PROMOTING A CHRISTIAN CULTURE AND LIFESTYLE

VATICAN CITY, MAY 17, 2001 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican Synod Hall, John Paul II received the participants of the General Assembly of the Italian Episcopal Conference, whose central theme was pastoral directives for the next decade.

After thanking the bishops for "the spiritual and pastoral dynamism which characterizes the Church in Italy," the Pope made reference to "the widespread tendencies to live 'as if God did not exist', and these tendencies often are emphasized and echoed by the media, with serious risks for the moral formation of individuals and the community. It is a part of the pastor's mission both to teach with clarity the correct doctrine in matters of faith and morals, and to support and encourage all those initiatives which can offer a valid alternative to similar tendencies. ... The Pope ... is at your side in the commitment to promote and spread, also through the instruments of communications, a culture and lifestyle inspired by Christianity."

The Holy Father emphasized that "a decisive factor for the present and future fortunes of Italy is without doubt the family." He reaffirmed that "it is indispensable that the families themselves become more fully protagonists in evangelization and the social life, in order that their authentic identity is defended and their role adequately recognized. I renew, therefore, the request that the rights of the family founded on marriage be safeguarded, without confusing this with other forms of cohabitation. ... Commitment to the family is inseparable from support of human life."

"The education of new generations," the Pope said, "represents in turn one of our fundamental pastoral concerns." In this sense, he added, "the task of the school is enormously significant. ... (The Church) renews the strong call to finally realize an effective scholastic equality, overcoming old statal conceptions."

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