POPE'S WORDS TO SPANISH BISHOPS ILLUSTRATE CHURCH'S POSITION

VATICAN CITY, JAN 27, 2005 (VIS) - At midday today, Holy See Press Office Director Joaquin Navarro-Valls made the following declaration concerning a communique released yesterday by the Spanish Foreign Ministry on the Holy Father's address to Spanish prelates during their "ad limina" visit on January 24, 2005.

  "We have studied the communique released by the Administrative Office for External Communications of the Foreign Ministry of Madrid. For our part, we suggest an attentive reading of the entire papal address, which clearly illustrates the position of the Church. We note with satisfaction the will of the Spanish government to maintain a fruitful understanding with the Church  by means of a permanent dialogue animated by mutual respect, as the communique itself says. This has been and always will be the policy of the Holy See."
OP/CHURCH:SPANISH GOVERNMENT/NAVARRO-VALLS       VIS 20050127 (150)