THE POPE: PRIESTHOOD IS THE FUNDAMENTAL DIMENSION OF MY LIFE

VATICAN CITY, MAY 19, 2000 (VIS) - Yesterday, following the Eucharistic celebration, the Pope attended a luncheon to mark his 80th birthday. The luncheon was offered by the College of Cardinals at the Casa Santa Marta in the Vatican.

Following an address by Cardinal Bernardin Gantin, dean of the sacred college, expressing the close union of all cardinals to Peter's successor and his Magisterium, the Pope said he was particularly pleased to be able to celebrate his birthday "in this priestly setting which is the fundamental part of my life, as it is of yours."

He went on to affirm: "Following this morning's celebration, that was at once solemn and full of fraternal affection, this convivial moment allows me to express the link of familiarity that binds me to each one of you, with the significant participation of a group of priests, as representatives of all those who have took part in this jubilee celebration."

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FACING THE PRESENT NEEDS OF EVANGELIZATION

VATICAN CITY, MAY 19, 2000 (VIS) - At midday today, the Pope received teachers and students of the Pontifical "Auxilium" Faculty of Educational Sciences, which is marking 30 years of activity.

The Holy Father said: "Make your own the needs of evangelization in the cultural period through which we are now living, especially those that concern human life, the person, the family and peace and solidarity between peoples."

John Paul II recalled that the faculty, which "draws its inspiration from the Christian and pedagogic humanism of St. John Bosco, considers the individual according to the design of God the Creator and promotes a plan for men and women that is rooted in a Christian vision of life."

After highlighting the danger of losing a sense of God and the inability to see signs of His presence in creation and history, he said: "This danger may be avoided by rediscovering and
encouraging the profound, interior and human dimension of integral education, illuminated by an evangelical perspective."

The Pope told professors and students of the "Auxilium" that the challenge to which they are called is "to represent the anthropological vision of men and women according to God's design and to translate it into appropriate and scientifically well-founded educational categories."

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DIPLOMATIC CORPS WISHES HOLY FATHER HAPPY BIRTHDAY

VATICAN CITY, MAY 19, 2000 (VIS) - This morning in the Consistory Hall the Holy Father received members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See who came to express their best wishes to him on the occasion of his 80th birthday yesterday.

"You have come here to thank God with me for the gift He has given me of a long life," the Pope told them, "as well as to confirm once again the aspirations for peace, values which give meaning to man's life, and the commitment of the Bishop of Rome for the promotion and defense of the dignity of every person and all peoples."

"The gift of life!" he exclaimed. "Yes, life is a gift which comes from an act of love. It is therefore with love that we must receive it, respect it, cultivate it and promote it in all manners and defend it when it is threatened. My 80 years have been lived in a century which has known attacks on life like never before, but also sublime witnesses in its favor."

John Paul II added that, "throughout my pontificate, ... I have often depended on your generous collaboration so that my appeals in favor of the respect and promotion of life in all its diverse moments and many needs be carried to the world's heads of state.

"I renew my cordial thanks," the Pope said in conclusion, "for this solemn gesture by which you desired to honor me in a personal moment of my life."

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BIRTHDAY CONCERT: POPE THANKS GOD FOR "INESTIMABLE GIFT OF LIFE"

VATICAN CITY, MAY 19, 2000 (VIS) - Following the performance last evening in the Paul VI Hall of Haydn's oratory, "The Creation," Pope John Paul addressed the Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus and the thousands of guests present at the concert in honor of his 80th birthday, including religious and civil officials, leaders of the Jewish community and representatives of other Churches and ecclesial communities.

Thanking the musicians, chorus and orchestra conductor in particular, the Holy Father observed that the concert "ends a day which for me has been one of fervent recognition to the Lord for the inestimable gift of life and for the many graces with which He has enriched it."

"This solemn musical fresco," he said, "has proposed, through the transparency of sound and the beauty of the text, the dawn of creation . ... But the artistic genius of Joseph Hayden, reproposing with strength and beauty the Biblical story, underlines that the apex of creation was the appearance of man: 'And God made man in His own image, according to the image of God He created him'. ... The conclusion can only be a hymn of praise. 'The magnificent work is done. May our song be praise to the Lord! For He alone is the Most High."

"Brothers and sisters," John Paul II concluded, "Thank you for having offered this singular experience of spiritual and aesthetic meditation on the mystery of creation."

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, MAY 19, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:

- Cardinal Augusto Vargas Alzamora S.J., archbishop emeritus of Lima, Peru.
- Simeon Ake, Ivory Coast ambassador, accompanied by his wife, on a farewell visit.
- Bishop Luis Armando Bambaren Gastelumendi S.J., of Chimbote, Peru, president of the Peruvian Episcopal Conference, accompanied by Archbishop Hector Miguel Cabreros Vidarte O.F.M., of Trujillo, first vice-president and Msgr. Jorge Carrion Pavlich, apostolic administrator "Sede vacante et ad nutum Sanctae Sedis" of Puno, president of the economic council.
- Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco Varela, archbishop of Madrid, Spain, president of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, accompanied by Cardinal Ricardo Maria Carles Gordo, archbishop of Barcelona and Bishop Juan Jose Asenjo Pelegrina, auxiliary of Toledo, respectively vice-president and secretary general of the same episcopal conference.

This evening, he is scheduled to received Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

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