CLOSING OF HOLY DOOR IN THE VATICAN BASILICA

VATICAN CITY, JAN 6, 2001 (VIS) - In a simple ceremony this morning, John Paul II closed the Holy Door of the Vatican Basilica. He paused on his knees in prayer in front of the Door, then arose and closed the two panels, thus bringing to an end, after 379 days, the Great Jubilee of the year 2000.

The Holy Father then moved in procession to St. Peter's Square where he presided at a Eucharistic celebration in the presence of 100,000 people, marking the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord. Cardinals, archbishops, bishops and priest-members of the Central Committee of the Great Jubilee 2000 concelebrated with the Holy Father.

At the start of his homily, the Pope asked: "Was not the Great Jubilee a kind of epiphany? By coming here to Rome or by going on pilgrimage elsewhere in the many Jubilee Churches, countless individuals, in a sense set, out in the footsteps of the wise men in search of Jesus."

"While today we close the Holy Door, a 'symbol of Christ,' the Heart of Jesus remains more open than ever. ... Apart from the numerous celebrations and initiatives which have marked it, the great legacy which the Jubilee leaves us is the living and consoling experience of 'meeting Christ'."

John Paul II said that the Church "rejoices" today, but that the sense of joy "contains no vain triumphalism. How could we possibly succumb to this temptation, precisely at the end of such an intensely penitential year? The Great Jubilee has offered us an extraordinary opportunity to carry out 'the purification of memories,' seeking God's forgiveness for the infidelities of the Church's children during these two thousand years. ... No self-exaltation therefore but a deep sense of our limitations and weaknesses."

The Pope affirmed that "we need to 'set out anew from Christ' ... in a daily commitment to holiness, ... in order to testify to His love by living a Christian life marked by communion, charity and witness before the world."

"At the very beginning of my pontificate, and countless times since, I have exclaimed to the sons and daughters of the Church and to the world: 'Open wide the doors to Christ.' I wish to do so yet again, at the conclusion of this Jubilee, at the beginning of this new millennium."

Following Mass, John Paul II introduced the "Te Deum," rendering thanks to God "for the inestimable gift that the Holy Year has been for the Church and for humanity." He then greeted the faithful present in various languages.

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JOHN PAUL II PARTICIPATES IN A "CHILDREN'S PARTY"

VATICAN CITY, JAN 5, 2001 (VIS) - In the Paul VI Hall this afternoon, John Paul II participated in a "children's party" for the closure of the Jubilee. The event included music, songs and dancing. A number of children, representing the five continents, placed gifts around the nativity scene in the hall.

At the end of the party, the Pope said: "The Holy Year opened with children and it is right that it should end with them. This is a positive omen, a concrete hope for life."

The Pope recalled the title of the event, "Following the Comet," saying that it recalled "the Epiphany of the Lord, ... the Magi," who had "the hearts of children; fascinated as they were by the mystery, and ready to take up the invitation of the star, leaving everything to adore the King of the Jews, born in Bethlehem."

John Paul II highlighted that the children now present will be, tomorrow, "the first generation of Christian adults of the third millennium. How great is your responsibility. You will be the protagonists of the next Jubilee in the year 2025."

He concluded: "I, who have had the great satisfaction of introducing the Church into the third millennium, look at you with my heart full of hope. In your eyes, in your tender faces, I feel I can almost see the goal of the next Jubilee. I look far ahead and pray for you. Dear boys and girls, keep the lamp of faith shining high, the lamp that this evening I figuratively entrust to you and your peers all over the world. With it, illuminate the paths of life, set the world aflame with love."

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EIGHTEEN CHILDREN BAPTIZED IN SISTINE CHAPEL

VATICAN CITY, JAN 7, 2001 (VIS) - In the Sistine Chapel today, feast of the Baptism of the Lord, the Holy Father baptized 18 children from Italy, France and Portugal.

In the homily he pronounced during the ceremony, John Paul II told the parents and godparents of the infants that today "you have the joy of offering these newborns the most beautiful and precious of gifts: new life in Jesus, Savior of all mankind.

"In bringing these little ones into the world, you fathers and mothers have already collaborated with the Lord. He now requests your further collaboration: ... Sustain the action of His saving Word by committing yourselves to the education of these new Christians."

"Christian Baptism," explained the Pope, "supported by the sacrament of Confirmation, gives all believers, each in the ways consonant with his or her own specific vocation, shared responsibility in the great mission of the Church. Everyone - each in their own field with their own identity, in communion with others and with the Church - must feel united with the only Redeemer of the human race."

John Paul II concluded by referring to the Jubilee year in which "the Church's vitality was made plain to all. For Christians, the legacy of this extraordinary event is the task of confirming their faith in the context of everyday life."

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FINAL DOCUMENT OF JUBILEE YEAR: "NOVO MILLENNIO INEUNTE"

VATICAN CITY, JAN 6, 2001 (VIS) - Today, Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, following the ceremony for the closing of the Holy Door in the Vatican Basilica, Pope John Paul II signed the Apostolic Letter "Novo millennio ineunte." This is the concluding document of the Jubilee Year and has been published in English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Portuguese and Latin. The Letter, in four chapters, has one theme throughout: Jesus Christ.

The Letter, a summary of which is given below, gives voice to the Church's sense of her need, after a year of intense spiritual experience, to "put out into the deep" ' in obedience to the command given by Jesus to Peter: "Duc in altum," and to face the challenges of the future.

In the first chapter, "Meeting Christ, the Legacy of the Great Jubilee," Pope John Paul II re-reads the principal events of the Jubilee Year, not so much to evaluate them as to raise a hymn of praise and to "decipher" the messages which the Spirit of God has given to the Church throughout this year of grace. A few significant moments are revisited: from the great ecumenical beginning in the Basilica of Saint Paul to the powerful act of "purification of memory", from the pilgrimage to the Holy Land to the numerous meetings with highly diverse groups of people.
Young people receive special mention, since their Jubilee left a profound impression and served as a reminder of the need for a bold and committed pastoral outreach to the coming generation. Beyond its external events, Pope John Paul II views the Great Jubilee above all as an event of grace, confident that it has touched countless people's lives and has summoned them to undertake a journey of conversion. The title captures the conclusion drawn by the Pope: a renewed meeting with Christ is the Jubilee's true "legacy," one which must now be treasured and invested for the future.

In the second chapter, "A Face to Contemplate," before looking to the future, the Pope encourages the Church not to neglect, but indeed to deepen, her contemplation of the mystery of Christ, her eyes fixed upon His face. Here there is the risk which Jesus Himself pointed out to Martha of Bethany ("you are anxious and troubled about many things"): the risk of throwing oneself headlong into pastoral activity and neglecting the contemplation which is its origin and source. From this source the Church continually needs to draw.

The Pope re-reads the mystery of Christ in its fundamental aspects. The chapter is less a doctrinal treatise than a re-echoing of the voice of Peter in his confession at Caesarea Philippi ' "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." It holds Peter's confession up to the whole Church as her perennial foundation. The Letter then sketches a comprehensive historical portrait of Jesus, emphasizing the truth and credibility of the Gospels. It turns to the contemplation of Christ's face, to the depths of His divine-human mystery, focusing on His divine self-awareness, even amid the drama of the Cross. It then lifts its gaze to the splendor of the Resurrection.

The third chapter, "Starting Afresh from Christ," stresses that Christian pastoral activity has as its goal an experience of solid faith, leading to a holiness of the kind traced by Chapter 5 of "Lumen gentium" ("the universal call to holiness"). It is to this goal that all teaching in the Church must look, presenting the highest ideals and not resting content with religious mediocrity.

This implies the need to rediscover prayer at the depth to which the Christian experience of God can lead it, taking our cue from the rich pastoral and mystical heritage of two thousand years of history: personal prayer, but above all community prayer, starting with the liturgy, "source and summit" of the Church's life. The Pope issues a special invitation to rediscover Sunday, the weekly Easter, in such a way that the Eucharist becomes its heart. Then comes the call for a more resolute presentation of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The Jubilee has shown that this Sacrament, when properly presented and fostered, can move beyond the seemingly irreversible crisis which it has experienced in recent decades.

Finally, as the soul of everything, the Pope underlines the primacy of listening to the Word of God, from which flows logically the proclamation of the Word. The "new evangelization" ' a summons so often repeated in recent years ' remains more urgent than ever after the Jubilee.

The fourth and final chapter, "Witnesses to Love," offers reflection on communion ("koinonia"), which the Second Vatican Council rediscovered as a key term for understanding the mystery of the Church. It is put forward by the Pope first in its spiritual aspect, and then in some of the more practical aspects which flow from this.

In the Church, there are areas and instruments of communion with a clear institutional profile. These need to be developed and promoted. In this regard, the Letter mentions a range of structures (Synods, Episcopal Conferences, Presbyterial and Pastoral Councils), already present in the universal Church and in the particular Churches, with the warning however that these will become soulless if a spirituality of communion is not fostered, that is, an ability to see communion as a gift from on high and also to live it in a fraternal way, valuing and welcoming each other's gifts.

Among the indispensable commitments, one is ecumenism, so that with all our brothers and sisters in faith we may live more and more of the full unity which the Church already enjoys in Christ. Then there is the extensive issue of fraternal charity, which is such a defining part of all pastoral activity. The Holy Father reminds us of the many challenges facing the Church, impelling her to become, with still greater "imagination" and generosity, an expression of God's concrete love in the countless situations of human suffering and poverty. Here we also find the "sign" of charity which the Pope wants to leave as a fruit and a memento of the Jubilee Year. Once expenses have been paid, what is left of the Jubilee offerings will go to form an endowment in Rome, a symbol of that flowering of charity to which the Church will continue to be committed in the new millennium.

A further theme is the courageous witness to which Christians are called in every area of social and cultural life, especially where the leaven of the Gospel is urgently needed: including the family, the protection of life, the ecological crisis, and unethical scientific experimentation.

What must not be forgotten is the witness which Christians must give, as the Council taught, in the area of interreligious dialogue. Without in any way diminishing the need for Christian proclamation, dialogue remains an important sign-post for everyone in advancing the search for truth and the promotion of peace.

The Letter finishes, as it began, by recalling Jesus' invitation to Peter in the story of the miraculous catch of fish: "Duc in altum!" The Holy Door closes, but the living door, Christ Jesus whom it symbolizes, remains open more than ever. It is not to a dull routine that the Church returns after the zest of the Jubilee. On the contrary, what awaits her is a new apostolic outreach, inspired and sustained by confidence in the presence of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.

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POPE IS AWARDED THE CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL

VATICAN CITY, JAN 8, 2001 (VIS) - The Holy Father this morning received a delegation from the United States Congress who awarded him with the Congressional Gold Medal in recognition of his commitment to the defence of human dignity.

"It is not for the Successor of the Apostle Peter to seek honors," said the Pope in his address to the delegation, "but I gladly accept the Congressional Gold Medal as a recognition that in my ministry there has echoed a word that can touch every human heart. It has been my endeavor to proclaim the word of God, which on the very first page of the Bible tells us that man and woman have been created in His very image and likeness.

"From this great truth," he went on, "there flows all that the Church says and does to defend dignity and to promote human life. This is a truth which we contemplate in the glory of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, crucified and risen from the dead. In the years of my ministry, but especially in the Jubilee Year just ended, I have invited all to turn to Jesus in order to discover in new and deeper ways the truth of man."

John Paul II concluded: "I accept this award as a sign that you, as legislators, recognize the importance of defending human dignity without compromise, so that your nation may not fail to live up to its high responsibilities in a world where human rights are so often disregarded."

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POPE VISITS NATIVITY SCENE OF ROME'S STREET CLEANERS

VATICAN CITY, JAN 7, 2001 (VIS) - This evening, as is traditional at this time of year, John Paul II visited the nativity scene constructed by Rome's street cleaners. The Pope was welcomed by the mayor of Rome as well as by members of the organization that tends to cleaning the streets of the capital and members of their families.

The Holy Father recalled that this Jubilee year had given the street cleaners more work than usual and he thanked them for their efforts. "Now," he said, "we must return to the normal rhythm of life, yet still recalling the message that comes to us from the Great Jubilee. It is the same message that is transmitted to us by Christmas and by the nativity scene which is the most eloquent symbol of Christmas. We must set out anew from Christ in order to begin the new millennium with faith as witnesses of the love of God Who, being born among us, became one of us."

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SPECIAL THANKS TO JUBILEE VOLUNTEERS

VATICAN CITY, JAN 7, 2001 (VIS) - At midday, the Pope appeared at the window of his private study in order to pray the angelus with the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square. Among them were thousands of Jubilee volunteers who earlier in the day had participated in Mass in the Vatican Basilica, presided by Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, president of the Central Committee of the Great Jubilee.

John Paul II gave special thanks to the volunteers who have helped in welcoming pilgrims during the Jubilee, both in Rome and Jerusalem as well as in numerous shrines and basilicas. "Conserve in your hearts those moments of the Jubilee in which you shared, and transfer to your everyday lives that 'volunteer' status that enables you to recognize in everyone you meet a brother to be helped and served."

"The year 2001," added the Pope, "has been proclaimed 'International Year of Volunteers' by the United Nations. In you, I wish to greet and encourage all volunteers throughout the world, men and women, who freely offer part of their time through many forms of fraternal solidarity for human promotion and education, especially by standing close to the poorest and to those undergoing material and spiritual suffering."

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, JAN 8, 2001 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Appointed Bishop-prelate Romulo de la Cruz of the territorial prelature of Isabela, Philippines, as coadjutor bishop of San Jose de Antique (area 2,552, population 431,713, Catholics 304,678, priests 44, religious 109), Philippines.

- Accepted the resignation from the office of Patriarch of Antioch of the Syrians presented by His Beatitude Ignace Moussa I Daoud, prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, at the same time conceding him the title of Patriarch "ad personam."

- Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Passau (Federal Republic of Germany), presented by Bishop Franz Xaver Eder, upon having reached the age limit.

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, JAN 8, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:

- Stefan Falez, ambassador of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, accompanied by his wife, on a farewell visit.
- Archbishops Jose Saraiva Martins and Edward Nowak, respectively prefect and secretary of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

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FINAL ASSESSMENT OF THE GREAT JUBILEE 2000

VATICAN CITY, JAN 8, 2001 (VIS) - At midday today in the Holy See Press Office, Cardinal Roger Etchegaray and Archbishop Crescenzio Sepe, respectively president and secretary of the Central Committee for the Great Jubilee 2000, discussed the Apostolic Letter, "Novo Millennio ineunte," and presented some final assessments on the activity of their committee.

Cardinal Etchegaray affirmed that, in considering the Letter, "it as if we are standing before a tryptic where the central panel ... is the contemplation of the face of Christ." In one of the other two panels "we may read the events that have characterized this Jubilee, ... each of which held a particular evangelical message. ... In the third panel a program is laid out for the life of the Church that opens us 'to a future of hope.' The overriding image is the same as the one that opens John Paul II's Letter: 'duc in altum,' we must 'put out into the deep'."

Archbishop Crescenzio Sepe then spoke, giving information and results regarding the Jubilee Year, and highlighting that "attendance went far beyond the most optimistic forecasts." For example, "compared to 1999, there was an enormous increase in people coming from Eastern Europe." Furthermore, "a detailed analysis of the arrivals, classified by age, region and geographic area of origin, confirms that the Jubilee has truly involved everyone."

Among other statistics, the secretary of the Jubilee Committee mentioned the 21 national pilgrimages, and those from 150 Italian and 50 foreign dioceses. To these he added the 30 special Jubilee Days and the one hundred pilgrimages by various categories of people. Moreover, the Jubilee was celebrated for the first time by the former Soviet republics of Central Asia, by North Korea and by continental China; while 10,000 young people in Khartoum, Sudan, celebrated a Jubilee to coincide with World Youth Day in Rome.

"It must also be stated," said the archbishop, "that this great spiritual event has had, and will continue to have, important social repercussions," and he quoted the Pope's appeals regarding international debt, social justice, the defence of nature and the condition of prisoners. "I would also like to give the lie to the idea that, in these matters, results have been lacking. Many countries - among them Italy, Switzerland and Norway - have approved laws that aim to reduce and, in some cases, cancel outright, the debts that the more disadvantaged nations have accrued with them. ... Also positive, on the whole, has been the response to the appeal ... for a gesture of clemency towards prisoners. There have been concrete initiatives from at least ten countries, from Spain to Nigeria, from Malawi to Chile and from India to Madagascar."

Francesco Silvano, delegate for telecommunications and computer services, recalled that during the Jubilee Year an internet system was created that enabled all continents to be connected through internet points placed in apostolic nunciatures and episcopal conferences.

Carlo Balestrero, administrative delegate, spoke of the expenses involved in organizing the Jubilee and stated that, although specific information on the closing balance was still not available, financial management had aimed at the greatest possible economy and had always borne in mind that any credit balance would go to a charitable work chosen by the Holy Father.
Angelo Scelzo, coordinator of publications, highlighted the main objective of the Communication and Documentation Office, that of creating an information system dedicated to the themes of the Great Jubilee including such publications as "Tertium Millennium," "The Pilgrim's Journal" and the daily news bulletin sent to the main information media.

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