CHURCH SEEKS TO EXPRESS LORD'S UNLIMITED LOVE FOR ALL

VATICAN CITY, FEB 25, 2000 (VIS) - Pope John Paul II presided a Mass this morning in the Main Hall of Cairo's Sports Palace in the presence of an estimated 18,000 faithful from each of the ecclesial communities belonging to the Coptic, Latin, Maronite, Greek, Armenian, Syriac and Chaldean rites. The Roman-rite Mass was celebrated in French and each of the concelebrants wore the vestments of their own rite.

In his homily in French, the Pope spoke of today's Gospel which recalls the flight of the Holy Family into Egypt, where they remained until "Jesus ... was called out of Egypt by the Father to fulfill in Jerusalem the Passover of the new and irrevocable covenant."

He also highlighted the Lord's covenant with Moses and His people on Mount Sinai, where Moses received the Ten Commandments: "If we accept wholeheartedly the Ten Commandments, we will live fully by the law which God has placed in our hearts and we will have a share in the salvation which was revealed by the Covenant made on Mount Sinai between God and His people, and which the Son of God, through His work of redemption, offers to us."

"In this land of Egypt," observed the Holy Father, "the message of the new Covenant has been transmitted from generation to generation through the venerable Coptic Church, heir to the apostolic preaching and activity of the Evangelist Saint Mark who, according to tradition, suffered martyrdom in Alexandria."

The Pope greeted the patriarchs, bishops, priests, religious and faithful taking part in today's liturgy and affirmed: "Your presence here around the Successor of Peter is a sign of the unity of the Church of which Christ is the head. ... In this Jubilee Year ... we must seek ever more ardently to make resolute progress on the path of unity which He willed for His disciples, in a spirit of trust and fraternity." He had special words for all the Churches and ecclesial communities present, "which I greet here with respect."

John Paul II recalled, as his did upon his arrival in Cairo, the spiritual and intellectual life of the Church in Egypt, from "the illustrious founders of Christian monasticism" to "so many other patriarchs, confessors, thinkers and doctors who are the glory of the Universal Church."

Pointing to "the Lord's unlimited love for the world," he underscored that, "in her commitment to the Egyptian people in the areas of education, health and charitable works, the Church seeks to express this disinterested love which excludes no one." The Church's educational institutions, he emphasized, "also aim at fostering friendly relations with Muslims so that the members of each community may make sincere efforts to understand one another and promote together social justice, moral values, peace, respect and freedom."

The Holy Father stated that, in building society and consolidating peace, "it is right that everyone, Christians and Muslims, while respecting different religious views, should place their skills at the service of the nation, at every level of society."

He closed with a plea: "Let us today renew our acceptance of the divine law as a precious treasure! ... May everyone hear the call of the God of the Covenant and discover the joy of being His sons and daughters."

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