TO PARLIAMENTARIANS: SERVE COMMON GOOD, PROTECT HUMAN RIGHTS

VATICAN CITY, SEP 23, 2000 (VIS) - Presidents of the 15 parliaments of the European Union, meeting in Rome for a conference, were welcomed to the Vatican this morning by Pope John Paul who, in his speech to them in French, underlined the need of governments to serve the common good and to protect human rights.

Calling their conference "a highly significant sign of the process of European unification," the Pope told the presidents that they "are witnesses of the convergence between the interest of your respective countries and the interest of the larger unity of Europe." He noted that the European Union, in serving its citizens, "is pledged to maintain their cultural diversity and to safeguard the values and principles of its founders."

The Holy Father pointed out that "the European Union has already developed shared institutions, with a system of checks and balances of power, which safeguard democracy. The time seems ripe to synthesize these achievements in an arrangement which is both less complex and more effective," in order "to satisfy the aspirations of its peoples and to ensure that the common good is served."

"In the Church's social teaching," he went on, "the notion of the common good applies at every level of organization in human society." And he observed that, in addition to "a national common good" there is "a continental and even global common good" because of the economic interdependence in the world today.

John Paul II asserted that "if the European Union were to move to the point of adopting a formal constitution, it would have to choose the kind of system which it finds more suitable. ... The Church stresses, however, that all systems must have as their objective the service of the common good. Moreover, every system must resist the temptation to remain selfishly closed within itself."

He went on to say that it was "a source of deep satisfaction for me to see that the fruitful principle of subsidiarity is increasingly invoked." Calling subsidiarity "a pillar of the Church's social teaching," he explained that "it is an invitation to distribute responsibility at the various levels ... so that only those responsibilities which the lower levels are unable to exercise for the sake of the common good are transferred to the higher levels."

"The protection of human rights is one of the imperative requirements of the common good," Pope John Paul underscored in closing remarks. He also noted that "the European Union is engaged in the difficult task of composing a 'Charter of Fundamental Rights'." Referring to past conventions and charters concerning human rights, he stated that such declarations mark an "inviolable area which society regards as not being subject to interference from the play of human power. Further still, it is recognized that power exists in order to protect this area, the focus of which is the human person."

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THE JUBILEE MUST GIVE RISE TO A RENEWED EVANGELIZING IMPULSE

VATICAN CITY, SEP 23, 2000 (VIS) - In St. Peter's Square this morning, the Pope received a number of Italian pilgrims from the archdioceses of Naples and Lucca and from the dioceses of Brescia and Parma, as well as members of the Apostolate of Prayer from the archdiocese of Barcelona, Spain.

To faithful from Brescia, John Paul II said that their diocese "may take particular glory in having given the Church a Pope of the stature of Paul VI, whose memory remains indelible in the hearts of all." In this Jubilee year, he went on, "may you know how to live with profundity the reality of Christian community, in its two aspects of communion and mission."

"May the Jubilee," he said to pilgrims from the diocese of Parma, "be a forceful moment on your ecclesial journey, one from which arises a renewed impulse to evangelization. Reconciliation with God and with our brothers and sisters is an essential condition for making announcement of the Gospel effective, as there is no Christian mission that is not born from a deep experience of communion with God and with our fellows."

The Holy Father requested faithful from the archdiocese of Lucca to place Christ at the center of their communities "through listening attentively to His Word and through rediscovering the Eucharist as the source and fulfillment of all ecclesial life. You will also find it a great help, not only to give attention to the permanent formation of priests, but also ever increasingly to involve the laity in those sectors most suited to their status within the pastoral life of the diocesan community."

Finally, the Pope greeted members of the Apostolate of Prayer from the archdiocese of Barcelona, Spain, to whom he said: "Remember that in encountering Jesus Christ through prayer, we forge the apostolic temperament that seeks to give rise to a sincere longing for sanctity."

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TELEGRAM FOR THE DEATH OF CARDINAL FAGIOLO

VATICAN CITY, SEP 23, 2000 (VIS) - The Pope sent a telegram to Clementina Fagiolo, sister of Cardinal Vincenzo Fagiolo, president emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, who died yesterday at the age of 82. The text of the telegram follows:

"Having heard with sadness the news of the demise of our much loved brother, Cardinal Vincenzo Fagiolo, I wish to express to you and your family my profound participation in your mourning. With respect and affection I recall the intense love for Christ held by the lamented cardinal, zealous pastor and distinguished jurist, and his generous and valued ministry in various important ecclesial posts: Archbishop of Chieti-Vasto, secretary of the Congregation for Religious and President of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts. I give thanks for all the good the Lord has performed through this good and faithful servant, and - in the light of the supreme certainties of faith - I raise fervent prayers that his elect soul be welcomed into the kingdom of the blessed, at the same time I impart the comfort of a heartfelt apostolic blessing upon you, upon his brother, his sister and all relatives."

The Pope will preside at a funeral Mass for Cardinal Fagiolo which will take place at the altar of the Cathedra in St. Peter's Basilica at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, September 26.

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NEW AMBASSADOR OF URUGUAY PRESENTS LETTERS OF CREDENCE

VATICAN CITY, SEP 25, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received the Letters of Credence from the new ambassador of the Republic of Uruguay, Julio Cesar Lupinacci, and highlighted in his address the "Uruguayan people's peaceful and pacifying vocation."

The Church, said the Pope, "never forgets that true peace, like the common good, is intimately linked to the cause of justice, both in the field of the internal relations of a local or national community and in that of the human family as a whole, which is daily more inclined to construct a common history, one shared by all."

He continued: "For this reason it is important that, also in the international arena, agreement exist between your country and the Holy See to defend with vigor and promote with constancy those values that dignify human existence." He added that the defense of human rights, solidarity, the promotion of a culture of life "is an inescapable ethical duty, both for people and for institutions."

John Paul II said that the family and education are "special fields in which understanding and collaboration must be closest, in scrupulous respect of their respective roles and in the firm conviction that any initiative in these fields must be subordinate to the fundamental and primary right of the family. (The family) must be recognized and supported by effective measures, both to maintain its natural configuration and to exercise its right to educate children."

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POPE CALLS FOR RENEWED MARIAN PIETY AS A FRUIT OF THE JUBILEE

VATICAN CITY, SEP 24, 2000 (VIS) - This morning in St. Peter's Square, John Paul II presided at a Eucharistic celebration for the closure of the 20th International Mariological-Marian Congress and for the Jubilee of Shrines. The two events have been held in Rome from September 15 to 24.

The Pope recalled that the Mariological Congress had reflected "on the 'great things' accomplished in Mary, considering their most central and profound dimension, that of her special relationship with the Trinity. If Mary is the 'Theotokos', Mother of God's only begotten Son, why should we be wonder that she also enjoys an utterly unique relationship with the Father and the Holy Spirit?"

He continued: "This relationship most certainly did not, in her earthly life, relieve her from the burden of the human condition. Mary fully lived the daily reality of so many poor families of her time, she experienced poverty, pain, flight, exile, incomprehension. Her spiritual greatness does not, then, 'distance' her from us. She has followed the same road as us and has remained united with us in the 'pilgrimage of faith'."

The Holy Father indicated that "Mary stands out before our gaze as the 'beloved daughter' of the Father. ... Mary has a unique relationship with the second Person of the Trinity, the Word made flesh, being directly involved in the mystery of incarnation. ... And what can we say about her relationship with the Holy Spirit? Mary is the pure 'shrine' in which He dwells."

"It is, then, natural that the Jubilee of the Son should also be the Jubilee of the Mother! Consequently, it is to be hoped that among the fruits of this year of grace, as well as a stronger love for Christ, there may also be a renewed Marian piety. Mary must indeed be much loved and honored but, to be authentic, devotion to her must: be well founded on the Scriptures and on Tradition; ... find expression in the struggle to imitate Mary Most Holy; ... distance itself from all forms of superstition and vain credulity ... (and) be capable of always returning to the source of Mary's greatness."

Following Mass and before praying the angelus, John Paul II offered greetings to those present in eight languages.

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