JOHN PAUL'S AUGUST VISIT TO LOURDES IS HIS 104TH FOREIGN TRIP

VATICAN CITY, JUL 16, 2004 (VIS) - When Pope John Paul II travels to Lourdes on August 14-15 to celebrate the feast of the Assumption and to mark the 150th anniversary of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, it will be his 104th foreign apostolic trip and the seventh time he has been to France. His last visit was in August 1997 for World Youth Day.

  He was the first Pope ever to visit Lourdes when he went there in 1983 as a pilgrim during the Holy Year of the Redemption. This August is his second trip to the celebrated shrine where, on March 25, 1858, the Virgin Mary appeared to the young peasant girl, Bernadette Soubirous and announced: "I am the Immaculate Conception." Mary first appeared to Bernadette on February 11 of that year.

  On December 8, 1854, after having consulted the bishops of the world, Pope Pius IX, with the Apostolic Constitution "Ineffabilis Deus," solemnly proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, which affirms: "We declare, pronounce and define that the  doctrine which holds that the Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful."

  The Conference of the Bishops of France, in a July information bulletin, outlined the Holy Father's itinerary for the weekend. He will arrive at the Tarbes-Ousson Airport at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, August 14, where President Jacques Chirac of France is scheduled to meet him. Towards 1 p.m. the Pope will go to the Grotto where, in late afternoon, he will be joined by other pilgrims with whom he will pray the Luminous Mysteries of the rosary as the faithful process around the shrine. The fifth mystery will end in the square in front of the basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary, following which the Holy Father will address the crowd. At 9 p.m. there will be the traditional torchlit procession on the shrine grounds.

  On Sunday, August 15, feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, John Paul II is scheduled to celebrate Mass at 10 a.m. at the shrine. In the afternoon he will spend some private time in prayer at the Grotto. His departure for Rome is set for 6 p.m.

  According to the bishops, more than 300,000 people, including 2,000 journalists who have registered for the occasion, are expected in Lourdes for the two-day event. The French bishops, together with the authorities of the Lourdes shrine and the prefecture of  Hautes-Pryenees, have created an Internet site, available in French and English, for the visit: www.lourdes2004.com.

  When he instituted the World Day of the Sick in 1992, Pope John Paul chose February 11, the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, as the date on which this day would be marked each year. The first world day took place in 1993 in Lourdes on the theme "That the sick and disabled will have their rightful place in society and in the Church." This year the World Day of the Sick was again celebrated in Lourdes, on the theme "The Immaculate Conception and Health in the Christian Roots of Europe."
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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, JUL 15, 2004 (VIS) - The Holy Father accepted the resignation from the office of auxiliary of the archdiocese of Sydney, Australia, presented by Bishop Geoffrey J. Robinson in accordance with Canon 401, para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law.
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ARCHBISHOP FOLEY ADDRESSES BUSINESS, ADVERTISING ETHICS

VATICAN CITY, JUL 15, 2004 (VIS) - Yesterday in Loyola, Spain, birthplace of St. Ignatius, founder of the Society of Jesus, Archbishop John Foley gave the homily at a Mass for the meeting of the International Association of Jesuit Business Schools.

  In a separate address to the group, he focused on ethics in business and in advertising, noting how difficult both fields can be when people are "seduced" to make decisions that can adversely affect their families, those who have invested money in a company and those who work for it.

  The president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications recounted several personal experiences as a youth when he was forced to quit jobs because of unethical behavior on the part of others, saying he mentioned these experiences to let the business school leaders "know I have lived the very ethical dilemmas and challenges in business which some of you perhaps have taught." And he added: "I have always thought, what terrible dilemmas must be faced by married people with children in a tight job market who are asked to do something that is dishonest or, at least, open to ethical discussion - and who are fearful of questioning, of protesting or quitting, because they do not know where the next meal for themselves or their family might come from."

  Archbishop Foley mentioned the pontifical council's documents of recent years, in particular "Ethics in Advertising." He noted that advertising can sustain "honest and ethically responsible competition which contributes to economic growth, to the possibility of choice and to authentic human development." It "contributes to wider knowledge, lower prices and, usually, to more jobs" and to "promoting morally healthy activity, e.g., safe driving, and it has even been used effectively for religious purposes." However, he said, there is harm when it leads people to believe that "having is more important than being." He urged those who advertise - be it products, ideas or people - to focus on three principles: Being is better than having; Each person must be treated with respect; Work for the common good."

  In concluding remarks, he indicated that "a growing concern in democratic societies is the ethical aspect of political campaigning" which can either "inform about candidates and issues" or "obstruct the democratic process" when high advertising costs attract only  wealthy candidates or cause candidates to compromise principles and integrity in their search for funding.
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RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER AND CARDINAL SODANO MEET

VATICAN CITY, JUL 15, 2004 (VIS) - The vice-director of the Holy See Press Office, Fr. Ciro Benedettini, C.P., made the following declaration this morning:

  "Today, July 15, Sergei Lavrov, foreign minister of the Russian Federation, met with Cardinal Angelo Sodano, secretary of State. Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, secretary for Relations with States and Vitaly Litvin, ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Holy See, also participated in the meeting.

  "In the course of the meeting there was an exchange of views on bilateral relations between the Holy See and Russia and on the international situation, with special interest in dialogue among cultures and collaboration within international organizations.

  "The serious problem of peace in the Holy Land and Iraq was also touched upon.

  "The meeting demonstrated the cordial relations that exist between the two parties and the possibility of further developments."
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"JOHN PAUL II AMONG THE MOUNTAINS"

VATICAN CITY, JUL 14, 2004 (VIS) - On July 12 in the Maison Bruil of Introd, near Les Combes in Valle d'Aosta where the Holy Father is vacationing, Bishop Giuseppe Anfossi of Aosta and Osvaldo Naudin, the mayor of Introd, presented a book titled "John Paul II Among the Mountains," by Nadia Millery Ognibene and Raffaella Poletti.

  The recently renovated Maison Bruil is an extensive rural complex dating to the 17th century which has undergone enlargements and improvements since it was first built. The various farm structures that were built around a courtyard were linked by a vast roof. Today, some of the buildings are used for presentations, for art and photo exhibits and other events.

  The 120-page book contains photos from John Paul's various mountain sojourns in Italy in his years as Pope, as well as all the texts in which he has spoken of the value and beauty of mountains, of ecology and conservation. The book speaks of  the Pope's "love for mountains and the value they have had in his life as a man and as Pope, a kind of 'mountain fever' which has never left him."

  The authors write that, in the life of Karol Wojtyla, "mountains assume different values: a stimulus for his reflections, an aid in spreading the Word of God and praises for the beauty of creation." They add that "never, as in this pontificate, has the world seen a Pope-man who is never separated from reality, who has never hidden his difficulties, feelings or needs."

  The book, which opens with the Pope's Angelus remarks at Mont Chetif in Valle d'Aosta on the occasion of his pastoral visit to the city and diocese of Aosta  in 1986, shows how John Paul II "has, in a Christian way, looked at the value of vacations as a real need in life, not a superfluous one, and as an important time of the year for the body and spirit to rest."

  Mountains were part of the Pope's youth and life in his native Poland, say the writers. "He loves the world that is genuine and rich in traditions, the world found in mountain localities because these remind him of his native land and the places of his childhood. ...  He loves this milieu because he feels part of it."

  The volume concludes with the texts of all the Angelus reflections the Pope has made while on vacation in the mountains of northern Italy.
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