TELEVISION MESSAGE FOR THE "DAY OF THE POPE" IN POLAND

VATICAN CITY, OCT 17, 2006 (VIS) - For the occasion of the "Day of the Pope," which for the last six years has been celebrated in Poland every October 16, the day of Karol Wojtyla's election to the See of Peter, Benedict XVI recorded a video Message broadcast yesterday on Polish television.

  Recalling the day of John Paul II's election, Pope Benedict says he can "still hear the echo" of the words pronounced by Karol Wojtyla as he accepted the cardinals' decision, and also remembers his "prophetic call: 'Do not be afraid! Open the doors to Christ!'."

  The Holy Father continues: "I thank God that with these images in my heart I was able to pass more than two decades at his side enjoying his benevolence and friendship, and that today I can continue his work under his protective gaze from the house of the Father. I thank God for his life, passed in the love of Christ and of men, that enriched ... all humanity with the grace of the Holy Spirit .... Finally, I thank God for the witness of his suffering associated to Christ's own tribulation unto death - witness that gives us the strength to live, and secures in us the hope of eternity."

  Benedict XVI highlights John Paul II's devotion to the Church in Poland, which he "loved as a mother" and "as a community always united around its pastors;" a community "which in the past suffered various persecutions," but which always "remained faithful to evangelical values." When Poland regained its liberty, adds the Pope in his Message, John Paul II took care to ensure that "his countrymen learned to live in the freedom of the children of God and not of the children of this world, and that they upheld the faith.

  "Aware of this heritage that he left to the Church in Poland," Pope Benedict adds, "I came among you this year with Paul's words: 'remain strong in the faith.' ... I pray to God to preserve this faith for the future generations of this noble land. I thank you particularly for all your displays of loving union with the Pope who succeeded your great countryman, and I entrust my service for the Church and for the world to your spiritual support."

  The Pope concludes his Message by expressing the hope that "the memory of John Paul II, the study of his works and his teaching," may bring the Polish people closer to Christ. "May this be the bond of unity in a shared concern for the future of the Church and the nation."
MESS/ANNIVERSARY PONTIFICATE/JOHN PAUL II            VIS 20061017 (450)