INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY NEEDED TO PROMOTE BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS

VATICAN CITY, JUN 29, 2000 (VIS) - After praying the angelus, the Holy Father pointed out that "today, throughout the world, an important report by the United Nations, dedicated to human rights and human development, is being published." He said that these two issues "must proceed together, but a stronger international collaboration in favor of the more disadvantaged peoples is needed."

He added that "the fight against poverty is one of the greatest challenges to mankind in the new millennium. The necessary food, health assistance, education, work, do not represent merely objectives of development; they are basic rights, unfortunately still denied to millions of human beings." He said he "hoped that a new a concrete commitment of international solidarity" will be "among the fruits of this great Jubilee."

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PRAY FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY AND THE NEW EVANGELIZATION

VATICAN CITY, JUN 29, 2000 (VIS) - In reflections made before praying the angelus, Pope John Paul recalled that today is "the solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles, considered the columns of the universal Church. Peter, the 'rock' on which Christ founded His Church; Paul, the 'chosen instrument' to bring the Gospel to peoples."

He added that "a mysterious design brought them both to Rome to seal their witness with their blood: Peter crucified and Paul decapitated: One was buried at the foot of Vatican Hill and the other along the Ostiense way."

The Pope also pointed to the presence in Rome, as is customary on this feast day, of a delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, saying: "The meaningful presence of these brothers in faith is a gesture which invites us to hope and pursue the path of ecumenical dialogue, without ever getting discouraged."

He then urged everyone to pray for "two intentions which are particularly dear to me at the start of the Third Millennium: Christian unity and the new evangelization."

In concluding remarks, John Paul II said: "May St. Peter intercede for us so that the ministry of the Successor of Peter be recognized and accepted by everyone as a service to the unity of the People of God."

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DIVINE WORD SOCIETY CELEBRATES 125 YEARS

VATICAN CITY, JUN 30, 2000 (VIS) - Members of the Society of the Divine Word, in Rome to celebrate their 15th General Chapter and the 125th anniversary of the missionary order's foundation, were received in audience this morning by the Holy Father. He lauded the "considerable growth" of the society, which represents more than 60 nationalities and is present in more than 60 countries.

The Pope recalled the order's many great priests and brothers, including a number of martyrs, in particular Blessed Alojzy Liguda: "He bequeathed to his beloved Society an eloquent declaration on the dignity of every human being ...: 'People may treat me as something base, but cannot make me base. Dachau (concentration camp) can rob me of all my rights and titles; the privilege of being a son of God no one can take from me'."

Pope John Paul said that "the urgent task of the mission 'ad gentes' and the 'new evangelization' requires that you proclaim Christ the Savior in many different cultural contexts. It can never be forgotten that there are still countless men and women who have not heard the name of Jesus and who have never had the immense gift of His salvation offered to them. ... All people have a right to hear this Good News, and the Church therefore has a solemn duty to go forth everywhere to proclaim the saving message of Jesus Christ."

"Inculturation and interreligious dialogue," he affirmed, "have an important role to play in many of the places where you carry out your missionary activity, Serious and open dialogue with cultures and religions does not dispense from evangelization and should never be seen as opposed to the mission ad gentes."

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POPE PRAYS FOR FULL UNITY OF THE CHURCH

VATICAN CITY, JUN 29, 2000 (VIS) - At 6:30 p.m. in St. Peter's Square, John Paul II presided at a Eucharistic celebration during which he imposed the pallium on 24 metropolitan archbishops from Italy, Cameroon, Bahamas, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Benin, India, Great Britain, Philippines, Nigeria, France, U.S.A., Brazil and Croatia.

As is traditional on this day, a delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople was present at the ceremony. The delegation was headed by Metropolitan Athanasios of Helioupolis and Thiera. He was accompanied by Archbishop Vsevolod of Skopelos of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in America, which is dependent on the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and by Archdeacon Tarasios of Fanar.

In his homily, the Pope recalled the Lord's words to His disciples: "Who do you say that I am?" and Simon Peter's reply: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." He then went on: "The reply is extraordinarily lucid. It perfectly reflects the faith of the Church. We too are reflected therein. In a special way Peter's words reflect the Bishop of Rome, his successor by divine will and around him and with him you are also reflected, dear metropolitan archbishops, who have come here from so many parts of the world to receive the Pallium on the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul."

"These words on Peter's lips arise from the depths of the mystery of God. They reveal the intimate truth, the very life of God. Peter, by the action of the divine Spirit, becomes a witness and confessor of this superhuman truth. His profession of faith thus constitutes the solid basis of the Church's faith."

Addressing the archbishops, the Holy Father affirmed: "The imposition of the pallium eloquently highlights the special bond of communion that links you to the See of Peter and demonstrates the catholic nature of the Church. Whenever you don the pallium remember that as pastors we are called to protect the purity of the Gospel and the unity of the Church of Christ."

"The full unity of the Church! I feel Christ's mandate echo within me. It is a mandate that has greater urgency than ever at the beginning of this new millennium. For this reason we pray and toil while never ceasing to hope. With these sentiments, I affectionately embrace and greet the delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. ... May God grant that, as soon as possible, we achieve the full unity of all who believe in Christ."

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, JUN 30, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in audience:

- The metropolitan archbishops upon whom he yesterday imposed the pallium, accompanied by their relatives and members of the faithful.
- Archbishop Crescenzio Sepe, secretary general of the Committee and of the Presidential Council for the Great Jubilee 2000, accompanied by Msgr. Giorgio Caniato, inspector of chaplains of the prisons administration and Fr. Vittorio Trani O.F.M. Conv., chaplain of Rome's "Regina Coeli" jail.

This evening, he is scheduled to receive Archbishop Tarcisio Bertome S.D.B., secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

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POPE APPEALS FOR REDUCED SENTENCES FOR PRISONERS

VATICAN CITY, JUN 30, 2000 (VIS) - John Paul II has requested a "gesture of clemency towards all those in prison" to be translated, in concrete terms, into a reduction of sentence. These are the words he uses in his message for the Jubilee in Prisons which will be held on July 9. On that day, the Pope will visit Rome's "Regina Coeli" prison.

In the 10-page message, which is dated June 24, the Pope continues a Holy Year tradition begun by his predecessors, appealing to State authorities for a "a reduction, even a modest one, of the term of punishment" for prisoners. Such a reduction "would be for prisoners a clear sign of sensitivity to their condition, and would surely evoke a positive echo in their hearts and encourage them to regret the evil done and lead them to personal repentance."

"Acceptance of this proposal by the competent authorities would not only encourage prisoners to look to the future with new hope but would also be an eloquent sign, at the dawn of the Third Christian Millennium."

The Pope affirms that: "On each occasion the celebration of a Holy Year has been an opportunity for the Church and the world to do something in favor of justice, in the light of the Gospel. Jubilees have been an incentive for the community to reconsider human justice. ... It is not a question of an automatic or purely cosmetic application of acts of clemency. This would not affect the essence of things: once the Jubilee is over the situation would return to the way it was. ... Those States and governments which are already engaged in or are planning to undertake a review of their prison system in order to bring it more into line with the requirements of the human person should be encouraged to continue in such an important task. This includes giving more consideration to penalties other than imprisonment.

"To make prison life more human it is more important than ever to take practical steps to enable prisoners as far as possible to engage in work which keeps them from the degrading effects of idleness. ... Nor should the psychological assistance which can help resolve personality problems be overlooked. Prison should not be a corrupting experience, a place of idleness and even vice, but instead a place of redemption."

"The Jubilee reminds us that time belongs to God. Even time in prison does not escape God's dominion. Public authorities who deprive human beings of their personal freedom as the law requires, bracketing off as it were a longer or shorter part of their life, must realize that they are not masters of the prisoners' time. In the same way, those who are in detention must not live as if their time in prison had been taken from them completely: even time in prison is God's time."

"At times prison life runs the risk of depersonalizing individuals, because it deprives them of so many opportunities for self-expression. But they must remember that before God this is not so. The Jubilee is time for the person, when each one is himself before God, in His image and likeness."

"The Jubilee is about change. The Old Testament Jubilee year 'was meant to restore equality among all the children of Israel, offering new possibilities to families which had lost their property and even their personal freedom.' ... The Holy Year must be used as a chance to right injustices committed, to mitigate excesses, and to recover what might otherwise be lost."

John Paul II indicates that "to celebrate the Jubilee means to strive to find new paths of redemption in every personal and social situation, even if the situation seems desperate. This is even more obvious with regard to prison life: not to promote the interests of prisoners would be to make imprisonment a mere act of vengeance on the part of society, provoking only hatred in the prisoners themselves.

"If the Great Jubilee is a chance for those in prison to reflect upon their situation, the same may be said of civil society as a whole, ... of the authorities ... and of those in the legal profession."

"These issues have been addressed often enough in history, and substantial progress has been made in conforming the penal system both to the dignity of the human person and to the effective maintenance of public order. But the unease and strains felt in the complex world of the administration of justice and, even more, the suffering attached to prison life show that there is still much to be done."

"Imprisonment as punishment is as old as human history. In many countries, prisons are very overcrowded. ... What is clear to all is that this kind of punishment generally succeeds only in part in addressing the phenomenon of crime. In fact, in some cases detention seems to create more problems than it solves. This must prompt rethinking with a view to some kind of reform."

"A strong appeal of this kind comes from the countless prisons throughout the world, in which millions of our brothers and sisters are held. Above all they call for a review of prison structures, and in some cases a revision of penal law. Regulations contrary to the dignity and fundamental rights of the human person should be definitively abolished from national legislation, as should laws which deny prisoners religious freedom. There will also have to be a review of prison regulations where they give insufficient attention to those who have serious or terminal illnesses. Likewise, institutions offering legal protection to the poor must be further developed.

"But even in cases where legislation is satisfactory, much suffering comes to prisoners from other sources. I am referring in particular to the wretched state of some of the places of detention where prisoners are forced to live, and the harassment to which they are sometimes subjected because of ethnic, social, economic, sexual, political and religious discrimination. Sometimes prisons can become places of violence resembling the places from which the inmates not infrequently come. Clearly this nullifies any attempt to educate through imprisonment.

"People in prison also find it difficult to maintain regular contact with their families and loved ones, and structures intended to help those leaving prison in their re-entry into society are often seriously flawed."

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, JUN 30, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of diocese of Valleyfield, Canada, presented by Bishop Robert Lebel upon having reached the age limit.

- Appointed Bishop Felipe Aguirre Franco of Tuxtla Gutierrez, Mexico, as coadjutor archbishop of Acapulco (area 18,603, population 2,860,000, Catholics 2,730,000, priests 100, permanent deacons 16, religious 253), Mexico. The archbishop-elect was born in Encarnacion de Diaz, Mexico, in 1934, ordained a priest in 1958 and consecrated a bishop in 1974.

- Appointed Fr. Manuel Neto Quintas S.C.I., provincial of the Congregation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Dehonians) in Portugal, as auxiliary of Faro (area 5,071, population 366,329, Catholics 325,000, priests 64, religious 122), Portugal. The bishop-elect was born in Mazouco, Portugal, in 1949 and ordained a priest in 1977.

- Appointed Fr. Juan del Rio Martin, episcopal delegate for pastoral care in universities in Seville, Spain, as bishop of Jerez de la Frontera (area 3,928, population 480,970, Catholics 432,800, priests 175, permanent deacons 6, religious 704), Spain. The bishop-elect was born in Ayamonte, Spain, in 1947 and ordained a priest in 1974. He succeeds Bishop Rafael Bellido Caro, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

- Erected the apostolic administration of Prizren, Yugoslavia, returning to it its own ecclesiastical jurisdiction, such as existed prior to its union with the diocese of Skopje in 1969. He appointed Bishop Marko Sopi as apostolic administrator of the new administration.

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