UNIVERSITIES: PLACES OF AUTHENTIC CHRISTIAN WISDOM

VATICAN CITY, OCT 25, 2002 (VIS) - This afternoon in the Vatican Basilica, Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education, presided at a Eucharistic celebration on the occasion of the beginning of the academic year of the ecclesiastical universities. The Pope delivered the homily and imparted the final blessing.

The Holy Father reminded professors and students that they were called "to pay constant attention in order to interpret the signs of the times in relation to the central Sign of divine Revelation, Christ the Lord. In particular, (universities) are called to lend themselves in an ever-renewed way to the service of unity of the Church. This unity, open to the Catholic dimension by its nature, finds here in Rome the ideal environment to be believed, studied and served."

"The unity of the ecclesial body," he continued, "preserves itself and is built through the bond of peace, in truth and charity. Therefore, it is necessary for your universities to be places of authentic Christian wisdom, in which everyone commits himself to work on a coherent synthesis between faith and life, between the theoretical and the practical."

In order to carry out this duty, John Paul II concluded, "may the saints be your teachers, especially the Doctors of the Church and those who spent their lives studying and teaching. They are, in the highest sense, the 'generation who searches for the face of God' and precisely for having been passionate contemplatives of the face of God, they knew how to convey to others the luminous reflections of truth, beauty and charity that come from Him."

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POPE WELCOMES MEMBERS OF INSTITUTE FOR HUMAN SCIENCES

VATICAN CITY, OCT 26, 2002 (VIS) - The Holy Father today welcomed 30 members of the Institute for Human Sciences, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of its founding, and he expressed his "personal appreciation" for their work which has included "the organization of eight memorable colloquia at Castelgandolfo."

"Today, 20 years after its establishment," said the Pope, the Institute "has amply lived up to the vision of its founders. The events of 1989 and the quickened pace of Europe's unification have shown the need for precisely the kind of disciplined analysis, broad-ranging discussion and concrete proposals to which the Institute is dedicated."

He added that "In these years, the Institute has made a significant contribution to a more responsible shaping of the political, economic, social and cultural future of the continent. I express my hope that in the years ahead it will continue to emphasize the 'human' dimension of the immense possibilities and challenges opening up before mankind at the dawn of the new millennium. In the end, any solution to the grave crises which face contemporary society, and any effort to create a future more worthy of man must be based on an appreciation of the innate dignity and the spiritual grandeur of each human being."

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BRAZILIAN BISHOPS: DILIGENT MINISTRY FOR YOUTHS IS NECESSARY

VATICAN CITY, OCT 26, 2002 (VIS) - This morning the Holy Father met with prelates from regions 1 through 4 of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil at the end of their "ad limina" visit.

In his speech in Portuguese, the Pope encouraged the bishops to confront the current challenges while dedicating their "best energies, with renewed missionary zeal, to the growth of the Kingdom of God in this world."

After stressing the "religious awakening" of young people in their dioceses, John Paul II urged them to "form the faithful in a firm and coherent faith; only a new and effective discovery of Christ, as the cornerstone upon which the life of all of society is built, will allow them to not fear any type of difficulty. ... An increase in the quality of Christian life is necessary, in order that they bear witness to their faith clearly. ... Let no one feel excluded from this apostolic plan!"

The Pope highlighted that "the Church needs holy priests; holy religious who are distinguished by their exclusive consecration within their specific foundational charism in order to carry out the work of evangelization with generosity and sacrifice in the fundamental mission which has been entrusted to them, following the example of Mother Paulina, foundress of the Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, whom I canonized last May. Today more than ever, the Church needs lay saints as well."

Referring to movements, lay associations and new realities in their particular churches, the Holy Father called attention to the "risk of a certain timidity or short-sightedness toward the transcendental value which the group phenomenon takes on today in the life of the Church." And he recalled that "the criteria for being part of the Church, for an adequate inclusion of those new realities, must always be respected and examined by diocesan authority, in accordance with pastoral needs, not only of the particular Church itself but also of the universal Church."

John Paul II urged the bishops to warn the faithful against initiatives that attempt to transform the National Council of the Laity into a conference as a parallel instance to the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil; "an autonomous organism represented by lay people, without reference to the hierarchical communion with the bishops."

"A diligent and attentive pastoral care of young people, called to bear witness to Christian values in the new millennium, is necessary," he added. Joined to the "thorny problem of guiding minors who are deprived of dignity and innocence, are the problems related to insertion into the job force; the increase in juvenile crime, conditioned greatly by endemic poverty and by the lack of family stability, as well as the deleterious activity of some of the mass media; internal migration to big cities in search of better standards of life; the worrying implication of young people in the world of drugs and prostitution. These are all factors that continue to be significant in your pastoral attention."

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POPE HIGHLIGHTS SOLID AND RICH FAITH OF SLOVAKIAN PEOPLE

VATICAN CITY, OCT 28, 2002 (VIS) - This morning the Holy Father met with Rudolf Schuster, president of the Slovakian Republic, who came to Rome on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the independence of his country.

In his speech, John Paul II emphasized the "deep devotion" of the Slovakian people to the Successor of Peter, a devotion which since the times of Cyril and Methodius "has spread and become even deeper." And he added: "The faith of the Slovakian people is solid and rich due to the work of brilliant and generous shepherds who have known how to be close to their faithful in good times and bad."

After referring to the confidence with which Slovakia looks at Europe, he said: "I am sure that the future entry of your country into the European Union, which will be of benefit to Slovakia, will also contribute to the well-being and stability of the whole continent."

The Pope affirmed that "today we observe the exchange of the instruments of ratification of the accord, signed in Bratislava on August 21, 2002, on religious assistance for the Catholic faithful in the Armed Forces of the country. This is one of the consequences of the basic Accord that came about in November of 2000 between the Holy See and Slovakia."

"The Church," he continued, "is not looking for privileges or favors, on the contrary, it only asks to be able to carry out its mission, respecting the laws that govern civil co-existence," and "to maintain a cordial and constructive dialogue" with the institutions of the State. This dialogue "becomes so much more useful," keeping in mind that the Catholic Church went through "a hard period of persecution during the Communist regime."

The Holy Father concluded by emphasizing that "the importance of the Church's activity manifests itself above all in the present circumstances in which the young democracy must confront problems related to the inheritance of Marxist ideology, as well as the tumultuous process of modernization, the phenomenon of unemployment and the consequent danger, for those who find themselves in need, of getting involved in illegal activities."

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FAITHFUL URGED TO CONTEMPLATE CHRIST THROUGH THE ROSARY

VATICAN CITY, OCT 27, 2002 (VIS) - At noon today, Pope John Paul appeared at the window of his study which overlooks St. Peter's Square and, before reciting the Angelus, addressed the faithful who had gathered there.

Noting that October 2002 through October 2003 is a special Year of the Rosary, the Pope said: "In such a way I desired to place the 25th year of my pontificate under the sign of this prayer. The most important reason for reproposing the custom of the Rosary is that it is a valid means to promote among the faithful that commitment to contemplate the face of Christ to which I invited everyone following the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000."

"The unsurpassable model of Christian contemplation," the Holy Father added, "is the Virgin Mary. From conception up to the resurrection and ascension of Jesus into heaven, His mother kept the eyes of her immaculate heart fixed on her divine Son: an astonished glance, a penetrating glance, a sorrowful glance, a radiant glance."

He added that the Rosary helps unite us to Christ and "exhorts us to rediscover the beauty of reciting the Rosary in the family: 'the family that prays together, stays together'."

The Pope asserted that "the Rosary is a prayer oriented by its nature to peace. In this year of the Rosary, Christians are called to keep their eyes fixed on Christ, Prince of Peace, so that thoughts and deeds of justice and peace prevail in hearts and among peoples. Let us invoke today the intercession of Our Lady who is so loved by the Russian people who, in these days, have suffered so much. As we pray for the victims of the recent painful event, we ask Mary that similar deeds never happen again."

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CARDINAL CASTRILLON CELEBRATES 50 YEARS OF PRIESTHOOD

VATICAN CITY, OCT 26, 2002 (VIS) - Made public today was John Paul II's Letter to Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos on the occasion of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of his priestly ordination on October 26. The Letter was written in Latin and dated September 10.

Cardinal Castrillon was born in Medellin, Colombia on July 4, 1929, and was ordained a priest in 1952 and a bishop in 1971 and became a cardinal in 1998. In February of that same year, he was appointed prefect of the Congregation for Clergy and since April of 2000 he has been the president of the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei."

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, OCT 28, 2002 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Bishop Edgar de Jesus Garcia Gil, auxiliary of Cali, Colombia, as bishop of Montelibano (area 11,000, population 273,000, Catholics 206,700, priests 31, religious 51), Colombia.

It was made public on October 26 that the Holy Father:

- Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Antigonish, Canada, presented by Bishop Colin Campbell, in accordance with Canon 401, para. 2, of the Code of Canon Law.

- Appointed Fr. Donald Lapointe, moderator of the parish of St. Thomas in Compton, Canada, as auxiliary of Saint-Jerome (area 2,156, population 420,576, Catholics 390,576, priests 182, permanent deacons 18, religious 455), Canada. The bishop-elect was born in 1936 in Disraeli, Canada and was ordained a priest 1964.

- Appointed Msgr. Robert Harris, episcopal vicar for the Anglophone sector of the archdiocese of Montreal, Canada, as auxiliary of the Sault Sainte Marie (area 196,603, population 392,315, Catholics 218,850, priests 117, permanent deacons 109, religious 247), Canada. The bishop-elect was born in 1944 in Montreal and was ordained a priest in 1969.

- Appointed Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, as his special envoy to the celebrations of the Third National Eucharistic Congress which will take place in Dassa-Zoume, Benin from November 22 to 24, 2002.

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, OCT 28, 2002 (VIS) - The Holy Father received today in separate audiences:

- Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, S.D.B., apostolic administrator "sede vacante et ad nutum Santae Sedi" of Dili, West Timor, on his "ad limina" visit.
- Bishop Basilio do Nascimento, apostolic administrator "sede vacante et ad nutum Sanctae Sedis" of Baucau, West Timor, on his "ad limina" visit.
- The rector, seminarians and guests (bishops, priests, and laity) of the Pontifical German-Hungarian College on the occasion of the 450th anniversary of the founding of the German College on October 28, 1552. The Hungarian College was joined to it in 1580.

On Saturday October 26, the Holy Father received in separate audiences:

- Atis Sjanits, ambassador of Latvia, on his farewell visit.
- Four prelates from the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (North East I-IV) on their "ad limina" visit:
- Bishop Alfredo Schaffler of Parnaiba, accompanied by Bishop emeritus Joaquim Rafino do Rego.
- Bishop Pedro Brito Guimares of Sao Raimundo Nonato.
- Msgr. Francisco Bezerra Neto, diocesan administrator of Picos.
- Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.

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