AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, MAR 11, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:

- Mohamed El-Baradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
- Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, primate of the diocese of the Armenian Church in America.
- Brother Roger, prior of Taize, France.
- Cardinal Edward Idris Cassidy, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, accompanied by Bishop Walter Kasper, secretary of the same Pontifical Council.
- Cardinal Lucas Moreira Neves, O.P., prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.

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THE JUBILEE CALLS US TO CONVERSION AND ADHESION TO CHRIST

VATICAN CITY, MAR 11, 2000 (VIS) - In St. Peter's Square at midday today, the Pope received various groups of pilgrims: members of Rotary International, and faithful from the Italian diocese of Pitigliano, from the Pius XI Archiepiscopal College, from various parishes in Rieti, Bologna and Urbania, Italy, and from the archdiocese of Philadelphia, U.S.A.

John Paul II reminded the members of Rotary International that Paul Percy Harris founded the association almost 100 years ago because he had come to realize the loneliness suffered by "people in big cities and tried to remedy this through Rotary, an ever-growing network of friendly relations between individuals, based on compassion, understanding and peace among peoples." He asked that they commit themselves "to giving hope to modern man, to defeat solitude, indifference, selfishness and evil."

To the faithful of the diocese of Pitigliano-Sovana-Orbetello he said that the Holy Year, "apart from special grace, also offers strong motives to convert our mentality and life to achieve a more organic adhesion to Christ and a deeper love for the Church. Returning to your homes, continue your commitment of Christian witness."

The Holy Father then addressed some remarks to members of the Pius XI Archiepiscopal College of Desio, Italy: "Christ, the Way, Truth and Life revitalizes you, that you may be His friends and His witnesses in the world. Know how to be faithful to Him, becoming dispensers of hope, joy and love among your brothers."

In speaking to the faithful of parishes in Rieti, Bologna and Urbania, Italy, the Pope requested that, on returning to their homes, they know how to "demonstrate to those they meet, the enthusiasm of renewed faith and the commitment of effective charity."

Finally, John Paul II greeted a group of faithful from the archdiocese of Philadelphia, U.S.A., accompanied by their archbishop, Cardinal Anthony Joseph Bevilacqua. Referring to their crossing the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica, the Pope expressed the hope that this step would confirm their "commitment to turn away from sin and to accept the gift of new life which the Lord constantly offers through the ministry of the Church."

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MAY WE FORGIVE AND REQUEST FORGIVENESS, POPE SAYS

VATICAN CITY, MAR 12, 2000 (VIS) - In the Vatican Basilica at 9:30 a.m. today, the Pope and cardinals celebrated Mass for the first Sunday of Lent, the Day of Pardon of the Holy Year 2000.

The celebration began with a 'statio' in front of the statue of the 'Pieta', which is located inside the basilica to the right of the entrance. Referring to the Virgin, John Paul II said that the Church, "like Holy Mary, embraces the crucified Savior" and requests forgiveness from the Father. A penitential procession then took place in which the evangeliarum was carried to the Altar of the Confession, after which the Mass began.

Following the Gospel reading, the Holy Father delivered his homily, in which he pointed out that "Christ, the Saint, although absolutely without sin, agreed to take our sins upon Himself. He agreed in order to redeem us, ... to accomplish the mission He received from the Father."

"Before Christ who, for love, accepted the burden of our iniquities, we are all called to a deep examination of conscience. One of the characteristic elements of the Great Jubilee lies in what I have defined as 'purification of memory'."

John Paul II indicated that it was appropriate in this first Sunday of Lent that the Church, "spiritually gathered around the Successor of Peter, should implore divine forgiveness for the sins of all believers. May we forgive and request forgiveness!"

"While we praise God who, in His merciful love, has generated a marvelous harvest of sanctity, of missionary passion and of total dedication to Christ and to others, we cannot but recognize the faithlessness to the Gospel into which some of our brothers have fallen, especially during the second millennium."

"With all the more reason," the Pope continued, "we confess our responsibility as Christians for the evils of today. In the face of atheism, religious indifference, secularism, ethical relativism, violations of the right to life and disinterest towards the poverty of many countries, we cannot but ask ourselves what our responsibilities are."

"At the same time," he added, "while we confess our sins, we forgive the sins committed against us by others."

The Holy Father highlighted that "the Church today and forever feels committed to purify the memory of those sad events from any feeling of bitterness or revenge. ... The commitment to forgive our brothers and sisters and to mutual reconciliation arises from the acceptance of divine forgiveness."

"However," he asked in concluding, "what does the term 'reconciliation' mean for us? To understand its exact meaning and value, one must first be aware of the possibility of division and separation." After recalling the parable of the Prodigal Son, the Pope said: "God, represented by the father of the parable, welcomes all prodigal sons who return to Him."

Following the homily, the universal prayer took place during which seven representatives of the Roman Curia made confessions of sin and requested pardon: Cardinal Bernardin Gantin, dean of the College of Cardinals, requested pardon for sins in general; Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, for shortcomings in the service of truth; Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, president of the Committee for the Great Jubilee 2000, for sins that have compromised the unity of the Body of Christ; Cardinal Edward Idris Cassidy, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, for sins against the people of Israel; Archbishop Stephen Fumio Hamao, president of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples, for sins against love, peace, the rights of peoples, the respect of cultures and religions; Cardinal Francis Arinze, president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, for sins against the dignity of women and the unity of the human race; Archbishop Francois-Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, for sins in the field of fundamental human rights.

Following the final blessing, the Pope requested that "this liturgy which has celebrated the Lord's mercy and has sought to purify the memory of the path followed by Christians over the centuries, may arouse, in the Church and in each one of us, a commitment to faith in the Gospel's perennial message. Never again contradictions against charity in the service of truth; never again actions against the communion of the Church; never again offenses against peoples; never again recourse to the logic of violence; never again discrimination, exclusion, oppression, contempt for the poor and downtrodden. May the Lord, in His grace, bring our project to fruition and lead us all together to eternal life."

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THE DAY OF PARDON: MEANING, BACKGROUND, RITES

VATICAN CITY, MAR 12, 2000 (VIS) - The Office of the Liturgical Ceremonies of the Supreme Pontiff prepares every aspect of a papal liturgy, from vestments to sacred vessels, from concelebrants to the prayers and songs used in a particular liturgy. It also prepares the missalettes which are distributed to the faithful who participate in every papal liturgical celebration.

The booklet for today's Mass to mark the Day of Pardon explains the meaning, background and typical elements of this particular Jubilee Year celebration.

It points out that this Day of Pardon, in which Pope John Paul asks "forgiveness from the Lord for the sins, past and present, of the sons and daughters of the Church, ... was expressly desired by the Holy Father as a powerful sign of this Jubilee Year, which is by its very nature a moment of conversion."

"Certainly," says the explanatory note, "Christians as pilgrims and wayfarers towards the Kingdom, remain sinners, frail and weak and subject to the temptations of Satan, the Prince of this world, despite their incorporation into the Body of Christ. In every generation the holiness of the Church has shone forth, witnessed by countless numbers of her sons and daughters; yet this holiness has been contradicted by the continuing presence of sin which burdens the journey of God's People."

It quotes Pope John Paul's "Tertio Millennio Adveniente": "The Church cannot cross the threshold of the new millennium without encouraging her children to purify themselves through repentance of past errors and instances of infidelity, inconsistency and slowness to act. ... Pope John Paul II, in a primatial act, confesses the sins of Christians over the centuries down to our own time, conscious that the Church is a unique subject in history, 'a single mystical person'."

"The liturgy ... concretizes the request for forgiveness and ... inaugurates a journey of conversion and change vis-a-vis the past."

The Presentation then lists the "admissions of sin already made by both Pope Paul VI and by Pope John Paul II" regarding sin in general, sins against unity, against the people of Israel, sins committed in actions against love, peace and the rights of peoples, sins against the dignity of women and the unity of the human race.

"One thing must be forcibly stated," says the Presentation. "The confession of sins made by the Pope is addressed to God, Who alone can forgive sins, but it is also made before men, from whom the responsibilities of Christians cannot be hidden."

The booklet then explains the typical elements of this celebration: the presence of the Crucifix behind the Altar of the Confession (a 15th century Crucifix from the Church of St. Marcello in Rome's Via del Corso); the "statio" of the Holy Father and cardinal concelebrants before Michelangelo's statue, "The Pieta," at the basilica's entrance; the penitential procession towards the altar during which the Litany of the Saints is sung; after the homily and during the Prayer of the Faithful, the Holy Father makes the act of confession of sins and the request for pardon; at the end of the celebration and the apostolic blessing, "the Holy Father asks that the purification of memory and the request for forgiveness be translated into a commitment of renewed fidelity to the Gospel on the part of the Church and of each of her members."

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, MAR 11, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Erected the metropolitan archdiocese of Pesaro, Italy, and the ecclesiastical province of the same name, made up of that metropolitan see with the following suffragans: the archdiocese of Urbino-Urbania-Sant'Angelo in Vado and the diocese of Fano-Fossombrone-Cagli-Pergola. He appointed Bishop Angelo Bagnasco, of Pesaro as metropolitan archbishop of the same ecclesiastical circumscription.

- Appointed Msgr. Francesco Marinelli, professor of sacramental theology at the Pontifical Lateran University, as archbishop of Urbino-Urbania-Sant'Angelo (area 781, population 53,500, Catholics 52,100, priests 83, religious 137), Italy. The archbishop-elect was born in Appignano del Tronto, Italy, in 1935 and ordained a priest in 1961.

- Made the following changes to the ecclesiastical region of the Marche, Italy: The ecclesiastical province of Ancona-Osimo has as suffragans: the dioceses of Fabriano-Matelica, Jesi, Senigallia and the prelature of Loreto. The ecclesiastical province of Fermo has as suffragans: the archdiocese of Camerino-San Severino Marche and the dioceses of Ascoli-Piceno, Macerata-Tolentino-Recanati-Cingoli-Treia, San Benedetto del Tronto-Ripatransone-Montalto.

- Appointed Bishop Angel N. Lagdameo of Dumaguete, the Philippines, as metropolitan archbishop of Jaro (area 5,304, population 1,897,590, Catholics 1,771,880, priests 198, religious 479), the Philippines. The archbishop-elect was born in Lucban, Philippines, in 1940, ordained a priest in 1964 and consecrated a bishop in 1980.

- Appointed Msgr. Francesco Bruno as president of the Court of Appeal of Vatican City State.

- Appointed Msgr. Mario Piacenza, bureau chief of the Congregation for the Clergy, as under-secretary of the same dicastery.

- Appointed Fr. Fernando Jose Monteiro Guimaraes C.SS.R., secretariat attache of the Congregation for the Clergy, as bureau chief of the same dicastery.

- Appointed Sr. Maria Berchmans Lowenberg R.J.M., as a member of the Pontifical Commission for International Eucharistic Congresses.

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PAPAL TELEGRAM FOR MINE DISASTER IN UKRAINE

VATICAN CITY, MAR 12, 2000 (VIS) - The following telegram of condolences was sent by Cardinal Secretary of State Angelo Sodano, in the Holy Father's name, to Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, apostolic nuncio in Ukraine, following the March 11 explosion in a coal mine in Lougansk, Ukraine, in which scores of miners lost their lives:

"Having learned of the tragic accident which occurred in the mine at Lougansk in Ukraine, the Holy Father joins in the prayer and the pain of the families who are in mourning. He asks the Lord to receive in the peace of His Kingdom those who have died and to comfort those who are seriously wounded. He expresses his great sympathy to the families who lost a dear one, and prays that the Almighty bring them comfort and consolation in their grievous trial. The Pope lauds the work of the rescuers and the solidarity of the entire population, in the hope that fraternity helps those who are touched by this tragedy to remain hopeful. As a sign of his spiritual comfort, the Pope asks God to send the help of His blessings upon those in mourning and those who surround them."

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DAY OF PARDON, EVOCATIVE AND SOLEMN PENITENTIAL ACT

VATICAN CITY, MAR 12, 2000 (VIS) - Addressing the tens of thousands of faithful who had gathered in St. Peter's Square to recite the angelus with him, John Paul II spoke of the just-concluded Mass in the Vatican basilica for the Day of Pardon. He called it an "evocative and solemn penitential act" in which, "in the name of all Christian people, bishops and ecclesial communities from throughout the world knelt before God to beg His pardon."

He pointed out that "the Holy Year is a time of purification: the Church is holy because Christ is her head and Spouse. ... However, the sons and daughters of the Church know the experience of sin, whose shadows cover them, obscuring their beauty."

The Pope affirmed that the Day of Pardon "is not a judgment on the subjective responsibilities of our brothers and sisters who preceded us: this is up to God alone. ... Today's act is a sincere recognition of the sins committed by the children of the Church in the past, both distant and recent, and a humble request of pardon from God."

"While we ask for pardon, we also pardon. ... May pardon be the fruit of this Jubilee day for all believers, pardon both given and received! And from pardon blooms reconciliation. ... Pardoned and willing to pardon, Christians enter the third millennium as more credible witnesses of hope."

Pope John Paul concluded his meditations: "Being witnesses of hope! This is also the theme of the spiritual exercises which I shall start this evening with my collaborators in the Roman Curia."

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CHINESE CARDINAL KUNG PIN-MEI DIES AT 98

VATICAN CITY, MAR 13, 2000 (VIS) - Following is the telegram sent by the Pope to Bishop Edward M. Egan of Bridgeport, U.S.A., upon the death yesterday of Cardinal Ignatius Kung Pin-mei, bishop of Shanghai and apostolic administrator of Soochow, at the age of 98. The cardinal had lived in recent years at Our Lady Queen of the Clergy Home in Stamford, Connecticut, which is in Bishop Egan's diocese.

"Deeply saddened to learn of the death of Cardinal Ignatius Kung Pin-Mei, I ask you kindly to convey my heartfelt condolences to the Kung family and to all present at the solemn mass of Christian burial. I join all of you in giving thanks to Almighty God for the late cardinal's priestly and episcopal ministry in the diocese of Shanghai, his heroic fidelity to Christ amid persecution and imprisonment and his outstanding witness of communion with the universal Church and the Successor of Peter. Commending the soul of this noble son of China and of the Church to the infinite mercy of our Heavenly Father, I pray that having shared so deeply in Christ's sufferings he may now receive the unfading crown of glory which the chief shepherd reserves for those who have followed Him faithfully to the end. At the same time I renew my fervent prayer for the intentions of the Church in China, so close to the late cardinal's heart. To all I cordially impart my apostolic blessing as a pledge of consolation and strength in our Lord Jesus Christ."

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