POPE REQUESTS PRAYERS FOR THOSE AFFECTED BY OIL SPILL IN SPAIN

VATICAN CITY, DEC 8, 2002 (VIS) - After praying the Angelus today, solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, the Pope greeted the pilgrims assembled in St. Peter's Square. In his remarks, he referred in particular to an upcoming meeting on new member countries of the European Union as well as to the damage done to along Spain's Galicia coast by a recent oil spill.

The Holy Father invited the faithful "to accompany with prayer the political leaders who will meet in Copenhagen, Denmark on December 12 and 13 to conclude important negotiations relative to the new countries that will join the European Union. This continent can thus be enriched by the contribution of the cultural and religious traditions of the Nations that, across the centuries, have left us a precious common legacy of civilization."

The Pope then greeted the Spanish-speaking people present and said he wished to express his "closeness to the dear Galician people who are living moments of uncertainty in the face of the serious catastrophe that has struck their coastline and poses a danger to the self-sacrificing work of fishermen and the progress of that community. While I encourage everyone to commit themselves with tenacity to this difficult problem, I also ask God that they might soon find pertinent solutions and that Galicia will live its future in renewed hope."

Noting that on Tuesday, December 10, he will preside over the Mass for students of Rome's universities in St. Peter's Basilica, John Paul II invited all faculty, administrators and students to participate, especially "the representatives of Europe's oldest universities who have come for the Forum that began yesterday at La Sapienza University in Rome."

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