APPEAL AGAINST VIOLENCE IN MOLUCCA ISLANDS, MOSCOW AND SPAIN

VATICAN CITY, AUG 9, 2000 (VIS) - At the end of the general audience, held this morning in St. Peter's Square, the Pope made a fresh appeal for an end to violence in the Molucca Islands and condemned yesterday's terrorist attacks in Moscow and in Spain:

"Once more I must invite you to pray for an end to the violence that is ravaging the Molucca Islands in Indonesia.

"While entrusting to divine mercy the vast numbers of victims of that tragedy, we venture to send a thought of intense spiritual closeness to those who are suffering for the death of their loved ones, the privation of the basic necessities of existence and the destruction of places of worship. Many of them have been forced to abandon the land they lived on and where they have the right to live, securely and with dignity.

"We appeal to the Lord with faith that, with the re-establishment of order, the foregone harmony may soon be recovered and Christians and Muslims may manage to co-exist in peace.

"May the Holy Virgin, mother of the afflicted, support our request through her powerful intercession."

Then, referring to yesterday's terrorist attacks in Moscow and in Spain, he added:

"In Moscow yesterday an explosive device, activated at rush hour in a pedestrian underpass near the Kremlin, caused numerous deaths and wounded many. I cannot but profoundly deplore this terrible attack. At the same time, I give assurance of my solidarity and prayers.

"I would like to extend similar sentiments to the victims of the terrorist attacks that, alas, continue in Spain.

"It is my heartfelt wish that all forms of violence, source of mourning and pain, may cease, and that spirits may be oriented towards thoughts of understanding and of peaceful co-existence."

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MEETING BETWEEN CHRIST AND MAN TAKES PLACE IN DAILY LIFE

VATICAN CITY, AUG 9, 2000 (VIS) - In today's general audience, held in St. Peter's Square, John Paul II spoke on: "The supreme encounter with Christ, Word made flesh."

The Pope affirmed that the meeting between God and man, in the person of Jesus Christ, "takes place in everyday life, in time and in space. ... When He crosses peoples lives, Christ troubles their consciences and reads in their hearts ... giving rise to penitence and love."

"The encounter with Jesus represents a kind of regeneration: it creates a new being, one capable of true worship, which consists in adoration of the Father 'in spirit and truth'."

The Holy Father indicated that "to meet Christ on one's own life journey often means to find physical recovery. To His own disciples Jesus entrusts the mission of announcing God's kingdom, conversion and the forgiveness of sins, as well as that of healing the sick, freeing from all evil and offering consolation and support."

"Christ," he continued, "came to seek, find and save all of man" and His coming "among us has the aim of leading us to the Father. ... (He) is present through His Word, 'a Word who calls, who invites, who personally summons, as happened to the Apostles'."

John Paul II concluded his catechesis by recalling that Christ is also present in the Eucharist, "source of love, of unity and of salvation," and he quoted the words "of hope and of life" that Christ pronounced in the synagogue of Capharnaum: "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him ... He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day."

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ARCHBISHOP TAURAN RECEIVES PALESTINIAN MINISTER OF COOPERATION

VATICAN CITY, AUG 9, 2000 (VIS) - At midday today, Fr. Ciro Benedettini C.P., vice-director of the Holy See Press Office, made the following declaration:

"Today, Wednesday August 9, Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran, secretary for Relations with States, received Nabil Shaath, minister for international cooperation of the Palestinian National Authority, who has come to inform the Vatican on the Palestinian evaluation of the recent negotiations at Camp David, as well as on the future of the Middle East peace process.

"The visitor gave a detailed description of the positive aspects of the dialogue between Palestinians and Israelis as well as of the obstacles that prevented the meeting reaching a successful conclusion.

"For his part, Archbishop Tauran confirmed the Holy See's support for the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people. Furthermore, he reaffirmed the importance that the Apostolic See attaches to the Holy Sites of the three great religions in the Holy Land, sites of which the international community should in all circumstances guarantee the unique and sacred nature, as is laid down in the preface of the Basic Agreement between the Holy See and the PLO, signed on February 15 2000"

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WORLD YOUTH DAY: TELEVISED CEREMONIES

VATICAN CITY, AUG 10, 2000 (VIS) - The main events and religious ceremonies of World Youth Day, to be held in Rome from August 15 to 20, will be transmitted live by Italian Television and Radio (RAI), the official broadcaster of the Holy Year.

At 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday August 15, Solemnity of the Assumption of the Virgin, RAI's second channel will transmit the Pope's welcome to young people in St. Peter's Square and the square of St. John Lateran.

At 8:20 p.m. on Friday August 18, RAI's third channel will follow the 'Via Crucis' presided by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the Holy Father's vicar general for the diocese of Rome, from the church of Ara Coeli, along the Via dei Fori Imperiali to the Colosseum.

Starting at midday on Saturday August 19, from the square in front of the Quirinale (the official residence of the Italian president), RAI's first channel will transmit Cardinal Ruini's angelus as well as the meeting between Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, president of Italy, and a delegation of young people.

At 6:10 p.m. on the same day, from Rome's Tor Vergata University, the first channel will cover preparations for the prayer vigil when songs, music, images and words will be used to narrate the most significant moments in recent history and in the lives of participants. At 8:30 p.m., live coverage will be given to the prayer vigil itself, presided by the Pope. During the vigil there will be reflections on central themes of the Jubilee 2000: "forgiveness and reconciliation"; "liberty"; "justice" and "saintliness." Furthermore, various singers and a number of choirs will offer musical interludes.

From 8:30 a.m on Sunday August 20, from Tor Vergata, the first channel will transmit the Holy Father's Mass, marking the end of 15th World Youth Day, and the recitation of the angelus.

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ARRIVAL OF 25,000 WORLD YOUTH DAY VOLUNTEERS

VATICAN CITY, AUG 8, 2000 (VIS) - The first of a total of 25,000 World Youth Day volunteers have begun to arrive in Rome. On Saturday August 12, Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the Pope's vicar general for the diocese of Rome, will celebrate Mass for the volunteers in St. Peter's Square.

Last Sunday before praying the angelus, the Pope indicated that many young people were already on their way to Rome: "Families, parishes, institutes and schools of the eternal city have mobilized to welcome them, and I too" he announced, "will have the joy of accommodating some of them at Castelgandolfo." Indeed, Villa Barberini, which lies near the apostolic palace of Castelgandolfo, will house 15 young persons; three each from America, Asia, Europe, Africa and Oceania.

The volunteers come from 40 countries on all continents, though the majority are Italians. Their task is to provide logistical support and to welcome all the young people who will participate in World Youth Day. They will allocate lodgings and refreshment points, direct coaches to the various welcome sites and coordinate transport. A number of volunteers will provide assistance to the authorities, to ecclesial personages, to participants in the international youth forum (August 12-15), to journalists and to the disabled.

Volunteers will also be involved in other activities, described as "events" in a communique from the Italian Committee for World Youth Day. These include all support services (verification and control of access points, distribution of material, orientation of the flow of pilgrims) at the main events of World Youth Day, such as the opening ceremony of August 15, the jubilee pilgrimage, the 'Via Crucis' and the closing celebrations at Rome's Tor Vergata University.

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