ECUMENICAL ACT IN BETHLEHEM FOR THE OPENING OF HOLY YEAR

VATICAN CITY, DEC 4, 1999 (VIS) - Made public today was a message from the Holy Father to the apostolic delegation which is participating in a solemn ecumenical act for the opening of the Jubilee Year in Bethlehem.

In the message, which is written in English, the Pope expresses his "joy" that this event is being held, an event in which "the highest representatives of the Christians of the Holy Land are gathering in ... preparation for the opening of the Jubilee year, commemorating the two thousandth anniversary of the birth of our Lord."

"Before the eyes of the Christians of the Holy Land, and indeed of all Christians throughout the world, this meeting in Bethlehem testifies that the places in which Jesus spent his earthly life, bore his witness, died and rose again, are a constant reminder of the grace that we have received in Him and an urgent invitation to us to strengthen our will and commitment to be faithful to His prayer: 'Ut omnes unum sint'."

The Holy Father concludes by affirming that "by a happy coincidence today's ecumenical celebration is being attended by the secretaries of the Christian world communions. To them too I send my cordial greeting and my encouragement for their efforts to extend the bonds of brotherhood and cooperation."

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TO INTEGRATE THE DISABLED: LOVE, SOLIDARITY, HUMAN RIGHTS

VATICAN CITY, DEC 4, 1999 (VIS) - The Holy Father this morning addressed the participants in a congress on "The Family and the Integration of the Disabled in Childhood and Adolescence." He focussed on the need for families and society to show love and solidarity towards the disabled and to not deprive them of their "inalienable, inviolable human rights."

"When difficulties, problems or illness strike in childhood," stated the Pope, "it is then that the values of faith can come to the aid of human values, so that primary human dignity, even of the disabled, is recognized and respected. ... The arrival of a suffering child is without doubt a distressing event for the family, which is intimately shaken by it." Parents must give this child special care and express "deep esteem for his human dignity. ... While this is true for every child, it takes on a singular urgency when the child is little and needs everything, is ill, suffering or handicapped."

The Holy Father underlined that "the family is the place par excellence where the gift of life is received as such, and the child's dignity is recognized with expressions of special care and tenderness. Above all when the children are the most needy and exposed to the risk of being rejected by others, it is the family who can, with greater efficacy, ensure their equal dignity with respect to healthy children."

John Paul II expressed "the Church's gratitude" for all who care for, love and support disabled children and adolescents. He also pointed to "the examples of extraordinary dedication on the part of countless parents towards their children" and "the multiple initiatives of families ready to accept with generous zeal disabled children as foster or adoptive parents."

Then, the Pope forcefully stated that "every person is the subject of basic rights which are inalienable, inviolable and indivisible. Every person: Therefore, even the disabled who, precisely because of their handicap, might meet greater difficulties in concretely exercising such rights."

He also emphasized that, while the Church and society have "specific roles" in developing solidarity for the disabled, "it is up to the family above all ... to understand that the value of existence transcends that of efficiency."

This three-day meeting, which ended today, was organized by the Pontifical Council for the Family and its president, Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, together with the Special Family Education Center (CEFAES) of Madrid and the Leopoldo Program of Venezuela.

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PANAMA'S ROLE IS TO BE A LINK BETWEEN PEOPLES

VATICAN CITY, DEC 4, 1999 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received the Letters of Credence of the new Panamanian ambassador, Edda Martinelli de Dutari, to whom he expressed his happiness at the new government's intention to "continue" and "increase" relations between Panama and the Holy See.

Referring to a "moment of great importance for Panama, that is, the restoration, in the coming days, of sovereignty over the canal that bears its name, together with the surrounding land," the Holy Father said: "This event brings with it great consequences, both juridical and practical as well as economic and political. However, it also carries ... an emblematic significance, reaffirming the historical and geographical identity of your country, which is called to play an important role of communication and linkage between the peoples of the world.

"All of this," he continued, "seems to be an invitation for Panama to distinguish itself precisely because its people are welcoming, open to dialogue and have deep Christian roots." Consequently, with the restoration of sovereignty, it is necessary to avoid that "external interests or pressure end up detracting from the benefits that this magnificent historical opportunity can bring to citizens, favoring the development of projects that aim to: eradicate the poverty from which a part of the population suffers; ensure ever greater respect for the dignity of the various ethnic groups; improve education; speed up the exercise of judicial power and render more humane and just the situation of prisoners in order to facilitate their reinsertion into society and, in the final analysis, provide the means necessary for the integral development of the Panamanian people."

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ANGELUS REFLECTIONS ON ADVENT, IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

VATICAN CITY, DEC 5, 1999 (VIS) - Speaking to the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square to pray the angelus with him, Pope John Paul reflected today on the season of Advent, and on the December 8 solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.

He began by citing the words in today's Gospel of John the Baptist "who cried out in the desert: 'Prepare the way for the Lord, set straight His paths'." The Pope said that "preparing the way for the Lord this year means preparing oneself to cross the threshold of the Holy Door, and thus to receive the superabundance of grace that Christ has brought to the world and which the Jubilee Year will place at everyone's disposition."

"Straighten out the Lord's paths." continued the Holy Father. "To meet our Redeemer means 'converting oneself', walking, that is, towards the Lord with joyous faith, abandoning those ways of thinking and living which impede us from following Him fully."

"In the face of the good news of a God who, for love of us, reveals Himself and takes on our human condition, we cannot fail to open our hearts to repentance; we cannot close ourselves in pride and hypocrisy, precluding the possibility of finding true peace. The shadow of the Holy Door, which is now near, reminds us that God is overflowing with tender and merciful love."

After meditating on the coming of the Redeemer, John Paul II spoke of His mother Mary and the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. He observed that "in Mary, 'full of grace' is what God intends to fulfill in every man. The Mother of the Redeemer was preserved from sin and filled with divine grace. Her spiritual beauty invites us to trust and to hope."

After praying the angelus, the Pope greeted blood donor organizers from the Italian Red Cross "who are gathered to remind the public of the need to donate blood. In Rome provisions are in short supply, and this situation will become more worrisome with the influx of so many pilgrims for the Jubilee." He urged those who could do so to donate blood, "thus performing an act of concrete solidarity."

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, DEC 4, 1999 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Msgr. George Panikulam, counsellor at the Holy See Mission to the United Nations, New York, as apostolic nuncio in Honduras, at the same time elevating him to the dignity of archbishop. The archbishop-elect was born in Puthenchira, India, in 1942 and ordained a priest in 1967.

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