JUBILEE OF AGRICULTURE TO BE HELD THIS SATURDAY AND SUNDAY

VATICAN CITY, NOV 7, 2000 (VIS) - At midday today in the Holy See Press Office, a conference was held to present the Jubilee of Agriculture which will take place in the Vatican on November 11 and 12. The event has been timed to coincide with the Annual Day of Thanksgiving for the Gifts of Creation in order to highlight the theme: "God's earth, man's earth."

Today, more than half of humanity live and work in the country. Of the 6 billion human beings, 3.5 billion live in the country and, of them, 2.5 billion work the land.

Representatives of U.N. bodies such as the FAO, the IFAD and the WFP, and delegations from many nations around the world will participate in this Jubilee, during which consideration will be given to the work situation in the agricultural world.

In the Paul VI Hall on the afternoon of Saturday, November 11, a celebratory meeting will be held during which participants will reflect on the role of all people in protecting the earth, and especially on that of agriculturalists. A report on the Mato Grosso region of Brazil will be presented where a repopulation and agriculture project is being put into effect by the Xavantes Indios. Testimonies will be presented by people who work on the land in Congo, India, Chile, Thailand and Italy. Cardinal Secretary of State Angelo Sodano is scheduled to make a speech.

On Sunday, November 12, John Paul II will preside at a Eucharistic concelebration in St. Peter's Square which will mark the close of the Jubilee of Agriculture.

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CATHOLICOS KAREKIN II ARRIVES TOMORROW FOR FOUR-DAY VISIT

VATICAN CITY, NOV 7, 2000 (VIS) - His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of all the Armenians, arrives in Rome tomorrow afternoon to start a four-day visit which will include an ecumenical celebration in St. Peter's Basilica with Pope John Paul at 11:30 Friday morning, November 10.

All hymns and songs of Friday's celebration will be of the liturgical tradition of the Armenian Church. Both John Paul II and Karekin II will delivery the homily, following which a relic of St. Gregory the Armenian, known as Gregory the Enlightened, will be given by the Pope to His Holiness Karekin II. The relic, which has been in Naples and was brought to Rome by Cardinal Michele Giordano, archbishop of Naples, will be placed in the cathedral of Yerevan, Armenia.

His Holiness Karekin II is scheduled to arrive late tomorrow afternoon with an entourage, composed of representatives of the Church in Armenia, North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Australia. They will be welcomed at the Vatican's St. Martha Residence by Cardinal Edward Cassidy, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. On November 9, 10 and 11, the Catholicos will, among other events, meet privately with Pope John Paul, visit offices of the Roman Curia, go to the Pontifical Armenian College for lunch and a visit, have lunch with the Holy Father, attend a reception offered by the Embassy of Armenia to the Holy See, and visit the four patriarchal basilicas of Rome.

Before his election in October 1999 to succeed Karekin I, who died in June of that year, Karekin II, baptized Ktrij Nersissian, was archbishop of Ararat and vicar general of the see of Etchmiadzin. He is now the leader of seven million apostolic Armenian Christians in Armenia and the diaspora.

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THOUSANDS OF DUTCH PILGRIMS

VATICAN CITY, NOV 7, 2000 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican Basilica, the Pope received thousands of pilgrims from the Netherlands who have come to Rome on a Jubilee pilgrimage.

In his address, the Pope said that "bearing witness to Christ is a task that concerns the Church and the individual faithful at all levels. ... Still today, many of your fellow countrymen and women work in the vast field of the mission and human promotion. They are a sign of blessing for you as they demonstrate the vital and generous nature of your path of faith. Yet they also represent a caution and a reminder to your communities not to diminish their missionary fervor."

"It is important to deepen the communion that the Church in Holland has with Peter's Successor and, through him, with the universal Church. Indeed, it is on the foundation of unity that diversity contributes to reviving and enriching the entire body of Christ. Dialogue in charity and truth must always characterize the relationship that individuals and communities have between themselves and with the Church."

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CARDINAL CASSIDY: DEVELOPMENTS IN JEWISH-CATHOLIC RELATIONS

VATICAN CITY, NOV 7, 2000 (VIS) - Cardinal Edward Idris Cassidy, president of the Commission for Religious Relations with Jews, spoke yesterday at the University of Pennsylvania at the invitation of the Penn Newman-Hillel Ad Hoc Committee on Christian Jewish Relations. His address was entitled "Developments in Jewish-Catholic Relations. A New Spirit for a New Millennium."

Cardinal Cassidy highlighted the attention given by Pope John Paul II in his 22-year pontificate to building a better Jewish-Catholic relationship. He pointed to the Pope's visits to Rome's synagogue in 1986 and to the concentration camp at Auschwitz, his numerous public statements regarding Catholic-Jewish relations, his meetings with representatives of the Jewish people and his pilgrimage this past March to the Holy Land, including a visit to the Yad Vashem memorial.

The cardinal also quoted the Holy Father on the need for a Jewish-Catholic theological dialogue: "Theological reflection is part of the human intelligence and gives witness to our conscious acceptance of God's will."

During his stay in Philadelphia, Cardinal Cassidy celebrated Mass at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary and received an award from the Catholic Leadership Institute.

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COUNCIL DECLARATION ON ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT

VATICAN CITY, NOV 7, 2000 (VIS) - Following is the text of a declaration released today by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, and signed by Cardinal Francis Arinze, council president:

"In the last weeks the situation in Israel and in the Territories under the Palestinian Authority has deteriorated seriously. Tension has mounted, and conflict has resulted in a large number of victims.

"We wish to express our solidarity with all who have lost members of their families, and with all those who continue to suffer.

"We therefore appeal to the Jewish and Palestinian people to forgo violence and to take up once again that dialogue which is the only way to true peace.

"We reaffirm the importance of the Holy City of Jerusalem for Jews, Christians and Muslims. There can be no exclusive claim to the city. Jerusalem belongs moreover to the spiritual patrimony of humanity. There must be free access to its Holy Places for all, and especially for Jews, Christians and Muslims."

It concludes by stating that "religious leaders must be conscious of their responsibility in this matter."

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FIFTH PUBLIC SESSION OF PONTIFICAL ACADEMIES HELD TODAY

VATICAN CITY, NOV 7, 2000 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican, the fifth public session of the Council for Coordinating Pontifical Academies was celebrated under the presidency of Cardinal Paul Poupard, president of the council. The theme of the gathering was: "For a renewed Epiphany of beauty: Artists as protagonists of Christian humanism."

Taking part in today's session were members of the Pontifical Academies of St. Thomas Aquinas, of Theology and of Mary Immaculate as well as members of the International Marian Pontifical Academy, the Pontifical Academy of Fine Arts and Literature "dei Virtuosi al Pantheon," The Pontifical Roman Academy of Archeology and the Pontifical Academy "Cultorum Martyrum."

Following speeches by professors and academics, interspersed with classical music, Cardinal Poupard, who is also president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, gave an address and presented, in the name of John Paul II, the Pontifical Academies' prize.

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, NOV 7, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Appointed Fr. Malcolm Patrick McMahon O.P., prior of Blackfriars at Oxford, England, as bishop of Nottingham (area 13,074, population 3,560,000, Catholics 142,600, priests 189, permanent deacons 14, religious 301), England. The bishop-elect was born in London, England, in 1949 and ordained a priest in 1982. He succeeds Bishop James Joseph McGuinness, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.
- Appointed Fr. Mark Jabale O.S.B., abbot of Belmont, as coadjutor bishop of Menevia (area 9,716, population 611,679, Catholics 28,764, priests 57, religious 171), Wales. The bishop-elect was born in Alexandria, Egypt, in 1933 and ordained a priest in 1958.

- Appointed Cardinal Bernardin Gantin, dean of the College of Cardinals, as his special envoy to the National Eucharistic Congress of Haiti, due to take place at Port-au-Prince from December 1 to 3.

- Appointed Fr. Jerome E. Listecki of the clergy of Chicago, U.S.A., pastor of the parish of St. Ignatius, as auxiliary bishop of Chicago (area 3,653, population 5,682,000, Catholics 2,358,000, priests 1,725, permanent deacons 612, religious 3,469). The bishop-elect was born in Chicago in 1949 and ordained a priest in 1975.

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U.N. REPORTS 22.3 MILLION REFUGEES, DISPLACED PERSONS WORLDWIDE

VATICAN CITY, NOV 7, 2000 (VIS) - Archbishop Renato Martino, Holy See permanent observer to the United Nations, spoke yesterday before the Third Committee of the 55th session of the General Assembly on Item 109, the Report of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Questions Relating to Refugees, Returnees and Displaced Persons and Humanitarian Questions.

He pointed to "the steady success" of the work of the UNHCR regarding refugees and displaced persons but added that "unfortunately ... there continue to be situations where people are forced from their homes. This remains one of the great tragedies of our times."

The archbishop cited data from the UNHCR Report on refugees, saying their numbers has increased worldwide to 22.3 million, of whom 11.6 million are refugees and 4.08 internally displaced persons. He stated that from 50 to 70 percent are children, "some of whom have lived their entire life in a refugee camp."

Archbishop Martino, underscoring that "poor countries have borne the heaviest burden of receiving refugees," declared that they "need the solidarity of the international community, particularly of the wealthier nations, who accept only a small part of this burden."

"The Holy See," he said, "continues to call for a peaceful solution of conflicts and the recognition and respect of human dignity. ... (It) encourages the development of a clearer system of responsibility for internally displaced persons and welcomes the work of the upcoming World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance."

"The Holy See welcomes the special attention that was given to family protection issues," he concluded. "It is no surprise to my delegation to read in paragraph 21 of the Report that '... experience has shown that the family unit has a better chance of reintegrating in their home or integrating into a new country than do individual refugees'."

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