MESSAGE ON THE CENTENARY OF THE DEATH OF ST. MARIA GORETTI

VATICAN CITY, JUL 8, 2002 (VIS) - John Paul II wrote a message to Bishop Agostino Vallini of Albano, Italy, on the occasion of the centenary of the death of St. Maria Goretti. Her remains are preserved in Neptune's Sanctuary which is entrusted to the Passionist Fathers.

After recalling that the saint was "cruelly stabbed" on July 5 and died the next day, he writes: "Because of her spiritual life, the strength of her faith, her capacity to forgive her killer, she is among the most beloved saints of the twentieth century."

"In the face of a culture that overestimates physical relations between men and women," he continues, "the Church continues to defend and promote the value of sexuality as something in which all the aspects of the person are involved and which, therefore, must be lived with an interior attitude of freedom and mutual respect, in the light of the original design of God. In this sense, the person realizes that he or she is the receiver of a gift and is called to become, in turn, a gift for the other."

The Holy Father underlines that "it is undeniable that presently there are many threats to the unity and stability of the family. Luckily, however, along with these threats there exists a renewed consciousness of the rights of children to be cared for with love, protected from all danger and formed in a way so that they are able to confront life with bravery and strength."

"In the heroic testimony of the saint of Le Ferriere," he adds, "the forgiveness offered to the killer and the desire to meet him one day in paradise deserve special attention. It is a spiritual and social message of extraordinary importance for this time."

The Pope recalls that forgiveness for the Church "does not mean moral relativism or permissiveness. On the contrary, it requires full recognition of the fault itself and the ascension of responsibilities as a condition in order to find once again true peace and to learn with trust the way of evangelical perfection. May humanity be presented decisively in the way of mercy and forgiveness!"

At the end of the message, John Paul II indicates the Italian saint as an example especially for young people. "St. Maria Goretti and so many adolescents who throughout the centuries have paid for their adhesion to the Gospel with martyrdom, are alongside [young people] to order instill in their souls the strength to remain solid in faithfulness."

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