VIDEO-CONFERENCE OF ARCHBISHOP FOLEY ON CHURCH AND INTERNET

VATICAN CITY, MAY 21, 2002 (VIS) - Archbishop John P. Foley, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, participated yesterday from Rome in a video-conference about the "Church and Internet," with San Antonio Catholic University in Murcia, Spain.
Today, during a gathering organized in Venice, Italy, he spoke about "Ethics in Social Communications, Advertising and the Internet."

In the video-conference on the Church and new information technology, Archbishop Foley, who celebrated forty years in the priesthood on Sunday, emphasized that "the Church is not content to use the media and use it only for the communion and progress of the people; she also reflects upon it in the light of the Gospel and offers some criteria for its use."

Referring to the two documents published by his dicastery on February 22, "Ethics in Internet" and "The Church and Internet," the council president underlined that both "indicate the value of the electronic media in itself." In addition, "they recognize the novelty of the computer as a medium and from there the necessity for formation and information about its own characteristics."

The documents, he continued, "clearly identify the virtues and risks of the electronic media. They do not idealize them, nor do they condemn them in themselves." Furthermore, "the centrality of the real person and the real community is proclaimed in this 'virtual' medium. Direct contact among people will not be able to be replaced in the life of faith."

"The last aspect that I wish to emphasize is the social sensitivity of the documents which invite the Church to work actively in order to avoid the 'digital breach', that is, the chasm between the so-called 'info-poor' and 'info-rich'."

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MESSAGE FOR 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF ITALIAN BISHOPS' CONFERENCE

VATICAN CITY, MAY 21, 2002 (VIS) - The Italian Episcopal Conference, which this year celebrates the 50th anniversary of its founding, began its 49th General Assembly last evening in Rome, during which a Message from Pope John Paul was ready to the assembly.

The Pope recalled Italy's two-millennia old tradition "of faith, holiness and Christian culture," and said the CEI "has contributed to preserving and renewing, in current historical circumstances, this legacy and tradition." He also highlighted the many teachings and initiatives over the years, including "the publication of new catechisms for Christian life" and "the institution of Italian Caritas."

Noting the bishops' "special union and full harmony with the Successor of Peter, Bishop of Rome and Primate of Italy," the Holy Father said, "I wish to confirm my affection, support and spiritual closeness to you."

He asked the bishops "to persevere with great charity" in their pastoral responsibilities and "to continue, in particular, to dedicate special attention to the family and to welcome and defend life, to promote the pastoral ministry for the family and to support the rights of the family founded on marriage. Have ever greater faith in children and young people and spare no efforts in favoring their genuine education, above all in the family, the school and in ecclesial communities themselves."

The Pope urged them to dedicate themselves "with passion to the promotion of authentic Christian vocations, in particular vocations to the priesthood and religious life."

"Continue to be," he added, "credible witnesses of solidarity and generous peace makers. Our world, which is ever more interdependent and yet pierced by deep and tenacious divisions, has great need of authentic peace." Italy also needs social harmony, he said, "to give its own contribution to building more just international relations, marked by solidarity."

In conclusion, the Pope stated that "Italy, by virtue of its history, culture and actual Christian vitality, can truly have a great role so that the Europe which is being built will not lose its spiritual roots, but on the contrary will find in the faith lived by Christians an inspiration and stimulus in its path towards unity."

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, MAY 21, 2002 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Erected the eparchy of St. Peter the Apostle of San Diego of the Chaldeans, U.S.A. with territory taken from the eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle of Detroit of the Chaldeans, U.S.A. (The eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle of Detroit of the Chaldeans covered all of the United States for the Chaldeans.) The Pope appointed Fr. Sarhad Jammo as first bishop of the new eparchy. The bishop-elect was born in Baghdad, Iraq in 1941 and was ordained a priest in 1964.

- Appointed Fr. Yves-Marie Pean, C.S.C., rector of the philosophy section of the Major Seminary in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, as coadjutor of Les Gonaives, Haiti. The bishop-elect was born in Pilate, Haiti in 1954 and was ordained a priest in 1983.

- Elevated the apostolic prefecture of Kontagora, Nigeria to the status of apostolic vicariate, with the same denomination and territorial configuration. He appointed Fr. Timothy Joseph Carroll, S.M.A., apostolic prefect of Kontagora, as first apostolic vicar of the same vicariate (area 55,000, population 1,250,000, Catholics 20,000, priests 19, religious 22). The bishop-elect was born in Kerry, Ireland in 1940 and was ordained a priest in 1965.

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POPE JOHN PAUL II TURNS 82

VATICAN CITY, MAY 18, 2002 (VIS) - Pope John Paul II turned 82 today and marked his birthday by presiding at an audience in the morning for 7,000 participants in a meeting sponsored by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. A student band played Happy Birthday, and they were joined in song by the pilgrims present in the Paul VI Hall.

Following this encounter the Holy Father went to Largo Braschi, on the left side of St. Peter's Basilica, where he blessed a statue of St. Maria Josefa del Corazon de Jesus Sancho de Guerra, foundress of the Servants of Jesus of Charity. The statue had been placed in an outside niche of the basilica.

He had lunch with his closest advisors in the Roman Curia and then spent part of the afternoon going over some of the speeches he will give during next week's trip to Azerbaijan and Bulgaria.

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ARCHBISHOP LOZANO AT THE WORLD ASSEMBLY ON HEALTH

VATICAN CITY, MAY 18, 2002 (VIS) - Archbishop Javier Lozano Barragan, president of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Ministry, led the delegation of the Holy See on Wednesday May 15 in the 55th World Assembly on Health which took place in Geneva, Switzerland from May 13 to 18.

Archbishop Lozano recalled "many of the great risks that health runs today: Actually, 17 million people have died from infectious diseases and nutritional deficiency; 2.7 million from AIDS, 2.2 million from diarrhea, 1.7 million from tuberculosis and 1 million from malaria. To that are added deaths from tobacco and alcoholism, from cancer, as well as other degenerative diseases, from poor life habits, lack of hygiene, drugs, traffic and work accidents, from the abuse of medication or lack thereof due to high prices, and mental illnesses, as there is an increase today in depression."

"It is worth noting," he continued, "as a patent risk to health, the neo-Malthusian mentality against life, given that health and life are identified with each other, current projects of reproductive health, especially propositions for the third world, and in particular the misconception as to what is quality of life, which has brought the legalization of euthanasia to some places. Nor can we forget environmental pollution, hunger, armed conflicts, natural catastrophes."

The leader of the Holy See delegation also referred to the existing risk today of "a 'microbial' unification of the world, where infectious diseases, given the growing mobility of populations, are present everywhere, as much for the rich as for the poor; viruses and bacteria do not have borders."

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