PRESS OFFICE DIRECTOR ON POPE JOHN PAUL'S VACATION

VATICAN CITY, JUL 16, 2000 (VIS) - Conversing this morning with the journalists who had come to Introd, Les Combes, where the Holy Father has been on vacation since July 10, Holy See Press Office Director Joaquin Navarro-Valls spoke of the Pope's activities and thoughts during the six days spent thus far in Valle d'Aosta.

The Holy Father is staying this year in a new villa, recently built by the Salesians. Navarro-Valls said that, at the angelus, the Pope had profusely thanked all who made his rest period enjoyable, in particular the Salesians. When he saw the new house, however, he protested, asking "was the villa made especially for me?" He felt better when told that the house, which faces Mont Blanc and is surrounded by an enormous garden, would be used during the winter months as a ski stop.

The press office director also commented on the ever-changing weather in the Valle d'Aosta region. "The Pope has a background as a mountain man, he knows the climate changes from one minute to the next. The other day at Fontaney he had a great time because one minute there was snow, then hail, then splendid sunshine."

Navarro-Valls disclosed today that it was Pope John Paul II who personally had written to Italian President Ciampi "to communicate his feelings regarding the prospect of Italy deciding or not on a gesture of clemency with regards to Ali Agca," the Turk who shot the Pope on May 13, 1981 in St. Peter's Square at the start of a weekly general audience. Agca was granted clemency a month ago and extradited to Turkey.

He added that, though the Pope has asked clemency for Ali Agca and others, he never wishes to interfere with a State's autonomy: "States act autonomously. The Pope only wished to communicate his own frame of mind, not to ask or demand anything of the Italian State."

Asked if the Holy Father had received a letter, asking for his intervention in favor of an American prison inmate who has been condemned to death, Navarro-Valls replied that such a letter has not reached the Vatican. However, he added, "the theme of the death penalty is still very much alive for the Pope, particularly within the context of the Jubilee Year." Referring to John Paul's Letter for the Jubilee in Prisons, he said: "That document contained a formal invitation to the world's heads of State and government, and no one can ignore this formal invitation against the death penalty."

The press office director revealed that John Paul II "is thinking about and is anxious to go to Syria and to Greece, to Athens, in the footsteps of St. Paul, though nothing has been decided, nor are there any dates." Regarding a trip to Moscow, he said: "The Pope would like to go to Moscow, but it is clear that a trip to Russia must also have an ecumenical dimension, it cannot only be an event of ceremonies and invitations." He excluded positive developments regarding a trip to Iraq.

More than "summing up what has been accomplished, especially in this Jubilee Year," said Navarro-Valls, "these days the Holy Father is thinking about the future, about commitments he has made, deadlines he must meet. ... He is looking beyond 2000, to next year and the goals awaiting him."

He pointed out that "every morning the Pope is briefed on the world situation and, obviously, the Middle East is at the center of his attention, above all, for the fact that he travelled to the Holy Land in March, during which time he personally met both (Israeli Prime Minister Ehud) Barak and (PLO leader Yasser) Arafat, the two protagonists in the negotiations (in Washington)."

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POPE RECITES ANGELUS FROM VACATION VILLA IN INTROD

VATICAN CITY, JULY 16, 2000 (VIS) - Today at noon, from the summer villa in Introd, in Italy's northern region of Valle d'Aosta where he is vacationing, Pope John Paul recited the angelus with about 5,0000 faithful who had gathered there. "I thank the Lord," he said, "for giving me the possibility again this year of spending some time in this evocative mountain location, which calls to mind the majestic presence of God."

"From this serene setting," said the Pope, speaking before the angelus, "I would like to extend a cordial thought to everyone who is on vacation in this valley and elsewhere, in the mountains or at the sea. I invite everyone to make these days of well-earned summer rest a time of interior enrichment and beneficial family relaxation. I am also thinking of those who cannot take a vacation and have remained at home. In a special way I extend an affectionate greeting to those who are ill, to older people, to those in prison and to those who are alone. I assure each one of you remembrance in my daily prayers."

The Holy Father then recalled that "today we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. On that mountain, which is in Israel near Haifa, the holy prophet Elias strenuously defended the integrity and purity of the faith of the people chosen in the living God. On that same mountain, in the 12th century after Christ, a number of hermits gathered together, dedicating themselves to contemplation and penance. It was from their spiritual experience that the Carmelite order had its beginnings.

"Carmel," he said in conclusion, "symbolically indicates the mount of full adhesion to the divine will and of our eternal salvation. We are all called to climb this spiritual mountain, ceaselessly and courageously."

Following the recitation of the angelus, the Pope greeted the pilgrims present in different languages, noting especially the presence of Carmelites and Benedictines.

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, JUL 15, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Accepted the resignation to the pastoral governing of the diocese of Morombe, Madagascar, presented by Bishop Alwin Albert Hafner, M.S.F. in conformity with Canon 401, para 2, of the Code of Canon Law.
- Appointed Fr. Victor Agbanou, diocesan administrator and professor of Sacred Scripture at the Major Seminary of Ouidah, Benin, as bishop of Lokossa (area 4,635, population 979,210, Catholics 83,452, priests 56, religious 88), Benin. The bishop-elect was born in 1945 in the diocese of Lokossa and was ordained a priest in 1974.

- Appointed Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez, archbishop of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, as his special envoy to the concluding celebrations of the Fourth National Eucharistic Congress of Uruguay, which will take place on October 15 in Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay.

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, JUL 14, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Fr. Edward Gabriel Risi, O.M.I., master of Our Lady of Hope Novitiate of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate in Johannesburg, South Africa as bishop of Keimoes-Upington (area 272,265, population 314,110, Catholics 65,879, priests 16, religious 44, permanent deacons 3), South Africa. The bishop-elect was born in 1949 in Johannesburg and was ordained a priest in 1974. He succeeds Bishop John Baptist Minder, O.S.F.S., whose resignation to the pastoral governing of Keimoes-Upington was accepted by the Holy Father for having reached the age limit.

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MESSAGE FOR 5TH CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS OF "BROWN MADONNA"

VATICAN CITY, JUL 14, 2000 (VIS) - Made public today was Pope John Paul's Message to Cardinal Michele Giordano, archbishop of Naples, Italy, on the occasion of the fifth centenary celebrations of the pilgrimage during which a group of faithful brought the icon of "The Brown Madonna" from Naples to Rome.

"This event," the Holy Father recalls, "gave rise to the widespread practice of the 'Wednesdays of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel', an expression of Marian devotion in which ... it is possible to recognize a reflection of the goodness of Mary Most Holy." July 16 is the feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.

The Pope writes: "On our earthly pilgrimage Mary is the biblical 'column of fire' which illuminates us, the 'guiding star' towards the heavenly homeland, the 'sure port' in which to find consolation and refuge. Guided by her, believers go forward with trust, aware that her sweet presence constantly leads to Christ."

"And thus proceeds the Church," he remarks, "among the trials of the world and the consolations of God towards the fulfillment of the Kingdom in the eschatological phase. This is a path which develops through an ever more intimate communion with God and our brothers and sisters; This (path), 'especially in our era, is marked by the sign of ecumenism'. Mary, Mother of the Church, Mother of unity, hope and love, walks with us."

The Message concludes with a "heartfelt exhortation to the beloved ecclesial community of Naples to proceed ceaselessly, comforted by the maternal intercession of Our Lady, in its efforts for spiritual renewal and an incessant search for unity and communion."

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