THE GLORY OF THE TRINITY AS REFLECTED IN MAN

VATICAN CITY, JUN 7, 2000 (VIS) - Pope John Paul today continued the Jubilee Year general audience catechesis on the Trinity, focussing on "the glory of the Trinity as reflected in man." An estimated 40,000 pilgrims attended the weekly audience in St. Peter's Square.

He recalled that each of the three preparatory years of the Jubilee Year 2000 was dedicated to one of the three persons of the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. "Having contemplated the glory of the three divine persons in creation, in history, in the mystery of Christ, our glance now falls upon man to gather the luminous rays of the action of God."

The Holy Father quoted the Catechism of the Catholic Church: "'The divine image is present in every man. It shines forth in the communion of persons, in the likeness of the union of the divine persons among themselves'. In the very communion of love and in the procreative capacity of the human couple there is a reflection of the Creator. A man and woman in matrimony continue the creative work of God, they participate in His supreme paternity."

"The efficacious presence of God," he said, "whom the Christian invokes as 'Father', is revealed already at the very beginning of each person's life, to continue throughout their days. ... Even the Son is present next to the Father at the beginning of our existence, He who took on our flesh, to the point that He could be touched by our hands and heard by our ears, seen and contemplated by our eyes. ... Every living creature ... has been entrusted also to the breath of the Spirit of God. ... At the dawn of our life there is, therefore, a trinitarian intervention of love and blessing."

The Pope also recalled "another dimension to human life, ... that is, eternal life, ... to be understood as participation in 'divine life'." He observed that "eternal life is the very life of God and together the life of the children of God. ... In this way the Christian truth on life reaches its summit. The dignity of life is linked not only to its origins, in that it comes from God, but also to its end, its destiny of communion with God in knowledge and love of Him."

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, JUN 7, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father:
- Appointed Bishop James Vernon Weisgerber of Saskatoon, Canada, as archbishop of Winnipeg (area 116,405, population 667,209, Catholics 170,590, priests 89, permanent deacons 19, religious 206), Canada. The archbishop-elect was born in Vibank, Canada, in 1938, ordained a priest in 1963 and consecrated a bishop in 1996. He succeeds Archbishop Leonard James Wall, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese was accepted by the Holy Father, upon having reached the age limit.

- Appointed Bishop Aloysio Jose Leal Penna S.J., of Bauru, Brazil, as metropolitan archbishop of Botucatu (area 14,181, population 750,000, Catholics 626,000, priests 74, permanent deacons 6, religious 189), Brazil. The archbishop-elect was born in Piquete, Brazil, in 1933, ordained a priest in 1963 and consecrated a bishop in 1984. He succeeds Archbishop Antonio Maria Mucciolo, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

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POPE TO GO TO VALLE D'AOSTA FROM JULY 10 TO 22

VATICAN CITY, JUN 7, 2000 (VIS) - Holy See Press Office Director Joaquin Navarro-Valls stated this morning that "Pope John Paul II will spend a brief vacation period in Valle d'Aosta, Italy, from July 10 to July 22. As is customary, this vacation is strictly private."

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