OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, FEB 11, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Archbishop Justo Mullor Garcia, apostolic nuncio in Mexico, as president of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy.

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ARCHBISHOP FOLEY ADDRESSES LEGATUS MEETING

VATICAN CITY, FEB 11, 2000 (VIS) - Archbishop John Foley, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, is in Boca Raton, Florida, U.S.A. where he addressed the international meeting of Legatus on "Ethics in Communications and Advertising," and also preached the homily at a Mass for the assembly.

Legatus is a U.S.-based organization for Catholic business executives and leaders whose mission is "to live, study and spread the faith in our business, professional and personal lives."

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JUBILEE OF THE SICK: MAY CHRIST BE YOUR DOOR TO LIFE

VATICAN CITY, FEB 11, 2000 (VIS) - At 10 a.m. today, feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, the Pope presided at a Mass in St. Peter's Square on the occasion of the Jubilee of the Sick and of Health Care Workers. More than 40,000 people participated, including the sick, those accompanying them and volunteers who had come from various parts of the world.

"Several of you," said Pope John Paul in his homily, "have been on a bed on pain for years. I ask God that today's encounter might be for you an extraordinary physical and spiritual relief!"

"Pain and sickness," he added, "are part of the mystery of man on earth. Certainly, it is right to fight against illness, because health is a gift from God. But it is also important to know how to read God's plan when suffering knocks at our door. The 'key' to such a reading is the Cross of Christ."

"My dear sick people," said the Pope, "may Christ be the Door for you who are called at this moment to bear a weightier cross. May Christ also be the Door for you, dear care givers. As did the Good Samaritan, every believer must offer love to those who live in suffering. We cannot pass by those who are tried by illness. Rather we must stop, bow to their infirmity and generously share it, easing its weight and difficulties."

After reminding those present that sick people are "singular witnesses" of the Gospel of suffering, he remarked: "The third millennium awaits this witness of suffering Christians. It also expects it from you, health care workers, who, with your different roles, fulfill such a meaningful and appreciated mission to sick people."

Following his homily, the Holy Father and 10 concelebrants administered the sacrament of the sick to various sick people.

At the end of the Eucharistic celebration Pope John Paul greeted the faithful present in diverse languages.

The Jubilee of the Sick concluded this evening with a torchlight procession which began at Castel Sant'Angelo and proceeded down Via della Conciliazione, the broad avenue leading to St. Peter's Square. Close to 60,000 faithful participated, including sick people in wheelchairs and on stretchers, those who assist them, and tens of thousands of Roman faithful.

Bearing candles, praying and singing Marian hymns and other liturgical songs, the participants concluded their day-long Jubilee celebration in St. Peter's Square. Their flambeaux illuminated the square - which became even more luminous when a spectacle of lights lit up the basilica - and framed the 284 columns of the double colonnade.

Pope John Paul appeared at his studio window overlooking the square. He remarked to those assembled below that "this evening's evocative scene ... reminds us of what is taking place, almost at this same hour, in Lourdes, Marys's citadel, where so many pilgrims, both healthy and sick, live an intense and consoling spiritual experience."

Recalling this morning's Mass in St. Peter's Square, the Holy Father said: "This evening we are here again to ask Mary, 'health of the sick', to make this Holy Year a true "year of grace'.

"I wish everyone good night and all the best!" he said in closing.

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ILLNESS HELPS US UNDERSTAND THE MYSTERY OF MAN

VATICAN CITY, FEB 13, 2000 (VIS) - Pope John Paul, speaking from the window of his study which overlooks St. Peter's Square, greeted the faithful gathered there for today's angelus and offered reflections on the just-concluded "extraordinary celebration of the Jubilee of the Sick."

"Illness," he observed, "helps us to understand the mystery of man. Like the leper, about whom today's Gospel speaks, when we are sick we experience human fragility and we strongly feel the desire to be healed. In the cross (of Jesus) ... all suffering takes on the possibility of meaning; illness never ceases to be a trial, but it is illuminated by hope.

"Yes, God does not want illness; he did not create evil and death," affirmed the Holy Father. "However, from the moment in which these came into the world, due to sin, His love is entirely aimed at healing man, healing him from sin and from every evil and filling him with life, peace and joy. This is the comforting announcement of the Jubilee and, in a special way, of this Great Jubilee which recalls the 2,000 years since the incarnation of Christ."

The Pope then announced that on "Friday, February 18 the liturgical memory of their patron, Blessed Fra Angelico, we will celebrate the Jubilee of Artists. On this occasion, I will have the joy of meeting these brothers of ours who, having been gifted by God with special intuitive and expressive capacities, further cultivated through study and practice, become privileged interpreters of the mystery of man."

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FRATERNITY MUST BE NOURISHED BY TRINITARIAN COMMUNION

VATICAN CITY, FEB 12, 2000 (VIS) - This morning the Pope received the participants in the 34th general chapter of the Congregation of the Sacred Stigmata of Jesus Christ. Those present represented the more than 400 fathers and brothers spread throughout the world.

"In the spirit and the footsteps of your founder, St. Gaspare Bertoni," said John Paul II, "you perform parish ministry, with special attention to young people; you dedicate yourselves to preaching and to the formation of clergy; you are committed to the mission 'ad gentes' in Latin America, Africa and Asia."

After recalling the central theme of their general chapter - fraternal sharing within the religious community - the Pope stated that "Gospel fraternity is in fact, the irradiation of Trinitarian communion, and this must constantly be nourished, through the Word of God, by the sacraments of the Eucharist and Reconciliation and by daily prayer."

The Pope then referred to the exercise of sharing spiritual and apostolic experiences, which had been suggested during the general chapter, and said: "This is, in effect, an indispensable support for the apostolic mission which is characteristic of your congregation, that is to say, the mission of serving the Church under the guidance of the bishops. Helping each other in communion, favoring, so to speak, the spreading of divine love, poured into each one's hearts by the Holy Spirit, is the primary condition for fulfilling the apostolic mission which is often 'arduous and difficult' and 'exposed to dangers', a mission which 'does not depend on man's strength, but on the grace of the Holy Spirit'."

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, FEB 14, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father this morning received in separate audiences:

- Albert Pintat, foreign minister of the Principality of Andorra, accompanied by his wife and an entourage.
- Alberto J. Vollmer Herrera, ambassador of Venezuela, accompanied by his wife, on a farewell visit.

On Saturday, February 12, he received in separate audiences:

- Cardinal Lucas Moreira Neves, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.
- Prof. Juan de Dios Vial Correa and Archbishop Elio Sgreccia, respectively president and vice president of the Pontifical Academy for Life.

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CONGOLESE ARCHBISHOP REFUSED ADMITTANCE TO DIOCESE

VATICAN CITY, FEB 14, 2000 (VIS) - In response to journalists' questions, Holy See Press Office Director Joaquin Navarro-Valls today made the following declaration:

"I can confirm that the local authorities have not allowed Archbishop Emmanuel Kataliko of Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, to reach his diocese. He is presently in Butembo, the city of his birth, awaiting the opportunity to return to Bukavu.

"The faithful of the diocese ask with heartfelt insistence for the return of their pastor who is particularly appreciated for his apostolic courage in defending the rights of all.

"The Secretariat of State, which requests the bishop be allowed to return among his people without delay, will make use of diplomatic channels in order to rectify this regrettable incident which gravely prejudices the rights of the Church."

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PAPAL CALL IN DEFENSE OF THE RIGHT TO LIFE

VATICAN CITY, FEB 14, 2000 (VIS) - John Paul II today renewed his call for scientists, educators, families, journalists and, especially, legislators, to commit themselves in defense of the right to and promotion of life.

Addressing participants in the sixth plenary assembly of the Pontifical Academy for Life on the day commemorating the fifth anniversary of the publication of the Encyclical "Evangelium vitae" (March 25, 1995), the Pope requested "that all people of good will feel called to activity in support of this great cause." The event was organized by the Pontifical Councils for the Family and for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers, as well as by the academy.
"Facts exist," he said, "that prove with growing clarity that anti-life policies and legislation are causing the decay of society, not only in a moral sense but also demographically and economically. Consequently, the encyclical's message may be presented not just as a true and authentic signpost to moral rebirth, but also as a point of reference for the salvation of civil society."

The Holy Father condemned the mentality that holds that anti-life legislation cannot be combatted and "is almost a social necessity," when, in fact, "it constitutes the seed of the corruption of society and of its foundations. Civil and moral conscience cannot accept this false inevitability, just as it cannot accept the idea of the inevitable nature of war or inter-ethnic slaughter."

Making reference to the relationship between civil and moral law, a topic discussed in the encyclical, he called for "a renewed and unanimous commitment, especially from legislators, to modify unjust laws that legitimize or tolerate this violence. May no path be left untried to eliminate legalized crime, or at least to limit the damage of such legislation."

The Pope also referred to another part of the encyclical in which he talks of building a new culture of life. "In the last five years," he said, "many initiatives have been promoted in dioceses and parishes, yet much remains to be done. True pastoral care of life cannot simply be delegated to specific movements."

Above all, John Paul II highlighted, "the formation of pastoral agents in seminaries and theological institutes (is necessary, as is) a just and consistent teaching of morals in the various forms of catechesis and the formation of consciences. (All this) takes on concrete form in creating services that allow anyone in difficulty to find the necessary assistance."

The Pope closed his address by affirming that "the modification of laws can only be preceded and accompanied by a modification in mentality and behavior."

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