AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, OCT 22, 1999 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:

- Archbishop Luigi Dossena, apostolic nuncio in Slovakia.
- Archbishop Ambrose B. De Paoli, apostolic nuncio in Japan.
- Bishop Joseph Anthony Fiorenza of Galveston-Houston, U.S.A. and president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, accompanied by Bishop Wilton Daniel Gregory of Belleville and Msgr. Dennis M. Schnurr, respectively vice-president and secretary general of the conference.

The following participants in the Synod for Europe were invited to lunch by the Holy Father:

- Fr. Gerard Joseph Conroy, professor of sacred scriptures at the Glasgow National Seminary, Scotland.
- Fr. Giorgio Costantino, moderator of the regional office for social communications and spokesperson of the Episcopal Conference of Calabria, archdiocese of Reggio Calabria-Bova, Italy.
- Mary A. Curtin, senior producer of the Irish Radio and Television Service, Ireland.
- Ysabel de Andia O.C.V., director of research for ancient philosophy at the 'Centre National de Recherches Scientifiques,' France.
- Fr. Jesus de las Heras Muela, moderator of the information office of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, Spain.
- Fr. Bernard Grogan S.D.B., secretary to the counsellor general for formation in the Society of Salesians of St. John Bosco, Great Britain.
- Stanislaw and Ludmila Grygiel from Poland, of the "John Paul II" Institute, Pontifical Lateran University, Rome.
- Sr. Marie Noelle Hausman S.C.M., superior general of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Mary, Belgium.
- Fr. Stanislas Lalanne, moderator of the 'Centre de Presse des journees Mondiales de la Jeunesse,' French Episcopal Conference, France.
- Bro. Luc de Taize, member of the Taize Community, France. - Bro. Roger de Taize of the Taize Community, France.
- William Stainsby, president of the Newman Institute of Ireland and director of the Center for Faith and Culture, Ireland.
- Helmut Steindl, member of the 'Comite Episcopal Europeen pour les Medias,' Switzerland.
- Denis Vienot, president of 'Caritas Europeenne,' France.

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PRESENTATION OF HOLY FATHER'S LETTER TO THE ELDERLY

VATICAN CITY, OCT 22, 1999 (VIS) - On Tuesday, October 26 at 11:30 a.m. in the Holy See Press Office, Cardinal James Francis Stafford, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, will present the Letter of the Holy Father John Paul II to the Elderly.

Joining Cardinal Stafford for the presentation will be Bishop Stanislaw Rylko, council secretary, and PierUgo Carbonin, director of the Institute of Internal Medicine and Gerontology at Sacred Heart Catholic University in Rome.

The letter will be published in Italian, French, English, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Polish.

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THE JUBILEE 2000 AND THE EASTERN CATHOLIC CHURCHES

VATICAN CITY, OCT 21, 1999 (VIS) - A document from the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, entitled "The Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 and the Eastern Catholic Churches," was presented this morning in the Holy See Press Office.

Cardinal Achille Silvestrini and Msgr. Claudio Gugerotti, respectively prefect and under-secretary of the congregation, participated in the press conference, as did Msgr. Michel Berger, bureau chief of the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Patrimony of the Church.

Cardinal Silvestrini recalled that "the Eastern Catholic Churches - that is, those Churches that belong to the Christian east and have their spiritual treasures in common with their brothers of the Orthodox Churches, but at the same time live full communion with the Pope - do not have an easy life. Recovering from severe persecution by the atheist regime of central and eastern Europe or weakened by social and political instability in the Middle East, they also find themselves the subject of a heated debate within the Orthodox Churches."

In reference to the document being presented today, he affirmed that its aim is to "make it known that the (Christian) east has something to say on the values of the upcoming Holy Year and on the way it should be lived. This will also help the Latin Church to integrate the general considerations and the sensibility that the (Christian) east helps to illuminate, into its own way of celebrating the Jubilee."

Msgr. Gugerotti spoke of the first part of the document, "The Jubilee in the Eastern Catholic Churches," whose central point, he said, is constituted by the affirmation that the "fundamental way for a Church to celebrate the Jubilee is through the liturgy."

The under-secretary said that the document highlights the necessity of living the Jubilee as "an occasion for ecumenical encounter, ever more urgent in order to recreate a fraternal atmosphere within the Christian east, both Catholic and Orthodox."

"For Eastern Catholics, who have spilt their blood in order to preserve union with the Bishop of Rome, coming to Rome means demonstrating and celebrating this bond of full communion with the Successor of Peter."

On the subject of spiritual guidelines, he highlighted "the eastern manner of living penitence and reconciliation, that gives particular emphasis to fasting and asceticism."

In closing, Msgr. Gugerotti mentioned some pastoral suggestions, such as the summons to "renovate Churches, abandoning pure nostalgia and making their structures more transparent, up-to-date and efficient," and the call to "take special care with liturgical homilies."

"These are merely suggestions, it is up to the synods and the individual eastern bishops to adopt them and enrich them with other specific contributions."

Msgr. Michel Berger spoke about the Oriental Church's splendid spiritual, artistic and cultural legacy in Rome. He said that "the Eastern Christian heritage which enriches the patrimony of Rome is so immense as to make one think that there is a fragment of the East on the banks of the Tiber."

He then gave an historical overview of the contributions to Roman civilization by the Eastern Churches, highlighting "the saints and men of Eastern culture who came to Rome," and naming in particular the Slav brothers and saints, Cyril and Methodius.

He also underscored the presence of monks and the spread of monasticism in the West, recalling that "one of the most famous monasteries in Rome, St. Saba, was founded on the Aventine Hill, towards the end of the sixth or beginning of the seventh century, by Eastern monks who came from the monastery of the same name in Palestine." In particular he pointed to the contributions of the first generations of Eastern monks in Rome in the fields of hagiography, hymnography and Byzantine music.

Msgr. Berger remarked that other Oriental treasures, such as Byzantine art, frescoes, mosaics and icons, can be found today in countless churches and monasteries of Rome. And, he said, if the Oriental influence in art and culture was notable in the early centuries, it became even more so between the end of the sixth and eighth centuries when there were a number of Greek Popes. This was a time when the Greek population in Rome grew, as did monasteries and artwork in churches such as Santa Maria in Cosmedin.

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SEVENTEENTH GENERAL CONGREGATION

VATICAN CITY, OCT 21, 1999 (VIS) - The seventeenth general congregation of the Second Special Assembly for Europe began today at 9 a.m. in the Synod Hall. The first vote took place for the election of a post-synodal council and for presenting and voting on the second draft of the Message. The president delegate on duty was Cardinal Paul Poupard. The congregation, which was attended by 161 synod fathers, closed at 10:15 a.m.

This afternoon there will be no general congregation. The relator general, together with the special secretaries and the relators of the work groups, will study the collective amendments to the propositions.

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GENERAL AUDIENCE: THE VIRTUE OF CHARITY, LOVE OF NEIGHBOR

VATICAN CITY, OCT 20, 1999 (VIS) - "The theological virtue of charity, love of neighbor," was the subject of John Paul II's catechesis during the general audience, held this morning in St. Peter's Square.

The Holy Father pointed out "the great novelty of Christianity: you cannot love God if you do not love your neighbors, creating with them an intimate and lasting communion of love."

"Love for neighbor is meant to be an imitation and continuation of the merciful goodness of the heavenly Father, who provides for the needs of everyone without distinction. In any case, (this love) remains linked to the love for God; in fact, the two commandments of love represent the synthesis and the pinnacle of the Law of the Prophets."

St. Paul, the Holy Father continued, teaches us that divine charity, "the soul of all virtuous acts," is "the fruit, par excellence," of the Holy Spirit. In the First Letter to the Corinthians, the hymn to charity "celebrates this primacy of charity over all other gifts, even over faith and hope. ... Love for neighbor has a Christological connotation, because it must adapt to the gift that Christ made of His own life."

John Paul II concluded by affirming: "Only those who allow themselves to be involved with their neighbors and by their needs, clearly show their love for Jesus. To be closed or indifferent to the 'other' means to be closed to the Holy Spirit, to forget Christ and to negate the universal love of the Father."

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