STATEMENT ON HOLY FATHER'S AUDIENCE WITH KOFI ANNAN

VATICAN CITY, FEB 19, 2003 (VIS) - The following statement was released last evening by Holy See Press Office Director Joaquin Navarro-Valls after the visit to the Holy Father by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan:

"Today, February 18, the Holy Father received in audience Kofi Annan, secretary general of the United Nations. Mr. Annan also had the opportunity to meet with Cardinal Angelo Sodano, secretary of State, who was accompanied by Cardinal Roger Etchegaray.

"In a cordial and in-depth conversation which lasted a half hour, the Pope and Mr. Annan were able to examine different aspects of the current critical situation regarding Iraq. Emphasizing the essential role of the United Nations, they expressed the hope that just and effective solutions may be found to the challenges of the moment which respect international law that the Organization of the United Nations guarantees. Solutions must be found which avert further grave suffering for that population, already tried by long years of embargo.

"Other situations of conflict in the world were also reviewed, particularly the ever dramatic situation in the Holy Land.

"During the conversation, Kofi Annan was thanked for his constant personal commitment to peace in different regions of the world."

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TELEGRAM FOR VICTIMS OF ARSON IN KOREAN SUBWAY

VATICAN CITY, FEB 19, 2003 (VIS) - The following telegram was sent in the Holy Father's name by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, secretary of state, to Archbishop Paul Ri Moun-hi of Taegu, Korea for the victims of an arson attack:

"Saddened by the great loss of life in the arson attack on a subway train in Taegu, the Holy Father asks you to kindly convey his heartfelt condolences to the civil authorities and the afflicted families. He prays for the eternal repose of the victims and invokes God's gift of strength and comfort upon those who are in mourning."

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MESSAGE FROM POPE JOHN PAUL TO IFAD ON 25TH ANNIVERSARY

VATICAN CITY, FEB 19, 2003 (VIS) - Cardinal Angelo Sodano, secretary of state, today read a Message from Pope John Paul to Lennart Bage, the president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) at the meeting in Rome celebrating IFAD's 25th anniversary. In attendance were President Ciampi of Italy, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, and representatives of governments and international organizations.

The Pope lauded the work of IFAD, noting that its statues "outline its structure and guide its action, giving it the specific duty to furnish financial resources to 'the poorest of the poor' for the agricultural development of those countries with severe food shortages."

He said that the "solidarity shown to IFAD in the fight against rural poverty has found a concrete way to achieve food security for the poor. ... This is a positive approach at a time when serious concerns persist in diverse areas of the world, considered at high risk nutritionally."

"Our thoughts," said the Pope's Message, "turn to the victims of conflicts and serious violations of basic rights, to the reality of refugees and evacuees, to those affected by sickness and epidemics. These are all situations that threaten orderly coexistence among persons and communities and place human life at grave risk."

Expressing solidarity with the work of IFAD and similar organizations, he nonetheless exhorted his audience to always place "the human person and his primary needs" at the foundation and center of international action.

"Today we see the opposition of interests and the desire to prevail, whose consequences are the abandonment of negotiations and a impetus towards isolation. ... We cannot ignore the sad resignation that seems to have extinguished the desire to live of entire populations that hunger and malnutrition have placed at the margins of the community of nations, far from living conditions that are really respectful of human dignity."

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CANTICLE OF THE THREE YOUNG MEN, PRAISING GOD'S GLORY

VATICAN CITY, FEB 19, 2003 (VIS) - Pope John Paul's catechesis for today's general audience, held in the Paul VI Hall in the presence of 10,000 faithful, centered on the Canticle of the Three Young Men, found in Chapter Three of the Book of Daniel. He called this canticle, "a magnificent hymn in praise of God's transcendent glory."

The Pope recalled that this is the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, "three young Jewish men, placed by the author in the historical context of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, the terrible Babylonian sovereign who annihilated the holy city of Jerusalem in 486 and banished the Israelites 'along the rivers of Babylon'."

Today's canticle, explained the Holy Father, "traditionally called the Canticle of 'the three young men', is similar to a torch that brings light to the darkness at the time of persecution and oppression, a time that has often been repeated in the history of Israel and the very history of Christianity."

"Sung by the three young men condemned to the fiery furnace for their fidelity to the God of Israel," he stated, "the Canticle evokes the holiness and power of the Creator, Who dwells among His people in Jerusalem. This prophetic celebration of God's closeness to His People prefigures the coming of the Son of God, Who in the fullness of time 'took flesh and dwelt among us'. In her liturgy the Church in every age takes up this song of gratitude for God's merciful love, which guides all history to its appointed end."

John Paul II said that "in their blessing, the three young men praise the Lord all powerful, who is in heaven, but also the God who is close to His people, Who wished to inhabit 'his holy temple of glory'."

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, FEB 19, 2003 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Msgr. Victor Naranjo Tovar, vicar general of the diocese of Latacunga, Ecuador, as bishop of the same diocese (area 5,093, population 296,647, Catholics 250,000, priests 52, religious 96). The bishop-elect was born in Pujili, Ecuador in 1941 and was ordained a priest in 1965. The Holy Father accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese presented by Bishop Raul Lopez Mayorga upon having reached the age limit.

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, FEB 19, 2003 (VIS) - The Holy Father received today in audience Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

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