AUDIENCE FOCUSSES ON WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY

VATICAN CITY, JAN 22, 2003 (VIS) - Pope John Paul's weekly general audience, held in the Paul VI Hall, focussed on the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity which began January 18 and ends January 25 when the Pope will preside at vespers at St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls Basilica. Christian Unity has been a hallmark of the Holy Father's pontificate for the past nearly quarter century.

"The Lord founded one Church and one Church only," he said, citing the Vatican Council II decree on ecumenism, "Unitatis Redintegratio." "However, many Christian communions present themselves to men as the true inheritors of Jesus Christ; all indeed profess to be followers of the Lord but they differ in mind and go their different ways, as if Christ Himself were divided."

The Pope remarked that "the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity offers us the opportunity to pray together, with one voice and one heart, for the precious gift of unity. To borrow an image from St. Paul, we may say that this gift comes to us 'in earthen vessels'. It is therefore fragile and must be handled with utmost care."

"Notwithstanding the sublime nature and the greatness of this gift," explained John Paul II, "human weakness has caused it to not be totally welcomed and valued. In the past, relations between Christians have been sometimes marked by opposition and, in several cases, by reciprocal hatred. All this - as the Vatican Council justly recalled - constitutes a 'scandal' for the world and 'damage' to the preaching of the Gospel."

The Pope asked that Christians always and everywhere make efforts "to overcome every barrier through incessant prayer, by persevering in dialogue and with fraternal and concrete cooperation in favor of the poorest and most needy."

The Holy Father dedicated closing remarks to the petrine ministry and its role in Christian Unity, citing both "Lumen Gentium" and his encyclical "Ut Unum Sint": "It seemed useful to me to propose a common reflection on the ministry of the Bishop of Rome, constituted as 'the perpetual and visible principle and foundation of unity' with an end to finding 'a way of exercising the primacy which, while in no way renouncing what is essential to its mission, is nonetheless open to a new situation."

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, JAN 22, 2003 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed:

- Bishop Odilon Guimaraes Moreira, auxiliary of Vitoria, Brazil as bishop of Itabira-Fabriciano (area 8,724, population 800,000, Catholics 600,000, priests 54, religious 88), Brazil.

- Bishop Augusto Jose Zini Filho, auxiliary of Sao Sebastiao do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil as bishop of Limeira (area 4,958, population 1,325,000, Catholics 1,010,000, priests 83, religious 160), Brazil.

- Fr. Assis Lopes, rector of the Major Seminary in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil as auxiliary of the archdiocese of Sao Sebastiao do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The bishop-elect was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1934 and was ordained a priest in 1968.

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TELEGRAM FOR EARTHQUAKE IN MEXICO

VATICAN CITY, JAN 22, 2003 (VIS) - The following telegram was sent by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, secretary of state, in the name of Pope John Paul II to Archbishop Giuseppe Bertello, apostolic nuncio in Mexico, for the earthquake that struck the states of Colima and Jalisco last evening, local time:

"The Holy Father, John Paul II, deeply distressed upon learning the sad news of the earthquake in the state of Colima, which has produced so many victims and injured and such grave material damage, offers prayers for the eternal repose of the souls of those who died and raises his fervent prayers so that the Lord may grant His consolation to those affected by this tragedy and that He may inspire in everyone sentiments of solidarity to overcome adversity, encouraged by moral values always open to hope. In addition, I ask Your Excellency to convey the Holy Father's condolences to the family members and to express to those who have been injured his paternal solicitude and sentiments of closeness, at the same time as he encourages institutions and men of good will to provide effective help in these difficult moments with a generous spirit and Christian charity, while he sends his consoling and heartfelt apostolic blessing as a sign of affection to the beloved Mexican people."

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