COMMITMENT TO TEACH PEACE IS EVER MORE URGENT

VATICAN CITY, JAN 20, 2004 (VIS) - This morning the Pope received members of the General Inspectorate for Public Security at the Vatican as is tradition at the beginning of the New Year. He thanked them for their service, "which for more than twenty-five years I follow attentively."

"Your job has become more complicated in the last few years because episodes of terrorist violence have greatly upset the security of our cities. While our vigilance has been intensified with every method, every day the commitment to teach peace appears more urgent."

The Holy Father said that "in the face of the many dramatic situations of our time, there is the risk of giving in to fatalism as if peace were an objective that is impossible to achieve. We must not succumb to this temptation! Teaching peace, with its specific demands, must continue to be the object of everyone's incessant commitment."
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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, JAN 2004 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:

- Archbishop Giovanni Battista Morandini, apostolic nuncio in Korea and Mongolia.

- Maestro Gilbert Levine, accompanied by his wife and children.
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TO RELIGIOUS LEADERS: PROMOTE A CULTURE OF DIALOGUE, RESPECT

VATICAN CITY, JAN 20, 2004 (VIS) - "Peace be with you!" were Pope John Paul's opening words this morning in the Concistory Hall as he welcomed participants, including Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, in the just-concluded Ninth Congress of the Islamic-Catholic Liaison Committee.

"Your committee," said the Pope in English, "which facilitates communication between Christians and Muslims, was established during a time of great expectation for world peace. Unfortunately, this hope has not yet been fulfilled. In the face of the tragedies which continue to afflict humanity, it is all the more necessary to convince people that peace is possible. Indeed, it is a duty," he said, citing his Message for World Day of Peace 2004. "I encourage you, and all leaders of religions, to promote a culture of dialogue, mutual understanding and respect. Upon you all, I invoke the abundant blessings of Almighty God!"

This committee, created in 1998, is comprised of representatives of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue and of the Al-Azhar Permanent Committee for Dialogue with Monotheist Religions.
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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, JAN 20, 2004 (VIS) - The Holy Father accepted the resignation from the office of Shkodre (Scutari), Albania, presented by Bishop Zef Simoni, upon having reached the age limit.
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