EVANGELIZATION MUST BE OPEN TO ALL

VATICAN CITY, DEC 2, 2000 (VIS) - This morning in St. Peter's Square, the Holy Father received 20,000 pilgrims from various groups who have come to Rome to celebrate the Jubilee and to meet the Pope.

Speaking of new evangelization, John Paul II said that "everyone - from priests to catechists, from parents to children, from the consecrated to the married - has the responsibility of reiterating to the world the ever pertinent announcement of Christ, Who died and rose again for our sake. This announcement must ring out with profound ardor, through an evangelization that is open to all, that is new in its methods and proposals."

The Pope thanked members of the Circle of St. Peter and the Association of Sts. Peter and Paul, "for their constant and silent service to my person and my universal petrine ministry."

Going on to address members of the "Centesimus Annus-Pro Pontifice" Foundation, who were accompanied by members of their families, the Pope thanked them for their contribution "to a deepening of ecclesial Magisterium in the service of justice and peace." He added: "You prepared yourselves for this Jubilee meeting with an important international congress on 'Ethics and Finance,' whose final document you have presented to me today."

The Holy Father also greeted members of the National Association of Professional Divers. "As testimony of the celebration of your Jubilee," he said, "you have asked me to bless a statue representing Christ of the Deep. You will submerge this image of the Redeemer in the waters of the island of Giglio, Italy, in memory of the fallen members of your daring profession."

AC;JUBILEE PILGRIMAGES;...;...;VIS;20001204;Word: 280;