NEW AMBASSADOR OF URUGUAY PRESENTS LETTERS OF CREDENCE

VATICAN CITY, SEP 25, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received the Letters of Credence from the new ambassador of the Republic of Uruguay, Julio Cesar Lupinacci, and highlighted in his address the "Uruguayan people's peaceful and pacifying vocation."

The Church, said the Pope, "never forgets that true peace, like the common good, is intimately linked to the cause of justice, both in the field of the internal relations of a local or national community and in that of the human family as a whole, which is daily more inclined to construct a common history, one shared by all."

He continued: "For this reason it is important that, also in the international arena, agreement exist between your country and the Holy See to defend with vigor and promote with constancy those values that dignify human existence." He added that the defense of human rights, solidarity, the promotion of a culture of life "is an inescapable ethical duty, both for people and for institutions."

John Paul II said that the family and education are "special fields in which understanding and collaboration must be closest, in scrupulous respect of their respective roles and in the firm conviction that any initiative in these fields must be subordinate to the fundamental and primary right of the family. (The family) must be recognized and supported by effective measures, both to maintain its natural configuration and to exercise its right to educate children."

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POPE CALLS FOR RENEWED MARIAN PIETY AS A FRUIT OF THE JUBILEE

VATICAN CITY, SEP 24, 2000 (VIS) - This morning in St. Peter's Square, John Paul II presided at a Eucharistic celebration for the closure of the 20th International Mariological-Marian Congress and for the Jubilee of Shrines. The two events have been held in Rome from September 15 to 24.

The Pope recalled that the Mariological Congress had reflected "on the 'great things' accomplished in Mary, considering their most central and profound dimension, that of her special relationship with the Trinity. If Mary is the 'Theotokos', Mother of God's only begotten Son, why should we be wonder that she also enjoys an utterly unique relationship with the Father and the Holy Spirit?"

He continued: "This relationship most certainly did not, in her earthly life, relieve her from the burden of the human condition. Mary fully lived the daily reality of so many poor families of her time, she experienced poverty, pain, flight, exile, incomprehension. Her spiritual greatness does not, then, 'distance' her from us. She has followed the same road as us and has remained united with us in the 'pilgrimage of faith'."

The Holy Father indicated that "Mary stands out before our gaze as the 'beloved daughter' of the Father. ... Mary has a unique relationship with the second Person of the Trinity, the Word made flesh, being directly involved in the mystery of incarnation. ... And what can we say about her relationship with the Holy Spirit? Mary is the pure 'shrine' in which He dwells."

"It is, then, natural that the Jubilee of the Son should also be the Jubilee of the Mother! Consequently, it is to be hoped that among the fruits of this year of grace, as well as a stronger love for Christ, there may also be a renewed Marian piety. Mary must indeed be much loved and honored but, to be authentic, devotion to her must: be well founded on the Scriptures and on Tradition; ... find expression in the struggle to imitate Mary Most Holy; ... distance itself from all forms of superstition and vain credulity ... (and) be capable of always returning to the source of Mary's greatness."

Following Mass and before praying the angelus, John Paul II offered greetings to those present in eight languages.

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CONCERT OFFERED IN HONOR OF POPE JOHN PAUL

VATICAN CITY, SEP 23, 2000 (VIS) - The Republic of Hungary this evening offered a Jubilee Year concert in the Paul VI Hall in honor of Pope John Paul. The Danubia Youth Symphonic Orchestra, together with the National Choir of Hungary, performed Franz Liszt's "Missa Solennis" for the Pope who, after the concert, addressed the assembled guests, musicians and civil and religious authorities.

"It is rather significant," said the Holy Father, "that a thousand years having gone by since my predecessor Sylvester II crowned Stephen as the first king of Hungary, the Republic of Hungary has wished to offer a special homage to the Bishop of Rome. This gesture not only has a highly commemorative value, but also expresses the awareness of the profound ties that link the Hungarian people to the Church.

"History gives witness," he concluded, "to the benefits which have come to your nation from the leaven of Christianity and are now part of its culture. May the new millennium see further development of this fertile exchange on the path of authentic human progress."

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ARCHBISHOP FOLEY ADDRESSES U.S. SEMINARIES, UNIVERSITIES

VATICAN CITY, SEP 25, 2000 (VIS) - Archbishop John P. Foley, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, is in the United States for a series of speeches to seminaries, schools and universities.

He spoke at the Harvard University Graduate School of Business in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on September 21, gave the homily at the votive Mass for the 150th anniversary of St. Joseph's Preparatory School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on September 23 and preached a homily at the "Prayer Power" Mass at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia on September 24.

The archbishop is scheduled to speak today at the Town Hall of Cleveland at the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel in Cleveland, Ohio and at the Mendoza School of Business at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana.

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HOLY FATHER WELCOMES 3,500 SWISS ON NATIONAL PILGRIMAGE

VATICAN CITY, SEP 25, 2000 (VIS) - This morning in St. Peter's Basilica, Pope John Paul welcomed 3,500 Swiss who are in Rome for their Jubilee Year pilgrimage.

Speaking German, one of Switzerland's national languages, he pointed out that today, "Day of the Swiss," gave him the occasion to speak of the Swiss Guards in the Vatican and to thank them for their "faithful and conscientious service."

"As all pilgrims throughout the Holy Year," the Pope went on, "you too have come to go through the Holy Door, which is open for everyone. The Holy Door is an image of Christ when he said of Himself: 'I am the door'." He remarked that everyone is free to choose the door in life through which they wish to pass, but added that not all doors are fitting ones. The wrong doors, he said, can lead to dissatisfaction, unhappiness and emptiness. The right ones lead us to Christ.

Then, addressing the pilgrims in French, the Pope said: "Your Jubilee path introduces you, as it does the entire Church, to a new period of grace and mission, inviting you to take an ever more active part in the life of your Christian communities, under the guidance of your pastors, to be witnesses of ecclesial communion and missionaries of the Gospel to your brothers."

In closing remarks, the Holy Father greeted Italian-speaking Swiss: "You have come to Rome to pass through the Holy Door. May this rite be for you a strong spiritual experience which helps you welcome Christ in your lives with a more total openness."

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