PONTIFICAL MISSION FOR PALESTINE CELEBRATES 50 YEARS

VATICAN CITY, DEC 9, 1999 (VIS) - The Holy Father this morning welcomed representatives of the Pontifical Mission for Palestine, who are in Rome for the concluding celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Mission by Pope Pius XII.

The Pope recalled that the anniversary celebrations began in New York City "where the Mission has its headquarters, and then moved to the Holy Land, Jordan and Libya" and are concluding "in the city where the Apostles Peter and Paul bore their final heroic witness to Jesus Christ."

Expressing his gratitude to all who are committed to meeting the needs of the many people served by the Mission, Pope John Paul recalled that "it was the tragic suffering and destitution of the peoples of the Middle East at the end of the Second World War which gave rise to the desire in my predecessor Pope Pius XII to establish a Church organization specifically for the Middle East. He desired an agency which would lend assistance and support in the Holy Land to children, families, the wounded, the sick, the elderly, exiles. ... Today, 50 years later, the Mission has extended its charitable activity to Cyprus, Iraq and Syria."

He listed some of the ways that the Pontifical Mission for Palestine helps people to rebuild their lives in difficult times: "It is involved in reconstruction and development projects, it provides badly needed health care services, it has contributed to the re-establishment of agricultural, industrial and artisan activities. In this way it is an eloquent expression of that 'new culture of international solidarity and cooperation'."

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HOLY FATHER CELEBRATES FEAST OF IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

VATICAN CITY, DEC 8, 1999 (VIS) - Today, feast of the Immaculate Conception, Pope John Paul prayed the angelus with the faithful in St. Peter's Square, blessed a new underpass along the Tiber which aims to prevent traffic gridlock near the Vatican, laid flowers at the foot of the statue of Mary in Piazza di Spagna and prayed briefly before an image of the Virgin at the basilica of St. Mary Major.

Prior to reciting the noon angelus, the Pope reminded the faithful of today's solemnity, saying that "in the mother of Jesus, the first of redeemed mankind, God works great things, filling her with grace and preserving her from all stain of sin. ... Immaculate Mary reminds all people that, whatever their state of life, God loves them in a personal way, that He wishes only their good and follows them constantly with a plan of grace and mercy, which had its culmination in the redeeming sacrifice of Christ.

"The feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary takes on a particular meaning this year as we are about to start the Great Jubilee. May Mary enlighten the steps of our pilgrimage towards the Holy Door and indicate to every man and woman that 'door' which is Christ, through which she passed first, inviting everyone to enter it, to be 'holy and immaculate in love'."

After praying the angelus, the Holy Father recalled that, "in coming days in Italy there will be a telethon to fight muscular dystrophy and other genetic illnesses. This is a work of solidarity for which I hope there will be a positive outcome, and I assure all those who suffer and their families that they will be remembered in my prayers."

Just before 4 p.m., John Paul II made a brief stop on his way to Piazza di Spagna to bless, in the presence of Rome's mayor and other civil and religious officials, the new underpass built near the Vatican. The Pope's car was then the first to drive in the new underground passage.

Today is a national holiday in Italy and an estimated 25,000 people were at the Spanish Steps and on adjacent streets, to greet the Holy Father as he arrived to pay homage to Mary by laying flowers at her statue and by praying with the faithful.

"Sublime mystery of grace," the Pope prayed, "which we feel even more strongly this year as a millennium closes and Jubilee Year starts. Today we have come with ever deeper trust to the feet of the Virgin to ask her to help us cross ... the threshold of the Holy Door, which introduces us to the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000."

Following the prayer to Mary, the Pope greeted and blessed the faithful present. He then proceeded to St. Mary Major Basilica where he stopped in prayer before an image of Mary.

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, DEC 9, 1999 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed:

- Msgr. Hans-Josef Becker of the clergy of the archdiocese of Paderborn, Germany, and director of the personnel department for the archdiocesan curia, as auxiliary of the same archdiocese (area 14,754, population 5,109,110, Catholics 1,835,897, priests 1,393, permanent deacons 92, religious 2,963). The bishop-elect was born in Warstein-Belecke, Germany, in 1948 and ordained a priest in 1977.

- Fr. Vincent Landel S.C.J., director of the Notre-Dame school in Betharram, France, as coadjutor archbishop of Rabat (area 400,000, population 27,640,000, Catholics 23,000, priests 46, religious 167), Morocco. The archbishop-elect was born in Maknes, Morocco, in 1941 and ordained a priest in 1969.

- Fr. Lino Dan S.J., as technical director of Vatican Radio.

On Wednesday, December 8, it was made public that he accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Tuticorin, India, presented by Bishop Teresanathan S. Amalnather in accordance with canon 401, para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law. He is succeeded by Bishop Peter Fernando, coadjutor of the same diocese and apostolic administrator "sede vacante et ad nutum Sanctae Sedis" of Tiruchirapalli, India.

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, DEC 9, 1999 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:

- Bishop Christian Krause, president of the World Lutheran Federation, accompanied by members of the Federation.
- Seven prelates from the Dominican Episcopal Conference, on their "ad limina" visit:
- Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez, archbishop of Santo Domingo, accompanied by his auxiliaries, Bishops Francisco Jose Arnaiz Zarandona S.J., Amancio Escapa Aparicio O.C.D., and Pablo Cedano Cedano.
- Archbishop Juan Antonio Flores Santana of Santiago de los Caballeros.
- Bishop Fabio Mamerto Rivas Santos S.D.B., emeritus of Barahona.
- Bishop Jesus Maria de Jesus Moya of San Francisco de Macoris.
- Cardinal Camillo Ruini, vicar general for the Diocese of Rome, accompanied by Bishop Enzo Dieci, auxiliary of Rome for the northern pastoral sector and Fr. Fernando Altieri of the Oblate Sons of the Madonna of Divine Love, pastor of the Parish of Sts. Urban and Lawrence at Prima Porta and three parish assistants.

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LETTER FOR THE OCCASION OF THE RETURN OF MACAO TO CHINA

VATICAN CITY, DEC 9, 1999 (VIS) - Made public today was a letter from the Holy Father to Bishop Domingos Lam Ka Tseung of Macao in which he expresses his spiritual closeness to the Catholic community and all those who will live the historical moment of the return of the territory to China on December 20.

In the letter, which is dated December 3, feast of St. Francis Xavier, patron of missions, the Pope writes that "the function of gateway of the Church towards China, assigned by divine Providence to the diocese of Macao and fulfilled during four centuries with alternating vicissitudes, will assume new forms" starting from December 20. This diocesan community "must strengthen its missionary vocation in the midst of the Chinese world, so as to become a point of reference and of spiritual support also for the numerous brothers and sisters in the faith who live dispersed in the vast reaches of China."

"At the vigil of the new century, and in the context of the Holy Year, now imminent," John Paul II adds, "may (the Church that is in Macao) know how to give impetus to its evangelical commitment, renewing with generosity and with audacity the methods and the forms both of the religious witness and of the valuable service which it provides in the educational, scholastic and assistential sectors."

Furthermore, the Pope requested that "it be a Church faithful to the significance of the name with which the city is adorned: 'Macao, City of the Name of God'." He concluded by exhorting the Church in Macao to "maintain in full its communion with the Universal Church, and, as in the past, may it always cherish its communion with the Church of all of China, to which it is now bound by a special civil link."

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