AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, JAN 15, 2002 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences nine prelates from the Episcopal Conference of Vietnam, on their "ad limina" visit:
- Archbishop Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Man of Thanh-Pho Ho Chi Minh, accompanied by his auxiliary, Bishop Joseph Vu Duy Thong.
- Bishop Nicolas Huynh Van Nghi of Phan Thiet, accompanied by his coadjutor, Bishop Paul Nguyen Thanh Hoan.
- Bishop Paul Nguyen Van Hoa of Nha Trang, accompanied by his coadjutor, Bishop Pierre Nguyen Van Nho.
- Bishop Barthelemy Nguyen Son Lam P.S.S., of Thanh Hoa.
- Bishop Jean-Baptiste Bui Tuan of Long Xuyen, accompanied by his coadjutor, Bishop Joseph Tran Xuan Tieu.

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, JAN 15, 2002 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Regensburg, Federal Republic of Germany, presented by Bishop Manfred Muller, upon having reached the age limit.

- Appointed Bishop Peter Louis Caku, auxiliary of Kengtung (area 45,856, population 971,896, Catholics 54,326, priests 33, religious 113), Myanmar, as bishop of the same diocese. He succeeds Bishop Abraham Than whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, in conformity with Canon 401, para. 2, of the Code of Canon Law.

- Appointed Bishop Mario Joseph Conti of Aberdeen, Scotland, as metropolitan archbishop of Glasgow (area 1,165, population 900,000, Catholics 223,534, priests 245, religious 312), Scotland. The archbishop-elect was born in Elgin, Scotland, in 1934, ordained a priest in 1958 and consecrated bishop in 1977.

- Appointed Fr. Francis Daw Tang, pastor at Kamaing, Myanmar, as auxiliary of Myitkyina (area 78,000, population 1,600,000, Catholics 93,000, priests 41, religious 106), Myanmar. The bishop-elect was born in Maw Gun, Myanmar, in 1946 and ordained a priest in 1979.

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PARENTS COLLABORATE IN THEIR CHILDREN'S DIVINE PATERNITY

VATICAN CITY, JAN 13, 2002 (VIS) - In the Sistine Chapel at 10 a.m. today, Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, the Pope presided at a Eucharistic celebration during which he administered the Sacrament of Baptism to 20 newborns from Italy, France, Spain and the U.S.A.

In his homily the Pope said, addressing particularly the parents of the children, "the grace of Christ will transform their existence from mortal to immortal, freeing it from original sin. Give thanks to the Lord for the gift of their birth and of their spiritual rebirth today."

"These children," he continued, "today receive Baptism on the basis of your faith, which I will shortly ask you to profess. How much love, how much responsibility lies in the gesture you will perform in your children' name!"

"Yet, will they be able to open themselves to faith if they do not receive a worthy testimony thereof from the adults around them? These children need, above all, you, dear parents. They also need you, dear godparents, that they may learn to know the true God Who is merciful love. ... They will understand that God is faithfulness if they can recognize the reflection - though limited and fallible - of that faithfulness, above all, in your loving presence."

John Paul II concluded by emphasizing "parents' great responsibility of cooperating in the spiritual growth of their children. ... If your mission as parents 'according to the flesh' is great, how much more is that of collaborating in the divine paternity, offering your contribution to forming in these creatures the very image of Jesus, the perfect Man."

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JOHN PAUL II: TRANSFIGURE EVERYDAY LIFE

VATICAN CITY, JAN 12, 2002 (VIS) - This morning in the Paul VI Hall, the Pope received in audience 5,000 participants in the international congress held in Rome to mark the centenary of the birth of Blessed Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer, the founder of Opus Dei.

The Holy Father recalled that during the congress, which was held from January 8 to 11, consideration was given to "the greatness of everyday life as a path to sanctity." He affirmed that, from the beginning of his ministry, Blessed Escriva preached that "all the baptized are called to the fullness of charity, and that the most immediate way to reach this common goal lies in the normality of daily life."

"For all baptized men and women who wish to follow Christ faithfully," he continued, "the factory, the office, the library, the laboratory, the workshop, the home can all be transformed into places for meeting the Lord. ... For us too, daily life ... can acquire the magnitude of a supernatural dimension and, in this way, become transfigured."

John Paul II emphasized that by "sanctifying their work while respecting objective moral norms, the lay faithful make an effective contribution to building a society more worthy of man. ... Thus, they cooperate in molding a human race more attentive to the needs of individuals and of the common good."

He went on: "Following the in footsteps of your founder, continue your mission with zeal and faithfulness. In the daily struggle, show that Christ's love can shape the curve of existence, enabling the ideal of 'unity of life' to be attained; the ideal that, as I reiterated in the Post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation 'Christifideles laici,' is fundamental in the commitment to evangelization in contemporary society.

"Prayer, work and the apostolate, as you learned from Blessed Josemaria, come together and unite if they are lived in this spirit. He always encouraged you to 'love the world passionately,' adding, though, an important clarification: 'Be men and women of the world, but do not be worldly men and women.' In this way, you will avoid the danger of being conditioned by a worldly mentality that conceives spiritual commitment as something that can be relegated to the private sphere and, consequently, irrelevant to public life."

"The earth," he concluded, "as your founder recalls, is a path to heaven and the existence of each believer, each with their own burdens and limitations, must become a true temple wherein dwells the Son of God made man."

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BUILD A UNITED AND PEACEFUL SOCIETY

VATICAN CITY, JAN 14, 2002 (VIS) - This morning, John Paul II received representatives from the regional administration of Lazio, Italy, with their president, Francesco Storace; from the town hall of Rome, accompanied by the mayor, Walter Veltroni, and from the provincial administration of Rome accompanied by their president Silvano Moffa, for the traditional exchange of New Year greetings.

In his address, the Pope spoke of the need to "continue tirelessly in efforts to build a united and peaceful society. ... Responsible attention to the needs of the less fortunate, a more just division of resources and integration between different cultures are the necessary premises for a truly human future."

After mentioning legislative measures approved last year that favor the family based on matrimony, he said: "For example, one particularly urgent need is to help young couples, enabling them to face matrimony with serenity and to assume their responsibilities in educating their children."

In the city of Rome, he said, as well as in the province and in the region, many people live "in conditions of partial or total poverty and marginalization, ... a large percentage of them immigrants. ... Whether those involved are the homeless; elderly people living alone; children or families in hardship; immigrants; the unemployed; prisoners; the terminally ill or other categories in difficulty, their existence should never be considered useless."
The Holy Father went on to refer to health-care, particularly for the less well off. He expressed the desire that with the cooperation of institutions involved in this field, including Catholic institutions, "it may become possible to give people an efficient health service, one respectful of individual dignity. I am certain that the recently-stipulated agreement concerning religious assistance in hospitals and nursing homes will contribute to meeting a real need of patients in those places."

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