VATICAN RADIO: 50 YEARS OF SERVICE TO THE CHURCH IN CHINA

VATICAN CITY, MAY 3, 2000 (VIS) - At 11:30 this morning at Vatican Radio, Cardinal Jozef Tomko, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, celebrated Mass for the employees of the radio. In his homily he recalled that "today marks the 50th anniversary of the service which Vatican Radio gives to the Church in China."

"For a half century," recalled the cardinal, "Vatican Radio has served as a bridge between the Holy See, the See of Peter, and the Church in China, contributing to keeping alive the link and bond of communion among that portion of the People of God who live in China and the Universal Church which has its visible head and its center in Rome."

"Certainly these have been, and are, 50 difficult years for the Church in China. It has been a time of political and social upheavals, but also of a harsh persecution against various religions, especially against the Catholic Church, accused of not being Chinese enough, of not being faithful enough to that great people. There have been attempts to break her off from her vital center which guarantees her catholicity. ... In this atmosphere, often permeated by fear, the Church in China has passed through 'fire and water' ... but has matured on the Cross and is growing in numbers and in the courage of the faith, sustained by Vatican Radio's transmissions in Chinese."

Cardinal Tomko thanked the radio's collaborators "who, for long years, have sought to keep faith in Christ and love for one's neighbor in the service of the great values of dignity, freedom, integral human development and love of country."

Remarking that this 50th anniversary coincides with the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, the cardinal said "this is a welcome occasion to greet our brothers and sisters in China. Being unable to personally meet you in your great country, we bring you via radio all of our affection and communion."

"How very much," underscored Cardinal Tomko, "we would like to embrace you and pray with you here in Rome at the tombs of the Apostles, to pass with you and the pilgrims of the world through the Holy Door. ... We thank you for so many examples of fidelity to Christ, to this Church, to the Successor of Peter. Rest assured that the Pope and his collaborators, including those of Vatican Radio, pray for you, admire your fidelity and exhort you to remain ever strong in the faith. ... With you we too firmly profess that the Catholic Church, even in China, is only one."

"This Church is founded on Peter and the Apostles and, today, on their successors, the legitimate bishops. ... No human power can take the place of this constitution of the Church of Christ and no one can ask to change it, as the Church does not wish to take the place of political power and interfere in its sphere."

Then, recalling "how many sacrifices, how many sufferings you have endured to remain in communion with the Pope," Cardinal Tomko pointed out that Sunday, May 7 at the Colosseum there will be the ecumenical celebration of the Commemoration of Witnesses to the Faith in the 20th Century: "Very soon, a goodly number of Chinese martyrs, representing so many others in diverse periods of Catholic history in China and in other countries, will be added to the list of Saints of the Universal Church. They will be proposed to all the faithful of the world as shining examples of Christian life."

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GENERAL AUDIENCE: THE GLORY OF THE TRINITY IN THE PASSION

VATICAN CITY, MAY 3, 2000 (VIS) - John Paul II's catechesis during today's general audience, which was held in St. Peter's Square in the presence of 50,000 pilgrims, focussed on "the glory of the Trinity in the passion."

The Holy Father said that the gospel account of the passion and death of Christ emphasizes His "intimate relationship with the heavenly Father." St. John highlights that "with absolute faith in the Father, Jesus departs to carry out His supreme act of love."

"In the passion," the Pope went on, "the bond that unites Him to the Father is shown as being particularly intense and, at the same time, dramatic. ... When the hostility of men is unleashed upon Him, He reminds Peter that the hour of darkness is part of the Father's divine plan."

The Holy Father confirmed that "even the dialogue with the high priest becomes a revelation of messianic and divine glory that embraces both Son and Father. ... On the cross, Jesus continued His intimate dialogue with the Father, living it with all His mutilated and suffering humanity, never losing the faithful attitude of a Son, who is 'one' with the Father."

"The Holy Spirit also participates in this constant dialogue between Father and Son," the Pope added. "In His passion, Christ fully opened His anguished human state to the action of the Holy Spirit who gave Him the necessary motivation to make of His death a perfect offering to the Father. ... The Father, then, glorifies the Son, giving Him the power to communicate the Spirit to all men."

At the end of the audience, the Pope greeted Polish pilgrims, recalling that today is the day of the Virgin Mary, Queen of Poland. "Today, our thoughts also turn towards the holy martyrs, witnesses of Christ at the beginning of our history, Sts. Abelard and Stanislaw. ... The witnesses of martyrdom given 1,000 years ago in our land by the Bishop of Prague and the Bishop of Krakow, endure through the centuries, from generation to generation, and brings abundant fruits of sanctity. One of these fruits is the canonization of Sister Faustyna Kowalska which took place last Sunday."

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IN MEMORIAM

VATICAN CITY, MAY 3, 2000 (VIS) - The following prelates died in recent weeks:

- Cardinal Bernardino Echeverria Ruiz O.F.M., archbishop emeritus of Guayaquil, Ecuador, on April 6 at the age of 87.
- Archbishop Paul Dumouchel O.M.I., emeritus of Keewatin-Le Pas, Canada, on April 15, at the age of 88.
- Bishop Edgar Caricio de Gouvea, emeritus of Irece, Brazil, on April 12, at the age of 78.
- Archbishop Antoine Hacault of Saint-Boniface, Canada, on April 13, at the age of 74.
- Bishop Salvador L. Lazo, emeritus of San Fernando de la Union, the Philippines, on April 11, at the age of 81.
- Bishop Thomas Joseph Lobsinger O.M.I. of Whitehorse, Canada, on April 15, at the age of 72.
- Bishop James William Malone, emeritus of Youngstown, U.S.A., on April 9, at the age of 80.
- Bishop Francois Joseph Maurer C.S.Sp., apostolic vicar of the Iles Saint-Pierre et Miquelon, on April 5, at the age of 77.
- Bishop Gerald Francis O'Keefe, emeritus of Davenport, U.S.A., on April 12, at the age of 82.

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, MAY 3, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Fr. Mauricio Grotto de Camargo of the diocesan clergy of Presidente Prudente, Brazil, under-secretary of the Brazilian Episcopal Conference, as coadjutor bishop of Assis (area 12,375, population 300,000, Catholics 230,000, priests 53, religious 142), Brazil. The bishop-elect was born in Presidente Prudente in 1957 and ordained a priest 1980

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, MAY 3, 2000 (VIS) - Yesterday, the Holy Father received in audience Archbishop Santos Abril y Castello, apostolic nuncio in Argentina.

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