OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, MAR 9, 2002 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Bishop John Njue of Embu, Kenya, as coadjutor archbishop of Nyeri (area 16,529, population 1,867,606, Catholics 658,502, priests 116, religious 234), Kenya. The archbishop-elect was born in Embu in 1944, ordained a priest in 1973 and consecrated a bishop in 1986.

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GIVE TESTIMONY OF LIFE WITH APOSTOLIC AUDACITY

VATICAN CITY, MAR 9, 2002 (VIS) - This morning John Paul II received 1200 faithful of different dioceses in Poland in the Paul VI Hall, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the reorganization of the administrative structures of the Church in that country.

The Pope expressed his desire that this restructuring of the ecclesiastical provinces encourage "the organization of meetings in the inter-diocesan context, in order to face and resolve, as a community, the questions that cannot be the immediate concern of the plenary assemblies of the episcopal conference." In addition, he requested that this form of collaboration help "to develop a pastoral program that responds to the demands of the new evangelization and the challenges of time and place."

He underlined: "Today it is more necessary than ever to give testimony with one's own life, energetically and with apostolic zeal. It is necessary for the bishops to be close to their faithful and the faithful to their bishops. Let this goal be the object of your petition, prayer and reflection!"

The Holy Father referred to the priests saying: "may they embark on their pastoral mission with zeal in the new dioceses in which they work, which are often far from their homes." He also asked the bishops to take special care with the permanent intellectual and spiritual formation of the priests.

He concluded by saying: "During the second half of the past century, the lay faithful in Poland gave proof time and again of a spirit of sacrifice and of a sincere love for the Church. I pray to God that they continue this beautiful tradition and that they undertake with new determination their evangelical tasks, occupying their rightful place in the Church and in the life of society; the place due to them by virtue of their specific vocation and of the holy sacraments."

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NEW AMBASSADOR OF ECUADOR PRESENTS LETTERS OF CREDENCE

VATICAN CITY, MAR 11, 2002 (VIS) - This morning the Holy Father received the Letters of Credence of the new ambassador of Ecuador to the Holy See, Marcelo Fernandez de Cordoba.

In his address, the Pope made reference to the importance of the education of new generations in order that they may have "access to an integral formation, in which humanist and technical knowledge is accompanied by moral values and exposure to the transcendent and religious dimension of life, respecting scrupulously the right of families to choose the type of education for their children."

John Paul II affirmed that, in light of the economic crisis that Ecuador is facing, the Church "is doing, and will continue to do, everything possible to remain close to the Ecuadorian people, providing every type of help that she possibly can especially to those most in need, who are often also those most forgotten when it comes to distributing available resources."

After noting that a consequence of the economic crisis has been the emigration of many citizens to other countries, he emphasized that this problem is compounded by that of "cultural upheaval, the risk of religious disorientation, ... and the painful break-up of the family nucleus; without forgetting the unfortunate consequences of so much illegal immigration ... For this reason, we must combat the circumstances that seem to force so many citizens to leave their homeland."

The Pope ended by indicating that the "recent initiatives for dialogue between State authorities and different ethnic groups - which are aimed at improving understanding and achieving better participation in the life and resources of the nation - are a sign of hope that must be continued. Following this path, Ecuador can become an example and a promoter of coexistence and peace in the Andean region. Dialogue ... is always the most appropriate way to resolve serious internal and external problems, thus obtaining the desired fruits for the good of all the Ecuadorian people."

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ANGELUS: CHRIST, THE LIGHT THAT TRANSFORMS SIN

VATICAN CITY, MAR 10, 2002 (VIS) - This morning, prior to praying the angelus with pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square, John Paul II recalled that the blind man mentioned by St. John in today's Gospel, "represents man, marked by sin, who wishes to know the truth about himself, ... but who is prevented from doing so by congenital sickness."
He went on: "Only Jesus can cure him. ... By entrusting themselves to Him, all human beings, spiritually blind since birth, have the chance 'to come to the light' once more, in other words, to be born to supernatural life."

Then, quoting the Gospel which speaks of the Pharisees' refusal to recognize the miracle of Jesus' curing the blind man because it was performed on a Saturday, the Pope said: "For those who meet Jesus, there are no half measures: or we recognize that we need Him and His light, or we chose to do without. In this latter case, it is one and the same presumption that prevents both those who feel they are righteous before God and those who consider themselves as atheist, from opening themselves to true conversion.

"May no one," he concluded, "close their soul to Christ! To those who accept Him, He gives the light of faith; a light that can transform hearts and, consequently, mentalities and the social, political and economic situations that are dominated by sin."

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, MAR 11, 2002 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in audience Daniel Hays, president of the Canadian Senate, accompanied by his wife and an entourage.

On Saturday March 9, he received in separate audiences:

- Ayatollah Mehdi Karrubi, President of the Consultative Islamic Assembly of Iran, accompanied by an entourage.
- Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.

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RELIGIOUS BELIEF IS THE ANTIDOTE TO VIOLENCE AND CONFLICT

VATICAN CITY, MAR 11, 2002 (VIS) - The Pope wrote a message to Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic nuncio in Cyprus, for his participation in a meeting being held in Nicosia, Cyprus, convened by the Cultural Foundation of the Holy Monastery of Kykkos 'Archangelos,' in collaboration with the department of communication and mass media of the Panteion University in Athens. The message, written in English, bears the date of March 6, 2002.
"The theme of the meeting, dialogue between religions and cultures," writes the Pope, "is most timely. It carries with it the challenge to foster practical ways of improving understanding among peoples, and thus forms the basis upon which to face many of the problems burdening the human family at the beginning of this millennium. The tyranny of injustice, egoism and prejudice can only be defeated by a far-reaching resurgence of the human spirit in individual hearts and in relations between the peoples of the world.

"It is my heartfelt prayer that the meeting in Nicosia will show that there is no basis, either in theory or in practice, for any discrimination between individual and individual or between people and people; all share the same human dignity and the rights which flow from it."

The Pope concludes by recalling the meeting of leaders of the world's religions at Assisi, Italy, on January 24 "to pray for peace and to commit themselves to serving the cause of peace. They wished to show that genuine religious belief is an inexhaustible wellspring of mutual respect and harmony among peoples; indeed it is the chief antidote to violence and conflict."

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CATHOLICS AND ORTHODOX: BEAR WITNESS TO CHRISTIAN HERITAGE

VATICAN CITY, MAR 11, 2002 (VIS) - At midday today, the Pope received members of the delegation of the Greek-Orthodox Church sent by His Beatitude Christodoulos, archbishop of Athens and all Greece, who are taking part in a series of work meetings in Rome from March 8 to 13.

In his address in French, the Holy Father said that "personal and reciprocal acquaintance, exchange of information and a sincere dialogue on ways to establish relations between our Churches, are the indispensable condition for us to be able to advance in a spirit of ecclesial fraternity. They also represent the essential condition for instituting a form of collaboration that will enable Catholic and Orthodox together to offer a living witness of their common Christian heritage."

He continued: "We have the duty to transmit this Christian patrimony that we have inherited. For this reason, it is ever more urgent for Christians to offer society an exemplary image of their common behavior, rooted in faith, and for them together to seek solutions to the great ethical problems raised by the sciences and to the attitude that seeks to render abstract or even deny all reference to man's transcendental dimension."

John Paul II underlined that "our responsibility consists of tending to the 'ecumenism of sanctity'." This "will carry us, with the help of God, toward full communion, which does not mean absorption or fusion, but an encounter in truth and love. We must go deeper in our collaboration and work together in order to make the voice of the Gospel resonate strongly in this Europe of ours, where the Christian roots of the people must be revived."

After affirming that Catholics and Orthodox "are united in the proclamation of the 'Kerygma' of the Resurrection," he said, "this proclamation that we wish to make together will give the men and women of today a reason to live and hope; our desire to seek communion among ourselves will also inspire an appropriate model of coexistence in civil societies."

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