GOD CONTINUOUSLY SEARCHES FOR "REBELLIOUS" MAN

VATICAN CITY. AUG 30, 2000 (VIS) - "'Metanoia,' the consequence of meeting Christ" was the theme of John Paul II's catechesis during the general audience which was held this morning in St. Peter's Square in the presence of 25,000 pilgrims.

Scripture, said the Pope, presents us with numerous passages in which God perseveringly and lovingly seeks man "the rebel who flees far from His gaze. God entered the tortuous paths of sinners through the Son, Jesus Christ who, in His arrival on the stage of history, appears as 'the Lamb who would take away the sin of the world'."

"The first words He pronounced in public," recalled the Pope, "were: 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.' ... 'Repent' - in Greek 'metanoeite' - in other words accomplish a 'metanoia,' a radical change of heart and mind. It is necessary that we leave evil behind and that we enter the kingdom that is coming into being, the kingdom of justice, of love and of truth."

The Pope highlighted that the mission of the Apostles also began "with an urgent call to conversion," to begin a new life in God.

The Holy Father indicated that "in accomplishing the 'metanoia' - the conversion - man returns, like the prodigal son, to embrace the Father who has never forgotten or abandoned him."

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APPEAL FOR PEACE IN BURUNDI

VATICAN CITY, AUG 30, 2000 (VIS) - At the end of today's general audience in St. Peter's Square, the Pope made an appeal for peace in Burundi:

"Last Monday, August 28, in Arusha, Tanzania, a first and partial agreement for peace in the beloved nation of Burundi was signed, after seven senseless years of civil war.

"I invite you to pray that the people's desire for reconciliation be accepted by all the parties concerned as well as by neighboring States, and that a stable and lasting peace may soon be reached to the benefit of the whole region of the Great Lakes."

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, AUG 30, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in audience Archbishop Jose Saraiva Martins C.M.F., prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, accompanied by Archbishop Edward Nowak, secretary of the same congregation.

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, AUG 30, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Rio do Sul, Brazil, presented by Bishop Tito Buss, upon having reached the age limit. Bishop Buss is succeeded by Bishop Jose Jovencio Balestieri S.D.B., coadjutor of the same diocese.

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