Speeches 2003

2003

                                                         January 2003


TO THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE MEETING

PROMOTED BY THE PONTIFICAL

NORTH AMERICAN COLLEGE IN ROME

Friday, 10 January 2003

Your Eminences,
Your Excellencies,
Dear Brothers in Christ,

With great affection I greet the alumni of the Pontifical North American College, together with the Rector, faculty and students of the seminary department and the student priests of the Casa Santa Maria dell’Umiltà. You have gathered in Rome for the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of two events which opened a new chapter in the history of the College: the dedication of the seminary building on the Janiculum and the inauguration of the Casa Santa Maria as a priestly house of study. May this anniversary deepen your commitment to the College’s continuing mission of training priests imbued with a deep sense of the universality of the Church and zeal for the spread of God’s Kingdom both in your native land and throughout the world.

Your meeting this year brings you back to Rome and the College, to cherished places where, with the idealism and generosity of youth, you once pledged yourselves to the pursuit of knowledge, wisdom and holiness for the service of God’s People. At a time of difficulty and suffering for Catholics in the United States, I assure all of you of my prayerful solidarity. It is my fervent hope that these days of reflection, prayer and priestly fraternity will strengthen you in your noble vocation to be disciples of Jesus Christ, witnesses to the truth of his Gospel and shepherds completely committed to the renewal of his Church in faith, hope and love.

Dear brothers, amid the challenges and hopes of the present moment, I urge you to keep your gaze fixed on Jesus, our High Priest, who never ceases to inspire and perfect our faith (cf. Heb He 12,2), Commending you and the faithful whom you serve to the loving prayers of Our Lady of Humility, Patroness of the College, I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of joy and peace in the Lord.

MESSAGE OF JOHN PAUL II

TO THE HOLY CHILDHOOD ASSOCIATION



Dear Missionary Children,

1. In the first half of the 19th century, Europe experienced a great missionary expansion and the Church, realizing the missionary potential of children, began to ask children to take an active part in proclaiming the Gospel to their peers.

On 9 May 1843, Bishop Charles de Forbin-Janson of Nancy, keen to support the activities of Catholics in China, suggested to the children of Paris that they help their contemporaries by reciting a Hail Mary every day and offering a coin every month. It was not long before this missionary initiative that provided material and spiritual support crossed the frontiers of France and spread to other countries.

On 30 September 1919 my venerable Predecessor Benedict XV wrote: "We warmly recommend to all the faithful the Society of the Holy Childhood which has the objective of guaranteeing baptism to non-Christian children. We recommend that all Christian children join this society, so that through it they may learn to help with the evangelization of their neighbour and, already at their age, understand the great value of the faith" (Maximum illud).

This year the Feast of the Epiphany has a special importance because the Society of the Holy Childhood, present in 110 countries, observes the 160th year of its existence. It offers children in all the dioceses of the world a programme that consists of prayer, sacrifice and concrete acts of solidarity: in this way they can become evangelizers of their peers.

2. Dear young missionaries, I know with what great care and generosity you live this apostolic activity. In so many ways you try to share the lot of the children who are forced to work as children and you help relieve the distress of the children who are in need. You show solidarity for the troubles and tragedies of children involved in the wars of adults and who are often victims of the violence of adults. Pray every day that the gift of faith which you have received may be granted to the millions of your small friends who do not yet know Jesus.

You rightly believe that whoever meets Jesus and accepts his Gospel receives a rich store of spiritual gifts: the divine life of grace, the love which makes brothers and sisters, dedication to others, forgiveness given and received, willingness to welcome and to be welcomed, the hope that lifts our hearts to eternal life, peace as a gift and a duty.

In this Christmas season, in many local Churches, the children of the Holy Childhood Society, go from house to house dressed as Magi or shepherds to proclaim the glad tidings of Christmas. This is the delightful custom of the "Star Singers" which the Society began in German-speaking countries and that later spread to many other countries: boys and girls knock at the door, sing Christmas carols, recite their prayers and explain to families the projects of solidarity to be funded. In this way little ones evangelize even grown-ups.

3. This work of evangelization and solidarity - as you well know - is not limited to just a few weeks of the Christmas season, but continues throughout life. This is why I encourage you to respond generously to the many requests for help that come from poor countries.

How many children in Europe, America, Asia, Africa and Oceania pray and work for the same ideal! A global solidarity fund has been created and is growing thanks to the gifts from everywhere in the world. It finances small and big projects that help young children.

There are lovely stories of children who by their long-distance adoption of small friends, became sellers of stars or stamp-collectors. They have given a toy or an expensive game to free their peers who are forced to be in the army. They have pledged themselves to save in many ways in order to fund catechetical textbooks or to build schools in mission areas. There are many other examples. Missionary children with their contributions fund more than 3,000 projects. Is this not a true miracle of the vast and silent love of God that makes a mark on the world?

Dear missionary children, you must all take part in this miracle! And those who possess nothing can make the gift of their prayer and the suffering of their poverty.

4. Dear boys and girls, missionary activity helps you to grow in faith and makes you joyful disciples of Jesus.

Showing solidarity to those who are less fortunate opens your heart to humanity's great needs. You can recognize the face of Jesus in poor and needy children. This is what such missionaries as Francis Xavier, Matteo Ricci, Charles de Foucauld, and Mother Teresa of Calcutta and others did in every part of the world.

I warmly hope that your pastors, your bishops and priests, and your catechists, spiritual guides, your parents and teachers will take to heart the Society of the Missionary Childhood. From the very beginning, it has borne heroic missionary fruit and has written beautiful pages in the history of the Church. The first Chinese children, saved by the "missionary children" became teachers, catechists, doctors and priests. The gift of Baptism was transformed into light for them and for their families.

Among the children helped by the offerings and prayers of other children are the martyr Paul Tchen and the first Archbishop of Peking, Cardinal Tien Kenhsin. Subsequently, with the passage of time, the vocation to total consecration to evangelization grew in the hearts of many girls and boys.

How can we forget little Thérèse of Lisieux who, at the age of seven, on 12 May 1882 enrolled in the Society of the Holy Childhood and at the age of 14 had already decided to give herself to Jesus for the salvation of the world? Today this spiritual fruitfulness continues in the Church. Let us pray that a greater number of children put at the service of the Gospel not just one period of their lives, but their whole existence. Likewise, we ask God to multiply everywhere the charitable activity of the Missionary Childhood.

5. The needs of children the world over are so many and complex that no box for saving coins, no gesture of solidarity however great, would ever be enough to relieve them. God's help is needed. Dear missionary children, by enrolling in the Society of the Holy Childhood, you take as your first pledge the promise to say a daily Hail Mary. Indeed, you know that the success of the mission depends, above all, on prayer, and for this reason you turn to Our Lady, Star of Evangelization.
For 160 years, you have been calling on her in the name of children around the world. I urge you to persevere in this loving practice with greater faithfulness in the "Year of the Rosary". Once in a while the older ones among you should recite a whole decade or even five decades of the Rosary.

The Missionary Rosary links us with the missions: the white is for Europe, so that it can regain the evangelizing fervour that give rise to so many Churches; the yellow decade is for Asia, which is exploding with life and youth; the green decade is for Africa, tried by suffering but ready for the proclamation; the red decade is for America, the promise of new missionary forces; the blue decade is for the continent of Oceania, which awaits a more grass-roots spread of the Gospel.
Dear missionary children, may Our Lady accompany you in your generosity! To her I entrust you with your relatives and the Christian communities you belong to. I bless you all with affection.

From the Vatican, 6 January 2003, Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord.

JOHN PAUL II





TO THE COMMUNITY OF THE PONTIFICAL

PORTUGUESE COLLEGE IN ROME

Saturday, 11 January 2003



Dear Cardinal Patriarch,
Dear Priests of the Pontifical Portuguese College,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,

With great joy I welcome you to the house of Peter, recalling the visit I paid you 18 years ago. I greet you one by one, including in my greeting your families and your countries of origin that I keep in my heart.

Through the Cardinal who kindly presented the College family and who represents the Portuguese Bishops as President of the Bishops' Conference, I would like to congratulate the Bishops on the challenge they have accepted and on the confidence and concern for the College they have shown in the 100 years of its existence. I take the occasion to thank those responsible for the operation of the house and for the formation, for their diligence and competence. I thank the students for their serious application and enthusiasm in responding to the expectations of their respective dioceses.

For my part, I willingly join in your praise to God for the hundred years of this institute and I renew the hope placed in it by my Predecessors, starting with Pope Leo XIII. With his Brief Rei Catholicae apud Lusitanos of 20 October 1900, he established the Pontifical Portuguese College, endowing it with a residence and a stable administration, so as to "offer", as we read in the document, "to those who are dedicated in the priesthood a broader formation so that, thanks to this unique asset, they can provide the (Portuguese) Church with all the assistance that she needs".

In a local Church it is very useful for some of the clergy to deepen their knowledge of the Christian message with university studies. I am conscious of the remarkable zeal with which the Portuguese Bishops have sought to offer their priests the resources for a superior formation, particularly, by establishing and constantly expanding the Catholic University of Portugal. However, it is in line with university institutions to ensure that some of the students study at academic centres abroad to acquire a broader vision and complementary formation. Hence the great value the Portuguese College has had and will continue to have in providing suitable facilities for priests who receive the grace to continue their theological and pastoral formation and benefit from all the means that the Eternal City can offer them.

One reason for praise is that in the course of its 100 years, 867 students have passed through the College, many priests who were enlightened and zealous pastors - including three cardinals and 64 bishops - to whose formation this Institute made a superb contribution. Rome helped confirm in them a universal, Catholic mentality, in accord with the direction of the activity carried out when, imbued by an authentic apostolic spirit, they put at the service of evangelization the first hand knowledge contact of persons and situations experienced during their time in Rome. One lesson this centenary teaches us is the great spiritual fruitfulness that derives from the location of this Portuguese Institute in the very heart of the Catholic world that offers exceptional opportunities for academic work and for personal experience.

The College, whose various aspects recall the Upper Room of Jerusalem, has entered the second century of its existence. On the members of its community, I implore the coming of the Holy Spirit with His gifts. As the Cardinal has said, today it offers hospitality to many priests of different countries and languages. This makes it a privileged place for priests to come together, and it creates a bond that fosters unity among the various local Churches. At the end of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, I invited all the people of God to "make the Church the home and school of communion: that is the great challenge facing us in the millennium which is now beginning, if we wish to be faithful to God's plan and respond to the world's deepest yearnings" (Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio ineunte, n. 43). In memory of our meeting, I entrust a hope to you: that you will know how to make your own contribution to deepening and consolidating the unity of the Church; Rome is the sign and centre of unity and God has placed it at the service of unity!

As you know, a Christian community lives from the effort of communication and cooperation of each of its members, who receives the love that flows from the Holy Trinity, whose Persons subsist in a ceaseless, reciprocal communication and exchange of being and life. This Trinitarian communion is the model that must appear in the life and service of the priest; it has a "radical "communitarian form' and can only be carried out as a "collective work' " (Apostolic Exhortation Pastores dabo vobis PDV 17), in hierarchical communion with his own Bishop and with other priests and lay faithful.

Beloved Brothers and Sisters,

These are a few of the sentiments that the centenary of your and our College inspires in me. Move forward unceasingly in the Christian, priestly, apostolic and cultural formation that the Church expects of you. Love the Gospel deeply and love the men and women to whom you are sent, after the example and measure of the Heart of Christ (cf. Jer Jr 3,15). The College is solemnly consecrated to him with an act of entrustment that is renewed by the successive generations of Superiors and students who find in him serenity, inspiration and holiness.

This institute must continue to be, as it was in the past, a breeding ground of apostles, a meeting point of Catholic Rome with your countries and a living witness to their dedication and fidelity to the See of Peter. With these hopes for a blessed future of the Portuguese College, I warmly impart my Apostolic Blessing to the Superiors and students, to the benefactors and collaborators, present and absent.



ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II

TO THE DIPLOMATIC CORPS


Monday, 13 January 2003


Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

1. This meeting at the beginning of the New Year is a happy tradition which affords me the joy of welcoming you and in some way of embracing all the peoples whom you represent! For it is through you and thanks to you that I come to know their hopes and aspirations, their successes and their setbacks. Today I wish to offer your countries my fervent good wishes of happiness, peace and prosperity.

At the threshold of the New Year I am also pleased to offer all of you my best wishes, as I invoke upon you, your families and your fellow citizens an abundance of divine blessings.

Before sharing with you some reflections inspired by the present situation in the world and in the Church, I must thank your Dean, Ambassador Giovanni Galassi, for his kind words and for the good wishes which he has thoughtfully expressed, in the name of all present, for my person and for my ministry. Please accept my deep gratitude!

Mr Ambassador, you have also pointed to the legitimate expectations of modern men and women, all too often frustrated by political crises, by armed violence, by social conflicts, by poverty or by natural catastrophes. Never as at the beginning of this millennium has humanity felt how precarious is the world which it has shaped.

2. I have been personally struck by the feeling of fear which often dwells in the hearts of our contemporaries. An insidious terrorism capable of striking at any time and anywhere; the unresolved problem of the Middle East, with the Holy Land and Iraq; the turmoil disrupting South America, particularly Argentina, Colombia and Venzuela; the conflicts preventing numerous African countries from focusing on their development; the diseases spreading contagion and death; the grave problem of famine, especially in Africa; the irresponsible behaviour contributing to the depletion of the planet’s resources: all these are so many plagues threatening the suvival of humanity, the peace of individuals and the security of societies.

3. Yet everything can change. It depends on each of us. Everyone can develop within himself his potential for faith, for honesty, for respect of others and for commitment to the service of others.

It also depends, quite obviously, on political leaders, who are called to serve the common good. You will not be surprised if before an assembly of diplomats I state in this regard certain requirements which I believe must be met if entire peoples, perhaps even humanity itself, are not to sink into the abyss.

First, a "YES TO LIFE"! Respect life itself and individual lives: everything starts here, for the most fundamental of human rights is certainly the right to life. Abortion, euthanasia, human cloning, for example, risk reducing the human person to a mere object: life and death to order, as it were! When all moral criteria are removed, scientific research involving the sources of life becomes a denial of the being and the dignity of the person. War itself is an attack on human life since it brings in its wake suffering and death. The battle for peace is always a battle for life!

Next, RESPECT FOR LAW. Life within society – particularly international life – presupposes common and inviolable principles whose goal is to guarantee the security and the freedom of individual citizens and of nations. These rules of conduct are the foundation of national and international stability. Today political leaders have at hand highly relevant texts and institutions. It is enough simply to put them into practice. The world would be totally different if people began to apply in a straightforward manner the agreements already signed!

Finally, the DUTY OF SOLIDARITY. In a world with a superabundance of information, but which paradoxically finds it so difficult to communicate and where living conditions are scandalously unequal, it is important to spare no effort to ensure that everyone feels responsible for the growth and happiness of all. Our future is at stake. An unemployed young person, a handicapped person who is marginalized, elderly people who are uncared for, countries which are captives of hunger and poverty: these situations all too often make people despair and fall prey to the temptation either of closing in on themselves or of resorting to violence.

4. This is why choices need to be made so that humanity can still have a future. Therefore, the peoples of the earth and their leaders must sometimes have the courage to say "No".

"NO TO DEATH"! That is to say, no to all that attacks the incomparable dignity of every human being, beginning with that of unborn children. If life is truly a treasure, we need to be able to preserve it and to make it bear fruit without distorting it. "No" to all that weakens the family, the basic cell of society. "No" to all that destroys in children the sense of striving, their respect for themselves and others, the sense of service.

"NO TO SELFISHNESS"! In other words, to all that impels man to protect himself inside the cocoon of a privileged social class or a cultural comfort which excludes others. The life-style of the prosperous, their patterns of consumption, must be reviewed in the light of their repercussions on other countries. Let us mention for example the problem of water resources, which the United Nations Organization has asked us all to consider during this year 2003. Selfishness is also the indifference of prosperous nations towards nations left out in the cold. All peoples are entitled to receive a fair share of the goods of this world and of the know-how of the more advanced countries. How can we fail to think here, for example, of the access of everyone to generic medicines, needed to continue the fight against current pandemics, an access — alas — often thwarted by short-term economic considerations?

"NO TO WAR"! War is not always inevitable. It is always a defeat for humanity. International law, honest dialogue, solidarity between States, the noble exercise of diplomacy: these are methods worthy of individuals and nations in resolving their differences. I say this as I think of those who still place their trust in nuclear weapons and of the all-too-numerous conflicts which continue to hold hostage our brothers and sisters in humanity. At Christmas, Bethlehem reminded us of the unresolved crisis in the Middle East, where two peoples, Israeli and Palestinian, are called to live side-by-side, equally free and sovereign, in mutual respect. Without needing to repeat what I said to you last year on this occasion, I will simply add today, faced with the constant degeneration of the crisis in the Middle East, that the solution will never be imposed by recourse to terrorism or armed conflict, as if military victories could be the solution. And what are we to say of the threat of a war which could strike the people of Iraq, the land of the Prophets, a people already sorely tried by more than twelve years of embargo? War is never just another means that one can choose to employ for settling differences between nations. As the Charter of the United Nations Organization and international law itself remind us, war cannot be decided upon, even when it is a matter of ensuring the common good, except as the very last option and in accordance with very strict conditions, without ignoring the consequences for the civilian population both during and after the military operations.

5. It is therefore possible to change the course of events, once good will, trust in others, fidelity to commitments and cooperation between responsible partners are allowed to prevail. I shall give two examples.

Today’s Europe, which is at once united and enlarged. Europe has succeeded in tearing down the walls which disfigured her. She has committed herself to planning and creating a new reality capable of combining unity and diversity, national sovereignty and joint activity, economic progress and social justice. This new Europe is the bearer of the values which have borne fruit for two thousand years in an "art" of thinking and living from which the whole world has benefitted. Among these values Christianity holds a privileged position, inasmuch as it gave birth to a humanism which has permeated Europe’s history and institutions. In recalling this patrimony, the Holy See and all the Christian Churches have urged those drawing up the future Constitutional Treaty of the European Union to include a reference to Churches and religious institutions. We believe it desirable that, in full respect of the secular state, three complementary elements should be recognized: religious freedom not only in its individual and ritual aspects, but also in its social and corporative dimensions; the appropriateness of structures for dialogue and consultation between the Governing Bodies and communities of believers; respect for the juridical status already enjoyed by Churches and religious institutions in the Member States of the Union. A Europe which disavowed its past, which denied the fact of religion, and which had no spiritual dimension would be extremely impoverished in the face of the ambitious project which calls upon all its energies: constructing a Europe for all!

Africa too gives us today an occasion to rejoice: Angola has begun its rebuilding; Burundi has taken the path which could lead to peace and expects from the international community understanding and financial aid; the Democratic Republic of Congo is seriously engaged in a national dialogue which should lead to democracy. The Sudan has likewise shown good will, even if the path to peace remains long and arduous. We should of course be grateful for these signs of progress and we should encourage political leaders to spare no effort in ensuring that, little by little, the peoples of Africa experience the beginnings of pacification and thus of prosperity, safe from ethnic struggles, caprice and corruption. For this reason we can only deplore the grave incidents which have rocked Côte-d’Ivoire and the Central African Republic, while inviting the people of those countries to lay down their arms, to respect their respective constitutions and to lay the foundations for national dialogue. It will then be easy to involve all the elements of the national community in planning a society in which everyone finds a place. Furthermore, we do well to note that Africans are increasingly trying to find the solutions best suited to their problems, thanks to the activity of the African Union and effective forms of regional mediation.

6. Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, it is vital to note that the independence of States can no longer be understood apart from the concept of interdependence. All States are interconnected both for better and for worse. For this reason, and rightly so, we must be able to distinguish good from evil and call them by their proper names. As history has taught us time and time again, it is when doubt or confusion about what is right and wrong prevails that the greatest evils are to be feared.

If we are to avoid descending into chaos, it seems to me that two conditions must be met. First, we must rediscover within States and between States the paramount value of the natural law, which was the source of inspiration for the rights of nations and for the first formulations of international law. Even if today some people question its validity, I am convinced that its general and universal principles can still help us to understand more clearly the unity of the human race and to foster the development of the consciences both of those who govern and of those who are governed. Second, we need the persevering work of Statesmen who are honest and selfless. In effect, the indispensable professional competence of political leaders can find no legitimation unless it is connected to strong moral convictions. How can one claim to deal with world affairs without reference to this set of principles which is the basis of the "universal common good" spoken of so eloquently by Pope John XXIII in his Encyclical Pacem in Terris? It will always be possible for a leader who acts in accordance with his convictions to reject situations of injustice or of institutional corruption, or to put an end to them. It is precisely in this, I believe, that we rediscover what is today commonly called "good governance". The material and spiritual well-being of humanity, the protection of the freedom and rights of the human person, selfless public service, closeness to concrete conditions: all of these take precedence over every political project and constitute a moral necessity which in itself is the best guarantee of peace within nations and peace between States.

7. It is clear that, for a believer, these motivations are enriched by faith in a God who is the Creator and Father of all, who has entrusted man with stewardship of the earth and with the duty of brotherly love. This shows how it is in a State’s own interest to ensure that religious freedom — which is a natural right, that is, at one and the same time both an individual and social right — is effectively guaranteed for all. As I have had occasion to remark in the past, believers who feel that their faith is respected and whose communities enjoy juridical recognition will work with ever greater conviction in the common project of building up the civil society to which they belong. You will understand then why I speak out on behalf of all Christians who, from Asia to Europe, continue to be victims of violence and intolerance, such as happened recently during the celebration of Christmas. Ecumenical dialogue between Christians and respectful contact with other religions, in particular with Islam, are the best remedy for sectarian rifts, fanaticism or religious terrorism. As far as the Catholic Church is concerned, I will mention but one situation which is a cause of great suffering for me: the plight of Catholic communities in the Russian Federation, which for months now have seen some of their Pastors prevented from returning to them for administrative reasons. The Holy See expects from the Government authorities concrete decisions which will put an end to this crisis, and which are in keeping with the international agreements subscribed to by the modern and democratic Russia. Russian Catholics wish to live as their brethren do in the rest of the world, enjoying the same freedom and the same dignity.

8. Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, may all of us who have gathered in this place, which is a symbol of spirituality, dialogue and peace, contribute by our daily actions to the advancement of all the peoples of the earth, in justice and harmony, to their progress towards conditions of greater happiness and greater justice, far from poverty, violence and threats of war! May God pour out his abundant blessings upon you and all those whom you represent. A Happy New Year to everyone!




TO THE STUDENTS OF THE

"ALMO COLLEGIO CAPRANICA"

Saturday, 18 January 2003



Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate and in the Priesthood,
Dear Students of the Almo Collegio Capranica,

1. The approach of the Feast of St Agnes offers us again the pleasant occasion for our encounter this year. With affection I greet each of you. I especially greet Cardinal Camillo Ruini and I thank him for his courteous words of greeting spoken in the name of all. With him I greet the members of the Commission that follows the Collegio Capranica, with a special greeting for the Rector, Mons. Alfredo Abbondi, who was appointed a short time ago.

With all my heart I hope, with the coming of the new formation team and with the contribution of everyone, all of you dear students, may know how to make headway with your enthusiasm and participation in the last stage of your formation, growing in fraternal communion, in a way that offers the example of a united spiritual family growing in the desire for the service of God and the brethren.

2. St Agnes, Virgin and Martyr, is the protectress of your Almo Collegio who at a young age - she was only twelve years old - knew how to give to the Lord Jesus the last witness of martyrdom in an age in which the Christian community recorded many who fell away.

On the day of her feast, that we celebrate on 21 January, the liturgy invites us to ask God for the strength "to imitate her heroic constancy in the faith" (cf. Collect). In fact, dearly beloved, this is the lesson that we can take from St Agnes: her heroic constancy in the faith "even to the shedding of her blood". This young martyr invites us to persevere with fidelity in our mission, even to the point of sacrificing our life, if necessary. It calls for an interior disposition that must be nourished daily by prayer and a serious ascetical programme.

3. Priests, called to be enlightened guides and coherent examples of Christian life for the People of God, cannot fall short of the faith that the Lord and his Church place in them. They must be holy and they must be educators of holiness with their teaching, but even more with their witness. This is the "martyrdom" to which God calls them, a martyrdom which, even though it does not involve violent bloodshed, always requires that bloodless but "heroic constancy in the faith" which characterizes the existence of true disciples of Christ.

May God be pleased to grant this to each of you. I entrust this prayer to the maternal protection of the Blessed Virgin and to the constant intercession of St Agnes. With these sentiments and wishing you a serene and profitable year, from my heart I bless you.




TO THE MEMBERS OF THE STEERING COMMITTEE

OF THE CATHOLIC COMMITTEE

FOR CULTURAL COLLABORATION

WITH THE CHURCHES OF THE EAST



Speeches 2003