NEW CHRISTIAN HUMANISM IN A NEW MILLENNIUM

VATICAN CITY, NOV 19, 1999 (VIS) - Pope John Paul's Message to the participants in the plenary assembly of the Pontifical Council for Culture, now underway in the Vatican on the theme "For a New Christian Humanism, On the Threshold of a New Millennium," was published this morning.

The Pope writes that, on the threshold of the Jubilee Year 2000, "the Church's mission to announce Christ becomes more pressing; many of our contemporaries, especially young people, have great difficulty in perceiving what they truly are, submerged and disoriented by the multiplicity of the concepts of man, life and death, the world and its meaning."
These concepts, he says, too often "have become systems of thought which have a tendency to turn away from the truth and to exclude God, believing thus to affirm the primacy of man. ... This profound mutilation becomes today a true threat for man, because it leads one to think of man without any relation to transcendency. It is one of the basic tasks of the Church in her dialogue with cultures to lead our contemporaries to the rediscovery of a healthy anthropology."

"It is our duty," the Holy Father writes, "to propose today a Christian philosophy and anthropology which prepare the way for a rediscovery of the greatness and beauty of Christ, the Word of God. And it is certain that the attraction of the beautiful, the aesthetic, will lead our contemporaries to ethics, that is to say, to leading a beautiful and worthy life."

"Christian humanism," John Paul II observes, "is capable of integrating the best acquisitions of science and technology for the greatest happiness of man. It wards off, at the same time, their threats against his dignity as a person, the subject of rights and duties, and against his very existence, so seriously called into question today, from conception up to the natural end of his earthly existence."

In concluding remarks on "the plurality of anthropological processes," the Pope writes: "The Church does not fear legitimate diversity. ... On the contrary, she leans on this diversity to inculturate the Gospel message."

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ALWAYS SEEK THE COMMON GOOD IN THE ECONOMY-HEALTH RELATIONSHIP

VATICAN CITY, NOV 19, 1999 (VIS) - Today, John Paul II received participants in the 14th international conference promoted by the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers. The theme of the gathering is "Economy and Health."

The Pope affirmed that it is intolerable that the lack of economic resources "prevalently strikes the weaker part of the population and the more needy parts of the world, depriving them of the necessary health care. Equally, it is unacceptable that such limitations should lead to the denial of health care in some stages of life or in situations of particular frailty and weakness; such as for example life in the womb, in old age, or in those afflicted with grave disabilities or terminal illnesses."

"It is not the Church's duty to define which economic models and which health care systems may best resolve the relationship between economy and health. Nonetheless, it is her mission to strive so that, in the context of so-called 'globalization,' this relationship might be challenged and resolved in the light of those ethical values that support respect and protection for the dignity of each individual human being, starting with the weakest and poorest."

The Holy Father indicated that only by taking into account the value of human dignity and the duty of solidarity can we overcome "an economic and, consequently, reductive vision of health, thus leaving behind so many unjust inequalities that exist in the economy-health relationship."

The Pope made a call to governments and international organizations, to "allow themselves to be guided solely by the common good in facing up to the relationship between economy and health." He concluded: "I ask the pharmaceutical industry never to allow economic profit to prevail over the consideration of human values, but to demonstrate sensitivity to the needs of those who do not enjoy social security, putting into action substantial initiatives in support of the poorest and most marginalized."

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CARDINAL SODANO TO VISIT ASSISI ON NOVEMBER 29

VATICAN CITY, NOV 19, 1999 (VIS) - In a letter written in Latin, dated November 4 and published today, John Paul II appointed Cardinal Secretary of State Angelo Sodano as pontifical legate at the reopening to worship and the consecration of the new papal altar of the Upper Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, Italy on November 29. The cardinal will be accompanied by Msgrs. Antonio Mennini and Timothy P. Broglio, nunciature counsellors.

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CARDINAL SODANO: THE MORAL FOUNDATIONS OF SECURITY

VATICAN CITY, NOV 19, 1999 (VIS) - Yesterday, Cardinal Secretary of State Angelo Sodano spoke during a meeting of the heads of State and government of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which is being held in Istanbul, Turkey.

In the name of the Holy See, Cardinal Sodano recalled that "it is impossible to consider stable security in Europe without establishing secure moral foundations.

"A secure foundation," he said, "is in the first place, the recognition of a natural law that regulates all relationships between men, (a law) that predates any positive legislation of individual States. ... A secure foundation for security in Europe is also the recognition of the inalienable rights of individuals and peoples. ... Another foundation ... is the respect for minorities; ... each minority has the right to preserve and develop its own culture. In this context even in Europe, the call for the need of religious liberty remains valid."

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MESSAGE FOR THE REOPENING OF A CATHEDRAL IN ITALY

VATICAN CITY, NOV 19, 1999 (VIS) - Made public today was a message from the Pope to Archbishop Salvatore Nunnari of Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi-Conza-Nusco-Bisaccia, Italy, for the occasion of tomorrow's inauguration of the newly-restored medieval cathedral of Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi.

In his message, which is dated November 1, Solemnity of All Saints, John Paul II expresses his wish "that the celebrations for the reopening of the cathedral may represent for all an occasion for a renewed and generous response to the call of the Lord."

The Holy Father writes: "I wish to encourage the brothers and sisters of this beloved archdiocese to constantly and zealously love and guard their cathedral. For each of them, may it be a house of prayer, a sacred temple, a place of the presence of the living God and of closeness to Him. May it stimulate the entire community to be united in solidarity, so as to be able to foretaste, in the liturgy and in fraternal charity, something of future heavenly bliss."

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, NOV 19, 1999 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:

- Fernando Henrique Cardoso, president of Brazil, accompanied by his wife and an entourage.
- Three prelates from the German Episcopal Conference, on their "ad limina" visit:
- Bishop Walter Mixa of Eichstatt.
- Bishop Johannes Kreidler, diocesan administrator of Rottenburg-Stuttgart, accompanied by his auxiliary, Bishop Thomas Maria Renz.
- Archbishop Jean-Claude Perisset, apostolic nuncio in Romania.

This evening he is scheduled to receive five prelates from the German Episcopal Conference, on their "ad limina" visit:
- Cardinal Maximilian Sterzinsky, archbishop of Berlin, accompanied by his auxiliary, Bishop Wolfgang Weider.
- Archbishop Johannes Joachim Degenhardt of Paderborn, accompanied by his auxiliaries, Bishops Reinhard Marx and Heinz Josef Algermissen.

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ST. PETER'S BASILICA TO HAVE NEW ILLUMINATION

VATICAN CITY, NOV 19, 1999 (VIS) - Cardinal Virgilio Noe, president of the Fabric of St. Peter's, will present a project for the new illumination of St. Peter's Basilica, including the facade, atrium and dome, in a press conference to be held in the Holy See Press Office on Tuesday, November 23 at 12:30 p.m.

Joining him will be Sandro Benedetti of the Fabric of St. Peter's, Fulvio Vento and Paolo Cuccia of ACEA, an Italian utilities company, and Aldo De Luca, head of the project.

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"THE PILGRIM'S PAPER" TO DEBUT IN ROME ON NOVEMBER 21

VATICAN CITY, NOV 19, 1999 (VIS) - One million copies of "The Pilgrim's Paper," a new publication from the Communication and Documentation Center of the Vatican's Jubilee Committee, will be distributed in St. Peter's Square and other parts of Rome on Sunday, November 21, on the occasion of a canonization ceremony in the Vatican.

This test edition of the publication will appear in Italian, French, English and Spanish on November 21. Starting December 22, "The Pilgrim's Paper" will be published every 15 days in those languages as well as in German, Portuguese and Polish. One million copies will be printed of each issue and offered free to all pilgrims.

A note from the Central Jubilee Committee states that the purpose of this periodical is "to become a companion to every single pilgrim, furnishing complete and punctual information about Jubilee events, their spiritual meaning, testimonials, guides to Jubilee sites, useful addresses and phone numbers and a worthwhile insert, in serialized form, on the history of the Jubilee."

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, NOV 19, 1999 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Appointed Msgr. Robert Francis Vasa of the clergy of the diocese of Lincoln, U.S.A., and vicar general and curia moderator of the same diocese, as bishop of Baker (area 173,013, population 413,900, Catholics 34,811, priests 48, permanent deacons 5, religious 44), U.S.A. The bishop-elect was born in Lincoln in 1951 and ordained a priest in 1976. He succeeds Bishop Thomas John Connolly whose resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Baker the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

- Appointed Msgr. George L. Thomas, vicar general of Seattle (area 64,269, population 4,277,700, Catholics 501,055, priests 328, permanent deacons 86, religious 837), U.S.A., as auxiliary of the same archdiocese. The bishop-elect was born in Anaconda, U.S.A., in 1950 and ordained a priest in 1976.

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