THANKS TO PREACHER OF THE SPIRITUAL EXERCISES

VATICAN CITY, FEB 23, 2002 (VIS) - This morning, at the close of the spiritual exercises of the Pope and the Roman Curia in the Vatican's "Redemptoris Mater" chapel, John Paul II thanked, in the name of all the participants, the preacher, Cardinal Claudio Hummes O.F.M., archbishop of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The Pope said: "These days of thoughtful contemplation have helped us to rediscover with joy the inexhaustible grace of the Christian and apostolic vocation. The Spirit has once again helped us understand that our entire life is centered on Christ, Who reveals the Father."

"Our profound awareness of being disciples - which, together with you dear Cardinal Hummes, we have revived - spurs us on to courageous dedication in our ministry at the service of the people of God. Each now returns to their own task. You too will return to your diocese. When you are once more among your own people, take to the faithful, especially children and those who suffer, the expression of my affection and the assurance of my prayers."

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JOHN PAUL II: EUROPE MUST CONSERVE ITS CHRISTIAN HERITAGE

VATICAN CITY, FEB 23, 2002 (VIS) - This morning, John Paul II received participants in the third international forum promoted by the Alcide De Gasperi Foundation for democracy, peace and international cooperation, who are presently reflecting on the subject of Europe.

The Pope recalled that "the painful religious schism between the largely-Catholic West and the largely-Orthodox East, was one of the factors that prevented the full integration into Europe of certain Slavic peoples, with negative effects above all for the Church which needs to breath 'with two lungs,' the western and the eastern. Thus, I have strived for dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches, with a view to full unity."

"My greatest concern for Europe is that the continent conserve and develop its Christian heritage. Indeed, it cannot be denied that Europe's roots lie - apart from in the Greco-Roman patrimony - also in the Jewish-Christian heritage which has, for centuries, constituted the most profound essence of its soul. ... The very modes of thought, feeling, expression and behavior among European peoples have undergone profound Christian influence."

The Holy Father noted that since the 18th century "a process of secularization has taken place, aimed at excluding God and Christianity from all expressions of human life." The Christian religion has come to be relegated to the sphere of private life. "In this perspective, is it not significant that all explicit reference to religion, and hence also to Christianity, has been removed from the map of Europe? I have expressed my sadness at this fact, which I feel to be anti-historical and offensive to the Fathers of the new Europe, among whom a pre-eminent place is due to Alcide De Gasperi."

"Indeed, it is by virtue of the Christian message that great human values have become affirmed in people's consciences. Values such as the dignity and inviolability of the individual; freedom of conscience; the dignity of work and of workers; the right of each to a secure and dignified life and, consequently, to share in the goods of the earth, destined by God to the enjoyment of all mankind."

The Pope emphasized that "the Church today, with renewed vigor, again proposes these values to a Europe which risks falling into ideological relativism and surrendering to moral nihilism, at times declaring as good that which is evil, and as evil that which is good. It is my hope that the European Union may know how to draw new lifeblood from the Christian heritage that is its own, proposing adequate responses to the new questions that arise, especially in the field of ethics."

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DO NOT BE TEMPTED TO UNREGULATED SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS

VATICAN CITY, FEB 25, 2002 (VIS) - At midday today, John Paul II received representatives of the Italian League for the Fight against Tumors, for the occasion of the 80th anniversary of its foundation.

The Pope affirmed that the concern of this association is that the disease "be accepted without drama and faced with realism, relying with faith on the resources of the human organism and on medical research."

After highlighting the need for experiments that concern the person to be "carried out in full respect of human dignity," he said: "Scientific research will thus become a priceless gift for so many families and for all humanity."

The Holy Father added that suffering and pain can be "an occasion for spiritual growth, opening broader horizons than those to which the limitations and precariousness of our physical being confine us."

Medical professionals "must always bear in mind the centrality of the human being, regardless of race or religion. ... Never must we lose from sight the final aim of the true good of man; never must we surrender to the temptation to unregulated medical and scientific progress, that could become a dangerous form of 'technological control' of life."

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ANGELUS: FOLLOW CHRIST ON THE PATH OF SILENCE

VATICAN CITY, FEB 24, 2002 (VIS) - At midday today, John Paul II appeared at the window of his study overlooking St. Peter's Square in order to pray the angelus with pilgrims and faithful gathered below.

Prior to the Marian prayer, the Holy Father recalled that this Sunday's liturgy with its Gospel account of the Transfiguration invites us to follow Christ to Mount Tabor, "the mountain of silence and contemplation. ... This, together with my collaborators in the Roman Curia, is what I have had the grace to do during this week of spiritual exercises; an experience I recommend to all, in ways adapted to differing vocations and life conditions."

Following the angelus, the Pope greeted, "with particular affection," young people from neocatechumenal communities in parishes and dioceses throughout Italy. "You," he said, "are on the road to World Youth Day, which will take place in Toronto, Canada, this July. You are young people marching with Christ. I thank you because, by your presence, you give me the opportunity to renew the invitation to your peers to prepare carefully for this important date. In all circumstances, know how to present with humility and respect the hope that is within you."

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POPE ADDRESSES ROME'S FILIPINO COMMUNITY

VATICAN CITY, FEB 24, 2002 (VIS) - Today, Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the Pope's vicar general for the diocese of Rome, presided at Mass for Rome's Filipino community in the Basilica of "S. Pudenziana al Viminale."

As Holy See Press Office Director Joaquin Navarro-Valls announced yesterday, John Paul II's pastoral visit to this basilica has been postponed, due to arthritic pain in his right knee.

The homily, which the Holy Father had prepared, was read by Cardinal Ruini. "With great joy," he began, "I greet those who work in Rome's Philippine Catholic chaplaincy, better known as 'Sentro Pilipino.' It coordinates the 38 pastoral centers spread around the city, meeting the spiritual, moral and social needs of tens of thousands of Filipino immigrants."

Commenting on the first reading of today's Mass which was taken from the Book of Genesis in which "God promised Abraham two things which seemed impossible: a son and a land," the Pope affirms that, in blessing the patriarch with these two things, "God offers him a life that is bigger than death. ... The promise to Abraham is fulfilled only when death itself is destroyed; and death is destroyed when Christ is raised to new life."

"'Leave your country, your family and your father's house!' God says to Abraham. Many of you have done just that: you have left home and family, so that in your own way you may become a blessing for those you love back in the Philippines, contributing to their economic support, providing greater opportunities culturally and socially for your children and families. The separation is difficult and the cost is high, but it is a price you are willing to pay in a difficult and often unjust world."

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