POPE TO TRANSMIT EXHORTATION "ECCLESIA IN OCEANIA" VIA INTERNET

VATICAN CITY, NOV 19, 2001 (VIS) - Pope John Paul II, during a brief ceremony in the Clementine Hall on November 22, will sign and transmit via Internet the Post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation "Ecclesia in Oceania." This papal document is a result of the synod for Oceania which took place in the Vatican from November 22 to December 12, 1998.

Joining the Holy Father in this ceremony will be the members of the Post-synodal Council for Oceania, the members of the executive committee of the Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania (FCBCO), Oceania prelates present in Rome, the heads of dicasteries who were members of the synod as well as priests, religious and lay people from this continent.

After he signs the document, the Pope will send the text in English and French to all the dioceses of Oceania via Internet. According to the communique that today announced the publication of the exhortation, "given the geographic dispersion and extension of this continent, electronic communications played an important role during the entire synodal process, right from the start. When the Holy Father electronically transmits this document - a first in the history of the Church - he will be underlining this aspect in a noteworthy fashion."

Following the ceremony, the post-synodal council will hold its fifth meeting.

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