VATICAN CITY STATE HAS A NEW CONSTITUTION

VATICAN CITY, FEB 1, 2001 (VIS) - Made public today was the text of the New Basic Law of Vatican City, promulgated by Pope John Paul on November 26, 2000, after an ad hoc commission he had appointed had completed its work to revise the text of the 1929 Basic Law. This earlier law was the first of six laws promulgated by Pope Pius XI following the signing of the Lateran Treaty on February 11, 1929 between the Holy See and Italy, which ended the "Roman Question" and also led to the creation of Vatican City State.

Considered Vatican City's "constitution," the current Basic Law will enter into force on February 22, 2001, feast of the Chair of Peter. Given the many changes that have occurred in the last 70 years, says a communique on the new law, it became evident that the 1929 Basic Law had to be updated and revised. The ad hoc juridical commission held 14 meetings between February and November 2000, during which they completed the revision.

Article I of the new law states, as did the old one, that "the Supreme Pontiff, Sovereign of Vatican City State, possesses the fullness of legislative, executive and judicial powers." Representation with other States is reserved to the Supreme Pontiff and is exercised through the Secretariat of State.

Legislative power is entrusted "by delegation and in a collegial way, to a Commission of Cardinals, named by the Pope to five-year terms and presided over by a president." Legislative power thus belongs, properly speaking, to the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State. Executive power is delegated by the Pope to the president of this commission. Judicial power is entrusted in a vicarial way to the civil courts of Vatican City State.

The communique on the New Basic Law notes "several significant changes: a more suitable distinction between legislative and executive powers; the power given to the Commission of Cardinals to emanate laws; the abolition of the office of governor (there had only been one governor over the years and this office has been vacant since 1952); a definition and listing of the powers and jurisdiction of the Secretariat of State.

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DISCOURSE TO THE ROMAN ROTA: THE NATURE OF MARRIAGE

VATICAN CITY, FEB 1, 2001 (VIS) - Following annual tradition, on the occasion of the inauguration of the judicial year, the Pope this morning received the dean, prelate auditors, officials, and lawyers of the Tribunal of the Roman Rota, who had participated in a Eucharistic celebration in the Pauline Chapel of the Apostolic Palace before their meeting with the Holy Father.

In his discourse, John Paul II made reference to "the numerous ambiguities which have accumulated regarding the very notion of the 'nature'" of marriage. "Above all its metaphysical concept has been forgotten. ... In this view, the nature would be pure physical, biological and sociological data, to be manipulated through techniques according to one's own interests."

The Holy Father observed that "marriage is not simply any union between human persons, able to be formed according to a variety of cultural models. ... Looking at the historic and current reality of the family, not infrequently there is a tendency to emphasize the differences, in order to relativize the very existence of a natural design for union between man and woman."

The Pope affirmed that "reference to the natural dimension of their masculinity and femininity is crucial for understanding the essence of marriage. ... An ordering to the natural ends of marriage - the good of the married couple and the procreation and education of children - is intrinsically present in masculinity and femininity. This theological character is vital for understanding the natural dimension of the union."

Speaking then of matrimonial consent, the Holy Father emphasized that to represent consent as "adhesion to a cultural scheme or positive law is not realistic, and risks uselessly complicating the assurance of the validity of the marriage. It is necessary to see if the persons, besides recognizing the person of the other, have truly grasped the essential dimension of their conjugality, which by intrinsic necessity involves faithfulness, indissolubility, and potential motherhood and fatherhood, as goods which complete a relationship of justice."

The Holy Father then paused to consider "the relationship between the natural character of marriage and its sacramentality." He recalled that "there have frequently been attempts to revitalize the supernatural aspect of marriage," proposing, among other things, "asking for the faith as a requisite to getting married."

When marriage is reduced "to a merely subjective experience," its sacramentality is implicitly negated. Still, establishing criteria for the celebration of the sacrament which take into account the degree of faith of the subjects contracting marriage involves "serious risks." In this regard the Holy Father affirmed that pronouncing "baseless and discriminatory judgements, doubts about the validity of marriages already celebrated, particularly by baptized non-Catholics, would inevitably cause a wish to separate Christian marriages from those of other persons."

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, FEB 1, 2001 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:

- Bishop Alfonso Badini Confalonieri of Susa, Italy, accompanied by family members.
- Archbishop-Bishop Emeritus Javier Lozano Barragan of Zacatecas, president of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers, accompanied by Bishop Jose Luis Redrado Marchite, secretary, and Fr. Felice Ruffini, M.I., under-secretary of the same Pontifical Council.

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HOLY FATHER'S PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR FEBRUARY

VATICAN CITY, FEB 1, 2001 (VIS) - The Holy Father's general prayer intention for February is: "That children never again will be obliged to participate in any war, but may be freed from hatred and violence and may live, as children should, enjoying friendship in their family, school, and society."

His missionary intention is: "That, through the acceptance of the Gospel, the family may be an evangelizing instrument to make humanity a true family of peoples."

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ARCHBISHOP MARTINO ADDRESSES U.N. ON CHILDREN

VATICAN CITY, FEB 1, 2001 (VIS) - Archbishop Renato Martino, apostolic nuncio and Holy See permanent observer to the United Nations, spoke yesterday in New York at the Second Substantive Session of the Preparatory Committee for the Special Session on Children, now underway at the U.N. It will end tomorrow.

He recalled that "eleven years have passed since leaders of the world gathered for the World Summit for Children." And he added that, "at this time, the Holy See notes three specific elements taken from the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Plan of Action of the World Summit for Children which must have their proper place in the final document to be adopted."

Archbishop Martino listed these three points: "1. The promotion and protection of the right to life as well as the human dignity and rights of the child, before as well as after birth; 2. The fact that the family is the basic unit of society, and 'has the primary responsibility for the nurturing and protection of children from infancy to adolescence' and 'should be afforded necessary protection and assistance so that it can duly assume its responsibility within the community'; 3. The outcome document must include strong statements concerning sustainable development, debt relief and the eradication of poverty."

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, FEB 1, 2001 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Bishop Anatole Milandou of Kinkala, as metropolitan archbishop of Brazzaville (area 14,450, population 1,388,138, Catholics 588,138, priests 102, religious 158), Republic of Congo. He succeeds Archbishop Barthelemy Batantu, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon his having reached the age limit.

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