Friday, November 24, 2000

POPE ADDRESSES CATHOLIC JURISTS ON THEIR JUBILEE


VATICAN CITY, NOV 24, 2000 (VIS) - More than 500 members of the International Union of Catholic Jurists were welcomed by Pope John Paul this morning in the Clementine Hall where, in his address to them, he stressed that their "Catholic character is not a sign of separation of closing, but rather a sign of openness and a manifestation of the service which jurists wish to render to the entire human community."

Addressing the jurists as they celebrate their Jubilee, the Pope went on to say that "we must, however, recognize that the danger of particularism weighs on law. If, on the one hand, particularism acts legitimately to safeguard the specific genius of each people and each culture, often on the other hand, ... it involves not only separations but also situations of unjustified rift and conflict."

The Holy Father underscored that "law is born of a deep human need which is present in all men, .... the need for justice, which is the realization of a balanced order of interpersonal and social relations, suitable for guaranteeing that each person has his due and no one is deprived of what is his due."

"Recognizing the good of everyone and promoting it," he added, "is a specific duty for all men. The order of justice is not a static order, but a dynamic one, precisely because the life of individuals and communities is itself dynamic. ... (This order) demands the continual and passionate exercise of wisdom, what the Latins called 'iurisprudentia', a wisdom which engages all of as person's energies and whose exercise constitutes one of the most noble virtuous practices of man. The possibility of giving one's due not only to relatives, friends, fellow citizens or brothers in the faith, but to every human being, simply because he or she is a person, simply because justice demands it, this is the honor of law and of jurists."

"It is law," said the Pope, "which shows the unity of mankind and the equality between all human beings."

Noting "the efforts of the international community in recent decades to proclaim, defend and promote basic human rights," he affirmed that jurists should be among the first to defend these rights. He stated that "our world needs men and women of courage, who publicly oppose the countless violations of rights" and who "denounce all situations where human dignity is disdained."

In particular Pope John Paul decried those situations where people are juridically deprived of freedoms of thought and of religion, and where "legislators or magistrates have lost the awareness of the specific juridical and social value of the family or where they show themselves ready to put other forms of life in common on the same legal level." He also denounced legislation recognizing a "pretended right" to abortion and euthanasia. Both of these, he asserted, deprive people of the most basic of human rights, the right to life.
"Law which detaches itself from anthropological and moral foundations carries within it many dangers," said the Holy Father in conclusion. "For the world of jurisprudence, it is important to pursue a hermeneutical path and to constantly bring the foundations of law to the mind and conscience of everyone."

AC;LAW; CATHOLIC JURISTS;...;...;VIS;20001124;Word: 530;

CARDINAL TOMKO SPEAKS ON "MISSION IN THE THIRD MILLENNIUM"


VATICAN CITY, NOV 24, 2000 (VIS) - Cardinal Josef Tomko, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, was the guest speaker yesterday afternoon at the colloquium on "Mission in the Third World" which was organized by the Philippine embassy to the Holy See.

The cardinal's talk, entitled "The Mission in the Third Millennium," touched upon the missionary activity of the Church, especially in the territories in Africa, Latin America and Asia. He reflected on mission and its inspiring principles, the situation of the mission and the role of the Philippines, where the Catholic population is 85 percent, in mission.

Fr. Antonio Pernia, superior general of the Society of the Divine Word, and Nilda Castro of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, also spoke of their experiences in the Third World.

...;MISSION;...;TOMKO;VIS;20001124;Word: 150;

BASIC AGREEMENT BETWEEN HOLY SEE AND REPUBLIC OF SLOVAKIA


VATICAN CITY, NOV 24, 2000 (VIS) - John Paul II today received a delegation from the Republic of Slovakia, following the signing in the Vatican of a basic Agreement between the Holy See and Slovakia on matters regarding Church-State relations. The agreement was signed by Mikulas Dzurinda, prime minister of Slovakia and by Cardinal Secretary of State Angelo Sodano.

In his brief greeting, the Pope affirmed that the new international agreement "guarantees the Church the right to freely exercise her mission, especially as regards worship, pastoral governance, teaching and other aspects of ecclesial life."

The agreement stipulates that "the civil value of canonical marriage is recognized. Furthermore, the Slovak Republic guarantees the Catholic Church the right to administer pastoral care to the faithful in hospitals, in health and social care centers, in orphanages and in penal institutions. The Church can freely institute and run charitable activities, in conformity with civil legislation. Officially-recognized Catholic schools of all levels are effectively made equal to State schools, with the same rights and duties. The teaching of religion in State schools is regulated, and the collaboration of the Church and the State is favored in order to safeguard cultural heritage. Finally, provision is made for future agreements regarding spiritual assistance to the armed forces and the police, as well as on economic matters."

AC;AGREEMENT HOLY SEE; SLOVAKIA;...;SODANO;VIS;20001124;Word: 230;

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS


VATICAN CITY, NOV 24, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Fr. Hector Javier Pizarro Acevedo O.A.R., master of students of theology at the convent-seminary of Suba, Santafe de Bogota, Colombia, as first apostolic vicar of Trinidad (area 27,075, population 70,000, priests 10), Colombia, raising him to the dignity of bishop. The bishop-elect was born in Medellin, Colombia, in 1951 and ordained a priest in 1977.

It was made public today that the synod of bishops of the Greek-Melkite Catholic Church, meeting in Raboueh, Lebanon, on November 22, 2000, availing itself of the terms of Canon 126, para. 2 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, and after having consulted with the Holy Father, accepted the resignation from office presented by His Beatitude Maximos V, Patriarch of Antioch of the Greek-Melkite Catholics.

NER; RE;...;...;PIZARRO; MAXIMOS V;VIS;20001124;Word: 130;

AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, NOV 24, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:

- Archbishop Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo, apostolic nuncio in Italy and the Republic of San Marino.
- Mikulas Dzurinda, prime minister of the Republic of Slovakia, accompanied by his entourage.
- Archbishop-bishop Stephen Fumio Hamao, emeritus of Yokohama, Japan and president of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples.

This evening, he is scheduled to receive Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B., secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

AP;...;...;...;VIS;20001124;Word: 90;