POPE ASKS PRAYERS FOR HIS PILGRIMAGE TO GREECE, SYRIA AND MALTA

VATICAN CITY, MAY 2, 2001 (VIS) - At the end of today's general audience, which began at 10 a.m. in St. Peter's Square in the presence of 23,000 people, Pope John Paul spoke of his forthcoming pilgrimage to Greece, Syria and Malta, and asked the faithful to accompany him in prayer "on this trip which is so meaningful to me."

Pope John Paul leaves the morning of May 4 for Greece. He will travel to Syria on May 5 and will go to Malta on the 8th for the final leg of his pilgrimage.

At today's audience the Pope said he was "fulfilling a desire, expressed within the perspective of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, to go personally to pray where God's initiative for the salvation of man was concretely expressed. After having been on the Sinai, where God revealed Himself to Moses, and in the Holy Land, I am now about to leave for several cities linked in special ways to St. Paul. My pilgrimage in the footsteps of the great apostle will be a return to the roots of the Church."

The Holy Father said his trip would take him to Athens, "in whose areopago St. Paul gave a very illuminating speech about the encounter of the Gospel message with an important culture like that of Greece. I will then proceed to Damascus, the place which evokes the conversion of Saul, and lastly, Malta where the apostle of the people was shipwrecked as he was being brought to Rome as a prisoner."

In asking for prayers for his trip, John Paul II said: "May this be a happy occasion to increase understanding with our Orthodox brothers, favoring further advances on the path to the full unity of Christians. I also hope that my visit to Syria and, in particular, the great mosque of Damascus will help to reinforce interreligious dialogue with the followers of Islam."

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GENERAL AUDIENCE: CANTICLE OF THANKSGIVING FOR CREATION

VATICAN CITY, MAY 2, 2001 (VIS) - In today's general audience, held in St. Peter's Square before 23,000 faithful, the Holy Father gave a commentary upon the Canticle of the Book of Daniel, which the Liturgy of the Hours includes in the Lord's Day Praises.

John Paul II recalled that this litany is a symphony in which creation gives thanks to God, "Creator of the universe and Lord of history. Recited in the light of Christian revelation, it is directed to the Trinitarian God."

"The hymn is presented as the thanksgiving raised by three young Israelites - Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael - condemned to death in a fiery furnace, for having refused to worship the golden statue of Nebuchadnezzar, but miraculously preserved from the flames. ... Their faithfulness is answered by the faithfulness of God, who sends an angel to keep the flames from them." The Pope added that the Church relates the liberation of the three youths with the resurrection of Jesus.

The Pope emphasized that "singing this hymn on Sunday morning, the Christian feels gratitude not only for the gift of creation, but also for receiving God's paternal solicitude, which in Christ has elevated man to the dignity of Son. It is a paternal solicitude," the Holy Father concluded, "which causes man to look at creation with new eyes and appreciate its beauty, in which is glimpsed, as if a delicate imprint, the love of God."

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, MAY 2, 2001 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Bishop Fernando Panico, M.S.C., of Oeiras-Floriano, Brazil as bishop of Crato (area 18,645, population 987,000, Catholics 799,000, priests 67, religious 129), Brazil. He succeeds Bishop Newton Holanda Gurgel, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted in accordance with the age limit.

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, MAY 2, 2001 (VIS) - The Holy Father received today in audience Cardinal Camillo Ruini, his vicar general for the diocese of Rome and president of the Italian Episcopal Conference.

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JOHN PAUL II APPEALS FOR END TO IRAQI EMBARGO

VATICAN CITY, APR 28, 2001 (VIS) - The Holy Father this morning received the Letters of Credence of Iraq's new ambassador to the Holy See, Abdul-Amir Al-Anbari.

Speaking English, the Pope told the ambassador in his opening remarks of his "esteem for the Iraqi people, whom I remember daily in my prayers, especially in light of the continuing difficulties which they face. As the embargo in your country continues to claim victims, I renew my appeal to the international community that innocent people should not be made to pay the consequences of a destructive war whose effects are still being felt by those who are weakest and most vulnerable."

"Today's world," he continued, "although sadly afflicted in many regions by tension, violence and armed conflict, is seeking greater equity and stability so that the whole human family can live in true justice and everlasting peace. These are not abstract concepts or remote ideals, rather they are values which dwell in the heart of every individual and nation, to which all peoples have a right."

John Paul II affirmed that "it is precisely the pursuit of this justice and this peace which is the driving force behind every activity of the Holy See in the area of international diplomacy." Quoting from his January 13 speech to the diplomatic corps, he stated that "the Holy See firmly believes ... 'that without social solidarity or recourse to law and the instruments of international diplomacy, these terrible situations would be even more dramatic and could become unresolvable'."

"The Holy See therefore sees as one of its principal duties that of reminding public opinion that 'no authority, no political program and no ideology is entitled to reduce human beings to what they can do or produce'. The inalienable rights and personal dignity of every human being must be upheld, the transcendent dimension of the human person must be defended'," as must be "'the religious dimension of human beings and human history ... (which) is a vital element in shaping the person and the society to which people belong'."

"In this context," the Pope said in conclusion, "my thoughts turn naturally to the members of the Iraqi Catholic community. Together with their Muslim countrymen, Iraqi Christians wish to work for unity and harmony. Their Christian faith and values inspire them to cultivate a spirit of mutual respect, with pride in their national identity and concern for the progress of their country."

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