MESSAGE FOR 40TH WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS

VATICAN CITY, NOV 23, 2002 (VIS) - The Holy Father's Message for the 40th World Day of Prayer for Vocations, to be celebrated May 11, 2003 on the theme "Vocation to Service" was published today. The Message is dated October 16, 2002, the 24th anniversary of Pope John Paul's election to the papacy, and was issued in English, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and German.

Following are excerpts from the text:

"1. 'Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased'.

"The theme of this Message for the 40th World Day of Prayer for Vocations invites us to return to the roots of the Christian vocation, to the story of the first person called by the Father, His Son Jesus. He is the 'servant' of the Father, foretold by the prophets as the One Whom the Father has chosen and formed from His mother's womb."

"In today's culture the person who serves is considered inferior; but in sacred history the servant is the one called by God to carry out a particular action of salvation and redemption."

"In the Bible, service is always linked to a specific call that comes from God. For this reason, it represents the greatest fulfillment of the dignity of the creature, as well as that which invokes the creature's mysterious, transcendent dimension."

"2. 'Like a lamb that is led to slaughter ...'

"In Sacred Scripture there is a strong and clear link between service and redemption, as well as between service and suffering. ... The Messiah is the Suffering Servant Who takes on His shoulders the weight of human sin. ... The Servant is the Lamb who ... showed an extraordinary power, the power not to react to evil with evil, but to respond to evil with good."

"3. '... Even as the Son of man came not to be served but to serve'.

"In truth, Jesus is the perfect model of the 'servant' of whom Scripture speaks. ... Jesus did not come to be served 'but to serve and to give His life as ransom for many'. Jesus washed the feet of His disciples and obeyed the plan of the Father, even unto death, death on a cross."

"How can one not read in the story of the 'servant Jesus' ... the story that the Creator has planned for every human being? ... In particular, how can one not read in the parable of the Son, Servant and Lord, the vocational story of the person who is called by Jesus to follow Him more closely, that is, to be a servant in the priestly ministry or in religious consecration?"

"4. 'Where I am, there shall My servant be also'.

"Jesus, Servant and Lord, is also the One Who calls. He calls us to be like Him, because only in service do human beings discover their own dignity and the dignity of others."

"With this Message I should like, in a way, to give voice to Jesus, so as to propose to young people the ideal of service, and to help them overcome the temptations of individualism and the illusion of obtaining their happiness in that way. Notwithstanding certain contrary forces, present also in the mentality of today, in the hearts of many young people there is a natural disposition to open up to others, especially to the most needy. This makes them generous, capable of empathy, ready to forget themselves in order to put the other person ahead of their own interests.

"Dear young people, service is a completely natural vocation. ... Service shows that we are free from the intrusiveness of our ego. It shows that we have a responsibility to other people."

"Dear young people, I hope you can know how to listen to the voice of God calling you to service. This is the road that opens up to so many forms of ministry for the benefit of the community: from the ordained ministry to various other instituted and recognized ministries, such as Catechesis, liturgical animation, education of young people and the various expressions of charity."

5. 'If any one would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all'.

"This is how Jesus spoke to the Twelve, when He caught them discussing among themselves 'who was the greatest'. This is a constant temptation, which does not spare even the one called to preside at the Eucharist, the sacrament of the supreme love of the 'Suffering Servant'. Whoever carries out this service is actually called to be a servant in a yet more radical way. He is called, in fact, to act 'in persona Christi'."

"Dear young men, nurture your attraction to those values and radical choices which will transform your lives into service of others. ... Do not let yourselves be seduced by the call of power and personal ambition. The priestly ideal must be constantly purified from these and other dangerous ambiguities."

"The call of the Lord Jesus still resounds today. ... Do not be afraid to accept this call. You will surely encounter difficulties and sacrifices, but you will be happy to serve."

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DISCOVER ONCE AGAIN THE VALUE AND IMPORTANCE OF THE PARISH

VATICAN CITY, NOV 23, 2002 (VIS) - This morning the Pope received participants in the plenary assembly of the Pontifical Council for the Laity which has been reflecting upon the theme, "We Must Continue Walking, 'Departing' from Christ, that is, from the Eucharist."

John Paul II affirmed that "today there is a need for faithful lay people, conscious of their vocation to proclaim the Gospel and the responsibility that comes from being Christ's disciples in order to bear witness to charity and solidarity in all environments of modern society."

After referring to the plenary's theme which "completes the (council's previous) courses on the sacraments of Christian initiation," the Holy Father indicated that such reflection "naturally brings attention to the parish, the community in which these great mysteries are celebrated. How important it is to discover once again the value and importance of the parish as a place in which the contents of Catholic tradition are passed on!"

Due to "the impact of strong currents of de-christianization, many baptized persons seem to have lost contact with this religious patrimony," he emphasized. "A certain relativism tends to feed discriminating attitudes in relation to the contents of doctrine and Catholic moral teaching, accepted or rejected on the basis of subjective or arbitrary preference."

"Only a faith that lays its roots in the sacramental structure of the Church," added the Pope, "that drinks from the fountains of the Word of God and Tradition, that becomes new life and renewed intelligence of reality, can make baptized persons capable of resisting the impact of the dominant secularized culture."

The Holy Father ended by stressing that the "Eucharist, 'font and summit of all Christian life', completes and crowns Christian initiation. It increases our union with Christ, separates and protects us from sin, strengthens the bonds of charity, sustains our efforts throughout the pilgrimage of life, and makes us look forward to the glory to which we are all destined."

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ANGELUS REFLECTIONS ON FEAST OF CHRIST THE KING

VATICAN CITY, NOV 24, 2002 (VIS) - At noon today Pope John Paul appeared at the window of his study overlooking St. Peter's Square for his traditional Sunday address and to pray the Angelus with the pilgrims gathered in the square.

The Pope noted that "today we celebrate the solemnity of Christ the King," and said the fact that this feast occurs on the last Sunday of the liturgical year "shows that Jesus Christ is the Lord of time and in Him is fulfilled the entire plan of creation and redemption." He added that Jesus of Nazareth, in fulfilling this mission, "does not come to reign as the king of this world but to establish, so to speak, the divine power of Love in the heart of man, of history and of the cosmos."

"Vatican Council II," stated the Holy Father, "proclaimed in a strong and clear way to the contemporary world the lordship of Christ, and its message was taken up again in the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000. Humanity in the third millennium also needs to discover that Christ is its Savior. It is this announcement that Christians must bring with renewed courage to the world of today."

After praying the Angelus, John Paul II remarked that "today, the diocese of Rome celebrates Seminary Day. While I assure seminarians and those who help form them of my constant prayer, I thank the parish communities, families and individual faithful who generously support the diocesan seminary. Let us pray that numerous and holy vocations to the priesthood will not be lacking in Rome."
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THE POPE CONFIRMS CARDINAL SODANO AS SECRETARY OF STATE

VATICAN CITY, NOV 23, 2002 (VIS) - Made public today was a letter from the Pope to Cardinal Angelo Sodano, in which he expresses his "personal recognition for the great help that for years you have offered me daily as close collaborator in the demanding role of Secretary of State." The letter, dated November 20, coincides with Cardinal Sodano's 75th birthday.

"Even though you turn 75 on November 23," writes the Holy Father, "I ask you to continue in the office that you hold, putting your uncommon qualities at the disposition of the Pope."

The Pope concludes: "Knowing the love of the Church and spirit of obedience that have always inspired your conduct, I trust that I may continue to count on your enlightened collaboration, dear brother, as secretary of State, and in this endeavor, I assure you that I will not cease asking the Lord in prayer for all necessary help and aid for you."

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ARCHBISHOP FOLEY AT MEETING ON SPIRITUALITY AND THE MEDIA

VATICAN CITY, NOV 24, 2002 (VIS) - Archbishop John P. Foley, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, delivered a homily today at a Mass in Ravello, Italy, for participants in a three-day meeting on spirituality in movies, television and literature. He also addressed the meeting, which was organized by RAI, Italy's state-owned radio and television.

"When I think of spirituality," said the archbishop, "I return in my mind to the aim of life, asking myself the most timely questions: Why am I here? Who made me? What must I do with my life? For those who think only in material terms, productions which make one reflect can change one's life; for those who think in religious terms, such productions can enrich their spiritual life. ... Movie and television productions do not preach; they are an occasion for everyone to arrive at understanding the aims of life and to identify ourselves with those seeking to reach self-awareness."

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, NOV 25, 2002 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Appointed Fr. Rene-Marie Ehuzu, C.J.M., pastor of the Cathedral of Cotonou, Benin, as Bishop of Aboemy (area 4,724, population 600,000, Catholics 225,000, priests 48, religious 69), Benin. The bishop-elect was born in 1944 in Cotonou, Benin and was ordained a priest in 1972. He succeeds Bishop Lucien Monsi-Agboka whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted upon having reached the age limit.

- Appointed Msgr. Pierre Nguyen Van Tot, charge d'affaires of the nunciature in Benin and Togo, as apostolic nuncio in the same countries, with the dignity of archbishop. The archbishop-elect was born in 1949 in Thu dau mot, Vietnam and was ordained a priest in 1974.

On Saturday November 23, it was made public that the Holy Father:
- Appointed Archbishop Michael Louis Fitzgerald, president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, as a member of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

- Appointed Professor Krzysztof Skubiszewski of Poland as an ordinary member of the Pontifical Academy of the Social Sciences.

- Appointed Giuseppina Roselli, "scriptor" of the Vatican Secret Archives, as archivist.

- Appointed Bishop Vladimir Filo, auxiliary of Bratislava-Trnava, Slovakia, as coadjutor bishop of Roznava (population 7,000, population 342,159, Catholics 173,644, priests 1120, religious 155, permanent deacons 2), Slovakia.

- Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the archdiocese of Salzburg, Austria presented by Archbishop Georg Eder, in accordance with Canon 401, para. 2, of the Code of Canon Law.

- Appointed Fr. Cornelius Schilder, M.H.M., provincial of the Mill Hill Missionaries for Uganda and Kenya, as bishop of Ngong (area 39,847, population 942,395, Catholics 72,960, priests 61, religious 122), Kenya. The bishop-elect was born in 1941 in Westwoud, Holland and was ordained a priest in 1968. He succeeds Bishop Colin Cameron Davies, M.H.M., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted having reached the age limit.

- Appointed Bishop Jose Paala Salazar, O.P., of the Prelature of Batanes, the Philippines, as auxiliary of the diocese of Butuan (area 11,555, population 1,199,251, Catholics 991,497, priests 91, religious 134), the Philippines.

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