AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, NOV 15, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father received today in audience Archbishop Javier Lozano Barragan, Bishop Jose Luis Redrado Marchite and Fr. Felice Ruffini, M.I., respectively president, secretary and under-secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Ministry to Health Care Workers.

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INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON "HEALTH AND SOCIETY"

VATICAN CITY, NOV 15, 2000 (VIS) - This morning in the Holy See Press Office Archbishop Javier Lozano Barragan, president of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers, presented his dicastery's 15th annual conference, a three-day event which starts tomorrow on the theme "Health and Society."

The archbishop remarked that the theme chosen this year "intends to study more deeply the problems of health in general of today's society, especially regarding the aspect of technological challenges and the humanization of medicine."

He went on to say that "it is true that today we find ourselves facing new frontiers of medical technology as well as new care centers, hospitals and even one's own home. There are also new health care workers, not only in regard to new disciplines of medical science but also in the very way these young professionals perform, ways which are quite different from doctors in the past. There are also new patients and new illnesses, as we can see in today's geriatrics. And unfortunately there are new emerging illnesses which affect a great part of mankind today; for example, Alzheimers, AIDS, illnesses coming from drug use, and so on."

Referring to the Catholic Church's more than 113,000 health care centers worldwide, Archbishop Lozano asked: "As Church, what is our answer to today's world, to today's society?" And he recalled that the forthcoming congress "is not simply a medical congress, but rather one of the pastoral ministry of medicine."

In closing remarks he noted that, while "answers will be found in the Catholic Church, we .... want to be open to dialogue with other religions: Thus we await a witnessing from Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and Jews. Wherever it comes from, the light will always be welcome."

Also presented at the conference was the calendar of events and speakers, including experts in many fields of health care from around the world as well as representatives of other religions.

Archbishop Lozano will open the inaugural session, followed by Cardinal Fiorenzo Angelini, president emeritus of the pontifical council. Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, will then address the assembly on "Theological Perspectives: Medicine Today in the Light of the Gospel."

There will be moderators for each of the morning and afternoon sessions of this international meeting.

Among the topics to be discussed November 16-18 in the Vatican are: The Frontiers of Technology; New Health Care Workers; New Patients; Emerging Illnesses; Current Problems of Moral Theology; Hospitals in the Year 2000: Old Charity and Modern Technology; Forming Health Care Professionals; Forming Volunteers and Forming Chaplains.

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AUDIENCE: THE WORD, THE EUCHARIST AND DIVIDED CHRISTIANS

VATICAN CITY, NOV 15, 2000 (VIS) - "The Word, the Eucharist and Divided Christians" was the theme of John Paul II's catechesis during the general audience which was held this morning in St. Peter's Square.

The Holy Father said that by reflecting on the Trinity and the Eucharist we come to "consider, above all, the problem of restoring unity among Christians." On this theme, he cited the biblical passage of the disciples of Emmaus who leave the community and, after encountering the Risen Christ as they walked, were able to recognize Him, especially when He "took the bread ... and broke it." Thus they returned to Jerusalem to rejoin "the eleven gathered together and those who were with them."

"Through the celebration of the Eucharist of the Lord in each of (the individual) Churches, the Church of God is built up and grows in stature and through concelebration, their communion with one another is made manifest," said the Pope, quoting from the decree on ecumenism. "The single feast is a sign and display of unity." Thus, it is "doctrinal differences between the disciples of Christ, gathered in different Churches and ecclesial communities, that limit full sacramental sharing. Nonetheless, baptism is the deep root of a fundamental unity that links all Christians, despite their differences."

In some cases, he went on, the Eucharistic celebration may show "some signs of participation that express the unity that already exists and that lead in the direction of full communion between Churches."

"The limits of shared communion in the feast of the Word and the Eucharist must become an appeal to purification, to dialogue and to the ecumenical path of the Churches. These are limits that make us feel even more strongly - precisely in the celebration of the Eucharist - the burden of our wounds and contradictions. Thus, the Eucharist becomes a challenge and a provocation located at the very heart of the Church to remind us of Christ's greatest and most intense will: 'that they may all be one'."

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HOLY SEE OFFICIALS VISIT PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA

VATICAN CITY, NOV 14, 2000 (VIS) - The following English-language communique was released early this afternoon by Holy See Press Office Director Joaquin Navarro-Valls:

"On Tuesday, November 14, 2000, an official visit undertaken by Msgrs. Celestino Migliore, under-secretary for the Holy See's Relations with States, and Luis Mariano Montenayor, official of the Secretariat of State, to the People's Republic of Korea was concluded.

"The Holy See delegation, in its fifth consecutive visit to Pyongyang, wished to reaffirm the constant and effective solidarity of the Holy Father for the population of North Korea and to continue the relations previously established with government authorities, particularly with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"An important moment of this visit was the prayer encounter with the Catholic Community of the capital city, for which the Sunday Mass was celebrated in the Church of Chan Chung. After the liturgy, a meeting was held with the leader of the 'Association of Catholics of North Korea'."

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GREAT RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS CAN CONTRIBUTE TO SEARCH FOR PEACE

VATICAN CITY, NOV 14, 2000 (VIS) - Made public today was a letter from Cardinal Angelo Sodano to Cardinal William Keeler, archbishop of Baltimore, U.S.A., who is taking part in the Interreligious Conference, currently underway in Washington. The four-day conference began November 11.

Writing on behalf of the Pope in the November 8 letter, the secretary of state asks Cardinal Keeler to convey the Holy Father's "warm greetings to the participants," especially Chiara Lubich and Imam W.D. Mohammed "who have inspired the efforts that have led to this meeting in mutual respect and friendship between Christians and Muslims."

"At a time of tension in the world," says the letter, "His Holiness has insisted that the great religious traditions of the world have a vital contribution to make to the search for peace, on the basis of the transcendent values found in them. Only true dialogue can open the way to a future worthy of the human family and only a falsification of religion can collude with violence. Dialogue presumes a desire for harmony, an acceptance of difference, a recognition of common humanity, a willingness to trust and a preparedness to listen."

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