DECLARATION BY PRESS OFFICE ON POPE'S SPEECH TO PRESIDENT BUSH

VATICAN CITY, JUL 25, 2001 (VIS) - Holy See Press Office Director Joaquin Navarro-Valls, in reference to the Holy Father's speech to President Bush on July 23, 2001 at Castelgandolfo, issued the following declaration this afternoon:

"The Holy Father has wanted to take this opportunity to repeat the ethical unacceptability of 'proposals for the creation for research purposes of human embryos, destined to destruction in the process'. On the other hand, it is important not to forget what John Paul II wrote in his well-known Encyclical 'Evangelium Vitae':

"'This moral condemnation also regards procedures that exploit living human embryos and fetuses - sometimes specifically 'produced' for this purpose by 'in vitro' fertilization - either to be used as 'biological material' or as 'providers of organs or tissue for transplants' in the treatment of certain diseases. The killing of innocent human creatures, even if carried out to help others, constitutes an absolutely unacceptable act'."

OP;RESEARCH; EMBRYOS;...;NAVARRO-VALLS;VIS;20010725;Word: 160;

MULTI-LANGUAGE GREETINGS TO GENERAL AUDIENCE PILGRIMS

VATICAN CITY, JUL 25, 2001 (VIS) - Following today's general audience catechesis in Italian, and summaries in English, French, Spanish, German and Portuguese, Pope John Paul greeted the 8,500 pilgrims present in the Paul VI Hall in Dutch, Czech, Hungarian, and Slovakian. He also had special words in Italian, as is customary, for young people, the ill and for newlyweds.

Among those he welcomed today were folklore groups from a number of countries, representatives of the Socio-cultural Association of Solidarity with the Indios of America, some children from Chernobyl who are guests of families in the Italian region of Abruzzo and Russian and Belarussian children who have been received by the Mother Teresa Committee of Toritto, Italy.

In closing remarks, the Holy Father greeted "the religious congregations who, in these days, are celebrating their General Chapter. Dear brothers and sisters, it would have been my great desire to receive you personally but, as that is not possible, I willingly send all of you my heartfelt best wishes."

In brief remarks to each of the congregations present today, the Pope individually welcomed the Marianist Fathers, Daughters of Divine Charity, Ursuline Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, Daughters of Mary of the Pious Schools, Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Missionaries of the Sacred Side and of Sorrowful Mary and the volunteers of Don Bosco.

AG;GREETINGS;...;...;VIS;20010725;Word: 230;

GENERAL AUDIENCE: GOD PUNISHES BUT ALWAYS OFFERS MERCY

VATICAN CITY, JUL 25, 2001 (VIS) - This morning, the Pope held the first general audience since his vacation in Valle d'Aosta from July 9 to 20. As is his custom during the summer, the Pope came to the Vatican by helicopter from his summer residence in Castelgandolfo.

Before the 8,500 people in the Paul VI Hall, the Pope spoke today of the Canticle of Tobit, whose message, he said, "is clear: those who do good, above all opening their hearts to the needs of their neighbor, are pleasing to the Lord, and He will eventually come to the aid of those who are tested."

It is in this perspective, the Pope continued, that the hymn of Tobit is understood. "Punishment appears thus as a sort of divine pedagogy, in which, nevertheless, the final word is always reserved for mercy. ... One can therefore trust absolutely in God, Who never abandons His creatures." Suffering takes on "a mysteriously positive meaning when it is lived in a spirit of abandonment to God's plan. ... Our reference point can only be the Cross of Christ in which the mystery of the world's suffering finds a profound response."

John Paul II stated that "to the sinners who are punished for their injustices, Tobit's hymn addresses a call to conversion and opens the marvelous perspective of a 'reciprocal' conversion of God and man." He underlined that "sin is a tragedy not so much because it draws on us the punishments of God, but because it pushes Him away from our heart."

"And it is for this reason," the Pope concluded, "that the Canticle directs our gaze to the face of God considered as Father, inviting us to blessing and praise. ... Then, in Jesus, this face of the Father will shine and His limitless mercy will be revealed."

AG;CANTICLE TOBIT;...;...;VIS;20010725;Word: 320;

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, JUL 25, 2001 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Appointed Archbishop Eusebio Oscar Scheid, S.C.I., of Florianopolis, as metropolitan archbishop of Sao Sebastiao do Rio de Janeiro (area 1,721, population 5,598,953, Catholics 3,880,074, priests 563, permanent deacons 33, religious 1,644), Brazil. He succeeds Cardinal Eugenio de Araujo Sales, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, in accordance with the age limit.

- Appointed Msgr. Jose F. Advincula, of the clergy of the archdiocese of Capiz, pastor of San Tommaso di Villanueva a Dao, as bishop of San Carlos (area 3,041, population 904,257, Catholics 770,450, priests 44, religious 41), the Philippines. He succeeds Bishop Nicolas M. Mondejar, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, in accordance with the age limit. The bishop-elect was born in Dumalag, the Philippines in 1952, and ordained to the priesthood in 1976.

- Appointed Bishop Dario de Jesus Monsalve Mejia, auxiliary of Medellin, as bishop of Malaga-Soata (area 7,466, population 183,698, Catholics 174,513, priests 52, religious 107), Colombia.

- Appointed Bishop Tulio Duque Gutierrez, S.D.S., of Apartado, as bishop of Pereira (area 6,126, population 1,053,930, Catholics 893,421, priests 182, permanent deacons 14, religious 342), Colombia.

- Appointed Fr. Fidel Leon Cadavid Marin, pastor of the Cathedral of Caldas, as bishop of Quibdo (area 12,758, population 244,000, Catholics 235,000, priests 41, religious 57), Colombia. The bishop-elect was born in Antioquia, Colombia, in 1951, and ordained to the priesthood in 1976.

- Appointed Msgr. Socrates B. Villegas, vicar general of the archdiocese of Manila (area 549, population 9,349,581, Catholics 8,463,112, priests 1,364, permanent deacons 14, religious 4,829), the Philippines, as auxiliary bishop of the same archdiocese. The bishop-elect was born in Manila in 1960, and ordained to the priesthood in 1985.

- Appointed Archbishop Francesco Gioia, emeritus of Camerino-San Severino Marche, Italy, secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples, as pontifical administrator of the Patriarchal Basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls and pontifical delegate for the Basilica of St. Anthony in Padua, as well as president of the "Peregrinatio ad Petri Sedem." He succeeds Archbishop Marcello Costalunga, whose resignation as pontifical administrator of the Patriarchal Basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls and pontifical delegate for the Basilica of St. Anthony in Padua was accepted by the Holy Father, in conformity with canon 354 of the Code of Canon Law.
NER:RE:NEA:NA/.../... VIS 20010725 (350)