AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, JAN 10, 2003 (VIS) - Today the Holy Father received in separate audiences:

- Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, president emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum".

- Cardinal Mario Francesco Pompedda, prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signature.

- Cardinal Jan Pieter Schotte, C.I.C.M., secretary general of the Synod of Bishops.

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MESSAGE: ANNIVERSARY OF THE WORK OF THE HOLY CHILDHOOD

VATICAN CITY, JAN 10, 2003 (VIS) - Made public today was a message by the Holy Father that is dated January 6, 2003 which marks the 160th anniversary of the Work of the Holy Childhood, currently present in 110 nations.

Addressing missionary children, the Pope says: "You make an effort in so many ways to share the future of children forced to work and to ease the poverty of the disadvantaged; you express your solidarity with the anxieties and dramas of children, involved in the wars of adults, who are themselves the victims of the violence of war; you pray every day that your little friends who do not yet know Jesus may share the gift of faith which you have received."

After recalling the custom of the children of the Work of the Holy Childhood of going from house to house to announce the arrival of Christmas, John Paul II emphasizes that "this commitment to evangelization and solidarity is not limited to a few weeks or to the Christmas season, but applies to our whole life. For this reason," he added, "I encourage you to respond generously to the numerous requests for help which come from poor nations."

The Holy Father then recalls the stories of children who gave up a toy or saved up money to build schools in the area of the mission in order to free their peers who are forced to fight. "There are more than 3,000 projects that missionary children are financing with their contributions."

"Let us pray," he adds, "that there may be more children who put not only a part but all of their life at the disposition of the Gospel. Let us also ask God to spread the charitable activity of the Missionary Childhood everywhere."

At the end of the message, the Pope writes that the children who are part of the Work of the Holy Childhood "take on the commitment of saying one Hail Mary every day" and he urges adults to pray a part of the Rosary. "The missionary Rosary is very beautiful: the white decade is for the old Europe; the yellow decade for Asia; the green decade for Africa, the red decade for America and the blue decade for Oceania."

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THE POPE RECEIVES NORTH AMERICAN COLLEGE

VATICAN CITY, JAN 10, 2003 (VIS) - Today John Paul II received participants in a congress organized by the North American College of Rome in order to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the dedication of the seminary on the Janiculum and the inauguration of the 'Casa Santa Maria dell'Umilta' as a center of study for American priests in Rome.

Addressing the rector, the Pope said: "May this anniversary deepen your commitment to the College's continuing mission of training priests imbued with a deep sense of the universality of the Church and zeal for the spread of God's Kingdom both in your native land and throughout the world."

"Your meeting this year," he continued, "brings you back to Rome and the College, to cherished places where, with the idealism and generosity of youth, you once pledged yourselves to the pursuit of knowledge, wisdom and holiness for the service of God's people. At a time of difficulty and suffering for Catholics in the United States, I assure all of you of my prayerful solidarity. It is my fervent hope that these days of reflection, prayer and priestly fraternity will strengthen you in your noble vocation to be disciples of Jesus Christ, witnesses to the truth of his Gospel and shepherds completely committed to the renewal of his Church in faith, hope and love."

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, JAN 10, 2003 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed:

- Bishop Flavio Calle Zapata of Sonson-Rionegro, Colombia as metropolitan archbishop of Ibague (area 5,734, population 539,284, Catholics 485,355, priests 100, religious 173), Colombia. The archbishop-elect was born in San Andres, Colombia in 1944 and was ordained a priest in 1968.

- Bishop Rafael Arcadio Bernal Supelano, C.SS.R. of Arauca, Colombia as bishop of Libano-Honda (area 3,477, population 250,000, Catholics 230,000, priests 44, religious 76), Colombia.

- Bishop Allen Henry Vigneron, auxiliary of Detroit, U.S.A., as coadjutor of Oakland (area 3,798, population 2,348,723, Catholics 429,477, priests 289, permanent deacons 90, religious 557), U.S.A.

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