ARCHBISHOP TAURAN RECEIVES AMBASSADORS FROM EU COUNTRIES

VATICAN CITY, MAR 28, 2003 (VIS) - Holy See Press Office Director Joaquin Navarro-Valls, in a statement released today, said that "yesterday afternoon, within the framework of periodic meetings with representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See, Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran, secretary for Relations with States, received the ambassadors of the countries of the European Union. The meeting was an occasion to exchange opinions on the situation in Iraq, on the state of the future European constitution and on the international situation in general."

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PAPAL AUDIENCES WITH RUSSIAN, UKRAINIAN OFFICIALS

VATICAN CITY, MAR 28, 2003 (VIS) - Joaquin Navarro-Valls, director of the Holy See Press Office, made the following statement this afternoon:

"This morning the Holy Father John Paul II received in separate audiences Sergey M. Mironov, president of the senate of the Russian Federation, and Volodimyr Litvin, president of the parliament of Ukraine.

"Afterwards the president of the senate of the Russian Federation and the president of the Ukrainian parliament each met separately with Cardinal Angelo Sodano, secretary of state.

"During the conversations there was an exchange of opinions on Church-State relations in the respective countries and on the prospects for peace at the present moment."

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CONFESSORS MUST ALWAYS ADHERE TO MAGISTERIUM OF THE CHURCH

VATICAN CITY, MAR 28, 2003 (VIS) - The pro-penitentiary major and the prelates and officials of the Apostolic Penitentiary, the penitential priests of Rome's major basilicas, as well as many young priests and seminarians, were welcomed this morning by the Holy Father in the traditional audience he holds with them as they participate in the annual course on the internal forum.

The internal forum is that sphere of ecclesiastical authority exercised in regard to matters dealing with the private spiritual good of individuals, the sphere in which the Sacrament of Penance is administered.

The Holy Father told his listeners he wished to reflect on "the privileged relation that exists between the priesthood and the Sacrament of Reconciliation, which must be received from the priest above all with faith and humility, as well as with convinced frequency."

"To the intrinsic value of the Sacrament of Penance must be added its ascetic efficacy as an occasion for self-examination and therefore, as a verification, happy or painful, of one's own level of fidelity to promises. It is also an ineffable moment to 'experience' the eternal charity that the Lord has for each one of us in our unrepeatable individuality; it is an outlet for delusions and bitterness, inflicted on us perhaps unjustly: it is a consoling balm for the many forms of suffering that mark life."

The priest who hears confession, stressed John Paul II, must welcome the penitent, be thoughtful, warm and caring in his demeanor and "not be avaricious with his time." He must also, said the Pope, use charity and justice "in referring, without ideological variations, ... to the genuine teachings of the Church."

"In particular," he continued, "I wish to call your attention to the duty to adhere to the Magisterium of the Church concerning the complex problems that occur in the bioethical sphere and concerning the moral and canonical norms in the sphere of marriage."

He forcefully reiterated a point he made in his 2002 Letter to Priests for Holy Thursday: "It can happen that in the face of complex contemporary ethical problems the faithful leave the confessional with somewhat confused ideas, especially if they find that confessors are not consistent in their judgments. The truth is that those who fulfill this delicate ministry in the name of God and of the Church have a specific duty not to promote and, even more so, not to express in the confessional, personal opinions that do not correspond to what the Church teaches and professes. Likewise, a failure to speak the truth because of a misconceived sense of compassion should not be taken for love."

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, MAR 28, 2003 (VIS) - The Holy Father received today in separate audiences:

- Sergey M. Mironov, president of the senate of the Russian Federation, with an entourage.

- Two prelates of the Episcopal Conference of Indonesia on their "ad limina" visit:

- Bishop Benyamin Bria of Denpasar.

- Bishop Julianus Kemo Sunarko, S.J. of Purwokerto.

- Volodimyr Litvin, president of the parliament of Ukraine, and an entourage.

- Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

Early this evening the Pope is scheduled to receive Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

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