Monday, October 4, 2004

AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, OCT 4, 2004 (VIS) - The Holy Father received in separate audiences:

- Bishop Howard James Hubbard of Albany, U.S.A. on his "ad limina" visit.

- Bishop Robert Joseph Cunningham of Ogdensburg, U.S.A. on his "ad limina" visit. 

- Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, secretary general of the Synod of Bishops.

  On Saturday October 2, the Holy Father received in separate audiences:

- Cardinal Ignace Moussa I Daoud, prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches.

- Cardinal Miguel Obando Bravo, archbishop of Managua, Nicaragua.

- Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.
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POPE RECEIVES PILGRIMS WHO ATTENDED BEATIFICATION CEREMONY


VATICAN CITY, OCT 4, 2004 (VIS) - This morning the Holy Father received pilgrims who participated yesterday in the beatification of the Servants of God Pierre Vigne, Joseph-Marie Cassant, Anna Katharina Emmerick, Maria Ludovica De Angelis and Charles of Austria.

  Speaking about the message and spirituality of the new blesseds, the Pope said that Pierre Vigne and Joseph-Marie Cassant "contemplated the mystery of the Eucharist in the silence of prayer," and he prayed that their example and intercession "may help Christian communities today to put the Eucharist, font and summit of the life of the Church, at the center of their life. May it stimulate the missionary impulse which the world needs in order to listen to the Good News!"

  John Paul II recalled that the life of Mother Ludovica de Angelis "was consecrated to the glory of God and to the service of her brothers and sisters."  She worked for many  years in a children's hospital in La Plata, Argentina. "Her life," he said, "was a continuous path toward sanctity, and now she is an intercessor and witness to charity for us."

  "In intimate union with Our Lord Who suffers, the 'mystic from Muenster'," he said of Blessed Emmerick, "fulfilled the word of the Apostles, love for Christ and the Church, in order to complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions," as Paul wrote to the Colossians.

  The Pope concluded by recalling that Charles of Austria "always wanted to carry out the will of God.  Faith was the foundation of his responsibility as king and as a father.  "May we follow his example and also trust in God in our life!"
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WORD OF GOD GUIDED THE NEW BLESSEDS


VATICAN CITY, OCT 3, 2004 (VIS) - This morning in St. Peter's Square the Holy Father presided at a Eucharistic celebration during which he beatified Servants of God Pierre Vigne (1670-1740), Joseph-Marie Cassant (1878-1903), Anna Katharina Emmerick (1774-1824), Maria Ludovica De Angelis (1880-1962) and Charles of Austria (1887-1922).

  In the homily, the Pope gave a brief biography of the five new blesseds who "allowed themselves to be guided by the Word of God as by a luminous and sure light, which never failed to illuminate their path."  Referring to Fr. Vigne, founder of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, he said that "by contemplating Christ present in the Eucharist and in His salvific passion, he was led to be an authentic disciple and faithful missionary of the Church.  May his example give the faithful the desire to draw courage for the mission from the love of the Eucharist and adoration of the Most Holy Sacrament!  Let us ask him to touch the hearts of young people so that they may accept consecrating themselves to Him in priesthood or religious life if they are called by God."

  "Brother Joseph-Marie Cassant, priest and Trappist monk, always put his trust in God, in contemplation of the mystery of the passion, and in union with Christ present in the Eucharist. … In the midst of tribulation, with his eyes fixed on Christ, he offered his suffering for Our Lord and the Church. May our contemporaries, in particular the contemplatives and the sick, discover, following his example, the mystery of prayer, which raises the world to God and gives strength in trials!"

  Speaking about Blessed Maria Ludovica De Angelis, virgin, of the Congregation of the Daughters of the Our Lady of Mercy in Savona, Italy John Paul II highlighted her "maternal heart, her leadership qualities and the audacity that belongs to saints. She had a specific and generous love with sick children, facing sacrifices to give them relief; with her colleagues in the Hospital de la Plata she was a model of joy and responsibility, creating a family atmosphere; for her sisters in the community, she was an authentic example. … In everything, she was sustained by prayer, making her life a continuous dialogue with Our Lord."

  Blessed Anna Katharina Emmerick of the Order of Regular Canonesses of St. Augustin "demonstrated and experienced in her own flesh 'the bitter passion of our Lord Jesus Christ.' … Her material poverty is contrasted by her rich interior life. In addition to her patience in bearing her physical weaknesses, the strength of character of the new blessed and her firmness in faith impress us. Her example opened the hearts of poor and rich men, educated and humble people, to complete loving passion toward Jesus Christ."

  The Holy Father emphasized that every day Emperor and King Charles of Austria faced the challenge of Christians "to seek out the will of God in everything, to know it and to put it into action. … He was a friend of peace.  In his eyes, war was 'something horrible.'  When he ascended to the throne in the middle of the fury of World War I, he tried to take up the peace initiative of my predecessor Benedict XV. … In his political conduct, his priority was to follow the call to sanctity of Christians. Therefore, he considered the idea of social love important. May he always be a model for us all, in particular for those today who have a political responsibility in Europe!"

  At the end of the Mass, before praying the Angelus, the Holy Father invited everyone during this month dedicated to the rosary "to pray this beautiful prayer, imitating the new blesseds." Later he greeted in their respective languages the pilgrims who came for the beatification.
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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS


VATICAN CITY, OCT 2, 2004 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed:

- Bishop Paolo Rabitti of San Marino-Montefeltro, Italy as archbishop of Ferrara-Comacchio (area 3,138, population 275,000, Catholics 271,000, priests 185, permanent deacons 9, religious 316), Italy.  The archbishop-elect was born in Castellarano, Italy in 1936 and was ordained a priest in 1960.

- Msgr. Thomas E. Gullickson, counsellor of the apostolic nunciature in Germany, as apostolic nuncio in Trinidad and Tobago, Bahamas, Dominica, St. Kitts and Nevis, Santa Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, elevating him at the same time to the dignity of archbishop. The archbishop-elect was born in Sioux Falls, U.S.A. in 1950 and was ordained a priest in 1976.
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JOHN PAUL II RECEIVES "PRIZE FOR POLITICAL COURAGE"


VATICAN CITY, OCT 2, 2004 (VIS) - KTO French Catholic television and the French political magazine "Politique International" ("International Politics"), whose articles are dedicated to international politics and are written by heads of State and government, political leaders and experts in various fields, today awarded Pope John Paul the "Prize for Political Courage."

  The Pope told those present at the award ceremony, including Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, archbishop of Paris, that this prize "demonstrates the attention to the peace mission of the Church in the world where conflicts are unfortunately too numerous. I would like to appeal once again for peace, for the building of a fraternal society among peoples.

  "My thoughts," added the Holy Father, "go to the journalists who, through their witness and their publications, are the artisans of peace and freedom and who pay a very heavy price in conflicts. I am also thinking of the hostages and their families, innocent victims of violence and hatred, and I invite all people of good will to respect the lives of people. No demand can end up with bargaining for human lives. The path of violence is a dead end."

  KTO television was founded by Cardinal Lustiger. The representatives of both KTO and Politique International paid homage to John Paul II for his tireless fight for peace and against all forms of injustice and iniquities in the world and for his courage in ceaselessly proclaiming the Gospel. He was thanked "for his political courage in showing  ... there is  no limit to what the will can accomplish," especially against aggressors and oppressors.
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