FORMATION IS ESSENTIAL FOR EFFECTIVE SERVICE TO THE CHURCH

VATICAN CITY, MAY 15, 2003 (VIS) - Today at noon John Paul II received Archbishop Justo Mullor Garcia, president of the Pontifical Ecclesiastic Academy, who was accompanied by student priests who are preparing to enter the diplomatic service of the Holy See.

"In order to carry out faithfully the tasks that will be entrusted to you in the future," the Pope said to the students, "it is essential that, starting in these years of formation, your objective be to achieve sanctity. ... Make a daily effort to aspire to Gospel perfection, nourishing an uninterrupted loving relationship with God in prayer, by listening to the Word and, especially, by participating with devotion in the Eucharistic sacrifice. This is where the secret of the efficacy of all ministry and service to the Church lies."

The Holy Father emphasized that community life in the Academy opens up to them "the universal dimension of the Church, offering the opportunity to better understand the complex human realities of our day. This will be of great help when you carry out your activity among populations with different customs, cultures, languages and religious traditions. Your service will be that much more effective the more you commit yourselves, with an authentically priestly soul, to promoting the growth of local Churches, connecting them with the See of Peter, and for the good of peoples."

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