POPE APPEALS FOR GIFT OF LASTING PEACE IN THE BALKANS

VATICAN CITY, MAY 6, 1999 (VIS) - In St. Peter's at midday today the Holy Father received 7,000 participants in the first synod of the Italian Military Ordinariate and, with reference to the war in the Balkans, appealed again for "the gift of a lasting peace, one that respects the rights of all people."

The Pope highlighted the "irreplaceable spiritual and human role of the chaplains who share the life and problems of servicemen offering them the light of the Gospel and divine grace." He recalled Blessed Don Secondo Pollo, who died in a burst of machine-gun fire on the Montenegran front in 1941 "while helping his Alpinist comrades, wounded in an ambush."

John Paul II indicated that with the 1986 Apostolic Constitution, "Spirituali militum curae," he had formed "the Military Ordinariate Church as a distinct territorial and personal Church."

He told the servicemen that, over the three years of the synod, "you have had the opportunity to re-read, in the light of the Word of God, what design the Lord has for your ecclesiastical community, ... a people of God within the military, in the unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. As a result you have asked yourselves how to disseminate the Gospel in the environment of modern military life."

The Pope recalled the numerous missions in which the military have offered their "generous help to people afflicted by natural disasters or humanitarian tragedies" and the sacrifice of so many in "peace keeping work in countries devastated by senseless civil wars."

John Paul II remarked that the synod had also dealt with "the hopes and problems of youth and the challenges that these constitute for your Military Ordinariate Church." He concluded by saying: "I wish to exhort you to look with confidence to the young in the assurance that each word, each concrete gesture, each effort to open their hearts to Christ, will produce abundant and generous good in their spirits."

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HOLY FATHER RECEIVES NEW SWISS GUARDS

VATICAN CITY, MAY 6, 1999 (VIS) - At 7 last evening the Holy Father welcomed the new members of the Pontifical Swiss Guards, along with their friends and relatives, and addressed them in three of Switzerland's four languages, German, Italian and French.

"Dear Guards," John Paul II greeted them, "I would like to encourage you to give witness with joy and youthful vigor to the love of God in Jesus Christ, This witness is especially expressed in two areas: By joining the Swiss Guard Corps, you show that your intention is to dedicate your service in a special way to the Holy Father, to whom the pastoral care of the entire flock is entrusted.

"In addition, through your commitment in the diverse areas of the Corps' work, you give witness in the eyes of men as to who your Lord is, and what the motives are which inspire you."

"I would like to take this occasion," the Pope remarked, "to wish you a happy life in the Eternal City. I ask those guards who have been in the service of the Corps for some time, such as the command leaders, to favor bonds of trust which can support and encourage all members of the Swiss Guard, even in difficult moments.

"I also hope," concluded the Holy Father, "that during your service in Rome you keep in close touch with your parents, your relatives and with the friends you have in your country. That way everyone can rejoice with you in the extraordinary occasion which has been given to you to have new experiences which will bear fruit."

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, MAY 6, 1999 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed:

- Fr. Kazimierz Wielikosielec, O.P. as auxiliary of Pinsk (area 72,700, population 3,100,000, Catholics 50,000, priests 32, religious 65), Belarus. The bishop-elect was born in Starovola, Belarus in 1945, was ordained a priest in 1984 and since 1992 has been vicar general of the same diocese.

- Fr. Sergio Alfredo Gualberti, "fidei donum" priest of the diocese of Bergamo, Italy, as auxiliary of Santa Cruz de la Sierra (area 50,000, population 1,500,000, Catholics 1,300,000, priests 155, religious 588), Bolivia. The bishop-elect was born in Clusone, Italy in 1945, was ordained a priest in 1945 and since 1996 has been adjunct secretary general of the Bolivian Episcopal Conference.

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, MAY 6, 1999 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:

- Archbishop Karl Gustav Hammar of Uppsala, Lutheran primate of Sweden, and his entourage.
- Rev. Peter Stephens, president of the British Methodist Conference, and his entourage.
- Cardinal John Joseph O'Connor, archbishop of New York.

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NEW ADDRESS FOR ACCESSING VIS ON THE INTERNET

VATICAN CITY, MAY 6, 1999 (VIS) - Those who wish to read VIS services in Spanish, English or French on the Internet, the day following their publication, may use the following addresses for rapid access:


ENGLISH
http://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/vis/dinamiche/daysv_ en.htm#start

SPANISH
http://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/vis/dinamiche/daysv_ sp.htm#start

FRENCH
http://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/vis/dinamiche/daysv_ fr.htm#start

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IN MEMORIAM

VATICAN CITY, MAY 6, 1999 (VIS) - The following prelates died in recent weeks:

- Bishop Joseph Goupy, emeritus of Blois, France, on April 28 at age 84.
- Archbishop Antonio Li Mabutas, emeritus of Davao, the Philippines, on April 22 at age 77.
- Bishop Johann Bernard Moller of Groningen, Netherlands, on April 26 at age 75.
- Bishop Plinio Pascoli, former auxiliary of Rome, Italy, on April 22 at age 94.
- Bishop Eldon Bernard Schuster, emeritus of Great Falls, on September 4, 1998 at age 87.

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