JOHN PAUL II ARRIVES IN GEORGIA ON FIRST EVER VISIT

VATICAN CITY, NOV 8, 1999 (VIS) - At 2:15 this afternoon, after a five and a half hour flight from New Delhi, Pope John Paul arrived in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, on his first visit to this republic in the Caucasus. He was greeted by President Eduard Shevardnadze and by His Holiness Ilia II, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia.

Georgia, a former Soviet republic which became independent in 1991, has a population of 5.4 million, of whom 100,000 or 1.8 percent are Catholic. The apostolic administration of the Caucasus, established in December of 1993, administers to 50,200 Latin-rite Catholics in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. The ordinariate for Armenian Catholics of Eastern Europe also includes Georgia. An ordinariate is an ecclesiastical geographical structure set up for Eastern Catholic communities which do not have their own hierarchy in place.

In his speech at the welcome ceremony, the Holy Father referred to the visits to the Vatican by both President Shevardnadze and Patriarch Ilia II. He thanked the former "for your invitation to come to Georgia," and the latter because, "without your fraternal support I would not be here now to visit the Church over which Your Holiness presides."

"I am deeply moved," he observed, "by the long and glorious history of Christianity in this land." From the early fourth and late fifth centuries, he added, "Christianity became the seed of successive flowerings of Georgian culture, especially in the monasteries; and the Church became the guardian of the nation's identity which was so often threatened."

"Set between East and West," he continued, "the Church in Georgia has always been open to contacts with other Christian peoples. At times, the bonds between the Georgian Church and the See of Rome have been deep and strong; and, though at other times there have been tensions, the awareness of our common Christian vocation has never faded completely."

John Paul II, in concluding remarks, pointed out that "Christianity has contributed much to Georgia's past and it must contribute no less to its future. Tomorrow marks the tenth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, ... an event which symbolically opened a new era in the life of many countries. An atheistic ideology had sought in vain to weaken or even eliminate from this land the religious faith of its people. The followers of all religions suffered serious opposition. Today we must admire and give thanks for the witness of your perseverance."

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

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

- Canon Manuel Jose Macario do Nascimento Clemente, rector of the major patriarchal seminary, as auxiliary of the patriarchate of Lisbon (area 3,735, population 2,205,077, Catholics 1,894,315, priests 639, permanent deacons 20, religious 1,929), Portugal. The bishop elect was born in Torres Vedras, Portugal, in 1948 and ordained a priest in 1979.

- Fr. Peter Ri Ki-hun, chancellor of the archdiocese of Seoul, Korea, as military ordinary for Korea.
- Msgr. Marcello Zago, secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, as his special envoy to the celebrations for the centenary of the erection of the first three apostolic prefectures in the Amazonian regions of Peru, due to take place in Lima, Peru, on January 30, 2000.

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MEETING WITH PATRIARCH AND MEMBERS OF HOLY SYNOD

VATICAN CITY, NOV 8, 1999 (VIS) - At 5:30 this afternoon (2:30 p.m. Rome time), in Tbilisi's patriarchal palace, the Pope took part in a meeting with His Holiness Ilia II, Catholicos Patriarch of all Georgia, and 20 members of the Holy Synod.

After listening to the words of Patriarch Ilia II, the Pope indicated that "it is significant that this first visit of a Bishop of Rome to the Orthodox Church of Georgia is taking place on the eve of the Great Jubilee of the 2000th anniversary of the birth of the Son of God." He expressed his desire that the meeting and the kiss of peace exchanged with the Catholicos "be a grace-filled step towards a renewed fraternity between us, and towards a more truly shared witness to Jesus Christ and to the Gospel of eternal life."

"I wish to assure you of the Catholic Church's veneration and admiration for the Church of Georgia. Having its roots in the original Jerusalem community, the Church of Georgia is one of the earliest Christian communities."

The Pope gave thanks to God "for the results of the contacts which have taken place between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church in recent years, beginning with the historic meeting between the Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I and Pope Paul VI."

After referring to the establishment of the Joint International Committee between the two Churches, he said: "I am confident that the documents of the dialogue can serve as a basis for clarifying our relationship and for avoiding misunderstandings where Catholics and Orthodox live side by side. The work must continue, and whatever obstacles appear along the way can be patiently resolved in a spirit of brotherhood and sincere love of the truth."

The Holy Father concluded by saying that his daily prayer would be that "cooperation between our Churches will increase at every level, as an eloquent and necessary expression of the witness to the Gospel which Orthodox and Catholics are called to give. I assure you that my representative in Georgia will make every effort to foster this relationship of cooperation and understanding in a spirit of true Christian charity, free from misunderstanding and distrust, and marked by complete respect."

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REPRESENTATIVES OF EASTERN CATHOLIC CHURCHES MEET IN BOSTON

VATICAN CITY, NOV 8, 1999 (VIS) - Made public today was a Message from the Holy Father to Cardinal Achille Silvestrini and, through him, to all those taking part in the meeting of bishops and religious superiors of the Eastern Catholic Churches in America and Oceania with the Congregation for the Oriental Churches. It began yesterday in Boston, U.S.A., and ends November 12.

Dated November 1, solemnity of All Saints, the Pope's Message to the prefect of the Congregation for Oriental Churches, recalls that "the purpose of this meeting is to bring the different Eastern Churches together for reflection and common prayer in order that ... they may recognize the unique characteristics of their presence in America and Oceania and identify the path of commitment for the future." He notes that participants will especially examine the consequences of the massive diaspora on the life of the Oriental Churches in their traditional territories.

This is the fourth in a series of similar encounters held since 1996 to examine the life of the Catholic Oriental Churches in diverse parts of the world.

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PAPAL MESSAGE TO MEMBERS OF COUNCIL PLENARY

VATICAN CITY, NOV 8, 1999 (VIS) - Pope John Paul has sent a Message to the members of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, on the occasion of their plenary assembly in the Vatican from November 6 to 9, stating that his apostolic visit to India and Georgia had prevented him from addressing the plenary in person.

The Pope highlights the council's "important role in promoting the social teaching of the Church." Noting that the assembly's theme is the current environmental crisis," and by extension, "the use of the earth's resources," he writes: "Reflecting on the environment in the light of Sacred Scripture and the social teaching of the Church, we cannot but raise the question of the very style of life promoted by modern society, and in particular the question of the uneven way in which the benefits of progress are distributed."

The council can serve the Church and mankind, he says, "in promoting a deeper understanding of the obligation to work for greater justice and equity in the way people are enabled to share in the resources of God's creation."

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