OPENNESS TO DIALOGUE AND COHERENCE TO RELIGIOUS TRADITION

VATICAN CITY, JUN 16, 2001 (VIS) - This morning, the Pope received participants in a meeting organized by the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue in collaboration with the Pontifical Lateran University, in memory of "the tireless commitment to inter-religious dialogue" of Bishop Pietro Rossano, on the tenth anniversary of his death.

"Serious and authentic inter-religious dialogue must rest upon solid foundations if it is to produce the desired fruits in due time. Being open to dialogue means being coherent to the core of one's own religious tradition. This is the lesson that emerges from Bishop Rossano's life."

John Paul II recalled that "in his spiritual experience and in his service to the Holy See (as secretary of the then Secretariat for Non-Christians), Bishop Rossano's openness to others was never separated from faithfulness to the teachings of Christ. This unconditional adherence to Christ did not prevent him from communicating with exponents of other religions."

"May Bishop Rossano's example," concluded the Pope, "encourage you to intensify your efforts towards dialogue, offering everyone a clear witness of the mystery of Christ, Lord and Savior of all."

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POPE THANKS STS. PETER AND PAUL ASSOCIATION FOR ITS SERVICE

VATICAN CITY, JUN 16, 2001 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican Basilica, the Holy Father received in audience 2,000 members of the Sts. Peter and Paul Association, which this year is celebrating its 30th anniversary.

"The service with which you have been entrusted," said John Paul II, "is closely linked to the mission of Peter's Successor. Today, I would like to reiterate my most sincere appreciation for your diligent work, both in the sacred liturgy and in your contact with pilgrims in the Patriarchal Basilica of St. Peter. May God reward you! May your activity, nourished by constant prayer, bring you to fulfil ever more your Christian vocation."

The Pope assured members of the association that "if your spirits are constantly illuminated by faith, you will come to a better understanding of yourselves and better help pilgrims and all those you meet to deepen the mystery of Christ and of His Church."

He concluded: "I call on you, then, to make your daily activities the suitable occasion for demonstrating a sincere love for Christ, a generous dedication to the Church and a special bond with Peter's Successor. Grow in faith in order to become ever more highly motivated in your service."

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TO CATHOLIC DOCTORS: BE PRO-LIFE, NOT MANIPULATORS OF LIFE

VATICAN CITY, JUN 18, 2001 (VIS) - "You are reflecting on your future in the light of the fundamental right to medical training and practice according to conscience," the Holy Father told the 120 participants in the International Congress of Catholic Obstetricians and Gynecologists whom he received this morning. He told them that Catholic morality demanded that they defend life, not manipulate it.

He underscored that "Christian obstetricians, gynecologists and obstetric nurses are always called to be servants and guardians of life." Citing "Evangelium Vitae," he added: "But your profession has become still more important and your responsibility still greater 'in today's cultural and social context, in which science and the practice of medicine risk losing sight of their inherent ethical dimension, (and) health-care professionals can be strongly tempted at times to become manipulators of life, or even agents of death'."

"Until quite recently, medical ethics in general and Catholic morality were rarely in disagreement. Without problems of conscience, Catholic doctors could generally offer patients all that medical science afforded. But this has now changed profoundly. The availability of contraceptive and abortive drugs, new threats to life in the laws of some countries, some of the uses of prenatal diagnosis, the spread of in vitro fertilization techniques, the consequent production of embryos to deal with fertility, but also their destination to scientific research, the use of embryonic stem cells for the development of tissue for transplants to cure degenerative diseases and projects of full or partial cloning, already done with animals: all of these have changed the situation radically. Moreover, conception, pregnancy and childbirth ... are often perceived as a burden and even as an ailment to be cured, rather than being seen as a gift from God."

John Paul II underlined that "Catholic obstetricians and gynecologists ... are (today) exposed to a social ideology which asks them to be agents of a concept of 'reproductive health' based on new reproductive technologies. ... The conflict between social pressure and the demands of right conscience can lead to the dilemma either of abandoning the medical profession or of compromising one's convictions. Faced with that tension, we must remember that there is a middle path. ... It is the path of conscientious objection, which ought to be respected by all, especially legislators."

The Pope closed by remarking that "Catholic universities and hospitals are called to follow the directives of the Church's Magisterium in every aspect of obstetric and gynecological practice, including research involving embryos."

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CHILE: POPE EXPRESSES JOY AT ABOLITION OF THE DEATH PENALTY

VATICAN CITY, JUN 18, 2001 (VIS) - This morning John Paul II received the Letters of Credence of Maximo Pacheco Gomez, the new ambassador of the Republic of Chile.

In his address, the Pope indicated that, "in fulfilling her mission, the Church participates in promoting the integral good of people. ... She also wishes to illumine consciences in order that some of the dangers of modern society, such as ethical relativism, consumerism and other pseudo-cultural models, do not damage the treasure of Christian values upon which national identity rests."

The Holy Father recalled that, in recent pastoral guidance, Chilean bishops had called for "healing the wounds that diminish the strength of development in Chilean society; among these must be highlighted poverty and huge inequalities, difficulties faced by the family and the injured dignity of individuals, families, groups and institutions."

"The ambition for an ever more prosperous and developed Chile," said the Pope, "calls for efforts towards improving Chilean's quality of life and their lives themselves. I am pleased at the recent decision taken by the government and the legislative authorities - with the faithful collaboration of the Church - which abolished the death penalty and it is to be hoped that this move will continue to promote a most zealous and unyielding respect for the life of every human being, from conception to natural end."

After a closing reference to forthcoming celebrations for the bicentenary of national independence, John Paul II underlined that "the strengthening of democratic life must always be accompanied by the constant promotion of genuine values which are the guarantee of stability; because a democracy without values does not serve the cause of true progress, quite the contrary, it turns such progress against man himself."

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ANGELUS: A PAPAL PLEA TO ASSIST REFUGEES

VATICAN CITY, JUN 17, 2001 (VIS) - Before reciting the Angelus today Pope John Paul reflected on last Thursday's feast of Corpus Christi, recalling the Mass and procession he presided in Rome that day, and noting that, "for pastoral reasons, this lovely and traditional feast is celebrated today in Italy and many countries."

Addressing the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square below his study window, he added that Corpus Christ is "a feast of joy for the marvelous gift of bread to which Christ linked His promise of eternal life: Bread which is really His flesh, that is, His humanity, through which God sanctifies hearts, persons, communities, nations and the entire world."

"A distinctive mark of the new mankind redeemed by Christ is the fullness of fraternal love, In reality the Eucharist is par excellence the Sacrament of love, understood as a giving of self. Without the spiritual nourishment which comes from the Body and Blood of Christ, human love remains always corrupted by egoism. Communion with the Bread of heaven, on the other hand, converts hearts and fills them with the capacity to love as Jesus loved us."

Following the Angelus prayer, the Pope pointed out that "next Wednesday is the World Day of the Refugee. This underlines the dutiful solidarity with millions of persons who live in difficult conditions as refugees. This social evil has, unfortunately, in recent years been on the increase: as a consequence the need for international protection augments, but also on the increase is the number of countries who tend to limit it. While I hope that the causes of forced migration will be removed, I ask that efforts be renewed so that refugees never lack just understanding and necessary assistance."

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