CLERGY, RELIGIOUS AND LAY LEADERS ARE "PILLARS" OF THE DIOCESE

VATICAN CITY, MAY 30, 1999 (VIS) - Calling them the "pillars" of the diocesan community, the Pope met at 5 p.m. in Ancona's St. Cyriacus Cathedral with the clergy, religious and representatives of the laity involved in diocesan pastoral ministries. He exhorted them to be "deeply united to your bishop," to respond with joy to their particular charisms and ministries and to support inter-parish collaboration.

The Pope, noting that St. Cyriacus Cathedral is currently celebrating its millennium anniversary, said that "as a temple of stone which has defied the centuries, it is also the mother Church who welcomes the entire community composed of 'living stones for the building of a spiritual edifice'." He then pointed out "several paths for fulfilling this exalted undertaking."

"Above all," he went on, "I exhort you to be ever more deeply united to your bishop. Communion in thought, beliefs and initiatives is the greatest gift to the Lord from His Church, the substance of the life of the Christian community and the goal of her entire mission." He said that every member of the faithful is called to communion with the bishop, who is "Christ's vicar and delegate."

"I also invite you," the Pope added, "to respond with joy to the particular vocation which God has given each of you. With the multiplicity of your ministries and charisms, you are the sign of God's unforeseeable love," of the one Spirit "who, according to his own richness and the needs of the ministries, gives his different gifts for the welfare of the Church." The Pope asked all "to respond with generosity, creativity and responsibility to the vocation received in order to become efficacious instruments of communion and to offer a joyous witness of faith to non-believers."

Lastly, John Paul II suggested that "another path to the growth and building of unity in the diocesan community consists of inter-parish collaboration. ... Generous and systematic collaboration among parishes, beyond favoring ecclesial communion, represents a strong element of growth for the life of the parish community itself."

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MAY HUMANITY HAVE THE COURAGE FOR RECONCILIATION

VATICAN CITY, MAY 30, 1999 (VIS) - Early this morning the Pope travelled by helicopter to Ancona, in the Marche region of Italy, where he paid a pastoral visit, his 135th within Italy, to mark the 1000th anniversary of the Cathedral of Saint Cyriacus.

At 10 a.m. the Pope presided at a eucharistic concelebration in the stadium of Conero with prelates from the Marche. Having recalled in his homily today's Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, he said: "Seen from the outside, with its position high over the city, (the cathedral) symbolizes the consoling presence of the triune God who, from on high, guides and protects the life of man. At the same time, the cathedral calls us to raise our eyes to heaven."

Addressing the faithful who had gathered to hear him, the Holy Father said: "Mindful of the past, alert to the present yet also projected towards the future you, Christians of the archdiocese of Ancona-Osimo, know that the spiritual progress of your ecclesial communities and the very promotion of the common good of civil communities requires strenuous commitment. ... May the road thus far travelled and the faith that inspires you give you the courage and incentive to continue."

The Holy Father said: "Emulating your forebears, be a living Church in the service of the Gospel! A hospitable and generous Church which, with its enduring testimony, knows how to render present God's love for all human beings, especially for those suffering and in need. I know that this is your commitment." Evidence of this may be seen in the initiative to reconstruct a building "to be dedicated to services of solidarity and the pastoral ministry of youth."

Following the Mass and before praying the Angelus, the Holy Father mentioned a number of shrines within the archdiocese of Ancona that are dedicated to the Virgin and made a fresh call for peace.

He said: "From this city, linked by tradition to the East, I cannot help but look beyond the Adriatic which, for many refugees, constitutes a difficult path of hope. Alas, in Kosovo and in the Republic of Yugoslavia violence and oppression continue unchecked, with numerous human victims and enormous environmental damage. I renew today my heartfelt call for peace. I ask for prayers so that Mary may secure us this essential and irreplaceable gift."

"In the face of continuing violence, may our confident invocation not die away, an invocation for the people of Kosovo and Yugoslavia who have for too long been victims of a situation which represents a terrible defeat for humanity, one that comes immediately after the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. May we also mention other peoples who, especially in the continent of Africa, pay an unacceptable price in human lives, hunger, misery and humiliation because of prolonged fratricidal conflict, frequently ignored by public opinion."

The Pope also requested that "humanity find the courage for reconciliation. That dialogue, solidarity and love prevail over the multiple forms of pride and falsehood. May God illuminate the consciences of those responsible so that they place the protection of fundamental human rights above all else. In fact, each time that hatred and violence triumph, it is man who is defeated. May God help and console the thousands of children, women, old and sick people; the innocent victims of war."

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TRUTH WITH INTELLECTUAL HONESTY, RESPECT FOR REVELATION

VATICAN CITY, MAY 29, 1999 (VIS) - The students, faculty and administrators of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, entrusted to the Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei, were received today by the Holy Father, who highlighted the university's objective of "seeking and promoting the truth with intellectual honesty and respect for Revelation."

In his address, the Pope highlighted the school's Faculty of Institutional Social Communications, "whose duty it is to form in a specific way people who are able to collaborate with bishops, episcopal conferences and other ecclesial institutions in transmitting correct information about the Church through the media."

He also underscored "the insertion into your university of the Superior Institute of Religious Sciences" which "offers the opportunity of an academic and ecclesial formation for those entrusted with teaching religion in schools, catecheses in parishes and other types of apostolate."

The Holy Father noted that the university's crest "features a Greek cross whose arms end in arrowheads" next to which "one reads the words 'Iesus Christus, Deus Homo'. What a meaningful synthesis of the orientation of teaching activity and research! The Cross is the supreme revelation of the mystery of the Word Incarnate, 'perfectus Deus, perfectus homo'."

John Paul II affirmed that, "in these times ... of a widespread mistrust in the capacity of reason to reach the truth, I thought it timely to publish the recent Encyclical 'Fides et Ratio'" which, "like 'Veritatis Splendor', ... represents an efficacious orientation for the work of all who devote themselves to the study of theology, religious sciences and philosophy. It is in Christ, God and Man, that the perfect harmony between nature and grace shines."

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TO THE SICK: OFFER SUFFERING FOR OTHERS WHO SUFFER IN THE WORLD

VATICAN CITY, MAY 30, 1999 (VIS) - Concluding his one-day pastoral trip to Ancona, Pope John Paul visited the regional hospital where he had words of comfort for the patients, telling them that they have "a special place in my daily prayer," and asking them to offer their sufferings for others who suffer in the world, especially victims of war.

"Dear ones," he said, "if we allow ourselves to be enlightened by faith, the hospital, which is a place of suffering, can become a temple of mercy for everyone: for patients, who those who work there, for everyone who comes to visit sick people, and for the entire Christian community."

"At this time," the Holy Father observed, "how can we not think of those people who are caught up in the middle of a war and who need care? Hospitals themselves have not been spared the consequences of the conflict! And here is the most serious evil: man's hatred and violence towards his own brother, fratricidal hatred; this is the first illness of the spirit which we must fight! And the only therapy for this evil is conversion, pardon and reconciliation.

"From this hospital where you are constrained to live, bedridden, sometimes for more than just a few days, you can be close to all your brothers and sisters who are suffering in various parts of the world, where the right to life and to health is violated on a daily basis. Your condition as sick people can become a bridge of human and Christian solidarity: The Cross of Christ is a source of peace."

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, MAY 29, 1999 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Accepted the resignation of Bishop Raimundo Revoredo Ruiz C.M., from the pastoral care of the territorial prelature of Juli, Peru, in conformity with canon 401, para. 2 of the C.I.C.

- Appointed Frs. Michel Christian Cartateguy S.M.A., vicar general of the diocese of Niamey, Niger and Ambroise Ouedraogo of the clergy of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, "fidei donum" missionary in Niger, as auxiliaries of the diocese of Niamey (area 1,200,000, population 10,000,000, Catholics 17,310, priests 41, religious 136), Niger. Bishop-elect Cartateguy was born in Hasparren, France in 1951 and was ordained a priest in 1979. Bishop-elect Ouedraogo was born in Kossodo, Burkina Faso in 1948 and ordained a priest in 1979.

- Appointed as members of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of Sacraments: Cardinals Michael Michai Kitbunchu, archbishop of Bangkok, Thailand; Miguel Obando Bravo S.D.B., archbishop of Managua, Nicaragua; Alexandre Jose Maria dos Santos O.F.M, archbishop of Maputo, Mozambique; John Baptist Wu Cheng-chung, bishop of Hong Kong, China and Aloysius Matthew Ambrozic, archbishop of Toronto, Canada; Archbishops Franco Brambilla, apostolic nuncio; Francois Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace; Ivan Dias of Bombay, India; Justin Francis Rigali of St. Louis, U.S.A.; Jose Saraiva Martins C.M.F., prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints; Agustin Garcia-Gasco Vicente of Valencia, Spain; Ramon Ovidio Perez Morales of Maracaibo, Venezuela; Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne of Lima, Peru; Claudio Hummes O.F.M., of Sao Paulo, Brazil; Franc Rode C.M., of Ljubljana, Slovenia; Jorge Mario Bergoglio S.J., of Buenos Aires and Josip Bozanic of Zagreb, Croatia; Bishops Albert-Marie de Monleon O.P., of Pamiers, France; Terence John Brain of Salford, Great Britain; Kevin Michael Manning of Parramatta, Australia and Philip Boyce O.C.D., of Raphoe, Ireland.

- Appointed as members of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications: Archbishops Romeo Panciroli M.C.C.I., apostolic nuncio; Fernand Frank of Luxembourg; Roland Aboujaoude, auxiliary of Antioch of the Maronites, Lebanon; George Yod Phimphisan C.SS.R., of Udon Thani, Thailand; Jose Sanchez Gonzalez of Siguenza-Guadalajara, Spain and Alfred Kipkoech Arap Rotich, military ordinary, Kenya.

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SPECIAL ENVOY TO THE EUCHARISTIC CONGRESS IN PORTUGAL

VATICAN CITY, MAY 29, 1999 (VIS) - Made public today was a letter from the Holy Father, written in Latin and dated May 20, addressed to Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, president of the Central Committee for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, naming him special envoy to the National Eucharistic Congress of Portugal which will take place in Braga June 3-6.
The pontifical mission that will accompany Cardinal Etchegaray is composed of Msgr. Antonio Ferreira de Costa, official of the Secretariat of State and Fr. Jose Paulo Leite de Abreu of the diocese of Braga.

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THE EUCHARIST: SIGN OF UNITY AND SOURCE OF CHARITY

VATICAN CITY, MAY 29, 1999 (VIS) - The Pope sent a message to Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco Varela, archbishop of Madrid and president of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, on the occasion of the National Eucharistic Congress at Santiago de Compostela, which opened on May 26 and closes today.

In his message, which is in Spanish, the Holy Father writes that the memory of James the Apostle (Santiago) "reminds us that he was a witness to the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper, just as he was to the glory of Christ in the Transfiguration and to His anguish in the Garden of Olives."

"The celebration of this National Eucharistic Congress is a clarion call to unity and communion for the whole Church in Spain, a call for a return to the roots of the Christian faith that has made your communities thrive. This is recognized by many other sister Churches worldwide. It is demonstrated by the testimony of your martyrs, the rich spirituality of your saints and the dynamic enterprise of your missionaries, who carried the message of the Gospel from the 'finis terrae' of Compostela to other regions of the globe."

John Paul II adds that "the Eucharist, being a sign of unity and source of charity, ... stimulates us to promote fraternity in a divided world, testifying to God's loving paternity towards everyone."

After highlighting that the Eucharist has been "the secret of the vitality of the Church in your motherland," the Pope makes a call to "trust in the future, in order that Christ, present in the Eucharist, may fortify your resolve and revitalize in all, especially in the young, the commitment to evangelization and the desire for a public and social testimony of Christian life at the end of this century and this millennium."

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POPE TO PRESIDE AT CORPUS CHRISTI MASS AND PROCESSION

VATICAN CITY, MAY 31, 1999 (VIS) - At 7 p.m. on Thursday June 3, feast of Corpus Christi, Pope John Paul II will celebrate Mass on the square in front of St. John Lateran Basilica. Afterwards he will lead the traditional Eucharistic procession on Via Merulana, the broad street which links the patriarchal basilica of St. John's to that of St. Mary Major.

The note published today by the Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff recalls that, during the May 22 Pentecost vigil Mass in St. Peter's Square, the Holy Father had said: "For the forthcoming feast of 'Corpus Domini' I would like a single choral invocation for peace to arise from the Church of Rome. I invite everyone - clergy, religious and lay faithful - to join me the evening of June 3 at St. John Lateran to participate in Mass and in the 'Corpus Domini' procession, where together we will implore the gift of peace in the Balkans. This year, may the day of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ be marked by intense prayer for peace."

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"HEALTH FOR ALL" SHOULD NOT BE AN UNATTAINABLE UTOPIA

VATICAN CITY, MAY 31, 1999 (VIS) - On May 19, Archbishop Javier Lozano Barragan, president of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health Workers, participated in the 52nd session of the World Assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO) which took place in Geneva, Switzerland from May 17 to 26.

In his speech, which was published today, the head of the Holy See delegation said: "For the ideal of 'health for all' - including a minimum universal health assistance - not to remain an unattainable utopia, inspiring concepts and the practical operational criteria of solidarity, which may effectively ensure that profit and market forces not be absolute parameters, must be incorporated into the ideas and action of the world economy. Only in this way can health, especially of the poorest and most defenseless, take its rightful place."

He went on: "The Holy See would like to use this occasion to reiterate its constant appeal to the international community not to allow the opportunity offered by the close of the second millennium to pass without resolving the grave problem of the external debt of the poorest countries. ... This urgent requirement cannot but concern all those responsible for world economy and politics."

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, MAY 31, 1999 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:

- Archbishop Beniamino Stella, apostolic nuncio in Colombia.
- Archbishop Ernesto Gallina, apostolic nuncio.
- Archbishop Giovanni Ceirano, apostolic nuncio.
- Bishop Ruben T. Profugo of Lucena, the Philippines, on his "ad limina" visit.
- Bishop Francis Teke Lysinge of Mamfe, Cameroon, on his "ad limina" visit. - Fr. Joseph Atanga, S.J., apostolic administrator "ad nutum Sanctae Sedis" of Yaounde, Cameroon, on his "ad limina" visit.

Tonight at 9 the Holy Father is scheduled to speak to the faithful gathered at the Grotto of Lourdes in the Vatican Gardens for the traditional ceremony closing the month of May.

On Saturday, May 29, he received in separate audiences:


- Cuthbert Montraville Sebastian, governor of St. Kitts-Nevis, Lesser Antilles.
- Five prelates from the Cameroon Episcopal Conference on their "ad limina" visit:
- Bishop Jean-Bosco Ntep of Eseka.
- Bishop Roger Pirenne C.I.C.M., of Batouri.
- Bishop Philippe Albert Joseph Stevens, of the Little Brothers of the Gospel, of Maroua-Mokolo.
- Bishop Dieudonne Watio of Nkongsamba.
- Bishop Jan Ozga of Doume-Abong' Mbang.
- Cardinal Lucas Moreira Neves O.P., prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.

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