STUDENTS IN FOUR COUNTRIES JOIN POPE IN MONTHLY ROSARY

VATICAN CITY, MAR 6, 1999 (VIS) - After praying the rosary this evening in the Paul VI Hall, Pope John Paul addressed brief remarks to the faithful present, including a large number of university students, and reminded them that "March is the month dedicated to St. Joseph, spouse of Mary Most Holy and patron of the universal Church."

After greeting several groups of Italian pilgrims, the Pope added: "I have a special thought for young university students, those here present as well as those linked with us through Vatican Radio" at the universities of Buenos Aires, New York, Czestochowa and Santiago de Compostela.

"This evening I have the joy of sharing with you the start of the pilgrimage of the Cross in your universities," remarked John Paul II. "Know how to see in the Cross the most eloquent sign of the mercy of the Lord, ... the One Who is the foundation and certainty of every itinerary of intellectual research." He then concluded with remarks in Spanish, English and Polish to the students in the four different cities.

JPII-ROSARY;...;...;...;VIS;19990308;Word: 180;

WORK IS THE THEME OF POPE'S ADDRESS TO ACADEMICIANS

VATICAN CITY, MAR 6, 1999 (VIS) - Members of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences were welcomed by the Holy Father this morning at the end of their fifth general assembly, during which they discussed, for the third consecutive year, the theme of work. This was also the focus of the Pope's address to academicians, in which he stressed that "man must be at the center of work."

He highlighted the worldwide problem of unemployment, which "makes people and entire families fragile. ... They feel neither recognized nor useful for society, and from that comes the spiral of indebtedness." He urged the academicians "to seek new ways of reducing unemployment," acknowledging that "concrete solutions are certainly difficult" due to numerous and complex economic and political factors.

"Employment," the Pope continued, "is certainly a major challenge of international life. It presupposes a healthy sharing of labor and solidarity among all persons of a working age and who are suitable to do so. ...The parallel organization of moonlighting (underground work force) seriously harms a country's economy, for it constitutes a refusal to participate in national life through social security and taxes; ... it also places workers ... in an uncontrollable and unacceptable situation of submission and servility."

"For every person, work is an essential element. It contributes to the edification of their being. ... Work also gives every individual a place in society," and the knowledge that "they are useful to the human community."

Those most often touched by unemployment, said John Paul II, are young people. Leaders must do everything possible to assure youth, who are "one of a nation's most precious goods," of employment, in order to give them a sense of self-assurance and of belonging and contributing to society. "This will also reduce disparity among social classes, as well as the phenomena of violence, prostitution, drugs and delinquency."

"It is essential to have faith in people, to develop a system which privileges the sense of innovation on the part of individuals as well as groups, and favors participation and solidarity. ... Industry leaders and decision-makers must be aware that it is essential to base their approach on human capital and moral values, especially on respect for persons and their inalienable need to have employment. ... The globalization of the economy and of work likewise calls for the globalization of responsibilities."

The Holy Father decried the exploitation of poor countries with natural resources by rich countries and the unequal sharing of riches that results. He reiterated in concluding remarks that "the economy, work and enterprises are above all at the service of people."

AC;WORK;...;ACAD-SS;VIS;19990308;Word: 440;

WALK THE PATH OF CONVERSION LIKE THE BLESSEDS

VATICAN CITY, MAR 8, 1999 (VIS) - This morning in the Paul VI Hall, the Pope received the pilgrims who came to Rome for yesterday's beatifications. "May the witness" of the Blesseds, he said, "be an encouragement and a stimulus so we might all walk with determination the path of conversion and reconciliation, faithfully following in their footsteps."

Referring to the martyrdom of the Spanish Augustinian Recollects, the Holy Father said that it was "a supreme act of love and faithfulness to Christ, which becomes a witness, example and perpetual message for humanity today and for generations to come." "May the new martyr Blesseds," he asked, "accompany the journey of the Church, which works and suffers for the Gospel, and may they encourage the flourishing of a new springtime of Christian life in Spain."

John Paul II told the Sisters of the Child Jesus, the congregation founded by Nicolas Barre O.M., that the task which they carry out "wholeheartedly, with humility and abandonment to God, is an answer to great human poverty. ... I encourage you to remain faithful to your mission of education, which is nourished by love and the contemplation of Christ."

"Anna Schaeffer," he concluded, speaking of the new German Blessed, "continues to be present among us with her message of life, which is a solid anchor of salvation when sad moments are experienced or when dark valleys are crossed."

AC;BLESSEDS;...;...;VIS;19990308;Word: 240;

ANGELUS REFLECTIONS ON NEW BLESSEDS AND WOMEN'S DAY

VATICAN CITY, MAR 7, 1999 (VIS) - The Holy Father, in remarks made before reciting the angelus today, reflected on the just-concluded beatification ceremony in St. Peter's Basilica in which he proclaimed 10 new Blesseds, as well as tomorrow's Day of the Woman.

Speaking of the Blesseds, the Pope said that "in their witness shines the paschal light of Christ Who died and was raised from the dead, the light of love which defeats egoism and transforms human existence into a gift for God and one's brothers and sisters. Their example encourages us to decisively turn our steps towards the sanctity to which we are all called at Baptism. ... They show that it is possible to follow Christ in every state of life, drawing from Him the 'living waters' of the Holy Spirit, source of inner renewal, patience, joy and peace."

John Paul II then greeted the faithful who came for today's beatifications in Spanish, French and German.

Following the angelus and further greetings to pilgrims present in St. Peter's Square, the Pope added: "Tomorrow, March 8, Women's Day is celebrated. I would like to express the hope that this recurrence will be motive for a renewed reflection on the dignity and the role which the woman has in the family, in civil society and in the ecclesial community."

ANG;BLESSEDS; WOMEN;...;...;VIS;19990308;Word: 230;

NEW BLESSEDS SATISFIED THIRST OF MANY BROTHERS AND SISTERS

VATICAN CITY, MAR 7, 1999 (VIS) - John Paul II this morning, in St. Peter's Basilica, beatified ten Servants of God who, he said, "drank from the fountain of Christ's love, to the point of being deeply transformed and changed into overflowing fountains quenching the thirst of so many brothers and sisters who met them during their lives."

Blessed Vicente Soler, his six Augustinian Recollect companions and Manuel Martin Sierra who was a priest, were all Spanish martyrs who, in 1936, "did not die for an ideology" said the Pope, "but who freely gave their lives for the One who had died for them. ... They worked for years in mission lands, they suffered many hardships in the Philippines, they toiled fields in Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela by the sweat of their brow, they founded social and educational projects in Motril and other parts of Spain. ... They faced death with serene souls, comforting the other people condemned with them, and pardoning their executioners."

Speaking of the French Minim priest Nicolas Barre (1621-1686), founder of the Congregations of the Sisters of the Child Jesus (Saint Maur) and the Sisters of the Child Jesus of Providence of Rouen, the Holy Father said that "his ministry put him continually in contact with people who lived in the desert of religious ignorance and who ran the risk of drinking from the contaminated fountain of certain ideas of their time. For this reason he felt the duty to become a spiritual teacher and educator."

The Pope finally referred to the German Blessed Anna Schaffer (1882-1925), a lay woman, who said that her room, as a patient, was the "the place of the work of suffering." Despite her long and painful illness, she carried out an apostolate by correspondence and by doing little things for others, aware of the "responsibility of every Christian for the salvation of the others."

HML;BEATIFICATIONS;...;...;VIS;19990308;Word: 320;