STATEMENT ON AUDIENCE OF PRESIDENT GISCARD D'ESTAING

VATICAN CITY, OCT 31, 2002 (VIS) - Holy See Press Office Director Joaquin Navarro-Valls made the following declaration this afternoon:

"On the occasion of his visit to Rome October 30-31, Valery Giscard d'Estaing, president of the European Convention, expressed the desire to be received by the Holy Father and to meet the cardinal secretary of state.

"Today, October 31, at the end of the morning he was received by Pope John Paul II and, afterwards, he met with Cardinal Angelo Sodano, His Holiness' secretary of state, together with Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran, secretary for Relations with States.

"The president's visit was a propitious occasion for an exchange of viewpoints on Europe.
"During the meetings they spoke about the project of the future constitution and the interests of the community of believers in European countries, where they are in the majority, to see their identity and their specific contributions to the life of European societies respected as well as the statute whose benefits they have by virtue of national legislations."

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J0HN PAUL II RECEIVES HONORARY ROMAN CITIZENSHIP

VATICAN CITY, OCT 31, 2002 (VIS) - This morning John Paul II received the title of honorary citizen of Rome during a ceremony that took place in the Vatican in which Walter Veltroni, mayor of the city, and a group of administrators and representatives of Roman institutions participated.

The Pope recalled that he began to know and love the Eternal City after November 1946 when he came here to study. "The affectionate bond which began then has been reinforced during the last 24 years, during which I have felt daily the closeness and warmth of Rome's citizens."

"Rome," said the Holy Father, "heir to a thousand-year old culture in which the fruitful seed of the proclamation of the Gospel has been sown, does not only contain treasures from the past that must be cared for. It is conscious of having a fundamental duty to fulfill in the future at the service of mankind today and tomorrow."

After recalling that problems still exist, the Holy Father said: "Everyone must be commited to handing down to future generations the rich civil, moral and spiritual patrimony of Rome so that these new generations will be strengthened by it as they approach life with trust. The Church will continue in this field, as it always has done, to carry out its duty, respecting each sphere, always seeking favorable agreements on specific topics and problems with civil authorities through sincere dialogue."

"The bishop of Rome," he concluded, "is honored to be able to repeat today, with particular intensity of meaning, the words of the apostle Paul: 'Civis romanus sum' (I am a Roman citizen)."

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, OCT 31, 2002 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:

- Archbishop Orlando Antonini, apostolic nuncio in Zambia and Malawi.
- Valery Giscard d'Estaing, former president of the Republic of France.
- Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education (of Seminaries and Institutes of Studies), accompanied by Archbishop Giuseppe Pittau and Msgr. Angelo Vincenzo Zani, respectively secretary and undersecretary of the same congregation.

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HOLY FATHER'S PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR NOVEMBER

VATICAN CITY, OCT 31, 2002 (VIS) - The Holy Father's general intention for the month of November is: "For widows and widowers who often feel the pain of loneliness, that they may find comfort and support in the Christian community."

The Holy Father's mission intention for the month of November is: "That the active participation of Christians may encourage the spreading of the Gospel through mass media."

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, OCT 31, 2002 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Erected the apostolic vicariate of Rodrigues (area 102, population 35,779, Catholics 32,612, priests 4, religious 11), Mauritius, with territory taken from the diocese of Port-Luis, Mauritius. He appointed Fr. Allen Harel of the clergy of Port-Luis as its first apostolic vicar. The bishop-elect was born in 1950 in Quatre Bornes, Mauritius and was ordained a priest in 1978.

- Appointed Fr. Esteban Maria Laxague, S.D.B., inspector vicar and director of the College of Don Bosco in Bahia Blanca, Argentina, as bishop of Viedma (area 89,000, population 125,230, Catholics 100,250, priests 20, religious 47), Argentina. The bishop-elect was born in 1957 in Coronel Pringles, Argentina and was ordained a priest in 1986.

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