JUBILEE NEWS FROM FRANCE AND THE UNITED STATES

VATICAN CITY, MAY 11, 1999 (VIS) - On May 3, Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, president of the Central Committee for the Jubilee Year 2000, met in Paris, France with delegates from the dioceses and the Catholic movements of that country who are preparing the great celebrations for next year.

According to information supplied by the Central Committee for the Jubilee, during this visit Cardinal Etchegaray announced that at the end of October 2000 an inter-religious congress will take place in the presence of the Pope to examine how religions can collaborate in the face of the challenges of the third millennium. Cardinal Etchegaray said that "tomorrow, the great problem will not be atheism, but a sincere and profound coexistence between religions and the manner in which Christianity must maintain its identity without sliding into syncretism."

Furthermore, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops of the U.S.A. has just published the calendar of its Jubilee celebrations. "The Church in the U.S.A." says a statement, "is preparing itself for the Holy Year with a novena from the start of November to the end of December 1999."

The U.S. Jubilee committee has so far organized 15 Jubilee days dedicated to specific groups of people, such as children, mothers, fathers, migrants and refugees, farmers, catechists and entertainers, or specific themes such as peace and justice, the environment, and reconciliation. A special occasion will be the Day of Families which will be celebrated on Thanksgiving Day. This traditional American holiday takes place each year on the last Thursday of November and in the year 2000 falls on November 23.

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