AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, APR 26, 2001 (VIS) - The Holy Father received in audience yesterday evening Cardinal Paul Poupard, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture and special envoy to the closing ceremonies of the First National Eucharistic Congress of the Ivory Coast, to take place in Abidjan, on April 29.

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CHURCH PRESS OFFICES: DECISIVE CHALLENGE FOR INFORMATION

VATICAN CITY, APR 26, 2001 (VIS) - Archbishop John Foley, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, spoke this morning at the Fourth International Conference of Institutional Communications on "Church Press Offices: Decisive Challenge for Information." The two-day conference began this morning in Rome and is hosted by the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross.

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PONTIFICAL LETTER TO METROPOLITAN OF KIEV AND OF ALL UKRAINE

VATICAN CITY, APR 26, 2001 (VIS) - Made public today was the text of the Letter which John Paul II addressed to His Beatitude Volodymyr, metropolitan of Kiev and of all Ukraine, on March 26. The document was personally delivered by Cardinal Roberto Tucci on April 7, to the metropolitan's residence in Pecherska Lavra.

John Paul II writes: "As Supreme Pastor of the Catholic Church, I will be able, finally, after repeated invitations, to respond to a lively desire of Ukrainian Catholics, very numerous and well-rooted in the country, meeting them and confirming them in faith in Jesus Christ our one Lord."

"My upcoming visit," the Pope continues, "also wishes to demonstrate a constant and respectful attention towards our Orthodox brothers, together with the determined commitment to continue to travel the way of dialogue in truth and charity. A sign of this profound intention, determined to overcome every possible problem arisen between us, is the Joint Commission of members of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church and of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - which includes two representatives from the patriarchate of Moscow and two from the Holy See - recently established to meet the desire of His Holiness Patriarch Alexei II to examine the relations between Catholics and Orthodox in the western Ukraine. It is my fervent hope that this Commission begin its work as soon as possible."

The Pope concludes the Letter: "In order to emphasize this yearning for unity, ... I would strongly desire, on the occasion of my trip, to also meet you, Respected Brother, and to show you personally, with a fraternal embrace, the love which I hold for you and for all the faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church."

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CARDINAL SEBASTIANI TO TAKE POSSESSION OF DIACONATE

VATICAN CITY, APR 25, 2001 (VIS) - Cardinal Sergio Sebastiani, president of the Prefecture of the Economic Affairs of the Holy See, will take possession of the diaconate of Sant'Eustachio on Via Sant'Eustachio, 19 in Rome on Sunday, April 29, at 7 p.m.

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MAN'S HUNGER AND THIRST FOR GOD

VATICAN CITY, APR 25, 2001 (VIS) - In today's general audience, held in St. Peter's Square, John Paul II gave a commentary on Psalm 62, " the Psalm of mystical love, which celebrates total adhesion to God" in which "prayer becomes desire, hunger and thirst, because it involves both the soul and body."

The Pope affirmed that: "As dry land is dead, as long as it is not irrigated by rain, and in its cracks seems a thirsty and parched mouth, so the faithful soul longs for God in order to be filled by Him and to be thus able to exist in communion with Him."

Recalling the sacrifices "of communion" offered in the temple of Zion, the psalmist alludes to the hunger for God, satisfied only "when one listens to the Divine Word and encounters the Lord." This brings to mind the banquet of Christ "on the last evening of His earthly life," the Last Supper.

"Through the mystical food of communion with God 'the soul," which evokes all of humanity, "'clings' to Him. ... Also when it is in the dark night, it feels protected by the wings of God."

"In the light of the Paschal mystery," the Holy Father concluded, "Christians understand that their hunger and thirst for God are satisfied through the Risen Christ's gift of the Holy Spirit and the Sacraments, which fulfil the deepest longing of the human spirit for God."

After reading a synthesis of today's catechesis in five languages, the Pope greeted, among others, "the representatives of the Italian National Committee 'Monuments to the Redeemer' and the mayors of the districts in which there are the sixteen mountains upon whose summits, in the Holy Year of 1900, my predecessor Pope Leo XIII wished to raise as many monuments to the Redeemer."

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