MARRIAGE AND FAMILY INSTITUTE CELEBRATES 20TH ANNIVERSARY

VATICAN CITY, MAY 15, 2001 (VIS) - The John Paul II Pontifical Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family, founded by Pope John Paul II on May 13, 1981, this weekend celebrated the twentieth anniversary of its foundation. This afternoon a commemoration will be held at the Institute, which is a part of the Pontifical Lateran University.

The Institute has branches on five continents, with seats in Washington D.C., Mexico D.F., Guadalajara, Valencia, and Salvador de Bahia. Other academic institutes for studies on marriage and the family, working in collaboration with the John Paul II Institute, are in Benin, India, Australia, Ireland, and Austria.

The opening anniversary celebration will take place at 4 this afternoon, with the blessing of the newly restored "John Paul II Auditorium" by Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family. Following this, an academic seminar will be presided over by Bishop Angelo Scola, president of the Institute and rector of the Pontifical Lateran University. Bishop's Scola's discourse, entitled "'Familiaris Consortio' and Nuptial Mystery," will discuss the Holy Father's Apostolic Exhortation 'Familiaris Consortio," also celebrating its 20th anniversary, which was the inspiration of the Institute's work. Archbishop Carlo Caffarra of Ferrara-Comacchio, former dean of the Familiaris Consortio Institute, will speak on the theme: "'Familiaris Consortio' - the John Paul II Institute and the Current Situation of Marriage and the Family."

Two other celebratory moments are scheduled. The Pope will receive the members of the Institute in audience on May 31. The Fourth Colloquium on Moral Theology will be held on November 16 and 17th.

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