AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, DEC 4, 2001 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in audience four prelates of the Synod of Bishops of the Chaldean Church, on the occasion of their "ad limina" visit:

- Archbishop Andre Sana of Kerkuk of the Chaldeans, Iraq.
- Archbishop Thomas Meram of Urmya of the Chaldeans, Iran, and bishop of Salmas of the Chaldeans, Iran.
- Archbishop Ramzi Garmou of Tehran of the Chaldeans, Iran.
- Archbishop Faraj Rahho of Mossul of the Chaldeans, Iraq.

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PRESENTATION OF MANUAL "CHURCH, DRUGS, AND DRUG DEPENDENCY"

VATICAN CITY, DEC 4, 2001 (VIS) - This morning in the Holy See Press Office, Archbishop Javier Lozano Barragan, president of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Ministry, presented the Pastoral Manual "Church, Drugs, and Drug Dependency." Various members of the same dicastery participated in the presentation.

The manual, prepared by the Pontifical Council for Health Care Ministry and published in Italian, French, Spanish, and English, is the result of extensive work begun four years ago. "In 1997," the archbishop said, "the Holy Father entrusted to this dicastery the task of considering the distressing drug problem in the world. Since then we have organized a series of studies, meetings, and international conferences, and we have created special working groups. ... Among our concerns was the creation of a manual on pastoral health care in the specific area of drugs."

"The manual," the archbishop continued, "does not pretend to offer a definitive response but to give suggestions which can assist in pastoral work. We know that many methods exist, that there are many experiences of people completely and heroically dedicated to this pastoral work. We respect this plurality of approach ... for prevention and treatment in the world of drugs. ... Here we do not intend to propose a new method, but to give a simple response, as a practical guide."

The text is addressed to bishops, priests, pastoral workers, parents with drug dependent children and health care professionals. "Politicians," the president of the dicastery added, "have an important role to play in this scourge, and its restraint depends greatly on their approach."

The five-chapter manual opens with the words of John Paul II. "The Pope," affirmed Archbishop Barragan, "tells us of three specific actions for a pastoral care program which confronts the drug problem: prevention, treatment, and repression." The text deals with the first two actions in depth. The Holy Father refers to the third affirming that "we must all fight against the production, creation, and distribution of drugs in the world, and it is the particular duty of governments to courageously confront this battle against 'death trafficking'."

"It cannot be said that there are countries who produce drugs on the one side and those who consume them on the other," the prelate specified. No one is immune from this ill-omened tidal wave, all countries produce and all consume, especially now that synthetic drugs exist. We are all involved, and the drug barons are stronger and destroy more in rich countries than in poor ones."

The first chapter of the manual looks at the teaching of John Paul II on this subject, while the second chapter, entitled "Drug addiction is a symptom of dependency," provides practical information on different drugs. The third chapter, "Become free," proposes a reflection on the question of freedom and the discovery of the sense of pleasure and happiness. The fourth chapter, "Education and prevention," is dedicated to the theme of education and prevention as the fundamental means of fighting drug dependency, and the fifth chapter, "Pastoral attitudes at the service of the liberation of the individual," presents the delicate ministry of the spiritual guidance of drug addicts and their families.

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HONDURAS: PROMOTE DEVELOPMENT RESPECTING INDIVIDUAL DIGNITY

VATICAN CITY, DEC 4, 2001 (VIS) - This morning, John Paul II received prelates of the Episcopal Conference of Honduras on the occasion of their "ad limina" visit.

Opening his address, the Pope told the bishops of the close union he felt with them "in order to share 'the joy, the hope, the sadness and anguish' of Honduran citizens, still recalling the pain and anxiety of the devastation provoked by hurricane 'Mitch' in October 1998 and, more recently, by tropical storm 'Michelle.' ... Furthermore, I hope that the new and recently-elected political leaders may continue the work of a true reconstruction of national unity, bringing authentic development to the country while duly respecting the dignity of individuals and their fundamental rights.

"Another motive for hope and joy for the Church in Honduras," he said, "is the upcoming celebration of the 500th anniversary of the first Mass to be celebrated in the country. This anniversary should be lived as a providential opportunity to start down a new path full of initiatives."

He went on: "As pastors you are seriously concerned by the situation of persistent poverty in Honduras, although its land is fertile and it has no lack of material resources. This leads one to consider the need for improving the social order, for promoting greater justice and structures that favor a more equal distribution of wealth and, above all, the need to prevent vast wealth being held by a small number of citizens to the detriment of the great majority. With phenomena such as these, economic penury is aggravated by the isolation of the poorest who, closed in their own world, lose hope for a better society. For this reason the country suffers when peasants feel they are marginalized, when indigenous ethnic groups are forgotten and when those citizens most in need of protection - such as children and the young - are abandoned to their fate."

The Holy Father stressed that "a no less worrying problem of our own time, one that can also be seen in Honduras, is a certain degree of family disintegration. ... For this reason all sectors concerned must be sensitized, including the social communication media, in order to strengthen marriage and the family and to face up to particular campaigns or trends that seek to subvert the institution of the family and even life itself."

After underlining the need for pastors to promote the union of priests "among themselves and around their bishop," he recalled that "in Honduras, where priests frequently have large numbers of faithful in their care - at times living in isolated areas - and where a significant number of those priests have left their places of origin to serve in Honduran ecclesial communities, bishops must show the utmost willingness to welcome them, 'considering them as children and friends'."

The Pope affirmed that "the participation of lay people in Honduran ecclesial life merits special recognition." On this subject he emphasized that "the service that the lay faithful offer the Church is most valuable. Effort must nonetheless be made to avoid the error of thinking they can substitute ordained ministers when the latter are lacking."

"It is of prime importance," he concluded, "that parishes offer a systematic education in the Catholic faith, not one limited to superficial preparation for receiving the sacraments of Christian initiation. All the faithful have the right to receive from the Church a profound formation in the Catholic faith, as appropriate to their age and condition, in order to thus grow in faith. Indeed, shortcomings in this field could be one of the causes for which many faithful leave and join sects."

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, DEC 4, 2001 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Appointed Bishop Michael John Sheridan, auxiliary of St. Louis, U.S.A., as coadjutor of Colorado Springs (area 40,285, population 722,672, Catholics 82,227, priests 61, permanent deacons 20, religious 164), U.S.A.

- Appointed Msgr. Giuseppe Pinto, nunciature counsellor, as apostolic nuncio in Senegal and apostolic delegate in Mauritania, at the same time elevating him to the dignity of archbishop. The archbishop-elect was born in Noci, Italy, in 1952, and ordained to the priesthood in 1978.

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