PONTIFICAL LEGATE TO MILLENNIUM OF ST. STEPHEN OF HUNGARY

VATICAN CITY, AUG 10, 2000 (VIS) - Made public today was a letter from John Paul II, written in Latin and dated June 29, in which he names Cardinal Secretary of State Angelo Sodano as pontifical legate at celebrations to mark the millennium of St. Stephen of Hungary. The event is due to take place in Budapest on August 30.

On the pontifical mission accompanying Cardinal Sodano will be Archbishops Karl-Josef Rauber, apostolic nuncio in Hungary, and Istvan Seregely of Eger, president of the Hungarian Episcopal Conference; Bishop Szilard Keresztes of Hajdudorog; Msgr. Timothy P. Broglio, nunciature counsellor at the Secretariat of State and Fr. Adam Somorjai O.S.B., official of the Secretariat of State.

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, AUG 10, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father this morning received in audience at the apostolic palace of Castelgandolfo Cardinal James Francis Stafford, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, accompanied by Bishop Stanislaw Rylko, Guzman Carriquiry and Msgr. Renato Boccardo, respectively secretary, under-secretary and bureau chief of the same pontifical council.

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APPEAL AGAINST VIOLENCE IN MOLUCCA ISLANDS, MOSCOW AND SPAIN

VATICAN CITY, AUG 9, 2000 (VIS) - At the end of the general audience, held this morning in St. Peter's Square, the Pope made a fresh appeal for an end to violence in the Molucca Islands and condemned yesterday's terrorist attacks in Moscow and in Spain:

"Once more I must invite you to pray for an end to the violence that is ravaging the Molucca Islands in Indonesia.

"While entrusting to divine mercy the vast numbers of victims of that tragedy, we venture to send a thought of intense spiritual closeness to those who are suffering for the death of their loved ones, the privation of the basic necessities of existence and the destruction of places of worship. Many of them have been forced to abandon the land they lived on and where they have the right to live, securely and with dignity.

"We appeal to the Lord with faith that, with the re-establishment of order, the foregone harmony may soon be recovered and Christians and Muslims may manage to co-exist in peace.

"May the Holy Virgin, mother of the afflicted, support our request through her powerful intercession."

Then, referring to yesterday's terrorist attacks in Moscow and in Spain, he added:

"In Moscow yesterday an explosive device, activated at rush hour in a pedestrian underpass near the Kremlin, caused numerous deaths and wounded many. I cannot but profoundly deplore this terrible attack. At the same time, I give assurance of my solidarity and prayers.

"I would like to extend similar sentiments to the victims of the terrorist attacks that, alas, continue in Spain.

"It is my heartfelt wish that all forms of violence, source of mourning and pain, may cease, and that spirits may be oriented towards thoughts of understanding and of peaceful co-existence."

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MEETING BETWEEN CHRIST AND MAN TAKES PLACE IN DAILY LIFE

VATICAN CITY, AUG 9, 2000 (VIS) - In today's general audience, held in St. Peter's Square, John Paul II spoke on: "The supreme encounter with Christ, Word made flesh."

The Pope affirmed that the meeting between God and man, in the person of Jesus Christ, "takes place in everyday life, in time and in space. ... When He crosses peoples lives, Christ troubles their consciences and reads in their hearts ... giving rise to penitence and love."

"The encounter with Jesus represents a kind of regeneration: it creates a new being, one capable of true worship, which consists in adoration of the Father 'in spirit and truth'."

The Holy Father indicated that "to meet Christ on one's own life journey often means to find physical recovery. To His own disciples Jesus entrusts the mission of announcing God's kingdom, conversion and the forgiveness of sins, as well as that of healing the sick, freeing from all evil and offering consolation and support."

"Christ," he continued, "came to seek, find and save all of man" and His coming "among us has the aim of leading us to the Father. ... (He) is present through His Word, 'a Word who calls, who invites, who personally summons, as happened to the Apostles'."

John Paul II concluded his catechesis by recalling that Christ is also present in the Eucharist, "source of love, of unity and of salvation," and he quoted the words "of hope and of life" that Christ pronounced in the synagogue of Capharnaum: "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him ... He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day."

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ARCHBISHOP TAURAN RECEIVES PALESTINIAN MINISTER OF COOPERATION

VATICAN CITY, AUG 9, 2000 (VIS) - At midday today, Fr. Ciro Benedettini C.P., vice-director of the Holy See Press Office, made the following declaration:

"Today, Wednesday August 9, Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran, secretary for Relations with States, received Nabil Shaath, minister for international cooperation of the Palestinian National Authority, who has come to inform the Vatican on the Palestinian evaluation of the recent negotiations at Camp David, as well as on the future of the Middle East peace process.

"The visitor gave a detailed description of the positive aspects of the dialogue between Palestinians and Israelis as well as of the obstacles that prevented the meeting reaching a successful conclusion.

"For his part, Archbishop Tauran confirmed the Holy See's support for the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people. Furthermore, he reaffirmed the importance that the Apostolic See attaches to the Holy Sites of the three great religions in the Holy Land, sites of which the international community should in all circumstances guarantee the unique and sacred nature, as is laid down in the preface of the Basic Agreement between the Holy See and the PLO, signed on February 15 2000"

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