METROPOLITAN ARCHBISHOPS TO RECEIVE PALLIUM ON JUNE 29

VATICAN CITY, JUN 22, 2001 (VIS) - Pope John Paul II will preside at a concelebrated Mass on June 29, the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles, at 6:30 p.m. in St. Peter's Square during which he will confer the pallium on a number of metropolitan archbishops.

The pallium, a circular band of white wool with pieces hanging in front and back on which are embroidered six black crosses, is placed on the shoulders of metropolitan archbishops and symbolizes their authority. The palliums are kept in a special chest beneath the Altar of the Confession in St. Peter's until the annual June 29 ceremony.

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SONS OF THE HOLY FAMILY: CENTENARY OF PONTIFICAL APPROVAL

VATICAN CITY, JUN 22, 2001 (VIS) - Made public today was a Message from the Holy Father to Fr. Luis Picazo, superior general of the Sons of the Holy Family, on the occasion of celebrations marking the centenary of the pontifical approval of the institute.

In the Message, dated June 16, the Pope invites the religious to "promote coordinated and incisive action in order to bring to all sectors of society the evangelical message that sanctifies conjugal life, giving cohesion to the family group that welcomes life, guarantees education and transmits the faith."

"Furthermore," writes the Pope, "the centenary you are now celebrating calls for particular attention to the close bond that must link your apostolic activity with the doctrine and Magisterium of the Church. ... This concern - which was that of Blessed Jose Mayanet y Vives, your founder - is fitting for a faithful son of the Church; yet, it is also the fruit of a profound spirituality, forged in contemplating the mystery of the Nazarene household."

John Paul II concludes by affirming that "at the same time as proposing the Holy Family as the ideal of Christian life, all means must be employed so that, in the great family of God that is the Church, complete harmony and communion may reign."

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AUDIENCES

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

- Fra Andrew Bertie, prince and grand master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
- Cardinal Ignace Moussa I Daoud, prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches.
- Cardinal Sergio Sebastiani, president of the Prefecture for Economic Affairs of the Holy See.

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CARDINAL MCCARRICK TO TAKE POSSESSION OF HIS TITULAR SEE

VATICAN CITY, JUN 22, 2001 (VIS) - The Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff today announced that at 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 28, Cardinal Theodore Edgar McCarrick, metropolitan archbishop of Washington (U.S.A.), will take possession of the title of Sts. Nereus and Achilleus in Rome on Via delle Terme di Caracalla, 28.

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NTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND ACCESS TO BASIC MEDICINES

VATICAN CITY, JUN 22, 2001 (VIS) - A meeting of the Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) of the World Trade Organization is currently underway in Geneva, Switzerland. On Wednesday, June 20, work was dedicated entirely to the question of Intellectual Property and Access to Basic Medicines. A Note from the Holy See on this topic was distributed to all members at the June 18-22 meeting by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, Holy See permanent observer to the WTO.

The Note states that, among the diseases prevalent in the world today, "the AIDS crisis ... constitutes a global disaster of dramatic magnitude. ... In so many of the poorest countries, lack of basic medicines together with poor health infrastructure, prevents an appropriate response to urgent public health needs." It adds that "the Holy See is aware that the availability of medicines is not the only aspect of access to health. .. This access depends on a series of factors. ... Accessible price, however, always remains a dominant factor."

The Note, recognizing that "the high price of new drugs seems to be determined (in part) by the burden of research and development," affirmed: "It is not possible, however, ethically to justify a rationale of fixing the highest possible prices in order to attract investors and to maintain and strengthen research, while leaving aside consideration of fundamental social factors."

"Within an open free trade system, Intellectual Property rights constitute an exceptional monopoly regime," says the Holy See Note. Abuses by such monopolies for reasons of profit must be curbed. As well, there must be recognition, within the framework of human rights, of each person's right to health.

The Note recommends that "in the case of medicines, the supply stakeholders (scientific institutions, pharmaceutical companies and the governments of developed countries) should work together to ensure an adequate supply of urgently needed drugs at prices adequate to the cost of living in a particular country, especially LDCs (Least Developed Countries) and HIPCs (Heavily Indebted Poorest Countries). They should also be open and flexible in an equitable manner to the granting of voluntary licenses for import, production and distribution of basic drugs. They should not create obstacles to national production of drugs in third countries."

It also suggests "the enactment of an innovative differential pricing system" wherein "luxury and non-essential pharmaceutical products, for example cosmetics, could well share a greater part of the burden of research and development of essential medicines."

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, JUN 22, 2001 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed:

- Bishop Denis James Hart, auxiliary of Melbourne (area 27,194, population 3,365,173, Catholics 995,797, priests 647, permanent deacons 1, religious 2,055), Australia, as metropolitan archbishop of the same archdiocese. The archbishop-elect was born in Melbourne in 1941, he was ordained a priest in 1967 and consecrated a bishop in 1997.

- Fr. Misael Vacca Ramirez of the clergy of Garagoa, Colombia, rector of the Juan de Castellanos university institute in Tunja, as the first bishop of Yopal (area 17,725, population 232,908, Catholics 192,450, priests 33, permanent deacons 2, religious 53), Colombia. The bishop-elect was born in Somondoco, Colombia, in 1955 and ordained a priest in 1983.

- Msgr. Vincent M. Rizzotto, vicar general of Galveston-Houston (area 23,257, population 4,442,230, Catholics 908,190, priests 437, permanent deacons 292, religious 779), U.S.A., as auxiliary of the same diocese. The bishop-elect was born in Houston in 1931 and ordained a priest in 1956.

- Archbishop Luigi Ventura, apostolic nuncio in Chile, as apostolic nuncio in Canada.

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