TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND POLES CELEBRATE JUBILEE WITH HOLY FATHER

VATICAN CITY, JUL 6, 2000 (VIS) - Pope John Paul this morning celebrated Mass at 8 in St. Peter's Square for 25,000 fellow Poles, who came to Rome on a national pilgrimage for a three-day celebration of the Jubilee Year 2000.

In his homily the Holy Father underlined two particular "dimensions of the pastoral activity of the clergy and the laity in our country": the duty to preach the Gospel as mandated by Jesus Christ to His followers, and the duty both "to show mercy to those who need it ... and to meet the needs of those who have undergone injustices."

The Pope remarked that, as we enter the new millennium, we must preach the Gospel with greater fervor. "May parents be witnesses to children and young people! May young people bring the Good News to their peers, who often lose the sense of life, losing their way among the proposals of the world. May pastors not forget that the missionary spirit, the solicitude for every person who seeks Christ and for all who have strayed from Him, belongs to the essence of their pastoral mission."

Addressing the second dimension of pastoral activity, he observed that "the Jubilee, as a period in which we experience in a special way the mercy of God, leads us to those who most need our mercy. The 'today' of the Church ... must be lived as a 'today' of the poor, the oppressed, those who are alone or ill. ... May this year of grace be proclaimed to them through works of active love." For all who have lost their work, their home, their health or the possibility of education, "the leaders of all levels of society in our country must make every effort so that the introduction of just economic reforms be fulfilled profitably for everyone, especially the poorest. I ask this in a special way of all those who base their activity on Christian values.

"The duty of meeting the needs of those who have undergone injustices weighs above all not only on politicians, on entrepreneurs or on charitable organizations, but on all those who in any way can remedy the needs of others."

The Holy Father concluded with an appeal to "perform works of mercy for our brothers and sisters," returning "constantly to the idea of the preferential option for the poor and needy."

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BAN REAFFIRMED ON COMMUNION FOR DIVORCED, REMARRIED CATHOLICS

VATICAN CITY, JUL 6, 2000 (VIS) - A declaration was published this morning by the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts which re-affirmed the ban on communion for divorced and remarried people. The declaration, published in six languages, is dated June 24, solemnity of the birth of St. John the Baptist, and is signed by Archbishop Julian Herranz and Bishop Bruno Bertagna, respectively president and secretary of the council.

Following are excerpts from that document:

"The Code of Canon Law establishes that 'Those upon whom the penalty of excommunication or interdict has been imposed or declared, and others who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin, are not to be admitted to Holy Communion' (can. 915). In recent years some authors have sustained, using a variety of arguments, that this canon would not be applicable to faithful who are divorced and remarried. It is acknowledged that paragraph 84 of the Apostolic Exhortation 'Familiaris consortio', issued in 1981, had reiterated that prohibition in unequivocal terms and that it has been expressly reaffirmed many times, especially in paragraph 1650 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, published in 1992, and in the Letter written in 1994 by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, 'Annus internationalis Familiae'. That notwithstanding, the aforementioned authors offer various interpretations of the above-cited canon that exclude from its application the situation of those who are divorced and remarried."

"Given this alleged contrast between the discipline of the 1983 Code and the constant teachings of the Church in this area, this Pontifical Council, in agreement with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and with the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments declares the following:

"1. The prohibition found in the cited canon, by its nature, is derived from divine law and transcends the domain of positive ecclesiastical laws: the latter cannot introduce legislative changes which would oppose the doctrine of the Church. The scriptural text on which the ecclesial tradition has always relied is that of St. Paul: 'This means that whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily sins against the body and blood of the Lord'."

"This text concerns in the first place the individual faithful and their moral conscience, a reality that is expressed as well by the Code in can. 916. But the unworthiness that comes from being in a state of sin also poses a serious juridical problem in the Church: indeed the canon of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches that is parallel to can. 915 CIC of the Latin Church makes reference to the term 'unworthy': 'Those who are publicly unworthy are forbidden from receiving the Divine Eucharist' (can. 712). In effect, the reception of the Body of Christ when one is publicly unworthy constitutes an objective harm to the ecclesial communion: ... In the concrete case of the admission to Holy Communion of faithful who are divorced and remarried, the scandal, understood as an action that prompts others towards wrongdoing, affects at the same time both the sacrament of the Eucharist and the indissolubility of marriage. That scandal exists even if such behavior, unfortunately, no longer arouses surprise: in fact it is precisely with respect to the deformation of the conscience that it becomes more necessary for Pastors to act, with as much patience as firmness, as a protection to the sanctity of the Sacraments and a defense of Christian morality, and for the correct formation of the faithful.

"2. Any interpretation of can. 915 that would set itself against the canon's substantial content, as declared uninterruptedly by the Magisterium and by the discipline of the Church throughout the centuries, is clearly misleading."

"The phrase 'and others who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin' is clear and must be understood in a manner that does not distort its sense so as to render the norm inapplicable. The three required conditions are:
a) grave sin, understood objectively, being that the minister of Communion would not be able to judge from subjective imputability;
b) obstinate persistence, which means the existence of an objective situation of sin that endures in time and which the will of the individual member of the faithful does not bring to an end, no other requirements (attitude of defiance, prior warning, etc.) being necessary to establish the fundamental gravity of the situation in the Church.
c) the manifest character of the situation of grave habitual sin.
Those faithful who are divorced and remarried would not be considered to be within the situation of serious habitual sin who would not be able, for serious motives - such as, for example, the upbringing of the children - 'to satisfy the obligation of separation, assuming the task of living in full continence, that is, abstaining from the acts proper to spouses' (Familiaris consortio, n. 84), and who on the basis of that intention have received the sacrament of Penance. Given that the fact that these faithful are not living 'more uxorio' is per se occult, while their condition as persons who are divorced and remarried is per se manifest, they will be able to receive Eucharistic Communion only 'remoto scandalo'.

"3. Naturally, pastoral prudence would strongly suggest the avoidance of instances of public denial of Holy Communion. ... In those situations, however, in which these precautionary measures have not had their effect or in which they were not possible, the minister of Communion must refuse to distribute it to those who are publicly unworthy. They are to do this with extreme charity. ... They must, however, do this with firmness."

"The discernment of cases in which the faithful who find themselves in the described condition are to be excluded from Eucharistic Communion is the responsibility of the Priest who is responsible for the community. They are to give precise instructions to the deacon or to any extraordinary minister regarding the mode of acting in concrete situations.

"4. Bearing in mind the nature of the above-cited norm (cfr. n. 1), no ecclesiastical authority may dispense the minister of Holy Communion from this obligation in any case, nor may he emanate directives that contradict it.

"5. The Church reaffirms her maternal solicitude for the faithful who find themselves in this or other analogous situations that impede them from being admitted to the Eucharistic table. ... Moreover, the obligation of reiterating this impossibility of admission to the Eucharist is required for genuine pastoral care and for an authentic concern for the well-being of these faithful and of the whole Church."

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PAPAL MESSAGE TO U.S. HISPANIC CATHOLICS FOR ENCUENTRO 2000

VATICAN CITY, JUL 6, 2000 (VIS) - Made public today was the Holy Father's Message, dated June 16, to Bishop Joseph Fiorenza of Galveston-Houston, U.S.A., president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, on the occasion of Encuentro 2000, the fourth nationwide gathering of the Hispanic Catholic community in the United States. The national celebration starts today in Los Angeles and continues through July 9. There are also local celebrations during those same dates.
The Pope recalled that "the theme, 'Many Faces in God's House,' seeks to be a celebration of the rich cultural, ethnic and linguistic diversity which marks the Catholic Church in the United States.

"It is significant," he wrote, "that Encuentro 2000 is meant to celebrate not only the faith and religious traditions by which Hispanic Catholics enrich the ecclesial life of your country, but also to point to the important contribution which all Catholics together are urged to make to the mission of the Church in the United States."

John Paul II asked those present at Encuentro 2000 "to renew their gratitude for the great gift of faith, ... to ensure that this priceless treasure is passed on in all its vitality," and "to pursue the great task of ecclesial renewal," including "a conscious and persevering promotion of vocations to the priesthood and the consecrated life."

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, JUL 6, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father received the following yesterday in audience:

- Cardinal Jozef Glemp, archbishop of Warsaw and primate of Poland.
- Cardinal Franciszek Macharski, archbishop of Krakow, Poland.
- Cardinal Henry Roman Gulbinowicz, archbishop of Wroclaw, Breslavia, Poland.

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ITALIAN SENATE TO DONATE BRONZE SCULPTURE TO POPE

VATICAN CITY, JUL 6, 2000 (VIS) - According to a communique from the Vatican Museums which was published yesterday afternoon, "on the occasion of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, the senate of the Republic of Italy wished to donate a large bronze sculpture entitled 'The Ascension' to Pope John Paul. The work by Cecco Bonanotte will be placed in the Vatican Museums at the entrance to the Pavilion of Carriages."

The sculpture will be put in place tomorrow, July 7, at 10:30 a.m. Scheduled participants include, among others, Nicola Mancino, president of the Italian senate, Cardinal Edmund Casimir Szoka, president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and Francesco Buranelli, regent director general of the Vatican Museums. Members of the delegation from the senate will be received in a private audience afterwards by Pope John Paul.

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CHURCH FOUNDATIONS DONATE $5.3 MILLION FOR SPECIAL PROJECTS

VATICAN CITY, JUL 6, 2000 (VIS) - Made public yesterday afternoon was a communique from the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum," under whose auspices are the John Paul II Foundation for the Sahel and the "Populorum Progressio" Foundation, whose board members the Pope received on July 4.

The communique cited the Holy Father's words of appreciation on July 4 for the work done by the foundation bearing his name to combat the desertification of sub-Saharan Africa. It noted that this foundation has set aside $3.3 million this year to help nine African nations confront the lack of water: Chad, Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Ghana and Cape Verde.

The Populorum Progressio Foundation, for its part, has been working in favor of the poorest populations of Latin America since 1993 and has set aside $2 million this year for 258 projects on the continent.

"The Holy Father," said the communique, "thanked the foundations for their work, underlining that it represents a Christian witness and offers all men and women the occasion to live the Jubilee.

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, JUL 6, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father has appointed Paola Fabrizi, a staff member of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, as bureau chief of the same council.

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