POPE WELCOMES ROME'S CLERGY IN TRADITIONAL MEETING

VATICAN CITY, MAR 1, 2001 (VIS) - Pope John Paul this morning welcomed the clergy from the diocese of Rome in the Vatican's Clementine Hall, saying that this annual appointment at the start of Lent was "very important" to him, allowing him to directly meet and thank those who share in assisting him as bishop of the diocese of Rome.

Calling Lent "a favorable time, a time of grace," he said it is also "an active time, in parishes and every ecclesial reality, that is lived with great spiritual and pastoral intensity. Many, therefore, are the appointments awaiting you. ... However, concern about 'doing' should never prevail over those decisive factors of a spiritual and interior nature which are the one solid foundation of the however necessary and intense pastoral activity."

The Holy Father then spoke of the importance of "nurturing a spirituality of communion in every community." He especially emphasized the fraternal communion that should exist "among pastors and vicars, old priests and young ones and especially towards your confreres who are sick or in difficulty."

Part of this commitment to communion, he added, is "listening to the people of God. ... I am thinking of those many people who, for reasons of work and the intense rhythms of life, need to be listened to and accompanied, in catechesis and in preparation for the sacraments, in different times and ways, and answering their particular needs."

John Paul II then referred to the traditional blessing of homes in Rome by pastors during the Easter season. He said that these encounters put "us in contact with many sufferings and much poverty, ... in the families and neighborhoods of Rome. ... As did Christ the Good Shepherd, seek out every man, woman, boy, girl or older person who awaits a gesture of affection, solidarity and fraternal sharing."

The Pope also touched upon the important meeting scheduled for the diocese in June, remarking that its scope will be "to set in motion a new and fruitful season of evangelization in our city."

In closing remarks, he thanked Rome's clergy, as well as its young people, for their "availability and generosity" during the Great Jubilee. "Dear priests," he said, "love these young people with the same heart as Christ and have faith in each one of them, sustain their enthusiasm and educate them to be witnesses of faith among their peers."

AC;CLERGY; ROME;...;...;VIS;20010301;Word: 390;