JOHN PAUL II PRESIDES AT ASH WEDNESDAY PENITENTIAL RITE

VATICAN CITY, MAR 6, 2003 (VIS) - At 5 p.m. yesterday, Ash Wednesday, there was a brief prayer service at St. Anselm Church on Rome's Aventine Hill, which was followed by a penitential procession to the nearby basilica of St. Sabina. Here Pope John Paul presided at the Liturgy of the Word, delivered a homily, and blessed the ashes which he and others then received. Cardinal Jozef Tomko, who has the title of St. Sabina, presided at the Eucharistic liturgy.

In his homily, the Pope spoke of the community dimension of penance, saying that "especially in difficult moments, following a misadventure or in the face of danger, the Word of God, through the prophets, used to call believers to a penitential mobilization: all are called, no one is excluded, from the old to babies; everyone united to implore God's compassion and pardon."

He remarked that receiving ashes might seem an anachronism in today's society but added that the words we hear upon receiving them - "Remember that you are dust and to dust you will return" - remind us that we are flesh and spirit; the flesh will die and return to dust but "the spirit is made for immortality. The believer knows that Christ has risen, conquering even death in His body."

Receiving ashes, the Pope went on, reminds us that we are creatures, but also "sinners who need God's pardon to be able to live according to the Gospel. ... This prospect of joy commits believers to do all possible to anticipate in the present time something of future peace. ... This is the aim of the prayer and fasting to which, in the face of threats of war that weigh on the world, I have invited the faithful."

"Prayer and fasting must be accompanied by good works. Conversion must be translated into welcoming and solidarity, affirmed John Paul II in concluding remarks. "There will never be peace on earth as long as the oppression of peoples, social injustices and economic imbalances persist. Initiatives and external interventions are not enough for the great and longed-for structural changes: there must be a choral conversion of hearts to love."

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"ROMAN TRIPTYCH," POEMS BY JOHN PAUL II

VATICAN CITY, MAR 6, 2003 (VIS) - "Roman Triptych, Meditations," a book of poems by Pope John Paul II, was presented this morning in the Holy See Press Office by Cardinal Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Joining him were Prof. Giovanni Reale, who gave a critique of the work, and Italian actor Nando Gazzolo, who read several of the poems.

Originally written in Polish, "Roman Triptych" was made available today in Italian, English, Spanish and French. All heads of dicasteries of the Roman Curia were invited to this morning's presentation.

Cardinal Ratzinger said that "the first panel of the Roman triptych of Pope John Paul II mirrors the experience of creation, its beauty, its dynamism. There is the image of wooded hills and also, even stronger, the image of water that flows towards the valleys, from 'the silvery cascade, rhythmically falling from the mountain'." Here, he said, the Pope is looking for the "source" and he sees that "if you wish to find the source, you must go up, against the current."

"I believe," stated the cardinal, "that this is the key to reading the two successive panels. They, in fact, lead us upwards, against the current. The spiritual pilgrimage undertaken in this text leads us towards the 'Beginning' ... In the Beginning was the Word. ... Upon arriving the real surprise is that the 'beginning' is also revealed as the end." He added that "the true key word which summarizes the pilgrimage of the second panel of the triptych is not 'Word' but rather vision and seeing. The Word has a face. The Word - the source - is a vision. Creation, the universe comes from a vision. Man comes from a vision."

Cardinal Ratzinger highlighted how the poems speak of the "beginning" and the "end," saying that their link appears clear in the images Michelangelo gave us in the Sistine Chapel of the Creation and the Last Judgement. "From the Pope's inner eyes emerges again the memory of the conclaves of August and October 1978. ... The Pope speaks to the cardinals of a future conclave, 'after my death', and tells them to allow Michelangelo's vision to speak to them. The word 'con-clave' imposes the thought of keys, of the legacy left by the keys of Peter. Placing these keys in the right hands - this is the immense responsibility of those days."

In conclusion, the prefect noted that "the immense arc that is the true vision of the Roman Triptych, clearly reveals itself in the third panel, the ascent of Abraham and Isaac on Mount Moriah, the mount of sacrifice, of unreserved self-giving. The ascent is the last and decisive phase of the path of Abraham, that started with his leaving his homeland, Ur of the Chaldeans; it is the final phase of the ascent towards the summit, counter-current, towards the source which is also the final destination."

Prof. Reale said that "the Roman Triptych of Karol Wojtyla is a beautiful and moving text, but not an easy one to read and understand" without the proper keys to its study. "The main axis," he explained, "of the compositions of Wojtyla the poet coincides precisely with those of Wojtyla the philosopher and Wojtyla the theologian. This axis consists in a concept of man, not only and not just in his earthly and temporal dimension but also and above all in his metaphysical origins and his eschatalogical destiny, with all the complexities and intricate dynamics that this involves."

REALE: "Based on what we have just said," he continued, "a certain problem of aesthetics arises: is it possible to compose 'poetical' works on the basis of 'philosophical' and 'theological' concepts? The answer to this problem is essential for understanding and thoroughly enjoying Pope John Paul's 'Roman Triptych'. The answer, he said, is "yes" because "the philosopher as a creator of concepts is a 'thinker', whereas the poet as a creator of images is a 'visionary'. It is thus as a 'visionary' that the poet can 'see' and express through 'images' what the philosopher and theologian express through concepts."

"Many have asked," he remarked, "how on earth the Supreme Pontiff felt the need to return to writing poetry, as he did when he was young. In the first place we must say that (Pope) Wojtyla has dedicated almost four decades to writing poetry - though published for the most part under pseudonyms. In the second place, we must remember that Wojtyla, in addition to being a 'theologian' is not only a 'poet', but also a 'philosopher'. During the year a new volume will be edited which will contain all philosophical works published by him: its title will be 'Metaphysics of the Person'.

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TRADITIONAL LENTEN ENCOUNTER WITH CLERGY OF ROME

VATICAN CITY, MAR 6, 2003 (VIS) - This morning in the Clementine Hall, Pope John Paul held his traditional Lenten encounter with the clergy of Rome and, in his talk to them, noted that this takes place "in the 25th year of my pastoral service as bishop of Rome." Cardinal Camillo Ruini, vicar of Rome, and the clergy presented the Pope with a volume containing all of the talks he has given to them since the first one in 1979.

As he did in his 1996 book, "Gift and Mystery: On the 50th Anniversary of My Priesthood," John Paul II today stressed that the ministerial priesthood is both a great gift from God as well as a mystery, "which finds its truth and identity in being the derivation from and continuation of Christ Himself and the mission He received from the Father."

"In the exercise of our ministry and throughout our life," affirmed the Pope, "we are truly men of God. Not only the faithful who are closest to us, but also those persons who are weak and unsure of their faith and distant from practicing a Christian life are sensitive to the presence and witness of a priest who is truly 'a man of God'."

He said that the "main path" to achieve this holiness is prayer, and at the heart of prayer, especially for priests, is the Eucharist. "In reality, we have no alternative. If we do not seek, humbly and with trust, to proceed on the path of our sanctification, we end up being satisfied with little compromises, that slowly become greater ones and can even end up in the betrayal, open or masked, of that special love with which God loved us, calling us to the priesthood."

The Holy Father underscored that being priests "means loving the Church as Christ did, giving ourselves for her. We must not be afraid to identify ourselves with the Church and consume ourselves for her." Above all, he said, a priest must always be the Good Shepherd, loving and serving his people. He must always be a man of communion.

"When difficulties and temptations weigh on our heart," said Pope John Paul, "let us remember the greatness of the gift we have received, and thus be able in turn 'to give with joy'. We are in fact, above all in the confessional but also in all aspects of our ministry, witnesses and instruments of divine mercy, we are and must be men who know how to infuse hope and perform works of peace and reconciliation."

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, MAR 6, 2003 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in audience Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

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DECLARATION BY CARDINAL LAGHI AFTER VISIT WITH PRESIDENT BUSH

VATICAN CITY, MAR 6, 2003 (VIS) - The following statement was released by Cardinal Pio Laghi, who is in Washington as the Holy Father's special envoy and who spoke yesterday with U.S. President George Bush:

"I was privileged to have been sent by the Holy Father as his Special Envoy to President George Bush. I assured him of the Holy Father's great esteem and affection for the American people and the United States of America.

"The purpose of my visit was to deliver a personal message of the Holy Father to the President regarding the Iraqi crisis, to expound upon the Holy See's position and to report on the various initiatives undertaken by the Holy See to contribute to disarmament and peace in the Middle East.

"Out of respect for the President and because of the importance of this moment, I am not in a position to discuss the substance of our conversation, nor am I able to release the text of the personal letter of the Holy Father to the President.

"The Holy See is urging those in positions of civil authority to take fully into account all aspects of this crisis. In that regard, the Holy See's position has been two-fold. First, the Iraqi government is obliged to fulfill completely and fully its international obligations regarding human rights and disarmament under the UN resolutions with respect for international norms. Second, these obligations and their fulfillment must continue to be pursued within the framework of the United Nations.

"The Holy See maintains that there are still peaceful avenues within the context of the vast patrimony of international law and institutions which exist for that purpose. A decision regarding the use of military force can only be taken within the framework of the United Nations, but always taking into account the grave consequences of such an armed conflict: the suffering of the people of Iraq and those involved in the military operation, a further instability in the region and a new gulf between Islam and Christianity.

"I want to emphasize that there is great unity on this grave matter on the part of the Holy See, the Bishops in the United States, and the Church throughout the world.

"I told the President that today, on Ash Wednesday, Catholics around the world are following the Pope's request to pray and fast for peace this day. The Holy Father himself continues to pray and hope that all leaders who face difficult decisions will be inspired in their search for peace."

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