SHOWING THE FACE OF CHRIST TO THE ILL AND SUFFERING

VATICAN CITY, MAY 2, 2002 (VIS) - Participants in the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Ministry of Health were welcomed by the Pope today. In his talk to them, he underscored the "broad and articulated pastoral activity that is undertaken at a world level in the field of health care with the stimulus and support of your dicastery."

He noted that the assembly's objective is "how to better show the Face of Christ, in agony and in glory, illuminating with the Gospel the world of health, suffering and illness, sanctifying the sick and those in health care, and promoting the coordination of the pastoral ministry of health in the Church."

"The new frontiers opened by the progress of the sciences of life and the applications that derive from them," said the Holy Father, "have placed an enormous power and responsibility in the hands of man. If the culture of death prevails, if in the fields of medicine and biomedical research men allow themselves to be conditioned by egotistical choices or promethean ambitions, it is inevitable that human dignity and life itself will be dangerously threatened. If, on the contrary, work in this important sector of health is marked by the culture of life, guided by an upright conscience, man will find valid answers to his deepest longings."

Pointing to the "new and complex problems" facing the ministry of health care, the Pope urged the council to remain "faithful to its mission ... and always behave with respect for the life and dignity of the human being."
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GENERAL AUDIENCE: POPE REQUESTS PRAYERS FOR THE UNEMPLOYED

VATICAN CITY, MAY 1, 2002 (VIS) - "Today, May 1, is Labor Day" said the Pope in today's general audience which was held in St. Peter's Square. "For us Christians, this occasion comes under the protection of St. Joseph the Worker."

The fruit of work, said John Paul II, "is 'daily bread' which we invoke in the Our Father. It could be said that, in a certain sense, through work man becomes more human. This is why industriousness is a virtue. However, in order for industriousness to truly enable man to become more human, it must always be joined to the social order of work. Only in this way can we safeguard the inalienable dignity of the individual and the human and social value of work."

The Holy Father recalled that today marks the beginning of "the month dedicated to the Virgin Mary," and he called for it to be "a month of intense prayer with Mary. This is the heartfelt wish that I have for each of you as I once again recommend that you recite the Rosary daily."

"I invite you," he concluded, "to join me in praying for workers, especially those who are undergoing employment difficulties. Moreover, we cannot but intensify our trusting and incessant prayers for peace in the Holy Land where we hope that the Israeli and Palestinian people, both so dear to my heart, may return as soon as possible to a secure and serene coexistence. May this come about through the intercession of the Holy Virgin and her husband St. Joseph, guardian of the Redeemer."

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APOSTOLIC LETTER ON CELEBRATION OF THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE

VATICAN CITY, MAY 2, 2002 (VIS) - Made public today was Pope John Paul II's Apostolic Letter in the Form of Motu Proprio 'Misericordia Dei' on Certain Aspects of the Celebration of the Sacrament of Penance. In the Letter, dated April 7, Divine Mercy Sunday, the Pope affirmed: "I decree that everything I have set down in this Apostolic Letter issued Motu Proprio shall have full and lasting force and be observed from this day forth, notwithstanding any provisions to the contrary. All that I have decreed in this Letter is, by its nature, valid for the venerable Oriental Catholic Churches in conformity with the respective Canons of their own Code."

Following are excerpts:

"Through the centuries, the celebration of the Sacrament of Penance has developed in different forms, but it has always kept the same basic structure: it necessarily entails not only the action of the minister ' only a Bishop or priest, who judges and absolves, tends and heals in the name of Christ ' but also the actions of the penitent: contrition, confession and satisfaction."

"In order that the minister of the Sacrament may know the dispositions of penitents with a view to granting or withholding absolution and imposing a suitable penance, it is necessary that the faithful, as well as being aware of the sins they have committed, of being sorry for them and resolved not to fall into them again,() should also confess their sins. In this sense, the Council of Trent declared that it is necessary 'by divine decree to confess each and every mortal sin'. ... Since, therefore, the integral confession of serious sins is by divine decree a constitutive part of the Sacrament, it is in no way subject to the discretion of pastors (dispensation, interpretation, local customs, etc.)."
"In the present circumstances of the care of souls and responding to the concerned requests of many Brothers in the Episcopate, I consider it useful to recall some of the canonical laws in force regarding the celebration of this Sacrament and clarify certain aspects of them. ... This seems especially necessary, given that in some places there has been a tendency to abandon individual confession and wrongly to resort to 'general' or 'communal' absolution. In this case general absolution is no longer seen as an extraordinary means to be used in wholly exceptional situations."

"Thus, after consultation with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, and the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, and after hearing the views of venerable Brother Cardinals in charge of the dicasteries of the Roman Curia, ... I decree the following:

"1. Ordinaries are to remind all the ministers of the Sacrament of Penance that the universal law of the Church, applying Catholic doctrine in this area, has established that:

"a) 'Individual and integral confession and absolution are the sole ordinary means by which the faithful, conscious of grave sin, are reconciled with God and the Church; only physical or moral impossibility excuses from such confession, in which case reconciliation can be obtained in other ways' (Can. 960).

"b) Therefore, 'all those of whom it is required by virtue of their ministry in the care of souls are obliged to ensure that the confessions of the faithful entrusted to them are heard when they reasonably ask, and that they are given the opportunity to approach individual confession, on days and at times set down for their convenience'. (Can. 986, 1.)"

"2. Local Ordinaries, and parish priests and rectors of churches and shrines, should periodically verify that the greatest possible provision is in fact being made for the faithful to confess their sins."

"3. Since 'the faithful are obliged to confess, according to kind and number, all grave sins committed after Baptism of which they are conscious after careful examination and which have not yet been directly remitted by the Church's power of the keys, nor acknowledged in individual confession' (Can. 988, 1), any practice which restricts confession to a generic accusation of sin or of only one or two sins judged to be more important is to be reproved."

"4. In the light of and within the framework of the above norms, the absolution of a number of penitents at once without previous confession, as envisaged by Can. 961 of the Code of Canon Law, is to be correctly understood and administered. Such absolution is in fact 'exceptional in character' and 'cannot be imparted in a general manner unless:

"1. the danger of death is imminent and there is not time for the priest or priests to hear the confessions of the individual penitents;

"2. a grave necessity exists, that is, when in light of the number of penitents a supply of confessors is not readily available to hear the confessions of individuals in an appropriate way within an appropriate time, so that the penitents would be deprived of sacramental grace or Holy Communion for a long time through no fault of their own; it is not considered sufficient necessity if confessors cannot be readily available only because of the great number of penitents, as can occur on the occasion of some great feast or pilgrimage'.

"With reference to the case of grave necessity, the following clarification is made:

"a) It refers to situations which are objectively exceptional, such as can occur in mission territories or in isolated communities of the faithful, where the priest can visit only once or very few times a year, or when war or weather conditions or similar factors permit.

"b) The two conditions set down in the Canon to determine grave necessity are inseparable."

"c) The first condition, the impossibility of hearing confessions 'in an appropriate way' 'within an appropriate time', refers only to the time reasonably required for the elements of a valid and worthy celebration of the Sacrament."

"d) The second condition calls for a prudential judgement in order to assess how long penitents can be deprived of sacramental grace for there to be a true impossibility as described in Can. 960, presuming that there is no imminent danger of death."

"e) It is not acceptable to contrive or to allow the contrivance of situations of apparent grave necessity, ... still less because of penitents' preference for general absolution, as if this were a normal option equivalent to the two ordinary forms set out in the Ritual.

"f) The large number of penitents gathered on the occasion of a great feast or pilgrimage, or for reasons of tourism or because of today's increased mobility of people, does not in itself constitute sufficient necessity.

"5. Judgement as to whether there exist the conditions required by Can. 961 1, 2 is not a matter for the confessor but for 'the diocesan Bishop who can determine cases of such necessity in the light of criteria agreed upon with other members of the Episcopal Conference' (Can.961, 2).

"6. Given the fundamental importance of full harmony among the Bishops' Conferences of the world in a matter so essential to the life of the Church, the various Conferences, observing Can. 455 2 of the Code of Canon Law, shall send as soon as possible to the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments the text of the norms which they intend to issue or update in the light of this Motu Proprio on the application of Can. 961."

"7. As regards the personal disposition of penitents, it should be reiterated that:

"a) 'For the faithful to avail themselves validly of sacramental absolution given to many at one time, it is required that they not only be suitably disposed but also at the same time intend to confess individually the serious sins which at present cannot be so confessed' (Can. 962, 1).

"b) As far as possible, including cases of imminent danger of death, there should be a preliminary exhortation to the faithful 'that each person take care to make an act of contrition' (Can.962, 2).

"c) It is clear that penitents living in a habitual state of serious sin and who do not intend to change their situation cannot validly receive absolution.

"8. The obligation 'to confess serious sins at least once a year' (Can. 989) remains, and therefore 'a person who has had serious sins remitted by general absolution is to approach individual confession as soon as there is an opportunity to do so before receiving another general absolution, unless a just cause intervenes' (Can. 963).

"9. Concerning the place and confessional for the celebration of the Sacrament, it should be remembered that:

"a) 'the proper place to hear sacramental confessions is a church or an oratory' (Can. 964 1) though it remains clear that pastoral reasons can justify celebrating the Sacrament in other places (Cf. Can. 964, 3).

"b) confessionals are regulated by the norms issued by the respective Episcopal Conferences, who shall ensure that confessionals are located 'in an open area' and have 'a fixed grille', so as to permit the faithful and confessors themselves who may wish to make use of them to do so freely."

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CONFESSION MUST BE FULL AND ABSOLUTION PERSONAL

VATICAN CITY, MAY 2, 2002 (VIS) - Today in the Holy See Press Office, Cardinals Joseph Ratzinger and Jorge Arturo Medina Estevez and Archbishop Julian Herranz presented the Apostolic Letter In The Form Of Motu Proprio "Misericordia Dei" On Certain Aspects of the Celebration of the Sacrament of Penance.

Cardinal Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, highlighted the personal nature of the Sacrament of Penance as underlined in the document. This means that both guilt and pardon "must be entirely personal." This aspect has become confused over the last few decades as recourse to collective absolution "came ever more frequently to be considered as a normal form of the Sacrament of Penance: an abuse that has contributed to the progressive disappearance of this Sacrament in some parts of the Church."

The cardinal said that "the obligation of confession is instituted - as the Council of Trent says - by the Lord Himself and is constituted by the Sacrament, thus it is not left to the disposition of the Church. It is not, then, in the Church's power to substitute personal confession with general absolution."

Cardinal Medina, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of Sacraments, stressed that "the ministry of reconciliation is not a privilege or exercise of power, it is the expression of the pastoral responsibility that each bishop and priest assumed before God the day they were ordained. It is their dutiful service to their brothers and sisters."

"The Motu Proprio 'Misericordia Dei' underlines the traditional teaching of Church doctrine according to which the only ordinary way to celebrate the Sacrament of Penance is that of a full confession of sins to a priest, followed by personal absolution. So-called 'collective' or 'general' absolutions are to be considered as extraordinary and exceptional, to be used only and exclusively when threatened by death or when it is physically or morally impossible to celebrate the Sacrament in the ordinary way."

Archbishop Herranz, president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, indicated that this legislative document represents "an act of ecclesial governance that is not only judicious and timely but also fully responsive to John Paul II's Magisterium on the value of justice as a primary requirement of charity and, at the same time, as inseparable from mercy in the Church's legal code."

Two dimensions are highlighted in the Motu Proprio: "The fundamental right of the faithful to receive from their pastors the Sacraments instituted by Christ," and the duty of the latter to "establish and secure the unfailing application of canonical and liturgical laws that ensure the valid and legal celebration of the Sacraments."

Archbishop Herranz affirmed that the norms of this document concern "the only ordinary way" to receive divine forgiveness for grave sins, in other words "individual confession," and, secondly, the "extraordinary way to administer the Sacrament, in other words the absolution of a number of penitents together without prior individual confession," which must happen in only two cases: "imminent danger of death and cases of dire necessity."

Finally, the archbishop recalled, the affirmation of the Pope that "what is written in the Motu Proprio is, by its nature, valid for the venerable Oriental Catholic Churches, in conformity with the respective Canons of their own Code."

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, MAY 2, 2002 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed:

- As members of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments: Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, and Archbishop Luigi De Magistris, Major Pro-Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary.

- As members of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints: Cardinals Ignace Moussa I Daoud, Jan Schotte C.I.C.M., Agostino Cacciavillan and Sergio Sebastiani; Archbishops Luigi Dossena and Giovanni Coppa; Bishops Lino Fumagalli, Javier Echevarria Rodriguez, Jozef Zlatnansky and Franco Croci.

- Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, archbishop of Westminster, England, as a member of the Pontifical Council for Culture.
- Msgr. Carlo Pinto of the archdiocese of Naples, Italy, as a consultor of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of Sacraments.

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, MAY 2, 2002 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences five prelates from the Antilles Episcopal Conference, on their "ad limina" visit:
- Cardinal Adam Joseph Maida, archbishop of Detroit, U.S.A., and superior of the "sui iuris" mission of the Cayman Islands.
- Archbishop Edgerton Roland Clarke of Kingston in Jamaica, Jamaica.
- Archbishop Kelvin Edward Felix of Castries, Santa Lucia.
- Archbishop Lawrence Aloysius Burke S.J., of Nassau, Bahamas.
- Archbishop Edward Joseph Gilbert C.SS.R., of Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.

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PAPAL ENVOY TO MIDEAST RELEASES STATEMENT IN JERUSALEM

VATICAN CITY, MAY 2, 2002 (VIS) - The following declaration was released this morning in Jerusalem by Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, the Holy Father's envoy on a special mission to the Holy Land:

"I am - simply - the envoy of Pope John Paul II whose only mission, which is spiritual, is to proclaim the Good News of Peace, Love and Mercy that was first proclaimed, after the Prophets, by Christ in this Holy Land, in this Holy City of Jerusalem.

"I come, in the name of the Gospel, to place my small stone on the building-block of peace opened on this bloodied soil. I will apply myself in solidarity with all the Christian Churches.
"I come in the name of John Paul II who resolutely never ceases to witness respect for and confidence in the two peoples, Israelis and Palestinians, both lacerated today but united by a deep aspiration to live in freedom, justice and security, to which they have a right.

"I come to ask that everything be done to end the tragic situation in Bethlehem and that the Basilica of the Nativity be returned to God and to believers. Everything can be hoped for when each man believes in the other and follows the path of love and not violence.

"I am also thinking of the political leaders of the Israelis and Palestinians. I have just been received by Moshe Katvaz, president of the State of Israel. I will be received this evening by Yasser Arafat, president of the Palestinian Authority. I pray for all those who have in their hands the destiny of these two peoples.

"Shalom, Salam, peace is only built with the stones of a true dialogue."

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