Speeches 1994 - Saturday, 19 November 1994

ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS JOHN PAUL II

TO THE NEW CARDINALS JOSEPH WINNING,

WILLIAM HENRY KEELER, ADAM JOSEPH MAIDA

Monday, 28 November 1994

Your Eminences,

Dear Friends,

I am very pleased to greet Your Eminences and the many pilgrims who have accompanied you to Rome in order to share in the joy of your nomination to the College of Cardinals. The members of the Sacred College are the principal advisers of the Successor of Peter, and as such are called to have a special concern for the whole Church. Drawn from nations throughout the world, they are a sign of the universality of the Church as she carries out her mission to proclaim the Gospel and to invite all nations and peoples to unity in faith and charity.

Cardinal Winning, as priest and Bishop you have always been what is called "a man of the people", with a great personal sensitivity for the welfare of the less fortunate. In this, you show what it means to be a shepherd according to the mind and heart of Christ, who came to serve and not to be served (cf. Mk. Mc 10,45). I know that the good Catholic people of Glasgow will continue to support you and help you to make the Specialis Filia Romanae Ecclesiae an ever clearer witness to God’s faithfulness and love. May Saint Andrew and Saint Margaret, Scotland’s patrons, and Saint Mungo, special patron of Glasgow, intercede for all the Bishops, priests and laity of your beloved land.

Cardinal Keeler, I offer a special greeting to your relatives and many friends from the Diocese of Harrisburg and the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Like your predecessors in the See of Baltimore and in your office as President of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, you have sought to shepherd a flock which strives to be authentically Catholic within a pluralistic society. Your pastoral ministry has likewise included much work for ecumenical and interreligious understanding. Today I ask the Lord to sustain you in serving the Church in America as it faces the challenges of the new evangelization on the eve of the Third Millennium.

Cardinal Maida, I am certain that the presence of your dear Mother, your other family members and your friends is a precious reminder of the many blessings which God has bestowed upon you during your years in Pittsburgh, Green Bay and now in Detroit. Your episcopal coat-of-arms - Facere Omnia Nova, "to make all things new" - recalls the Lord’s promise to create "new heavens and a new earth where... the justice of God will reside" (2P 3,13). Much of your priestly and episcopal ministry has been devoted precisely to promoting justice in the Church. I pray that through your pastoral service the Church in Detroit will live up to its vocation to be a holy people, constantly "made new" in justice and charity.

Through all of you present here today, I send special greetings to the Catholics of Scotland and the United States. I vividly remember my visits to your countries, to Scotland in 1982 and to the United States in 1979 and 1987, which allowed me to witness and share in the vital and dynamic faith of your local Churches. It is with these memories that I echo the words of Saint Paul: "I give thanks to God always for you because of the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him with all speech and all knowledge" (1Co 1,4-5). Invoking upon you and your families the peace of our Saviour, I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing.

ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS JOHN PAUL II

TO CARDINAL JULIUS RIYADI DARMAATMADJA,

ARCHBISHOP OF SEMARANG

Paul VI Hall

Monday, 28 November 1994




Dear Cardinal Darmaatmadja,
Dear Friends from Indonesia,

I am very happy to welcome Your Eminence and all who have accompanied you for this joyful event in the life of the Church. Semarang in particular, your birthplace and the Archdiocese which you now guide as Pastor, shares your happiness.

Your nomination to the College of Cardinals strengthens the bonds between the Church in your country and the Holy See. It is the whole nation which is honoured by your elevation, and I am pleased to know that the news has been gladly received not only by the members of the Church but also by the civil authorities and people in all walks of life.

For my part, I continue to pray for the Church in Indonesia and for the peace and development of all its people. Your nation is being challenged to pursue the path of wise efforts to build a better future for all, a future based on profound respect for human dignity and an effective observance of the demands of social justice.

May Almighty God abundantly bless Your Eminence. I invoke his love and peace upon all of you who are present here, and I ask you to take my blessing to your families and to your communities at home. Semoga Allah memberkati Indonesia dengan damaiNya ("May God bless Indonesia with his peace").



ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS JOHN PAUL II

TO CARDINAL PETER SEIICHI SHIRAYANAGI,

ARCHBISHOP OF TOKYO

Hall of the Throne

Monday, 28 November 1994

Your Eminence,

Dear Friends,

I am glad to have the opportunity of meeting my Brother Bishops, and the priests, Religious and laity of Japan who are here to share this moment of joy with Cardinal Shirayanagi. In naming the Archbishop of Tokyo to the College of Cardinals it was my intention to strengthen further the bonds of faith and communion between the Catholic Church in Japan and this Apostolic See.

Your Eminence, as a Bishop you have already expressed your dedicated commitment to the ministry entrusted to you in the motto Impendam et superimpendar. Now as a Cardinal your concern for the growth and well-being of the Church takes on greater intensity insofar as you share more closely in the solicitude for all the Churches which characterizes the Ministry of Peter.

My thoughts go to the entire Catholic community in Japan, strengthened in spirit by the blood of your martyrs, who professed their faith in Christ in spite of seemingly overpowering obstacles. Today the challenges which you face are different, but no less demanding of true discipleship and unfailing courage. I commend you all to the loving intercession of Mary Queen of Martyrs, and upon you, your families and communities I invoke abundant divine blessings.

(Upon all of you may the grace of God come down in abundance! I bless you with all my heart. Let us thank God!)



ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS JOHN PAUL II

TO CARDINAL EMMANUEL WAMALA,

ARCHBISHOP OF KAMPALA

Tuesday, 29 November 1994

Your Eminence,


Dear Friends from Uganda, I am happy to welcome Your Eminence and all of you who have accompanied Cardinal Wamala and are sharing in this joyful moment with him. Through you I send cordial greetings to the Archdiocese of Kampala and to the whole Church in Uganda, not least to the Dioceses of Masaka and Kiyinda-Mityana, where the new Cardinal was born and where he ministered as priest and Bishop.

I have vivid memories of my visit to your country last year, and I especially recall my pilgrimage to the Shrine of the Holy Martyrs of Uganda. What a beautiful and moving testimony to steadfast faith and love those Holy Martyrs have left us in their complete submission to Christ! It is my fervent prayer that their example and witness will continue to be a source of inspiration and strength for the faithful in Uganda, that the Church in your land may truly be a beacon of light and hope for your nation and for all of Africa.

May God abundantly bless you and your families; may he guide you along the path of life towards the Kingdom of his beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Invoking the intercession of the Ugandan Martyrs, I gladly impart to you and your loved ones my Apostolic Blessing. Omukama abakuume, era akuume Uganda (In Luganda language: "May God bless you, and may he bless Uganda").




Speeches 1994 - Saturday, 19 November 1994