POPE WELCOMES 6,000 PILGRIMS FROM CZECH REPUBLIC

VATICAN CITY, APR 1, 2000 (VIS) - This morning in the Paul VI Hall, the Holy Father welcomed 6,000 faithful from the Czech Republic who are in Rome on their national Holy Year pilgrimage. He spoke to them of Lent, the meaning of the Jubilee and the changes that society in their country has undergone in recent years. Before the Pope's appearance, Mass had been celebrated for the Czech faithful in the hall.

"The Lenten season which we are now living," he said, "is a pressing invitation to conversion. Only a heart which is aware of needing a deeper and more intimate union with God is ready to cross the threshold of the Holy Door; only the person who truly undergoes conversion can be a faithful and credible witness in the world of the new life in Christ. This is the true meaning of the Holy Year."

The Holy Father underscored the Czech pilgrims' "witness to that unity and love which are the signs of a true Christian. I urge you to continue to live that solidarity."

He then turned to their country, saying that "your society is finally enjoying a time of democracy and freedom. However, a progressive secularization and a widespread moral relativism call on your Christian community (to act). You justly believe that the current situation calls for a consistent effort in the sphere of catechesis at all levels: children, youth, families, schools, the media, the workplace and culture."

The Pope encouraged parents "to know how to help your children discern values," and he urged young people "not to let yourselves be taken in by false myths and mirages. Don't give in to the illusion of easy success... A united family is certainly a guarantee for building a responsible society."

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JOHN PAUL II EXPRESSES JOY FOR HIS VISIT TO THE HOLY LAND

VATICAN CITY, APR 2, 2000 (VIS) - Prior to praying the angelus at midday today, the Pope reminded the 50,000 pilgrims who filled St. Peter's Square that this Sunday, known as 'de laetare,' is an invitation to happiness.

"Over the past days," said the Pope, "I too have experienced the joy of being a pilgrim from Rome to the Holy Land, thus building a bridge between the two focal points of the Great Jubilee 2000: Rome and Jerusalem. The spiritual joy I carry in my heart as a result of this grace is truly deep and something for which I continually thank the Lord. I am also grateful to all those who have accompanied me in prayer. In those moments, in those places, I felt that the whole Church was present with me."

John Paul II confirmed that "this joy, of which the liturgy for this fourth Sunday of Lent speaks, derives from knowledge of the mystery of love that faces us, and that today echoes in the words of the Gospel according to John: 'For God so loved the world that he gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.' How can we not feel drawn by this love? God does not want the sinner to die, rather to convert and to live."
Following the angelus, the Pope greeted many of the pilgrims present, especially a group of faithful from the Czech Republic. He said: "I am happy to see, for the first time in many decades, thousands of faithful from the land of the Czechs, led by their bishops. ... I thank you for your presence and hope you return to your homes enriched in faith and Christian hope. I give you my heartfelt blessing."

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STUDENTS LEAD TORCHLIGHT PROCESSION, PRAY ROSARY WITH POPE

VATICAN CITY, APR 1, 2000 (VIS) - Tens of thousands of university students in St. Peter's Square in Rome and at Marian shrines in Washington, D.C., Manila, Brazil, Fatima and Czestochowa were linked through satellite television this evening as the students in Rome led a torchlight procession to the square where, at 7 p.m., Rome time, everyone prayed the rosary with Pope John Paul II.

The ceremony in Washington, where about 10,000 young people participated, was presided over by Cardinal James Hickey, archbishop of Washington. A university student reflected on charity. Archbishop Rolando Tirona of Bulacan, the Philippines, presided in Manila where 4,000 students gathered to listen to a reflection on martyrdom.

Cardinal Aloisio Lorscheider, archbishop of Aparecida, led the celebrations at the shrine of Our Lady of the Apparition in Brazil, in the presence of 20,000 students, one of whom mediated on pilgrimages. In Fatima, Portugal, 500 students, one of whom reflected on the Holy Door, were led by Bishop Tomas Barbosa Da Silva Nunes, secretary of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference. An estimated 1,500 students gathered at the Polish shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa in a ceremony presided over by Bishops Stanislao Nowak of Czestochowa and Henryk Tomasik, responsible for the pastoral care of university students in Poland.

After praying the rosary, the Holy Father greeted those gathered in St. Peter's Square and in the cities linked with Rome, speaking briefly to each group in their own language.

"I greet all of you who are taking part in this evocative celebration," he said, "as well as the recitation of the rosary on this First Saturday of April. You are very numerous and I thank you for your presence. Our prayer has been led by the theme 'Christ, Redeemer of Mankind'. This is an important theme which orients our reflection on the theme chosen for the Jubilee for university students, which will take place this year."

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35,000 ITALIANS CELEBRATE JUBILEE WITH HOLY FATHER

VATICAN CITY, APR 1, 2000 (VIS) - Following a Mass this morning in St. Peter's Square for 35,000 Italian faithful who came to Rome to celebrate the Jubilee Year 2000, Pope John Paul came to the square to greet them. Among those present were pilgrims from five dioceses, prelates and officials from the Apostolic Penitentiary and the priest confessors of Rome's patriarchal basilicas, members of the Italian Association of the Perpetual Rosary, led by Dominican Fathers, and pilgrims "In Service to Divine Mercy."

He had special words for each of the eight groups, highlighting in particular the meaning and importance of the Holy Year and of crossing the threshold of the Holy Door. He underlined the Jubilee's call to Christians to conversion, to "a renewed fidelity to Christ, our Redeemer," and to confirm their commitment to the new evangelization. John Paul II affirmed that the Jubilee "is also a propitious occasion to reinforce ecclesial communion."
The Pope then remarked how "the Cross of young people is travelling throughout Italy's dioceses in this time of preparation for World Youth Day." He urged young people to "not be subject to fear. Contemplating the Cross, ... go forth in the new millennium offering everyone an efficacious witness of charity, pardon and mercy!"

Addressing the priests confessors of Rome's basilicas, the Pope stated that "Penance is such a precious mystery, which demands clarity of doctrine and pastoral mercy, adequate preparation and constant availability."

To the members of the Italian sodality of the Perpetual Rosary, the Holy Father said: "Recite the holy rosary and spread its practice in the milieux that you frequent. It is a prayer which introduces one to the school of the living Gospel, educates to piety, makes one persevere in good, prepares people for life and, above all, makes one very dear to Mary."

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INDULGENCES ARE AN AID TO CONVERSION

VATICAN CITY, APR 3, 2000 (VIS) - Made public today was a message from the Pope to Cardinal William W. Baum, major penitentiary, on the occasion of the annual course on the internal forum. The course is for candidates to the priesthood and for recently ordained priests.

In his message, dated April 1, the Holy Father writes that "God's mercy, although not mediated by time and space, shines forth with special brightness in the Jubilee Year. The fundamental gift of the restitution of grace - which normally takes place through the sacrament of penance - and the consequent remission of the pain of hell are united by the Lord, 'dives in misericordia,' through the ministry of the Church, to the remission of temporal punishment by the gift of indulgences."

Consequently, he adds, "indulgences, 'far from being a sort of 'discount' in the commitment to conversion, act rather as a support to a readier, deeper and more radical commitment'."

He concludes by saying "I ardently call upon priests to educate the faithful through relevant and profound catechesis. In this way, the faithful may take advantage of the great gift of indulgences, in keeping with the mind and spirit of the Church. Priest confessors in particular could, to great advantage, assign to their penitents, by way of sacramental penance, practices which lead to indulgences, always keeping to the criteria of due proportion with the sins confessed."

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POPE AFFIRMS DIGNITY OF FETUS, A PERSON WITH RIGHTS

VATICAN CITY, APR 3, 2000 (VIS) - This morning in the Paul VI Hall the Holy Father addressed the 2,500 participants of an international congress organized by the Institute of Gynecological and Obstetrical Medicine of Rome's La Sapienza University on the theme "Fetus as a Patient."

With this focus, stated the Pope, "your congress considers the fetus in its full human dignity, a dignity which the unborn child possesses from the moment of conception.

"In recent decades, when the sense of the humanity of the fetus has been undermined or distorted by reductive understandings of the human person and by laws which introduce scientifically unfounded qualitative stages in the development of conceived life, the Church has repeatedly affirmed and defended the human dignity of the fetus. By this we mean that 'the human being is to be respected and treated as a person from the moment of conception; and therefore from that same moment his rights as a person must be respected'."

Saying that "the fetal therapies now emerging" offer new hope for those afflicted with incurable or hard-to-treat pathologies, John Paul II went on to reaffirm that "the various techniques of artificial reproduction, apparently at the service of life, actually open the door to new attacks on life. Apart from the fact that they are morally unacceptable, ... these techniques have a high rate of failure."

"A special case of moral gravity," be asserted, "often deriving from these illicit procedures is so-called 'embryonic reduction', or the elimination of some fetuses when multiple conceptions take place at one time. Such a procedure is gravely illicit .... in the normal course of marital relations but it is doubly reprehensible when they are the result of artificial procreation."

"Whatever the mode of conception - once it happens - the child conceived must be absolutely respected."

In closing, Pope John Paul spoke of the "wondrous and delicate beginnings of human life in the mother's womb," and noted that "Catholic moral teaching strengthens and supports a natural ethic, based on respect for the inviolability of every human life."

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, APR 3, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in audience members of the Mining and Metallurgical Academy of Krakow, Poland.

On Saturday April 1, he received in audience Archbishop Francois Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan, president of the Pontifical Council of Justice and Peace.

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JUBILEE CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR APRIL 2000

VATICAN CITY, APR 3, 2000 (VIS) - Following are the Jubilee events scheduled for the month of April 2000:

- Saturday 1: Recitation of the Rosary in the Basilica of St. Mary Major.

- Sunday 2: Fourth Sunday of Lent. Second scrutiny of the catechumens in the Basilica of St. John Lateran.

- Thursday 6: Eucharistic adoration in the Basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls.

- Friday 7: Way of the Cross and penitential celebration in the Basilica of St. John Lateran.

- Saturday 8: Recitation of the Rosary in the Basilica of St. Mary Major.

- Sunday 9: Fifth Sunday of Lent. Mass and beatification rite in St. Peter's Square. Third scrutiny of the catechumens and formal giving of the Lord's Prayer in the Basilica of St. John Lateran.

- Thursday 13: Eucharistic Adoration in the Basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls.

- Friday 14: Way of the Cross and penitential celebration in the Basilica of St. John Lateran.

- Saturday 15: Recitation of the Rosary in the Basilica of St. Mary Major.

HOLY WEEK:

- Sunday 16: Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord. Commemoration of the Lord's entry into Jerusalem and Mass in St. Peter's Square.

- Tuesday 18: Tuesday of Holy Week. Communal celebration of the Sacrament of Penance with individual absolution in the major Basilicas.

- Thursday 20: Holy Thursday. Chrism Mass in St. Peter's Basilica. Mass of the Lord's Supper in the Basilica of St. John Lateran.

- Friday 21: Good Friday. Celebration of the Lord's Passion in St. Peter's Basilica. Solemn Way of the Cross in the Colosseum.

- Saturday 22: Easter vigil. Celebration of Mass and of the Sacraments of Christian Initiation of Adults in St. Peter's Basilica.

- Sunday 23: Easter Sunday - the Resurrection of the Lord. Mass, papal message and the "Urbi et Orbi" blessing in St. Peter's Square.

- Sunday 30: Second Sunday of Easter. Canonization in St. Peter's Square of Blessed Maria Faustina Kowalska, religious of the Institute of the Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy. Mass for newly baptized adults in the Basilica of St. Pancratius.

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HOLY FATHER'S PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR APRIL

VATICAN CITY, APR 3, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father's general prayer intention for April is: "That, through Christians' generous welcome, refugees and immigrants may experience God the Father's goodness."

His missionary intention is: "That the peoples of Africa, torn by discord and wars, may find in the Gospel the strength to repress any urge to revenge and violence and to open their hearts to mercy and reconciliation."

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, APR 3, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed:

- Cardinal Godfried Danneels, archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, as his special envoy at celebrations for the 150th anniversary of the reconstitution of the Catholic hierarchy in England and Wales. The event is due to take place in London, England on May 4.

- Msgr. Giovanni Verginelli, defender of the bond of the Tribunal of the Roman Rota, as judge ('prelato uditore') of the same tribunal.

On Saturday April 1, it was made public that he appointed:

- As members of the Council of Cardinals for the Study of Organizational and Economic Questions of the Holy See: Cardinals Bernard Francis Law, archbishop of Boston, U.S.A. and Dionigi Tettamanzi, archbishop of Genova, Italy. Also, as a 'pro hac vice' dispensation to article 24 of the Apostolic Constitution 'Pastor bonus', His Beatitude Michel Sabbah, patriarch of Jerusalem of the Latins.

- As members of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See: Cardinals Roger M. Mahony, archbishop of Los Angeles, U.S.A.; Ricardo M. Carles Gordo, archbishop of Barcelona, Spain; Juan Sandoval Iniguez, archbishop of Guadalajara, Mexico and Dionigi Tettamanzi, archbishop of Genova, Italy.

- Archbishop Giuseppe Pittau, secretary for the Congregation of Catholic Education, as consultor of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

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