20,000 CURSILLOS CELEBRATE THEIR JUBILEE IN ROME

VATICAN CITY, JUL 29, 2000 (VIS) - This evening at 7 in St. Peter's Square, 20,000 members of the Cursillo Movement were welcomed by the Holy Father, who had come in for this event from Castelgandolfo. The meeting with the Pope followed Mass which was presided over by Cardinal James Francis Stafford, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity.

John Paul II, in his speech to them in six languages, observed that the members of the Cursillo Movement, present on all continents, are in Rome to celebrate their Jubilee, and to celebrate the movement's founding in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, by Msgr. Juan Hervas.

He stated that "the theme of this world Ultreya is 'Evangelizing milieux in the third Christian millennium: a challenge for the Cursillos of Christianity'." Ultreya, according to the Cursillo manual, is "a counter-environment of Christian friendship realized in a concrete manner once a week to combat the environment of the world." Cursillos means "little lessons."

The Holy Father, quoting the Apostolic Exhortation "Christifideles Laici," said this challenge "becomes ever more urgent since 'entire countries and nations, where religion and Christian life were once flowering and capable of giving rise to active and working communities of faith, are now sorely tried by the continual spreading of indifference, secularism and atheism'." He underscored the Cursillo approach of inserting "'new' men and women, made so through their encounter with Christ," into all milieux where people live and work.

"In the face of a culture which frequently denies the very existence of an objective Truth of universal value and which often gets lost in the 'quicksands' of nihilism, the faithful must know how to clearly indicate that Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life."

"As you are reminded daily in a prayer often used by the Cursillo Movement," he pointed out, "Christ has no hands, He has only our hands to change the world today. Christ has no feet, He has only our feet to lead this world to Himself. Christ has no lips, He has only our lips to speak to the people."

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FROM THE CATHOLIC ORIENTAL CHURCHES

VATICAN CITY, JUL 31, 2000 (VIS) - Made public today was a communique stating that "the Synod of Maronite Bishops, which met canonically in Bkerke on June 10, 2000, has made the following provisions:

"Confirmed Bishop Antoine-Nabil Andari in his position as syncellus for the region of Jounieh of the Eparchy proper of the patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites.

"Appointed Bishop Samir Mazloum, apostolic visitator for the Maronite faithful in western and northern Europe, as bishop of the Curia and syncellus."

Bishop Andari was born in 1949 in Bella, Caza di Becharre, northern Lebanon, territory of Batrun of the eparchy proper of the patriarchate of Antioch of the Maronites. He was ordained a priest in 1977. He was elected syncellus "ad interim" on June 5, 1999.

Bishop Mazloum was born in Kaakour, archieparchy of Antelias in 1934 and was ordained a priest in 1964. In November 1996 Pope John Paul II elected him bishop and named him at the same time as apostolic visitator for the Maronite faithful in western and northern Europe. He was ordained a bishop in January, 1997.

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POPE EXPRESSES SADNESS AT VIOLENCE IN SPAIN

VATICAN CITY, JUL 30, 2000 (VIS) - After praying the angelus with the faithful who joined him in Castelgandolfo, Pope John Paul greeted the pilgrims in various languages, with special words for groups of young people, members of religious congregations and representatives of the Cursillo Movement.

To the Spanish-speaking pilgrims, he said: "In the face of the wave of terrorism which is striking Spain these days and which yesterday claimed a new victim, I wish to express my profound sadness, as well as my solidarity and closeness to the families of the victims. I again renew my most energetic condemnation of these acts against the right to liberty and life, and reaffirm that no idea or social or political concept can be imposed by violence. I pray the Lord that the dear Spanish people might always enjoy peaceful coexistence and social harmony."

Then, in Italian, John Paul II invited "everyone to spiritually join the prayer vigil for the feast of the Transfiguration which, in answer to the appeal from Patriarch Bartolomew I of Constantinople, will be held on Saturday evening, August 5, in the patriarchal Lateran Basilica, with the aim of giving glory to God Who, in Christ, fully revealed Himself when he affirmed: 'This is my beloved Son, Listen to Him'."

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THE CURSILLO MOVEMENT AND THE EVANGELIZATION OF ADULTS

VATICAN CITY, JUL 30, 2000 (VIS) - Pope John Paul, today at noon, appeared on the inner courtyard balcony of the residence at Castelgandolfo to recite the angelus with the faithful who had gathered there, as well as in the town square outside the palace. There was an audio-video link with the Paul VI Hall with the Italian members of the Cursillo Movement as well as with pilgrims present in St. Peter's Square.

The Pope remarked that "even in the heart of the summer the Great Jubilee does not stop. Yesterday in St. Peter's Square, among the many pilgrims present, were those from the Cursillo Movement, born in Spain over fifty years ago and present in many countries of the world."

He went on to say that "a characteristic of the Cursillos, as of similar ecclesial movements, is that of a new evangelization of adults. The Christian message is proposed through moments of intense spiritual experience, capable of making people rediscover the beauty of encountering Christ and of being Church, as well as the joy of fraternity and reciprocal service, permeating one's entire existence with the Christian spirit."

In concluding remarks, the Holy Father said that "the Church has understood ever more clearly, through the sometimes dramatic events of recent decades, that her duty is the care and responsibility for man, not man in an 'abstract' sense but in a real, 'concrete' and 'historical' one to whom she offers Christ, the One Redeemer. ... Christianity, therefore, can never be reduced to doctrine, to simple principles, because Christ, the center of Christianity, is alive and His presence constitutes the event which constantly renews human creatures and the cosmos."

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