Italian, French, English, German, Spanish and Portuguese, the document is dated May 8 and is composed of an introduction, three chapters and a conclusion. Its aim is "to echo the spiritual life that buds in shrines, the pastoral commitment of those who discharge their ministry there and their effect ... on local Churches."

Archbishops Hamao and Gioia, the authors of the document, write: "In relation to the unique and definitive past of the salvific event, the shrine is given as a memorial of our origin in the Lord of heaven and earth. In relation to the present of the community of the redeemed ... it appears as a sign of the divine Presence. ... In relation to the future fulfillment of the promise of God, ... the shrine is set as a prophecy of God's tomorrow in the world's today."

The first chapter, "The Shrine, Memorial of the Origin," indicates that "the significant meaning of every shrine is to be a reminder in the faith of the salvific work of the Lord. ... One enters a shrine first of all to give thanks, ... to express praise to the Lord for the wonders that He worked; to ask His forgiveness for the sins we have committed; to implore the gift of fidelity in our lives as believers and the help necessary for our pilgrimage in time."

Chapter two is entitled "The Shrine, Place of the Divine Presence." Here the authors write that "the shrine is the sign of the divine Presence, the place of an ever new actualization of the alliance of human persons with the Eternal and among themselves." It is also "the place of the Word (of God) par excellence, in which the Spirit calls to the faith and brings about the 'communion of the faithful'." Furthermore, shrines are "privileged sacramental places. This is especially true for the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist," the celebration of which "gives a particular dignity to the shrines."

The president and secretary of the dicastery then turn to the question of ecumenical commitment, saying that it "may find shrines (to be) places where (ecumenical) promotion is exceptional since, in them, the change of heart and holiness of life that are the 'soul of the whole ecumenical movement' are promoted, and the grace of unity granted by the Lord is experienced."

"At the same time, shrines (represent) a sign of contradiction with respect to pseudo-spiritualistic movements, like New Age for example," because they promote a strong sense of the primacy of God, thus contradicting a general religious sentiment based exclusively on human faculties.

In the third chapter, "The Shrine, Prophecy of the Heavenly Homeland," it is indicated that "the shrine assumes a prophetic importance, because it is a sign of a greater hope, that points to the ultimate and definitive goal."

The authors of the document highlight that it is "important to promote collaboration, and the formation of associations among shrines, especially those of the same geographical and cultural area, and the coordination of their pastoral action with the pastoral care of tourism and human mobility in general."

In the concluding section, "those who have the responsibility for the pastoral care of shrines" are called to "pay constant attention so that the various expressions of Marian piety be integrated into the liturgical life which is the center and the definition of the shrine."

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, MAY 25, 1999 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:

- His Royal Highness Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, crown prince and vice prime minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and his entourage. - Yuri Mikhailovic Luzhkov, mayor of Moscow, accompanied by his wife and entourage.
- William Porter and Bernard Margueritte, respectively president and vice president of the International Communications Forum.
- Archbishop Francois Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan, Bishop Diarmuid Martin and Msgr, Giampaolo Crepaldi, respectively president, secretary and under-secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

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