PAPAL LETTER TO ORDER OF PREACHERS FOR THEIR GENERAL CHAPTER

VATICAN CITY, JUL 11, 2001 (VIS) - Made public today was a Pontifical Letter from Pope John Paul to Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, master general of the Order of Preachers, on occasion of the July 10 General Chapter, held in Rhode Island, U.S.A., to elect the 85th successor of the Order's founder, St. Dominic.

Recalling that one of the first tasks the Order received at its founding was responding to the Albigensian heresy, "a new form of the recurrent Manichaean heresy ... at whose core there lay the denial of the Incarnation," the Pope writes, "To respond to this new form of the old heresy, the Holy Spirit raised up the Order of Preachers, men who would be pre-eminent in their poverty and mobility in the service of the Gospel."

"It is clear that the ancient afflictions of the human soul and the great untruths never die but lie hidden for a time, to reappear later in other forms," he continues. "We live in a time marked in its own way by a denial of the Incarnation. For the first time since Christ's birth 2000 years ago, it is as if He no longer had a place in an ever more secularized world. Not that He is always denied explicitly; indeed many claim to admire Jesus and to value elements of His teaching. Yet He remains distant; He is not truly known, loved and obeyed."

Pope John Paul writes that the consequences of denying the Incarnation are "clear and disturbing. In the first place the individual's relationship with God is seen as purely personal and private, so that God is removed from the processes that govern social, political and economic activity. This in turn leads to a greatly diminished sense of human possibility."

The Pope, continuing to list the consequences of denying the Incarnation, adds, "When Christ is excluded or denied, our vision of human purpose dwindles; and as we anticipate and aim for less, hope gives away to despair, joy to depression. There also appears a profound distrust of reason, and of the human capacity to grasp the truth, indeed the very concept of truth is cast into doubt. ... Life is not valued and loved, hence the advance of a certain culture of death, with its dark blooms of abortion and euthanasia. The body and human sexuality are not properly valued and loved; hence the degradation of sex which shows itself in a tide of moral confusion, infidelity and the violence of pornography."

"In such a situation," the Letter concludes, "the Church and the Successor of the Apostle Peter look to the Order of Preachers with no less hope and confidence than at the time of your foundation. The needs of the new evangelization are great, and it is certain that your Order ... must play a vital part in the Church's mission to overturn the old untruths."

JPII-PONTIFICAL LETTER;DOMINICANS;...;RADCLIFFE;VIS;20010711;Word: 480;

GUIDELINES FOR THE PASTORAL MINISTRY OF TOURISM

VATICAN CITY, JUL 11, 2001, (VIS) - Made public today was the document "Guidelines for the Pastoral Ministry of Tourism" produced by the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples. Written in Italian, it consists of an introduction, three parts, and a conclusion, and is dated June 29, Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul.

Archbishop Stephen Fumio Hamao, president of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples, and Archbishop Francesco Gioia, secretary of the same Pontifical Council, write in the introduction that the document is addressed to bishops, priests, men and women religious and, "more directly, summons the laity, called to evangelize in this specific area of social and secular reality."

The first part, entitled "The Reality of Tourism Today," states: "The tourism industry has been transformed into one of the primary economic forces in the entire world and it holds first place in some countries."

With regard to tourism and free time, the document affirms that the true meaning of rest can be seen when "man consecrates his time to God ... and when he generously dedicates himself to the service of others, especially the family."

Emphasizing that tourism "must always safeguard the dignity of the person, both of the tourist and of the local community," the document recalls "the negative aspects which in many places accompany tourist development: the exploitation of people ... the spreading of illnesses which seriously endanger the health of many sectors of the population; drug traffic and consumption; the physical destruction of the cultural identity and of vital resources."

Referring to the binomial "tourism-theology," the document states that "In tourism the Christian is invited to revive in a special way thanksgiving for the gift of creation, in which shines the beauty of the Creator. ... The contemplation of creation accompanies man in his religious life, inspires his prayer and animates him in the hope of promised salvation."

The second part of the text, "Pastoral Objectives," notes that "The central aim of the pastoral care of tourism is to stimulate those optimal conditions which help the Christian to live the reality of tourism as a moment of grace and salvation."

"The celebration of the Eucharist is the most frequent moment of encounter between the community of a place and the tourists, but it need not be the only one." Also necessary are "the most significant moments of the liturgical year, which often coincide with vacation time."

In reference to the welcoming of visitors, the guidelines emphasize the need to give special attention to the visitors who are members of other Christian confessions, at the same time stressing the importance that the welcome of visitors be prepared "with great care," particularly "in places of specific religious meaning," such as shrines. "It will be worthwhile to remember, moreover, that for many tourists such visits often constitute a unique occasion for experiencing the Christian faith."

It also emphasizes that among the different groups of people who engage in tourism, adolescents and youth in particular must be offered "the necessary conditions to make such travel experiences an occasion for them to deepen their faith."

With regard to the advertising of tourism programs, the document urges "tour promoters to be objective in their information and to have absolute respect for the dignity of persons and the external appearance of the places to which the information refers, as well as honesty regarding tourism proposals and total reliability in the services offered."

Tourism pastoral care workers "must be offered ... a specific preparation during formation, both in professional schools, and through other complementary initiatives. ... Religious and sacramental attention appropriate to their working conditions will be necessary, without violating the times and rhythms of the life of the community."
In the third part of the document, "Pastoral Structures," various concrete initiatives in the tourism milieux are illustrated which could be undertaken by episcopal conferences at the diocesan and parish levels.

"In order to satisfy the desire to know other persons and cultures, to develop his personal abilities and have new experiences," says the conclusion, "man chooses to devote part of his free time to tourism."
CON-SM/PASTORAL CARE TOURISM/HAMAO:GIOIA VIS 20010711 (700)

COUNCIL OFFICIALS PRESENT TOURISM MINISTRY GUIDELINES

VATICAN CITY, JUL 11, 2001 (VIS) - Archbishops Stephen Fumio Hamao and Francesco Gioia, respectively president and secretary of the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Itinerant Peoples, today presented the council document "Guidelines for the Pastoral Ministry of Tourism," in written statements which accompanied the publication of the document.

Archbishop Hamao noted that "with significant farsightedness, on April 30, 1969 the Sacred Congregation for Clergy, on whom the pastoral ministry of tourism depended at that time, published the General Directory for the Pastoral Ministry of Tourism 'Peregrinans in terra', a very important and useful text for pastoral action and, in many ways, well ahead of its time. It did not limit itself to presenting solutions to the problems of that time, but prophetically paved the way in order to face the development of tourism which, at that time, was not completely predictable."

Archbishop Gioia emphasized that "tourism is one of the phenomena which most greatly characterizes modern society. Proof of this is the continual and accentuated growth of tourists on a global level: According to information provided by the World Tourism Organization, in the year 2000 the number of tourists increased by 7.4 percent over the previous year, that is to say, 50 million people more than in 1999, or as many as the United States and Spain receive each year."

He added that "in Europe, which welcomes 58 percent of international tourism, there was an increase of 6.2 percent with 403 million arrivals, about 25 million more trips than the previous year. Income from international tourism last year was US$476 billion. It is predicted that by 2010 international tourists will go from the current 698 million to one billion, and by 2020 will increase by an additional 560 million persons."

...;PRESENTATION; GUIDELINES TOURISM;...;HAMAO;VIS;20010711;Word: 290;