POPE SPEAKS ABOUT HIS APOSTOLIC TRIP TO AZERBAIJAN AND BULGARIA

VATICAN CITY, MAY 29, 2002 (VIS) - In today's general audience, celebrated in St. Peter's Square, the Pope spoke about his recent apostolic trip to Azerbaijan and Bulgaria from May 22 to 26.

John Paul II said that in Azerbaijan he renewed his "appeal for peace, insisting that religions be decidedly opposed to any form of violence." Noting that "the Catholic community of Azerbaijan is one of the least numerous of any I have visited," he underlined that during the Mass celebrated in Baku he perceived that "the heart of the Church, one, holy, Catholic and apostolic, also beats in Azerbaijan."

"My visit to Sofia coincided with the feast of Saints Cyril and Methodius, evangelizers of the Slavic people," he continued. "This trip, the first for a bishop of Rome, was proposed to reinforce the ties of communion with the Orthodox Church in Bulgaria, guided by Patriarch Maxim."

On the pilgrimage to the monastery of St. John of Rila, he affirmed, "I wanted to pay solemn homage to Eastern monasticism which illuminates the whole Church with its centuries-old witness."

"The culmination of my short but intense trip to Bulgaria was the Eucharistic celebration in the central square of Plovdiv, during which I proclaimed Blesseds three priests - Augustinians of the Assumption - Kamen Vitchev, Pavel Djidjov and Josaphat Chichkov, who were executed in prison in Sofia in 1952 along with Bishop Eugenio Bossilkov, beatified four years ago."

The Pope concluded by recalling that in the gathering with young people he proposed "Christ's message, always current: 'You are the salt of the earth....you are the light of the world.' Christ calls all to the heroism of sanctity." He urged that the Church all over the world, "thanks to the constant intercession of Mary, Queen of Saints and Martyrs, spread the sweet perfume of Christ's holiness in the variety of their traditions and in the unity of one faith and one love."

After greeting the pilgrims in different languages, the Holy Father recalled that tomorrow is the solemnity of Corpus Christi and he invited Romans and pilgrims to participate in the Mass which will be celebrated at 7 p.m. in the square of St. John Lateran Basilica and in the Eucharistic procession that will follow.

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DECLARATION ON POPE'S AUDIENCE WITH U.S. PRESIDENT BUSH

VATICAN CITY, MAY 29, 2002 (VIS) - Following the encounter at 4 p.m. yesterday afternoon between the Holy Father and United States President George Walker Bush, Joaquin Navarro-Valls, Holy See Press Office director, made the following statement:

"Yesterday afternoon, May 28, the Holy Father received the president of the United States, George W. Bush and his entourage.

"The Pope wanted to thank President Bush for the deference he showed in coming to meet him on a day that had already been filled with many commitments and before he returned to the U.S.A. The president recalled the cordial visit that he and his family had last July with the Pope at Castelgandolfo and also told the Holy Father of the results of the (NATO) meeting at Pratica di Mare, as well as reviewing several current problems.

"During the audience with the Pope, the Secretary of State, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, and Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran (secretary for Relations with States) held a meeting with the American Secretary of State, Colin Powell.

"In this meeting they spoke of the most urgent international problems, including the Middle East situation. In addition to the political aspects, they also took into consideration the humanitarian aspects of the dramatic situation being experienced by both the Israeli and Palestinian peoples. They also focussed on the difficult situation of Christians in the Middle East.

"The pope again expressed his closeness to the American people, following the events of last September 11.

"Lastly, His Holiness wished to express, despite the difficulties of the moment, his faith in the spiritual resources of American Catholics who are committed to witnessing to the Gospel values in society."

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, MAY 29, 2002 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Fr. Oscar Omar Aparicio Cespedes, rector of the major seminary of San Jeronimo, as auxiliary of the archdiocese of La Paz (area 10,975, population 1,160,683, Catholics 1,021,761, priests 149, permanent deacons 3, religious 425), Bolivia. The bishop-elect was born in La Paz in 1959 and was ordained a priest in 1987.

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ARCHBISHOP FOLEY TO SPEAK IN THE U.S. AND CANADA

VATICAN CITY, MAY 29, 2002 (VIS) - Archbishop John P. Foley, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, is travelling in the United States and Canada where he will be speaking to various groups in coming days.

Today in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A. he will address the Catholic Press Association on "Ethics in Communications, Advertising and the Internet." Tomorrow in Minneapolis the archbishop will speak at a breakfast sponsored by the Catholic News Service and Catholic Press Association.

On May 31 and June 1, Archbishop Foley will address the Association of Catholic Communicators at the Aulneau Renewal Center in Winnipeg, Manitoba. On June 2 in Winnipeg, the council president is scheduled to speak to the Association of Roman Catholic Communicators of Canada on "Religion and Public Policy."

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