JOHN PAUL II IN SLOVAKIA, HIS 102ND FOREIGN APOSTOLIC TRIP

VATICAN CITY, SEP 11, 2003 (VIS) - Pope John Paul departed Rome at 9:30 this morning on his 102nd foreign apostolic trip, a four-day pastoral visit to the Slovak Republic. After a flight of 1 hour, 40 minutes, he landed in Bratislava, a city of 428,672 inhabitants situated on the Danube River. Bratislava became the capital of the newly independent Slovakia in 1993.

The Holy Father was welcomed at Bratislava's airport by civil, religious and military officials whom he greeted, as well as "all the sons and daughters of Slovakia, together with the representatives of national minorities and of other religions." He said he "would like to meet and speak with each and every one of you, to call on every family, to visit your beautiful land, and to meet all the ecclesial communities of this beloved Nation."

"The civil and religious history of Slovakia," he noted, "has been written with the contribution of heroic and dynamic witnesses of the Gospel. My wish is to pay grateful tribute to them all. I am thinking of course of the glorious brothers from Thessalonika, Saints Cyril and Methodius, the Apostles of the Slavic peoples. I also remember all who generously served God and their fellow men and women, who have distinguished these regions with their virtues. To these we now add Bishop Vasil' Hopko and Sister Zdenka Schelingova. Next Sunday I will have the joy of enrolling them among the Blessed."

Pope John Paul pointed out that "in the near future your country will become a full member of the European Community. Dearly beloved, bring to the construction of Europe's new identity the contribution of your rich Christian tradition! Do not be satisfied with the sole quest for economic advantages. Great affluence in fact can also generate great poverty. Only by building up, not without sacrifices and difficulties, a society respectful of human life in all its expressions, that promotes the family as a place of reciprocal love and growth of persons, that seeks the common good and is attentive to the needs of the weakest, will there be a guarantee of a future based on solid foundations and rich in goods for all."

The Pope read the first and last parts of his address in Slovak, whereas a priest read the rest. Holy See Press Office Director Joaquin Navarro-Valls, speaking with journalists, said: "Notwithstanding the fact that the Pope wanted to continue reading his speech, it seems logical to me that if the effort involved in this trip can be somewhat alleviated, that should be done." He also noted that this is not the first time the Holy Father has not completed a speech, adding that it is, however, probably the first time it has occurred during a welcome ceremony.

Following the ceremony, the Pope went to the apostolic nunciature in Bratislava where, at 12:30, he met with the country's president, Rudolf Schuster. Afterwards he welcomed, in separate audiences, the president of the Slovak National Council, Pavol Hrusovsky, and Prime Minister Mikulas Zurinda.

Pope John Paul had previously visited Bratislava in 1990 when it was part of Czechoslovakia. On January 1, 1993, in a peaceful change, Czechoslovakia became two independent nations, the Czech and the Slovak Republics. The Holy Father once again visited Slovakia June 30 to July 3, 1995. On this present pilgrimage he will travel to the dioceses he has not yet visited.

The Holy Father's pastoral action for the Church in Slovakia since its independence has been noteworthy. He has appointed the two cardinals and all of the country's bishops; in 1995 he elevated the diocese of Kosice to archdiocese; in 1997 he erected the apostolic exarchate of Kosice for Catholic faithful of the Byzantine rite, and he has elevated many churches to the status of basilica. In 1980 the Pope created in Canada the Slovak diocese of the Byzantine rite of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, and in 1997 in Rome he founded the Pontifical Slovak College of Sts. Cyril and Methodius.

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, SEP 11, 2003 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Oruro, Bolivia presented by Bishop Braulio Saez Garcia, O.C.D., in conformity with canon 401, para 2 of the Code of Canon Law.

- Appointed Bishop Braulio Saez Garcia, O.C.D., of Oruro, Bolivia as auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia.

- Appointed Bishop Isaac Mar Cleemis Thottunkal, auxiliary of Trivandrum, India, as bishop of Tiruvalla of the Syro-Malankars (area 31,500, population 13,145,970, Catholics 56,176, priests 185, religious 393), India.
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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, SEP 10, 2003 (VIS) - The Holy Father received today in audience Archbishop Francisco Javier Lozano, apostolic nuncio in Croatia.

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GENERAL AUDIENCE: GOD INDICATES THE PATH OF JUSTICE

VATICAN CITY, SEP 10, 2003 (VIS) - This morning the Pope came from Castelgandolfo by car to the Vatican where at 10:30 a.m. the general audience took place in St. Peter's Square. The theme of this Wednesday's catechesis was the Canticle of Ezekiel, "God will renew His people."

Commenting on this hymn, John Paul II said that the prophet Ezekiel "was a witness of one of the most tragic periods experienced by the Jewish people: the collapse of the reign of Judah and the capital Jerusalem, followed by the bitter event of the Babylonian exile."

"The context of this page," he said, "transformed into a hymn from the liturgy, demonstrates the profound meaning of the tragedy which the people underwent in those years. ... But God is not indifferent to good and evil; He enters mysteriously on the scene of humanity's history with His judgement which, sooner or later, discovers evil, defends victims and indicates the path of justice."

The Holy Father indicated that "the aim of God's action is never ruin, pure and simple condemnation, destruction of the sinner. ... In fact, humanity is destined to be born into a new life. ... Our 'heart of stone', cold and insensitive, a sign of the obstinacy of evil, will be torn from our chest. God will give us instead a 'heart of flesh', font of life and love. In this way," he concluded, "a 'new life' will emerge ... of new creatures, transformed by the Spirit of the Risen Christ."

After greeting pilgrims in different languages at the end of the audience the Pope noted that tomorrow he begins "with great hope" his third apostolic trip to Slovakia, "a land enriched by the testimony of the heroic disciples of Christ who left eloquent footprints of sanctity in the history of the Nation. I invite you to join me in prayer. I entrust this apostolic trip to the Mother of the Redeemer, so venerated in Slovakia. May she guide my steps and obtain for the Slovakian people a renewed springtime of faith and civil progress."

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SEMINAR FOR ENGLISH-SPEAKING BISHOPS IN MISSION LANDS

VATICAN CITY, SEP 9, 2003 (VIS) - The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples is hosting a study seminar at the Pontifical College of St. Paul in Rome for English-speaking bishops who have been ordained in the last five years and who are assigned to mission territories.

Participants include 169 bishops (63 from 15 African countries, 88 from 15 nations in Asia, 5 from 5 countries in America and 13 from Papua New Guinea in Oceania) and numerous members of the Roman Curia. The seminar, which began yesterday with a talk by Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, prefect of the congregation, is scheduled to conclude on September 20.

The cardinal spoke of the origin, development and duties of the missionary activity of the Church in general and of the congregation in particular.

The program for coming days includes two conferences daily, and periods set aside for questions, discussions and workshops. Throughout the seminar, special attention will be given to the triple "munus" of a bishop: teaching, sanctifying and governing, focussing on the specific situations of mission territories. Some of the other topics the participants will reflect on include seminary formation, relations with the Roman Curia and with episcopal conferences, social doctrine, ecumenism, charitable work and interreligious dialogue.

The schedule also includes a trip to the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii on September 14, feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. On September 20, following a concelebrated Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, the bishops will have a private audience with Pope John Paul.

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