JUBILEE OF CONSECRATED LIFE: BE WITNESSES OF CONVERSION

VATICAN CITY, FEB 2, 2000 (VIS) - In St. Peter's Square at 10 a.m. today, feast of the Presentation of the Lord, John Paul II presided at a Mass for the occasion of the Jubilee of consecrated life. Taking part in the event were religious and members of secular institutes and of societies of apostolic life from different countries.

Prior to the Eucharistic celebration, there was the blessing of candles and a procession.

In his homily, the Pope told the 20,000 who were present: "You are here to place the hopes and problems of your various institutes upon the altar of the Lord. In the spirit of the Jubilee, render thanks to God for the good accomplished and, at the same time, request pardon for any shortcomings that may have marked the lives of your religious families. At the start of the new millennium, you question yourselves about the most efficient way to contribute, while respecting the original charism, to new evangelization, reaching the many people still ignorant about Christ. In this light, you raise a passionate invocation to the Lord of the harvest that, in the hearts of many young people, He may kindle a desire for total dedication to the cause of Christ and the Gospel."

The Holy Father recalled "the example of generous evangelical commitment" of many religious as well as of those "who, with the supreme witness of blood have, even in recent years, paid their choice of faithfulness to Christ and to man without surrender or compromise. May we grant them our admiration and recognition!

"The presentation of Jesus in the Temple throws a special light on your choice (of vocation). Do you not also live the mystery of awaiting the coming of Christ as demonstrated and personified by Simon and Anna?"

"With the renovating strength of His love," the Pope went on, "Christ wishes to make you effective witnesses of conversion, of penance, of new life. Having your heart, affections, interests and emotions polarized on Jesus constitutes the greatest attribute of the gift that the Spirit works in you. He confirms you to Him, chaste, poor and obedient."

"Called to leave everything in order to follow Christ you, consecrated men and women, renounce defining your existence in terms of family, profession and worldly interests. You choose the Lord as the only criteria of identification. Thus you acquire a new family identity."

Following Mass, John Paul II greeted all those present in various languages.

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, FEB 2, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Appointed Msgr. Eduardo Zielski of the diocese of Pelplin, Poland, pastor of the parish of St. Anthony of Padua in the diocese of Floresta, Brazil, as bishop of Campo Maior (area 28,934, population 516,000, Catholics 498,000, priests 28, permanent deacons 1, religious 33), Brazil. The bishop-elect was born in Brodnica, Poland, in 1947 and ordained a priest in 1972. He succeeds Bishop Abel Alonso Nunez O. de M., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

- Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the archdiocese of Monterrey, Mexico, presented by Auxiliary Bishop Alfonso de Jesus Hinojosa Berrones, upon having reached the age limit.

- Appointed Msgr. Jose Francisco Oliveros, vicar general of Gumaca, Philippines, as bishop of Boac (area 959, population 204,910, Catholics 183,380, priests 20, religious 16), Philippines. The bishop-elect was born at Quezon, Philippines, in 1946 and ordained a priest in 1970.

- Appointed Cardinal Vinko Puljic, archbishop of Vrhbosna-Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina, as his special envoy to the Second National Eucharistic Congress of Lithuania which is due to take place at Kaunas, Lithuania, from June 1 to 4.

- Appointed as members of the Congregation for Bishops: Cardinal Bernard Francis Law, archbishop of Boston, U.S.A. and Archbishop-bishop Javier Lozano Barragan, emeritus of Zacatecas, Mexico, and president of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers.
- Appointed Giampaolo Montini as substitute defender of the bond of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signature.

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MEETING OF ACADEMY FOR LIFE TO FOCUS ON "EVANGELIUM VITAE"

VATICAN CITY, FEB 2, 2000 (VIS) - The Pontifical Academy for Life will hold its sixth general assembly from February 11 to 13 on the theme "'Evangelium Vitae': Five Years of Encounter with Society." The encyclical's fifth anniversary will be marked on February 14 by a celebration which has been organized by the academy and by the Pontifical Councils for the Family and for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers.

The Pontifical Academy for Life was established by Pope John Paul II on February 11, 1994 with the Motu Proprio "Vitae Mysterium." Just over a year later, on March 25, 1995, he issued the Encyclical "Evangelium Vitae."

The opening speech by Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran, secretary for Relations with States, is entitled "The Defense of Life in the Context of International Policies and Norms." More than 30 talks are scheduled to be given over the three-day meeting. They will highlight some of the social and legislative problems regarding the defense of life in modern society throughout the world, including artificial procreation, euthanasia and the liberalization of new systems of intervention in the first phases of human life.

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