PROTECT CHILDREN, THE MOST PRECIOUS MEMBERS OF THE HUMAN FAMILY

VATICAN CITY, NOV 16, 2000 (VIS) - Archbishop Renato Martino, apostolic nuncio and Holy See permanent observer to the United Nations, spoke yesterday in New York before the plenary of the 55th session of the General Assembly on Item 42, Special Session of the General Assembly in 2001 for Follow-Up to the World Summit for Children.

"This past April," stated the archbishop, "the Commission on Human Rights expressed its concern that the situation of children in many parts of the world remains critical as a result of poverty, inadequate social and economic conditions in an increasingly globalized world economy, pandemics, natural disasters, armed conflicts, displacement, exploitation, illiteracy, hunger, intolerance, disability, and inadequate legal protection."

He pointed out that "those issues concerning children that have demanded the attention of the world for so many years continue to be the center of our attention. The recently adopted optional protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child are evidence of this concern."

"The Catholic Church," affirmed Archbishop Martino, "has always recognized that children are the most precious and, at the same time, the most vulnerable members of the human family and in need of the greatest protection."
He added that the Holy See delegation hoped that the discussion during the preparatory meetings for the 2001 UN Special Session for follow-up to the World Summit for Children "will center especially on how to bring peace to situations of armed conflict and violence, end hunger, protect the family, strengthen education, stop discrimination, provide better health care, build stability and maintain security."

"It is the hope of the Holy See," Archbishop Martino said in conclusion, "that the discussions throughout the United Nations system will center around ways to move forward, rather than simply languish on issues that are never resolved."

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GREETINGS TO ECUMENICAL INSTITUTE OF BOSSEY

VATICAN CITY, NOV 16, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father this morning, in what has become a traditional meeting, greeted a group from the Ecumenical Institute of Bossey. He expressed his thanks "to the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity for organizing your program, intended to help you understand the Catholic faith more deeply."

The Switzerland-based institute was founded in 1946 as an integral part of the World Council of Churches. Its primary aims are to provide training for future ecumenical leaders, both clergy and lay, and to promote ecumenical theology.

Referring to their pilgrimage to Rome during the Jubilee Year, John Paul II said "you come then to a place revered not only for its history and art, but for the heritage of the blood of the martyrs which has proven so rich a seed of Christian life throughout the world."

He went on to say that "in recent months, the staff of the Institute has helped to prepare you who are students to be better equipped to serve the cause of Christian unity in your respective countries. In this great task you will find the Catholic Church a trustworthy partner. There can be no turning back from our shared commitment to work for the full, visible union of all the followers of Christ."

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CONFERENCE TO PRESENT CONGRESS OF CATHOLIC LAITY

VATICAN CITY, NOV 16, 2000 (VIS) - At 11:30 a.m. on Monday, November 20 in the Holy See Press Office, Cardinal James Francis Stafford and Bishop Stanislaw Rylko, respectively president and secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, will present the Congress of Catholic Laity which is to be held in Rome from November 25 to 30.

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JUBILEE OF THE SYRO-ANTIOCHEAN AND SYRO-MALANKARA CHURCHES

VATICAN CITY, NOV 16, 2000 (VIS) - From November 19 to 21, the Jubilee of the Syro-Antiochean and Syro-Malankara Churches will be celebrated. The culminating moment of this Jubilee will be a Mass in Rome's basilica of St. Mary in Trastevere at 4 p.m. on November 21. The ceremony will be presided by His Beatitude Ignace Moussa I Daoud, Patriarch of Antioch of the Syrians and Archbishop Cyril Baselios Malancharuvil, Metropolitan of Trivandrum of the Syro-Malankarese.

The Syro-Antiochean Church takes its name from the city of Antioch in which the first communities of Christians were formed. It was in that city that Christ's followers first received the name of Christians.

The Syro-Catholics are above all located in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. In 1996 a diocese of the Syro-Catholic rite was erected in the United States; the diocese also has jurisdiction over Canada. The present patriarch, Ignace Moussa I Daoud, resides in Beirut, Lebanon.

The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church is the "Church of St. Thomas," and traces its origin to the preaching of St. Thomas the Apostle. The Church, which is located in India, has four religious congregations: The Order of the Imitation of Christ (Bethany Fathers); the Sisters of the Imitation of Christ; the Daughters of Mary and the Kristia Sanyasa Sabha (Christian religious congregation). Faithful to their spiritual and liturgical heritage, they dedicate themselves to the evangelization of non-Christians.

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SPECIAL ENVOYS NAMED TO TWO EUCHARISTIC CONGRESSES

VATICAN CITY, NOV 16, 2000 (VIS) - Made public today were two papal letters appointing Cardinals Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino and Dario Castrillon Hoyos as special envoys; the former to the Eucharistic Congress of El Salvador and the latter to the Eucharistic Congress of Chile and the consecration of the new cathedral of St. Bernard, Chile. Both events will take place on November 25 and 26. The letters are written in Latin and bear the dates, respectively, of October 17 and October 25.

The mission accompanying Cardinal Ortega, archbishop of La Habana, Cuba, is made up of Msgr. Fabio Colindres Abarca, vicar general of the military ordinary of El Salvador and Fr. Jesus Delgado Acevedo, episcopal vicar for education and culture in the archdiocese of San Salvador and pastor of the parish of "San Jose de la Montana," also in San Salvador.

Cardinal Castrillon, prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, will be accompanied by Msgrs. Jesus del Castillo Perez de Iriarte, vicar general of the diocese of San Bernardo, Chile; Santo Gangemi, secretary of the apostolic nunciature in Santiago, Chile and Ignacio Ducasse Medina, rector of the major pontifical Seminary of the Guardian Angels in Santiago.

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, NOV 16, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Appointed Bishop Wojciech Ziemba of Elk as metropolitan archbishop of Bialystok (area 5,550, population 456,925, Catholics 377,911, priests 330, religious 201), Poland. The bishop-elect was born in Wampierzow, Poland, in 1941, ordained a priest in 1967 and consecrated a bishop in 1982. He succeeds Archbishop Stanislaw Szymecki, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

- Appointed Bishop Edward Samsel, auxiliary of Elk (area 11,000, population 446,550, Catholics 423,050, priests 289, religious 192), Poland, as bishop of the same diocese.

- Appointed Fr. Adam Szal, rector of the major seminary of Przemysl of the Latins (area 9,750, poulation 820,000, Catholics 817,976, priests 967, religious 1,381), Poland, as auxiliary of the same archdiocese. The bishop-elect was born in Lancut, Poland, in 1953 and ordained a priest in 1979.

- Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the archdiocese of Wroclaw, Poland, presented by Auxiliary Bishop Jozef Pazdur, upon having reached the age limit.

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, NOV 16, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:

- Cardinal Jozef Tomko, prefect for the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
- Archbishop Georg Eder of Salzburg, Austria.
- Fr. Carlos Antonio Avila V.I., superior of the "sui iuris" mission in Tadjikistan.
- Cardinal Rosalio Jose Castillo Lara S.D.B., president emeritus of Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State

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