CONFRONT THE PROBLEM OF PROTECTING REFUGEES

VATICAN CITY, OCT 4, 2002 (VIS) - Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations Office in Geneva, spoke at the 53rd Session of the Executive Committee of the Program of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The head of the delegation of the Holy See referred to two specific questions "which require urgent attention for the future: The 'asylum-migration' nexus must be addressed urgently and systematically. ... The lack of intelligent immigration policies only increases the likelihood of the trafficking of persons, while vast resources are diverted to counteracting the movement of those who might in fact bring a useful contribution to the economic and social progress in the host country."

Archbishop Martin then spoke about the second question, the protection of children. "Refugee children, including adolescents under 18, constitute about 45% of all refugees. ... The serious allegations regarding the sexual exploitation of refugee children clearly point to the need of a continual review of the policies of UNHCR and all its partners in this area." He concluded by emphasizing that "the community of nations affirms today with renewed vigor that the systematic use of sexual exploitation, of children or adults, by humanitarian operators remains equally unacceptable."

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VISIT BY PATRIARCH OF THE ROMANIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH

VATICAN CITY, OCT 4, 2002 (VIS) - The patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Teoctist, will make an official visit to the Holy Father and the Church of Rome from October 7 to 13. The Pope visited Patriarch Teoctist in May of 1999 during his apostolic trip to Romania.

According to a communique made public today, three metropolitans, an archbishop and various representatives of the Romanian Orthodox Church will accompany the patriarch.

Patriarch Teoctist and his entourage will participate in the audience with the Pope for the pilgrims who have come for the Canonization of Blessed Escriva. On October 11 the patriarch will be received by the cardinal vicar of Rome, Camillo Ruini, in the Basilica of St. John Lateran where he will attend a short liturgy during which a relic of St. Silvester will be returned to him to be restored to an Orthodox church in Bucharest.

On the morning of Saturday October 12, a meeting between the Holy Father and the patriarch is scheduled. During this meeting, there will be an exchange of speeches and gifts and they will sign a common declaration. In the afternoon at the church of St. Bartholomew on Tiberina Island, an ecumenical celebration will take place which will be presided by the patriarch, Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Cardinal Ruini and Cardinal Francis George, archbishop of Chicago, U.S.A., titular of the same church.

The concluding solemn event of the visit will take place on October 13 with the Eucharistic Liturgy of the 28th Sunday in Ordinary time, presided by John Paul II in the presence of His Beatitude Teoctist and his entourage in the Vatican Basilica.

During his stay in Rome, His Beatitude Teoctist will meet with Cardinal Kasper, the secretary of the dicastery, and officials from the Eastern section. In addition, he will visit the basilicas of St. Peter, St. Mary Major and St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls. He will also meet with the Romanian Orthodox community of Rome in the Cistercian Abbey of the Three Fountains and in the Church of the 'Scala Coeli'. The patriarch, invited by the community of St. Egidio, will meet one afternoon with young people and will participate in a prayer ceremony in the Basilica of St. Mary in Trastevere and in a dinner in his honor.

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, OCT 4, 2002 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:

- Her Royal Highness, Princess Victoria of Sweden and her entourage.
- Seven prelates from the Episcopal Conference of Chile on their "ad limina" visit:
- Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz Ossa, archbishop of Santiago, accompanied by his auxiliaries, Bishops Ricardo Ezzati Andrello, S.D.B., and Andres Arteaga Manieu.
- Archbishop Cristian Caro Cordero of Puerto Montt.
- Bishop Gonzalo Duarte Garcia de Cortazar, SS.CC., of Valparaiso, accompanied by his auxiliary, Bishop Santiago Silva Retamales.
- Bishop Ignacio Ducasse Medina of Valdivia.
- Reverand Bertil Werkstrom, Lutheran archbishop emeritus of Uppsala, Sweden.
- Reverand Gunnar Weman, Lutheran archbishop emeritus of Uppsala, Sweden.
- Members of the International Theological Commission.

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TO SERVANTS OF THE VISITATION: ATTEND TO THOSE WHO NEED US

VATICAN CITY, OCT 3, 2002 (VIS) - Made public today was a message written on September 8 by John Paul II to Sr. Maria Vincenza Minet, superior general of the Congregation of the Servants of the Visitation, and to the religious of the same order who celebrated their fourth general chapter at the St. Francis and Holy Cross Resort in Acerno, Italy.

Making reference to the theme of this meeting, "Our charism in a world that is changing," the Holy Father encourages their desire to "look with prophetic value at the future in order to understand better what the challenges and hopes of the Church and the world are."

Afterward, recalling that the charism of the order is rooted in "the admirable mystery of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary to St. Elizabeth," he says that the nuns are inspired by that Gospel scene "when you work with abandoned children as well as when you put yourselves at the service of the elderly and sick in the parishes or in mission countries."

"The example of the Virgin requires that we are constantly up to date and in touch with the difference historical, geographical and cultural demands. In a world that is changing, your charisma should not vacillate, on the contrary it needs that 'imagination of charity', to which I made reference in the apostolic letter 'Novo millennio ineunte', in order to be effective and to bring about abundant fruits."

"To be servants of the Visitation," he concludes, "means ... to attend to those who need us; this is the commandment that Christ gave each disciple and that you have taken on as the ideal and goal of your experience and your community service."

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ST. BRIGID: EXAMPLE FOR WOMEN TODAY

VATICAN CITY, OCT 3, 2002 - Made public today was a message from the Pope to Mother Tekla Famiglietti, abbess general of the Order of the Most Holy Savior of St. Brigid on the occasion of the 700th anniversary of the birth of the Swedish saint.

At the beginning of the message, the Holy Father expressed his gratitude to the religious for their "significant apostolic work in the service of unity among Christians, especially in Europe, following the footsteps of the saint from Sweden."

"When proclaiming St. Brigid the co-patron of Europe," he affirms, "I wanted to offer the faithful of the continent a singular model of 'feminine sanctity'. ... Her example can be an effective stimulus for women today so that they may be protagonists in a society in which their dignity is fully respected, a society that knows how to consider men and women as protagonists with the same rights to the universal divine plan for humanity."

John Paul II recalls that St. Brigid "was a master in accepting the Cross as a central experience of the faith; she was an exemplary disciple of the Church, professing complete Catholicism; she was a model of the contemplative and active life and a tireless apostle in the search for unity among Christians. She also had the gift of prophetic intuition when reading the history of the Gospel and the Gospel in history."

After highlighting the "marian dimension of her consecration to Christ," he says: "Striving always to imitate Mary, she was a wife, mother, and faithful religious. Following the footsteps of the Virgin, she tried to do the will of God in all circumstances."

The Holy Father concluded by emphasizing the saint's passion for unity in the Church: "As a woman of unity, she is for us a witness of ecumenicism. ... Unity of the Church is a grace from the Holy Spirit that must be asked for constantly in prayer."

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