JOINT DECLARATION OF POPE AND PATRIARCH KAREKIN II

VATICAN CITY, SEP 27, 2001 (VIS) - Pope John Paul II and His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of all Armenians, signed a joint declaration this morning in Holy Etchmiadzin, Armenia, in which they recall how "the Armenian people in A.D. 301 were bathed in the divine light and earnestly turned to Christ as the Truth, the Life, and the Way to salvation."

"Endowed with great faith, (the Armenians of old) chose to bear witness to the Truth and accept death when necessary, in order to share eternal life. Martyrdom for the love of Christ thus became a great legacy of many generations of Armenians."

"The extermination of a million and a half Armenian Christians," the declaration continues "in what is generally referred to as the first genocide of the twentieth century, and the subsequent annihilation of thousands under the former totalitarian regime are tragedies that still live in the memory of the present-day generation. These innocents who were butchered in vain are not canonized, but many among them were certainly confessors and martyrs for the name of Christ. We pray for the repose of their souls, and urge the faithful never to lose sight of the meaning of their sacrifice. We thank God for the fact that Christianity in Armenia has survived the adversities of the past seventeen centuries, and that the Armenian Church is now free to carry out her mission of proclaiming the Good News in the modern Republic of Armenia and in many areas near and far where Armenian communities are present.

"Armenia is again a free country, as in the early days of King Tiridates and Saint Gregory the Illuminator. Over the past ten years, the right of citizens in the burgeoning Republic to worship and practice their religion in freedom has been recognized. In Armenia and in the diaspora, new Armenian institutions have been established, churches have been built, associations and schools have been founded."

"The example of Christian Armenia testifies that faith in Christ brings hope to every human situation, no matter how difficult."

"Here at Holy Etchmiadzin we renew our solemn commitment to pray and work to hasten the day of communion among all members of Christ's faithful flock, with true regard for our respective sacred traditions."

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POPE ASKS FORGIVENESS FOR PAST FAILINGS AGAINST UNITY

VATICAN CITY, SEP 27, 2001 (VIS) - John Paul II celebrated Mass this morning at the Great Altar in the garden of the Apostolic See of Etchmiadzin. Catholic bishops and priests from Armenia and other countries concelebrated. Catholicos Karekin II participated from a seat prepared for him for the occasion.

The Mass of St. Gregory the Illuminator was celebrated in the Latin rite. At the opening, His Holiness Karekin II directed a brief greeting to the Pope and those present.

In his homily, the Holy Father recalled the years when "the voice of the priest fell silent in your churches, but still the voice of the people's faith was heard, full of devotion and filial affection for the Successor of the Apostle Peter. When evil-hearted men fired upon the Cross on the bell-tower of Panik, they sought to offend the God in whom they did not believe." In those years, he noted, "you adorned your places of worship as best you could; and beside the images of Jesus and His Mother Mary, there often stood the picture of the Pope of Rome alongside the picture of the Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church. ... That is why your recent history has not been marked by the sad opposition between the Churches which has so troubled Christians in other lands not far from here."

The Pope thanked His Holiness Karekin II for inviting him to celebrate the Eucharist with the Catholic community at Holy Etchmiadzin, and asked, "Does it not express the yearning of so many of our brothers and sisters who wish to see us advance quickly on the path of unity? My own heart is eager to hasten the day when we shall celebrate together the Divine Sacrifice which makes us all one. At this altar which is your altar, I beg the Lord to forgive us our past failings against unity and to lead us to the love that overcomes all barriers."

"In the Catholic Church," he continued, "the hymn of praise rises to God from many peoples, in many tongues. But this blending of different voices in a single melody in no way destroys your identity as Armenians. ... We must rival one another - not in creating division or in accusing each other - but in showing mutual charity. The only rivalry possible among the Lord's disciples is to see who can offer the greater love!"

John Paul II expressed regret that he was unable to visit the places where the majority of the Catholic faithful live, and concluded affirming: "The Bishop of Rome came to honor the faith of the Armenian people, among whom you are especially dear to him. He has come to celebrate your faithfulness and courage, and to praise God who has granted you to see the day of freedom. Here at this splendid altar, let us remember those who struggled to see this day and did not see it, but who contemplate it now in the eternal glory of God's Kingdom."

After the Mass, the Holy Father travelled to the Armenian Catholic Center of Kanaker, the residence of the ordinary for the Armenian Catholicos of Eastern Europe, Archbishop Nerses Der Nersessian, C.M.A., where he participated in an official lunch with Catholicos Karekin II and the bishops and priests working in Armenia.

Following this, John Paul II went to the Apostolic Cathedral of Etchmiadzin where, according to tradition, religious figures make a visit before leaving the country. From the cathedral he travelled to the monastery of Khor Virab, which means "deep well" (it is 40 meters deep). At this site, due to his Christian faith, St. Gregory the Illuminator was imprisoned for thirteen years, until the healing of King Tiridates III through the saint's intercession. After a brief ceremony, the Pope travelled to the international airport of Zvartnotz for a farewell ceremony with the political, religious, and civil authorities. His return to Rome's Ciampino Airport is scheduled for 8:45 p.m.

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PRAYER FOR THE VICTIMS OF THE ARMENIAN PEOPLE

VATICAN CITY, SEP 26, 2001 (VIS) - John Paul II celebrated Mass in private this morning in the chapel of the Apostolic Palace of Etchmiadzin, and then travelled to the Presidential Palace of Yerevan for a courtesy visit to the President of the Republic of Armenia, Robert Kotcharian.

At 11:00 a.m. local time the Pope visited the Dzidzernagapert Memorial. Situated on a small hill, it is an architectural complex built in 1967 in memory of the approximately 1.5 million Armenians who perished under the Ottoman Empire during the First World War.

The Pope and His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of all Armenians, placed flowers in homage and prayed together for all of the victims, for their salvation, and for peace in the world.

After a song, and a brief prayer by the Catholicos, the Pope read a prayer in English:

"Look upon the people of this land," he said, "who put their trust in You so long ago, who have passed through the great tribulation and never failed in their faithfulness to You. Wipe away every tear from their eyes and grant that their agony in the twentieth century will yield a harvest of life that endures forever.

"We are appalled by the terrible violence done to the Armenian people, and dismayed that the world still knows such inhumanity. But renewing our hope in Your promise, we implore, O Lord, rest for the dead in the peace which knows no end, and the healing of still open wounds through the power of Your love. Our soul is longing for You, Lord, more than the watchman for daybreak, as we wait for the fullness of redemption won on the Cross, for the light of Easter which is the dawn of invincible life, for the glory of the new Jerusalem where death shall be no more. O Judge of the living and the dead, have mercy on us all!"

At the conclusion of the ceremony, the Holy Father returned to the Apostolic See of Etchmiadzin for an official lunch with His Holiness Karekin II, the archbishops and bishops of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and the members of the papal entourage.

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, SEP 26, 2001 (VIS) - The Holy Father accepted the resignation of Bishop Joseph Hubert Hart from the pastoral care of the diocese of Cheyenne, U.S.A., in conformity with canon 401, para. 2, of the Code of Canon Law. He is succeeded by Coadjutor Bishop David Laurin Ricken.

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DOCUMENT ON ORGAN TRANSPLANTS FROM ANIMALS TO HUMANS

VATICAN CITY, SEP 26, 2001 (VIS) - Presented this morning in the Holy See Press Office was a document of the Pontifical Academy for Life entitled: "The Perspective of Xenotransplantation (Organ Transplants from Animals to Humans). Scientific Aspects and Ethical Considerations." Participating in the presentation were Bishop Elio Sgreccia, vice-president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, and Profs. Emanuele Cozzi, Maurizio P. Faggioni, O.F.M., and Marialuisa Lavitrano, members of the group who prepared the document.
"The document," affirmed Bishop Sgreccia, "wishes to be a response and a contribution to future decisions in the area of xenotransplantation, which, in every case, will certainly have a worldwide value."

The text analyzes various basic problems (scientific, philosophical, anthropological), including "the ethical considerations of the use of animals to improve man's survival and well-being." In this regard Professor Faggioni recalled that in the vision expressed in the first chapters of Genesis "man has ... a true dominion over creation," but "cannot" reduce other creatures "to a kind of degrading and destructive slavery. ... The licitness of the use of animals involves ... the respect of certain conditions, such as the avoidance of unnecessary suffering for the animals and great caution in introducing uncontrollable genetic modifications which can cause useless pain or stress ... or significantly alter the biodiversity and equilibrium of species in the animal world."

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