POPE ARRIVES IN VALLE D'AOSTA FOR BRIEF VACATION

VATICAN CITY, JUL 5, 2004 (VIS) - Pope John Paul left Rome this morning about 11 .m., and after a trip of an hour on Air Vallee, arrived at the Corrado Gex di Saint Christophe Airport in Aosta, Italy. He proceeded by car to the residence in Les Combes where he will spent 12 days on vacation. The Holy Father's last vacation in northern Italy was in 2001.
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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, JUL 5, 2004 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Erected the diocese of Uijongbu (area 2,626, population 2,311,858, Catholics 161,872, priests 67, religious 60), Korea, with territory taken from the archdiocese of Seoul, making it a suffragan of the same metropolitan see.

- Appointed Bishop Joseph Lee Han-Taek, S.J., auxiliary of Seoul, Korea, as bishop of Uijongbu (area 2,626, population 2,311,858, Catholics 161,872, priests 67, religious 60), Korea.

- Appointed Bishop Peter Liu Cheng-Chung of Kyayi, Taiwan, as coadjutor of the diocese of Kaohsiung (area 5,723, population 3,649,083, Catholics 47,106, priests 83, religious 82), Taiwan.

- Appointed Archbishop Hector Miguel Cabrejos Vidarte of Trujillo, Peru and Bishop Jose Guadalupe Martin Rabago of Leon, Mexico as members of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.

  On Saturday July 3, it was made public that the Holy Father:

- Appointed Fr. Gabino Miranda Melgarejo of the clergy of the diocese of Abancay, Peru and pastor of St. James the Apostle Parish in Talavera, Peru as auxiliary bishop of Ayacucho (area 26,777, population 498,710, Catholics 324,162, priests 46, religious 131), Peru. The bishop-elect was born in Piscaya, Peru in 1960 and was ordained a priest in 1987.

- Erected the ecclesiastical province of Villavicencio, Colombia, and elevated the diocese of Villavicencio to metropolitan church, assigning as the dioceses of San Jose del Guaviare and Granada, Colombia as suffragans.

- Appointed Bishop Jose Octavio Ruiz Arena of Villavicencio, Colombia, as metropolitan archbishop of Villavicencio (area 50,000, population 480,000, Catholics 465,000, priests 141, permanent deacons 13, religious 55), Colombia.

- Appointed Cardinal Julio Terrazas Sandoval, C.SS.R, archbishop of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, as his special envoy to the celebration of the 10th Argentine Eucharistic Congress which will take place in Corrientes, Argentina on September 2-5.

- Appointed Cardinal Jozef Tomko, president of the Pontifical Committee for the Eucharistic Congresses, as pontifical legate to the celebrations of the 48th International Eucharistic Congress which will take place October 10-17 in  Guadalajara, Mexico.
 
- Appointed Msgr. Thomas Mitchell Rozanski, pastor of St. John the Evangelist Parish in Severna Park, U.S.A., as auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese of Baltimore (area 12,430, population 2,972,083, Catholics 500,179, priests 497, permanent deacons 171, religious 1,446), U.S.A.
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MEETING IN ARGENTINA OF THE JEWISH-CATHOLIC COMMITTEE

VATICAN CITY, JUL 5, 2004 (VIS) - The 18th meeting of the International Catholic-Jewish Liaison Committee, organized by the Holy See Commission for Religious Relations with Jews and the International Jewish Committee on Inter-religious Consultations (IJCIC), will take place from July 5 to 8 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.  Catholic and Jewish experts from Europe, Israel, the United States and Latin America will participate in the meeting.

  The theme of the meeting is: "Zedeq and Zedaqah (Justice and Charity). Facing the Challenges of the Future: Jewish-Catholic Relations in the 21st Century."

  According to a communique published today, the Holy See is represented by Cardinal Walter Kasper, Bishop Brian Farrell, and Fr. Norbert Hofmann, respectively president, vice president and secretary of the Commission for the Religious Relations with Jews, together with Cardinal Jorge Maria Mejia and Archbishop Michael Louis Fitzgerald, president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue.
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ANGELUS: ECUMENICAL DIALOGUE, THE VALUE OF VACATIONS

VATICAN CITY, JUL 4, 2004 (VIS) - As he addressed the crowds of faithful who gathered in St. Peter's Square today to pray the noon Angelus, the Pope spoke of the recent visit to Rome and the Vatican of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, and also of his departure tomorrow for a brief holiday period in the Valle d'Aosta region of northern Italy.

  On the patriarch's visit, the Pope remarked that "we signed a Common Declaration which confirms and restarts the commitment by Catholics and Orthodox in the service of the great cause of full communion of Christians." Despite persistent obstacles, he added, "we affirmed the will to pursue and even intensify the ecumenical dialogue. ... In the course of our meetings, the awareness emerged that Catholics and Orthodox are called to work together to see to it that the European continent does not forget its own Christian roots. Only in this way will Europe fully undertake its role in the dialogue among civilizations and in the global promotion of justice, solidarity and the safeguarding of  creation."

   After the Angelus prayer, John Paul II said that he had accepted an invitation by the bishop of Aosta and "tomorrow, God willing, I will leave to spend a few days in Valle d'Aosta. As I prepare to start this brief vacation my thoughts go to the families who have planned their vacations for this period: I hope they are able to live this time in serene relaxation. At the same time I am thinking of all those who, for diverse reasons, cannot take a true and proper vacation.

  "I hope that everyone can profit from the necessary break from work and that recreational initiatives, enriched by genuine human relations, will be promoted to give relief to persons who are alone and in difficulty."

  As announced in a note from the Prefecture of the Papal Household yesterday, when the Holy Father returns from his northern mountain vacation, he will recite the Angelus, starting on July 18, from the courtyard at Castelgandolfo. Weekly general audiences will also be held there.
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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, JUL 3, 2004 (VIS) -   Today the Holy Father received in separate audiences

- Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, archivist and librarian of the Holy Roman Church.

- Pier Ugo Calzolari, rector of the University of Bologna, with his wife.

- Archbishop Edoardo Menichelli of Ancona-Osimo, Italy, and an entourage.

- Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.

  On Friday, July 2, he received in audience Cardinal Francis Arinze, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of Sacraments.
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POPE IS AWARDED GREAT SEAL OF UNIVERSITY OF BOLOGNA

VATICAN CITY, JUL 3, 2004 (VIS) - Pope John Paul today gave a Message to Pier Ugo Calzolari, rector of the University of Bologna, whom he received in audience, together with his wife. The Pope thanked the Italian university for having bestowed on him, on the occasion of the silver anniversary of his pontificate, the Great Seal of the "Alma Mater Studiorum." He said he was "honored by this recognition considering that the university at Bologna is one of the oldest and most famous in the world."

  He wrote that "the university world and, in a special way, the young students have always had a special place in my pastoral concerns. I have enthusiastically dedicated great energies of my priesthood and episcopal ministry to them." He noted that as Bishop of Rome he has visited many universities in Rome, in Italy and elsewhere during his apostolic trips.

  The Holy Father expressed his delight "at the thought that this present show of esteem was motivated by the special attention I have given to culture and to its basic importance for the promotion of man and of historical progress. ... There is an inseparable reciprocity between the education of man and culture. If the human person is educated by reason of the culture in which he lives, it is also true that the value of culture is measured by its capacity to make man grow according to his high vocation, helping him, that is, to become ever more man."

  He closed the Message by encouraging the rector and the academic senate "to work so that scientific and cultural activity is always moved by a sincere passion for man and ordered to his harmonious and integral promotion."
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ANCONA: NOBLE MORAL, SPIRITUAL, CIVIC TRADITIONS

VATICAN CITY, JUL 3, 2004 (VIS) - A delegation from the city of Ancona, Italy accompanied by Archbishop Edoardo Menichelli, who received the pallium from the Pope on June 29, as well as the mayor, were welcomed to the Vatican this morning by the Holy Father who recalled his two visits to their "beautiful city." Greeting their fellow citizens through them, he said he hoped "they will know how to be faithful to their ancient and noble moral, spiritual and civic traditions."

  The Pope remarked on their initiative of a year ago called "Song of Peace" in which  "you recalled the drama undergone by your city in the last world war and the tenacity of your people in the work of reconstruction. You wished to commemorate the tragedies of war with the prayer that I recited in Assisi in January 2002 when, together with representatives of religions, we celebrated the Day of Prayer for Peace in the World."

  In closing, he said he hoped "that each person will know how to do their part in promoting the fundamental good of peace."
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EDUCATION: A SEARCH FOR INTEGRAL, HARMONIOUS DEVELOPMENT

VATICAN CITY, JUL 3, 2004 (VIS) - John Paul II today welcomed 100 participants in the European symposium, "The Challenges of Education: Recovery, Promises, Commitments," now underway in Rome. The meeting was promoted by the Episcopal Commission for Catholic Education, Schools and Universities of the Italian Episcopal Conference, in collaboration with the Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE) and with the Commission of the Episcopacies of the European Community (COMECE).

  In his address in French, the Pope expressed his delight at the attention being given "to questions concerning education, especially important today in Europe where so many young people seem disoriented. The educational policies of States take pains to find new perspectives to face the difficulties of young people in their personal life and in the social framework."

  He said that "to give young people a future, education must be seen as the search for the integral and harmonious development of the person, of the maturing of the moral conscience to be able to discern good and to act in accordance, and also as an attention to the spiritual dimension of the growing youth." He once again emphasized the Christian roots of Europe at the basis of its "spiritual and moral traditions."

  Students must be helped, said the Holy Father, "to be more," not just "to have more." There must be unity among all aspects of education and teachers, parents, and educators "must remember that what they teach must be supported by the witness of their lives."

   John Paul II underscored the great "lack of hope in today's youth. ... In the Apostolic Exhortation 'Ecclesia in Europe', I noted that 'at the root of this loss of hope is an attempt to promote a vision of man apart from God and apart from Christ', giving God's place to man. 'Forgetfulness of God led to the abandonment of man'. True education must depart from the truth about man, the affirmation of his dignity and his transcendent vocation."

  He closed his remarks by noting that "the Christian community also has a role in education. ... May Christians not be afraid to announce Christ to the new generations, Christ, the source of hope and light on their path! May they know how to welcome adolescents and their families, listen to and help them, even if that often is demanding!"
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