AUDIENCE: CATHOLIC TEACHERS AND "VOLUNTEERS OF SUFFERING"

VATICAN CITY, JAN 5, 2002 (VIS) - This morning, the Holy Father received participants in the national congress of the Italian association of Catholic primary school teachers and a group from the "Volunteers of Suffering" center of the diocese of Bergamo, Italy.

The Pope reminded the first group that they had chosen the theme: "'Dialogue with uncertainty, cultivate life,' in order to underline the two dimensions that mark the moment your association is presently experiencing: an awareness of the complexity of the age in which we live, and a will to propose your educational programme in the climate of uncertainty that hangs over daily life."

"In the light of Christ's teaching," he went on, "may each of you be ready - in the rapport and collaboration with your colleagues - to seize precious opportunities for sharing responsibilities and uniting intentions in order that scholastic institutions may become privileged places for promoting culture in such a way as to recover respect and social credibility. ... Seek to transmit competently the contents of Catholic religion, with teaching programmes that are attentive to the formative needs of pupils and respectful of the nature and aim of school."

He then addressed some words to a group of disabled people, accompanied by their parents, helpers and members of the "Volunteers of Suffering" center: "May the birth of Jesus, which we celebrate at Christmas, bring each of you much joy and give you the strength to face all problems and difficulties with serenity. May it also help you to feel you are privileged witnesses of love for life, above all towards your peers who are often disoriented and incapable of appreciating this great gift of the Lord."

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