AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, NOV 9, 2004 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:

- Bishop Gilbert Aubry of Saint-Denis-de-La Reunion, La Reunion, on his "ad limina" visit.

- Fr. Jan Szpilka, S.D.S., apostolic administrator "ad nutum Sanctae Sedis" of the Comoro Islands on his "ad limina" visit.
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ACCORD SIGNED FOR CENSUS OF INQUISITION DOCUMENTS, ARCHIVES

VATICAN CITY, NOV 9, 2004 (VIS) - Early this afternoon, Holy See Press Office Director Joaquin Navarro-Valls released the following statement:

  "This afternoon Bishop Angelo Amato, secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Dr. Maurizio Fallace, director general of the Archives of the Italian Ministry for Cultural Goods and Activities, and Prof. Andrea Del Col, director of the Research Center on the Inquisition of the University of Studies of Trieste, will sign an accord of collaboration to carry out a census of the archives and Inquisition documentation in Italy.

  "Such a project regards not only the documentation concerning the Roman Inquisition, preserved in ecclesiastical, state and private archives, as well as in Italian and foreign libraries, but also the documentation of the Spanish Inquisition on Italian territory and that of the secular authorities that instituted processes for heresy, witchcraft and other crimes against the faith.

  "Such a vast operation, never before attempted, is of great importance in answering the new orientations of international research on the control of religious ideas in medieval and modern Europe, and takes advantage of the collaboration between the Ministry for Cultural Goods and Activities, the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and a research group of the Italian university, to make more readily available a great documentation patrimony that is little known today and is dispersed throughout multiple places.

  "The census, carried out according to the criteria established by common agreement and with the most advanced technological instruments, will not only seek to safeguard this cultural patrimony, unique in its nature, but will also facilitate knowledge in many fields of research, from the history of religious and scientific doctrines, to that of popular cultures, of 'spontaneous holiness', of censorship, in addition to the systems of social control between the medieval age and modern times.

   "The accord will therefore consolidate and amplify collaboration that has taken place for some time and is being conducted for the service of a better development of man and civil coexistence, in exploring the values of Christianity and western civilization."  
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EXPERTS IN PALLIATIVE CURES MEET IN THE VATICAN

VATICAN CITY, NOV 9, 2004 (VIS) - This morning Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, president of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Ministry, presented the 19th International Conference sponsored by his dicastery which this year is on the theme "Palliative Cures." It will take place November 11-13 in the Vatican.

  Bishop Jose Luis Redrado Marchite, O.H., Fr. Felice Ruffini, M.I., respectively secretary and undersecretary of the dicastery, accompanied Cardinal Barragan. Dr. Vittorina Zagonel, a specialist in oncology and hematology, Dr. Simona Castellano, an expert in physical therapy, and Dr. Maurizio Evangelista, a researcher from the Institute of Anesthesia, Rehabilitation and Pain Therapy in the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery at Sacred Heart Catholic University in Rome, also participated in the conference.

   Six hundred and fifty people from 73 countries, including important specialists in the field of palliative cures from Asia, America, Europe and Africa, will participate in the conference.

  In the first part of the congress, participants will discuss the scientific study of palliative cures, which the cardinal defined as "the treatment of pain," the legal aspects of these cures, and euthanasia. Later, they will address the topic of faith and secularization in the last stage of life, proportionate and disproportionate cures, and anger management. Participants will also look at how non-Christian religions such as Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and New Age, see palliative cures.

  The last part of the meeting will be dedicated to discussion about the direction in which medical research is going, the role of psychological sciences in palliative cures, a new cultural approach to the end of life, training for health care workers who administer palliative cures, the portrayal of the end of life in the mass media, the pastoral training in palliative cures of health care workers, and updating for doctors, nurses, religious, psychologists, social workers and volunteers.
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PAPAL LITURGICAL CELEBRATIONS IN NOVEMBER, DECEMBER

VATICAN CITY, NOV 9, 2004 (VIS) - The Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Holy Father made public today the schedule of events presided over by the Pope in November and December:

NOVEMBER

- Thursday, 11: Mass in the Vatican Basilica at 11:30 a.m. for the repose of the souls of the cardinals and bishops who died this year.

- Saturday, 13: At 6 p.m. in the Vatican Basilica, Vespers on the 33rd Sunday in ordinary time on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the promulgation of the Decree on Ecumenism "Unitatis Redintegratio" of the Second Vatican Council. 

- Saturday, 27: At 11 a.m. in the Vatican Basilica, ecumenical celebration to give the relics of Sts. Gregory Nazianzen and John Chrysostom, Bishops and Doctors of the Church, to the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.

DECEMBER

- Wednesday, 8: Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.  Mass at 9:30 a.m. in the Vatican Basilica on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the dogmatic definition of the Immaculate Conception. Crowning of statue of Our Lady in Piazza di Spagna at 4 p.m.

- Tuesday, 14: Mass for students at the Roman Athenaeums at 5:30 p.m. in St. Peter's Basilica.

- Friday, 24: Solemnity of Our Lord's Birth.  Midnight Mass in the Vatican Basilica.

- Saturday, 25: Solemnity of Our Lord's Birth.  "Urbi et Orbi" blessing at midday in St. Peter's Square.

- Friday, 31: Vespers and "Te Deum" of thanksgiving in the Vatican Basilica at 6 p.m.
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CHRISTIANITY INSPIRED MUCH OF WORLD'S VAST ARTISTIC PATRIMONY

VATICAN CITY, NOV 9, 2004 (VIS) - Cardinals, bishops, ambassadors, priests and religious and the presidents of seven pontifical academies attended today's Ninth Public Session of the academies during which the Holy Father's speech was read by Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, substitute for General Affairs.

  Cardinal Paul Poupard, also present this morning, is the president of the Coordinating Council Between Pontifical Academies, founded by John Paul II in 1995 and comprised of the presidents of the Pontifical Academies of St. Thomas Aquinas, Theology, the Immaculata, the International Marian, Fine Arts and Letters of the Virtuosi of the Pantheon, Roman Academy of Archeology and the "Cultorum Martyrum" Academy.

  The Pope called the theme of this year's meeting, "'Via pulchritudinis' a privileged itinerary for the encounter between the Christian faith and the cultures of our times." He underscored how the Church, over 2,000 years, "has traveled in many ways the paths of beauty" and has encouraged, inspired and accompanied art and artists in fields such as architecture, sculpture, painting, miniatures, musical works, literature and the theater.

  "Could mankind today," he asked, "enjoy such a vast artistic patrimony if the Christian community had not encouraged and supported the creativity of countless artists, proposing to them, as a model and source of inspiration, the beauty of Christ, the splendor of the Father?" He thanked artists for their work and encouraged them to help "promote a new Christian humanism" which could become "an itinerary of dialogue and peace among peoples."

  The meeting concluded with two awards: the annual prize of the Pontifical Academies  was given to the Benedictine Abbey of Keur Moussa in Senegal and a medal of the Holy Father's pontificate was awarded to the "Ipotesi Cinema" School of Cinematography and the Inter-University Choir of Rome.
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TERESIAN CARMELITE MISSIONARIES: PASSION FOR THE CHURCH

VATICAN CITY, NOV 9, 2004 (VIS) - This morning the Pope received participants in the 13th General Chapter of the Teresian Carmelite Missionaries, founded by Blessed Francisco Palau i Quer. The chapter is lead by Sr. Luisa Ortega Sanchez, who was recently elected as superior general.

  "As the theme of the chapter says," affirmed the Pope, "you must inspire in all your sisters true 'passion for the Church: God and our neighbors,' so that every community may enrich the local church and make the marvels of God visible 'with the eloquent language of a transfigured life, capable of amazing the world'."

  John Paul II emphasized that the challenge of consecrated life is "to make Christ present in the world through personal witness." To do so, he continued, "we can be inspired" by the Eucharist.

  "I reminded the entire Church," he concluded, "of the central and irreplaceable nature of the Eucharist in Christian life, in order be faithful to the vocation to sanctity. I remind you also now, as I am sure that, because of your contemplative Teresian tradition, you will understand very well and will make the Blessed Sacrament the pinnacle of spiritual life and an inspiration for every missionary and apostolic project.  In effect, in the Blessed Sacrament we encounter Christ, and therefore, it is a privileged point of encounter for souls in love with Him."
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BISHOPS OF INDIAN OCEAN: DIVERSE REALITIES, GREAT DISTANCES

VATICAN CITY, NOV 9, 2004 (VIS) - As they conclude their "ad limina" visit, the bishops from the Episcopal Conference of the Indian Ocean (CEDOI) were welcomed today by the Holy Father who, in his talk to them in French, underscored the need for "authentic spiritual communion" given "the diversity of human and religious situations of your region" and "also the great distances that separate your dioceses."

  Bishop Gilbert Aubry, president of the conference, pointed out in his address to the Holy Father that CEDOI is in fact composed of one Islamic republic (the Comoros Islands), two republics that are part of the Commonwealth (Seychelles and Mauritius), an overseas French department which is also an ultra-peripheral region of Europe (La Reunion) and a French territorial community (the island of Mayotte).

  The Pope began his talk by inviting "Christian people to live the just-begun Year of the Eucharist as an intense time of encounters with Christ," calling it a time to "discover in this incomparable treasure that Jesus left us the joy and goodness of the loving presence of the Savior" and a time to "rediscover the meaning of Sunday and the need to make it holy, notably by regular participation in Sunday Mass."

  Calling the formation of future priests "a challenge" for the Church, John Paul II encouraged seminary formators "in their precious service" of seeing that seminaries "become the place of a serious discernment of vocations and an authentic community formation to the ministerial priesthood." He urged the bishops to reevaluate the pastoral ministry for vocations and "to make it an essential concern in your dioceses." Care for your priests in their spiritual lives, he exhorted, and give them a solid foundation on which to build, especially "through assiduous prayer life and the sacraments of the Eucharist and Penance. ... Be close to them through welcoming, listening, and shared friendship so they do not feel isolated or misunderstood."

  The Pope then underlined the importance of having lay people with "a solid religious formation" whose presence and work in society, "in the presence of other religions and also with the activity of sects," will communicate the Christian message and encourage other disciples of Christ to give witness to their faith. He added that "inculturation of the Gospel message is a task of great importance," and said that "for people to progress peacefully inter-religious dialogue is also a necessity."

  The Holy Father dedicated closing remarks to the family and to young people. "Attention to families and to their harmonious development," he said, "is one of your pastoral priorities," especially because "societal evolutions today contribute to making family structures fragile." He asked the bishops to insist on "the value of marriage and the family in God's plan," stating that families "are the privileged place for forming young people and for transmitting moral and spiritual values." And, he said, "the human and spiritual formation of young people is urgent in order to respond to the challenges of witnessing to the Gospel today."
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