Speeches 2005

JOHN PAUL II



MESSAGE OF JOHN PAUL II

TO THE MEMBERS OF THE CONGREGATION OF MARIANS

OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION (M.I.C.)




Dear Brothers,

1. I am pleased to address my good wishes and greetings to you on the occasion of your Institute's General Chapter. This event of grace is a forceful appeal to you to return to the origins of your Congregation and to deepen your charism, seeking to discern the most suitable ways to live it in the social and cultural contexts of our time. I encourage you to continue on the path of faithfulness to your rich spiritual heritage. Indeed, it is only by imbuing your apostolic activities with dynamic ascetic zeal that you will truly fulfil your vocation and be able to see the results of holiness and missionary activity in your work.

In this year, which is especially dedicated to the Eucharist, you should make this wonderful sacrament more and more the centre of your personal and community life, docilely attending the school of the Blessed Virgin, the "Woman of the Eucharist". May she help you to attain an ever deeper communion with Christ and obtain for you "the gift of prompt obedience, faithful poverty and fruitful virginity" (Message for World Day of Consecrated Life, 2 February 2005, n. 3; L'Osservatore Romano English edition, 9 February, p. 7).

If your hearts burn with passionate love for the Eucharist and for Our Lady, you will succeed ever more fully at making the shrines where you carry out your appreciated service true "Upper Rooms" of prayer and hospitality. The pilgrims who flock to them will be able to experience the comfort of intimacy with Christ and will feel encouraged to follow joyously in his footsteps.

2. Dear Brothers, you belong to a Religious Institute that includes among its members exemplary Religious who have served the Church in various areas and often found themselves in difficult and dangerous situations. Many of your confrères followed the path of fearless Christian witness to the end. It is enough to recall figures such as Rositsa Antoni Leszczewicz, George Kaszyra, Fabian Abrantovic and Andrei Cikota. Sustained by the witness of these confrères of yours, faithful disciples of Christ and generous Gospel workers, may you never be afraid to face the challenges of our times.

Intensify your apostolic zeal and commit yourselves with renewed enthusiasm to promoting priestly and Religious vocations and to training your Institute's postulants properly, so that they will be generous workers in the Lord's vineyard. May you also develop your pastoral collaboration with the lay faithful, dedicating special care to the young and the needy, the marginalized and the elderly. Be apostles and witnesses of Divine Mercy for everyone.

Moreover, faithful to the charism that distinguishes you, may you be devout sons of the Immaculate Conception. A few months ago, the Church celebrated the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Most Blessed Virgin. It is well known that your Founder, the Venerable Servant of God Stanislaus of Jesus-Mary Papczynski, was able to spread and defend the truth of the Immaculate Conception even before it was defined as a dogma of faith. Follow his example faithfully and spread the Marian devotion around you.

3. Thinking of the mission you are called to carry out in different parts of the world and in various social milieus, I would like to address to you the words I wrote in my Apostolic Letter Mane Nobiscum Domine: "Once we have truly met the Risen One by partaking of his Body and Blood, we cannot keep to ourselves the joy we have experienced. The encounter with Christ, constantly intensified and deepened in the Eucharist, issues in the Church and in every Christian an urgent summons to testimony and evangelization" (n. 24).

"Pro Christo et Ecclesia": may this continue to be the programme of your Religious Family, which I hope will have an abundant harvest of apostolic fruit. To this end, I assure you of my constant remembrance in prayer, as I willingly impart my Blessing to the new Superior General, his Council, the Members of the General Chapter and your entire Congregation, as well as to your Cooperators.

From the Gemelli Polyclinic, 10 March 2005

JOHN PAUL II



MESSAGE OF JOHN PAUL II

TO THE BISHOPS OF THE EPISCOPAL CONFERENCE OF TANZANIA

ON THEIR "AD LIMINA" VISIT


Friday, 11 March 2005




Dear Brother Bishops,

1. While I regret that I cannot receive you in the Vatican at this time, nevertheless I gladly welcome you, the Pastors of the Church in Tanzania , on your visit ad limina Apostolorum. I greet you all from Gemelli Hospital, where I offer my prayers and my sufferings for you: in these days I feel especially close to you. As I address you for the first time in this new millennium, in consideration of your Quinquennial Reports, I wish to speak with you about three integral parts of your pastoral ministry: care of the family, care of the clergy, and care for the common good of society in your region.

2. The world can learn much from the high value that is placed upon the family as a building block of African society. Today the Church is called to give special priority to the pastoral care of the family, because of the great cultural changes taking place in the modern world. The new ideas and ways of life that are being proposed must be carefully assessed in the light of the Gospel, so that those values essential for the health and well-being of society may be preserved (cf. Ecclesia in Africa ). For example, the unjust practice of linking programmes of economic assistance to the promotion of sterilization and contraception must be strenuously resisted. Such programmes are "affronts to the dignity of the person and the family" (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 234) and they threaten to undermine the authentic Christian understanding of the nature and purpose of marriage.

According to the design of the Creator, the sacred bond of matrimony symbolizes the new and eternal Covenant sanctioned in the Blood of Christ (cf. Familiaris Consortio FC 13). One and indissoluble by nature, it has to remain open to the generation of new life, by which the spouses cooperate in God’s creative work. As authentic teachers of the faith, continue to proclaim these principles and to build up the Church in your country as the Family of God (cf. Ecclesia in Africa ). Only in this way can healthy foundations be laid for the future of African society and indeed the future of the local Church.

The promotion of genuine family values is all the more urgent on account of the terrible scourge of AIDS afflicting your country and so much of the African Continent. Fidelity within marriage and abstinence outside it are the only sure ways to limit the further spread of infection. Communicating this message must be a key element in the Church’s response to the epidemic. It especially grieves me to consider the many thousands of children left as orphans in the wake of the merciless virus. The Church plays a vital part in providing the care and compassion that is needed for these innocent victims, tragically deprived of the love of their parents.

3. The principal co-workers of the Bishop in carrying out his mission are the priests of the diocese, to whom the Bishop is called to be a father, a brother and a friend (cf. Directory for the Pastoral Ministry of Bishops ). As you help them to grow in holiness and in single-hearted commitment to discipleship, see that you enkindle within them a genuine longing for the Kingdom of God. Continue to encourage them in their gifts, sustain them in their difficulties and form them to meet the demands of priestly life today. I know that you appreciate the importance of seminary formation and the need to assign your best priests to this task. Without neglecting the intellectual and pastoral aspects of the training, I ask you always to exercise particular vigilance over the spiritual formation. Only a commitment to prayer, rooted in a mature understanding of the priest’s personal configuration to Christ, will enable him to practise the generous self-giving in pastoral charity to which he is called (cf. Pastores Dabo Vobis PDV 23). Likewise, by ensuring that all the clergy receive suitable ongoing formation, you help them to "rekindle the gift of God that is within . . . through the laying on of hands" (2Tm 1,6).

4. As an Episcopal Conference, you have already taken important steps to combat the material deprivation afflicting so many of your people. The success of your initiative in organizing the International Forum of 2002 is clearly seen in the government’s stated intention to make use of its conclusions in formulating public policy. Such cooperation between Church and State on matters of great social concern deserves to be commended, and it is to be hoped that others will follow the lead you have given in this area. I am confident that you will continue to press for concrete measures designed to alleviate poverty and to increase educational provision, so that the poor may be enabled to help themselves and one another.

Your country has already contributed in significant ways to building peace and stability in East Africa. I have spoken in the past of the generosity with which you provided a home for thousands of refugees fleeing persecution in their own countries (cf. Address to the Ambassador of Tanzania to the Holy See, 11 January 1997), and I urge you to continue to extend this Christ-like welcome to your suffering brothers and sisters. In this way, you prove yourselves true neighbours to them. One of the true challenges for the future will be to maintain and strengthen respectful relations with the Muslim community, especially in the Zanzibar archipelago. A serious commitment to inter-religious dialogue and a firm resolve to work together in addressing your country’s social and economic problems will give a shining example to other nations of the harmony that should always exist between diverse ethnic and religious groups.

5. Dear brother Bishops, as you look to the future with confidence, pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the preparations that will be made for the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops, so that the joys and sorrows, the griefs and the hopes of the people of your Continent may find an echo in the hearts of all who follow Christ (cf. Gaudium et Spes GS 1). Seek always to evangelize the culture of your people in such a way that Christ speaks from the heart of your local churches with a truly African voice.

I pray that this Year of the Eucharist may be for you "a precious opportunity to grow in awareness of the incomparable treasure which Christ has entrusted to his Church" (Mane Nobiscum Domine, 29). Commending you and your priests, deacons, religious and lay faithful to the intercession of Mary, Star of Evangelization, I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of grace and strength in her Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

From Gemelli Hospital, 11 March 2005

IOANNES PAULUS II



MESSAGE OF POPE JOHN PAUL II

TO H.E. MR LAWRENCE EDWARD CHEWNING FÁBREGA

AMBASSADOR OF PANAMA TO THE HOLY SEE




Mr Ambassador,

1. I am pleased to accredit you, Your Excellency, as Ambassador Extraordinary, and offer you my most cordial welcome at the beginning of the important mission that your Government has entrusted to you.

I particularly appreciate the sentiments of closeness and support that you convey from H.E. Mr Martín Torrijos Espino, President of the Republic, and from the Government of the Country, and I ask you to express my respectful greetings to them, together with my best wishes for the peace and well-being of the beloved Panamanian People, who are living moments of hope as they face the challenges of a globalized world that must be confronted with solidarity. This virtue must inspire the action of individuals, governments, international organizations and institutions and all the members of civil society, committing them to work for the proper development of peoples and nations, aiming for the good of one and all (cf. Sollicitudo Rei Socialis SRS 40).

2. I see with pleasure the continuing good understanding and close collaboration between the public Authorities and the Church in Panama. The cordiality of today's meeting also reflects the good relations that exist between your Country and the Holy See. I note with pleasure that the new Government of the Republic has expressed its intention to continue to build on these relations, maintaining its autonomy, carrying out its own different tasks and rigorously observing the respective provinces of each one. The Church and the public Authorities have converging goals: to foster the integral good of each person and the common good of society.

I note the Government's concern to eliminate the poverty in which part of the population still lives by establishing the most favourable conditions for creating employment and measures in order to confront the scourge of corruption.

On the other hand, the Church has contributed and will continue to contribute to the authentic progress of the people by proclaiming the Good News that brings meaning and hope, by promoting friendly social coexistence and responsible civic participation and by defending the dignity of the person. The Church herself has been a source of culture in Panama down the centuries and would like to continue in this capacity as she faces a culture that denies respect for life and is indifferent to the suffering of so many.

3. The People of Panama celebrated the first centenary of the Republic yesterday. The progress they have made so far in asserting their historical and geographical identity gives grounds for hope. With this solidly established identity, your Country will be able to continue to make an important contribution, encouraging communication and friendly relations between all the world's peoples.
Panama is also distinguished for the diversity of the cultures and races that have forged its identity. The targets reached must now be consolidated through firm commitments that make it possible to face phenomena that could threaten them.

In this regard, it is necessary to direct the investment of available resources to projects destined to eliminate poverty and remedy the enormous inequality in the distribution of wealth; to teach the different generations respect for the dignity of each ethnic group; to improve the educational system; to facilitate the implementation of judicial power and to make the treatment of prisoners fairer and more humane so that their rehabilitation in society will be easier; and lastly, to provide the necessary means for the integral development of Panamanians.

In this regard, I would also like to encourage the Government of a people as welcoming as the Panamanians, predisposed to dialogue and with deep Christian roots, to devote all its energy to achieving better conditions for the genuine development of the family as well as to safeguard the role of women in the various social milieus, and the creation of better opportunities for the young.

4. Mr Ambassador, I renew my cordial welcome to you and your family, as I express my best wishes for the success of your mission as representative of your Country that is now beginning. I ask the Virgin Most Holy, venerated in Panama under the title of Santa María la Antigua, to protect all Panamanians and to imbue in them the necessary courage to advance on the paths of solidarity and peace, as I bless them all with great affection.

JOHN PAUL II



MESSAGE OF JOHN PAUL II

TO THE YOUNG PEOPLE OF ROME AND LAZIO

GATHERED FOR EUCHARIST ADORATION

IN THE BASILICA OF ST JOHN LATERAN






"Adoro Te devote, latens Deitas!".

1. Dear Young People of Rome and of the Diocese of Lazio, your meeting in the Basilica of St John Lateran for Eucharistic Adoration in this year that is dedicated to it, is intended to give you an opportunity to prepare yourselves better for World Youth Day. I would like to join you in spirit and to express all my affection to you; I know that you are always close to me and never tire of praying for me. I greet you and I warmly thank you.

I greet with gratitude the Cardinal Vicar, the Bishops, priests and Religious who have accompanied you and all those who have organized this important moment of reflection and prayer.

2. "Adoro Te devote, latens Deitas!". Let us raise our eyes to Jesus in the Eucharist; let us contemplate him and repeat to him together these words written by St Thomas Aquinas that express all our faith and love: "Devoutly I adore you, hidden Deity, under these appearances concealed".

In an epoch marked by hatred, selfishness, the desire for false happiness, by the decadence of customs, the absence of father and mother figures, instability in numerous young families and by widespread frailty and hardship to which many young people fall prey, we look to you, Jesus in the Eucharist, with renewed hope. In spite of our sins we trust in your divine Mercy. We repeat to you, together with the disciples of Emmaus, "Mane nobiscum Domine!", "Stay with us, Lord!". In the Eucharist you restore to the Father all that comes from him and thus bring about a profound mystery of the justice due to the Creator on behalf of the creature. The heavenly Father has created us in his image and likeness; from him we received the gift of life, whose preciousness from conception until death we become particularly aware of when it is threatened and manipulated.

We adore you, Jesus, and we thank you, for you make truly present in the Eucharist the mystery of that unique gift you offered to the Father 2,000 years ago with your sacrifice on the Cross, a sacrifice that redeemed the whole of humanity and all creation.

3. "Adoro Te devote, latens Deitas!".

We adore you, Jesus in the Eucharist! We worship your Body and your Blood, given for us so that our sins might be forgiven: O Sacrament of the new and eternal Covenant!

While we adore you, how can we forget the many things we must do to glorify you? Yet, at the same time, how can we fail to admit that St John of the Cross was right? He used to say: "Those who are very active and think they can embrace the world with their preaching and external activities, should remember that they would be more useful to the Church and more pleasing to God, not to mention the good example they would set, were they to spend half as much time with him in prayer". Help us, Jesus, to understand that in order "to do" in your Church, also in the field of the new evangelization that is so urgently needed, we must first learn "to be", that is, to stay with you, in your sweet company, in adoration. Authentic, effective and true apostolic action can only come from intimate communion with you.

A great saint who entered the Carmel in Cologne, St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (in the world, Edith Stein), used to like to say: "Members of the Body of Christ, enlivened by his Spirit, we offer ourselves as victims with him, for him, in him, and we join in the eternal thanksgiving".

4. "Adoro Te devote, latens Deitas!". O Jesus, we ask that you obtain for all young people present here the desire to unite themselves to you in eternal thanksgiving and to strive in this world, today and in the future, to be builders of the civilization of love.

May they place you at the centre of their lives. May they worship you and celebrate you. May they develop the habit of staying with you, O Jesus in the Eucharist! May they receive you, participating regularly in Sunday Mass and, if possible, daily Mass. May this intense and frequent participation engender in them the commitment to giving their lives freely to you who are full and true freedom.

May holy vocations to the priesthood be born: without the priesthood there is no Eucharist, the source and summit of the Church's life. May numerous vocations to the Religious life develop; may generous vocations to holiness, the high standard of ordinary Christian living, flourish particularly in families. The Church and society today are more in need of holiness than ever.

5. O Jesus in the Eucharist, to you I entrust the young people of Rome, of Lazio and of the whole world, with their sentiments, their affections and their projects. I present them to you through the hands of Mary, your Mother and ours.

Jesus, who offered yourself to the Father: love them!
Jesus, who offered yourself to the Father: heal their spiritual wounds!
Jesus, who offered yourself to the Father: help them to adore you in truth and bless them. Now and forever.

Amen!

I impart my Blessing to you all with affection.

From the Vatican, 15 March 2005

JOHN PAUL II



MESSAGE OF JOHN PAUL II

TO THE PARTICIPANTS

IN THE ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS "UNIV 2005"


Dear Young People,


1. I am delighted to offer a cordial welcome to all of you who have come from various parts of the world to take part in the annual Congress of UNIV. I greet each one of you with affection, and I ask you to make the most of the opportunity of your stay in Rome to grow in the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ. I greet those who accompany you; in a special way, I greet the Bishop Prelate of Opus Dei, Bishop Javier Echevarría Rodríguez, who is taking part in your meeting.

On the basis of your university studies, you are committed to building a new culture, respectful of the truth about humankind and society. At this International Congress you are addressing precisely the theme: "Planning culture", focusing on the language of music.

2. Music, like all the languages of art, brings men and women closer to God, who has prepared for those who love him "what no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived" (1Co 2,9). But at the same time, art can sometimes be the vehicle for a conception of the human being, of love or of happiness that does not correspond to the truth of God's plan. It is therefore necessary to use a healthy discernment. I repeat to you what I wrote for the youth of the whole world in my Message for the upcoming World Youth Day: "Do not yield to false illusions and passing fads, which so frequently leave behind a tragic spiritual vacuum!" (n. 5; L'Osservatore Romano English edition, 1 September 2004, p. 7). It is also up to you, dear young people, to renew the languages of art and culture. May you therefore be committed to developing the courage not to accept behaviour and entertainment that can be classified as excessive and disruptive.

3. As you are reminded through the many formation activities promoted by the Prelature of Opus Dei under the guidance of the Bishop Prelate, every person, whatever his or her condition or status, is called to encounter Christ in his or her own life every day. The vocation of the lay faithful, as you well know, is to strive for holiness, enlivening temporal realities with the Christian spirit. And then, dear students and university teachers, as St Josemaría used to like to repeat, work and study must also be "a constant prayer for you. It has the same loveable words, but a different tune each day. It is very much our mission to transform the prose of this life into poetry, into heroic verse" (Furrow, n. 500).

May Mary Most Holy help you to meet her Son Jesus in the liturgy of this Holy Week and in the sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist. May the Virgin Mother of God, Woman of the Eucharist, lead each one of you to the joy of encountering Christ.

With these sentiments I bless all of you and your families as I offer you my fervent good wishes for a Holy Easter.

From the Vatican, 19 March 2005

JOHN PAUL II




MESSAGE OF THE HOLY FATHER

JOHN PAUL II

TO THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE MASS OF THE LORD'S SUPPER

Holy Thursday, 24 March 2005

Dear Brothers and Sisters,


In my mind and heart I am close to you who have gathered at the tomb of the Apostle Peter for the Holy Mass of the Lord's Supper, the first event of the Easter Triduum and the crowning point of the liturgical year. I greet you with deep affection, and in particular I greet and thank Cardinal Alfonso López Trujillo, who is presiding at the solemn celebration. I address a special respectful thought to the Diplomatic Corps.

On this Holy Thursday evening Christ invites us to return with him in spirit to the Upper Room, to enable us to penetrate the depths of his Paschal Mystery. On the eve of his death, he gave us two signs that are renewed every year in the liturgy.

First of all, he washed the Apostles' feet, desiring to give them an example of love that becomes humble, concrete service. Then he consecrated the bread and wine as the sacrament of his Body and his Blood, given in sacrifice for our salvation. And it was precisely to the Eucharist that I wanted to dedicate the year in which we are living: this celebration is one of its deeply meaningful moments.

May Mary help us to approach with faith this supreme and inestimable Mystery of divine love. Spiritually present, I am praying with you as I bless you all with affection.

From the Vatican, 24 March 2005

JOHN PAUL II



MESSAGE OF THE HOLY FATHER

JOHN PAUL II

TO THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE MASS OF THE LORD'S SUPPER

Holy Thursday, 24 March 2005

Dear Brothers and Sisters,


In my mind and heart I am close to you who have gathered at the tomb of the Apostle Peter for the Holy Mass of the Lord's Supper, the first event of the Easter Triduum and the crowning point of the liturgical year. I greet you with deep affection, and in particular I greet and thank Cardinal Alfonso López Trujillo, who is presiding at the solemn celebration. I address a special respectful thought to the Diplomatic Corps.

On this Holy Thursday evening Christ invites us to return with him in spirit to the Upper Room, to enable us to penetrate the depths of his Paschal Mystery. On the eve of his death, he gave us two signs that are renewed every year in the liturgy.

First of all, he washed the Apostles' feet, desiring to give them an example of love that becomes humble, concrete service. Then he consecrated the bread and wine as the sacrament of his Body and his Blood, given in sacrifice for our salvation. And it was precisely to the Eucharist that I wanted to dedicate the year in which we are living: this celebration is one of its deeply meaningful moments.

May Mary help us to approach with faith this supreme and inestimable Mystery of divine love. Spiritually present, I am praying with you as I bless you all with affection.

From the Vatican, 24 March 2005

JOHN PAUL II



MESSAGE OF THE HOLY FATHER

JOHN PAUL II

TO THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE RITE

OF THE WAY OF THE CROSS

Colosseum

Good Friday, 25 March 2005




Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I am with you in spirit at the Colosseum, a place that stirs up within me so many memories and emotions, in order to take part in the evocative rite of the Way of the Cross on this Good Friday evening.

I join you in the invocation, so rich in meaning: "Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi, quia per sanctam crucem tuam redemisti mundum". Yes, we adore and bless the mystery of the Cross of the Son of God, because it was from his death that new hope for humanity was born.

The adoration of the Cross directs us to a commitment that we cannot shirk: the mission that St Paul expressed in these words: "[I]n my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church" (Col 1,24). I also offer my sufferings so that God's plan may be completed and his Word spread among the peoples. I, in turn, am close to all who are tried by suffering at this time. I pray for each one of them.

On this memorable day of Christ's crucifixion, I look at the Cross with you in adoration, repeating the words of the liturgy: "O crux, ave spes unica!". Hail, O Cross, our only hope, give us patience and courage and obtain peace for the world!

With these sentiments, I bless you and all those who are taking part in this Way of the Cross via radio or television.

From the Vatican, 25 March 2005

JOHN PAUL II



MESSAGE OF THE HOLY FATHER

JOHN PAUL II

TO THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE EASTER VIGIL MASS

Holy Saturday, 26 March 2005



Dear Brothers and Sisters,

At the end of the Lenten penitential journey and after having meditated in these last days on the sorrowful passion and dramatic death of Jesus on the Cross, we are celebrating on this singular night the glorious mystery of his Resurrection.

Thanks to television, I am able to follow from my apartment the suggestive Easter Vigil, over which Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is presiding in St Peter's Basilica. To him, I send my fraternal greeting, which I extend to the other Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops present. I also greet with affection the priests, men and women religious and the faithful gathered around the altar of the Lord, with a special thought for the catechumens who prepare themselves during this holy Vigil to receive the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist.

This night is truly extraordinary, one in which the blazing light of the Risen Christ definitively defeats the dark power of evil and death, and rekindles hope and joy in the hearts of believers. Dear friends, guided by the liturgy, let us pray to the Lord Jesus so that the world may see and recognize that, thanks to his passion, death and Resurrection, what was destroyed is rebuilt, what was ageing is renewed and completely restored, more beautiful than ever, to its original wholeness.

I warmly express to all my fervent best wishes, and I assure you of a remembrance in my prayers so that the Risen Lord bestows on each of you and your families and communities the paschal gift of his peace. I accompany these sentiments with a special Apostolic Blessing.

From the Vatican, 26 March 2005, Easter Vigil





Speeches 2005