CULTURAL PATRIMONY AT THE SERVICE OF EVANGELIZATION

VATICAN CITY, MAR 31, 2000 (VIS) - This morning in the Hall of Popes, the Holy Father welcomed the 45 participants in the plenary of the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Patrimony of the Church, who have been meeting on the theme "The Cultural Patrimony in the Context of the New Evangelization."

He highlighted how the plenary assembly had "sought to configure the concept of 'cultural patrimony' to the 'mens' of the Church," to "draw attention to the immense historical-artistic patrimony which exists," and to "be concerned with the formation of workers" in this field.

The Pope encouraged the members "to spare no efforts to see that the works of culture and art turned over to the care of the Church are always used more efficaciously in the service of authentic human progress and the spreading of the Gospel." The Church's cultural patrimony, he said, including churches, monuments, museums, archives and libraries, is an important part of her mission of evangelization and human promotion.

"The Church is not only the custodian of her past," affirmed John Paul II, "she is above all the animator of the present in the human community. ... As such she increases continually her cultural patrimony to meet the needs of every era and culture."

The Pope then remarked that "as is well known, worship has always had a naturally ally in art, given that the monuments of sacred art add to their intrinsic aesthetic value those of catechesis and worship. It is therefore necessary to make good use of them, bearing in mind their liturgical 'home' ... and seeing to it that the historical-artistic patrimony at the service of liturgy loses nothing of its own eloquence."

AC;CULTURAL PATRIMONY;...;...;VIS;20000331;Word: 290;

POPE TO WRITE VIA CRUCIS MEDITATIONS FOR JUBILEE YEAR

VATICAN CITY, MAR 31, 2000 (VIS) - This morning, Holy See Press Office Director Joaquin Navarro-Valls declared that, "for the occasion of the Great Jubilee 2000, the Holy Father will personally write the text of the meditations for the 'Via Crucis' (Way of the Cross) of Good Friday, which this year falls on April 21. John Paul II wrote the commentary for the 'Via Crucis' in 1984, extraordinary Holy Year of the Redemption."

OP;VIA CRUCIS;...;...;VIS;20000331;Word: 80;

LENTEN SERMONS: FROM SINAI TO CALVARY

VATICAN CITY, MAR 31, 2000 (VIS) - The first of three Lenten sermons scheduled for this year was preached at 9 this morning in the Redemptoris Mater Chapel in the presence of Pope John Paul by Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, O.F.M. Cap. on the theme "From Sinai to Calvary. A Pilgrimage to the Places of Salvation in the Great Jubilee Year." The sermons will continue on April 7 and 14.

According to a note released by Fr. Cantalamessa, preacher of the papal household, "after the reflections on the great figures of the history of salvation in Advent 1999, we are called to make a spiritual pilgrimage to the places of salvation, in particular the three mountains which have marked forever the religious destination of mankind: Sinai, Tabor and Calvary. The aim is to receive the message linked to each one of these three 'summits', prolonging the reflection started in the Church by the Pope's recent trip to these places."

...;LENTEN SERMON;...;CANTALAMESSA;VIS;20000331;Word: 160;

JUSTICE PROCEDURES MUST BE ACCELERATED

VATICAN CITY, MAR 31, 2000 (VIS) - Today in the Paul VI Hall, the Pope received 1,000 participants in a congress organized by the Italian Association of Magistrates on the occasion of their Jubilee.

In his address, John Paul II affirmed that "wherever the fundamental rights of man - the inalienable rights that no ruling can suppress - are codified in legislation, there still remains the possibility of a more complete juridical expression and, above all, of a better and more effective application in the real context of social life."

"A juridical civilization, a State of law, a democracy worthy of the name," he emphasized, "are defined, not only by the effective organization of their laws, but above all by those laws being solidly anchored in the logic of the common good and in the universal moral principles written by God in the heart of man."

After highlighting the "necessary independence" of judicial power in the legal environment, he added: "The magistracy cannot be truly independent if it is inattentive to the values rooted in the nature of the human being, whose inalienable dignity and transcendental destiny must always be respected."

The Holy Father emphasized that "justice must spare no efforts in assuring its procedures are carried out rapidly: if unduly long, citizens find them intolerable and they eventually become a true injustice. It is also important that the magistrates's relationship with the media be marked by an appropriate reserve, so as to avoid any risk of prejudicing the privacy of the accused and at the same time effectively ensuring respect for the principle of the presumption of innocence."

"The search for the truth in events and evidence and the correct application of the law, are two highly important aspects of the judge's role and require total freedom from prejudice and a constant commitment to study and analysis."

In closing, the Pope referred to justified reactions when the magistracy is called to make up for "shortcomings in legislative power, especially when the life and death of man, biotechnology or problems of public morality are at stake, (these are) the essential themes of liberty which must never degenerate into an individualism that ignores the common good."

AC;MAGISTRACY;...;...;VIS;20000331;Word: 370;

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, MAR 31, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of Down and Connor, Ireland, presented by Auxiliary Bishop Michael Dallat, in accordance with canons 411 and 401, para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law.

- Appointed Bishop Felipe Arizmendi Esquivel of Tapachula, Mexico, as bishop of San Cristobal de las Casas (area 36,821, population 1,454,233, Catholics 974,336, priests 56, permanent deacons 311, religious 198), Mexico. He succeeds Bishop Samuel Ruiz Garcia, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

RE; NER;...;...;DALLAT; ARIZMENDI; RUIZ;VIS;20000331;Word: 100;

AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, MAR 31, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in audience Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B., emeritus of Vercelli, Italy, and secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

This evening he is scheduled to receive Cardinal Lucas Moreira Neves O.P., prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.

AP;...;...;...;VIS;20000331;Word: 50;