POPE IS AWARDED THE CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL

VATICAN CITY, JAN 8, 2001 (VIS) - The Holy Father this morning received a delegation from the United States Congress who awarded him with the Congressional Gold Medal in recognition of his commitment to the defence of human dignity.

"It is not for the Successor of the Apostle Peter to seek honors," said the Pope in his address to the delegation, "but I gladly accept the Congressional Gold Medal as a recognition that in my ministry there has echoed a word that can touch every human heart. It has been my endeavor to proclaim the word of God, which on the very first page of the Bible tells us that man and woman have been created in His very image and likeness.

"From this great truth," he went on, "there flows all that the Church says and does to defend dignity and to promote human life. This is a truth which we contemplate in the glory of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, crucified and risen from the dead. In the years of my ministry, but especially in the Jubilee Year just ended, I have invited all to turn to Jesus in order to discover in new and deeper ways the truth of man."

John Paul II concluded: "I accept this award as a sign that you, as legislators, recognize the importance of defending human dignity without compromise, so that your nation may not fail to live up to its high responsibilities in a world where human rights are so often disregarded."

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