POPE PLACES ROMAN CHURCH AT DISPOSITION OF PATRIARCHATE

VATICAN CITY, NOV 30, 2000 (VIS) - Made public today was Pope John Paul's annual Message to His Holiness Bartholomew I, archbishop of Constantinople and ecumenical patriarch, on the occasion of the celebrations in Fanar, Turkey, of today's feast of St. Andrew, patron of the Church of Constantinople.

Cardinal Edward Cassidy, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, led the Holy See delegation to the celebrations and gave the message to Patriarch Bartholomew. A similar delegation from the Church of Constantinople attends the celebrations in the Vatican each year on the June 29 feast of Sts. Peter and Paul.

The Pope wrote that the mission common to both Churches of "transmitting to future generations and to the world the salvation brought by the One Mediator, Jesus Christ, ... charges us to embrace the cause of the reestablishment of full unity of faith and life."

He recalled that, during the Jubilee Year 2000 "after a long suspension of its work, the Mixed International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches was able to meet in Baltimore for its eighth plenary session. Such a meeting is in itself an important event and was an occasion to underline the complexity of the questions being studied; however, we must note, to our great regret, that it did not allow real progress to be made in our dialogue."

John Paul II reiterated his "resolute intention of continuing the dialogue of truth and charity" and he appealed to Catholics amd Orthodox everywhere "to intensify and affirm their fraternal relations."

"With a pure and free heart," the Message concluded, "in obedience to the will of the one Lord, we must therefore continue our sincere, fraternal and loving search for full communion. It is in this perspective that I am happy to have been able to place at the disposition of the ecumenical patriarchate the ancient and beautiful church of St. Theodore on the Palatine Hill in Rome, so that it might be used for the worship and pastoral activities of the Greek orthodox community of the city, which will have the spiritual assistance necessary for its growth and for the dialogue with all Christians living in Rome."

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ATHLETES CAN TRANSMIT VALUABLE MESSAGES

VATICAN CITY, NOV 30, 2000 (VIS) - This morning in the Paul VI Hall, John Paul II received 7,000 directors, sports people and members of the Roman football team, "Associazione Sportiva Roma Calcio," who came to the Vatican to gain the Jubilee indulgence.

"For you, dear friends," said the Holy Father, "the fact that your association bears the name of Rome, represents a special commitment to live the Christian faith coherently. It is an invitation to bear daily witness, in your own environment, to evangelical love."

When lived in an appropriate way, sport becomes "the ideal environment for the exercise of numerous virtues." However, "it becomes a phenomenon of alienation when feats of ability and physical strength turn into idolatry of the body; when heightened competition reaches the point of considering the adversary as an enemy to be humiliated; when support for a team prevents objective evaluation of people and events, above all, when this degenerates into violence. Furthermore, a predominant commercial interest can turn sport into a mere search for economic gain."

The Pope highlighted a further aspect that "must not be overlooked," that of "the due sanctity of feast days" and the need for families to pass "moments of beneficial relaxation" together.

With reference to football, John Paul II affirmed that "at times, it becomes an occasion for confrontation with worrying episodes of intolerance and aggressiveness that can turn into grievous displays of violence. How important it is, then, to recall proper sporting ethics! How urgent is the responsibility of directors, of athletes, of journalists and of fans!" He concluded by indicating that athletes, "by their example, can transmit messages of great human and spiritual value."

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JOHN PAUL II TO VISIT UKRAINE FROM JUNE 21 TO 24

VATICAN CITY, NOV 30, 2000 (VIS) - This morning, Holy See Press Office Director Joaquin Navarro-Valls made the following declaration: "Confirming what I already said on Novvember 6, the Holy Father John Paul II has accepted the invitation of Leonid Kuchma, president of Ukraine, and will visit that country from June 21 to 24, 2001."

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INTERNATIONAL GATHERING ON AIDS STARTS TODAY IN VATICAN

VATICAN CITY, NOV 30, 2000 (VIS) - A press conference was held this morning in the Holy See Press Office for the presentation of the November 30-December 1 Intercontinental Meeting on AIDS which has been organized by the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers in the Vatican's St. Martha's House.

Archbishop Javier Lozano Barragan, council president, presided at the press conference. Joining him were Bishop Jose L. Redrado Marchite, O.H. and Fr. Felice Ruffini, M.I., council secretary and under-secretary, as well as Dr. Guido Castelli Gattinara of Rome's Child Jesus Hospital and Dr. Fiorenza Deriu Bagnato, social researcher.

The archbishop pointed out that there are just over 36 million people in the world who have AIDS and that, since its appearance on the world scene 21.8 million people have already died. He also noted that whereas there are countries where one percent of the populace has AIDS, there are also nations where 20-36 percent have the virus, as in several states of sub-Saharan Africa.

He said that during the Vatican meeting on AIDS, reports would be presented on the work undertaken by the pontifical council since the congress held last December on the theme "The Catholic Church and the HIV/AIDS Challenge." He added that "the Holy Father John Paul II has, on many occasions, dealt with this problem and has given us enlightened orientations which show the nature of the illness, its prevention, the behavior of patients and those who assist them, as well as the role that civil authorities and scientists must play."

Archbishop Lozano Barragan concluded by stating that "there is no doubt that the most important thing is the prevention of the illness and, in the cases of those who contract it through sexual relations, the best prevention is chastity, both within and outside of marriage, even if that means going against the current in a 'pansexual' society such as contemporary society. In all cases, God's law is always current and always observable."

This morning, the first day of the international meeting, and just prior to the press conference, Archbishop Lozano Barragan, Bishop Redrado and Dr. Deriu Bagnato addressed the doctors, scientists and other specialists gathered at St. Martha's residence. Speeches continue this afternoon, highlighted by brief presentations from representatives of Africa, America, Asia and Europe.

Tomorrow, December 1, the day will be entirely dedicated to visiting a hospital and a prison where the AIDS problem is especially present. At the end of each visit, there will be a round table discussion and dialogue with the directors of each institution.

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, NOV 30, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Erected the diocese of Fenoarivo Atsinanana (area 23,500, population 740,460, Catholics 100,000, priests 26), Madagascar, with territory taken from the archdiocese of Antsiranana, making it a suffragan of the same metropolitan church. He appointed Fr. Desire Tsarahazana, of the clergy of Antsiranana, doctorate student at the Catholic University of Lyon, France, as first bishop of the new diocese. The bishop-elect was born in Amboagibe-Sambava, Madagascar, in 1954 and ordained a priest in 1986.

- Appointed Fr. Jose Alfredo Caires De Nobrega S.C.J., superior of Dehonian novices at Antsirabe, as bishop of Mananjary (area 14,270, population 652,600, Catholics 96,200, priests 30, religious 82, Madagascar. The bishop-elect was born in Canico-Santa Cruz, Madeira, Portugal, in 1951 and ordained a priest in 1980.

- Appointed Fr. Jozef Wrobel S.C.J., professor of moral theology at the Catholic University of Lublin, Poland, as bishop of Helsinki (area 338,145, population 5,146,980, Catholics 7,052, priests 20, permanent deacons 2, religious 49), Finland. The bishop-elect was born in Bestwina, Poland, in 1952 and ordained a priest in 1980.

- Appointed Fr. Herve Renaudin, of the clergy of the archdiocese of Paris, pastor of "St. Philippe du Roule," as bishop of Pontoise (area 1,248, population 1,115,000, Catholics 829,000, priests 178, permanent deacons 13, religious 446), France. The bishop-elect was born in Paris in 1941 and ordained a priest in 1971.

- Appointed Bishop Manuel Batakian, vicar general of Beirut of the Armenians, as apostolic exarch for Armenian Catholics resident in the U.S.A. and Canada. He succeeds Bishop Hovhannes Tertsakian whose resignation was accepted by the Pope.

- Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the archdiocese of Kwangju, Korea, presented by Archbishop Victorinus Youn Kong-hi, upon having reached the age limit. He is succeeded by Archbishop Andreas Choi Chang-mou, coadjutor of the same diocese.

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, NOV 30, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:

- Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, president of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, accompanied by his wife and an entourage.
- Archbishop Michael Aidan Courtney, apostolic nuncio in Burundi.
- Archbishop Stanislav Hocevar S.D.B., coadjutor of Belgrade, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

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