PRIVATE MASS FOR PONTIFICAL ECCLESIASTICAL ACADEMY

VATICAN CITY, JUN 1, 2000 (VIS) - At 7:30 this morning, feast of the Ascension of Our Lord, Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass in his private chapel for the community of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy. This is the academy where ecclesiastics are trained as future Holy See diplomats, after they have received their degree in canon law.

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FEAST OF VISITATION: PROCESSION AND ROSARY IN VATICAN CITY

VATICAN CITY, MAY 31, 2000 (VIS) - This evening, feast of the Visitation and the end of the month dedicated to Mary, there was the traditional procession in Vatican City from the church of St. Stephen of the Abyssinians to the Grotto of Lourdes, during which the faithful who were present prayed the rosary. The procession was led by Cardinal Virgilio Noe, archpriest of the Vatican Basilica. When the pilgrims reached the grotto, Pope John Paul II joined them.

"In this event," he told them, referring to the Visitation, "an even more profound 'visitation' shines through: that of God to His people, greeted by the exultation of little John - the greatest of those born of woman - from his mother's womb. The Marian month thus concludes in the sign of 'gaudio' - the second joyful mystery - in the sign, that is, of joy, of jubilation."

"We thank God because in this month of May of the great Jubilee, he gave us a way to feel, with special intensity, the presence of the Mother of the Redeemer, an assiduous and prayerful presence, as in the first community of Jerusalem."

"As you return home," the Holy Father concluded, "bring the joy of this encounter with you and keep your soul fixed on Jesus, in the hopes of one day being able to be with Him, united in the same glory."

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PRESS OFFICE STATEMENT ON DEMONSTRATION BY IMMIGRANTS

VATICAN CITY, JUN 2, 2000 (VIS) - In reply to questions from journalists on the demonstration by a group of immigrants at the end of the Mass celebrated this morning in St. Peter's Square for the Jubilee of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples, Holy See Press Office Director Joaquin Navarro-Valls stated that, "aware of how much the Church in Italy has done for people in that situation, the group of demonstrators wished to present the Vatican a document containing their requests."

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HOLY FATHER'S MESSAGE TO MEETING OF GERMAN CATHOLICS

VATICAN CITY, JUN 2, 2000 (VIS) - Made public today was a Message from Pope John Paul to Archbishop Ludwig Averkamp of Hamburg, Germany, on the occasion of the 94th Annual Congress of German Catholics, which is taking place in Hamburg. The Message, written in German, and dated May 23, is a call to unity and a defense of life, marriage and the family, several of the topics on the congress' agenda.

The Pope recalls that the theme of the meeting is "Time is Being." He says that "the time given to us is a gift, a gift from God. It is up to us what use we make of our time. Give your time to each other, priests to the community, the community to priests, men and women to each other, children to their parents, young people to older people, the healthy to the ill, each one to everyone else. Those who dedicate time to others give a gift of life. Our relationship with time has much to do with believing. God has time. He dedicated His time to mankind."

"There are diverse themes to which your meeting is dedicated. The protection of human life from natural conception to natural death; the defense of the inalienable value of matrimony and the family which corresponds to the plan of creation; safeguarding the Lord's Day in a society dominated by economic interests; hospitality towards strangers in your country; the insertion of Christian formation into your unified country; these are just a few of the themes which you must bring to fulfillment. Of all of these, I ask you to take one particularly to heart; may unity be the supreme good for you. ... Bishops, priests, religious and laity, we are all Church: Only united are we strong. Jesus Christ founded one Church, whose foundation is the Apostles."

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JUBILEE OF MIGRANTS AND ITINERANT PEOPLES

VATICAN CITY, JUN 2, 2000 (VIS) - This morning in St. Peter's Square, the Pope presided at a Mass for 50,000 people on the occasion of the Jubilee for Migrants and Itinerant peoples. Thirty cardinals and bishops and more than 700 priests concelebrated with the Holy Father.

In his homily, John Paul II said that among those present there were "migrants from various countries and continents, refugees who have fled from violent situations and who ask to see their fundamental rights recognized," foreign students, seafarers, aviators, tourists, nomads and circus workers.

"Your Jubilee, dear migrants and itinerant peoples," he continued, "expresses with special eloquence the central place that the charity of welcome must occupy in the Church. ... From the moment the Son of God 'pitched his tent among us,' each individual has, in a certain way, become a 'place' for meeting Him. Welcoming Christ in the brother and sister tried by need is the condition for meeting Him perfectly and 'face to face' at the end of the earthly journey."

John Paul II highlighted that, "in a society like ours, complex and marked by multiple tensions, the culture of welcome demands prudent and far-sighted laws and norms that evaluate human mobility positively, and anticipate its possible negative manifestations. This is necessary, in order for each person to be effectively respected and welcomed. ... This is the message that this jubilee celebration wishes to transmit: may man and women the respect of their rights always be placed at the center of the phenomena of mobility."

The Pope affirmed that the presence in Rome of migrants and itinerants highlights the importance that human growth "be constantly illuminated by Christ and His Gospel of hope. It is from this point of view that we must continue to commit ourselves, supported by divine Grace and the intercession of the great patron saints of migrants: St. Frances Xavier Cabrini and Blessed John Scalabrini."

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, JUN 2, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed:

- Bishop Curtis J. Guillory, auxiliary of Galveston-Houston, U.S.A., as bishop of Beaumont (area 18,330, population 577,664, Catholics 87,604, priests 67, permanent deacons 29, religious 74), U.S.A.

- Bishop Gregory M. Aymond, auxiliary of New Orleans, U.S.A., as coadjutor bishop of Austin (area 57,424, population 1,915,392, Catholics 350,000, priests 169, permanent deacons 149, religious 207), U.S.A.

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RELIGION AND RECONCILIATION IN SOUTH-EAST EUROPE

VATICAN CITY, JUN 2, 2000 (VIS) - The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace this afternoon made public a communique from the Justice and Peace Commission of the Hungarian Catholic Bishops' Conference about the May 31-June 2 international conference in Budapest titled "Religion and Reconciliation in South-East Europe."

The Hungarian bishops co-organized the meeting with the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of National Cultural Heritage. The main topics of the conference, included: the theological foundation of reconciliation; relation of national identity and religion; conditions of a peaceful coexistence; the Church for the promotion of peace and security and inter-religious dialogue and cooperation. Religious leaders representing the Orthodox, Reformed and Catholic Churches as well as the Islamic community were in attendance.

The communique states that the Hungarian "Iustitia et Pax" Commission organized the conference "with the conviction that religion plays an important role in the comprehension, reconciliation and peaceful coexistence of nations."

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