POPE GREETS PATRIARCH OF CILICIA OF THE THE ARMENIANS

VATICAN CITY, JAN 19, 2005 (VIS) - At the end of today's general audience in the Paul VI Hall, the Holy Father greeted the pilgrims present in various languages. "I have special thoughts," he began, "for the patriarch of Cilicia of the Armenians, His Beatitude Nerses Bedros XIX, and the other bishops who accompany him."

  The patriarch is in Rome for today's blessing by the Pope of a statue of St. Gregory the Illuminator, the apostle of Armenia who is also called "the Enlightener," who brought Christianity to the Armenians and who died in 332. The statue will be in a courtyard of St. Peter's Basilica.

  "I also wish to greet," he added, "the priests, seminarians and lay people of the Neocatechumenal Way. Dear ones, I thank you for your generous commitment to the new evangelization. I hope that your reflections in recent days will help you to deepen, with a docile spirit, the communion both with the pastors of the local Churches and the appropriate offices of the Holy See. You can thus offer an ever more effective contribution to the cause of the Gospel."
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UNITY, A GIFT OF GOD TO BE TIRELESSLY IMPLORED

VATICAN CITY, JAN 19, 2005 (VIS) - In today's general audience held in the Paul VI Hall, the Pope recalled the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity which began yesterday, saying "these are days of reflection and prayer, fittingly reminding Christians that the re-establishment of full unity among them, according to Jesus' will, involves all the baptized, both pastors and faithful."

  John Paul II affirmed that the Week of Prayer "is taking place a few months after the 40th anniversary of the promulgation of the Decree 'Unitatis redintegratio' of Vatican Council II, a key text that firmly and irrevocably placed the Catholic Church within the ecumenical movement."

  "This year," he went on, "the theme faces us with a truth basic to all ecumenical commitment: that Christ is the foundation of the Church. The Council strongly recommended prayer for unity as the soul of the entire ecumenical movement. ... But prayer must be accompanied by purification of mind, feelings and memory. Thus it becomes an expression of that 'interior conversion' without which there is no ecumenism. In the end, unity is a gift of God, a gift to be tirelessly implored with humility and truth."

  After highlighting how the longing for unity is spreading, the Holy Father pointed out that "the Lord has recently allowed his disciples to form important contacts of dialogue and collaboration. The pain of separation makes itself felt ever more intensely, in the face of the challenges of a world that awaits clear and unanimous evangelical witness from all believers in Christ."

  The Pope concluded by recalling that on January 25 he will be spiritually present at the celebration of Vespers to close the Week of Prayer, which will be presided in his name by Cardinal Walter Kasper. The ceremony is due to take place in the basilica of St Paul's Outside-the-Walls and will be attended by representatives from other Churches and Christian confessions. "I also ask you to pray so that, as soon as possible, the entire family of the faithful may achieve the full communion desired by Christ."

  Prior to the audience, John Paul II blessed a statue of St Gregory the Illuminator, the apostle of the Armenians, which has been placed behind the Vatican Basilica. The brief ceremony was attended by the patriarch of Cilicia of the Armenians, His Beatitude Nerses Bedros XIX, together with the bishops of his entourage.
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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, JAN 18, 2005 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences four prelates from the Spanish Episcopal Conference on their "ad limina" visit:

    - Bishop Miguel Jose Asurmendi Aramendia, S.D.B., of Vitoria.

    - Bishop Juan Jose Omella Omella of Calahorra y La Calzada-Logrono.

    - Bishop Jesus Sanz Montes, O.F.M., of Jaca and of Huesca.

    - Bishop Juan Maria Uriarte Goiricelaya of San Sebastian.
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ITALIAN FOREIGN MINISTER HOLDS MEETING IN VATICAN

VATICAN CITY, JAN 18, 2005 (VIS) - At noon today, Holy See Press Office Director Joaquin Navarro-Valls made the following declaration:

  "Today Tuesday, January 18, Gianfranco Fini in his capacity as foreign minister of the Italian Republic, came to the Vatican where he paid visits to Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, secretary for Relations with States, and to Cardinal Secretary of State Angelo Sodano.

  "The visit falls within the framework of contacts that Minister Fini is strengthening with various governments, in order to reinforce international collaboration.

  "In the course of the talks in the Vatican, opinions were exchanged on current affairs, especially the situation in Europe and in the Middle East. There was also agreement on the need to reform the United Nations in order to respond better to the challenges of the third millennium."
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RABBIS FROM AROUND THE WORLD THANK POPE JOHN PAUL

VATICAN CITY, JAN 18, 2005 (VIS) - This morning, in the largest private audience ever given by a Pope to Jewish leaders, John Paul II received 160 Jewish rabbis and cantors from Israel, the United States and Europe.

  The Holy Father pointed out that "this year we will be celebrating the fortieth anniversary of the Second Vatican Council's Declaration 'Nostra aetate', which has significantly contributed to the strengthening of Jewish-Catholic dialogue.

  "May this be an occasion for renewed commitment to increased understanding and cooperation in the service of building a world ever more firmly based on respect for the divine image in every human being."

  The rabbis, who all belong to the Pave the Way Foundation, thanked the Holy Father for "all the efforts he has sustained over 26 years of pontificate to reconcile the two faiths and demolish the wall of hatred," according to a communique from the Foundation published last evening. During the audience, they recited a prayer in honor of John Paul II.

  Gary Krupp, founder and president of the Pave the Way Foundation, affirmed that the aim of his group is "to unite men and women of good faith, beyond any religious belief and without prejudice, and to remove with determination all obstacles in the way of this objective. The Pope has done this for decades. The least we can do is to thank him humbly for all he has done for the Jewish people in the world; and in our turn we undertake to make serious efforts for peace on Earth," he said.

  Rabbi Jack Bemporad, director of the Center for Inter-religious Understanding, said "since Vatican Council II, and under the guidance of Pope John Paul II, the Church has made many extremely significant steps to create new bonds with Jews on a foundation of sincere affection and reciprocity."

  "No Pope before John Paul II has ever done as much, or been so concerned to create fraternal relations between Catholics and Jews. ... I am convinced that Pope John Paul II will be considered a great healer of relations between Catholics and Jews. ... Coming to the Vatican from all over the world, we rabbis say thank you!"
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