ALL THE FAITHFUL ARE CALLED TO SANCTITY AND MISSION

VATICAN CITY, JAN 20, 2001 (VIS) - This morning in the Paul VI Hall, the Holy Father addressed a symposium commemorating the tenth anniversary of the publication of his Encyclical "Redemptoris missio."

John Paul II emphasized that "missionary activity towards un-evangelized peoples and groups is still necessary, particularly in certain areas of the world and in specific cultural contexts. ... In fact, the mission 'ad gentes' is necessary everywhere today.

"At the center of missionary activity is the announcement of Christ, the knowledge and experience of His love," the Holy Father continued. "This announcement does not detract from the independence of activities such as dialogue and human advancement, rather, it bases them in widespread charity and directs them toward a witness that constantly respects others in the attentive discernment of that which the Spirit arouses in them."

When "the proclamation of the Gospel and public fidelity to Christ are hindered for various reasons, a Christian always has the possibility to collaborate in the work of salvation through prayer, example, dialogue, and humanitarian service."

After stressing that "the call to mission is a continuous call to sanctity," the Holy Father affirmed: "Only in this way can the light of Christ, reflected in the face of the Church, also enlighten the men of our time.

"This, then, is the principle task of the Successor of Peter, called to ensure and promote the communion and universal mission of the Church. It is the responsibility of the Roman Curia and the bishops who share such an exalted ministry with him. It is a responsibility, also, from which believers of every age and condition cannot separate themselves."

AC;REDEMPTORIS MISSIO;...;...;VIS;20010122;Word: 290;

DECLARATION ON VISIT TO VATICAN OF INDONESIAN MINISTER

VATICAN CITY, JAN 20, 2001 (VIS) - Holy See Press Office Director Joaquin Navarro-Valls released the following declaration late yesterday:

"This morning, January 19, the Holy Father received Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Alwi Shihab, who brought a message from the president of Indonesia, Dr. Abdurrahman Wahid. Following this, the minister also met with Cardinal Secretary of State Angelo Sodano, and with Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran, secretary for Relations with States.

"The concerns of the Indonesian Catholic community following recent tragic incidents of religious intolerance, were among topics discussed. The minister renewed the Indonesian government's concrete commitment to do its utmost to restore traditional religious harmony. In conclusion, the process of normalization currently in progress in East Timor was addressed."

OP;MINISTER INDONESIA;...;NAVARRO-VALLS;VIS;20010122;Word: 130;

JOHN PAUL II BLESSES LAMBS ON FEAST OF ST. AGNES

VATICAN CITY, JAN 20, 2001 (VIS) - Pope John Paul, continuing an ancient tradition, this morning blessed several baby lambs whose wool will be used to make the palliums given every year to new metropolitan archbishops as symbols of their office. The ceremony took place in a room adjacent to the Paul VI Hall.

The blessing of the lambs, who are under one year of age, takes place on or near the January 21 feast of St. Agnes for whom the traditional symbol is a lamb. This virgin-martyr died about 350 and is buried in the basilica named after her on Rome's Via Nomentana. Traditionally the lambs are raised by the Trappist fathers of the Abbey of the Three Fountains and, when shorn, their wool is made into the palliums by the sisters of St. Cecilia.
In a 1978 document, "Inter Eximina Episcopalis," Pope Paul VI restricted use of the pallium to the Pope and metropolitan archbishops, In 1984 Pope John Paul decreed that it would be conferred on the metropolitans by the Pope on the June 29 solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles.

JPII-BLESSING LAMBS;...;...;ST.AGNES;VIS;20010122;Word: 190;

JOHN PAUL NAMES 37 NEW CARDINALS, WILL REVEAL "IN PECTORE" NAMES

VATICAN CITY, JAN 21, 2001 (VIS) - This morning before reciting the angelus with several thousand faithful who had gathered in St. Peter's Square, Pope John Paul announced that on February 21 he will hold the eighth consistory of his pontificate in which he will create 37 new cardinals. He will also reveal the names of the two cardinals reserved "in pectore" in the consistory on February 21 1998.

"Today," said the Holy Father, "I have the joy to announce that next February 21, vigil of the feast of the Chair of Peter, I will hold a consistory in which, deviating once again from the numerical limit established by Pope Paul VI, which I confirmed in the Apostolic Constitution 'Universi dominici gregis', I will name 37 new cardinals."

He then listed the future cardinals:

1. Archbishop Giovanni Battista Re, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.
2. Archbishop Francois Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.
3. Archbishop Agostino Cacciavillan, president of APSA (Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See).
4. Archbishop Sergio Sebastiani, president of the Prefecture of the Economic Affairs of the Holy See.
5. Archbishop Zenon Grocholewski, prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education.
6. Archbishop Jose Saraiva Martins, O.F.M., prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
7. Archbishop Crescenzio Sepe, secretary general of the Committee of the Great Jubilee.
8. Archbishop Jorge Maria Mejia, archivist and librarian of Holy Roman Church. 9. His Beatitude Ignace Moussa I Daoud, prefect of the Congregation for Oriental Churches.
10. Archbishop Mario Francesco Pompedda, prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signature.
11. Bishop Walter Kasper, emeritus of Rottenburg-Stuttgart, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.
12. Archbishop Antonio Jose Gonzalez Zumarraga of Quito, Ecuador.
13. Archbishop Ivan Dias of Bombay, India.
14. Archbishop Geraldo Majella Agnelo of Sao Salvador da Bahia, Brazil.
15. Archbishop Pedro Rubiano Saenz of Bogota, Colombia.
16. Archbishop Theodore Edgar McCarrick of Washington, U.S.A.
17. Archbishop Desmond Connell of Dublin, Ireland.
18. Archbishop Audrys Juozas Backis of Vilnius, Lithuania.
19. Archbishop Francisco Javier Errazuriz Ossa of Santiago de Chile, Chile.
20. Archbishop Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
21. Archbishop Bernard Agre of Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
22. Archbishop Louis-Marie Bille of Lyon, France.
23. Archbishop Ignacio Antonio Velasco Garcia, S.D.B., of Caracas, Venezuela.
24. Archbishop Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne of Lima, Peru.
25. Archbishop Francisco Alvarez Martinez of Toledo, Spain.
26. Archbishop Claudio Hummes, O.F.M., of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
27. Archbishop Varkey Vithayathil, C.SS.R, archbishop major of Ernakulam-Angamaly of the Syro-Malabars, India.
28. Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio, S.J., of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
29. Archbishop Jose da Cruz Policarpo, patriarch of Lisbon, Portugal.
30. Archbishop Severino Poletto of Turin, Italy.
31. Archbishop Cormac Murphy-O'Connor of Westminster, Great Britain.
32. Archbishop Edward Michael Egan of New York, U.S.A.

At this point the Pope said: "I wish to raise to the dignity of a cardinal two venerable prelates and three well-deserving ecclesiastics, especially worthy for their commitment in service to the Church. They are:

1. His Beatitude Stephanos II Ghattas, C.M., patriarch of Alexandria of the Copts.
2. Archbishop Jean Honore, emeritus of Tours.
3. Fr. Roberto Tucci, president of the Administrative Committee of Vatican Radio.
4. Msgr. Leo Scheffczyk of the archdiocese of Munchen und Freising.
5. Fr. Avery Dulles, S.J., professor emeritus of Fordham University of New York, U.S.A.

"The new cardinals come from every part of the world," added John Paul II. "In them we can see the universality of the Church with the multiplicity of her ministries: along with the prelates who have given worthy service to the Holy See, there are pastors who spend their energy in direct contact with the faithful.
"I also have the intention of announcing very soon the names of the cardinals whom I have reserved 'in pectore'," he said in concluding remarks. "There are many other persons who are very dear to me and who, through their dedicated service to the people of God, would be worthy of being raised to the dignity of cardinal. I hope at a future moment to have the occasion to give witness, in this same way, to them and to those countries which have my esteem and my affection."

ANG;CONSISTORY; CARDINALS;...;...;VIS;20010122;Word: 700;

NINTH WORLD DAY OF THE SICK TO BE HELD IN SYDNEY

VATICAN CITY, JAN 20, 2001 (VIS) - The Ninth World Day of the Sick will be celebrated in Sydney, Australia on Saturday and Sunday, February 10 and 11, on the theme "The New Evangelization and the Dignity of the Suffering Person."

On Saturday there will be a day-long conference in the Mary MacKillop Place on this theme. Archbishop Javier Lozano Barragan, president of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral of Health Care, will give the keynote address in the morning. Some of the topics which will be discussed are Catholic Aboriginal Ministry, Catholic Health Care: An Essential Church Ministry, and Evangelizing in the Health System: Ethical, Legal and Pastoral Questions. There will also be workshops on Sustaining Catholic Identity and they will focus on the Catholic doctor, Catholic nurse and Catholic chaplain.

On Sunday, February 11, feast of Our Lady of Lourdes when the World Day of the Sick is traditionally celebrated, there will be morning visits to several health care institutions and an early afternoon solemn Eucharistic Celebration at the Sydney Cathedral, St. Mary Help of Christians.

CON-AVA;WORLD DAY SICK;...;SYDNEY; LOZANO;VIS;20010122;Word: 190;

ARCHBISHOP CORDES TO TRAVEL TO EL SALVADOR

VATICAN CITY, JAN 20, 2001 (VIS) - As announced in a communique made public today, Archbishop Paul Josef Cordes, president of the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum," will travel to El Salvador on Tuesday, January 23, "to bring the comfort and assistance of the Holy Father to the victims of the earthquake which has struck the country."

Archbishop Cordes, accompanied by Archbishop Giacinto Berloco, apostolic nuncio in El Salvador, will visit some of the families affected by the disaster and, on the afternoon of Wednesday, January 24, will celebrate Mass for the earthquake victims in the cathedral of San Salvador. In a subsequent meeting with Archbishop Fernandez Saenz Lacalle of San Salvador, and other members of the episcopal conference, Archbishop Cordes will present the Pope's gift of $100,000, given as a sign of his closeness to the peoples affected.

Archbishop Cordes will pay a visit the same day to the president of the Republic, Francisco Flores, and to the organizations in charge of aid, disaster clean-up, and reconstruction. A discussion with representatives of the various Catholic organizations which are offering assistance is also planned. Among these are several national Caritas groups and "Manos Unidas," as well as some non-governmental organizations.

...;VISIT EL SALVADOR;...;CORDES; SAENZ;VIS;20010122;Word: 210;

POPE RECEIVES NEW AMBASSADOR FROM IRAN

VATICAN CITY, JAN 22, 2001 (VIS) - The Holy Father this morning welcomed Mostafa Borujerdi, the new ambassador from the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Holy See, who presented his Letters of Credence. In his speech the Pope highlighted "the importance of a true dialogue between cultures," recalling in particular that 2001 is the International Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations.

"Our world," he observed, "is made up of an amazing complexity and diversity of human cultures. Each of these cultures is distinct by virtue of its particular historical development and the resulting characteristics which make it an original and organic whole."

John Paul II went on to say that "it is largely through culture that people acquire a sense of national identity and develop a love of their country: these are values to be fostered, not with narrow-mindedness, but with respect and compassion for the whole human family. As I had occasion to remark in my Message for the 2001 World Day of Peace, efforts must be made 'to avoid those pathological manifestations which occur when the sense of belonging turns into self-exaltation, the rejection of diversity, and forms of nationalism, racism and xenophobia'."

The Holy Father remarked that "the recognition that every culture ... necessarily has limitations ... helps to prevent pride in one's own culture from becoming isolation or from turning into prejudice and prosecution against other cultures. The attentive study of other cultures will reveal that beneath seemingly divergent traits there are significant internal elements held in common, ... values which are common to all cultures because they are rooted on the very nature of the human person." He said these values include solidarity, peace, education, forgiveness, reconciliation and "the value of life itself."

Pope John Paul said he was "pleased" to note that "the Holy See and Iranian authorities have worked together to provide opportunities for such dialogue. ... Such dialogue will surely help governments and legislators in safeguarding the civil and social rights of individuals and peoples, especially the fundamental right to religious freedom ... which is a point of reference of all other rights. ... Accordingly, even in cases where the State grants a special juridical position to a particular religion, there is a duty to ensure that the right to freedom of conscience is legally recognized and effectively respected for all citizens and for foreigners residing in the country."

"In this regard," the Pope concluded, "the Holy See counts on the support of the Iranian authorities in ensuring that the Catholic faithful of Iran - present in that region of the world since the first centuries of Christianity - will enjoy the freedom to profess their faith and to continue to be a part of the rich cultural life of the nation. Although the Christian community is but a tiny minority in the overall population, it sees itself as truly Iranian."

CD;LETTERS CREDENCE;...;IRAN; BORUJERDI;VIS;20010122;Word: 480;

A STATISTICAL LOOK AT THE COLLEGE OF CARDINALS

VATICAN CITY, JAN 21, 2001 (VIS) - The consistory scheduled for February 21 will be the eighth of Pope John Paul's 22-year pontificate and will bring to 154 the number of cardinals whom he has created.

In his first consistory on June 30, 1979, the Holy Father named 14 cardinals, in addition to one reserved "in pectore," whose name was revealed in 1991: He was Chinese Cardinal Ignatius Gong Pin-mei. The next six consistories were held on: February 2, 1983 (18 cardinals); May 25, 1985 (28 cardinals); June 28, 1988 (24 cardinals: The Pope had also named theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar when he made the announcement on May 29 but von Balthasar died on June 26, before the consistory); June 28, 1991 (22 cardinals); November 26, 1994 (30 cardinals), and February 21, 1998 (20 cardinals, plus 2 reserved "in pectore. The Pope had also placed the name of Archbishop Giuseppe Uhac on the list of future cardinals but he died before the Pope publicly announced the names on January 18).

The College of Cardinals on February 21 will number 178. Of these, 128 are cardinal electors in a conclave to elect a new Pope, that is to say, they are under the age of 80. John Paul II has named 87 percent of the total members of the College of Cardinals. To these figures must be added the two cardinals reserved "in pectore" in the 1998 consistory, whose names the Pope has said he would soon reveal.

Europe has 92 cardinals, of whom 60 are electors. The Americas have 50 cardinals (North America has 18 and Latin America has 32), of whom 39 are electors. Africa has 15 cardinals (12 electors), Asia has 17 (13 electors) and Oceania has 4, all of whom are cardinal electors.

The country with the largest number of cardinals is Italy with 41, including those to be created on February 21. The United States follows with 13, Brazil 8, Spain and Germany will both have 7 cardinals and Poland follows with 6.

...;STATISTICS; COLLEGE CARDINALS;...;...;VIS;20010122;Word: 290;

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, JAN 22, 2001 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Msgr. Bernard Charrier, vicar general of Nantes, as bishop of Tulle (area 5,886, population 244,000, Catholics 224,000, priests 113, permanent deacons 5, religious 107), France. The bishop-elect was born in Nantes in 1938, and ordained a priest in 1964.
On Saturday, January 20, it was made public that he appointed:

- Cardinal Edward Bede Clancy, archbishop of Sydney, Australia, as his special envoy to the Ninth World Day of the Sick. The event is due to take place in Sydney, on February 11, 2001.

- Archbishop Emil Paul Tscherrig, apostolic nuncio in Trinidad and Tobago, as apostolic nuncio in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados and the Republic of Surinam.

- Msgr. Carlo Liberati, official of the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints, as delegate of the ordinary section of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See.
NER:NA:NN/.../... VIS 20010122 (140)

AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, JAN 22, 2001 (VIS) - The Holy Father received today in separate audiences:

- His Beatitude Ignatius Moussa I Daoud, patriarch emeritus of Antioch of the Syrians, prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches.
- Cardinal Angel Suquia Goicoechea, archbishop of Madrid.
- Gustav Ortner, Austrian ambassador to the Holy See, on a farewell visit.
- Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, president of the Committee and of the Presidential Council for the Great Jubilee 2000, accompanied by Archbishop Crescenzio Sepe, secretary general of the same committee and presidential council.
- Archbishop Juliusz Paetz of Poznan, Poland.

On Saturday, January 20, he received in separate audiences:

- Cardinal Eduardo Martinez Somalo, prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, accompanied by Archbishop Piergiorgio Silvano Nesti and Frs. Jesus Torres Llorente and Diego Di Odoardo, respectively secretary, under-secretary, and bureau chief of the same congregation.
- Archbishop Giovanni Battista Re, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.

AP;...;...;...;VIS;20010122;Word: 150;

TO THE AUGUSTINIANS: HARMONIZE CONTEMPLATION AND MISSION

VATICAN CITY, JAN 22, 2001 (VIS) - This morning the Holy Father received a group of 30 Augustinian Sisters, Servants of Jesus and Mary, at the close of celebrations in honor of the 150th Anniversary of the death of their foundress, Mother Maria Teresa Spinelli.

John Paul II urged the religious to strive "to harmonize the contemplative dimension and missionary impulse, which form the two fundamental pillars of your religious identity, according to the dedicated example of Mother Spinelli."

"One who remains in constant contact with the Lord, is better able to respond to the expectations of men, especially of those in difficulty. ... Only someone who has personally encountered Christ can speak of Him effectively to the hearts of the brethren and lead them to such a profound experience of His friendship that they are interiorly touched and transformed by it."

The Holy Father called the sisters to follow the example of their foundress and her first companions, who, "imbued with Augustinian spirituality, could realize a model of communion resembling that of the first apostolic community."

AC;CONTEMPLATION; MISSION;...;AUGUSTINIANS;VIS;20010122;Word: 180;