HOLY SEE ADDRESSES INTERNATIONAL LABOR CONFERENCE

VATICAN CITY, JUN 14, 2001 (VIS) - Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, Holy See permanent observer to the Office of the United Nations and of Specialized Institutions in Geneva, addressed the 89th session of the General Labor Conference of the International Labor Organization (ILO) on the last day of its June 5 to 12 meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. That talk was published today.

Highlighting the concept of "decent work," he cited Pope John Paul's words during the Jubilee Year to workers: "All must work so that the economic system in which we live does not upset the fundamental order of the priority of work over capital, of the common good over private interest." He emphasized that "it is neither technology nor the market which are the primary subjects of work, but the human person."

A work agenda, said Archbishop Martin, must address both the quantity and quality of work. With regard to the latter, he pointed to the ILO's "pioneering and painstaking efforts" in "building up the widest possible consensus on issues such as the elimination of forced and compulsory labor and the worst forms of child labor. We must ensure that this consensus now becomes universal."

The head of delegation expressed the Holy See's satisfaction at "references in the Director General's report to the relationship between work and the family." But he urged the ILO to do more to remedy the problem of children who leave school and enter the workforce at a young age and to "integrate the concept of decent work more effectively into development and poverty reduction programs."

In closing remarks, Archbishop Martin said: "The aspiration of our initiatives to fight poverty is rightly moving from an assistential approach, with its attendant dangers of creating dependency, to one founded on empowerment, on enabling people to realize their God-given capacities. This movement to human empowerment must inevitably pass along the way of work."

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CORPUS CHRISTI: FEAST OF ADORATION AND CONTEMPLATION

VATICAN CITY, JUN 14, 2001 (VIS) - At 7 p.m. today, solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, the Pope celebrated Mass in the piazza adjacent to St. John Lateran Basilica. Cardinal Camillo Ruini, vicar general for the diocese of Rome, the vice-gerent, auxiliary bishops, and the newly ordained priests of the diocese, concelebrated with the Holy Father.

In his homily, John Paul II emphasized that the solemnity of Corpus Christi is a "feast of adoration, contemplation, and exaltation. The feast in which the People of God unite around the most precious treasure inherited from Christ, the Sacrament of His very Presence, and praise, sing, and carry Him in procession through the streets of the city."

"This is a sublime and ineffable mystery," the Pope continued, "the Mystery before which one remains spellbound and silent, in an attitude of profound ecstatic contemplation."

The Holy Father recalled that "in the Sacrament of the altar, all the depth of the mystery of Christ is offered to our loving contemplation. ... In His Body and His Blood the invisible face of Christ, the Son of God, is revealed."

By the Eucharistic bread, the Pope went on, "we nourish ourselves in order to become authentic witnesses of the Gospel. We need this bread in order to grow in love, an indispensable condition for recognizing the face of Christ in the face of one's brethren."

The Pope affirmed that "it is necessary to journey 'setting out anew' from Christ, that is, from the Eucharist. We journey with generosity and courage, seeking communion within our ecclesial community and dedicating ourselves with love to humble and selfless service toward all, especially the most needy."

"May the Christians of Rome," exclaimed the Pope at the end of his homily, "reinvigorated by His Body and by His Blood, show Christ to all with their way of life: with their unity, with their joyful faith, with their goodness!".

At the end of Mass, the Pope presided over the Eucharistic procession along Via Merulana to the Basilica of St. Mary Major. The procession was followed by tens of thousands of faithful who prayed and sang as they accompanied the Blessed Sacrament. A covered vehicle transported the Blessed Sacrament, held in a monstrance and accompanied by the Holy Father on a kneeler.

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, JUN 15, 2001 (VIS) - The Holy Father received today in separate audiences seven prelates of the Episcopal Conference of Benin, on the occasion of their "ad limina" visit:
- Bishop Marcel Honorat Leon Agboton of Porto Novo.
- Bishop Antoine Ganye of Dassa-Zoume.
- Bishop Paul Kouassivi Vieira of Djougou.
- Bishop Pascal N'Koue of Natitingou.
- Bishop Martin Adjou-Moumouni of N'Dali.
- Bishop Clet Feliho of Kandi.
- Bishop Victor Agbanou of Lokossa.

This evening he is scheduled to receive Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

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NINTH REUNION OF THE POST-SYNODAL COUNCIL OF AFRICA

VATICAN CITY, JUN 15, 2001 (VIS) - The ninth reunion of the Post-Synodal Council of the General Secretariat for the Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops, presided over by Secretary General, Cardinal Jan P. Schotte, C.I.C.M., was held in Rome on June 7 and 8.

Joining Cardinal Schotte were one cardinal, four archbishops, two bishops, and four members of the Secretariat General of the Synod. They reflected on the current social situation in Africa, the application of the Apostolic Exhortation "Ecclesia in Africa" up to this point and, in particular, emerging tendencies and new problems.

Some participants, noted a communique released today by the Synod of Bishops, recalled that "even in these very days, in certain areas of Africa, conflicts of various types persist which do not allow pastors to dedicate themselves with freedom and tranquility to normal apostolic activity, given the extreme difficulty of meeting and communicating."

"The most constructive reflection," the communique states, "is focused on the themes of globalization, the productiveness of the representation of the Church in Africa as the family of God, the means of social communication, and the ecclesial richness coming out of the entire series of continental synods."

The next meeting will be held from June 4 to 5, 2002.

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GENERAL CHAPTER: TRINITARIANS REFLECT ON "LIVING WHAT WE ARE"

VATICAN CITY, JUN 15, 2001 (VIS) - Participants in the General Chapter of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity were welcomed by Pope John Paul this morning who recalled his meeting with them three years ago as they celebrated the eighth centenary of the approval of their institute's Rule. The assembly is reflecting on the theme "Living What We Are."

"Your spirituality, which draws strength from the mystery of the Trinity and the Redemption," he noted, "has never ceased placing you at the service of prisoners and the poor in your long story marked by many examples of holiness. ... It is a spirituality which places you in the heart of the Christian message: the love of God the Father which embraces all men through the Redemption of Christ."

The Holy Father exhorted them to "'live' with passion what you 'are'. ... In an era marked by a worrisome 'culture of emptiness' and an existence 'without sense', you are called to announce without compromise the Trinitarian God, the God Who listens to the cry of the oppressed and afflicted."

"The Church counts on you!" he told them. "Work in union with Christ. ... You are called to pursue His mission, as valid today as it was then, because it aims at proclaiming and witnessing to Christ, Who died and rose again for the salvation of all men."

The Pope closed with remarks dedicated to the importance of the new evangelization: "How many people are still waiting to know Jesus and His Gospel! How many situations of injustice, moral and material discomfort are there in so many parts of the earth! The mission is urgent and everyone's contribution is indispensable."

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, JUN 15, 2001 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Bishop Hector Julio Lopez Hurtado, S.D.B., of Granada en Colombia, as bishop of Girardot (area 4,504, population 551,185, Catholics 481,185, priests 99, religious 391), Colombia. He succeeds Bishop Jorge Ardila Serrano, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, in accordance with the age limit.

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