ANGELUS: "EVERY CHILD IS AN IMMENSE GIFT"

VATICAN CITY, FEB 6, 2000 (VIS) - In reflections preceding the angelus prayer, the Holy Father recalled that "today Italy is celebrating the Day for Life." He added that the Italian bishops' message for this occasion "reminded the faithful that every child is an immense gift, for the couple and the family, for the Church and society."

"For Italian society," affirmed the Pope, "the worrisome demographic decline of these last years can only be a motive for attentive reflection and a stimulus for renewal, in mentality as well as in cultural, political and legislative choices. It is a duty which certainly involves public institutions, called to remove the difficulties which hinder families. But it is above all up to the couples to revive the culture of love and life, rediscovering the mission of parents, which they took on at the moment of their marriage."

He pointed out that "the culture of life is the ideal context not only for welcoming children, but also for respect and attention for every person, starting with the weakest and most defenseless."

In this regard, John Paul II observed that February 11, is the Jubilee of the Sick and of Health Care Workers. He said that "this special Jubilee day will underline the importance of human life in the plan of redemption." Celebrations, he said, will include a meeting on February 8 and 9 on the identity of health care workers and the challenges they face, a Mass for the sick on February 9 at St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls, and a Mass in St. Peter's Square on February 11 which he will preside.

ANG;LIFE; JUBILEE SICK;...;...;VIS;20000207;Word: 270;