TO KAZAKHS: BE A BRIDGE BETWEEN EUROPE AND ASIA

VATICAN CITY, SEP 25, 2001 (VIS) - The Holy Father this morning said Mass in private and then blessed the new chapel of the apostolic nunciature in Astana. At 10:30 a.m. he arrived at the international airport for a brief farewell ceremony before his departure for Armenia. He thanked Kazakhstan's president for his "exquisite hospitality" and also expressed his gratitude to the civil and religious authorities present to see him off.

In his speech in Russian, the Pope underscored how the "dear people" of Kazakhstan had "suffered years of harsh persecution, but has not hesitated to commit itself with enthusiasm to the path of development."

"Love one another!" John Paul II urged the citizens of Kazakhstan. "This country, home to men and women of different origins, needs solid agreements and stable social relations. It is not an exaggeration to say that your country has a vocation all its own: that of being, in an ever more conscious way, a bridge between Europe and Asia. May this be your civil and religious choice. Be a bridge made up of people who embrace other people: people who communicate fullness of life and hope."

"In saying farewell to you, dear Kazakh people, I wish to assure you that the Church will continue to be at your side. In close cooperation with the other religious communities and with all men and women of goodwill, Catholics will not fail to do their part to ensure that all together can build a common home which is ever more welcoming."

The Pope added that "the quest for harmony has characterized relations between Christianity and Islam here ever since the formation of the Turkish Khanate in the endless spaces of your steppes, and this has enabled your country to become a junction between East and West on the great Silk Road. The younger generations too should follow this path with renewed commitment."

"I have come among you as a pilgrim of hope," he concluded, "and I now prepare to undertake my return journey, not without emotion and nostalgia."

PV-KAZAKHSTAN;DEPARTURE;...;ASTANA;VIS;20010925;Word: 350;

JOHN PAUL II: WE HOLD THE SAME FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST

VATICAN CITY, SEP 25, 2001 (VIS) - At 2:15 p.m. (local time) the Pope visited the Apostolic Cathedral of Etchmiadzin. It is traditional that visits of religious figures begin with a brief moment of prayer in the cathedral, which was built in 303, and has a capacity of 100 people.

John Paul II responded to the brief greeting of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of all Armenians, in the presence of the bishops of the Armenian Apostolic Church and the papal entourage.

"Holy Etchmiadzin," the Holy Father said, "stands as the great symbol of Armenia's faith in the only-begotten Son of God who came down from heaven, who died to redeem us from sin, and whose resurrection inaugurates the new heavens and the new earth. For all Armenians, Etchmiadzin remains the pledge of perseverance in that faith, despite the suffering and bloodshed past and present, which your troubled history has made the price of your fidelity. In this place I wish to testify that your faith is our faith in Jesus Christ, true God and true man."

"As Bishop of Rome," he continued, "I kneel in admiration of the heavenly gift of your people's baptism, and I pay tribute to this temple, symbol of the nation, which, from the beginning, in accordance with Saint Gregory's vision, bears on its columns the sign of martyrdom."

The Pope thanked the Patriarch for welcoming him to his home. "This is the first time that the Bishop of Rome, for the extent of his visit to a country, is staying in the home and sharing the daily life of a Brother who presides over one of the glorious Churches of the East. Thank you for this sign of love, which moves me deeply and speaks of profound friendship and fraternal charity to the hearts of all Catholics."

After recalling the predecessors of His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos Vazken I and Karekin I, John Paul II concluded asking the Lord to receive their common prayer, and to accept "the gratitude of the whole Church for the faith of the Armenian people."

Leaving the cathedral, the Pope prayed before the tombs of the deceased Catholicos and then travelled to the Apostolic Palace of Etchmiadzin, where at 6:00 p.m. (3:00 p.m. Rome time) an official meeting with His Holiness Karekin II is planned.

PV-ARMENIA;VISIT PRAYER;...;ETCHMIADZIN;VIS;20010925;Word: 400;

POPE IN ARMENIA AS IT CELEBRATES 1700 YEARS OF CHRISTIANITY

VATICAN CITY, SEP 25, 2001 (VIS) - John Paul II arrived today in Yerevan, Armenia, at 1 p.m. local time. He was welcomed at the international airport by President Robert Kotcharian and by civil and religious authorities including His Holiness, Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians. Catholicos Karekin and nine archbishops and bishops of the Apostolic Armenian Church will accompany the Pope throughout his stay in Armenia.

The Pope noted that Armenia is celebrating the "1700th anniversary of the proclamation of Christianity as the official religion of this cherished land. ... I am deeply moved as I think of the glorious history of Christianity in this land, going back, according to tradition, to the preaching of the Apostles Thaddeus and Bartholomew. Later, through the witness and work of St. Gregory the llluminator, Christianity for the first time became the faith of an entire nation."

The Holy Father observed that Armenia is marking another anniversary, the 10th anniversary of its independence. "Everyone, especially those responsible for public life, is called today to be genuinely committed to the common good, in justice and solidarity, putting the progress of the people ahead of any partial interests. This is also true of the urgent search for peace at the regional level. Peace will only be built on the solid foundations of mutual respect, justice in inter-community relations and magnanimity on the part of the strong."

Yerevan, the capital of Armenia and home to one and a quarter million people, was founded in 782 B.C. with the name of Erebuni. It is 1,000 meters above sea level and is dominated by Mount Ararat, an extinct volcanic mountain massif in neighboring eastern Turkey. Legend has it that its main peak, Great Ararat, is the site of paradise on earth and also the final resting place of Noah's Ark, after the flood.

Armenia, a federal republic which proclaimed independence in 1991, has a population of 3.8 million, of whom 150,000, almost four percent, are Catholics. Over 90 percent of Armenians belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church whose head is the Catholicos who resides in Holy Etchmiadzin, the spiritual seat of authority, near Yerevan.

The ordinariate of Eastern Europe for Armenian Catholics is immediately subject to the Holy See. The ordinary is Archbishop Nerses Der Nersessian, C.M.A. The Armenian family name which starts with "Der" indicates that the person is a descendant of a married priest. There is also the Apostolic Administration of the Caucasus of the Latins. The apostolic administrator is Bishop Giuseppe Pasotto.

Pope John Paul will be staying at the pontifical residence, just one part of the complex known as Holy Etchmiadzin which also includes the apostolic palace, the residence of the Catholicos, the cathedral, curial offices, the seminary and a guest house.

Etchmiadzin was founded in the beginning of the second century and became the administrative and religious center of Armenia when Christianity was proclaimed the state religion in 301. Tradition has it that the cathedral was built on the site indicated by Christ when He appeared in a dream to St. Gregory the Illuminator. In fact, Etchmiadzin means "place where the Only Begotten came down."

PV-ARMENIA;ARRIVAL; BACKGROUND;...;YEREVAN;VIS;20010925;Word: 540;

THE SYNOD OF BISHOPS TO OPEN SUNDAY

VATICAN CITY, SEP 25, 2001 (VIS) - On Sunday, September 30, at 9:30 a.m. in St. Peter's Basilica, the Holy Father will preside at Mass which will be concelebrated by the Synod Fathers on the occasion of the opening of the Tenth General Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the theme: "The Bishop, Servant of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the Hope of the World."

OP;OPENING MASS;...;... ;VIS;20010925;Word: 80;

VATICAN SUPPORTS SELF-DEFENSE, URGES NON-VIOLENT SOLUTION

VATICAN CITY, SEP 25, 2001 (VIS) - Holy See Press Office Director Joaquin Navarro Valls, travelling with Pope John Paul II in Kazakhstan and Armenia, yesterday granted an interview to Reuters news agency which had asked him for the Holy See's position on the morality of an eventual armed response by the United States in self-defense for the September 11 terrorist attacks on its soil.

He said that a self-defense move by the United States would be understandable but that the Holy See would prefer a non-violent solution to the crisis which has developed since September 11. The Vatican would not accept for innocent people to be hurt, nor would it accept a war on Islam as a religion.

Navarro-Valls said "It is certain that if someone has done great harm to society and there is a danger that he remains free, he may be able to do it again, and you have the right to apply self-defense for the society which you lead, even though the means you choose may be aggressive."

He added that "sometimes self-defense implies an action which may lead to the death of a person. ... Either people who have carried out a horrendous crime are put in a position there they can do no further harm, by being handed over and put into custody, or the principle of self-defense applies with all its consequences."

PV-ARMENIA;SELF DEFENSE; TERRORISM;...;...;VIS;20010925;Word: 250;