AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, SEP 27, 2002 (VIS) - Today the Holy Father received in separate audiences:

- Archbishop Rino Passigato, apostolic nuncio in Peru.
- Six prelates from the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (Northeast 2) on their "ad limina" visit:
- Bishop Jose Gonzalez Alonso of Cajazeiras.
- Bishop Jaime Vieira Rocha of Caico.
- Bishop Valerio Breda, S.D.B., of Penedo.
- Bishop Antonio Muniz Fernandes, O.Carm., of Guarabira.
- Bishop Irineu Roque Scherer of Garanhuns.
- Bishop Adriano Ciocca Vasino of Floresta.
- Cardinal Bernardin Gantin, deacon of the College of Cardinals.

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, SEP 26, 2002 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:

- Archbishop Antonio Maria Rouco Varela of Madrid, Spain.
- Bishop Matias Patricio de Macedo of Campina Grande, Brazil, on his "ad limina" visit.
- Bishop Bernardino Marchio of Pesqueira, Brazil on his "ad limina" visit.

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THE HANDICAPPED, SPECIAL WITNESSES OF GOD'S TENDERNESS

VATICAN CITY, SEP 26, 2002 (VIS) - This morning in Castelgandolfo, the Holy Father welcomed 250 members of the international association "Faith and Light" and, in his address to them in French, thanked them for their work with handicapped people.

"Born in Lourdes," the Pope remarked, "your movement has received much of the grace of this special place where the sick and the handicapped take first place. In welcoming these 'little ones' marked by a mental handicap, you see in them the special witness of God's tenderness. ... I am also thinking about their relatives who, thanks to you, feel supported in their suffering and who see their distress change into hope, in order to welcome in humanity and faith their handicapped children."

"I would like to thank you again," affirmed the Pope, "for your witness in our society, called to discover ever more the dignity of the handicapped, to welcome them and to integrate them into social life, even if much remains to be done for the dignity of every human being to be truly respected and for there to no longer be attacks on the gift of life, especially when it is a question of children who are handicapped."

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POPE TO VISIT ITALIAN PARLIAMENT ON NOVEMBER 14

VATICAN CITY, SEP 25, 2002 (VIS) - Late yesterday afternoon, Holy See Press Office Director, Joaquin Navarro-Valls, made the following statement: "The Holy Father has accepted an invitation extended to him by the presidents of the Chamber of Deputies and of the Senate of the Italian Republic to visit parliament which will meet in a joint session. The Pope's visit is scheduled for November 14."

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GENERAL AUDIENCE: GOD FORGIVES AND AWAITS MAN'S CONVERSION

VATICAN CITY, SEP 25, 2002 (VIS) - In today's general audience, celebrated in St. Peter's Square, the Pope reflected on "Psalm 84: our salvation is close at hand."

The Holy Father explained that Psalm 84 "is a joyful hymn, full of hope in the future for salvation. It marks the glorious moment of Israel's return from exile in Babylon to the land of the fathers. ... Above all, Israel's physical return is celebrated" as well as another "'more interior and spiritual return'."

"In this 'return' the Lord acts effectively, revealing His love while forgiving the iniquity of the people and erasing all sins, while showing His anger and yet putting an end to His ire. It is precisely this delivery from evil, this forgiveness of and purification from sins that create the new people of God."

John Paul II emphasized that "a 'return' must correspond to this 'return' of God, that is, the conversion of man who repents. The psalm declares that peace and salvation are offered to 'he who returns to Him with all his heart'." He who continues on the path to holiness with determination will receive the gifts of joy, freedom and peace."

In the second part of Psalm 84, he concluded, "a new world is described, one in which God's love and fidelity embrace each other as if they were people. ... Mercy, truth, justice and peace become the four cardinal points of this geography of the spirit."

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