AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, NOV 6, 2002 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in audience Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

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HOLY FATHER DONATES $400,000 TO HOLY LAND

VATICAN CITY, NOV 6, 2002 (VIS) - Archbishop Paul Josef Cordes, president of the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum," will be in the Holy Land from November 7 to 10 where he will visit Catholic leaders and institutions and will donate $400,000 to the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, the Franciscan custos, Caritas and several Catholic communities.

A communique released today about his trip states: "With the occupation of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, which lasted 39 days, there was further proof of how necessary the presence of Christians in the Holy Land is. The continuous acts of violence between Palestinians and Israelis represents unfortunately a persistent threat to the lives of all the inhabitants of the region. Hospitality homes for pilgrims are empty, while in Bethlehem about 80 percent of the population is unemployed. The desire of many people to leave the country is well understood. The safekeeping of the Holy Places would be in serious danger if Christians were to abandon them.

"Following the terrible attacks on the World Trade Center, the Holy Father John Paul II appealed for material and spiritual aid for those suffering the consequences of war and terrorism. His Holiness, among other things, has designated $400,000 of the funds gathered for this purpose to the Holy Land.

"The aim of this trip is not just to turn over this money. Through various meetings, the Holy Father's envoy hopes above all to encourage Christians to remain in these battered places, as so many missionaries are already doing in such a heroic fashion. The support is offered to improve living and working conditions in their land so they might be a fertile seed of humanity and peace."

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THE IDENTITY OF CATHOLIC HEALTH CARE INSTITUTIONS

VATICAN CITY, NOV 6, 2002 (VIS) - Archbishop Javier Lozano Barragan, president of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Pastoral, today in the Holy See Press Office presented the 17th international conference promoted by this dicastery. The theme this year is "The Identity of Catholic Health Care Institutions. The three-day meeting starts tomorrow in the New Synod Hall in he Vatican.

Archbishop Lozano recalled that the Catholic Church administers 6,038 hospitals, 17,189 ambulatories, 799 leprosariums, 13,238 centers for old people, the chronically ill and the handicapped, 8,711 orphanages, 10,368 child care centers, 10,565 marriage counselling centers, 18,789 specialized centers for education or social re-education and 25,257 centers for the health care ministry. All told, Catholic health care institutions throughout the world total 110,954.

Referring to the international conference, the council president noted that 34 specialists from different countries will examine the current situation of Catholic hospitals and the economic, social, political and cultural - and above all, religious - challenges they face in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania. The meetings will likewise include reports from the federations, associations and groups linked to Catholic institutions that work in the world of health care.

In the second part of this conference, the archbishop explained, there will be a debate on the moral, pastoral and theological principles that underpin Catholic hospitals, and an inter-religious dialogue with Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists.

Archbishop Lozano said that in the third part of the conference, participants will ask what they can do to improve the identity of Catholic hospitals and to perfect the economic, social, political, organizational and administrative aspects. In conclusion, the participants will offer solutions to better the International Association of Catholic Health Care Institutions and the Catholic religious aspect "because this is really the principal objective of our international conference."

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, NOV 6, 2002 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Appointed Bishop Bernardino Marchio of Pesqueira, Brazil as bishop of Caruaru (area 5,687, population 8,114,030, Catholics 685,125, priests 39, permanent deacons 6, religious 84), Brazil.

- Appointed Bishop Walmir Alberto Valle, I.M.C., of Ze Doca, Brazil as coadjutor of Joacaba (area 10,202, population 295,522, Catholics 242,050, priests 40, permanent deacons 1, religious 85), Brazil.

- Gave his consent to the canonical election by the Synod of Bishops of the Chaldean Church, who met in Baghdad, Iraq from October 16 to 24, 2001, of Fr. Andras Abouna, member of the eparchial clergy of Baghdad and head of the mission for the Chaldean faithful in London, England as auxiliary of the Patriarchate of Babylonia of the Chaldeans. The bishop-elect was born in Bedare/Zakho, Iraq in 1943 and was ordained a priest in 1966.

- Appointed Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski, apostolic nuncio in Kazakhstan, Tadjikistanin and Kyrgyzstan, as apostolic nuncio in Uzbekistan.

- Appointed Archbishop Antonio Mennini, apostolic nuncio in Bulgaria, as representative of the Holy See to the Russian Federation.

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JOHN PAUL II REMEMBERS VICTIMS OF EARTHQUAKE

VATICAN CITY, NOV 1, 2002 (VIS) - Today, the Solemnity of All Saints, the Pope appeared at the window of his study which faces St. Peter's Square to pray the Angelus with the faithful present. In the afternoon, he prayed in the Vatican Grottos for the deceased.

"Today, according to the Liturgy," the Holy Father affirmed, "the Church has 'the joy of celebrating on a unique feast day the merits and glory of the saints': not only those whom it has proclaimed throughout the centuries, but also those innumerable men and women whose sanctity, hidden in this world, is well-known by God and shines in his eternal Kingdom."

John Paul II affirmed that this feast day "invites us to turn our gaze toward Heaven, the goal of our earthly pilgrimage. There the festive community of the saints awaits us. There we will be reunited with deceased loved ones, for whom we will raise our prayer in the great liturgical commemoration tomorrow."

"November 2, however, requires us not to forget but rather to favor in prayer the souls of so many deceased that nobody remembers. ... I pray especially for the victims of terrorism, which in the past months and also in these days has continued to plague humanity. The commemoration of All Souls must be a unanimous invocation of peace: peace for those who lived, peace for those who are living, peace for those who will live."

After praying the Angelus, the Holy Father referred to the earthquakes in Sicily and in other areas of central and southern Italy "which have caused serious suffering and problems for those beloved populations."

The Pope expressed his "deep spiritual closeness to those affected by these tragic events, especially the children caught in the collapse of a school building in San Giuliano di Puglia. While I elevate to the Lord my prayer for the victims and their families, I send an affectionate word of encouragement to those who have survived and to all those who are working in the rescue efforts, hoping that they may be sustained by the solidarity of the entire nation."

As is his annual custom, John Paul II went down to the Vatican Grottos to pray for the Supreme Pontiffs and for all the deceased. "In these Vatican grottos," said the Pope, "we entrust to the mercy of the Father the victims of the earthquake which has affected Southern Italy, and in particular the many children, who have lost their lives, and their parents and their families. Also we pray for those who are buried here and await the resurrection of the flesh; we pray in particular for those Supreme Pontiffs, who developed the service of pastors of the Universal Church, so that they may participate in the eternal liturgy in Heaven."

Through Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Pope sent telegrams of condolences for the victims of the earthquake that struck the Molise region of Italy to Bishop Tommaso Valentinetti of Termoli-Larino and Archbishop Armando Dini of Campobasso-Boiano.

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