J0HN PAUL II RECEIVES HONORARY ROMAN CITIZENSHIP

VATICAN CITY, OCT 31, 2002 (VIS) - This morning John Paul II received the title of honorary citizen of Rome during a ceremony that took place in the Vatican in which Walter Veltroni, mayor of the city, and a group of administrators and representatives of Roman institutions participated.

The Pope recalled that he began to know and love the Eternal City after November 1946 when he came here to study. "The affectionate bond which began then has been reinforced during the last 24 years, during which I have felt daily the closeness and warmth of Rome's citizens."

"Rome," said the Holy Father, "heir to a thousand-year old culture in which the fruitful seed of the proclamation of the Gospel has been sown, does not only contain treasures from the past that must be cared for. It is conscious of having a fundamental duty to fulfill in the future at the service of mankind today and tomorrow."

After recalling that problems still exist, the Holy Father said: "Everyone must be commited to handing down to future generations the rich civil, moral and spiritual patrimony of Rome so that these new generations will be strengthened by it as they approach life with trust. The Church will continue in this field, as it always has done, to carry out its duty, respecting each sphere, always seeking favorable agreements on specific topics and problems with civil authorities through sincere dialogue."

"The bishop of Rome," he concluded, "is honored to be able to repeat today, with particular intensity of meaning, the words of the apostle Paul: 'Civis romanus sum' (I am a Roman citizen)."

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