HOLY FATHER'S APPEAL FOR AFGHANISTAN

VATICAN CITY, FEB 28, 2001 (VIS) - At the conclusion of this morning's general audience, held in the Paul VI Hall, John Paul II made the following appeal:

"A grave humanitarian emergency is occurring in Afghanistan. Alarming news is arriving of countless victims among the evacuees due to drought and civil war. Thousands of people are in danger of dying of hunger and cold, above all children, the sick, and the elderly.

"I express my great appreciation for the efforts of the humanitarian organizations that are attempting to bring urgent assistance to the Afghan people. While I ask the international community to not forget this tragic situation, I hope that the sides in conflict, in a war which has been too long and bloody, will arrange an immediate ceasefire so that assistance can reach the areas most at risk in time."

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LENT: RELIVING JESUS' FAST AND PRAYERS IN THE DESERT

VATICAN CITY, FEB 28, 2001 (VIS) - In today's general audience, held in the Paul VI Hall, the Holy Father spoke about the liturgical season of Lent, which begins today, Ash Wednesday.

"The Lenten period," the Pope said, "invites us above all to relive with Jesus the forty days which He spent in the desert, fasting and praying, before beginning his public mission, which will culminate on Calvary with the sacrifice of the Cross, the definitive victory over sin and death."

After recalling that man is destined for eternal life, John Paul II affirmed that the Ash Wednesday liturgy "helps us to place this fundamental truth of faith in focus and urges us to undertake a decisive program of personal renewal. We must change our way of thinking and acting, fixing our gaze upon the face of Christ and making His Gospel our daily rule of life. 'Be converted and believe in the Gospel': may this be our Lenten program, as we enter into a climate of prayerful listening to the Spirit."

The Pope recalled that the means for living Lent well are "prayer, fasting, and penance, as well as almsgiving, that is, the sharing of what we own with the needy. It involves a personal and communal ascetic journey, which is sometimes particularly difficult due to the secularized environment which surrounds us. Precisely for this reason, however, the effort must become stronger and more resolute."

"The fruit of such a courageous ascetic program cannot but be a greater opening to the needs of one's neighbor. The person who loves the Lord cannot close his eyes before persons and peoples tried by suffering and misery.

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, FEB 28, 2001 (VIS) - The Holy Father received today in audience Archbishop Hans Schwemmer, apostolic nuncio in Papua New Guinea.

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