JOHN PAUL II REMEMBERS VICTIMS OF EARTHQUAKE

VATICAN CITY, NOV 1, 2002 (VIS) - Today, the Solemnity of All Saints, the Pope appeared at the window of his study which faces St. Peter's Square to pray the Angelus with the faithful present. In the afternoon, he prayed in the Vatican Grottos for the deceased.

"Today, according to the Liturgy," the Holy Father affirmed, "the Church has 'the joy of celebrating on a unique feast day the merits and glory of the saints': not only those whom it has proclaimed throughout the centuries, but also those innumerable men and women whose sanctity, hidden in this world, is well-known by God and shines in his eternal Kingdom."

John Paul II affirmed that this feast day "invites us to turn our gaze toward Heaven, the goal of our earthly pilgrimage. There the festive community of the saints awaits us. There we will be reunited with deceased loved ones, for whom we will raise our prayer in the great liturgical commemoration tomorrow."

"November 2, however, requires us not to forget but rather to favor in prayer the souls of so many deceased that nobody remembers. ... I pray especially for the victims of terrorism, which in the past months and also in these days has continued to plague humanity. The commemoration of All Souls must be a unanimous invocation of peace: peace for those who lived, peace for those who are living, peace for those who will live."

After praying the Angelus, the Holy Father referred to the earthquakes in Sicily and in other areas of central and southern Italy "which have caused serious suffering and problems for those beloved populations."

The Pope expressed his "deep spiritual closeness to those affected by these tragic events, especially the children caught in the collapse of a school building in San Giuliano di Puglia. While I elevate to the Lord my prayer for the victims and their families, I send an affectionate word of encouragement to those who have survived and to all those who are working in the rescue efforts, hoping that they may be sustained by the solidarity of the entire nation."

As is his annual custom, John Paul II went down to the Vatican Grottos to pray for the Supreme Pontiffs and for all the deceased. "In these Vatican grottos," said the Pope, "we entrust to the mercy of the Father the victims of the earthquake which has affected Southern Italy, and in particular the many children, who have lost their lives, and their parents and their families. Also we pray for those who are buried here and await the resurrection of the flesh; we pray in particular for those Supreme Pontiffs, who developed the service of pastors of the Universal Church, so that they may participate in the eternal liturgy in Heaven."

Through Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Pope sent telegrams of condolences for the victims of the earthquake that struck the Molise region of Italy to Bishop Tommaso Valentinetti of Termoli-Larino and Archbishop Armando Dini of Campobasso-Boiano.

ANG;SAINTS; DECEASED;...;...;VIS;20021105;Word: 470;

MASS TODAY COMMEMORATES PRELATES WHO DIED IN PAST YEAR

VATICAN CITY, NOV 5, 2002 (VIS) - Mass was celebrated this morning in St.Peter's Basilica for the cardinals, archbishops and bishops who died over the past 12 months. Cardinal Angelo Sodano, secretary of state, was the main celebrant and Pope John Paul delivered the homily.

Noting that today's Mass closely follows upon the solemnity of All Saints and the commemoration of All Souls, the Pope said that these feasts "stimulate in the faithful an intense and widespread climate of prayer," a climate "in which the consoling certainty of the communion of saints lessens the pain, which never disappears entire, for those persons who have died."

Pope John Paul stated that he was "linked by bonds of deep friendship to many of the deceased prelates" and named in particular the cardinals who died this year: Paolo Bertoli, Franjo Kuharic, Louis-Marie Bille, Alexandru Todea, Johannes Joachim Degenhardt, Lucas Moreira Neves, Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan and John Baptist Wu Cheng-Chung.

He recalled that there was a day in which each of the deceased prelates, "fresh with energy, pronounced his 'Here I am!' at the moment of priestly ordination. ... At the hour of death they pronounced their final 'Here I am', joined to that of Christ who died entrusting His spirit into the hands of the Father."

John Paul II recalled that the deceased commemorated today "were pastors of Christ's flock. ... Through their preaching, they instilled in the hearts of the faithful the disconcerting yet consoling truth of God's love. ... In the name of the God of love, their hands blessed, their words comforted, their presence - sometimes silent - witnessed with eloquence that God's mercy is endless, that His compassion is tireless."

"Several of them," the Pope affirmed, "had the grace of offering this witness in a heroic way, facing harsh trials and inhuman persecutions."

HML;REMEMBRANCE DECEASED PRELATES;...;...;VIS;20021105;Word: 310;

AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, NOV 4, 2002 (VIS) - Today the Holy Father received the following: Cardinals Opilio Rossi, Antonio Innocenti, Paul Augustin Mayer, Alfons M. Stickler, Angelo Felici, Giovanni Canestri, Antonio M. Javierre Ortas, Jose T. Sanchez, Fiorenzo Angelini, Luigi Poggi, Gilberto Agustoni, and Giovanni Cheli.

AP;...;...;...;VIS;20021105;Word: 50;

POPE EVOKES ALL SOULS DAY, PRAYS FOR EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS

VATICAN CITY, NOV 3, 2002 (VIS) - Pope John Paul appeared at the window of his study at noon today to recite the Angelus prayer and to address the faithful gathered below in St. Peter's Square. In brief remarks, he referred to yesterday's commemoration of All Souls Day and also asked for prayers for the victims of the earthquake in Italy.

Speaking about All Souls Day, the Pope noted that "a chorus of prayers from the Church throughout the world was raised to the God of life and peace that He might receive all souls into His kingdom of infinite light, especially the most abandoned and in need of His mercy." He added that "the world today needs more than ever to rediscover the sense of living and dying in the prospect of eternal life. Outside of this, modern culture, born to exalt man and his dignity, paradoxically becomes a culture of death."

The Holy Father then remarked that tomorrow, November 4 is the liturgical memory of St. Charles Borromeo, for whom he was named, and he expressed his "gratitude to all those who, having remembered this occasion, have sent me best wishes for my name day." He also thanked everyone for their prayers on his behalf.

After praying the Angelus, John Paul II observed that "today we have all participated spiritually in the pain of the community of San Giuliano di Puglia, so very tried by the tragic deaths of so many of her children. Once again I wish to tell those dear families that the Pope is close to them and is praying for them, imploring the Lord, through the intercession of Mary, mother of mercy, for the comfort of faith and Christian hope."

Earlier in the day, the Pope had sent a separate message, through Archbishop Paolo Romeo, apostolic nuncio in Italy, to the people of San Giuliano di Puglia who held funeral services this morning for the 29 victims, mostly children, who died when their school collapsed following the earthquake.

"In this time of deep pain for so many families of San Giuliano di Puglia who, shattered by pain, are about to say farewell to their dear ones, I wish to once again express my paternal closeness to them, commending into the hands of the Father Who is in heaven the young lives of those who died and imploring for everyone the comfort of faith and Christian hope. For the beloved community of San Giuliano I ask the Lord for the gift of serenity in this tragic circumstance, certain that this will give everyone sentiments of deep solidarity, which is a precious legacy of the Italian people."

ANG;VICTIMS EARTHQUAKE;...;...;VIS;20021105;Word: 440;

IN MEMORIAM

VATICAN CITY, NOV 5, 2002 (VIS) - In recent weeks the following prelates died:

- Bishop Phillipe Chebaya, emeritus of Baalbek-Deir El-Ahmar, Lebanon on October 9 at age 82.
- Archbishop Octavio Nicolas Derisi, former auxiliary of La Plata, Argentina on October 22 at age 95.
- Bishop Denzil Reginald D'Souza, emeritus of Aizawl, India on October 25 at age 73. - Archbishop Jose Sebastian Laboa, apostolic nuncio, on October 24 at age 79.
- Bishop Christopher Mwoleka, emeritus of Rulenge, Tanzania on October 16 at age 75.
- Bishop Louis Bertrand Tirilly, emeritus of Taiohae o Tefenuaenata, Marquises Islands, French Polynesia on October 25 at age 90.

...;DEATHS;...;... ;VIS;20021105;Word: 90;